#boi I sure hope people like this finished version as much as that wip a while ago

[canarydraws]

Andromeda 💙💜🩷

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #9 | 02.29.24

What is this?! Two devlogs in one month?! More likely than you think! This February has been very productive for me and the team, so let's dive right into it!

Ooooh boy, Raquel keeps knocking it out of the park! She managed to get done every expression for every LI, and I coded them all! Now we have our wonderful characters ready for their debut. We have been using the wonderful Image Tools for Ren'py made by the talented and hard-working Feniks, whose tutorials and resources save a lot of dev's lives every day! This tool has made everything a bit easier for newbies like me, hehe.

Here's a taste of our edgelord's expressions! 💜 They're kind of a cutie when they put some effort into it!

We also had our second valentine's day celebration art piece thanks to Kayden! Sadly with the reworked version of the demo, you won't meet Vycar yet, so we thought we could ask for his forgiveness by giving him a beautiful bouquet and reminding him how much of a sweetheart he is! 💜

Also, Raeya got a hair update!

So, we weren't completely satisfied with the way we portrayed Raeya's hair, so this has been a rework we were sure we wanted to make. At first we were just going to render it again, but we ended up working on it from scratch to better represent what we envisioned for her. We hope you like it as much as we do! ; v ;💜

As always, we are open to any critique or advice; we are white people who have the luck to be able to ask POC friends for their advice as we work, but the more the merrier! Don't hesitate to send us your opinion to our ask box or even our email, gamesravenstar@gmail.com!

When it comes to the background department, we have been making great progress thanks to Airyn, who is honestly leaving us with our mouths hanging open every time! Thanks to her, another background has been finished and another one is in the making, leaving only two backgrounds to be revised and approved!

I personally can't stop looking at this WIP! She understood perfectly what we wanted to portray just by looking at an old WIP we had, and this is what we have so far—and it's already amazing!

Allie has been OBLITERATING the script. As of today, I think we have almost gone through everything that needed to be corrected and discussing, and lord if the script doesn't look a 100% better after we put it in Allie's hands. The way she writes, the way she understands everything I want to say even when sometimes I don't even know myself—what a talented, inspiring and amazing writer they are. I know I may sound annoying at this point singing her praises endlessly, but if the script is in the state where it is now, it's thanks to her!

My programming adventure of the month has been a success, if I say so myself! I've coded the characters with aaaaall their layers, their expressions, the blinking animations, made some videos, and started coding the script. Step by step as they say; I've coded 18 pages, and there's, uh...142 more to go. Haha! *sobs*

BUT WE ARE GETTING THERE! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I can finally click 'new game' and read the script and see the stuff going on! YAY!

Some extras of the month—we are preparing a Casting Call to choose the voice acting talent that will hopefully give voice to our characters. The demo won't be fully voiced (it's impossible with the funds we have, which are...zero), but if we are lucky we'll use some of our personal savings to pay for at least a few lines for each character so you can get an idea of how they'll sound if we get funded! Raquel is preparing an art piece for the announcement, and I'm getting the document ready and asking fellow VA friends for advice :3.

Also, we have a new member here at Ravenstar Games! Some weeks ago Astro and I formally adopted our first kitty, 8 month old Riki, fulfilling one of our dreams. We got him from a feline association that works with volunteers and fosters cats who have been abandoned, cats they find on the street, and so on. Riki has been living with me since January, and he's a happy, long big boy who loves playing, cuddles, and sitting on my desk while I try to work!

Say hi to the Ravenstar family, Riki! 💜

A productive month full of accomplished milestones, excitement and new challenges! The team has worked so hard, and I've done my part too! We still don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we have done a lot of stuff we were sure we wouldn't finish yet, and look at that! We are doing so well!

As you can probably tell, my batteries are starting to run low, so I'm going to leave this devlog here. Thank you all like always for cheering us on, for being here in this journey with us, and for all the love you send our way. Let's hope March is as amazing as February has been, for us and for all of you! 💜

[amethystina]

I was tagged by @a-very-fond-farewell! Thank you so much darling 💜

1. Last song: Shishen Take On the Challenge from The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity soundtrack (which I paid a small fortune to get my hands on so you bet I've been listening to it almost non-stop ever since. The music is SO FUCKING GOOD OKAY)

2. Favorite color: Purple — which I feel should come as a surprise to no one xD

3. Currently watching: The Killing Vote, because I apparently need more dramas where the Korean public is allowed to vote on whether or not to execute people. Quite enjoying it so far! The characters are a hoot xD And I'm curious to see what they do with the Kwon Seok Joo dude.

I also just started The Guest because I want to watch it before they remove it from Netflix but BOI. That's not one I'll be able to binge, that's for sure. Horror is great but also, well, terrifying x'D

Though, I must say, I might have to take a detour and rewatch the Along With the Gods movies. I've been meaning to do so for ages and seeing Kim Dong Wook in The Guest makes the urge even stronger. Because, let me tell you, I'm SO EAGER to rewatch the movies and observe the characters now that I've seen the twist at the end of the second movie. A twist I figured out before I actually reached the reveal, sure, but I don't think that's a bad thing? Like, for real, guys. The AUDIBLE GASP I let out when I realised what the twist was going to be and then got to sit there and see it slowly dawn on the other characters? BEAUTIFUL. And it CHANGES SO MUCH. Like, I need to rewatch them because so much of what I thought I knew is now a lie! Circumstances have changed! My initial analysis might be wrong! Characters I thought I knew are now completely different! I need to do more research! I NEED TO KNOW.

(This is what happens when your brain works like mine. And one day I might tell you all about why Kang Yo Han is such a fascinating character to me, because, let me tell you, I've rarely seen a character remain so solid in his characterisation even through the kind of reveals we're given in the drama. It's fucking SPECTACULAR)

4. Currently reading: Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (I do it in bursts because it's not the kind of book I can just binge, okay? x'D), We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson (I would have finished this LONG ago if it didn't give me so much anxiety (but in a good way?)) and Eld by Mats Strandberg and Sara Bergman Elfgren (though I should probably start over on this one since I was very distracted when I read the first chapter)

5. Last movie: No Regret, because why not dabble in older Korean LGBTQ+ content? It was a ride, that's for sure xD And the next movie will be The World to Come (also one I want to watch before it's removed from Netflix)

6. Sweet/spicy/savory: Either sweet or savoury — it depends on my mood, really.

7. Relationship status: Married! :D

8. Current obsession: I'm not sure if I have one right now? Though I am hoping to get back on track with that diorama thing soon. I've almost collected all the materials I need! I just need fake foliage (preferably red) and I'm going to try and buy that either tomorrow or on Saturday.

9. Last thing you googled? Why my phone kept taking only green photos. And everyone kept telling me I shouldn't have unlocked the bootloader (which I don't think can be done by accident and I sure as hell haven't done it intentionally) so in the end I just restarted it and now it works just fine xD

10. Selfie: I don't really take selfies but here's a cropped version of a drawing WIP of mine.

If you know, you know ;)

(... LOOK, the suspender-pulling had to happen eventually, okay?)

11. Currently working on: Chapter 5 of A New Dawn (Begins With Us) and, after that, it'll be either chapter 37 of Who Holds the Devil or maybe the sequel to Gravitational Pull which I'm STILL struggling to find the time to work on. I'm also working on, like, six different drawings simultaneously. Because why make things easy for myself?

Tagging: Whoever wants to do it! Tell me about yourself! :D

[boltlightning]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by the wonderful @starsuncounted; thank you muchly <3

1. how many total works do you have on ao3? 54!

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 362,814. oy vey

3. what fandoms do you write for? these days, potc and final fantasy and assassin's creed now and then, though i generally write for whatever grabs my attention. remember when i wrote a fallout fic? wild

4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos? oh dear. let’s see:

a house, a hearth, a (s)holmes — the great ace attorney, 6k. a collection of missing scenes about iris watson and her silly little family.

good company — fullmetal alchemist, 9k. pre-canon, roy mustang recruits people for his team. (i wrote this when i was 19 and there's still a lot i like about it, but boy is it humbling to reread.)

benchfellows — final fantasy vii remake, >1k. a drabble about cloud and aerith fighting in the wall market colosseum.

heart & home — fullmetal alchemist, 5k. roy and riza visits roy's home both pre-ishval and post-canon.

sun hits the water — potc, 8k. james and elizabeth get married after the fact, and fall in love some. at the time of writing this post it's got these beautiful round numbers i am SO pleased

5. do you respond to comments? almost certainly. sometimes i won't on really old pieces or comments that don't really necessitate a reply, but i do my best :—)

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? i trend more bittersweet than angsty; o sleeper (ff7, cloud/aerith) is one of the only ones i'd classify as TRULY angsty, everything else ends much higher.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? showing their versatility: slowly (ff7, also cloud/aerith) ends a little bittersweetly but the climax of this fic remains the sappiest, gushiest thing i've ever written

8. do you get hate on fics? i don't think i've gotten hate since the ff.net days and i'm grateful for it

9. do you write smut? a little, but nothing wild or worth posting. otherwise we're always fading to black or describing sex vaguely babey

10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written? it's not my forte, per se, but the potc/temeraire universe is over 50k words and still will not let me go, so you could say i've dabbled.

11. have you had a fic stolen? / 12. have you had a fic translated? / 13. have you ever co-written a fic? no to all the above 🤪 (or...at least i hope, in the case of 11)

14. what's your all-time favorite ship? 8-year-old me was really onto something when she latched onto cloud/aerith with passion unrivaled to be honest. there is no use denying it

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i have been working on a written version of the trespasser DLC for one of my dragon age characters for like.............three years now and it will never evolved past the five scenes i have scribbled down i'm afraid. the quarantine brainrot was real but it did not last

16. what are your writing strengths? i like to fancy myself good at description! and i'm very particular about flow and tone. there's nothing i won't do to maintain tone, even if it hurts to cut segments that don't fit

17. what are your writing weaknesses? alas, describing shit well means that i am terrible at stepping back and letting a scene breathe. i feel the need to explain stuff that doesn't need it, to my own detriment. and lately i just Cannot thread the needle with any transitions between scenes. someone come cure my yips it's extremely annoying balking at this

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? it CAN work but the only time i'm ever using it is if 1) i know someone who speaks the language, so i'm not making an ass of myself, or 2) it adds to the confusion of a scene in a meaningful way. rarely does it come up and rarely do i employ it

19. first fandom you wrote for? i'm sure it was kingdom hearts. the more things change, etc.

20. favorite fic you've written? the aforementioned potc/temeraire crossover aside...i could play coy here, but you KNOW it's steadfast & dependable (6k, potc, norribeth. but. it's complicated). she is my beautiful girlfriend and the concept continues to compel me on rereads

tagging @johnbly @thesumdancekid @graysongraysoff @antique-romantic if you're feelin it??? and also 🫵 you, the girl reading this

[fandomfrolics]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @chainofclovers and @revolutionsoftheheart, thank you <3

Since I've only posted to AO3 for 2 fandoms and one is disproportionately larger than the other, gonna separate the two for my own curiosity.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

123 (77 Ted Lasso, 46 Marvel)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

567,878 (336,213 TL vs 231,665 Marvel over a...much shorter period of time😬)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently only Ted Lasso, previously Marvel (both MCU and comics)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Marvel

They Call Me Dad

In the Heat of the Night

Roll the Dice and Swear Your Love (for me)

what is (or what could be)

Situation Normal: All Fogged Up 

Ted Lasso

and in the morning we'll start all over again

Linger

lick me baby or leave me

my body fits just like a bruise

I don't wanna live like this (but I don't wanna die) 

Fun fact! My top Marvel fic has pretty much almost exactly 10x kudos as my top TL fic.

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

I do but very, very slowly. As for why, idk I think it's just a nice way to engage with people. I like seeing authors' responses to my comments on their fics too.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

A <400 word established relationship Steve/Tony fic where one half of the pairing DROWNS and for what, who knows

Any angsty endings I had for TL were only chapter endings that were then undone by peer pressure (except, I guess, this one where Ted and Rebecca break up because his.....spoon.....is too big).

OH WAIT I forgot about this Rupodore one (but also the A/N does undo that angsty ending too sooooooo)

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

This is a hard one because I'm not sure how to differentiate degrees of happiness but sorta related to the last answer, I'm going to say this established relationship Steve/Tony fic, where it SEEMS like Steve dies but he doesn't, mostly because of this comment that makes me emotional every time I remember it

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Just once I think, on a kinky TL fic (thanks Kyle!)

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

Unfortunately (though that's pretty much a new thing for TL fic)

Idk what the kinds of smuts there are but: PWP, emotional/feelingsy, kink (for exploring dynamics/psychology of it re: certain characters), kink (horny)

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

Borderline? Idk if this fake dating fic featuring an unnamed-but-hinted-at actor counts as Ted Lasso/Actor RPF crossover.........

That's probably the craziest one but actually I guess this Marvel one where the video game versions of the characters visit the comics universe counts.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not wholesale but bits yeah

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah, a bunch of Marvel fanfic got translated to Chinese and Russian but my top kudosed fic got translated into I think at least 4 languages (including off AO3), which is really cool!!

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

Yes with @thatsrightjohngoodman <33 and it was a blast, even though the number of words spent talking about the fic >>>> actual words in the fic. Also I only did like 15% of it, which is probably also why I had a good time.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don't really get into fandoms through ships, usually more through specific characters so idk if I have a fave. I'm pretty loosey-goosey about ships.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

OH BOY okay, well I'm still holding out hope for some of the TL ones even though I haven't touched them in ages but from the (almost definitely) abandoned ones, there's one about Ted dealing with executive dysfunction that gets in the way of like really mundane things like mail he needs to do something about (e.g. his TV licence) or using groceries before they go bad and how Beard and Rebecca and others help him help himself.

On Marvel, I have a CarolJess coffee shop AU that is like 90% done and contains some bits that are very personal and reflective of that period of my life and it'd be nice to put it out into world but. I probably won't.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been given the impression that it's.......sad shit lmao. But also like conversations between people that feel realistic. And at this point, I think unfortunately also smut.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Settings I think? I like actions and dialogue and I always have to go back and fill in like...where are they, what are they sitting on, that sorta thing.

Also endings, I never know how to end a fic, especially short feelingsy one-shots.

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

I have no real thoughts on this tbh

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, but only one fic that I posted on LiveJournal I think as part of an event

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

The first one that popped into my head was All Our Days Ahead, a Beard and Ted friendship road trip fic. It was written with more care than a lot of my other fics and idk I like it's energy when I reread it. I can remember exactly where I was when I wrote it too (and that it was raining lmao).

Honorable mentions from when I actually went scrolling through my works:

I like all my humour fics purely for how unhinged I feel when writing them but the body shots fic was particularly wild because of the insane live writing experience and Cannibal!Rebecca offshoot

I also have a soft spot for my episode tags. I don't really write a lot of fics that are related to specific moments in canon but I really like this Colin one about the impact of Nate's words on him, featuring my beloved actual Coach!Ted. Also one of the few fics where the title feels right and isn't just sorta there to fill in the field.

I think by now most people have been tagged in TL so ignore me if you've already done this but tagging some folks from both fandoms @theodore-lasso @howiehamlin @thatsrightjohngoodman @ishipallthings @onemuseleft @snoozingcat @bardingbeedle if y'all wanna do it

[cataztrophi]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by: @noodyl-blasstal thanks!!

Tagging: @fandomsnstuff @duck-newton I think a lot of people have been tagged already but if you haven't pls consider this an invitation to answer these as well!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2 currently, but I plan on putting up my TAZNC work at which point I will have 15!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

4,680 right now, but that number will increase by a lot shortly since I think all my TAZNC works were between 1,000-4,000 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

TAZ, and I've got a few Owl House things in the works I hope to finish some day.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Show Me Yours, then The Thing With Feathers

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

Yes! I love receiving comments and I love being able to talk a bit about what I was thinking when I wrote things.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't usually write a lot of angst, but probably this unnamed ficlet because nothing really gets resolved at the end, although it is a fairly hopeful ending.

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

It's hard to pick, I write mostly things that leave a lot of possibilities open, but I'd say probably my 10th entry for TAZNC this year (man I really gotta name these things) because I think the emotional journey makes the ending more satisfying.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! I've only gotten very kind words and I'm extremely grateful for all of them.

9. Do you write smut?

Yup. Nothing I'm quite finished with yet but I have several in the works and I hope to get some posted soon

10. Do you write crossovers?

They're not really my style, but I think they are fun to think about and play around with!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of, and I'm small enough right now that I think it's unlikely.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I've heard of

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

I did once on a previous account, unfortunately I was very bad at finishing anything at that point in my life and I hadn't gotten on ADD meds, so we didn't finish it (my fault). I'd like to co-write something at some point, but I think I'd need to have more practice with writing/finishing longer stories before I felt confident about doing it again.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Taakitz babey! Top tier meet-weird plus some truly beautiful moments, and such a great dynamic to play around with

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I'm not sure I'd say "never," but there is one Taakitz fake dating fic that I would need to seriously rework in order to make it coherent. I hope to finish some version of it someday, but it certainly won't look like the current WIP.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Boy I wish I knew! Someone told me I have a "lyrical" writing style, so I'll take it! I do really like working with the flow of words. Also I wrote a lot of tender romantic scenes when I was a touch-starved closeted high schooler, and I was surprised by how easy those scenes feel to write in my current work.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a tendency to write too much lead-in and too much ending if I'm not careful, so I basically have to chop off the first and last bits of every fic. I am very bad at coming up with plots. I worry a lot about capturing characters' voices and can struggle with differentiating them. And as previously mentioned, I tend to start a lot of things and not finish them, although I think I'm improving in that regard!

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

I'm very wary about it for myself. I could just about manage French but for anything else I'd want someone fluent to look it over for me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Good Omens, back before the TV series came out! It was a pretty small fandom at that point, and I had to get my Aziraphale/Crowley angst out somewhere when I only knew like three people who'd read the book

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

I'm really proud of my TAZNC work, but I think I'm still proudest of The Thing With Feathers because I feel like I did exactly what I wanted with it and captured everything I was hoping to.

[twirlybumblevee]

I stole this from @bottleofchaos

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

71 right now! (man I've been here for a long time, haven't I...)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1,077,321

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currently it's Dteam (adjacent) and Tolkien's Silmarillion, in the past most notably Marvel (plus various others)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oh boy. First, and by a mile, we have Sign Dirty to me and its sequel As loud as our hearts (MCU, Steve/Bucky modern AU where Steve is deaf and they meet under... embarrassing circumstances), then the next with not even half as many kudos is No other version of me I'd rather be tonight (Larry famous/non-famous AU), then a fic called First Sons and Superheros (Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four meets troubled gay president's son TJ from Political Animals), and then Cross the Line which was just a silly little MCU RPF get together fic but yeah, everything MCU related went HARD back in the day.

Everything and many others found here.

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

Always!! It sometimes takes me a while but I never ever leave comments without a response over - if you see them, I just haven't gotten around to them yet. I think it's only fair - if people take their time to leave comments, I should show just as much appreciation back by responding. (That's why I don't comment on fics where I see lots of comments that have never been responded to because I just think it's rude.)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh man that's got to be the Silmarillion stories. Nightfall ending with murder and the dying of the Light (of the Trees), Shards that goes to incredibly dark places (but all the stories in that series aren't happy).

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

Probably Ever a surprise / Ever as before where DNF literally life in a fairytale and get a fairytale ending. :D (Taizi and I did our best. <3)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really. I remember once in an MCU Steve/Bucky fic there was a big discussion going on in the comments about an aspect of therapy in the story, but that was the height of it. It never went into hate territory.

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

Oh absolutely. XD Not sure I understand the question though, what kind. The sexy kind? Wholesome, sweet, kinky, dark, I've written it all.

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

I have! The crasiest was probably First Sons and Superheroes (mentioned above) that sort of founded a whole new branch of fandom at the time. The premise was good though.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

There have been several requests over the years, yes

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Constantly. XD I think 95% of fics on my account have been co-written. I don't know how to finish stuff by myself.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship

Mae/Fin and Tyelpe/Annatar (Silmarillion), but DNF is up there as well for sure :)

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

The Holiday. It's a Remus/Sirius fic based on the movie and there's only ONE CHAPTER MISSING and I still get comments on it even years later and they're all so sweet and I always feel so bad about it and I wish I could finish it but I'm so out of the headspace. Maybe one day. Not giving up hope.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Worldbuilding. Picking things apart until everything makes sense. Believable character/relationship progression especially in adversary, I'd like to think.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Motivation and drive, for sure. I was never able to write big stories by myself, I always needed someone to do it with. I WISH I could, how cool would that be. But I just get too distracted too fast by other things.

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

I can only write in English. German, I guess, I am a native. XD But I haven't done that in forever and the thought of it just makes me cringe.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Lord of the Rings

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

That's the meanest question. I have so many favourites, DNF ones as well, so many amazing ones that have never even seen the light of day on AO3 for one reason or another. I think overall I am the most proud of all the Silmarillion stories because they all belong in the same universe and span thousands upon thousands of years and so much worldbuilding and progression.

If you want to do this yourself, please feel tagged!! This was loads of fun. :)

[arcadian-vampire]

Do you have an info or art about the other characters involved with Kalamari??? Esp Glass since you mentioned them directly!!! OwO

Okay SO I do have a few things!! Most of these are old and a lil messy/outdated, so I'm really hoping to whip out a bunch of new stuff soon, but!! I'm gonna put everything under a ReadMore link again bc boy I have things to say and none of it is organized or really coherent so good luck (and also I am still shy)

I've got my two protagonists, Iso (I-20) and Aerani--

[These are Old outfit designs, I redesigned them sorta recently but haven't finished a drawing of them, sobs] I first drew Aerani in like, 2016 I think? and Iso followed not long after! Iso is a bunny chimera, so he's got big silly ears, wahoo. Chimeras have identification codes to keep track of like, when they were created, and Iso's is I-20: Chimera Generation I, Specimen Number 20. Aerani gave him the nickname Iso <3

Here was Iso in like. 2017? 2018? idk but it was ages ago. He's changed quite a bit, mostly bc I would Constantly misplace sketchbooks and Constantly forget exactly what things looked like lksad;f

This era of my art was so cute,, I wanna draw hair more like that again tbh

Here's a semi-recent doodle wip of their new outfits, hoorayyy. Don't mind how unfinished it is and my silly notes all over the place. I'm gonna just redraw this at some point bc my art has improved since then aklsdjf;lskdk

Comfy boys!! Iso's clothing is always kinda ill-fitting bc he Hates skintight stuff, and he is gonna lose those cute slouchy boots SO fast bc I'm gonna drop him in the desert. Woe, sand be upon ye

Iso used to live in a mansion w a rich guy that was Kind Of A Dick, until that guy's daughter-- Iso's childhood best friend-- snapped and killed her dad w a fireplace poker. I haven't drawn her yet and honestly How Dare I. I wanna draw her making flower crowns w Iso

I was Nervous about jumping straight into making smth about them, because I feel like I need wayyyy more practice to be able to tell the story I really wanna tell, so I ended up scooping up my dorky purple merchant Kalamari like 'you know what sure, you can be the protagonist of my practice project and it will be Silly As Hell'. I call my main Eventual Goal 'Quote Unquote Quest', so Kalamari's adventure I'm calling 'Quote Unquote Quest Negative One', since it becomes before the main thing! Aerani will be in that practice project as a side character, bc he's Glass's little brother, but Iso won't be

Also, please witness Aerani's pet, a squishy jello-like blob he calls a frog. It is absolutely not a frog. It sits on his head a lot and makes squeaky lil noises

Here's another chimera! She's much older than Iso, from gen F! The only one left from gen F actually. She calls herself Fa, and she doesn't like to talk, she just hangs out by a pond all day to watch the fish

This is OLD so I'm def gonna redraw it soon, but here's one of my antagonists! They by the name Scratch, and they're sort of. the opposite of Kalamari. I have So Much I wanna draw abt them omg,,

While I do like their color palette, I'm gonnadesign one to match. everyone else. The colors I wanna use for this project (that might eventually change ofc) are brown, orange, golden yellow, magenta, a slightly more purple magenta, violet, indigo, and blueee, with Very Dark Blue and Very Light versions of the other colors for lines and junk. Basically Kalamari Colors ft. some extras to spice things up, since my silly littol practice project revolves around her and how he sees the world:

Everything is very saturated of course bc I'm. cannot and will not use desaturated colors. It's kind of like my chunky lineart-- I can try So Hard to make it thin, but that just doesn't look right to me and as I work woopsie everything is thick and I'm dying

AND FINALLY. MESSY SKETCHY WIP OF GAY PEOPLE IN MY ART PROGRAM

Glass and Kalamari!!!!!!! I hadn't drawn Glass yet and I'm crying bc she's turning out so cute. sobs. I was working on this before I realized oh shit yeah the oc tournament is posting Kalamari tomorrow, and I had to stop to go finish up my other art + my oc sideblog bc I wanted that to all be ready to go

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Hello, hope you're doing well! Can you please share some snippets of your latest WIPs. I really miss your works. It's been so long. I hope you're doing fine. Please post something sometime soon. Miss you so much!!!

Omg thank you! I'm very touched.

My life has been very hectic lately, between university, some personal stuff and the elections we'll have in Italy tomorrow for the parliament. I'm very invested in politics and tomorrow there's a very high chance that in Italy we'll end up with the first female prime minister, which would be a good thing if she wasn't a poorly disguised fascist. This thing has been stressing me out a bit.

But anyway, I'll give you a thing I've written that I don't even know if it's a wip. Like it's the end of a scene I had in my head between Ron and Ginny, and I have no idea if I'll ever finish this one-shot and if I do I don't know if this part will remain like this. So just take it as something I've written you might want to read.

In the privacy of his mind, Ron could admit that he had thought a couple of times during the years, in his lowest moments, that maybe he would have been better off if he had never become friends with Harry Potter. In those circumstances, he had been selfish and petty and jealous. Now, while he held his crying sister, it occurred to him how becoming friends with Harry had affected way more people than just himself. And that maybe, Ginny too would've been better off if he had never brought Harry into their home. Sure, Ginny had been infatuated by the legend of the Boy Who Lived, but he knew now, years later, that what had made the difference had been his letters about his first year. He had never met anyone who admired courage mixed with a healthy dose of recklessness more than his sister. It had been there that the damage had been made. His sister broken heart was in good part his fault, and he had no idea how to fix it. For the first time in nearly three years, he was overwhelmed by the urge to punch his best friend. "Ron?" she whispered against his chest, "You and Hermione, you'll go with him, right? You can't let him do it alone," He couldn't see her face, but he knew she was trying to not cry. "Yeah… we'll go with him," he assured her, coming to the sad conclusion that maybe he had nothing to do with it, that maybe in any world, in any version, Ginny would fall in love with Harry if she still managed to love him in this one. He couldn't help but think how unfair it was to be in love with someone who found it so easy to walk away.

[sugarcarnation]

Any Klaine fic recommendations?

I read more wlw pairing fics but Klaine has like 17k on AO3 so I figured I’d try some out

ohh yes i do. this list ended up pretty long so i hope theres something you enjoy

shorter fics (under 10k)

(b)romance by klaineanummel (@klaineanummel)

kurt and blaine meet at a party and become friends. kurt eats 35 diet pudding cups. somewhere along the way they start dating

You Know I'm Waiting For You by readfah_cwen

this one is great because it has blaine being friends with all the girls. and the girls are amazing. also awkward flirting

Until Our Stitching Unravels by AntarcticBird

this one is just fun. it’s about kurt puppet and blaine puppet getting married and what’s not to love about that (you do need an ao3 account to read this one though)

Boop by lovetheblazer

a reaction fic to tested and just a lot of fluff. i’m not even the biggest fan of fluff but i can make an exception for this one

Heresy by mailroomorder

im not actually sure how to describe this one. it’s an au. it’s kinda haunting. it definitely left me wanting to read more. i’d say it’s definitely worth checking out

Welcome Home by justgleekout (@justgleekout)

i love this one. it’s pretty much just kurt picking up blaine from the airport but it’s so adorable and good

longer fics (pretty much everything between 10k and 100k)

The Hating Game by coffeeorder (@coffeeorderwrites)

this fic is so good. enemies to lovers with kurt and blaine (but especially blaine) being oblivious idiots. and it made me permanently feel a lot of emotions over kurt calling blaine cheddar so theres that as well

id say check out all of her other fics as well but especially Warbler's Lonely Hearts Radio Show which is currently still a WIP but amazing and hilarious and definitely worth checking out

now I know my ABCs (next time won't you sing with me) by villiageidiot

all the tropes. literally all the tropes. it’s a collection of aus and all of them are amazing

Don’t Do It by BeautifulUnseen

kurt is an idiot. that’s the fic. he works for a letter-writing service and pretends to be the guy blaine is dating. his only job is to not be caught and to not fall in love with blaine. things don’t go according to plan

Pride & Prejudice & Superheroes by a_simple_rainbow

blaine develops superpowers. he also really can’t stand kurt. the feeling is mutual. somehow they work it out in the end

eighteen going on extinct by klaineanummel (@klaineanummel)

this is basically a mamma mia au. kurt is quinn’s child and wants to find out who his father is. blaine is the new transfer student. it might not sound like it from just this description but this fic is kinda dark sometimes so i’d encourage you to read the tags

Sum-verse by flaming_muse

im just gonna rec all the flaming_muse fics here. but this one is especially cute in my opinion. it’s canon compliant and covers a lot of the missing klaine moments between original song and the end of season 2

Friends in Low Places by Esperanto (@esperantoauthor)

blaine is a bad boy (or at least something resembling a bad boy). kurt meets him in a dumpster. and if that premise alone isn’t enough to convince you there is also a podfic version available (even if the podfic isn’t finished yet)

Sing to me Instead by heartsmadeofbooks (@heartsmadeofbooks)

another author where i encourage you to check out all of her works. but i chose this one because roommates au. with a lot of drama and a lot of slowburn. it’s really good

the really long fics (over 100k)

Near Misses by flaming_muse

another flaming_muse fic because i love this one so so much. it’s an au in which kurt and blaine never met in high school. now they’re going to the same college and almost immediately get off the wrong foot after they hook up at a party. this fic is basically a lot of miscommunication but i can’t stress enough how good it is

All The Other Ghosts and it’s sequel Grey by rainjoy (i linked the posts where you can find the pdf and epub versions of these fics but here is also the podfic of All The Other Ghosts)

atog is a classic and im pretty sure that most people can agree that it’s amazing. it’s a superhero au and i don’t even normally care that much for superhero aus but this fic is still one of the best things i’ve ever read. basically kurt is the ghost of new york. blaine is a fanboy who also has some powers of his own. they meet and everything starts to escalate from there (fair warning this fic gets really dark)

Hell & High Water by mmerainbows

full disclosure i haven’t finished this one yet but i read the first half and i remember it being very good and i definitely plan on rereading and finishing this fic. it’s a dystopian au in which the world has been taken over by the others. kurt is just trying to survive but then blaine shows up and things get complicated

[khaleesiofalicante]

DANI HELLO!!!!!!! How you doing babes!!! 🌻🍓

First of all, now I get why you kept on writing 70 more parts to lbaf cause finishing fics is so sad. I keep getting the urge to add more chapters to the ATW fic even though its finished and I currently have 10 WIPS lol.

Anyways, I had my day off today, so I decided to catch up on the last 3 chapters of TLND, which was a horrible decision like always. I have the big sad now I won't be able to get shit done today.

TLND Magnus is becoming my fav. There is something so soft and vulnerable about him. He feels so real and not idealised. And sure, I would like him to communicate better, but that’s easier said than done. Age doesn’t make people wiser or smarter, and stuff like communication issues aren’t something that is resolved easily. I love it when people in their 30’s and 40’s are shown with real problems and issues. He reminds me of Magnus in Peru chapter in TBC.

I read the mansion chapter and then the last one where Clary mentions that thing about being married to a Lightwood. And it’s such a hard-hitting statement. It’s such a common sentiment where people expect partners/spouses to put up with whatever shit life throws at them. Which usually comes from the idea of ‘sacrificing’ in the name of love. Like Magnus clearly went to horrible shit throughout their marriage (I’m specifically talking about outside pressure rn and not their personal issues). Magnus probably got so much shit from the media, and now that he is putting himself first, he is getting more shit. Because people just expect you to sacrifice your whole life, mental health, and every shred of sanity because you love the other person, which is absolutely crazy. It’s not realistic and is always used as an argument against the person with less power for being selfish. It’s very common in military spouses, families where one partner has to reallocate frequently. And any other relationship with power dynamics and is a very harmful idea. So I am glad that Magnus got the divorce (*sobs while typing this*).

Someone needs to protecc Rafael that boy shouldn’t have to deal with all of this. He seems like the kind of person who calls everyone out not because he wants to but because he has to. Peak eldest child syndrome identified. Also, I have a 10 step skincare routine, and I deeply respect Rafael for it. Skincare is actually a very calming experience. 10/10 recommend.

I love Magnus. He’s baby. And he clearly doesn’t know what he wants in this fic which is fine because who even knows what they want lmao. But him taking Rafael to another continent seems unfair to me- specially considering how that would impact Max. Max already feels abandoned as it is; imagine Magnus leaving the country. And I’m thinking how he must be feeling knowing Magnus didn’t go only because of Rafael (idk if Max knew about the London thing or not)- also Magnus saying “oh but Max is allowed to join me if he wants” is also a stupid statement imo like babes, your child thinks you are leaving him. He can’t be a footnote in your London plan, even if it’s temporary. (+ I feel like Alec and Rafael made some stupid deal with each other when they went to talk in the room, they are both sacrifical idiots when it comes to Magnus)

I give more flying fucks about the wet food that people leave in the sink than Shinyun.

The raisin thing made me fucking sob. I fucking hate raisins man and if I ever find someone who eats raisins for me RIP to Magnus Babe but I would simply not divorce them.

P.S. I once again repeat- I am fine with Malec divorce but MAVID ANGST is where I draw the line!!!!!

Alec after seeing Herondale-Fairchilds being happy and normal-

okaybye 💚

EESHU! HELLO!

I hope your week is kind to you. *holds up knife* It better be kind to you.

About the writing. Absolutely! It's so hard to let go once you've immersed yourself. Now you feel me :(

Someone once asked me which version of my fic magnus I like the most. At this time, I haven't even begun to write TLND or have the plot sorted. But I remember replying that it's TLND.

Because you are right. He is different.

He is very much the Magnus we see in TBC. The Magnus we see in TID. The Magnus who is still learning how to be an immortal. The Magnus who is better at hiding and hurting than he is at laughing and loving.

I've always thought what it would be like if Alec met that version of Magnus. Magnus who is like 20. Not 400. Their dynamics would be so different. I do think they will end up together and figure out their shit because come on it's malec.

But yeah. I love this magnus so much too. He is very close to my heart.

And about the mavid angst. Apologies in advance, I guess? 💚

[jrojoyce]

Fic Writer Tag Game

Tagged by @esther-dot. Thank you!

How many works do you have on AO3? 9

What’s your total AO3 word count? 423,039 - clearly the one shot is not my specialty......

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Just Jonsa

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Copper Queen - Set in the American Old West  

Fresh from their discharge from the army, Jon Snow and his friend, Samwell Tarly, arrive in the small mining town of Copper Canyon, Arizona in hopes of building their future. Unbeknownst to Sam, Jon has picked this location for a specific personal reason. Will his choice lead them to a bright future or will their future evaporate like water in the desert? Sansa Stark had lived in Copper Canyon for over half her life. She and her sister, Arya, are all that remain of their once large family. In the old west rumor and gossip can quickly become legend. And if you believe the legends of Copper Canyon, than you know the Starks carry a curse. A curse placed on them by a man who still styles himself as their friend and protector. Will a chance meeting with the town's newest arrival be enough to break that curse?

I’ll Lead You Home - Modern American setting. Road Trip.

Following a family tragedy, circumstances threaten to suffocate Sansa Stark in her hometown. When her ex boyfriend Jon Snow offers her a chance to escape she takes it. So the exes set out on a cross country road trip that will set the stage for the next chapter in their lives. But will the road lead them back together or will the secrets of Jon's past tear them apart forever?

In the Shadow of the Flames - Set in Europe during World War Two

In the early months of World War II Sansa and Arya are sent to live with their Aunt Lysa in the Channel Islands to help her keep the Tully family farm. In the face of Nazi occupation they work to protect each other, their home and family, and eventually a downed pilot by the name of Jon Snow from forces (German commander Ramsay Bolton and collaborator Petyr Baelish) that are determined to possess and destroy them.

The Justice of Vengeance - Set in a version of 1920/30s America but Westeros

If you had asked Jon when he was a young boy what kind of life he would lead, he never would have guessed it would be this one. He doubted anyone else would have guessed it either. Because anyone with half a mind would never think that a bastard boy from one of the poorest neighborhoods in the north would someday grow up to be the head of one of the most powerful criminal outfits in Westeros.

Sheets of Shattered Memory - this was my first fic and sometimes I re-read it and cringe......

Years of misunderstandings have kept Jon and Sansa apart. Robb's wedding to Margaery provides the back drop for them to reconnect and overcome the past.

Story shifts back and forth between past and present timelines.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? I try my best, but I’ve been on a sorta hiatus since 2019, so its hit or miss since then. When I am actively writing and posting though I am much better about it and try to respond to all comments. Interaction and feedback from readers is a great motivator and I love the sense of community that comes from the back and forth. 

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Hmm, I don’t know about angst, but my least happiest ending is In the Shadow of the Flames. 

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written? Nope

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yes, but it was so nonsensical that I just ignored it. 

Do you write smut? If so what kind? Sure do, but I always get anxiety posting it. It can get graphic so that’s probably the reason.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I am aware of. Probably because they are so long no one wants to bother. LOL

Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

What’s your all time favorite ship? Jonsa! There are just so many fabulous people in this fandom.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Ugh. So there is a fic I started in 2017 that is the bane of my existence. The working title is Snowbound. Its inspired by the history of the Stanley Hotel in Colorado and has to deal with a blizzard as well. I have written the most ridiculous amount of back story for it. In fact I have a fic I posted last year that is part of the back story. I keep going back to that story and working on it here and there but keep stalling out in the same part about 30,000 words in. It’ll never see the light of day.................    

What are your writing strengths? I would say dialogue. My fics play out heavily in dialogue.

What are your writing weaknesses? Back story, in the fact that I seem to have a ridiculous amount in my fics. I don’t know why, its like I can’t write a story without having an entire pre story worked in. 

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I don’t do it a lot really so never really thought about it.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Jonsa/GoT

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? In the Shadow of the Flames. That story spans years and is mostly linear. I picture that one like a movie more than any of the others and is the one I re-read the most.

I’m not tagging anyone else since I am typically always last to the party on these things and rather sure everyone else has already done it. But if you haven’t and feel so inclined, please do.

[pappydaddy]

Heather (j.m.)

A/N: I guess I’m back? I never really left, I was just kinda without internet and then I just completely lost all concept of time. Like I am not kidding, I have no idea what day it is. But anyway, I am working on my Steve Harrington series and trying to get the third part out soon and I have a bunch of ideas for imagines so I am going to be working on those, trying to get those out as soon as possible. This piece is inspired by sad bitch hours bc I like listening to sad songs even if I’m not sad?? So, this is inspired by Heather by Conan Gray. I also love writing sad angst after long breaks for some reason. ANYWAY, enjoy and check out the song bc Conan Gray is amazing. 

Show/Movie: Outer Banks

Pairing: JJ Maybank x Reader 

Warnings: Sad, angst, longing, negative thoughts about oneself (appearance, personality, etc), comparing to other people, jealousy, unspoken feelings

I think I’m going to do a part two, maybe even a part three, idk, we’ll see!

Link to an edited youtube video of this song (I used this one to write with)

Link to Spotify version of this song 

Part One - You’re here! | Part Two

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -

  The cool ocean breeze blew past her as she sat on a piece of driftwood, the sound of waves lapping up onto the wet sand inches away from her bare feet calmed her. The beginnings of a party stirred the peaceful silence up behind her, disrupting the calm the ocean set. Her friends were up by the bonfire they started, talking and laughing about something. Y/N was torn. She didn’t know if she was sad to be missing out on the fun or if she was glad she didn’t need to plaster on her fake smile she usually had to wear around her. The newest addition to their small, tight-knit group. Normally, one of the boy’s flings wouldn’t affect her like this, but when it’s the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy bringing them around, she couldn’t help but feel her heart-breaking each time. 

  She had tried to deny her feeling for a long time, mostly because she knew that he’d never get into a serious relationship, it was just the way JJ was; the second reason was because of the rule: no Pogue on Pogue macking. Of course, the rule was able to give her a reason to keep her feelings a secret from everyone, but it was also what made her hurt so much. If she could just tell someone about her feelings, she’d be able to sit up there by the warm fire with her friends, laughing and joking with them. Instead, she kept her mouth shut about her feelings and she distanced herself from them whenever she was there. 

  Y/N hugged herself, wrapping herself up in warmth. The thin sweater she wore didn’t do much against the fall wind attacking her along with the breeze blowing off the ocean. Nights were colder, the summer humidity disappearing quickly, but it didn’t stop the teens from partying into the night. Glancing over her shoulder, she snuck a glance at her friends. Her eyes, without fail, went right to JJ. His arm was slung around her, his beautiful smile on his face, his adam’s apple bouncing as he retold an embarrassing story about John B who laughed loudly. She was sitting just far enough away that she couldn’t hear the words they were saying, but she could hear their barking laughter. 

  She watched them, she was beautiful. She was Heather. The new girl. Y/N had nothing against her other than the fact that she had JJ, even if it was going to be over with by the end of this month. JJ never stuck around relationships for too long, but it didn’t mean they hurt Y/N any less. How could Y/N compete with her? Her long black hair blowing in the wind as if she was out of a movie, her striking blue eyes, her perfectly freckled face that looked like an Instagram filter. Y/N would never be as pretty as Heather in her mind. 

  Y/N’s laid-back, hippie/surfer attitude was no match for Heather, nor were her looks. Heather was beautiful inside out. While the casing looked like she was scalped by the Greek Goddesses, her personality was like she was filled with sunshine and rainbows. No matter when you saw her, she always had a kind smile. She was perfect: smart, kind, popular, pretty. It was as if is was impossible to hate her. She was too kind to. 

  Standing from her piece of driftwood, Y/N decided that she wasn’t in the mood to be at a party. Grabbing her shoes from the sand by her feet, she made her way along the water, not wanting to walk past her friends and have to answer questions. She didn’t want to spare a glance in Heather’s direction, not wanting to see JJ’s sweater on her. The same sweater he gave her last December. 

  Shivers ran up her spine as they all laid in the hammocks at The Chateau. While it was winter, they still decided to go out and stargaze after smoking the blunt JJ had just rolled. In their stoned haste to stare at the stars, Y/N had forgotten to bring a sweater or even a blanket, leaving her shivering in the hammock she shared with JJ since he broke his a few days ago. 

  JJ, having noticed her shivering since she was shaking the hammock - making its swing choppy, sat up. “Here,” He sat up, making her look up at him curiously. While they were slightly buzzed, they were still able to think since they were used to the stuff JJ gets. “Take my sweater, you’re freezing.” He told her, forcing her to sit up and put his sweater on. The dark fabric (while thin) warmed her perfectly but she wasn’t sure if it was because it came off of JJ’s body or if she was just that cold.

  “No, JJ, I can’t, you’ll get cold!” She protested, moving to take it off and give it back, but JJ stopped her, zipping it up to make it harder for her to get off. 

  “You’ve got to now, it looks much better on you and it’ll just be embarrassing if I wore it after you did,” He winked, settling back down, his hands clasped behind his head, his elbows sticking out, blocking where her head was supposed to go. “Plus, since I don’t have a sweater, it just means I need you to cuddle me to keep me warm now.” He smirked, his eyes staying on the stars. With a blush heating her face, Y/N laid back, her head resting on his chest, her arm resting over his stomach.

  It was just polyester, but it made her think that there was just a slightest bit of hope that maybe he liked her back. She liked to replay that day over in her head, her mind creating a figment of her imagination - a fictional ending where they ended up together, but since Heather showed up, she stomped all over it with her angel feet, but in the nicest way possible. 

  Sand kicked up on the backs of her heels, sliding off easily as she walked along the beach. She wondered if anyone noticed that she left, if JJ noticed she left. She doubted it, they were all mesmerized by Heather and her amazing personality while Y/N was off drowning in her own vast ocean of sadness. Looking behind her, she could faintly make the group out, spotting the crackling fire spitting sparks into the sky as started to bleed with fading pinks and oranges. They looked like specks, but she could tell that they were still laughing as if she hadn’t left. Sighing, she made her way up the dune, walking through the cluster of trees and onto the sidewalk, walking against the sea of people making their way towards the party. 

 ____

  She was working the next time she saw them. She was trapped and forced to sit there watching them. Of course, she was inside the restaurant while the couple stood outside on the deck, waiting for Pope and John B. Kiara was inside, finishing her shift up. Y/N’s eye caught on them as she grabbed her table their drinks. They were standing there, deep in conversation, their hands clasped together. She couldn’t take her eyes off them as their lips met in a long kiss. Her mind wondered. Why would he ever want to kiss her after having such a perfect girl in his arms? 

  Y/N wanted to hate her, she really did, but she couldn’t. “Y/N, you’re spilling the water everywhere,” Her co-worker exclaimed, jumping towards her with a dry dishtowel, sopping up the mess. She jolted in shock, his voice snapping her out of her daze. “Your clothes are soaked.” He fussed, trying to help dry her hand. Her eyes glanced back up from the mess at the deck entrance dinging, alerting them of someone entering. The group walked in, JJ and Heather in the back of John B and Pope. 

  “Hi, Y/N! Where is your section?” John B called out, wanting to be served by his friend as an excuse to see her since he hadn’t talked to her in a while. 

  “Sorry, John B, I’ll have to take your table so she can get cleaned up, next time.” Her co-worker told them, getting another dry towel to try and help her dry her clothes so she wasn’t dripping everywhere. John B pressed his lips together into a line, nodding with disappointment. 

  “Thanks, Jack,” John B nodded his chin in Jack’s direction. “Maybe we’ll talk before we leave, Y/N.” She looked back up from her shirt, nodding. Her eyes caught on JJ, their eyes connecting as Heather talked to Kie (who had just came out of the back), not noticing. It certainly was a sight for sore eyes, JJ’s eyes were, but it was gone as fast as it came. 

  “That should be good, Y/N,” Jack brought her back, making their eyes connect. His eyes were just a gorgeous as JJ’s, but they didn’t take her breath away like JJ’s did. He smiled at her, his eyes sparkling with happiness. His smile was show-stopping, but it didn’t effect her like JJ’s did. “You should go get changed, I’ll take these to the table for you, table four, right?” 

  “Yeah, thanks Jack, I owe you one.” She called to him, disappearing into the back, thankful that she always brought a change of clothes and thankful that she didn’t have to serve them. Though, she knew that she shift was going to be mostly trying not to even look towards their table, she was happy she didn’t have to go through standing at their table, working even harder at her fake smile so she didn’t show them that she was dying inside while she felt like she wanted to rip her feet off because they were so sore. 

 ____

  It was at school, she had seen the whole thing. Lost in the crowd, she stood there watching as Heather weeped. She could tell that JJ was embarrassed, he had tried to do it quickly and in private, but Heather’s load sobs and gasps drew the first few people then they drew the rest of the crowd. Even with a mixture of tears and makeup rolling down her perfect skin, Heather was the figure of beauty. Now, Y/N was certain - she’d never stand a chance with JJ Maybank, even after he broke up with Heather, for Y/N wasn’t half as pretty as her. 

  Heather pushed through the crowd, trying to get away from JJ. She pushed between Y/N and Jack, who stood beside her, his books hanging by his hip, Y/N’s books in his other hand. “Poor Heather, poor JJ. He actually looks like he tried to break up nicely this time. He must have cared for her at least a little.” He commented, observing the blonde boy while the group dispersed, giving him a perfect view of the two. 

  “Who wouldn’t care for her, she’s an angel.” Y/N muttered, her eyes connecting with JJ’s. A sympathetic smile stretched onto her face, feeling sorry for him. Their eyes never separated, the two of them standing still, just absorbed in their eye contact. 

  “Come on, Y/N, let’s go. We can’t be late for our shift.” Jack told her, forcing her to break away from JJ’s eyes. She looked up at him, nodding before turning and walking the short distance to his pick-up, climbing in. Jack tossed their books in the bed, along with their bags, slipping onto the bench seat next to her. Turning to gaze out the window, she saw JJ staring at her, still standing in the same spot. Their eyes connected once again in a fleeting moment before Jack slowly pulled out of the spot, exiting the nearly empty parking lot. 

[platanchorsociety]

Writing tag game

20 questions, writing edition

A big thank you to @acenancy for tagging me. It means so much to be thought of.

How many works do you have on AO3?

7

What’s your total AO3 word count?

43,813

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

On A03, I have written for 3:

Batman - All media types

Nancy Drew (2019)

Hardy Boys (2020)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Definition of List - Batman all media types

Nancy Hudson's Paramour - Nancy Drew (2019)

A painful pull - Nancy Drew (2019)

Previous meetings - Nancy Drew (2019)

The Board Game bets - Nancy Drew (2019)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I started too but then I wasn't sure if people enjoyed it so stopped. Comments mean so much to me and I am so thankful for all of them. I need to start responding again.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Angstiest ending? I can't write angst endings. Pool party for two, I guess, just because Ace and Nancy don't immediately get to spring into each others arms. But even then that's a pretty hopeful ending.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Nancy Hudson's Paramour. Everyone is safe. Everyone is happy. Nace is happening. What more could you want?

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Not really. I only really dabble in 'cross overs' that I would argue exist in the same universe anyway, like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully no. I am willing to accept constructive criticism though.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I don't write smut I am afraid. People kiss in my fics. They occasionally make innuendos. They even more rarely wake up side by side but I don't write then doing their business. I don't think I would be any good at it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Never

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Long before my A03 days, yes.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh man, there are so many good ships. Nace though. Its just written so well.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

An epic (as in super long) continuation of Pool party for two which retells some of the events of season 1 as a version of Nancy who has been raised by the Hudsons falls in love with Ace and realises the terrible things her family does.

The sheer scale of it is daunting enough.

What are your writing strengths?

I have been reliably informed in comments that it is action/fight scenes.

(There is a fight scene toward the finale of A painful pull which I need to plan out but I am procrastinating on it because it needs to be perfect but I can't say any more because spoilers)

What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I struggle to not repeat myself a lot. I feel like I keep going over the same points in a story.

Also confidence in my ideas. It keeps me from working on WIP I should be working on and also keeps me from taking a story as far as I would have done in my head.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I feel like sometimes it is more meaningful to have a character speaking in their first language. But I am terrible with languages so try my hardest not to include it because I don't want to offend.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Young Justice. That was coming up ten years ago now and has long ago been lost. It was also terrible!!

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I really love A painful pull. It terrifies me that people aren't going to like the direction it is heading in but I absolutely love the topics I get to explore and the scenes I get to write. Sometimes I just want to explode and tell everyone the plot but I can't. Big things are coming though. I promise.

Tagging: @izzielizzie @the-magnificunt @winterlovesong1 @naceydrew @naceisonthecase

And you know, if anyone else wants to do it, consider yourself tagged. Sorry if I tagged anyone who has already been tagged or doesn't enjoy these things.

[beyond-far-horizons]

hey, so enemies to lovers is my favorite troupe as well, but why its so difficult to find something good with this troupe?? latelly i am getting very disappointed with anything that says enemies to lovers, so do you have any recommendations, like books, fanfics, games? i am down for anything that has drama and good writing

WORD!

Okay I have very little time as I’m on a busy MA course but briefly - 

I think the reason this trope is done badly is that it’s hard to get right. Also people’s mileage varies  - we see this across fandoms all the time with what is seen ‘problematic’ and policed etc. That’s part of a much wider conversation. For me I just wish people had a more nuanced understanding a) that stories can influence society sociologically esp if the trends in the words of Pop Culture Detective as ‘pervasive and unquestioned’, but also b) many people know how to separate real life from fiction and not only is it great escapism to experience a range of different things, I’d argue in some ways to some folks it could be vital archetypally. In other words, I wish we could be a bit more forgiving of other POVs and more appreciating that what works for some doesn’t work for others in terms of enjoying Enemies to Lovers and villain-shipping specifically. For myself I adore a good Sexy Bad Guy, but in RL if I had a dude want to kidnap me and act that way without my consent I’d be like ‘f-off mate’ LOL.

 But I digress...

Hard to recommend without knowing what fandoms/media you are into and what versions of Enemies to Lovers you like (sadly I don’t have time to go through this even though I’d love to). Enemies to Lovers can be two basically good people on different sides of a fight or it could be shipping the altruistic protag with the (sexy) villain. Is it slash or heterosexual? I think I saw you weren’t a fan of love triangles which is another major potential element of this dynamic.

I like a lot of different versions of this trope but one of the major things I personally enjoy is an empowered altruistic heroine with agency in a pairing with a Sexy Bad Guy, esp if there is also a Sexy Good Guy who is his rival/frenemy. Now I know you said you don’t like love triangles but to me it depends how it’s written. For me I hate the YA ‘boring best friend’ vs ‘douche bad boy’ with bland heroine defining her identity between them, instead of being on a journey of discovery about herself and her world which the love drama aids in. It’s also about how these things get resolved as well. For me several things I really enjoy is a) sexual tension between heroine and villain b) cat and mouse games whether via fights/chases/political intrigue or all of the above c)philosophical conversations about the nature of life and humanity - I need my heroine/hero to CHALLENGE the villain AND vice versa. I want them both to grow and develop as a consequence. d) I want BOTH sides to be tempted by the other and there to be major angst but the tension remains because both sides are strong characters with deep convictions - I loathe a heroine for example that just excuses her villain’s actions because he’s hot or he’s changed (without reflection or atonement) or something. I also nowadays don’t really enjoy the ‘I need you to make me into a better person’ - nah mate do that yourself - she/he can inspire you but it needs to come from within (I love this about Zuko from ATLA  - he never needs Katara in this way although she clearly inspires him.) I need more than superficial stuff, I need deep reasons and emotional developments to justify their growing connection. THAT’S what’s interesting to me. Or if it is just the villain’s charisma I want to see the heroine deeply conflicted about that because it clashes with her powerful sense of self.  This is why slow burn is also key for me (also great opportunities for UST and angst hehe). Unless of course you are just looking straight for some X rated stuff which...fair play...most of us have done it. 

I’m not sure what you are looking in the trope but as for suggestions for the above dynamic some of the best fanfics I’ve ever read are ‘World Under Siege’ by @nofearofwaves (Loki and Jane Foster in Thor/MCU - slow burn - goes on to its sequel, canonverse set from the end of Thor/Avengers) and ‘The Cave’ by ‘Masksarehot’  -(Amon and Korra from Legend of Korra - fantastic conversations and very hot without being too porny.)

I also attempt to write a lot of Enemies to Lovers or containing that theme in some way. Fandoms - Naruto, One Piece, ASOIAF, DMC, ATLA, Harry Potter (my only slash pairing is young Dumbledore and Grindlevald but that is more friends/lovers as its the beginning of their connection) and Yu-gi-oh. 

https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4317571/Girl-of-Blue-Fire

Some are finished, some are WIPs , some contain the fore-mentioned love triangles, some don’t. Obviously my best works are the later ones so you could check that out if you want and look at my faves??

Lastly in terms of some good canon stuff...like we’ve said it’s rare but I’ve heard good things about Children of Blood and Bone (i have it to read) whose canon enemies to lovers theme was inspired by Zutara in ATLA. Zutara also has some fantastic works but the canon story unfortunately short changed itself IMO. If I think of anything else I will add it...

Hope that helps and good luck!

Ps I’m also writing a TON of original SFF fiction centring on this theme - my latest has...wow...about 4/5 canon enemies to lovers pairings ( hetero, slash and fem!slash) with huge amounts of fanon potential so hopefully one day we will have more.

[hookedonapirate]

Figure of Speech

Summary: Killian has been in love with Emma Swan ever since he was eleven and she was his babysitter. The last time he saw her was the day he kissed her, thinking they were having a special moment… right before she headed off to college with her boyfriend.

When their paths cross years later, he’s just happy she remembers him—because while he’s a talented, free-spirited journalist who takes risks and has a knack for finding trouble, Emma is an accomplished and sophisticated politician who’s planning to run for President of the United States. 

Sensing Killian Jones—the boy who once knew her and supported her long before she entered the soul-sucking world of politics—is the key to unlocking a part of herself that’s been dormant for so long, she hires him as her speechwriter. As she travels the world to launch her 2020 presidential campaign, he is by her side, helping Emma find her voice again. 

The attraction between them sizzles, but when they eventually give into it, will their relationship withstand the demands of the election and scrutiny of the public?

A/N: Thank you @ultraluckycatnd​ for beta reading and @onceuponaprincessworld​ for your help with this! Thank you @captainswanmoviemarathon​ for starting the event and everyone on discord for all your help!

Before you read, there are a few things I want to clarify.

First off, this story is heavily based on the movie, Long Shot, for the Captain Swan Movie Marathon, with some elements of OUAT weaved in. What I’m referring to mainly is that the president in this fic is in no way based on President Trump. In other words, I am not using this fic to bash the current U.S. president in any shape or form, or any other real-life president. So if you plan on going into this with that mindset, I beg you to hit the back button right now. This story in no way reflects my opinions or views, I mainly stuck to the plot of the movie.

Secondly, I hope that I have made it perfectly clear in the beginning scene of this chapter that Killian is not actually a white supremacist, he is only going undercover to get his story. Nor is he Jewish like Fred Flarsky is in the movie. He’s the Killian we all know and love. So please don’t send me hate messages accusing me of either being a racist or writing Killian as one. I was very torn whether to include this scene or not but I feel it is relevant to the plot and shows Killian’s character in this story as very passionate about what he believes in and is a big risktaker when getting his point across, so I decided to keep it.

Third of all, I know some of you are sick of hearing about politics, especially since the U.S. election is so close. But this is not a political movie, it’s a romance. There is of course some talk of politics, but I’ve tried my best to keep it to a minimum. So if you’re worried about that, please don’t be. The movie genre is a romantic comedy.

Writing this fic was a huge wake-up call for me because it’s the first one in a while that I’m not proud of, for lack of a better word, because I have not been able to spend much time on it. I have so many wips in my docs it’s not even funny and I think that has really impacted how this chapter turned out. But because of this fic, I decided to take some time and work on finishing some of my wips before posting them, with the exception of this one because today is my posting date.

With that said, because I’ve been pushing myself to finish my wips, I finished writing my first original novel after working on it for two years, and I will be publishing it soon. So be sure to look out for Follow My Lead, a romance about a former ballerina and a gym owner.

Okay, now I am done with my rant, so please enjoy!

AO3 FF.N

Rated: M

2018

“So you guys are fairly active on social media, right?” 

“Yeah,” Jaxon answers absentmindedly, his eyes focused on the cue ball as he lines up the shot.

“How many times a day would you say you Tweet on average?” 

Jaxon taps the ball, sends it into its pocket, and high-fives Marcus, ignoring the question.

“Hey Rogers, ready to get a Swastika tattoo?!” Richard calls from the other room as the tattoo artist is finishing up with him.

“No, that’s okay, I’m cool,” Killian replies nonchalantly through the large lump in his throat, glad his British accent didn’t leak out as he takes his turn.

“Oh, come on, man, we’ve all got ‘em!”

Killian gulps and looks around the room, all the members pulling up their shirts to show their tattoos on the left side of their chest. He was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but he can sense Jaxon is already suspicious of his motives. He forces a small smile, pointing to himself with his free hand as he holds up the cue stick in the other one. “You want me to get a swastika tattoo?”

“Yeah!” the group chants in unison.

“Then I’ll get a swastika tattoo,” he agrees submissively, hoping the anxiety he feels isn’t clear in his voice. He removes his leather jacket, or rather the jacket he borrowed from Victor, depositing it in a chair before he walks into the adjacent room where the tattoo artist is waiting for him. He sits in the parlor chair, his stomach twisted in knots as he chooses his left bicep for the tattoo and cringes at the thought of getting it. He’s never gotten a tattoo before, and not only is he afraid of needles, but his beliefs don’t at all resemble anything a swastika symbol resembles. Tattoos are removable, though, right? 

When the needle pierces his skin, he pinches his eyelids shut and yelps, “Blo-ooooody he-eeeell!” He realizes his mistake immediately when the words screech out in his thick, British accent. Plus, bloody hell isn’t exactly an American phrase. 

He’s praying no one noticed, because if they did, they would know he’s lying about who he claims to be, but when he flips his eyelids open, everyone’s staring at him.

Fuck.

Jaxon, the leader of the group, enters the room with Killian’s jacket in one hand and wallet in the other, raising it for everyone to see Killian’s driver’s license. His heart flitters with panic. “Look at this. He’s been lying to us. His name isn’t John Rogers,” Jaxon announces angrily. Marcus appears next to him, holding up his laptop. On the screen is the Storybrooke Advocate website with Killian’s profile pic on the page. “It’s Killian Jones. He works for the Storybrooke Advocate! He’s a fucking journalist!”

“Wait, wait, wait, I can explain!” Killian pleads, raising his hands in surrender. 

The members circle him like sharks, and everything becomes a blur as they yank him from the chair and slam him against a table. 

“What are you doing, trying to fucking embarrass us, huh?!” Jaxon screams at him. “Who sent you?!”

“No one sent me!” Killian claims adamantly, fear and pain crippling him as he tries to think his way out of this. “I was just…”

Before he can finish his sentence, Marcus reaches into Killian’s jeans pocket as the others hold him down, and pulls out his phone. Which is currently recording everything. “He’s been recording us this entire time!”

Jaxon’s face is red with anger, steam practically emitting from his ears as he grits his teeth and fists Killian’s shirt in a vice-like grip, pulling him so close that Killian smells his wretched breath. “You infiltrated our group! You’re gonna fucking die!”

They say your life flashes before your eyes during your very last moments. They say it’s like reliving every moment that’s ever stuck with you—every moment that’s ever made an impression on you. Killian always thought when he was finally shuffled off to sleep with the fishes, his life would appear in sequence or at least in random order, featuring all the people who have played a vital role in his life—his parents, his brother, his best friend—but he never thought one person would stick in his mind. He never thought all the images flashing before his eyes would be of one person and one person only.  

The woman he’s been in love with since he was eleven years old.

Killian remembers when he first fell in love with her like it were yesterday. Or at least an eleven-year-old boy’s version of love. He remembers the song, It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday by Boyz II Men, was playing on the boombox. He remembers what day it was, what he was wearing and the fuzzy feeling in his chest. He remembers thinking about one of his favorite movies, The Sandlot, how Squints tricked the lifeguard, Wendy Peffercorn, into kissing him and how she eventually married him even though she was older and way out of his league. 

Back then, a three or four year age gap seemed like a huge deal, but maybe because he was so young and she was… well she was so grown up and mature and very beautiful for her age. Not Wendy Peffercorn. Well, he supposes Wendy was too, but Killian had his real-life version of the movie character. His version of her was also blonde. She may not have been a lifeguard, but she was his next-door neighbor and also his babysitter ever since his brother left to join the Navy. Killian’s bedroom had an excellent view of her backyard and he would occasionally watch her sunbathing by the pool as she listened to music on her headphones or read a book in her bikini. Not only did she have a beautiful body, but she was wicked smart. She was passionate about the environment and the things she cared about. She was super nice to him—which went a long way with him—and had a ridiculously cute, dimpled smile. She was perfect. An angel.

Maybe that’s why, right before his death, she’s the only one he sees.

Before he met her, he never considered kissing a girl, or even liking one for that matter. He thought girls were gross and had cooties. But Emma was no girl. Not even at fifteen. She was a woman. 

Emma Swan was his Wendy Peffercorn.

She still is. Even as he’s being threatened by a group of angry white supremacists. 

She’s all he sees.

“Did you know that every year, the school throws away over five hundred tons of recyclable garbage? And no one cares!”

“Aye, it’s rubbish. But how do you get muppets to care about stuff they don’t care about?” 

Emma shrugs. “They’ll just…” She bites her bottom lip, hesitance etching her features, “they’ll just c-care because it’s the right thing to care about.” She may not have all the answers, but she’s the most inspiring person he knows.

He smiles and rests one elbow on the counter, his chin perched in his hand as he admires her passion for the environment. He admires how beautiful she is in simply a snug pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a picture of a buttercup on the front. He admires her waist-length, golden hair, how it glows radiantly in the sunlight cascading through the kitchen window and how it swishes from side to side when she turns around to grab a mitt and pull the pizza out of the oven. Delicious aromas of crisp, baked bread, melted mozzarella cheese and sweet tomato sauce waft through the kitchen, making his stomach growl. Licking his lips, he jumps off the stool and heads over to grab a slice from the pan.

She gently swats his hand away. “Don’t touch, kid, you’ll burn yourself. Let it cool, first.”

He frowns as he returns to his seat. He hates it when she calls him that. He doesn’t want her to think of him as a kid; he’s almost a teenager! Heeding her warning, he does his best to resist the temptation of getting up again and grabbing a slice, even though the gooey, golden cheese, colorful toppings and toasted crust look amazing. Instead, he places the hand she’d touched on his cheek. He never wants to wash his hand or his cheek ever again.

Emma continues the speech she’d prepared for her Student Council election. She’s running for president, and he is not only her biggest supporter, but he also came up with her campaign slogan, ‘Stay calm and vote for Swan’. He was quite proud of himself when she actually thought it was clever enough to use.

“I would definitely vote for you, Swan.”

“Thanks, Killy,” she says, ruffling a hand through his hair.

Now that’s a better nickname. Though he hates when his brother calls him Killy, he never minds when Emma does. 

Once the pizza is cool enough to eat, Emma returns to the oven, using a pizza cutter on the pie. She plates two big slices, one for each of them, and brings them to the counter, sitting next to him. They eat their pizza in silence at first, besides the yummy food noises they make.

“Thanks for helping me. I know it’s probably boring hearing my speech over and over again.”

He shakes his head. “Not at all,” he mumbles through a mouth full of pizza. “I’m just happy to help,” he smiles. His hand pauses midair, still holding his half-eaten slice of pizza as he locks eyes with his beautiful babysitter. He wonders if she feels the same way he does, and normally he wouldn’t think it was possible, but the way she’s looking at him right now makes him rethink everything.

She reaches out to him, and he closes his eyes as she caresses his cheek. His heart slams against his chest and he loses all the air from his lungs. And that’s when he knows he’s totally and completely in love. Her hand feels so wonderfully warm, he wants to spend the rest of his life feeling her touch and immediately gets a chill when she pulls her hand away. 

“All better.”

His eyes flip open to see Emma wiping her hand with a napkin. She looks up at him and smiles. “You had some sauce on your face.”

He chuckles on the outside, but internally he’s berating himself for being foolish enough to think someone like Emma Swan could possibly like him. She’s way too good for him. 

Especially when he’s thirteen and has to wear glasses. As if hitting puberty isn’t bad enough, he also has to sport the most hideous pair of thick-framed glasses. By then, his father said he was too old to have a babysitter, so he didn’t get to see Emma as much. He mowed the Swans’ lawn occasionally, but she was gone most of the time with extracurricular activities and prepping for college. He convinced himself she could never be into someone like him. Someone who was nerdy and awkward and four years her junior. 

Until one day when he’s fourteen and she’s eighteen.

She’s leaving for college and he’s been in his room sulking while listening to It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye for two weeks, not looking forward to her departure. He’s afraid he’ll never see her again. But he’s also happy for her. She’s off to better and greater things, greener pastures as they say. She’s going to Harvard and leaving him in the dust.

He’s on the front porch, sitting on the top step, his chin in his hands and his elbows propped up on his knees as he watches Emma and her parents packing up her things. He wants to offer his assistance, but this seems like a very important bonding moment for the three of them and he doesn’t wish to interrupt. He can tell Mr. and Mrs. Swan are both incredibly sad but also very proud of their daughter, and there are lots of hugs and tears by the time the car is packed. Then Emma says something to her parents and they wave at Killian. He smiles and waves back before they head inside.

Emma walks over to him, and he immediately stands up, making his way down the remaining steps.

“Hey,” she murmurs, smiling at him.

“Hey,” he parrots, offering a small smile. “So, you’re all packed?”

“Yeah, we’re leaving soon.”

Nodding nervously, he scratches behind his ear as he looks away, not sure what to say.

“Look, I’m not a goodbye person, but — ”

“Let’s not say goodbye then,” he suggests and offers his hand. But instead of shaking it, she throws her arms around him. Killian’s stunned, and can’t even move at first, completely paralyzed in her embrace.

Emma’s hugging him.

He slowly molds into her body, his arms wrapping around her waist as she tightens her hold. Her hair smells like strawberries and cream as he buries his face there. He never wants to let her go.

“I’ll miss you, Killian,” she whispers in his ear.

His heart does a little somersault, and he whispers, “Not a day will go by when I won’t think of you.”

He feels her smile against his neck. “Good.”

That one simple word does something to him and he grins into her hair, holding her tighter. 

She breaks the hug long before he’s ready, and he’s still awestruck as she leans in to kiss him.

Bloody hell. 

Emma Swan leans in for a kiss as he springs forward to meet her halfway. Their lips finally connect like they had so many times in his dreams, but he doesn’t fail to miss how surprised she is when a gasp escapes against his mouth. She doesn’t pull away, but he knows he probably should after realizing she was actually going for his cheek. But her lips are so soft and warm and taste like cinnamon and cocoa, and he swears they move ever so slightly against his. He still has his arms around her, pressing her to him, and her center suddenly moves away from him. Forcing himself to break the kiss, he looks down and notices the very prominent and very hard erection tenting his pants.

Fuck.

His cheeks are on fire as he looks up, apology and embarrassment flushing his face. He’s expecting her to either slap him or storm away and never look back, but she stares down at his groin, her mouth agape. 

“Bloody hell, I’m so sorry, love.”

“It’s okay,” Emma squeaks as her eyes snap up to his.

Just then, a ‘69 Ford Mustang pulls up in front of Emma’s house, the music booming through the speakers at an obnoxious volume.

He panics when Emma’s boyfriend gets out of the car and makes his way over to them. Killian forgot Neal was riding with Emma to Harvard, where he was certainly not attending. Neal could only get into a community college.

Killian quickly pulls off the backward baseball cap from his head and uses it to cover his obvious boner. 

“Hey, babe, ready to go?” 

She nods and looks at Killian, a small smile tilting her lips. 

“Bye, four-eyes,” Neal taunts with a condescending sneer as he wraps his arm around Emma’s shoulders.

Really?

Killian bites his tongue as he rolls his eyes. That nickname really gets old. Can’t he think of something more original?

“Don’t call him that,” Emma scolds her boyfriend, swatting his chest. “He has a name.”

“Sorry, I mean Killian,” he says insincerely before turning around and pulling Emma with him.

As Killian watches them walk away, pushing up the bridge of his glasses with his finger, he would give anything to be the one with his arm around Emma, the one leaving with her instead of being the one she leaves. She cranes her neck to look at him as she walks away. He swears she’s looking at him longingly but he’s sure he’s only imagining it. She’s still gazing at him until her parents emerge from the house. Neal doesn’t even have the courtesy to open the door to her parents’ station wagon for her, and instead hurries into the back seat. 

Arsehole, Killian thinks bitterly as he watches the vehicle pull away from the curb. Emma stares at him through the passenger’s window, and their eyes connect. He flashes one last smile and waves. She smiles back at him and presses her palm to the window before she disappears down the road and out of his life, leaving a permanent gaping hole in his heart. 

He always thought not being able to see Emma anymore was the scariest thing he’s ever experienced. But that was before he was inked with part of a swastika tattoo so his cover wouldn’t be blown. That was before he fell from a two-story building and landed in a dumpster. Luckily the trash bags cushioned his fall and didn’t contain any glass or other sharp objects. He hadn’t really thought that through when he jumped. But then again, he didn’t really have time to do anything but run for his life while Marcus and Jaxon were busy trying to figure out how to stop Killian’s phone from recording. Killian took advantage of the distraction and plucked the phone from their hands, sprinting for the nearby window.

His phone.

Killian quickly lifts his hand to see that not only is his phone still in his hand but it’s still intact. He climbs out of the dumpster, his entire body sore, but he lands on his feet. He’d left his leather jacket up there, but it wasn’t even his. Killian doesn’t wear leather jackets, he’s content with his hoodies. He borrowed the jacket from his best friend, Victor. He’ll be pissed, but oh well, Killian will buy him a new one.

Three of the members are poking their heads out the window and Killian looks up at them, throwing the hand that’s still holding his phone in the air. He feels like Bennie in The Sandlot when he finally gets the baseball from the beast and hurdles the fence, still holding onto the ball. The difference is the beast chased Bennie down. The difference is the beast in the movie was not actually a beast at all. He can’t say the same about those white supremacists, though.

“We trusted you, man!” Richard calls out. He’s the one Killian had contacted through one of their social media groups. 

“Sorry, mate,” he says in his British accent, his words lacking any sort of apology as he spins around. “Peace!” he calls behind him trying to sound as American as he can, and instead of saluting the members with two fingers, which is not a peace sign for Brits, he flips them the bird as he goes. 

∞∞∞

“Tonight on Walsh News, we take an in-depth look at Emma Swan, a Rhodes Scholar, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a protégé of President Gold who tapped Swan two years ago to be the youngest Secretary of State in the history of this nation.”

As sore as Killian is from that jump out of a two-story window and as much as he hates that arsehole, Walsh, and everything the media mongrel represents, he lifts his eyes from his MacBook. He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and manages a small smile when he sees Emma on the television screen. He knows what he’d done to write his article and expose the White Power group was worth it. He may have lost faith in humanity long ago, but Emma’s passion and ambition and hope have always stuck with him. He wants to believe the support he’d always shown her when they were young has always stuck with her too, but he doubts it. She doesn’t need his support. She never did. She was never a helpless duckling, and even after she lost the student council election to August Booth because of his stupid two prom platform, her wounds healed and she eventually spread her wings and soared high in the sky, leaving Storybooke in the dust. 

As Killian gazes at her wistfully at the screen, he sees the elegant swan he always knew she’d become. While everyone he knows had hopes and dreams they gave up on long ago, Emma is the one person who made hers come true. Well, not quite all of them. She always talked about saving the planet, but he knows her work isn’t nearly finished. She’s only thirty-seven, and even though they haven’t spoken to one another since the day he watched her ride away in her parents’ 1987 Pontiac Safari Station Wagon, he still believes in her. He’ll always believe in her.

∞∞∞

Emma sucks in a deep breath as she twists the knob and opens the thick, wooden door, entering the Oval Office with a little bit of forced enthusiasm. President Gold had been vague over the phone about what he’d wished to discuss with her, but his tone of voice indicated it might be something big. “Good morning Mr. President,” she greets with the smile she had practiced in her bedroom mirror repeatedly that morning. 

“Hello, Ms. Swan.” He rises from his chair and rounds the desk, gesturing to one of the couches. “Please, have a seat.”

She sits down and crosses her legs, folding her hands in her lap as he sits on the couch across from her and rests his elbows on his knees. “Ms. Swan…”

“Yes, sir?”

He blows out a long breath as if whatever he’s about to tell her has been weighing on his mind for quite some time. “I will not be seeking re-election.”

Emma’s sure the awestruck expression on her face doesn’t even come close to how surprised she actually is. “Really?” Did she hear him correctly?

He nods, clapping his hands together. “Look, I know how absurd it sounds seeing as I’m only halfway through my first term—”

“And you’re incredibly popular, sir.” But she knows most of his popularity stems from being a television star before he took office. He hosted the popular game show, Let’s Strike a Deal.

“And I’m going to use that popularity to transition into something more prestigious than the presidency. I wanna make it in the movies.”

Emma blinks, not believing what she’s hearing. She opens and closes her mouth several times, trying to process this. “Yoooouuuu… want to leave… the presidency… to be a movie star?”

“I know it’s tough to make the leap from television to film, but I think I’m going to give it a shot.”

After the initial shock washes over her, she sees this as an opportunity. She had planned on running for president in 2024, but with Gold leaving office at the end of his first term, perhaps she can use this to her advantage. And she knows just how to go about it. Gold may be good at convincing people—he is an actor after all—but Emma not only has far more education than him, her extensive political background has helped her greatly improve her cajolery tactics over the years. After she lost the Student Council election to August Booth in high school, she’s learned that in order to get ahead, sometimes you have to use a little sleight of hand to get there—give the people what they want, so to speak. Or, in this case, help Gold realize just how legendary his presidency could be.

“Mr. President, have you given any consideration as to whom you might endorse? I’m sure you’re probably thinking of Yang or Crowley. Sound choices,” she nods and purses her lips, averting her gaze, a look of contemplation on her face. “It’s so strange because I was considering a run in 2024, and I can’t stop wondering what…” she looks at Gold again, “what it would do for your legacy to endorse the first female president. I mean, wow. ” The word is breathy, almost a whisper. “Now that’s a legacy.”

Gold presses his joined hands to his lips and has a thoughtful expression embedded in his features, but she can’t discern what he’s thinking.

She looks at the floor between them while he ponders her words. 

“Emma?” he finally says after a moment.

“Hmm?” She reverts her eyes to him.

“I would like to endorse you to be the next President of the United States.” 

Her entire body is thrumming with excitement and her stomach is full of butterflies; she doesn’t even care he said it like it was his idea. She’ll even give him credit for it. Besides, trying to convince him otherwise would be like trying to teach a fish how to bark. She closes her eyes and refrains from jumping up and down on the couch. She opens her eyes again, trying to hide the excitement in her voice but fails, her tone coming out unusually high pitched. “I mean, if you think that’s a good idea, sir, I trust you completely. I’d be… I’d be honored.”

He reclines back, wagging a finger at her. “I’ll be pulling for Team Emma. Because you’ve been a great secretary.”

“Of State,” she adds.

“Whatever. You’ve done it well, Dearie.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“So stay focused. Don’t make any major screw-ups. Don’t kill anyone. That’s probably not a problem for you. I don’t know what you’re into. Whatever. And before you know it…” He rises from the couch and hums the US Presidential Anthem. 

“I like the sound of that,” Emma says with a jubilant smile as she stands up.

“Hey here she comes, it’s the first lady president,” he chants.

“Thank you, sir.” She heads for the door, Gold following behind her still singing. 

“Who can believe she is actually a woman. She’s got a big brain and a couple other assets.”

Emma opens the door and walks through, not even giving another thought to how incredibly sexist Gold is being. She’s floating high on a cloud as she sashays proudly down the hall and raises a subtle victory fist in the air, whispering to herself, “Yessss!”

∞∞∞

“You’re gonna love this,” Killian raves as he hands the piece to his boss. “I almost died for this.”

Sidney lowers the mug from his lips, swallowing his coffee down. He offers a tightlipped smile as he glances very briefly at the draft before looking up at Killian, a serious expression clouding his face. “Got a second?”

“Of course.” 

“Come with me.”

Killian follows Sydney into his office and sits across from him at the desk, setting his satchel on the floor.

Sydney sets down Killian’s article and his coffee mug, folding his hands together on the desk. “I have some great news, Killian. We’ve just been bought by Walsh Media.” 

Killian pales and his stomach drops. “What?!” Blood bubbles under his skin at the thought of the wanker buying the Storybrooke Advocate. The thought of him owning something Killian has literally put his blood, sweat and tears into. “Bloody hell. Are you fucking kidding me?!” Ever since he was a kid, he’s dreamed of being an investigative journalist, so he’s been nothing but loyal and dedicated to the company from day one. But in the blink of an eye, Walsh has managed to ruin all that for him.

“Look, I knew you would have a poor reaction—”

“A poor reaction?!”

“Killian, this is a good thing.”

“How?! That wanker represents everything we’ve been fighting against since day one. The whole point of this paper is to fight giant media conglomerates. Now we’ve been bought by a giant media conglomerate.”

“I see the irony,” Sydney nods.

“Irony?!” Killian stands from his chair, his voice growing louder with every word. “He’s going to turn us into a giant propaganda machine! And not the good kind!” Anger pulsates through him as he paces back and forth in front of Sidney’s desk; he’s never been this worked up before in his entire life. And that’s saying something for him.

“Killian, we’re running out of options. We’ve been running as long as we can on ads for weed doctors and escorts.”

Killian stops in his tracks and raises his hands in the air. “Then run penis enlargement ads or something!”

“Come on, Killian,” Sydney admonishes.

He sighs in exasperation, trying to calm down, his voice calmer. “This Walsh guy ran fake stories to get Gold elected.”

Sydney shakes his head and raises a finger at him. “No, they couldn’t prove that.”

“We proved it!” He holds up three fingers. “I wrote three articles about it. You published them!”

Sydney nods, lowering his face into the palm of his hand. “I did.”

“The shite that comes out of this guy’s mouth? He said same-sex marriage caused tornadoes! He represents everything that’s wrong with this country!”

“Killian, it’s done, alright?”

He freezes. “It’s done?!”

“They’re upstairs, finalizing the deal right now.” 

Killian presses the pads of his fingers to his temples and turns away from his boss as he tries to process this. 

Sydney stands and rounds his desk, sitting on the edge, pleading with him. “Look, we have to cut two-thirds of our staff.”

Killian turns around, devastation in his features. “Two-thirds?”

“Yes. But we want to keep you on. They want to keep you on. It’s just,” he blows out a hesitant breath, “you just have to tone it down a little bit.”

Killian furrows his brows in bewilderment. “I don’t know how I can tone things down any more than I’m toning them down, mate,” he mutters through gritted teeth.

“Okay look, Killian, you’re a brilliant writer…”

“Thank you.”

“You’re funny, you take risks, you connect with people…”

Killian’s brows pinch in suspicion. “Why am I sensing there’s a big but coming?”

“You have a distinct, authentic voice… but… ”

“And there it is…” he sighs.

“But, sometimes you’re a little too much.”

Killian is taken aback. “I don’t think I am too much. I actually think I’m the perfect portion,” he says defensively.

“Look, you have your job, so focus on that and just toe the line a little bit.”

Killian is enraged. Toe the line a little bit?! He’s not toeing any lines. “I quit.”

Sydney’s face twists with a mixture of shock and disappointment. “Oh, come on, Killian…”

“You should quit, too. Everyone should bloody well quit.”

“No, I’m not quitting, I need my job.”

“I need my job too. I’m broke. But I can’t work for that tosser.”

Sydney sighs. “At least let me fire you so you can collect unemployment.”

Killian slices a hand through the air over his chest. “No bloody way! I want nothing from him. Besides, I want him to know I quit.”

“He’ll never know it, he’s never heard of you. You’re going to destroy your life to spite a guy who’s never heard of you?”

“Yes! You said it best! That’s exactly what I’m doing. Fuck this.” Killian grabs his satchel and walks out of Sydney’s office, closing the door behind him, announcing to all his former coworkers, “Journalism died today, people!”

∞∞∞

“So the headline is, you’re in great shape,” Mary Margaret, the polling team manager, points out as she displays the next presentation slide.

Emma’s sitting at the meeting table between her Chief of Staff, Regina Mills, and Deputy Chief of Staff, Robin Locksley, trying to follow along with the presentation, but it’s difficult for Emma to focus when her stomach is full of butterflies. She still can’t believe she persuaded Gold to endorse her. Her head is spinning.

“Ninety-two percent, that’s good,” Regina comments. 

“It’s very good,” Mary Margaret agrees exuberantly and moves on to the next slide, which shows Emma’s personality traits and how they were ranked. “Your sense of humor is eighty-two, which is solid.” Mary Margaret cocks her head to the side, as though she has to rethink that assessment. “It’s solid, but we wouldn’t mind seeing that number go up a few points… or more.”

Regina leans in to speak to Emma as she takes notes. “I’ll get some writing samples from some funny speechwriters.”

Emma sets her pen down and smiles. “Thanks, Regina.” She rests her elbows on the table, clasping her hands together as she reverts her attention to Mary Margaret and says, “But I’m really interested in knowing how people feel about my accomplishments.” 

“Right, so we don’t drill down on specific policies, and that’s only because people don’t seem to care.”

Well, that’s a blow to the gut.

“With that said, if you could broker a deal that gets you out there talking about something you feel strongly about, that would be really great.”

“Well, that’s perfect,” Emma says enthusiastically, sitting on the edge of her chair. “We’ve been looking for an opening to start a conversation about the environment.” 

“That sounds great,” Mary Margaret says with a grin, but Emma’s not sure if she’s being sarcastic and trying to hold back a laugh, or if she’s being sincere. “Now, if I may, onto your romantic life…” The brunette shows a photo of Emma and Graham Humbert smiling for the camera.

Emma refrains from rolling her eyes as she rests her chin in her palm. She doesn’t have a romantic life. One make-out session with a world leader she barely knows doesn’t constitute a romance.

However, the way Mary Margaret gushes as she looks at the couple in the photo, one would think they were actually a couple. “Remember the stir online when you and the Canadian Prime Minister were seated next to each other at the Global Business Forum?”

Emma nods, wishing she were taking a nap right now. She doesn’t care about improving her personality traits or starting a romance that will raise her numbers and appease the public. Although she is quite proud of her two highest scores, elegance and charisma, both ranked at over ninety-five percent.

“A relationship like that,” Mary Margaret points to the photo of Emma and Graham, “could push you into the high nineties.”

“High nineties? Wow,” Regina murmurs to herself, making note of it.

“That brings us to…” Mary Margaret switches to the next slide, showing Emma’s wave.

She knits her brows in confusion. “What’s wrong with my wave?”

“That kind of elbow movement is um…” Mary Margaret purses her lips as though she’s trying to figure out how to put it delicately, but then gives up, “well, it stresses people out.”

“You know what? It’s just an area of improvement,” Robin assures Emma after sensing the offended tone in her voice.

She supposes the movement in her elbow is a bit too much. It makes her look like a robot actually. “Fine, I’ll work on the wave.”

∞∞∞

“I’m not going to a fancy rich person party,” Killian declares after Victor proposed going to the World Wildlife Fund benefit in Philly tonight. Killian had shared the details with Victor and now they’re walking down Main Street discussing their plans for the evening. But Killian thought Vic was trying to make him feel better. Going to a fancy, rich person party will only remind Killian how rich he is not. He had something else in mind, something involving the closest bar and lots and lots of rum. 

“Oh, come on, Jones. Don’t be so judgemental. There will be free booze and pandas and shit. People love pandas and shit.”

Killian shakes his head. “I just lost my job, I’m not really in the mood to mingle.”

“Fine, just sit at home and do nothing. Don’t hang out with your best friend and Boyz II Men.”

Killian’s ears perk up and he stops in his tracks. “Boyz II Men will be there?”

Victor stops walking and turns around, nodding. “Yep. They’re bringing their timeless blend of R&B and hip hop to the party. The fancy rich party doesn’t sound so bad after all, now does it?”

Not at all. He used to listen to Boyz II Men and other popular musicians in the nineties. But mostly Boyz II Men because it’s what he and Emma would listen to when she was over at his house babysitting him. He didn’t know Victor then; they met in college before Victor went off to medical school, but they have similar tastes in music. Which is how Victor knew exactly how to persuade Killian into going to a fancy, rich person party. “Okay, I’m in, mate.”

“That’s the spirit!” Victor pats Killian on the shoulder, and they walk again as Victor sings Motownphilly.

∞∞∞

“I’m starving. Why didn’t you power bar me?” Emma asks Robin as they make their way down the staircase, Regina and her Secret Service agents following behind them.

The Grand Room glitters like something out of a fairy tale, all candlelight and crystal chandeliers and gilt and sophisticated shine. The attendees glitter, the women dripping in diamonds and other precious stones and the men donning suits and black ties. 

“I tried to, but you pushed my hand away,” Robin chuckles.

“Hopefully they don’t have skewered foods. I can’t eat skewered foods gracefully; I always look like a fucking cavewoman.”

“And there are cameras everywhere.” Regina points at a dutiful photographer who’s unobtrusively circling the perimeter of the room, taking pictures of as many of the guests as he can. “That would hurt your elegance score.”

“That’s my best score.”

When they reach the buffet table, Emma’s relieved to find that not all the food is on skewers. But even so, she’s so hungry, she may still look like a cavewoman trying to stuff as much food into her mouth as she can. “Cover me?”

“Of course.”

Regina and Robin both stand behind her like walls as Emma makes her first selection, grabbing a saucy meatball on a toothpick and bringing it to her mouth, being careful not to drip any sauce on her black dress. 

“Oh my god, these meatballs are really good,” Emma mumbles through a mouthful of food.

“Graham Humbert is approaching,” Regina warns her. “He’s about nine feet away.”

“Shit,” Emma whispers and shoves another meatball into her mouth before wiping her lips and chin with a napkin. After swallowing it down and discarding the napkin, she spins around, offering a bright smile. 

When Graham approaches her, giving her a once over, Regina and Robin disperse.

“Graham… how are you?”

“Good evening.” His lips twitch in a pleased smile as he takes Emma’s hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. “I am so sorry I missed you at the White House a few weeks ago,” he says in his thick, Irish brogue. He was born in Canada, but his parents are originally from Ireland, so naturally, he took on their Irish accent.

“Oh, it’s fine.” Emma waves off his apology with a flick of her hand. “Maybe next time?”

“Well, I—”

“If I may?” the photographer interrupts, holding up his camera.

“Aye, of course,” Graham turns toward him, and Emma relents, remembering what Mary Margaret said about how being seen with Graham would raise her score. She supposes if she’s going to be running for president, she must endure some things she may not like, in order to appease the public. Besides, it’s not like Graham is bad looking; in fact, he’s rather handsome with his curly brown hair and grey-blue eyes. But her hectic schedule doesn’t allow time for a romantic relationship. 

Graham wraps his arm around her as she places a tentative hand on his back. The camera flashes a few times as Emma and Graham hold their smiles.

“One more,” Graham says, just as Emma’s about to pull away. 

A few more successive shots are taken before Graham thanks the photographer and they break their pose, turning toward each other. 

He inches closer, speaking intimately in her ear. “What do you say we get out of here? Grab a drink somewhere a bit more… private?”

The music changes from something soft and elegant to something more familiar. Very familiar actually. 

Motownphilly.

Emma looks over Graham’s shoulder and her eyes light up when she sees Boyz II Men on stage. “Yeeeessss!”  

When Regina told her about the World Wildlife Fund benefit, she failed to mention Boyz II Men would be performing.

“Yeah?” Graham asks, a big smile spreading across his lips.

While he’s thinking she was saying yes to his invitation, Emma had forgotten his presence as soon as she heard the music. Not that she would’ve accepted his invitation anyway. But now she sees this as an opportunity to avoid the question altogether. “Oh my God!” Emma scurries over to the crowd that’s gathering around the entertainers of the evening.

“Alright, alright, alright, alright. Philly, make some noise. Make some noise!”

The crowd whistles and cheers, and Emma is taken back to when she was a kid again. She was ten when this song came out—when she bought their CD—and listened to it constantly throughout her teen years. 

Graham joins her on the dance floor as she moves to the music, not even caring about her elegance score. She literally hasn’t danced like this since high school, but she feels more carefree than she has in years and she hasn’t even had a sip of champagne. Stuffy music and champagne have never been her thing. But this… this is her music.

“Duty calls.” Graham’s deep voice in her ear makes her jump, and she spins around to look at him. “I’ll take a snow check on those drinks. Canadian for a rain check,” he winks.

“Okay,” Emma says, forcing a small laugh at his joke. 

“Good evening,” he bids her, slowly walking away.

∞∞∞

“I feel very underdressed,” Killian grumbles as he peers down at himself. He’d never thought to change out of his blue jeans, t-shirt and black hoody, and here he is drinking champagne in a room full of rich people who are wearing tuxes and formal dresses.

“Don’t worry, you look fine,” Victor says as they make their way through the crowd. 

Killian knows he’s just being nice though. Even Victor is wearing a dress shirt and blazer, but then again he blends in more with the other rich folk because unlike Killian, he’s not jobless or poor; he’s a doctor who makes more than a decent living.

Killian finishes his champagne and places the flute on a tray when a waiter approaches, and snatches another one, gulping it down like rum.

“Easy, buddy. You’re pounding those drinks pretty hard, don’t you think?” And that’s coming from Victor, who’s at the bar every night he’s not on call.

“I got fired today, mate.” 

“I thought you said you quit?”

Killian’s gaze moves across the room as he turns his head to look at Victor who is standing next to him. “I was forced to quit because—” His words die in his throat, his jaw dropping when his eyes land on a gorgeous blonde dancing.

But not just any blonde. Killian recognizes her. 

It’s the Secretary of State. It’s Emma Swan. His first crush. His first kiss. 

He hasn’t seen her in person since she was eighteen, but she’s even more stunning as a grown woman. And she’s even more stunning than she is on television.