#but I HATE HATE HATE LEAVING THINGS UNFINISHED

[tartagliove]

EASY ON THE EYES, EASIER TO HATE. tartaglia x reader ✧ 2.7k words

when the fae raid your village to take humans into their realm, you think you’ll be safe in the woods. but you run into a fae who introduces himself as tartaglia and realize it might have been safer for you to stay at home.

tags and warnings ✧  fae!tartaglia, gender neutral reader (no pronouns used), reader sews and tailors clothes for a living, the fae are pretty brutal, mentions of violence, (ajax licks) blood and tears, chasing (predator prey dynamic), manhandling, all enemies and no lovers (only tension oops). note ✧ this is a darker fic compared to most of my writing; please let me know if I need to tag anything else! title inspired by the song "psycho" by taylor acorn. a gift for @cruel-hiraeth for teahouse's secret santa! happy new year, kae! i hope this fic helps you start off the year right by loving hating tartaglia >u< this was lots of fun to write hehe and got a little long because the au ran away from me... i hope you enjoy! love you lots <3

The snow falls thick and fast, yet the village continues to burn. Screams and shouts of villagers, mixed with the clashing of metal, rise above the roar of devouring flames of blue.

The fae are here.

They pull people out of their beds, pushing them into the streets. Turn their faces toward the light of a burning house—looking for the beautiful humans, still young and nimble. Or searching for evidence of skill in the arts; a pretty face matters little if one can produce beautiful things in ways that the fae cannot. Those who fail to meet the fae’s standards are left alone, shivering and watching in the cold. 

The humans the fae deem acceptable meet a much worse fate. They are picked up and thrown in the back of carts, drawn by horses with ears too long and manes too wild, their coats unusually glossy and vibrant. The chosen who try to escape are bound with rope that cruelly digs into skin. Those who try to fight are taken down brutally, then laughed at as they writhe on the ground—though the fae make sure no permanent damage is done, for that would defeat the purpose of the raid.

A fae bearing a torch of blue flames brings it up to the walls of each house of those who have been chosen. The blue catches on the wood unnaturally quickly, spreading with a voracious hunger despite the wind and snow. Within the hour, nothing will remain besides a pile of ash. 

But by then, the fae and the chosen villagers will be long gone.

You are lucky that sleep is so elusive tonight.

Earlier, after tossing and turning in bed for ages, you give up on trying to fall asleep. It is hard to leave your dog who has curled up beside you in a ball of white fluff, but you press a kiss between her ears before changing into some warmer layers. You sweep a thick winter cloak over your shoulders. It is the most luxurious piece of clothing you own; a beautiful dark green cloth lined with fur, decorated by unfinished hand-embroidered leaves and flowers and bunnies—a project you’ve been chipping away at this winter. Putting on boots that have long since been molded to the shape of your feet, you leave your house to catch some fresh air and possibly tire yourself out along the way.

The blanket of pure white is beautiful. The full moon makes everything glitter as snow stretches from the outskirts of the village into the forests beyond. Snowflakes continue to fall, decorating your hair and eyelashes with diamonds, while the shoulders of your cloak become dusted in sugar. 

It is so quiet out here. The whistling of the wind and the thoughts in your head are the only sounds you hear. You are used to this, though. Every day you sew and tailor clothes in the back of the village’s clothing store, often alone for hours on end with nothing but your thoughts for company.

A strong gust of wind rocks you on your feet. Clutching your cloak tighter and tossing the fur-lined hood up over your head, you turn your back on the forest to face the trail of footsteps you’ve made through the snow. You should head home.

Still, you take your time approaching the village. The snow dances around you and you can’t help but indulge in a spin, cloak sweeping out around you in a swirl of deep green. Your huff of laughter is stolen by the wind, but the delight within you remains.

Then the first scream rips through the night.

You freeze. Scanning the houses on the outskirts of the village reveals no dangers.

Another cry follows the first and you know something must be terribly wrong. 

You start running toward the village, kicking up snow as your mind races. Perhaps someone is getting robbed—but no one in town would dare. Or based on the growing amount of cries and shouts, maybe something happened that has injured a lot of people. A fire?

As you make it to the buildings, you see that you are right. Fire engulfs one of the homes on the far side of town, the flames reaching for the sky. A shudder runs through you at the sight, for the flames are unnaturally blue, and though this is the first time you’ve seen such a thing, you have heard of the stories and warnings about the cyan fire and those that accompany it.

You will not let the fae take you.

Whirling around, you sprint for the woods. The screams of the other villagers ring in your ears, but you know it is impossible for you to take on a single fae, let alone an army of them. They are here to steal humans away. For what, you’re not sure, but it can’t be for anything good. Though you doubt they would choose to take you, the best way to make sure you can see the sunrise tomorrow is to hide in the woods and avoid them all.

Reaching the treeline seems to take ages. You keep looking over your shoulder as you run, half expecting to have been spotted, but you only see more and more flames of blue burning houses to the ground.

Your heart skips a beat at the thought of your home being set ablaze—your dog!—but then you remember the fae only burn the houses of the humans they take and relief washes over you.

With your thoughts consumed by the safety of your dog, you don’t notice that you have slowed, trying to catch your breath in the midst of the trees. Nor do you notice that you aren’t alone anymore, until the newcomer starts speaking.

“My, my. Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

Dread sinks like a stone in your stomach. You spin, eyes wide as they land on the source of those playful and teasing words, leaning against a nearby tree with his arms crossed.

You know he is fae right away by his unnatural beauty. His hair glimmers a coppery orange under the light of the full moon, all windswept and dusted in snow. His eyes seem to glow as they scan you from head to toe, a blue just a shade darker than that of the flames destroying the village. Ears taper into a fine point and from his left one dangles a deep red crystal that only makes you think of blood. He smiles, then, as you observe him. His canines are sharp and long, like that of a fox, and you are frozen with wide, shining eyes of a bunny.

He hums and tilts his head. It is then that you remember he asked a question, and your throat works to find your voice to answer him. “I was out for a stroll,” you manage to say, words somehow steady despite your fluttering pulse.

It’s a half-truth, but half-truths are half-lies, and there’s the slightest hint of bitterness in the back of Ajax’s throat that always accompanies humans’ lies. “Oh, really? And was that before or after we made our presence known?”

“Before, actually,” you tell him honestly. “I couldn’t sleep so I decided to take a walk. The snow is beautiful and the moon is bright—it’s pretty, is it not?” If you talk enough, maybe he’ll lose interest so you can make a run for it. You don’t know much about fae, but with the way he’s dressed in nicer clothing than what most men in your village wear, surely he won’t care for running through the snowy forest.

He smiles. “It is pretty.” His eyes refuse to leave your frame, and a shiver runs through you. You don’t think he’s talking solely about the snow. 

Pushing off the tree, he takes a few steps forward, nearly silent despite the boots he wears. He stops when you stiffen, clutching your cloak tighter in your hands. “Where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Tartaglia,” he says, picking one of his many names to give you. “And you are?”

You press your lips together and force a smile. Even you know not to give the fae your name, no matter how much of a gentleman he is pretending to be. Your stomach rolls, unease making your heart rate pick up again. “I’m-” You see the way he perks up in interest, expecting a name. “I’m leaving,” you spit out, turn on your heels, and run.

Ajax watches you leave, the green of your cloak billowing out behind you like a rabbit’s tail inviting him to chase. He laughs, throwing his head back as the sound erupts from his throat. “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that,” he says, his breath beading in the winter air.

He had not intended to take you back to the fae realm, but then you had to go and run. And he wouldn’t dare to let all your hard work go to waste—so he’ll participate in the delightful hunt you’ve set up for him.

The ground is uneven beneath your feet. It is hard to tell where the tree roots are under the thick layer of snow and each breath of air feels like tiny needles stabbing your lungs. But you push on, feet pounding as quickly as you can force yourself to go.

You want to be as far away from that fae as you can get. He had not looked like he was going to chase you when you last saw him, laughing as you ran away, but there was a look in his eyes that pushed you to keep running.

When you toss a quick glance over your shoulder, your breath hitches and terror rushes through you.

He’s there. In the distance, but you can see him, weaving through the trees at an inhuman pace, his long legs carrying him far. He is gaining on you and you fear what he will do when he catches you.

You push yourself to run even harder, but your legs burn and your throat feels tight. In your haste, you fail to see the lower hanging branches of a nearby tree. A cry tears from your lips as a thin branch slices through the skin of your cheek, but you barely feel the pain with your face nearly frozen from the cold.

“Ouch,” the fae calls after you. His voice is loud and clear, and you know he’s only getting closer. “Don’t hurt yourself too much trying to escape, okay?”

Through your huffs for air, you manage to shout back at him. “Piss off! Leave me alone!”

Ajax grins, closing the distance. “I don’t think I will,” he says.

He lunges forward and grabs a fistful of your cloak. You stumble from the pull, tripping over your feet. He uses the momentum to spin you around, pushing you backward until you hit a tree, forcing the air from your lungs. His body presses against yours right after, caging you in with one leg wedged between your own.

“Let go of me!” you shout, slamming your fists into his chest. You try shoving all of your weight into him but he simply presses back harder until his chest is flush against yours. 

He laughs—laughs!—as you struggle against him, kicking and yelling and throwing your weight from side to side. He does not budge at all under the onslaught. You do everything you can, but only wear yourself out, leaning back against the tree to catch your breath.

“Are you done?” he asks, amusement coloring his tone. “If not, I can do this all night.”

His reaction makes your blood boil, most of your fear buried beneath anger. You glare down past his arm that still grips your cloak and catch sight of a sliver of pale skin peeking through the folds of his clothes. Moving your gaze back up to his face, you spit out, “I hope you die.”

And then you dig your nails into the exposed skin of his stomach, sink your teeth into the arm holding onto your cloak, and shove with all your might.

Ajax stumbles backward. 

You rip yourself out of his hold, twist your body to the side, taking one step forward, free-

Arms wrap around your waist and throw you back toward the tree. Your feet catch on his boot, making you lose your balance, perfect for Ajax to maneuver your body as he wills. This time, he pins your hands above your head, one large hand grasping your wrists, while his other arm presses as an immovable bar across your collarbones. One leg forces its way between your own, and you realize you are at this fae’s mercy, pinned like a prized butterfly in a collection; all pretty and helpless, on display for him to study.

You look down. You don’t want to see the anger on his face before he retaliates for your actions.

The arm across your chest shifts and you flinch as gloved fingers grab your chin, firm but not painful as he tilts your head, forcing you to look at him. You’re taken aback by the grin on his face, canines bared and bloodthirsty, but his eyes are amused.

“Try that again, I dare you.” His voice is rough and yet it doesn’t sound like a threat.

Your eyes grow wide. This kind of a creature is not one you will be able to escape, at least not now—unarmed except for your teeth and nails.

Ajax lets go of your chin, pulling back slightly. He’s delighted by the fire within you. When he first saw you, running toward the woods, he simply thought you a pretty coward. But oh you dared to fight back, using what little defenses humans naturally have, and you even broke skin. Though his fae blood allows him to rapidly heal, the sensation of your nails digging into his abdomen is not one he’ll forget anytime soon.

As he looks away from your face to take you all in, now that you’re not struggling to escape, his gaze catches on your cloak. His eyes light up, tracing over the exquisitely stitched leaves and plants of various green threads, mixed occasionally with lively bunnies of soft browns. There’s a rabbit still unfinished, just a cute head and perked ears, awaiting its body to bring it to life. 

“Did you make this?” Ajax asks, thumb brushing over the embroidery.

“No,” you gasp, heart sinking.

He tastes the lie and grins. “That’s not true now, is it?”

It’s over. Now that he knows you are skilled at sewing, he has all the reasons he needs to bring you into his realm. Despair is a heavy weight, mixed with frustration and anger. Tears well in your eyes and slide down the curves of your face. A few droplets spread into the cut on your left cheek, mixing with the beading blood that stains your skin.

Ajax is enchanted. Has he ever seen a human so beautiful?

He can’t stop himself from leaning in even closer until his nose nearly presses against your ear. There’s a moment where you hear him inhale. Then his tongue swipes up your cheek, lapping up tears and blood. His groan of delight is overlapped by your whimper, the cut on your cheek stinging as fear flows through your veins.

His fingers grip your chin again and he turns your head to the other side. Warmth travels up your cheek as he licks your tears, before pulling away with a satisfied smirk on his lips.

As you gasp for breath, he takes in the sight of more tears streaming down your face, shed in mourning for the loss of your life in the human world. Shudders run through you until your tears slow, giving time for your heart to harden. Slowly, you open your eyes to meet his gaze, yours now blazing with fury and hatred.

Ajax grins, taking in the vision before him. “You’re perfect.”

note ✧ ajax makes you point out your home and he gets to dig through your stuff as you collect a few things to take with you. don't worry, doggo gets to come with and is treated very well (fae like animals more than humans, usually).

this is not quite the type of thing i usually write, but i hope it was still an enjoyable read! i'd love to hear what you think c:

[antimony-medusa]

Ao3 Wrapped

I like numbers so here I am delving into my works again!

__

Overall stats for 2024!

User Subscriptions: 218

Kudos: 1,703

Comment Threads: 376

Bookmarks: 479

Subscriptions: 126

Word Count: 186,620

Hits: 186,620

That's a decrease on most metrics, but my word count is very comparable to last year, and I had no idea my subscription count had broken 200! Cool! Especially as I wrote some kind of out there fics this year, I'm very touched by that people want to stick around. I feel like I also do kind of absurdly well for comments, so thank you guys for that.

Fun Stats: 

Fics Published: 25, including one on anon, for 186,620. This is down from last year's 31, but my word count last year was 198,621, so we're pretty damn close!

Number of One-Shots: 22— It was another year of going hard on exchanges, and that encourages one-shots! Of those, 14 were under five thousand words, so I'm pretty pleased with my objective of learning to write short was actually enacted, when I was experiencing deadline pressure!

Number of Multi-Chapters: 3 total, and one still unfinished. I didn't start any new ongoings and leave them unfinished this year, but I still have multiple languishing from 2022, and I didn't finish the one of those I was working on this year, so— augh. I need to stop doing events and finish some of those ongoings! But events are so good...

Number of Inspired Works: 3, because I participated in recursive exchange, where you write fic inspired by other people's fic and art! One of those was inspired by an animation, which I'm very proud of.

Longest Fic: You Blew Me Into Stardust (42,846 words), my beloved mech au. I did two fics for the aufest reverse bang, I also wrote Trying Hard Not To Smile Though I Feel Bad (16,254 words) for Aufest, which is a college au! The minimum for that event was 5k so I— went overboard a bit.

Shortest Fic: I just posted it actually, that's How To Make The Secret City’s Speciality Dessert - Roasted Brown Sugar Oranges And Buttermilk Ice Cream  (912 words), that's a zine fic where we had a 1250 word maximum! I love this fic, and I'm so proud that I managed something short.

Most Kudosed Fic: Gonna Have It Out Like Fight Club, which is a bit unfair because that one has been acquiring kudos since 2022, and is now at 213 kudos. My poor neglected child the mafia fic I HAVE THE REST OF THE FIC OUTLINED I just keep writing things for events instead of writing you.

Most Viewed Fic: That's Gonna Have It Out Like Fight Club, with 2,220, but again a bunch of those are from last year, so probably my biggest fic is Trying Hard Not To Smile Though I Feel Bad, my 13-things-I-hate-about-you Niki & Ranboo au, at 1,457 hits. That one I honestly did not expect to get as big as it did, but I guess people like the comedy.

Most Subscribed Fic: Gonna Have It Out Like Fight Club, with 82 people wanting to know how that one ends. I"M SORRY. I"LL FINISH IT I PROMISE. I did notice my subscriptions to fics overall fell— people were still subscribing to one-shots last year, and this year I guess people realized that was not panning out.  

Most Bookmarked Fic: okay so it LOOKS like it's Gonna Have It Out Like Fight Club at 73 but I can count dates so I can tell that only 28 of those are from this year, wait I forgot about private bookmarks. Hm. Well anyways the one I'm sure was bookmarked this year was Things Could Be So Easy (If You Let Them), my first real intentional shot at writing QPR emduo with a proposal, and boy having THAT unlocked was a delight. That one has 52 bookmarks.

Most Used Fandom: Dream SMP with 13 fics, and SMPEarth in second place with 5. I wrote 9 different fandoms this year, technically.

Least Used Fandom: this is A MULTIWAY Tie as Internet & Social Media (Anthropomorphic), Murderbot Diaries, Books of the Raksura, Original Work, Origins SMP, and Parkour Civilization are all at 1 fic.

Most Used Rating: Teen, 18 fics. I wrote my first two explicit fics this year, both for exchanges!

Least Used Rating: Gen, 1 fic.

Most Written Relationship: Technoblade & Phil Watson | Philza, 10 times, UP FROM NINE LAST YEAR I'M DOING BETTER.

Most Used Additional Tag: hilariously, it's a tie between Comedy and Grief/Mourning, both with four times.

Most Frequently Used Characters: 

Philza (16)

Technoblade (15)

Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF) (6)

Niki | Nihachu (5)

Tommyinnit (3)

Ghostbur (Dream SMP) (2)

Tumblr (Anthropomorphic) (1)

Jade (Books of the Raksura) (1)

Moon (Books of the Raksura) (1)

Archive of our Own (Anthropomorphic) (1)

Last year I was really startled that Tommy didn't make the list and well. I am not immune to Tommyinnit. He's back again.

Last Year’s Stats

And here's my stats! Tag me if you do this too, I like to see numbers!

[vivisols]

if i dont get writing motivation by December i swear to god im gonna turn evil

[zazrichor]

blood, blood, blood, pump mud through my veins 🩸

[flclarchives]

Episode 4 stills from the FLCL Collectors’ Disc

[vibescornerr]

.. .

original + sketch ♡

[hexjulia]

Started reading Shadi Bartsch's Aeneid translation and just the introduction is already really fun to read 🥰

[pupyuj]

hello ena, do you still write for bini?

yesss i do :3 as long as a gg is listed in my pinned, i accept asks about them! 💓 a lot of bini drabbles i’ve started are currently rotting in my drafts so that’s.. not really good… BUT i swear when i’ve got the wind of things again, i’ll pick them right back up! 😭💔

[corvidarcana]

I cannot express enough how ready I am to be finished with all these legacy fandom projects. I don't want to exist in these spaces anymore. I'm so tired

[altaneenarts]

Omg are you continuing the zombie au??? I didn't get to read Moshie's(?) fanfic but I got to read yours AND I'M OBSESSED 😵‍💫 (please continue it if you have time 🙏🏻😀)

Yes 😭 I want to finish off the last part (aka “evolution of the mind”)! It’ll probably be the last I write for the au (unless I’m struck by inspiration lol), but I have 6k words so far written so it’s slowly getting there.

I’ve had a lot going on lately so I appreciate your continued interest after all this time shdjfj 🫶 thank you for reading and enjoying it 🥹 it’s so fun to write their intriguing, twisted dynamic. Yall have been so patient so here is some crumbs for you 💙

[dontvap0rdawave]

I really love your pink and blue comic

(just finished watched poketom dubbed it)

But I have a question a few questions

Is the comic going to continue?

When is the next chapter/pages

Love your artwork keep up

First off, thanks for enjoying it! Poketom did a great job dubbing it (specially as time went on) and, as I've said previous times, you should support and be nice to him, he's a genuinely nice guy!

Second, and something I need to leave clear on here too (not just my DA), the comic is on hold for now as I:

1- Manage my college time, and soon enough my working time as well, not only because I am having more responsabilities and not a lot of free time now, nut because I also am starting to care for the story 15 yo me was trying to write as I am now properly scripting pages, revamping character redesigns, and all of that. And

2- Have been getting so overwhelmed by people asking me to continue it almost every. single. day, that I´ve honestly just decided to focus on new proyects that come up and giving this one a rest for now. That and I also want to be recognized as more than "That cringy OC JSaB comic" woman and not be harassed by it (fair, it's not as bad as before, but it's still tiring considering everything going around in my life/country).

[mourningskvader]

Drawing? I love that! Gorgeous. Beautiful. I can draw for hours on end.

Rendering? My mortal enemy. My arch nemesis. The bane of my existence.

[libra-cant-just-dance]

I want to write Mirrored Walls so baddddd but I’m trapped in Just Moved Across The Country And Still Setting Things Up And Adjusting To A 40-Hour Work Week hellllllll

[redalgaebloom]

Every time I think about returning to Inuyasha and finishing the stories I started I am reminded that Yashahime exists and instantly loose all motivation.

[sluckythewizard]

SHHH SH HEYYY HEY DONT TELL ANYONE BUT... ive been workin on smth since BITB came out..... itsa lil musical animatic involvin kian and becky.... ITS NO WHERE NEAR DONE YET but loooook look im puttin lil screenshots under the cut. its supposed to go along with Am I In Heaven? by King Gizzard n the Lizard Wizard. infact yknow what cmere come sit with be bc ALOT of songs from the 'IM IN YOUR MIND FUZZ' album makes me think about becky and kian. oh my god. those two make me so damn emotional. like Her and I was the first one to rly resonate with me, and EMPTY was another good one, all just stuff about. yknow LOVE!! doomed by the narrative yet burning SO SO brightly in its last moments, holding hands, playing music, THEY WERE SO IN LOVE WITH YOU THAT THE COPY OF THEM LOVED YOU, AND YOUR COPY LOVES THEM TOO. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL, CRUMBLING, BURNING, HISSING, SQUIRMING, MELTING, CLICKING LOVE STORY..

GET OVER HERE N SCREAM WITH MEEE I LOVE SCREAMING ABOUT THINGS

[fakewaves]

also me being like "im going to study!!" [either gets distracted every 3 seconds of this lecture or i lock in for 5 videos at a time no inbetween]