#but i really wanted to get some wips done and writing has been h a r d lately

[blindmagdalena]

Eat Your Ego, Honey (CH4)

homelander x oc 18+  escort services, sex work, masturbation, voyeurism, stalking, Homelander in general. see ao3 link for detailed tags. chapter index. check out the playlist!

Homelander’s session was a disaster. Layla sits in the aftermath of it, still collecting herself a good twenty minutes after Homelander has departed. Perched on the couch, she buries her face in her hands and takes several deep breaths. Now that she’s alone, she can finally process everything that happened. She can feel the furious beat of her heart in her throat, and her legs ache. Shifting sideways, she leans down to slip off the shoes. In doing so, she catches a glimpse of her calves, where she can already see distinct hand-shaped bruises forming. Her stomach flips. Delicately, she traces the outline of blossoming purple along her skin.

He’s replaced the bruise on her neck that had only just faded.

With a sharp inhale, Layla stands up. She needs to change her clothes, and get herself out of this mindset. Tears well up in her eyes in the wake of her adrenaline fading, burning as she blinks them away. She’s hyper-aware of the feel of the bruises as she walks barefoot to her closet, slipping out of her dress with practiced ease. She hangs it up, and reaches for a linen sweater and a soft pair of pants.

Over and over, Layla replays the session in her mind as she dresses, pinpointing the moment everything changed. She’s established and enforced boundaries with him before, but never has his response to them been so visceral. Something different happened today, but try as she might, Layla can’t figure out what it was. There must have been an internal trigger. “I’m not like lots of people,” he had snarled. “Do you understand that? I’m a god, and I don’t need your fucking pity.”

She had tried to humanize him, to allow him space for this vulnerability, but today she’s learned that John is so lost to the mantle of Homelander, to the weight of his powers, that he is convinced he is above such things. It doesn’t matter that he wept against her. The second it was over, he wanted her to forget it ever happened. Layla can’t forget. Looking at the dress now, it’s still spotted wet with his tears. This doesn’t feel like a man in love with his delusions. This feels like a man trapped by them. Who told you that you have to be a god? Who won’t let you be a man?

That was the moment Layla knew she needed to see the suit stripped away. The bruises on her legs were unintended, that much she is certain of. It was as if with the flip of a switch, he went from present to wholly gone, not hearing a word she said. When he did come back to himself, he let go of her immediately, and apologized in a voice so small, she barely heard it. He wore his shame clearly, self-hatred wet in his eyes. She remembers bringing him into her arms before she could reconsider. Layla knows herself better than to think of that act of comfort as an entirely altruistic one. The truth of the matter is that she enjoys both his vulnerability and his unpredictability. More and more, taming a man like Homelander is proving to be a power trip like none other. One moment he’s utterly wrapped around her finger, and the next it’s as though she’s freefalling.

Homelander is rekindling a fire in Layla that she thought long since safely fed and satiated by her line of work, and she can't bring herself to smother the embers. Distantly, the logical side of her brain screams at her that this is madness. The dull ache in her calves calls for a restraining order, not a date. Homelander is a literal walking red flag; he wears it proudly as a cape. Yet Layla’s mind is left buzzing, drowning out that shrill cry of reason.

Lying down on the couch, she wonders what he’ll wear instead of the suit.

Layla spends most of the following week talking herself in and out of the date. Up until this point, she hasn’t needed to consider the scope of John as a whole, or her actual compatibility with him. He was a client, and all that mattered was that she treated him as such. Whoever they were in the world outside of that relationship didn’t matter. Suddenly, it could very much matter. He isn’t just John, he’s America’s Homelander. Her grandmother must be rolling in her urn. They were never a particularly patriotic family, to put it lightly. She calls Jason, who’s no help at all.

“If you want to go, then go. If you don’t want to go, don’t go.” He doesn’t know what to do with her mix of exasperation and stubbornness any more than she does. She knew even as she was speaking to him that she was being irrational. She feels like she’s going insane over the whole situation. A significant part of her agony is knowing that if she could just tell Jason who it was, the details of their relationship, or if he could see the faded bruises on her legs, she’s certain that he would tell her no, absolutely not. What she cannot figure out about herself is why she’s looking for someone else to tell her “no.” She’s lived her entire life on her own terms, but there’s something about Homelander that makes her question her capacity to make rational decisions. He’s enthralling even in her thoughts, and he’s slipping into her fantasies more and more each night.

Every time she convinces herself it’s a terrible idea spurred on by mindless infatuation, Layla picks up her phone. Every single time, she hesitates, and ultimately sets it back down. Tomorrow, she tells herself. I’ll sleep on it, and I’ll know by tomorrow. Soon enough, too many tomorrows have come and gone. It’s Friday evening, and Layla is in the back of a polished black car sent to her apartment. She’s out of time, and on her way to Vought International. It’s a chilly night, so she’s opted for a coat and pantyhose, but otherwise she’s dressed precisely the way Homelander last saw her. She drums her fingers on her thighs, once more wondering if and how he’ll uphold his end of the bargain. Layla leans closer to the window, peering up at Vought Tower. The top of the tower disappears into the haze of the night sky, too tall for her to see. She’s always considered all one hundred floors of the tower to be something of an eyesore, an out of place advertisement thrust into the skyline of the city. But up close she can at least admit it’s an impressive feat of architecture. Ugly all the same, but impressive.

The car pulls around a side road that curves into a courtyard, stopping at a security check. The headquarters of a multibillion dollar corporation hardly screamed date night romance, but John had been insistent it would offer them a spectacular view, and the privacy he required in order to meet her demands. He assured her that the food would be good, promising the best steak that New York has to offer. Once they make it through security, the drive up the courtyard is slow. The pace allows her to admire what little greenery they have tucked behind the building, which is admittedly more than she expected. The finely trimmed hedges and manicured flower beds are unfortunately broken up by gaudy bronze statues of Vought’s golden age heroes: imposing metallic faces with meticulously carved eyes that seem to follow her as she passes them, lit only by the harsh white spotlights below them. It gives the whole place an eerie, artificial atmosphere, particularly in the dark of the evening. It feels more like a graveyard than a garden.

However, much of that falls away when the car pulls up to the private entrance, and Layla sees a sleek silhouette cut out against the fluorescent hall lights. There stands Homelander not in his star-spangled usual, but in a well fitted suit. At first she thinks it black, but as he approaches the vehicle the light catches it in such a way that she realizes it’s a deep navy with black accents. The black bowtie at his neck reminds her of old Hollywood, a look that would have given even Cary Grant a run for his money. I’ll be damned, she thinks, smiling broadly. The car door swings open, and Homelander extends a rare ungloved hand to her. Slipping her hand into his, she allows him to effortlessly draw her up out of the vehicle. Though Homelander returns her smile, she can see the tension at the corners of his mouth. It reminds her of the tight way he’s been smiling for the cameras for the last several weeks, and not at all of their usual comfortable exchanges during sessions.

“You look very handsome,” she tells him, reaching up to smooth her fingers along one of the lapels of his jacket. He’s a good deal more slender than the supe suit makes him appear. His shoulders are less broad without the protruding pauldrons. His torso is ridiculously bulging. Still, he is by no means a slight man. Truth be told, she finds the figure he cuts in a formal suit far more appealing. His hair is also styled more softly, looser, as if no longer needing to compensate for the bulk of the suit. Where normally she would expect him to preen under the compliment, Homelander rolls his shoulders subtly, clearing his throat. She wonders how long it’s been since anyone new (or anyone at all) saw him in anything other than his Homelander suit.

He gives her hand a subtle squeeze, and suit or no suit, there is no doubt that the power that thrums in his body is wholly his. “Thank you,” he says, closing the car door behind her. He signals the driver off with a flick of his wrist. “And you look… radiant,” he says, regaining some of his usual composure once he’s able to shift the focus onto her. His smile thins slyly as he draws her nearer. “Looks like I’ll have to warm you up again,” he said, giving her jacket a playful little tug. “Surely it won’t be as cold inside,” Layla responds, glancing over to the double doorway. “We won’t be eating inside tonight. Still, you won’t be needing it,” he responds, slipping a hand beneath her coat, settling it on her hip. Even against the night air, the press of his hand is warm as ever. The heat of him seeping through the fabric of her dress.

Layla looks up at him, expression pinching incredulously. “It’s freezing out.” “Relax,” he purrs, closing the slight gap between them with a small step. “You trust me?” She hums with a purse of her lips, wrinkling her nose at him. “Tentatively. The ice is thin.” Homelander’s smile broadens. “Good enough for me.” With that, he scoops Layla up into his arms, startling a soft noise from her. Before she can ask what would necessitate him carrying her to dinner, her stomach flips the way it does when going down a hill in a car; a sudden shift in her gravity. Looking down, she sees the pavement she was just standing on, growing more and more distant, along with the flowerbeds and statues. Inhaling sharply, Layla grabs a tight hold of his jacket, the other arm curling around his neck. Her heart leaps in her chest, pumping a surge of adrenaline through her as the ground grows more distant, and the sickly thrill of danger climbs higher. “W-wait, hold on–”

“Relax,” Homelander says again, a laugh bubbling up beneath it. “I’m not gonna drop you, alright? I’m a professional. Just breathe,” he tells her, which she’s sure is easy for him to say. The higher they climb, the more the world below them looks surreal, like the most realistic toy city she’s ever seen. “Not long to floor eighty-eight.” “Eighty-eight?” Layla echoes incredulously, her heart skipping a beat. “Look at me,” Homelander murmurs, his voice warm in her ear. She turns sharper than she means to, staring up at him with wide eyes. Once again, unbalancing her helps him recover much of his confidence. He may not have a suit to scream superhero! but flying her to the top of a one hundred storey building is certainly one way to do it. “Atta girl, see? Safer than a plane,” he says, throwing in a little wink. He chuckles at that, and she feels as though he’s making another one of those jokes she’s not privy to.

“I would have been just as impressed if you had carried me up a hundred flights of stairs instead, you know,” Layla says, flexing her grip around his neck, her stomach flipping wildly. The ground is still fading away, and when she chances a glance up, she sees they still have a long way to go. Homelander is moving slowly enough that the breeze is gentle, but the air is only growing colder and thinner as they climb. Homelander scoffs a little laugh. “I don’t believe that.” Taking in a slow breath, Layla looks out across the city. While it had been dark on the ground, from here she can see the remnants of the sunset creeping across the edges of the horizon. Above the haze and light pollution, she can even make out stars twinkling in the night sky. Not even her high rise apartment allowed her enough altitude to stargaze in the city. It’s beautiful. A tapestry of rich blues and purples dotted with constellations stretching in every direction. She can’t remember the last time she really saw the sky.

“Okay,” she relents, resting her head on his chest, gaze lazily flitting over the star-dusted sky. “Maybe not as impressed.” He hums at that, his own stare focused solely on her, smirking his satisfaction. Layla looks up at him, and the way he waggles his brows at her makes her laugh. ”But you don’t need to look so pleased with yourself,” she says, tentatively releasing her grip on his jacket to poke the corner of his mouth, where that smirk of his sits proud. “I’m drifting freely above the finest city in the greatest country in the world, holding a beautiful woman in my arms. What’s not to be pleased about?” Homelander counters, leaning into her touch. Layla opens her palm to allow for the way he pushes into it, turning a playful little gesture into something more intimate, her hand cupped to the side of his face. His words would make her roll her eyes if he didn’t speak them with such earnestness. There is so much about him that would fall flatter than roadkill on paper, if it wasn’t for the specific kind of charisma he carries. It has captured her more than she cares to admit. When she expects to hear irony in his voice, oftentimes she is met with a sincerity that she rarely sees in men of his age and status.

The air has grown thin. Layla feels light and fuzzy in this moment, warm in his arms despite the chill of the night. Their breaths mingle visibly in the cold. The impulse to kiss him strikes her, and she follows it without a thought, her thumb stroking his cheek. The edges of his smirk soften against her lips as he kisses her back slowly, unhurried, but with no less passion. Just the way she taught him. What she had initially intended to be a brief press of her lips stretches into coaxing movements, deepening with each passing second. Layla pushes her hand up into his hair, cupping the back of his head, encouraging him with a pleased little noise. Homelander’s hand tightens at her waist, under her legs. Despite the fact he’s currently flying her nearly a hundred feet directly into the air, the eager way he follows her lead as she kisses him gives her a sense of control over him that eases the drumming of her heart.

Layla falls so deeply into the kiss that she nearly misses the gentle jostle of their landing. When she opens her eyes, she’s met with a row of hanging lights, dangling prettily from a white fabric tent set up over a patio. It’s upheld by sturdy wooden beams, with a single dining table between them. Truth be told, it’s far from what Layla had expected. The singular square table is rather small, making for a much more intimate setting than she had anticipated. “It’s warm,” she says, more thinking aloud than speaking to Homelander, who hums approvingly. “State of the art outdoor conditioning. Four regulators, one in each corner. They circulate warm air, and keep the cold out. Something about creating pressure,” he says dismissively, setting Layla down on her feet. Placing his hands on her shoulders and giving a slight squeeze, he asks slyly, “May I take your coat?”

Smiling over her shoulder at him, Layla lifts her hands to unbutton her jacket, allowing him to slide it off her arms. She feels the tips of his fingers graze her bare arms, his own hands pleasantly ungloved. “Thank you,” she says, watching him fold the garment over his forearm. He offers her his other arm, and she takes it for the walk to the table. “You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?” She asks, taking note of the bouquet of roses set at the table, and the smattering of tealights lit all around it. Instead of being set across the table from each other, the chairs were set opposite one another at the same corner. Homelander looks pleased at that, following her eye to the table setting. “Ahh, well, maybe a little.” In addition to the flowers, there are two dishes sitting under silver cloches, though only one of the two is paired with a glass of red wine, the bottle not far away. She sits down, and Homelander drapes her coat on the back of her chair, sliding it in under her. He moves to take the seat next to her, unbuttoning the bottom of his jacket as he sits.

“Hope it’s all to your liking. Prepared fresh from the kitchens,” he says, reaching out to the silver cloche set over her plate. Lifting it off, he reveals a gorgeously plated beef filet. It’s sat atop potato puree and asparagus, with what looks to be roasted fennel on top. Layla can smell the butter and thyme immediately. She smiles, closing her eyes as she inhales it. “Smells incredible,” she says, unfolding the cloth napkin to place on her lap. She had assumed as much when he had inquired about her preference between well done, medium and rare, but this was an admittedly more delicate presentation than she expected. “You don’t drink?” She asks, reaching for the wine glass next to her plate. “No, no. Not for me. Never really acquired the taste for it. Plus, it, uhh, doesn’t do much for me. I’d have to drink the whole winery for a good buzz,” Homelander explains, absently rubbing his hands up and down his thighs. When was the last time he wore a pair of pants that weren’t made of padded material with an NIJ protection level? “Touché,” Layla responds, bringing the glass to her lips. She inhales first, and then takes a sip. It’s delicious, rich and subtly fruity, but not enough to overpower the meal. Glancing at the bottle, she recognizes the label: it’s a vintage Saint Émilion, easily worth a couple hundred dollars. She gives an approving hum. “More for me, I suppose,” she says playfully, setting the glass down. “All yours,” he agrees. His smile is gradually becoming less tight, though his posture is not. He’s sitting straight with his hands on his thighs, nervous in a way she hasn’t seen him before. “Not trying to get me drunk, are you?” She asks, quirking her brow.

He huffs a laugh, leaning back in his chair, seemingly eased by the banter. “You an easy drunk?” “Not in the least. It’ll take more than one bottle,” she shoots back, smiling as she takes a sip. “Well, there’s plenty more where that came from,” he says, interlacing his hands in his lap. 

“Careful, I can become quite an expensive date,” she says slyly, cutting herself a bite of the filet. Clearly he was one to splurge. “And an even more expensive fuck,” Homelander adds without missing a beat, his tone a touch lower. The two of them sit in a dense silence while Layla chews her bite, taken aback. Homelander takes in her expression, and as he does, she can see the gears turning in his head. Some of that tension creeps back into the line of his shoulders as he realizes he may have spoken something that should have been kept a thought. He sits up straight. “Which… is to say–” he begins, trying to recover, but stops himself when Layla starts to laugh. “It’s okay,” she says, finishing her glass in a final sip. “You’re right. I’m a very expensive fuck,” she says, licking her lips. His gaze drops to her lips, following the movement with the precision of a stalking predator. He swallows visibly, eventually smiling in return. “That’s the lifestyle I chose for myself. You’re doing well in keeping up,” she says, giving her empty glass a pointed little tap. He takes the hint and picks up the bottle to refill her glass. “Why did you choose it?” He asks, setting the bottle back down. “Your lifestyle. Your… occupation.”

An inevitable question, but one that remains no less complicated to answer, regardless of how many times it comes up.

Layla gives a contemplative hum. “I’m good at it,” she says, absently running her fingers up and down the stem of her glass. “Better than I ever was in an office. Happier, too. I work when I want, I charge what I want, and I love who I want.” Homelander makes a skeptical little noise. “You don’t love those other guys, though.” Other guys. He’s specific about that, she notes. She decides not to address it for now, nor the fact that not all of her clients are even ‘guys.’ Layla takes a slow breath, and then a sip of her drink, formulating her answer. “I started escorting because I knew I would meet people like me. People who felt incapable of finding intimate connection the way everyone around them did.” She may not be drunk, but the wine has certainly helped loosen her lips. ”I have total control of who can enjoy my time, my affection, for how long, and in exchange they show me the parts of themselves they don’t want the world to see. There is true intimacy in that.” She tilts her head slightly, gauging his response. He, after all, is one such person. His posture has changed completely: he’s leaning in now, with his forearm braced on the table. She continues, “Just because it’s paid for doesn’t mean it isn’t real. I build relationships with the people I want to build relationships with.” “Don’t you think that’s dangerous?” He asks, a lilt to his voice that Layla has difficulty parsing. “Selling people on the idea that you really do love them?” “I don’t say these things to my clients. You’re my date,” she counters, taking a bite of her meal. He straightens up slightly at that, as if he’s been praised. “But no, I don’t. I do my job, and I do it well. I take precautions.”

“Precautions,” Homelander echoes. “Because it’s dangerous.” “You’re not going to tell me anything about my profession I don’t already know,” she says, amused. “I’ve been doing this for years.” “What do your parents think of it?” Layla considers him a moment. “They died when I was young,” she says. No sense in dragging that out any more than it needs to be. “My grandparents raised me, but they passed, oh… About eleven years ago.”

“How did they die?” He asks immediately, brows slightly furrowed.

She could almost laugh. While on the one hand it’s a tactless approach, it’s also refreshing. Oftentimes, that answer means a handful of empty condolences for a bunch of people the person never knew, people who died decades ago, and Layla comforting them through the discomfort associated with death and grief. Homelander didn’t even blink.

“My grandparents passed peacefully within a year of each other,” she says, swirling her wine. “She went first, and I think he just… didn’t want to be here without her,” she says, pursing her lips slightly. “My parents, on the other hand, they had a–let’s say it was a flare for the dramatic,” she says, her smile turning a little wry. “They were junkies.” Homelander’s brows lift. “Drugs?” “No, no. They were addicts, but it wasn’t for drugs. They were adrenaline junkies. It’s how they met. Skydiving,” she says, finishing off her second glass. This time, Homelander refills it without prompt. The gesture makes her smile, and she tips her glass in thanks. “They slowed down for a bit after they had me, but not for long. Eventually they started performing for crowds. You know, stunts. Motorcycles, jumps, demolition derbies. Whatever thrilled them.” “So, what… Blew up in a freak accident?” He asks, shifting to rest his hand on his thigh. This time, Layla does laugh. There’s something liberating about his irreverence. He’s not treating the subject with the kid gloves that everyone else does, and it’s clear he doesn’t expect her to, either. “More or less. They planned this… insane jump. Fitted my dad’s Pontiac with a homemade rocket. They were supposed to clear a jump over a building set for demolition, but the rocket malfunctioned. It didn’t engage until they were nearly off the ramp, and ended up just… flying them straight into the side of the building.” Looking over at Homelander, Layla cocks her head. She half expects him to laugh, crack a joke or make some reference, but he’s just watching her. She sips her drink. “You tell that story pretty straight,” he says at last. She gives a small shrug. “It’s been a long time.” He nods, tapping his middle finger on the table. “Real Thelma and Louise of them.” There it is, Layla muses. “I never knew two people more in love than my parents. They were happiest when they were risking their lives together. Can’t think of a more fitting way for two people to go out,” she says, and though she means it, even she can hear the emptiness sinking into the tone of her voice. She takes a long final drink from her wine, setting the empty glass aside. “How old were you?” He asks. He moves to refill her glass, but she lifts a hand to stop him, shaking her head subtly. He sets the bottle back down. “Twelve.” She chooses not to elaborate, despite the flood of memories that come with the answer. Homelander hums. “Really took after ‘em, huh?” Layla blinks, immediately disarmed. “I–excuse me?”

He looks surprised by her surprise. “I mean… C’mon. Sure, you’re not strapping rockets to your car or throwing yourself out of planes, but you’re not working a desk job, either. You said it yourself. I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know,” he says, echoing her word for word. “You work a dangerous job, and you like it.” She can say with confidence that the last thing she expected to happen tonight was for him to start psychoanalyzing her. She huffs an incredulous little laugh, suddenly wishing she hadn’t stopped him from refilling her glass.

“That’s not the same thing,” she dismisses, smiling despite the nagging unease it dredges up somewhere in the back of her mind. “Besides, you’re hardly one to talk about occupational hazards. What made you choose to become a hero?” It’s not her most skillful conversational redirect, but she’s also three glasses deep in a very good wine. “I didn’t,” he answers plainly, his demeanor shifting alongside the direction of the conversation. Layla’s smile falters. “What?” “I didn’t choose it,” he says, voice duller yet. “It was chosen for me. I mean, c’mon. What else was I gonna be? A desk jockey? Hahah, nope.” He sucks a pitchy noise through his teeth. “Like Jesus on the cross… It was written in stone,” he says, tapping his fingers on a roll atop the table. “But do you like it?” She leans towards him, brows pinched. “Being a hero. Do you like it?” He pulls a strange face, looking as if no one’s ever asked him that before. He clears his throat, visibly uncomfortable with the direction her question threatens to take them. “What’s not to like? America loves me.” The words sound stale from his mouth. Layla can’t fault him for them, though. She’s seen glimpses of how important Homelander is to John’s identity, seen firsthand the way praise and adoration can undo him behind closed doors. It comes as no surprise that it’s something he needs to believe. It makes something in her ache for him. Layla shifts closer yet, and gently settles her hand atop his on the table, bringing the percussive tapping of his fingers to a halt. He looks at her sharply, though the set of his gaze softens. His eyes look wider, more vulnerable. Perhaps he forgot he was without his gloves, or he just wasn’t expecting the contact. Either way, it brings him back to her. She squeezes his hand. “It’s okay,” she says, her thumb stroking back and forth. “It’s okay. It’s just us. You don’t need to do that.” You don’t need to pretend. Homelander now wears the kind of surprise Layla might expect to see if she’d slapped him. He stares with his lips parted, a thought half-formed on them. He lifts his other hand over hers, fingertips brushing along the back of her hand, skating up to her wrist, light as a feather as he holds her gaze. Then next thing Layla knows, his grip on her wrist tightens and he’s pulling her body up against his. With a gentle effortlessness that only his strength could allow for, he brings them both to their feet, his other hand moving to the small of her back. The sudden rise is disorienting, but the kiss is so warm and fervent that she can’t help the little moan that escapes her. He takes the opportunity to slip his tongue between her lips, letting go of her wrist in favor of cupping both sides of her face. He always kisses her with such urgency, holding tight, like she may disappear if he doesn’t.

It feels incredible to match his pace, to kiss him as hungrily as he kisses her without the nagging call to slow him down, to maintain his expectations. She falls into it without reserve, free of the rigid pretense of their sessions. She can’t blame it on the wine, she’s been thinking about this for weeks. He pushes his hands further back into her hair, still kissing her like he expects her to stop him at any second, desperate to taste what he can before it’s gone. 

He moves against her with such a force, it causes her back to arch, head tipping all the way back. He takes one hand from her hair to slip around her waist instead, bringing her body back against his. She puts her own hands on his shoulders, gripping him tight and pulling him in turn. He makes sweet, starved noises against her lips when she slips her hand up into his hair, cupping the back of his head. Homelander is the first to pull away, though he doesn’t go far. He kisses the corner of her mouth, her jaw, down the line of her throat. He moves his hands to her hips to hold her steady while he takes full advantage of the plunging neckline of the dress he chose for her. “Come home with me,” he says between kisses, voice thin, ravenous. Her heart skips a beat. Say no. “Yes.” Chapter Five.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Acrostic WIP Game!

Tagged by @griefabyss69 who has been a writing FIEND lately, thank you!!!

Rules: You will be given a word. Share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word.

The word is: G O L D E N

G

“I can handle ‘em if they do,” Eddie nudges Steve with his elbow. “Go on. I promise not to burn the house down.”

O

“Oh! And I scheduled a massage for you later. They’re coming to the house this afternoon. I’ll have the kids out of the house so you can get the full effect.”

L

“Like what goes on birthday cakes?”

D

“That’s how your daddy was feeling. He needed a little break from all of his chores.” “Daddy has chores?” Dustin asks as he colors furiously over a coloring page from his superhero book.

E

Eddie doesn’t really hate the work involved on a farm, not even when it involves literal shit, but he can’t help thinking how he wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t care so much about Steve.

N

“Can I just come inside?” Mike groans, throwing his head back. “Not until lunch. Your dad needs some quiet.”

All of these are from the third chapter of my omegaverse WIP that will start posting when my bang is done! I'm super excited that this brain worm took off the way it did and I'm looking forward to sharing something different from my usual with everyone! I'll tag @just-my-latest-hyperfixation @wormdebut @thefreakandthehair @starrystevie @runninriot and anyone else who wants to share!

Your word is: R I C H

[gurugirl]

Heya girlie!! I hope you’re having the loviest day and have been drinking plenty of water💓 cheeky nosey question? Do you have anything sitting in your drafts that you’re undecided on posting?👀 or any concepts you’ve thought of or like that you might put out soon!

OH HI! I'm having a good good day yes! Just writing and sipping some iced coffee with my dog next to me so I have no complaints. I haven't had any actual water today but iced coffee counts yeah? 😬 I hope you're also keeping hydrated and having a lovely day :)

And I love these cheeky nosy questions!! Do I have anything sitting in my drafts??? Does this answer your question? 🤭

Let's see...

Of the things in my drafts that I feel like I can talk about (buckle up, it gets wild!)

I've got another subrry that's partly done (based on this couple),

I've got an extra part to go with this but it's not finished,

I have a few requests for a bunch of things that are really similar that I didn't share because I started writing them but never finished - and still intend on getting to them,

an idea with a housesitter!yn I started cooking up based on a cute/cheesy movie from the 90s with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin (🙈) called Housesitter.

AS WELL as another idea I started based on another 90s late 80s (just checked and this one is 1987 lol) movie with Michael J Fox called Secret of My Success (I don't know what to tell y'all, sometimes I just go off the rails and start something to make it my own and it's based on cheesy older movies but I can't help myself 😂),

military!harry x military!reader

A Don't Stand So Close check where Harry grows a bit of a mustache

a stepdad!h idea someone sent me with a lingerie shopping spree

a MFM threesome idea I've been working on FOREVER

the beginning of a part 2 to Sex Ed with Harry that never got finished

a body guard harry (but i wanted to wait bc it was at a time when there were a bunch of body guard harrys coming out and I didn't want to feel like i was competing with the other amazing authors already doing it and doing it better most likely lol

a request for harry x his wife's best friend 🫣 that I have two versions of and cannot figure out how to finish and also wanted to give y'all a break from the cheating trope for a bit

hitman!harry who's very protective of yn and she has no idea he has feelings for her (or that he's a hitman) until one day she's in trouble and he saves her 👀

dark!harry who's your bartender and winds up talking you into going home with him and things get... interesting but you wind up LOVING it - felt a lot like MCC Harry with those kidnapping vibes (even tho yn doesn't get kidnapped it felt too similar at the time so I didn't finish it)

Phew! So that's some of what I've got in there. That's not to mention what I've got in my actual Word docs drafts (that's where I have most of my WIPs and unposted, unfinished fics). Potentially I could just hit post on some of the things but uffff!!! I really prefer everything to be readable and perfect.

Is there anything on this list y'all would be interested in currently??

xoxo

[jubilantmedusa]

Hi! I just wanted to say that I really like your fics <3 I re-read your latest Zukka one 3 times. Do you plan to write any more soon? What type of ideas do you have? I hope I don't sound pushy I'm just curious!

Aww, so glad you enjoyed it :)

I doesn't take much to get me to talk about ideas and WIPs so here you go!

I'm not sure how soon any of this will get done, just because life is very busy right now (which is the reason I've been focusing on short stuff - I prefer medium/long, but short is more achivable right now; and it is a fun challenge to stick to a word limit).

Actively working on:

Zukka HC Sketch + Fic: I have two other Zukka H/C-ish sketches that I need to write stories for. They should be a little less angsty then the last one, in theory, but still have some H/C element. Waiting for inspiration to strike. (1 - 1.5k each goal). I might do more of these, or I might switch to a non-H/C sketch/fic focus. Or I might stop when those two are done. IDK. Whatever's fun.

Iroh and Zuko Post "The Desert" Whump AU: Zuko and Iroh’s escape from "The Desert" is intercepted by an enemy who quickly surmises that the most effective way to torture Iroh is to torture Zuko. With Iroh literally losing his mind, can Zuko (who is not doing well) save his uncle and himself? (currently at 4k; estimated 12 - 16k)

If I can finish the above by the end of the year I'll be pleased.

Ideas that I really want to do and have at least done *some* pre-writing for:

Iroh's Second Spirit World Journey: An Iroh centric story that diverges after "The Earth King." When Zuko never wakes up from his angst coma, Iroh goes literally beyond the ends of the earth to try to save him (aka - Iroh's second spirit world journey). Could have a sequal (or even be a trilogy, potentially), but not required. I really want to write this but I'm not sure if it would have an audience. Estimate: long, over 25k

Escaping the Desert: Another "The Desert" divergence story - Zuko and Iroh are captured by the Rough Rhinoes. Unfortunately, so is Toph. Zuko will do anything to save his uncle, but what about the strange blind girl who was with the avatar? Estimate 15 - 25k. The problem with this one is it would more or less require a trilogy... but if I can keep all the stories to around 10-15k that may be achievable.

Zukka Iron Lung: There is a plague that only effect firebenders. This spurs the invention of the iron lung -- Sokka is one of the lead engineers. When Sokka goes to the Fire Nation to Save the Day, he catches feelings for the Fire Lord. Unfortunately, Zuko then catches the plague. Length TBD.

Zukka Post Series romance: Zuko was injured/disabled before the finale and never took the throne. Sokka hasn't spoke to him since. He has, however, developed PTSD. With his life seemingly falling apart. Sokka decides to run away and go to university at Ba Sing Se. He stops for tea at the Jasmine Dragon, which is now run by, you guessed it, Zuko. Angst and romance ensures. Bonus airbender field trip. Length TBD.

Ice Demon / Waterbender Hospital - This is something I'm not sure anyone would be interested in except me, but I do like medical whump. I've done some light worldbuilding for a waterbender hospital, and have a vague idea of sending Zuko there when he's attacked by an Ice spirit. For some reason. Maybe involving Aang and his quest to master the avatar state? or maybe not, because that would be a lot of story. Lots of more to develop here. Could be gen or Zukka. Season 3 somewhere. Length TBD.

Fire Demon story - I would love to write a longer form season one AU that shamlessly steals the premise of the excellent short fic Fire Walk by Sholio and makes it into a multi-chapter Zuko joins the gang early story. Length TBD.

Ancedotes: This is an idea for a series of short form slice of life/characters backstory fics (3 - 8k, lets say). So far they'd include - "Old Man " a story that answers the question 'how did Sokka learn about physics?' - coming of age/loss of innocence; "Losing at Pai Sho" a story about teen Iroh learning to not be arrogant; and "First Kiss" - the only idea I've ever had for an Azula story, featuring Ty Lee's first kiss and Azula's first... something else. I have an idea for Toph and Zuko, but not committed to them. Katara story has not come to me. I also wanted to pair these with exercises from The 3 A.M. Epiphany because idk the whim struck and the idea is in my head.

Aside form that, I'd like to write a few whumpy Zuko short stories (3 - 10k) that focus on the gaang relationships I haven't written about as much - friendship fics featuring Katara & Zuko, Aang & Zuko, or Toph & Zuko.

If I am ever to become independently wealthy, I'll write my season 3 AU.

And if I ever feel very, very silly - but still slightly angsty - I'll have Iroh commission a symphony in C.

Thank you so much for the question! I am flattered. It was very nice.

If there's an idea you (or anyone who stumbles across this) especially likes, let me know!

[sp00kymulderr]

20 questions for fic writers

thank you for the tags @maggiemayhemnj @perotovar @freelancearsonist @schnarfer 💗

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

55, I don't post everything there because I usually forget it exists, but it also has some of my older works on it from other fandoms. I don't really get ao3 - it just sort of feels like shouting into a void.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

93,343 (cannot write long fic to save my life)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

PPCU my beloved

4. Top five fics by kudos

Embarrassing because these are old old fics and even then they have barely any kudos lmao but I guess I'll tell you:

My Soul in the Stars - tumblr link (Poe Dameron x reader)

Anathema (August Walker x reader, abandoned series)

Nexus - tumblr link (Ezra & Cee)

Yours (August Walker x reader)

Survive (August Walker x reader)

but top 5 by notes on tumblr is completely different:

Rise (Joel x reader)

Closer to light (Javi P x reader)

inhale, exhale (Joel x reader)

Akrasia (Ezra x reader)

Spark (our house of flames pt 1) (Joel x reader)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to! They mean the world to me but sometimes I get overwhelmed and feel dumb just saying 'thank you' over and over.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hm probably the smokes the ghost that keeps you close (Javi P x reader) or the San Valentin mini-series (Javi P x reader...what can I say, Javi and angst just works)

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

the kind of love you've been dreaming of (marcus p x reader) is pretty sickeningly sweet all the way through, they're very happy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not anymore no, I used to get shit about my Ezra fics and my August Walker fics back in the day.

9. Do you write smut?

Oh yes

10. Craziest crossover?

I haven't written any yet but I guess the Marcus M/Dieter fic when its done?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No thank god

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

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

No, but I dream of co-writing with @chronically-ghosted and @perotovar one day 💞

14. All time favorite ship?

I've never been much of a shipper, but probably Bobbie/Chrisjen (The Expanse)

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

I'd love to finish take the long way home (Marcus P x reader) one day, I had such vision for it. But Marcus is really just not my guy right now and I don't see myself going back to it any time soon.

16. What are your writing strengths?

🤷lmao do i have any right now

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably dialogue. Descriptions. My grammar is atrocious. Making things interesting?? romance??

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Great, but run it by a native speaker before if you are not one.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

It was either h*rry p*tter or Lord of the Rings.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

despite the fact that no one else likes it, I love and am so proud of our house of flames - I'm working on the final chapter and it's so emotional and I love it!

-----

np tags @covetyou @whatsnewalycat @for-a-longlongtime @quinnnfabrgay-writes @seventeenpins

[wishingicouldfly]

Favorite Fics 2023

Happy 2024! I always have a hard time narrowing down my favorites. A few stats this year, I read 155 fics (according to my admittedly not 100% correct database), and it's low because I've been watching LGBTQ+ media and reading less. I had 50+ fics that I rated 5/5, so narrowing down to 14 was me cutting out shorts, holiday fics, and rereads. These are in no particular order.

All is now Harmed by Fondleeds

It's still that dreamy kind of dark, nothing seeming real, but he knows that it's time to go, to whistle for Pippa and eat whatever he's got left in the fridge and start the drive down to Molly's. He can't seem to open the door. Maybe he doesn't want to face it, this new thing. Having Louis here feels like a betrayal. Harry tries not to think about what his Dad would have to say if he saw the journo sleeping on their pull-out, here to shake a settled sheet and watch the dust fly again. - AU. Harry's a farmer, Louis writes for The Age, and it hasn't rained in the Bourke Shire for six years.

Why I Like It: This is Excellent, but after 123K words, it's a WIP. Unfinished since May 2022, but that said, the writing is gorgeous, and I think that alone makes it worth the read.

2. Angels Fly by LilyBlue28

Harry is a lonely omega in the North Western White River Pack who is uncharacteristically drawn to nature and his now outdated primal instincts. He fills his days with going through the motions and clinging to the one actual friendship he has in the omega Zayn, and when he gets a chance he sneaks away to the edge of their territory to sit with the trees and the wildlife and sketch his favorite part of the river. But what happens when one day he spots the pack alpha, Louis, having an intimate moment with something, or someone, unexpected? Suddenly his quiet, nearly invisible existence gets upended, and secrets he never wanted to know quite literally won't leave him alone, and even when he tries to stay away, he keeps being pulled back into Louis' turbulent orbit. A magical love story featuring a generations long grudge, a menacing curse, and secrets that keep pulling them apart. Will they be able to find a way back to one another through the dark?

Why I Like It: Really integrated plot, soul mates/wolf story. ABO, but more wolf than human. Very involved plot. Well done.

3. Be There by mission2feelike

Niall sits down dramatically, arms flopping to his side before he leans forward and looks right into Harry's eyes. "So, your ex-boyfriend, who broke your heart four years ago, is coming to stay at your house for six weeks? And his daughter, your daughter, is coming to stay tonight?"

Harry nods, worried if he speaks, he'll be yelled at again, but then Niall's face softens, his ever-present smile is back and Harry hears him breathe out a small chuckle. "Okay, for the record, I think this is the worst idea you've ever had, but how can we help?" or The one where their family has been torn apart and their hearts broken, but an accident, a snowstorm, cinnamon rolls, and the adorable Josie force Louis and Harry to finally face the truth, and each other.

Why I Like It: Harry and Louis take custody of Lottie's baby, but Louis breaks H's heart by sending him away. pining. kid fic. Harry is famous. Had some very lovely domestic moments, and some tear jerkers. Louis was a bit of a jerk at the beginning. Side of Ziam.

4. Butterfly Gun by Eravain - no link, this is off AO3, but DM me if you want me to share it with you, as I have a PDF.

Harry has never been much of a fighter, but—as always—where Louis Tomlinson is concerned, a lot of things stop being true. 1940's AU. Even after six years apart, they can't forget their shared wartime childhood.

Why I Like It: I loved this gem--childhood friends to lovers. Historical Fiction. Really well written.

5. Counterbalance by YesIsAWord

Harry Styles loves two things: teaching ballet and racing motorcycles. Those two worlds collide when his greatest rival on the track, Louis "Tommo" Tomlinson brings his tiny siblings to Harry's class.

Why I Like It: Pretty short but very effectively written story. Pacing was good. Loved the dichotomy of Harry as a ballerina and as a motorcycle driver. 

6. Danger I Can't Hide by CelticSky

"Don't," Tomlinson's voice was low, gravelled, hiding out in the night where only Styles could hear it. "Stop it. Calm down. You can't do anything." Styles' chest heaved. Tomlinson had him pinned against the wall, his forearm strong against his ribs. The night air crackled around them and all he could hear was the overlap of their breath, desperation, exquisite need and pain and desire and longing and lingering resistance. He couldn't take his eyes from Tomlinson's lips. The way they fell open to expel air against Harry's jaw. His tongue darting out to wet them between desperate words, making them glisten in what little light there was. His eyes were lidded and unseeing as he himself looked down to stare at Styles' mouth. ~~~ Flying Officer Styles and Sergeant Tomlinson would have likely never crossed paths in a time of peace, their ordinary lives laid out neatly, predictably before them. But then the world became unrecognisable. All too soon they grew accustomed to fear, surrounded by death and destruction, not even their very freedom a certainty anymore. Until they found each other. Comfort. Companionship. Understanding. Another person to lose.

Why I Like It: Amazing. Research into WW2 and what it was like to be queer and hiding a relationship. loved the love story, but also the human side of the war. Very well told.

7. Have Love, Will Travel by Kingsofeverything

Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series. It soon becomes obvious to their viewers that there's something more than friendship between them. Eventually, they figure it out.

Why I Like It: super cute. Road Trip Larry. Lots of state parks, travel. Louis has a crush and of course they end up together.

8. Heading for Limbo by KingsofEverything

Childhood best friends who've fallen in and out of touch with each other since Louis' family moved away when they were thirteen, Harry and Louis find their paths crossing again and again. Each time, no matter how many miles apart or how many years it's been, it's as if no time has passed. They fall back into their easy friendship, until life intervenes and sends them on their separate ways once more. When Harry discovers some life-changing things about himself, Louis is there for him, however he needs. But it's all temporary because Louis has plans that will move his life from New York all the way to L.A. and the distance isn't the only thing between them. The pieces of their twice broken hearts are scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Why I Like It: I really liked this one. Slow burn, friends to not-friends, to lovers, to exes, to lovers. Word of caution, H has a gf for part of it, but it's a really nice slow awakening of his sexuality. TW for some angst/pining.

9. Glass Closets and Greenhouses by TiredTiredTz

Charlton Athletic defender Louis Tomlinson and worldwide sex symbol Harry Styles are rumoured to be hooking up after a viral video filmed at Harry’s Wembley show was posted online by Tommo’s twin sisters. Sources close to the pair tell us the couple have been dating for a while, with rumours of house hunting, marriage and even kids on the cards! Styles, 29, is as well known for his whirlwind love life as his chart-topping music. Most recently linked to British fashion designer Alex Millet-Sloan, Harry has stayed tight-lipped on rumours of any romantic rendezvous between himself and footballer Tomlinson, 31, yet fans online are convinced that all evidence points to #Tomlinstyles being the real deal.

Why I Like It: Could have been longer. A bit over the top meet cute w/ the twins setting them up, but over all well done. 

10. It's Fine to Fake it 'Til You Make ('Til It's True) by Sunflouwerhabit

Harry dreads an impending visit to his hometown, where he’ll be forced to reunite with a newly engaged ex-boyfriend, a childhood best friend turned near stranger, and a family who never understood just how desperately he needed to leave. In the midst of it all, a ludicrous Twitter proposition brings him to Louis.

Why I Like It: I loved this one. Super cute characters, a little bit of miscommunication, lovely, lovely boys. 

11. Like an Endless Summer by objectlesson - no link, I have this as an epub

Louis is an riding instructor at a summer camp, and Harry is a fellow counselor wh he’s been successfully managing his crush on for the last two years. That is, until Harry shows up this year leveled up and lethal, and all Louis’ formerly perfected veneer of nonchalance melts like a popsicle in the sun.

Why I Like It: absolutely lovely. GREAT depiction of the uncertainty of a crush liking you. slow burn, but you see it coming the whole way. 

12. The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by KingsofEverything

Louis' life is steady and calm, moored by his marriage, and tied to his hometown, but after a chance encounter with another man, it'll never be the same.

Why I Like It: really liked this one. TW for cheating. Middle aged man in a loveless marriage realizes he's gay and falls in love with a co-worker. Could totally be a Hallmark movie.

13. Until the Pearls get Lost by LadyLondonderry

London, 1933. Harry Styles, alpha, elusive bachelor and happy third wheel to his coupled friends, receives a visit from one Liam Payne, begging for his help. Liam’s childhood friend Louis is about to become the talk of the city; left at the altar because the mating bond was rejected, Louis will spend the rest of his life in an institution unless Liam can find someone to take him in and care for him as he recovers. Most omegas with failed bonds are never the same again. With rumours swirling around about the reason for the rejected bond, Harry gives in to Liam’s pleas. He hasn’t the slightest idea how that decision will shape the rest of his life.

Why I Like It: This felt like a fairy tale. Great writing. A bit left to the imagination. Almost werewolf-y. 

14. Write This Down by Sunflouwerhabit

"And Louis responds by kissing him. He closes his eyes and presses their lips together and hopes it’s enough to distract from how those words cut and extracted critical pieces of his heart, his soul. Louis kisses Harry to avoid sobbing, yelling, pleading, begging him to never, ever use words like always or never or I promise, because they can’t. They don’t have an always. Nevers will forever remain a mere dream. Time has run out for commitments or oaths or pledges and if Louis is going to be okay- if he’s going to enjoy this time with Harry and then let him go and still feel whole- he can’t let himself start thinking long term. He can’t let this become emotional; something more than silliness and fun and sex. He can’t hear Harry say he’s proud of him when he doesn’t know if he’ll ever see him again after this week. 'I miss you,' Harry murmurs, his breaths warm and equally shaky. 'All the time.' Louis kisses him harder."

Why I Like It: I really loved this contemporary romance. Lots of angst, boys being stupid thinking they are protecting each other by not communicating. But ultimately a lovely story. New favorite.

[0nlythrowharrybeaux]

WHAT SHOULD I WRITE NEXT?

Hi friends, my 2 series are coming to an end and I just can't decide what to work on next. I have a few WIPS that have been in my pages archive for about a year (maybe more now?) but I wanted to give you guys some sneak peeks of them to see if I should just work on one of those? or just do something new?

Keep reading for sneaks of 3 WIPS!

Warnings: descriptions or orgies, threesomes (ffm), masturbation

TEACHER SERIES

I don't have a title for it yet but I have 2 parts done. It would be a short series, maybe 3-5 parts. The premise is that Y/N is the new music teacher at a private high school and Harry is the English Lit teacher and they have big crushes on each other from like day one. Here's a sneak peek from part 1:

“… I want to introduce you all to Miss Y/N Y/L/N!” He said cheerfully and she just smiled and waved to everyone from her seat, “She’ll be the new conductor for our choral groups and the school band and will be taking over a few related classes.” “He said ‘miss’, H…” Niall said softly as they both pretended to pay attention to Mr. Blake’s usual speech about how this year things were going to be exceptional and the schedule for some refreshers and training on school policies and that’s how the next hour or so went until he wrapped it up.

Everyone was getting ready to leave, some teachers were chatting a bit, and Harry was grabbing his backpack when Niall tapped his shoulder, “Check out Brian.” Niall sniggered.

Brian was the Biology and Chemistry teacher, but he couldn’t be more clueless about chemistry between people, he was always so forward and tactless in his advances. He wasn’t unfortunate looking or anything, but he had a bad personality and it was showing through Y/N’s awkward smile and the shakes of her head. Her posture was stiff and her eyes darting around, until they met Harry’s again.

 “I’ll be back.” Harry mumbled to Niall, as he started heading over towards them, “Brian, buddy, how was Maui?” Harry asked aloud, diverting Brian’s attention from the pretty girl before him to himself.

“Bro, it was sick! You would not believe the babes they’ve got over there!” He said and Harry’s eyes widened as he nodded along in feigned-amusement.

“Yeah, I bet!”, Harry patted his shoulder, “Well bud, Ni and I wanted to know a bit about the island, we’d love to visit sometime.” He said.

“Oh! Yeah, I have this travel guide in my car, I’ll be right back!” He said, completely forgetting about Y/N, not even shouting out a ‘nice to meet you’ to her before he was hurrying out. She and Harry chuckled and when he turned his attention to her he finally took her in up close, she was so pretty that being near her felt like a breath of fresh air. 

“What was his line?” He asked and Y/N giggled and shook her head. The fact that he knew there had to have been some sort of line spoke volumes.

“It was, “Hi, I’m Brian, the chemistry teacher. I’m sensing some chemistry here.” She repeated awkwardly and he sniggered in amusement.

“Wow, he’s gotten really confident, hasn’t he?” He chuckled and Y/N shrugged, “Well, I now know you’re Y/N?” He said and she smiled and nodded.

“Yeah, that’s me…” she confirmed timidly.

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Harry, or the English teacher.” He said and she nodded.

“Cool. It’s really nice to meet you.” He smiled as she extended her hand and he took it in his and shook it.

“Well, I’d love to stay and chat,” he said as they pulled their hands back,  “but I’ve bailed you out and now Niall and I will be chatting with Brian for another half hour trying to explain to him that he can’t be appropriating the parts of the Hawaiian culture he has identified with. And we will fail…and then he’ll forget all about it until his next summer vacation when there’s a new culture he can fixate on.” He said and she laughed at his statement. It made him smile wide, her laugh was such a beautiful sound.

“Well, before you go do that, allow me to thank you for bailing me out. I hate when people think they can just hit on you.” She said brows furrowed in some confusion.

“Well Miss Y/L/N, welcome back to high school where everyone is going to hit on you. These boys and some girls are completely shameless, in my experience, that is. I would say come down with the fiery wrath of hell itself before being really nice and they should leave you alone for the most part.” He recommended and she sighed.

“Yeah, I’ll try… well again, thank you, Harry, the English teacher, and uh- I’ll see you in a few weeks.” She said with a friendly smile and he nodded, watching her walk off on her own and right before she left the room she glanced back at him and offered one final smile before she was gone.

"UP TO PAR"

A one shot about Harry the trust fund child. He's come to LA on business with his dad to learn more about the responsibilities of CEO as he's in line to takeover though he really doesn't want to. They're set to golf with the administrators of the LA branch of his dad's company and they have a membership at the country club where Y/N works. She gets assigned to wait on them during their visit. Here's a snippet of that:

“C’mon, we should get going before the green gets too packed.” He said and she just stood without protest and followed along as they went along. There was a golf cart ready for him already with his bag of clubs resting in the holder at the back and soon they took off. As soon as they got to the tee-off location Harry set up as he explained some of the rules. Y/N was completely zoned out just as she was sitting on the cart watching him bend over to get the ball in position. He looked so good it almost hurt.

“-does that make sense?” He suddenly asked turning to her and she immediately nodded.

“Yep, makes sense.” She agreed and he smirked.

“That totally went over your head didn’t it?” He asked and she shrugged with an embarrassed and nervous laugh.

“I kind of tuned out after the first sentence, unfortunately.” She giggled.

Figured…” he mumbled with a chuckle as he stood back up and went to his bag of clubs, “So the first club we’re gonna use is the driver.” He said as he pulled it out and she stood as he signaled her over, “The driver should be used when you’re hitting off the tee, not the ground.” He shared and she nodded, she didn’t even care about this but having him explain was hot enough all on its own.

“I’m gonna lose so bad…”

“We’re not playing a real game, just working on my game and simultaneously giving you a lesson.” He smirked.

“Yeah, alright.” She said and Harry helped her get squared off correctly, directing her on how to position her body and hold the club.

“So when you swing, you just need to be loose, not rigid, though it might look that way.” He explained and she nodded. “May I?” He asked as he came up to her and she nodded. He showed her how to place her hands on the club and she was covered in goosebumps as he hovered over her, his speaking caused the little free-flying hairs by her ear to tickle the shell of it, “So put your hands like this…” he said as he fixed her hands on the rod of the club, “Yep. Just like that, then you’re going to keep this leg planted,” he said patting her left hip, “and this leg’s the one that’s going to pivot.” He explained as he patted at her right hip. “So bend your knees a bit. Yep, good. Now line it up and swing back, keep it straight and then complete the motion.” He said as he swung her forward, stopping right before she hit the ball.

“Seems simple enough.” She smiled and he nodded with a smirk.

“Now you try.” He said and she assumed the position, “Good. Don’t raise it so high. Yeah, looks good. Now swing.” He said and she swung nice and easy and then squinted her eyes to see where her ball went. She was immediately distracted by Harry inhaling loudly before he burst into laughter and she turned to him with a scoff.

“What?” She giggled.

“Oh, love…” he chuckled as he walked past her, just a few feet away and he picked up the ball that had just rolled off of the tee and she looked so confused until she looked down and saw that she had hit the tee and completely missed the ball. Then she started laughing as he came back, his bottom lip was bitten between his top teeth, he looked so cute.

“I thought you said you were a good teacher.” She teased.

“I can only do so much.” Harry said, “Don’t worry though, I did the same thing my first time.” He assured and she giggled.

“Yeah when you were like 7 probably…” she grinned and he shrugged and nodded, “How about you just do your thing, I’m a visual learner.” She said as she took a seat on the golf cart and he chuckled as he set up again. He got in position, squared up, and took the smoothest swing she had ever seen and they both watched as his ball disappeared into the landscape, “Very nice.” She said and clapped a few times for him and he turned around with a smirk.

“I guess showing off for pretty girls is great motivation.” He said and she rolled her eyes playfully as he put his club back and settled into the driver side and they took off. 

His ball was within range of the first hole, which she knew was a good thing. And he easily made it his next shot. He looked really good. And sure, Harry had called her pretty, but she knew he was a bit of a flirt, she wasn’t taking it to heart. As they proceeded through the course Harry was doing well, he only got stumped for a few extra hits in a sand trap. But only because his ball landed right under the lip of it. Y/N had watched enough that she felt confident in trying once more.

“I’m ready to try again.” She said as they took off towards the ball.

“Alright.” Harry smiled and reviewed the steps with her as she walked over to the ball with a different club, the hole was still quite far. “Ready?”

“Yeah.” She smiled and lined up to the ball. Harry bit his lip at the way her bum perked up just a bit, it made the hem on her tennis skirt the tiniest bit higher. He watched her swing back and then she hit the ball. Harry grinned and then his smile dropped as he saw the ball flying way past the hole and towards a group of old guys on the other side of it.

“Fore!” He shouted and she frowned, even she knew what that meant. “Fore! Fore! Fucking fore!” He shouted and waved his arms towards the people the ball was flying towards and they looked around before moving off to the side just in case and even from where they were standing they heard the clang of it hitting the roof of the group’s golf cart. “Ooh!” Harry winced and she pressed herself into his side instinctually, face feeling hot as the sun with embarrassment. She felt surprised when his hand landed around her waist, “Sorry!” He shouted and she waved at the group of old guys in contrition with a sympathetic smile.

“Fuck.” She mumbled and he turned to her, still holding around her waist. He was grinning and she shook her head and just pressed her forehead to Harry’s shoulder as she giggled. Her hands were wrapped around what they could of his biceps and she was trying not to melt in his arms.

“It’s alright, it happens.” He said and she groaned, “I killed a bird once.” He confessed and she pulled back and laughed. He thought it was cute when she laughed, her eyes crinkling all cute like they were now.

“Yeah right!”

“I’m serious!” He said and she rolled her eyes. He playfully pinched at her waist and she shrieked, “Don’t roll your eyes at me.” He said.

“Yes, sir.” She said with a grin and she couldn’t help it as her eyes glanced at his lips. His smile was just really pretty.

“Should we call it quits or do you want to keep going?” He asked and she shrugged.

“Whatever you want.” She smiled.

LVRS Club

This would be a one shot. It's about how Y/N's friends take her to a sex club for the first time to expand her horizons and help her loosen up a bit after she's been under a lot of pressure. Harry happens to be there that night and has taken an interest in her from across the room. Here's the snippet from that:

She saw a neon sign hanging over the entrance of a hallway at the opposite end of the room they’d just entered, “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here” and she turned to Harry who chuckled and then dipped down to reach her ear better.

“I mean that’s a bit dramatic but in a way you’re never really gonna be the same after you see everything going on.” He explained before pulling back just a bit and she looked to him a bit nervously, “We don’t have to go see.” He said to her and she looked from him back to the sign as she pondered the options before her.

Maybe this was exactly the kind of thing she needed to shock her out of her weird mental state but also her dry spell. As attractive as Harry was, she was positive that he was just being nice, he didn’t seem to be putting any moves on her. Yes, he was a complete flirt, but he seemed to err on the side of caution, which was nice, but a part of her started to wonder what he would be up to now if he hadn’t wandered over to her tonight. She was into him and she knew that when she got home she would certainly pull out her trusty toy and play with herself to the memory of his voice and the smell of his cologne, and his big hands and intense eyes. It would help to hear him explain things to her or encourage her to look at something or describe any smutty thing they saw. So yeah, maybe physically he wouldn’t end her dry spell, but he would certainly help with her pushing past it. She swallowed thickly and blinked up at him.

“I think I do want to go see.” She mumbled to him and he just held her eye contact for a few more second and she nodded, reaffirming her decision and he licked over his lips.

“Alright. Just grab my hand, want people to know we’re together. Don’t want them bugging you or me.” He said to her and she nodded, slipping her hand into his as he offered it up and he proceeded to guide them over. 

“These two first rooms at the entrance of the hall, they’re the orgy rooms.” He explained and she tensed a bit upon hearing that as they neared the opening of the hallway. It was a long hallway. The closer they got the more prominent the sounds of people fucking permeated the air, “Curtains instead of doors so anyone can go in at any time. But of course, gotta ask for permission before you join in.” He said and she bit on her lip and nodded in understanding, “Wanna see?” He asked, stopping by one of the curtains and she glanced up to him with a nervous smile.

“No, that’s alright, I can hear plenty. I’m sure I can visualize what’s…going on.” She giggled nervously.

“You’d think. But ummm…yeah, the things you see in group sex are…things you can’t even imagine...” He said to her with a slight furrow in his brow and her eye brows raised in surprise.

“D-do you like doing that?” She asked and he shrugged.

“I’ve done it before, but I’m not exactly jumping at every opportunity to do it again. I’d really have to be in the mood for it I think.” He explained and she nodded.

“What was it like?” She asked. The soundtrack to their conversation was now the sex sounds coming from the orgy just a few inches away from them.

“Well…being me…the times I did that I quickly became the center of attention. Which was nice to some extent.” He recounted, “It was a lot. Very overwhelming.” He chuckled and she nodded in understanding, “It was fun, but exhausting. I also had some things to do the day after and I was dead and sore and…yeah, just bad timing I think.” He explained with his eyes a bit narrowed at the memory.

“I can imagine.” She chuckled and he nodded.

“C’mon.” He said and led them down the hallway until they reached an intersection. To the left there was a sign for bathrooms and a mostly desolate hallway. But the room that Harry was pulling them towards was one with windows. There were several people lined up around the room watching whatever was going on in there, she couldn’t see yet as Harry was before her. Harry tiptoed a bit to see over the people crowded around and then turned to her, “It’s a threesome, two girls, one guy.” He informed her, “Do you want to see?” He asked her and she felt a bit embarrassed in admitting it, but she nodded. He smirked and she rolled her eyes, “None of that, I was just gonna say good, because from the glimpse I caught it looked good.” He chuckled and she sighed and he turned back and pulled her into the crowd. 

The moment people realized it was him, they started moving to the sides on their own to let him get up near the window. She did feel a bunch of eyes on her as he pulled her along and then he made a space between his body and the window looking into the room and she scooted in as his body encased her between him and the large window. Y/N wasn’t going to lie, it was mesmerizing to watch these very real people pleasuring each other. Currently one girl was getting fucked from behind while she ate the other girl out. She was intently watching everything going on and the sounds they were making. From the corner of her eye she saw some movement and glanced over to see a man rubbing over the evident bulge in his trousers. She quickly reverted her attention to the scene before her and dug her fingers into her purse. 

Harry’s body wasn’t directly pressed into hers, but she could feel his warmth and his chest would slightly touch her back when he’d take a deep breath. She let her eyes glance down to his hands resting on the ledge of the window frame. She bit her lip and felt herself start to get wet when he suddenly tightened up his fists and she quickly glanced up to see what had affected him so much and it was that the man now had his large hand around the neck of the girl he was fucking. 

Y/N wasn’t a stranger to choking, she had only had it done to her once before and she had a phenomenal orgasm from the floaty feeling resulting from the slight breath play and she now looked back at Harry’s hands and she could picture them wrapped around her throat as he pounded her into a mattress.

“I think they’re a couple, the other girl’s leaving.” He pointed out quietly and she glanced up from his hand and focused back on the couple inside as the other girl slipped out and someone immediately went up to her and she rushed off with them. After the third was gone a large portion of the viewers left, but she was just stuck there, watching as this man turned over the girl and sunk back into her in the missionary position, still gripping around her neck as he railed her so hard that her eyes were pinching shut as she cried out.

“Fuck.” She whispered subconsciously and Harry smiled, but didn’t respond. 

He wondered what about what this couple was doing elicited that reaction from her. He wished he could hear her thoughts. Harry was growing hard, he was trying to keep it at bay, but he couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to push Y/N’s hips back so that he could grind against her ass while they watched this couple fuck. He wanted to slip his hands under that short dress she was wearing and feel at her knickers, he wondered if she was already wet. The way she suddenly shifted the weight of her body from one leg to the other silently confirmed that for him. Y/N’s breathing picked up as the girl started to finish and then she turned around just to be right up against Harry who smirked.

“I think the point was to watch them come.” He chuckled as he maintained eye contact with her. She glanced away with a timid smile.

“They’re so into each other, it seemed a rather intimate moment to me.” She shrugged and Harry hummed.

“Well, should we keep looking around?” He asked and she looked back into his eyes and nodded.

********

So those are my WIP pieces that are more or less together. I have other stuff but it's more concepts as opposed to started work:)

LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE A PREFERNCE!

[trulybetty]

Sunday Week In Review XIV

How's everyone doing? I skipped out on last week's update since it was a really slow week on all fronts for all the things for me last week. Things picked up a bit this week - but I'll be honest, I'm having a hard time finding my feet around here at the moment and finding a groove to get into.

Not sure if it's that time of year, a bit of a writing lull or what - but I've been a little meh, not in the sad sense - more like I'm a petulant child offered six different things and I turn my nose up at all of them because I don't know what I want lol.

Also trying to figure out a system for getting through my TBR list, right now it feels like it's out of control and there are only so many I can read in a week. Especially since I want to get through some of my physical TBR pile and dedicate a couple nights a week to offline reading.

Anyway, enough about me seemingly channelling Baby Truly™️ - on with the recap of the last two weeks!

T R U L Y   U P D A T E S . . .

I did a second round of the 'First Sentence' ask game, which I absolutely adore! If you haven't done it before, I very much recommend it! If you do this, tag me so I can come throw a sentence at you!

Round 2

tim x cagney (f!reader)

jack x reader (f!reader)

joel x Charlotte (OFC)

dieter x bryony (OFC)

jack x reader (f!reader)

frankie x clementine (OFC)

W H A T   I   R E A D . . .

Delta Landscaping (Triple Frontier) by @rhoorl Jess' series has me on tenterhooks for every update and then on the edge of my seat waiting for more! This last update we entered the start of Frankie's arch and while it pulls at the heartstrings, I'm so here for it and what's to come next! Also, Benny entering his Rocky era (Jess didn't write this, I've decided it) is something I'm also very much ready for!

Paranoid Hearts (Javi P.) by @goodwithcheese This series. This series is just something else and I finally got my ass into gear to get caught up, and while on the one hand, I'm sorry I started so late on the other hand I enjoyed this smorgasbord of Javi and Tabitha.

he makes life better (Joel) by @wildemaven This is such a warm comforting hug of a fic that just seeps into your bones, that makes your toes curl in softness and you re-read more than once. This is everything fluff should make you feel and I adore each and every last part of this and will be re-reading this.

Headshots (Marcus P.) by @secretelephanttattoo I was not ready for this to end, but El gave our boy Marcus the ending he and his Ella deserved and it was both spicy and sweet. If you've not read this yet, I suggest you do. Also, peep her forthcoming wip... 🔎

Thrash Metal (Dieter) by @morallyinept Jett is back with another delectably mouthwatering smutty one-shot with our favourite deviant Dieter Bravo. This is sinfully indulgent and a must-read and one that lends itself to definitely more than one read.

Six and a half minutes - Frankie's version by @avastrasposts This one calls for a breakout of the Hot Ones gif for sure, because this was the mood the entire time I read this. If anything, Frankie is not one to back down from a challenge...

Medicine (Joel) by @goodwithcheese I was so excited to see Megan had written for Joel that I had to drop everything to read this over my coffee the other morning. I love everything about the dynamic between these two and how Megan illustrates the deep affection they have for one another through their actions as we all know our post-outbreak Miller is not one quick with his words. I hope this isn't the last we see of Joel here!

M E M O R A B L E   P O S T S . . .

Heidi’s amazing mood board inspired by Sequins! 😍 I’m still in absolute awe of it and I love it so much! I think it's going to get a spot on my work desk this week! 💕

These thots had started off as Joel Thots, but have now morphed into Tim Thots and I'm not mad about it... might share a little snippet later 😏

@morallyinept's 'Ode to Writers' this week - I'm going to refrain from getting on my soapbox here (I'd be here all day) - but the table is not finite, it's infinite. If you're not inching your chair down to make room for another chair, or pulling the spare chairs in from the garage, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship with this community.

E N J O Y E D  T H I S  W E E K  . . .

Finally watching ‘Strange Way of Life’ and getting to live message my thots to @rhoorl as I watched - it was a cinematic dissection.

Date night with Mr. Truly - we spent the entire two hours wondering what people do on dates aside from watching their phones and waiting for a call to say your kids are out of control and have taken over Nakatomi Plaza. But needless to say, we had fun, I even ate a meal without someone else's hand in it.

Amazing moots being mooting awesome 🙌 - I'm thankful every day that I get to interact with some wonderful people and have found a lovely corner of this hell site to play in a sandbox with some amazing people 💕

S P E C I A L M E N T I O N . . .

Check out this writing challenge that myself and a group of people that I'm lucky to call moots created that we would love for you to join in on! Everything about it is random and everyone starts with the same parameters and everything else after that is up to you! So excited to see what everyone does with this!

Do I know anything about Javi Pēna? Nope. Am I going to join in? Yes I am! 🙌

See you January 1st to dive into all the fics this challenge I hope produces! 💛

T H I S  W E E K ' S  J A M . . .

Thank you to @gnpwdrnwhiskey for inspiring this week's selection after she pointed out the parallels to Chiffon that I haven't been able to get out of my head since.

Hope everyone has had a great week! Here's to a great week ahead and I hope its a good one full of obnoxious drinks of choice and soft places to land and enjoy.

[onekisstotakewithme]

20 questions for fic writers 💜

tagged by the lovely @mihrsuri (I think more than once, although the other time was some time ago... thank you for the tag! 🥰💜)

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 221, not counting unrevealed ones from exchanges

2. what's your total ao3 word count? 1,417,178 words

3. what fandoms do you write for? Right now, mostly M*A*S*H and The West Wing, though I do occasionally dabble in other fandoms (Star Trek TOS, For All Mankind, etc.)

4. top five fics by kudos? 1) Ties That Bind - Star Trek (Spirk) 2) a wild call and a clear call (that may not be denied) - Star Trek (Spirk) 3) Uncharted Territory - M*A*S*H (Beejhawk) 4) ye who are weary, come home - M*A*S*H (Punnihawk, Charles/Donna, canon pairings, etc.) 5) you were meant for me - M*A*S*H (Punnihawk)

5. do you respond to comments? Not usually. I feel pretty guilty about it and I do try and go for a thank you note in the A/N at the end of each story/chapter, but my spoons are pretty limited. I do however cherish each and every comment, and if I have regular commenters, your username is probably carved into my heart. 🥺

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Uhhh. That is a good question, because even if I write in angsty/bittersweet scenes, the endings are usually more hopeful or happy.

I guess my best answer to that is "let's do some living (after we die)" only because it's immediately followed by canonical character death. lmao.

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? There are any number of stories you could pick for this one, haha. But I guess if I had to pick (twist my arm, why don't you!), then it's probably either "ye who are weary, come home" (OT3 Endgame!!!), OR "Make the Leap" (this one takes place on January 21st, 2007, so that and the title should make it self explanatory 😉)

8. do you get hate on fic? Not... really? Sometimes I'd get comments complaining that I should be writing a different pairing 🤷🏻‍♀️ (which..???) but I don't get much "engagement" to begin with usually, so I'm grateful that what I do get is for the most part positive. 🥰

9. do you write smut? Yep. Nothing super hardcore and not very often (because I am a self-conscious girlie haha) but I will write it. Posting it is another story. I want to do more, it's just getting over myself to do it. (if anyone has advice on how to proceed with getting over my self-consciousness, I'm ALL ears).

10. craziest cross over? I once, in my misspent youth, wrote a crossover between Downton Abbey and Titanic (it's still buried in the depths of my FFN page, alas it is unfinished.)

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? Not as far as I know, no.

12. have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! My one M*A*S*H Fic, "Here's Hoping We Meet Now and Then" (aka BJ puts the "GOODBYE" stones together with the help of the rest of the 4077) was translated into German by a dear friend of mine, Pat. And you can read that here.

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? A few times in the distant past. Once recently (I'm sure you'll all see it soon enough!!) 😈... in general, I love the idea of getting to write with my fellow ficcers whom I cherish and admire, so I'd love to do more co-written fics.

14. all time favorite ship? I'm not picking one lmao. But if I had to? Probably CJ/Danny. They had everything. the chemistry. the will they/won't they. the yearnnnning. (Close runners-up are BJ/Peg/Hawkeye, Anna/Bates, Spirk... and Kate/Gibbs because I don't forget my roots).

15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Triad Wedding. 😬 I got kinda burnt out and (at the time I finished it) went "eh no one will want to read this anyway" so now I have a 125k MASH draft on my desktop. It has... well, everything. Bisexual OT3 wedding. Mucho smut (more than I've ever published in one story before in my LIFE). Communication ✨. etc. It's been two years now, so even though there's a full draft, I don't want to promise that it'll ever be done. It needs a lot of work.

16. what are your writing strengths? Dialogue. I used to be terrified of writing dialogue, and now I think I'm decent at it. Staying in character, maybe?

17. what are your writing weaknesses? Pacing! Ask me why the 125k draft mentioned above is only seven days of in-universe time.

Also I could be better at worldbuilding. I know many authors who flesh out the whole universe and make it feel so breathable and lived in (Mia for example, she's a champ at that!) but that's still a work in progress for me. AND smut. I need to get better/more confident at that, but I've yet to learn how after six-odd years of writing it. 😐

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? I don't speak enough languages for that. Other authors can do it and do it convincingly. Not me tho.

19. first fandom you wrote in? Lost (baby's first fanfic, still buried in the depths of my FFN page); but I really got into it with Downton Abbey.

20. favorite fic you've written? I could give one of my usual answers about "ye who are weary" (because of the technical achievement of covering so many characters in one story), or "Don't Bet Your Future" (probably my MOST self-indulgent) but instead...

I really enjoyed writing "None of Us Are More Than Caretakers", guys. The season 7 secret relationship is one of my favourite time periods to cover for CJ and Danny, and getting to write this little "missing episode" between Last Hurrah and Institutional Memory was so much fun, and a great technical challenge. Plus it WAS self-indulgent because I got to write all the post-coital scenes we were robbed of in canon AND build up to the events of IM.

thank you again!!! and I'll tag whoever is interested and has a few free hours to kill! 💜✨

[romaine2424]

Daily Blog June 21, 2023

Hi! Welcome to my first day of fandom blogging! I'm very excited about doing this and hope you'll join in on the conversation and really hope that you might start one of your own!!! So on that note, lets get going.

What I'm reading:

I'm currently re-reading The Changeling by @annerbhp. It's a canon rewrite of sort, with a big twist. Here's the summary: Ginny is sorted into Slytherin. It takes her seven years to figure out why. It's 182K from Ginny's POV. It does follow canon to a point. I read this about 6 months ago and I still think about it when writing Drarry. I now have to give Ginny a positive break-up with Harry. LOL No dissing her because she's such a badass in this story. While it's listed as Harry/Ginny, it really is mostly a Ginny story for the main story. There's follow on stories after this one that are fab too.

It starts with Year 1 and the house sorting. Ginny is surprisingly sorted into Slytherin. She at first thinks its a joke done by her twin brothers, but then reality sets in. Most of her family is devastated and she feels completely isolated. This is a Ginny you'll recognize from canon and then so much more. If you longed for more Slytherin background and lore than canon gave us, this you will love. And if you think Slytherin is dominated by the males...well this will give you a headcanon that you won't forget.

What I'm writing:

The Azkaban Letters, which I'm so far behind on I want to cry. It's a 2007 WIP I started right before HPDH came out. So it's canon divergent after HBP. I did edit the first 7 to be more in line with canon and post canon. My issue is I have too much in my head and too many ideas to get down on paper...er on the computer. When I stopped writing it in 2007, I had posted the first 7 chapters on The Hex Files. It came over to AO3 during the transfer and has been staring at me in the face since then. I'm now up to 16 chapters, which sounds like a lot, but there's 4 sections to the story and I'm in the middle of section 2. sigh.

Tumblr Posts of Interest:

@xanthippe74 on her blog has reposted her 2020 fic, Follow the Water in honor of summer solstice. If you have not read this fic, you are in for such a treat. Perfect summer fic. Give her post a reblog and fic some love!

@julcheninred posted on her blog yesterday that it was the 5th anniversary of Draw Drarry badly. I so love her block H/D art, and so happy we've had five years of her sharing them with us. Make sure to reblog to share the Drarry fun!

3. HDMpreg2023 has posted the reveals on A03. TWENTY fics in all. I only got to read about 1/3 of them, but whoa there are some serious gems. (If I find the Tumblr post for this, I'll add it.)

4. @lcdrarry has also posted their reveals! My apologies to the fest and authors/artists. I've only read a few this round but plan on diving into the treasure trove of Drarry. This was a new fest for me to watch when I came back to fandom. While I don't watch many movies or watch tv much anymore, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to follow/understand the stories as well as I should. I was wrong. Most I have found I could enjoy without knowing the source.

Tumblr Drarry Fic/Art Resource:

I'm guessing most of you follow @drarryspecificrecsdaily, but in case not, you should definitely follow! They post Drarry completed fics which have been posted on AO3 for the current day. I have found some amazing gems from this resource. Fics I haven't seen discussed or recced anywhere else and authors I haven't been blessed reading before.

Okay, that's it for Day 1! Hope you found something interesting. I'll be switching around the categories on a daily basis. Tomorrow, I'll be adding in Fic Rec from the way past. Feel free to comment. :)

[chipped-chimera]

WIP WEDNESDAY - 21/06/23

(I mean it’s technically Friday now between timezones and spoons but have this otherwise I’ll keep forgetting) My first WIP Wednesday! Thanks @theviridianbunny​ for the tag! I’ve been really getting stuck into modding - as well as falling into my usual mod habit of ‘start like six project at once and end up with a million WIP files' but I guess I’ll talk about the major ones.

Graphic design is my passion ...

(Long) rambling about mods I'm making + things I've learned below the cut~

My V’s tatt project is still ongoing, and I’ve (somewhat begrudgingly) been trying out Substance Painter to work on bits of it, mainly polishing seams between UV maps. It’s definitely got a lot of benefits, especially for graphic placement in really tricky areas (like anywhere in the entire head mesh region for example) but I still think a lot of the heavy work will still be done in Photoshop so I’ll probably be writing up both experiences with them when I do that tutorial I keep hinting at for complex tatt work. I’ve started drafting a tumblr tutorial but I wonder if that’s the best format, maybe a PDF? Google doc? Github wikis look cool? (tho I think I need to pay for that) - if y’all got suggestions for tutorial formats pls let me know!

As for the other arguably overly-ambitious-project-where-I-bit-off-more-than-I-could-chew ...

H A I R.

Hair has been the bane of my existence for about the past week( ... weeks? Maybe two?), most of it involving cursing, a lot of reverse-engineering game meshes and smashing my head against blender. But if not already evident from my monowire post - I am a stubborn bitch with too much time on my hands so even though there were at least two moments where I wanted to curl up on the floor under my desk and just stay there - we got there.

This all started because my favourite hair mod which I cannot split from my V’s identity was acting funky and the shape of it had been altered since a physics update. It wasn’t her anymore. So I needed new hair. I tried editing the existing hair. I tried importing the old hair mesh. I tried so many things and they didn’t work out one way or they threw a million errors or there were an obnoxious amount of verts.

I even tried looking for replacement mod hair. None of them fit, all of them felt too ‘clean’ for my V. So I just concluded: FINE. I’ll make my own damn hair. From scratch. At least then I’ll actually KNOW what’s going on with the mesh, right?

Problem with hair is tutorials are very limited in respect to Cyberpunk, so I had to learn a lot of this by myself and looking at other processes used for building game hair. I’ve had a previous stint in game design at uni but it was very introductory and more broad-strokes concepts not specific stuff like what ‘real time hair’ is and how you actually go about placing hair-cards (there’s a million different ways btw) but after another 3 days smashing my head against blender I finally got shit to work to a satisfactory level using hair tools for blender and the particle hair grooming system (not the 3.5 blender system, maybe more on that at some point).

Putting together the hair cards I was 120% convinced this was going to blow up in my face, primarily through vert count. But this hair tool plugin? Alarmingly efficient. I was frequently checking my work against Alt's hair mesh (one I was planning on rigging to) and here's the final-ish stats -

This is with only Alt's hair mesh selected (no cap) and then only my mesh(s - lots of layering to build it up), and by comparison I felt I'd built up the density of a chinchilla. This is not a brag, this is mostly genuine confusion over how efficient this plugin is, all I did was smack around hair curves. It did all the UV mapping junk on the fly.

Although structurally complete, I still consider this a WIP (yes I know there's a reeeeal fun vert funkiness in that second render, it's been fixed) since I'm having to go back and fine-tune some of the UV's the plugins mapped that I'm not happy with and generally figuring out my density problem because if anything, after putting it in-game it felt too dense.

Because yes, somehow I got it in game.

WITH. PHYSICS.

This may have driven me absolutely up the wall between having to learn blender from scratch then what the heck real time hair is and how that works etc. etc. but ... god, seeing her move back from the mirror and just feeling that instant catharsis of 'IT'S HER!' made it so. Damn. Worth it.

It looks too thick - this might be because I chucked in the 'doubled' feature Wolvenkit comes with because I hadn't spent any time doing backfaces. But it also might be because it's black? That's going to need investigating.

The physics need a lot of work too, I did a pretty rushed weight painting job last night on a merged version of the mesh because I was worried whether it was even viable and I'd already dumped an insane amount of hours into this between trying to salvage the old hair and building a new one (with some more bells and whistles. Mainly - curly). That wasn't without it's issues -

This almost fucking cracked me, given this was one of the issues I was experiencing before trying to fix an existing mesh mod. Turns out I was just being dumb and forgetting to export the armature, which I'd thought I wasn't supposed to do after having blender throw a bunch of errors on other hair attempts. I gave it a try after one last shot and boom. Worked. (I dunno what those errors were about man but now I know armature? very important).

Will I release this hair? no damn clue, depends on if I can get it to a level I feel is 'releasable'. I already know what I'm calling it though - Venatrix her side-handle I've decided on.

I look forward to adapting it into maybe a comb-back version, as well as a tied up version, so I can show off both her undercut + have the option of NOT hiding every damn tatt I've obsessed over placing on her neck haha.

In other news -

My much-needed wacom tablet replacement arrived (as well as other things I was looking forward to 👀) meaning my Wacom Cintiq, workhorse of ten years can finally enjoy her retirement. Her controls were getting funky, she had a few dead pixels but man. I'm convinced they won't make them like her ever again. Either way she's done unfortunately - upgrading my monitor to 2k made this painfully obvious. I don't think it's even running in full HD, it's that old. And with Phantom Liberty coming out this year? I'm probably going to need a new videocard and DVI compatibility isn't really a thing anymore.

So for future I think I'll just stick to the basic tablet set up, invest in screens. Also now I FINALLY know what her hair is gonna look like and with the tablet here, I can get back to work on the tattoo bodysuit.

Anyways, that's it for now! (Jesus Christ did you really read all of this? If you did you're a fucking trooper). Sorry for the extended ramble but MAN I did a lot, I needed to yell.

Till next time Chooms! Thanks again @theviridianbunny for the tag~ <3

Oh shit wait, have the blender renders before I forget because hahah I figured out how to do that too lol -

[thechaoscryptid]

The Great WIP Cleanout of 2024

(and a general life update because hello, I am indeed still alive)

SO 👏🏻 I've been busy doing pretty much everything BUT writing for the bulk of the year, but especially these past few months I've been absent. There's been a lot of zine work (ended up as a surprise shipping and finance mod on four projects in various stages of completion), a lot of knitting (hats are my favorite things, actually), and I got really into M*A*S*H over the summer (Hawkeye...beloved.....).

Despite the large amount of not-writing, I have been working on SOME things. I published my first erotica story in @/duckprintspress anthology Many Hands, I have a narrative poem in an upcoming poetry zine from Memento Viviere Press, and have been picking steadily at some other short stories for publication and press patreon rewards.

I also have a really, really big creative journey I'm about to embark on, and that means getting serious about what I'm actually going to finish and NOT finish fanwork-wise (as well as doing some major housecleaning in my docs folders so I can go into this with a clear head).

I've got a whole shitload of work in my documents that, realistically, I am not going to finish. I'm either uninterested in the work, the fandom, or some other aspect of the ~process~ and those obstacles are making finishing the WIP more hassle than it's worth. That said, I want to share what I have, because some of it slaps (even though it's old)!

Sooooo over the next week or so, you can expect to see me putting quite a bit of unfinished and abandoned work on AO3 in the interest of utilizing its ARCHIVE function. I'll also be posting a summary to finish Wake the White Wolf - the fic was SO close to my heart for a long time, and I'm really grateful for every single person who's ever been invested, but the style and knowledge gap between when I stopped updating and now is just. Impossible to bridge (and not something I have the time and energy to do these days).

I'm gonna try and be here a little more too, because I miss interacting with y'all. I think the time away has done me a solid and left me a bit more centered, more able to get in touch with myself and really hammer out my next steps in both writing and life in general.

(and you can DEFINITELY count on me still doing fanwork, even though I've been moving toward more original stuff ❤️❤️)

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Game

Tagged by @jo-harrington. Thank you!

1) How many works do you have on A03?

According to AO3, 195. However I do know it’s more since I have made a few drabble compilation. Someday I’ll reorganize everything.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

686,641

3) What fandoms do you write for?

Baldur’s Gate 3, Stranger Things, Marvel/MCU, Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven, M*A*S*H, Good Omens, and a scattering of other fandoms here and there.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Skipping Drabble/Headcanon compilations

I Want It All (Astarion x Ace!Tav)

Life Is Inevitable Like That (Ineffable Husbands)

Trust Me (Poe Dameron x Reader)

An Unspoken Thing (Doctor Strange x Reader)

Questions (Ineffable Husbands)

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

I respond to most of them, or at least try to. I think it’s important to building a community, which is what I hope I encourage. Also as a way to show that yes, I did read it and yes, commenting does matter.

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

What If…Loki Lost His Love?

I don’t do major character death or angst in general. It’s just not what I’m looking for in fics, but I actually think I did a good job on this one.

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

Most of them? They’re basically all one-shots with happy conclusions. I think if my recent stuff, probably I Want It All.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

I did get one “kill yourself” message a few years ago, but it was just one person on anon. The reception to basically all of my fics have been positive.

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kinds?

I’ve written some smut. I’ve done a couple of Kinktobers and some for Clone Wars. I think the best way I can describe the way I write smut is “sensual”? And it’s a little rougher. Idk, somebody better versed than me could describe it better.

10) Do you write crossovers?

Not really

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I did have a few of my Poe Dameron fics stolen a few years back, but I messaged them and they quickly deleted the fic. That all being said, if anybody notices my works being stolen or copied, please let me know.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that anyone has told me.

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

My sister and I have talked about it, but no.

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

Ineffable Husbands

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

*glances at all WIPs I already have published and drawers full of WIPs saved on my computer*

What are you a cop?

16) What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, characterization and emotions. At least that’s what people have told me.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Prose. I’m still working on getting more creative with my descriptions. I could also really get better at scene setting in general.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’m not against it, but use it wisely.

If you want to reader to understand what is being said, write it out in the language of the fic. This isn’t a movie. Putting a translation at the bottom of the chapter or in the middle of the sentence makes it sloppy. Instead type out “they said in X language, “___”.

However if you want a character to hear something being said in a different language and they don’t understand it, then type it out of you want.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Unpublished? Harry Potter

Published? Sherlock (no you can’t read it)

20) Favorite fic you've written?

Don’t make me pick. I’ve written so much and I have a soft spot for so many for a variety of reasons. If you want to send me a fic title and ask me about it, I’ll gladly answer any questions you want.

Tagging @leighsartworks216, @kittttycakes, @can-of-pringles, @flapjacques and anybody else who wants to join in!

[kananjarus]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

tagged by @bvckandeddie thank you so much!!! 💕

How many works do you have on ao3?

only 18 hehe

What's your total ao3 word count?

341,541 😳 I would've guessed way less than that lmao

What fandoms do you write for?

mostly 911 but I've written for star wars, spn, and marvel (mcu)

Top five fics by kudos:

end of the affair

fill me in (don't sink me)

this must be the place

13 days to say I love you

feeling small

Do you respond to comments?

yes...I don't know how to handle compliments so it takes me a while but I do my best

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't think I have one?

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

they all have happy endings knskdfn but I guess 13 days is the least angsty fic I've written

Do you get hate on fics?

not that I've heard? I got an meh comment for a 911 fic once because the reader was upset I wrote Eddie having a Real Adult Reaction to something instead of some uwu shit. that's the closest thing to negativity I've seen

Do you write smut?

I have before but it's been a while

Craziest crossover:

ehhh I'm not one for crossovers but I guess the 911 / station eleven au counts?

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that I'm aware of

Have you ever had a fic translated?

no but that would be so cool!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no :(

All time favourite ship?

that is so hard. I'm in my silverflint renaissance era currently so I'll pick them. the way their story ends will haunt me forever, and every time I rewatch the show it as painful as the first time all over again. it's a prequel to treasure island so even from their first meeting you might not know how their relationship plays out but you know it's going to end tragically. they are quite literally doomed by fate no matter what choices they make *screams into a pillow* that's my SHIT

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

other than my long star wars fic, my answer will always be the captain america/stevebucky house of leaves au. I was not a committed writer at all when I thought of it and the idea is still so cool to me but it would be such a huge project if I sat down and actually tried to flesh it out

What are your writing strengths?

writing suspense (I just wish I had the kind of big brain ideas for horror stories. I want to be a horror writer so bad)

What are your writing weaknesses?

lately I feel like it's been dialogue. I don't know if I'm just going thru a phase but every piece of dialogue I've written recently feels incredibly forced and I hate it

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I know limited spanish. that's the only foreign language I've written dialogue in but I'm always afraid of getting a translation wrong so I really try to avoid it if I can sdfjnkkgn

First fandom you wrote in?

h*rry p*tter

Favourite fic you've written?

it changes all the time lmao. dead reckoning is the current favorite because it was so fun to write, but I'm also really proud of my self for the station eleven au. when I first came up with the idea I was 'get real you'll never be able to pull this off' but I'm actually doing it! take that self-doubt 😊💪

Idk who has already done one of these but I'll tag: @rogerzsteven @shortsighted-owl @mellaithwen @asharadaine @markofalover

[evelinessa]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

I was tagged by @aawrightworth! Thanks Topaz! <3

1. How many works do you have on A03?

25 currently. Technically, I have 26, including what I wrote for the Ace Attorney Holiday Exchange, but that won't be added to my profile until after creator reveals.

2. What's your total A03 word count?

103,031

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Pretty much exclusively Ace Attorney. I have one Hades Game fic and one DGS one (which AO3 technically classes as a different fandom than AA).

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Of course, the only two smut fics I've written are both in here 😂.

Mile(s) High Club

Locked Inside (The Key to Your Heart)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Isle of Eros

After All This Time

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

Yes, however, most of the time I'm very slow at getting around to it. I try to match the same amount of time and effort the commenter made when responding, but I sometimes get anxious and overthink my response, which delays me getting to it. I'm working on responding to everyone I haven't yet, and then hopefully will keep up with it from there. Regardless of how long it takes me to respond, please know that I read and treasure every comment. It makes my day when I get that email! 🥰

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

This is a very hard question lol. I'm predominately an angst writer, so I've written some pretty angsty endings. It's hard to think of which one is the most when I feel like a lot are fairly equal. If I had to pick one, then probably The Time Loop Ritual. The ending stands on its own as very angsty, but I've been told the epilogue/sequel fic, All That Remains, has made people even sadder.

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

This is hard as well. I've also written plenty of happy endings, and not sure if one stands out happier than the rest. I think I'll go with He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not that I've seen. The closest was something that could be interpreted as a backhanded compliment, as well as a comment that pointed out a flaw in my writing for one of my early fics (which I was already well aware of). But both those comments also contained praise.

9. Do you write smut?

I've only written two smut fics, but I do have some WIPs I hope to finish someday. I want to write more so I can become comfortable with it, but writing it sort of intimidates me TBH. Most of my ideas don't involve smut, so there hasn't really been a need to. But I also know I'd probably come up with a lot more smut related ideas if I wrote it more and became more comfortable writing it.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't and don't know if I ever will. I've tried to brainstorm a Hades Game Thanzag and Narumitsu one before. I came up with some vague ideas for that, but don't know if I will ever go further with it.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I know of, but if anyone ever wanted to translate one of my works, you are free to do so!

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

Yes! @aeronwolfao3 and I wrote Coffee and Chrysanthemums! It's currently unfinished, but we will continue to work on it one day.

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

NaruMitsu/MitsuNaru, of course ❤️💙❤️.

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

Well, I have a list of 50+ fic WIPs that are in various stages of progress (from a vague several sentence idea, all the way to mostly having a first draft done). That huge, ever-growing list is also why I've been putting off my response to the WIP tag game from a few months ago lol. I also get new ideas fairly often, and I prioritize my writing based on any events and exchanges with deadlines (which I participate in regularly, and also give me new ideas each time). That's all to say that as much as I'd like to get to every idea on that list, I most likely won't. I don't have a specific WIP to mention here, though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Angsty emotions, especially those resulting from grief, loss, and tragedy. Dialogue. Emotional inner monologue. Creating small little sentimental moments between characters that one of the characters can recall.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Super fluffy content, especially with very little/an absence of plot or conflict. Character and setting description. Writing body language without sounding repetitive or awkward. I've still done all of this decently enough, but it's harder for me and comes less naturally. And I don't utilize description nearly enough.

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

Maybe someday I'll include some German dialogue for Miles or Franziska or someone else who it would fit for. But I probably will have someone fluent look it over first.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ace Attorney! While it wasn't my first posted fic, one of the fics I first worked on originated as a script for a comic back in May 2021. It was through the encouragement of some people in the fandom that I started writing and adapted that script and comic idea into a fic: Keeping Up Appearances. My first actual posted fic (not including my co-written fic which first chapter was published two days earlier) was Never Meet Your Idol, a drabble written for a prompt on Discord.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Another hard question. If I answered this last year, this would probably be much easier to answer, but now I've written so much more that I'm happy with.

I'm gonna put two, since one of the ones I really like is still unfinished, and part of my joy is because I know the full extent of it (which the readers don't have that benefit). The one I'm talking about is my 1-2 canon-divergence fic, A Demon’s Justice. There are two chapters out so far that I'm both mostly content with, and five planned chapters still to go. I first thought of the idea almost a year ago now, though I didn't start actually writing it since the summer. It's grown a lot since I first envisioned it, and will probably be close to 30K by the time it's finished. While I won't know how I feel in total until I can read the whole finished version, I am excited to write more and for what I have planned.

For finished, this one is much harder, and I feel like my answer fluctuates. For now, I'll go with The Lies We Tell As Our Secrets Are Held. The idea came to me in the shower when I was brainstorming fic ideas for NaruMitsu week this year. The storytelling style is a bit different than other stuff I've written. I think it achieved the feeling I was trying to capture, and I'm happy with a lot of my descriptions.

Tagging: @azalawa-scroggs, @almarnatiaam, @gloucesterroad @wobster109 @aeronwolfao3 @theinkhiddenwithin @ziskandra @zombiekittiez @enisywrites

Tagged some people that I haven't noticed were tagged yet or haven't noticed them doing it already, but also, anyone who sees this, feel free to do it as well!

[pb-dot]

WIP Wednesday: Meet my new protagonist

So, in these days leading up to November I've spent some time trying to capture my vague and ephemeral plans for the unnamed horror project I really should settle on a title for one of these days. I still have a ways to go, but I figured it was time to talk a little bit about the poor sap who's going to go through my made-to-order horrors. Well, I say poor sap, but the fact of the matter is that our hero is a bit of a bastard in some respects.

Oscar H. Skerry would never dare to call himself an expert on art, but he will also be dead in the ground before he concedes that anyone on god's green earth knows more about art he likes than he does. From his home in San Franscisco, he has made a modest but sustained success as an art critic, paying the bills by a series of freelance consultant gigs, mostly for "particularly daft multi-millionaires looking to get some art into their portfolios," to quote the man himself.

While he may make a living advising people he has nothing but contempt for make what could be argued to be wise investment decisions, it is far from Oscar's passion. You're unlikely to hear him talk about his true passion unless he deems you to be of considerable intellect or in a position to further his goals, though. It's not a secret, exactly, but Oscar considers it "need-to-know information."

In short, Oscar is captivated by the work of one Tomasz Gildebrant, a reclusive artist who made his name with his unique visual style, other art critics than Oscar has called it "pleasantly unpleasant" or "containing angles and strokes evocative of the nightmare," and an unflinching dedication to his reclusivity that has him placed in the category of "outsider art" because nobody can figure out enough about him to put him anywhere else. Oscar believes himself to be the one to write the definitive, defining work on Gildebrant and form a thesis that'll open the art world's eyes fully to his beloved artist. So far it's not going very well, and Oscar is struggling to even explain why he likes the paintings.

Leaving the topic of Oscar's fascination for more biographical details. Oscar Henry Skerry was born to Linda and Harold Skerry in Rochester, MN on September 12th 1989. Oscar, named after his great-grandfather, had a childhood that was considered normal at the time, but that in retrospect probably contained more bullying than what's healthy. This bullying came to a peak in Oscar's early teens, around the time Oscar realized he was queer. Unfortunately for Oscar's tormentors, he also realized he wasn't going to take it on the chin anymore. Oscar grew into somewhat of a problem child as his many fights and waning interest in academia saw his grades decline.

Art became somewhat of a salvation for young mr. Skerry, as his sympathetic if not somewhat willfully ignorant parents, encouraged him to explore his artistic side as a possible outlet for what they percieved to be baseless aggression. Although Oscar did take to the creation of art, he seemed to rapidly change his mind through high school and towards college. Oscar is tight-lipped on this part of his life, but may be plied to confess that this was the time he saw his first Gildebrant painting, and have since been striving to understand the experience and the feelings this awoke in him.

So that's Oscar in a nutshell. He's not as fleshed out as I want him to be when all of this is done, but then again I'm planning to pants a lot of the finer detail since that worked pretty well with Clockwork Boy. Expect many ask prompts and tag your OC posts about this boy, the target of his obsession, and Mara, his bitchy-but-wise frenemy with benefits.