#comments are the lifeblood of any writer

[minniiaa]

Nothing makes me happier than publishing a new story and seeing readers from my other works commenting on it. It's like hi!! You are back, sweet human please allow me to give you more food, I hope you enjoy this one just as much as the last! Come, sit and tell me all about your feelings. Oh, you cried? I am so sorry I hurt you but I am also so happy my stories had the desired emotional effect, here's a tissue please be happy and come back again. Kisses and hugs!

[godmadeaterribleerror]

This is a shoutout to every single reader in the world who ever leaves any comment! Short or long or silly or serious, they’re literal lifeblood. I know us writers keep saying it, but it means the whole world for us to know that you’ve enjoyed our work in any way possible. Like tossing a snack in our enclosure.

Thank you!!! <3

[therealslimshakespeare]

Dear John || Apologies

Summary: John Egan sits down to respond to the unforeseen favor of a letter from Miss Julie Jean Turner

Warning: mild, usual universe warnings

Circa: late August 1943

All writing credit to my incredible baby buddy Bri, knowing I was swamped with other chapters and having been possessed by the spirit of old romance she set out to write this, loosely based on our mutual screams in the the dms

Dear Ms. Tierney,

If strangers call you Lana Tierney and friends call you Julie Jean Turner, I do not fit in either category after the way I behaved when writing to you my letter, and as such, I’m choosing to address you respectfully. I meant every word I said, Acorn, but I was crude and unmannered in my speaking to you and a gal like you deserves better.

Fuck- there I go with that nickname.

And now I’ve written a curse. I have to wrap this up before I turn it to further shit. My intended apology to you is very real but my approach - whether in being in awe of you or asking for your forgiveness - my approach never is right.

Buck has sat me down now and he’s told me where I went wrong in the way I was so vulgar with you. I told him I must have done something right to receive such a lovely picture in response, but then I got to thinking you were most likely only doing your due diligence and making happy a man who can die any day now. Like another stop at the war bond tour.

A.C.O.R.N. - you’ve asked what it means but this letter is to be respectful and at some point on this paper I hope to get to my apology. In accordance with the respect and manners and apology that I keep referencing I can’t let you know what it stands for, doll. It’s filthy (in the best possible way) and you absolutely cannot know what it means. This is a nice letter of respect and penance so let me get to it. Forgive me Ms. Tierney for my vulgar comments and shameless drunken ramblings that in turn forced you to feel like you had to give me the time of day. I am not worthy but I will appreciate your response and kindness and loveliness well beyond the length of this godforsaken war.

Take care sweet, precious, gentlest of ladies.

Your devoted (and sober) admirer,

Maj. John Egan

💋 Hope you enjoyed! Feedback is a writer’s lifeblood, please feel free to scream in comments or the inbox, I love it and wanna hear it all. Trust me, nothing is “too dumb”. Your thoughts mean the world to me.

MOTA taglist, I only have one so ignore if this is not the universe you signed up for:

@stylespresleyhearted

@ab4eva

@earth-to-lottie

@suraemoon

@blurredcolour

@steph-speaks

@crazymadpassionatelove

@rubyfruitjungle

@taestrwbrry

@storysimp

@javden

@sexualparkour

@jointherebellion215

@sunny747

@ask-you-what-sir

@xxanaduwrites

@pretty4u

@yorkshirekiwi

@waitedforlove743

@elvismylove04

@blikebarbie92

@luminouslywriting

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@bookotter01

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@ka-ski

@darkestbeforethedawn16

@slowsweetlove

@richardslady121

@barbeygirl

@prfctplcsreads

@vaf24

@harrys-housewife

@claireelizabeth85

@pearlparty

@piastrinho

@sapienti0sat

@atrophyingaphrodite

[savelockwoodandco]

There's been a recent downturn in engagement over the fandom, so the lovely @thisgameissonintendo whipped up these graphics! Ever feel like you want to comment on art/fic/edits but don't know how to go about it? This guide can help you lessen that awkward feeling that can come from commenting and help the creators in the fandom know that their hard work is appreciated!

Likes and kudos are wonderful and totally necessary, but you'd be shocked how far a "I love this so much!" or even just a few heart emoticons can go towards motivating writers, editors, artists, musicians, and other creators to keep creating the stuff you love! Fanwork is the lifeblood of any fandom, and we have some exceptionally talented fanworkers here in LockNation. Us mods can speak from personal experience when we say that there are comments on our own personal works -- in this fandom and in others -- that we revisit over and over again; they help build our confidence and assure us that the love we put in is felt by those who see our work.

Remember, if you loved reading, watching, or viewing it, the creator wants to hear about it!

Relevant twitter thread here for additional reading.

[sunwarmed-ash]

Hey fandom

again, I fucking love you and I hope you're doing okay

i log onto this site every day to see how yall have been before working on any WIPs/Sinful Sunday pieces.

In case you forgot or its been a while since anyone said it, your readership, comments, kudos, interactions are the LIFEBLOOD of us writers. Everything you do helps us create, so thank you, for it all 💖

love you forever

Ash/Max

[fayes-fics]

My peeps

If you love something by any writer LET THEM KNOW. Interaction with fanfiction writers seems to be a dying trend, and yet it’s the lifeblood that keeps us all motivated to write more. Leave a comment, or if you aren’t willing to identify yourself, send an anonymous ask.

I saw these tags pop up in my notes today as I checked tumblr between meetings:

I had no idea people are talking about my fics on another platform. What an absolute honour. It made my day. I would love to hear from you guys. 🫶

I respond to every message I get. I’m happy to answer anything frankly - to shoot the breeze, talk about what I’m writing or anything about the character I write for. Tell me your headcanons, what you enjoy reading, even what works (or doesn’t) with what I’ve posted, so I can write more of what people want to read. 🫶 And I’m sure the same is true for every other writer here.

This is not a criticism about not interacting, more of a plea to do so. Fandom lives and dies by community. If you love something, let the author know. You will have their undying gratitude, I promise you. 🧡🧡

[gamingwithsydney]

20 questions for Fic Writers!

Hello, all! Finally getting to this after putting it off for so long! The absolutely lovely, ray of sunshine human being, who should be an inspiration to all, @linwelinloves (also at @linwelinwrites ) tagged me in her reply to the questions, so I am finally paying this forward! I am tagging @shrimplyfangtastic and @cinnamonsera and @thenotebookwizard @cherry-kirsch! Have fun, you four!! <3

Now! Time for the questions! Lets go!!

✧.* | 1. How many works do you have posted?

Currently, 9. I have a bunch in the works, and nearly all of the posted ones are WIPs that I’m trying to finish before posting first editing reasons. Thank you to everyone reading those and being patient! <33

✧.* | 2. What is your total published word count?

Approximately 16.8k! Most of my words, however, are locked in Scrivener, crying to get out while I nurse them to their full potential with writing and edits before posting!

✧.* | 3. What fandoms do you write for?

My posted fanfics consist of Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars. Though, in my WIPs I have Good Omens, Genshin Impact, Doctor Who and others, I’m sure, that I can’t remember at the moment!

✧.* | 4. What are your top five fics by Kudos on AO3?

Top 5 out of 9 fics, would be, most to least: Obi-Wan: A Jedi Undecided at 36, Adrenaline and Joy at 22, Din and Grogu: Father and Son, at 20, A Gift of Gold at 16, and finally Crookshanks: A Mysterious Cat at 8!

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

Comments?! Where??? Gimmie gimmie!

Seriously, though, comments mean the world to me, especially as a smaller author! They make me feel accomplished, accepted and know that people value what I give to them! Even just reading it means the world, so comments kind of blow my mind that someone would spend time writing something for me to read with their thoughts!

Back to the question, though, I always reply as soon as I see them! A writers lifeblood, and a huge compliment to me!

✧.* | 6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

For my published works, no question that it would be Natasha Romanoff: Remorse, it has a heartbreaking story, even though its only a few hundred words long, and I think it set me off on a very strong path for writing angst!

✧.* | 7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

The happiest ending? For my published works I think that would be either Adrenaline and Joy, which is just good ol’ speeder racing with Anakin and Ahsoka, or A Gift of Gold, which is another Star Wars one with Han and Leia after the Original Trilogy. Both are stupidly adorable, and very dear to me!

✧.* | 8. Do you get hate on your fics?

Luckily, nope! If I did I would delete it if it was a comment, or ignore it as best as I can. Luckily, though, I have done a pretty good job of surrounding myself with very positive fandom friends!

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

No, I don’t write smut! I’m far too shy/uncomfortable with anyone seeing it, much less writing it. I do heavily admire people who do have that courage, though!

✧.* | 10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I’m not a very crossover inclined person, so I haven’t written any, and read just a handful. But, I do have a Genshin Impact/Honkai Star Rail idea, with Kaveh, Alhaitham Aventurine and Ratio! I really hope I write it someday because it may just become the most chaotic, funny crack fic I’ve ever written!

✧.* | 11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of! I recently set my fics to registered members of the Archive as there was a thing going on with another site. I do wish for everyone to see my fics who wants to, so they are still on Fanfic.net for everyone’s viewing!

✧.* | 12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Translated? No, although that would be a humongous honor that someone would enjoy my work so much to let it reach a while new audience!

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

I hope to, eventually, but right now, no! Closest I’ve come is friends giving me absolutely wonderful ideas that I steal (Thank you all for the support, time, opinions and love)!

✧.* | 14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

My all time favorite ship? Ooh, that’s tough…if I could say by fandom it would go something like this:

HP - Ron/Hermionie

SW - Rey/Kylo, Rey/Ben

Marvel - Clint/Natasha

Good Omens - Aziraphale/Crowley

Genshin Impact - Kaveh/Alhaitham, Cyno/Tighnari, Neuvillette/Wriothesley (GI is so hard to choose omggg)

Honkai: Star Rail - Aventurine/Ratio

✧.* | 15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Hmm…I don’t think I have any, just one’s I’m taking a break from. However, it may be a Marvel one in my drafts called Clintasha: A Live Story as the working title. It was my second actual foray into fan-fiction, although it hasn’t seen the light of day. With some polishing, editing and finishing it, though, I think I could have it all ready to go, easily!

✧.* | 16. What are your writing strengths?

With little to no question I would say highly emotional scenes, be it angst, anger, sadness, depression, all of the “negative” and dark scenes and emotions are really fun for me to write, and I’m usually very impressed and happy with the results.

✧.* | 17. What are your writing weaknesses?

As I’ve said, I don’t write smut, so this is all purely SFW, but I would say the biggest difficulties are writing romantic affection, romance and intimacy. I get nervous even writing characters kissing deeply/making out, and never go into much explanation of the feelings of such actions. I do hope to get better at it though, especially as I have no problem reading that type of thing when done by others, and I know it will enhance my writing and help me grow as such!

✧.* | 18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I do this a lot, be it Russian, French or Mando’a! I usually write the dialogue in the language it’s being spoken (not English in this case), then at the end of the paragraph, in Parentheses i will put the translation for what the character said.

Although I do want to try a fancy system where there are little things you press next to the untranslated words to go down to the author’s note and read the English version, before pressing another tooltip-thing to go back to where you were. I think it’s pretty easy, so I should do it soon!

✧.* | 19. First fandom you wrote for?

Well, that would be between two, actually, my first Fandom I wrote Fic for would be for Harry Potter, an unfinished long fic from years ago. My first published Fic would be Marvel, Natasha Romanoff: Remorse. That one, I am still very proud of to this day.

✧.* | 20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

For my published works, I think that would be Obi-Wan: A Jedi Undecided. It’s my baby, a long fic that I adore and cherish (and also need to work on so I can finish publishing/writing it), and it had a very, very, very dear place in my heart.

If we were to say unpublished WIPs, there’s too many to count, I think. Although, most of them would be Genshin, I know that for sure!

[gloryundimmed]

Get to know the mun ! repost, don’t reblog .

——— BASICS.

NICK NAME : Gray/Grayson

PRONOUNS : He/him

ZODIAC SIGN : Aquarius— fits me, right?

TAKEN OR SINGLE : Single, but a flirt and I'm sorry

ANYTHING ELSE ? : Nah I'm just chillin'

——— THREE SERIOUS FACTS.

I currently make money off of freelancing in web design and graphic design. I've worked for four literary journals now in some capacity, and I usually take the roll of web editor/graphic designer plus a reader. I'm also the web editor for my school's newspaper. My hands are always full, but that's the way I like it. I like commotion and stimulation.

I tend to keep people at an arms length even if I don't mean to, so if I ever feel distant, I apologize. I can just get weird when I'm too attached to someone, and I hate that feeling. Though it comes back to bite me in the ass because sometimes I feel like I have a ton of friends and I'm very social and love people, but I've got no "best friends."

I've got ADHD, which in my case means that I say yes to anything new and shiny despite how busy I may be. Sometimes I can be bad at gauging how much I can do at once, which leads to things slipping off my plate. Plus, the executive dysfunction is real af and I sometimes need a kick in the ass to get things done. Sorryyyy but you love me, right?

——— THREE RANDOM FACTS.

I have a dog named Romeo and I love him soooooo much

Death and knowing I'll die one day doesn't really scare me. Not that I want to die or anything, but letting people down scares me much, much more. It's my worst fear yet I feel like it happens all the time.

I love attending concerts, and music is a big inspiration for my writing. I'm always listening to something!

——— EXPERIENCE.

I've been into creative writing since I was at least 12, and at that age I began rp on a website called wetpaint.com with an elf OC because I was so into LOTR back then. Shortly after, I made an OC named Jake who I wrote with a lot. Wetpaint was like wordpress, a service where you could create little privately owned websites that could be made for any purpose with a forum/comment-like setup on most pages, and I would write with my in-person friends. I took a bit of a break from rp in my first three years of high school, but still wrote short stories. During my senior year, I got back into the rp scene, but that time here on tumblr. I've been writing here on and off ever since, with the creation of Kai in July 2014. Currently, I'm getting my bachelors in creative writing, so I guess that might count as experience, too. Sometimes I even write fanfiction lmao.

——— MUSE PREFERENCE.

Gosh, idk. I tend to go for a lot of different types of muses as long as they are written well and don't feel empty. I do lean toward more action/fantasy/romance than regular slice of life or platonic stuff, though. The muses I find most interesting have a lot of depth. I tend to find people with 20+ muses on their blog a little intimidating because I can't imagine having so many and it's hard to choose between them all. Also, it may not be true, but sometimes I can't help but think if they have so many, they can't possibly be at the depth that I'm looking for, but I'm probably just wrong on that. I barely have my 6 guys and write Kai the most of all, so it's hard for me to understand.

——— FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT.

FLUFF : I think I like cute stuff as much as the next guy. Sometimes I can find it a little boring, though. LMAO

ANGST : I LOVE angst. I love two characters who don't get along or have some sort of friction between them. It's my lifeblood, and that's probably obvious to see since I have a muse like Kai as my main. Conflict, heartbreak, violence, despair— I love it all.

SMUT : Can you guess? Again, with a muse like Kai, I think its clear that writing sex and sexuality is a big part of my journey as a writer. It's not a must-have for me in any rp, but it certainly spices things up and goes hand in hand with angst. Anything you catch me writing solo is bound to have smut in it somewhere, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Sex is such a huge part of life for a lot of people, and I think the Puritan guilt of society has caused many to shy away from it. I strive to be a sex-positive writer. If it's not your bag, though, I can certainly understand that as well.

——— PLOT / MEMES : They don't call me the idea guy for nothing! I love plotting, even if it doesn't always come to fruition or never comes to fruition. Plotting sustains me. It has the thrill of imagining scenes without having to go through the slog of writing them. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy writing, but I don't always have the energy to roll up my sleeves and get to it. I also love memes! Any meme someone sends feels like a love letter to me and my muses. They're great because they can start things off with no plotting required. I send them in as often as I can, but sometimes I'm not around and don't see them.

TAGGED BY : @shishitoren-vc tyvm!! love u

TAGGING: @lured-into-wonderland @incandescentia @eraba-reta-unmei and anyone else who wants to. I chose some people I don't know as well but would like to!

[midsommersonnets]

1x1 rp req (18+ writers) : dark romance / possible dead dove : daughter of rich man's mistress (f) x rich man's legitimate son (m).

gnawing at the bars of my cage because i crave this one very specific dark romance plot with desperation. please, come at me if you wanna give me tension, twistedness, and crossed lines... i need the thin line between hate and love, red flag actions, and toxic emotions in spades for this one,, pls gang,, lets serve chaos 🙏 the plot basis: f oc is the daughter of m oc's father's mistress. she is a blight on their elite families and they never let her forget it. she's an unwelcome sight. this girl's irrationally beautiful existence makes the cruel, prodigial son sick with so many intense emotions. the daughter of his enemy should suffer. an outsider deserves no mercy. she doesn't belong here in his world of endless money, power-fuelled hierarchy, and cutthroat machinations. this elite society is not meant for someone like her to taint with her sinful origins; no, it is his field to rule so how dare she infiltrate it and cast a shadow on his iron-fisted rule. he needs to put her in her place for his family/revenge's sake. she may have a shared connection to him -- but she is not pure, she does not belong, she will never matter like he does. the girl is an impostor, an infiltrator, so he deals with her by enacting a cat n mouse game. he exacts revenge by using his power to toy with her, by finally settling her familial debt through using her body and mind as his makeshift canvas and scoreboard. details pending on how the cat n mouse game / revenge seeking would pan out because i can go as dark or as light as my fellow writer desires. could see lots of dead dove themes in the plot if the other writer is comfortable with it (mindgames, d*bcon/n*ncon (?), power imbalance, fauxcest/inc*st (?), toxicity, darker kinks, psychological horror, etc). ultimately, i need the m being completely obsessed with the f, culminating in him wanting to break her. while she will fight back as best as she can because she is her mothers daughter just as much as he is his fathers son <3. possible reverse harem / poly antics if m's best friends want to get in on the action but not a necessity. maybe secret society and fucked up frat rituals are in play. possibly, an elite academy or university setting, or alternately, a set-up for a fucked up arranged marriage. would love an exploration into both ocs very fucked-up mindsers. we can workshop things together. <3.

housekeeping :: i'm 21f+, so 18+ writers only, please.

flexible literacy is my preference. i can span from writing para to multi-para or multi-message (literate-novella). generally, i tend to mirror or write based on what the rp scene requires. i really want to get past the planning stage for this rp but am also VERY pro-prose (pretty writing and striking imagery are a beloved weakness <3), so initially, multi-para / para would be preferred.

strong preference for myself to write as the f in a mxf pairing for this idea, or mxfxm if desired. not into doubling of any kind due to time constraints and preferring to give my full energy to just one pairing/plot, but i will write many side characters for the sake of developing the world and plot.

an undying NEED for headcanons, pinboards, plotting n rambling, side threads/text threads and playlists to be utilised because ooc developing is my lifeblood. my beloved chatty and rambly writers– pls hmu because we are the same !! i love to yap about ocs and pairings far too much.

i'm fine with smut, darker themes, dead dove, etc, and am also equally okay with fade to black and less overt darkness. keep in mind, i will respect limits, and i hope others will do the same for me. expanding on this point, limits and specific rp desires will be discussed in dms before moving to discord.

on that note, i write on discord platform only.

like/comment/dm if interested.

[songforeddiemunson]

Panic in Detroit 7

A Bartender!Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader fix-it fic series.

Series Summary: It’s the year 1991. Reader is fleeing an unendurable life in an attempt to start anew. A dangerous man hunts her, and she finds herself in a seedy corner of Detroit, working in a dive bar under a false name. Unbeknownst to her, her whole world is about to be thrown into an even worse tailspin, further complicated by a mysterious and handsome bartender with a complicated past of his own.

Series Warnings: Angst, trauma, violence; there will be references to past domestic violence but nothing explicitly described. Coarse language, stressful situations, eventual smut and fluff. Slow burn. Minors DNI. Reader’s description is vague apart from being AFAB, in an attempt to remain inclusive.

**As always, if you like this, comments and reblogs are the lifeblood of any fic writer! Please let me know if you would like to be included in a taglist for this series.**

Chapter Seven: Heroes

(The Final Chapter)

Chapter warnings: canon-typical violence, tw: blood, weapons, injuries. Foul language, angst, whump and anxiety, this one is a doozy. But there is also fluff, triumph and a lot of love.

Important Note: in this AU, it should be noted that Eddie did not get injured by the demobats in the upside down. Everything else happened according to canon, but then El shut Vecna down and the bats dropped before they could attack Eddie.

Word count: 7k

PART SIX

Eddie sat on the motel room bed with his shoulders slumped and his feet flat on the floor. He could dimly hear Detective Danko’s voice, but she sounded far away, his shock-addled brain simply couldn’t focus on the words she was saying. He stared out the open door into the parking lot at all the police cars that had gathered there; some were local Detroit police, others were the black, sinister unmarked vehicles of the FBI. Since Jake’s crimes had crossed state lines the Feds were technically in charge, but were still allowing Danko and some other Detroit PD to work on the case with them.

Eddie foggily wondered why he was so cold, and he curled in on himself instinctively, wrapping his arms around his own slim frame. He barely had the presence of mind to realize the door was wide open and was letting in the cold-late December air; of course he was cold. Even though he said nothing, Detective Danko seemed to notice this, and she moved to slam the door shut. She picked up a discarded towel from the floor and wrapped it around his shoulders.

“Do you have a jacket, Eddie?” she asked him.

There was a beat of silence, and finally his brown eyes lifted to meet hers. “Huh?” he said, weakly.

She sighed, feeling a pang of pity for the poor guy. 

“Eddie,” she said, a little louder, but not unsympathetically. “Stay with me, kid.”

He nodded, and she saw his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, but his eyes turned back downward to the floor. He had already answered Danko’s questions, and then he answered the same questions asked by some beefy fed whose name he didn’t remember. He answered truthfully yet numbly, his heart broken into a thousand pieces and his shame at letting this happen eat away at what remained of his sanity. 

“Thank you,” he said quietly to the detective, when he realized he was a little less cold. She put a hand on his shoulder.

“Look at me.”

He lifted his eyes back to hers. “This isn’t your fault,” she said firmly.

“How is that?” Eddie asked.

She sighed. “You had no way of knowing that Jake figured out where you were staying. Hell, I can’t fucking figure it out myself. And you told Cassidy to wait and she didn’t listen. That’s not on you either. But the only one who is truly responsible for this is Jake. Don’t lose sight of that.”

Eddie was about to reply when there was a tentative knock on the door, and when Danko opened it, Erica stood on the other side. The Detective opened the door widely to allow her entry; she knew who Erica was.

“I was thinking,” Erica said, her eyes bright and her hands fidgeting. “Not too long before Cassidy was taken, I had gone over to the vending machines that are outside by the office to grab a soda. I saw an old beater pickup truck come into the parking lot, drive all the way around the back of the motel slowly, come out the other side, and back out onto the street. It didn’t stop, but it was driving real slow like it was looking for someone, ya know? It left, but then a little while later, I could hear it again. I was back in my room by then and I didn’t look outside, but it had a distinctive engine sound, like it was on its last legs, and it was pretty loud. I think it came into the lot again. It sounded like it stopped for a little while, and then left again.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, and he perked up for the first time since Danko had gotten there. “That– that could have been him.” He looked at Detective Danko hopefully. “Do you think that could have been him?”

Danko looked torn. “It’s possible, but it’s hard to say.” She took out her notebook and flipped it open. “Can you describe the truck to me in as much detail as you can?”

Erica paused. “Well I can’t tell what color it was; it was a piece of crap. Maybe it was brown once but now it’s all shitty and rusty. I mentioned it was loud, like the muffler had a hole in it. It was a generic looking pickup, not too big, kinda boxy. But one thing I thought was weird…when it drove by me, I thought it smelled sort of sweet.”

Danko was scribbling furiously in her notes but looked up at the last bit. “Sweet? What do you mean sweet?”

Erica shrugged. “It’s kind of hard to describe. But instead of the usual exhaust smell, it had a kind of sweet smell. Fruity, almost.”

Danko opened her mouth to say something, but Eddie interrupted her by jumping up.

“DIESEL!” He shouted.

“What?” Erica and Danko asked in unison.

“Diesel fuel, it smells sort of sweet,” he said, his voice shaking in his excitement, the words tumbling out excitedly. “It contains a chemical that is also found in orange peels.” 

His proverbial wheels were turning, and he started pacing the room, thinking. “Diesel trucks, diesel trucks…” he muttered to himself, rattling off makes and models in his mind.  He stopped suddenly.  “The Dodge DW100!  It was only made in 78 and 79, so one might be old enough to be rusty. It was pretty boxy and generic looking, but it had a diesel engine and was made right here in… fucking Detroit!”  He punched the wall lightly for emphasis on his last two words. “It didn’t sell, so there are probably some sitting around decaying in old factory lots and junkyards.”

Danko and Erica simply stared at him, Danko’s mouth slightly agape.

Eddie shrugged. “I studied to be a mechanic before I decided to be a bartender instead.” 

Danko pulled out her walkie. “I need an APB on a Dodge…” she looked at Eddie.  Eddie walked over to her and spoke directly into the walkie, “a 78 or 79 Dodge DW100 pickup truck, rusty, diesel engine, broken muffler.”

“Okay,” Danko said, waving him off. “Did you get that?”

When the dispatcher confirmed receipt, she clipped the walkie back to her belt. “Okay I’m going to head out. You two sit tight. Alright?”

“Yes, Detective,” Eddie replied as Erica nodded.

As soon as the door was closed, Eddie turned to Erica. “I am NOT sitting tight.”

“Fuck no!” she replied, and the two of them were out the door as soon as Eddie put his coat and shoes on.

The first thing you noticed when you slowly swam up toward the surface of consciousness was that your head hurt, and badly. You sat with your eyes closed, fighting down the wave of nausea that assaulted you, dimly wondering where you were and what had happened.

Then you remembered.

Your eyes flew open at the memory of Jake’s large hand slamming over your nose and mouth, smothering your face with a cloth soaked with some chemical. You stove off the bile that rose to the top of your throat and your vision swam as it cleared; whatever Jake had knocked you out with left you with a nasty hangover. You closed your eyes again, took several deep, cleansing breaths, then slowly opened them.

Better.

You were in a dirty room that looked like it had been an office once upon a time. The only light streamed in through a large grate-covered window on one wall. On the other side of the room was an old metal desk, and a file cabinet with two of its six drawers pulled open. The room was maybe 100 square feet, if you were being generous, and the door that stood open on the other side seemed to lead to a larger room, but you couldn’t see much in the dim lighting. Everything looked like it had sat neglected for years; the dust motes danced lazily in the morning sunshine that streamed through the windows before settling onto the surfaces with its brethren, undeterred by the grime and rust.

Your hands were tied behind your back, pulled tightly around the back of the metal chair you were sitting in. You chanced a tug with your wrists, and the hard plastic of a zip-tie bit into your flesh painfully.  

“Ah fuck,” you muttered to yourself softly with a hiss.  

You decided to try to see if you could get a look at what was outside the door, and attempted to scoot your chair closer to it, but the metal legs screeched loudly against the rough concrete floor. The sound echoed out into the depths of whatever hell you were in like a banshee, and your blood froze in your veins.

“Shit,” you said softly, dejected.

You simply sat and waited for the inevitable footsteps that you knew would arrive. You didn’t know what else to do. Sure enough, after no more than ten seconds had passed, you heard the thudding of heavy boots on the concrete floor. Every step was amplified by its own echo, and each one signaled a deeper certainty that you were going to die.

In the seconds that followed, you were dimly surprised to realize that you weren’t afraid. You felt a cold dread and sinking clarity, but it wasn’t fear. In fact, part of you almost wanted to get it over with. You were tired of running and being scared out of your mind. You couldn’t even bring yourself to mourn the life that you would never be able to live, and all the possibilities that would now be snuffed out forever. You almost didn’t even care.

And then Eddie’s face appeared at the forefront of your mind.

For a moment, you saw him as you normally would through stolen glances at work. His hair pulled back with those little face-framing curls you grew to love, his eyes focused on whatever drink he was pouring as he chatted with a customer.

Then, you saw him walking across the parking lot of Tom’s Tavern, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his coat. He took a couple of running steps and then deliberately slid across a frozen puddle, and then he stumbled a bit awkwardly on the other side. He looked back at you, and he said, you weren’t supposed to see that, before he started laughing.

The flashes came faster, tumbling through your mind. Him gesticulating wildly over something that excited him. The way he tipped his head back when he laughed; really laughed. The way he punched down the icicles hanging over the eaves of the bar before you could walk outside, so “you wouldn’t get stabbed” by falling ice. He looked like Judd Nelson at the end of The Breakfast Club whenever he did it. You loved it.

Your first kiss, on Christmas Eve. It was only one week ago, and yet it felt like eons. Giggling in bed. Touches, sighs. Being held, feeling safe. I fucking love you.

And it was then that you realized that tears were streaming down your face, but not because you were afraid. It was because your heart was so full that you thought you might burst. A choked sob escaped your lips. 

Oh shit, you thought to yourself, with a new surge of energy. I can’t fucking die now.

Eddie steered Erica’s car through the east-side industrial area of Detroit. Erica had lasted less than twenty minutes behind the wheel before she pulled over, letting Eddie switch seats with her just to shut him up. 

“Go left here. HERE NOW ERICA.”

“God dammit Ed, a little notice?!”

“WE DON’T HAVE TIME ERICA!”

Erica was amazed she made it twenty minutes under those conditions. She understood the sense of urgency, she really did. But she had to dig deep to summon a new kind of patience for the state that Eddie was in. A state for which she was, of course, entirely sympathetic. Nevertheless, she now sat in the passenger seat while Eddie steered his way around the city he was familiar with, happier for not being yelled at.

“Okay so walk me through it,” she said, now that things were more calm. “Why are we heading to this part of the city?”

“I don’t know. I keep thinking about that truck. If it was actually old factory surplus, it may have just been sitting around in some lot. Or maybe he boosted it from some old factory worker, I don’t know.” He gripped the wheel tighter. “But I have to try something.”

“I know, Eddie, and I’m with you,” Erica soothed.  “Are there a lot of abandoned plants?”

Eddie nodded. “Most were demolished or were sold to other companies, but a couple are just sitting there and rotting,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of customers come in and drown their sorrows over being laid off at the plants over the years. The whole industry has been on the decline for decades.”

“Lucky for you that you went into bartending instead of the auto industry,” Erica said, with a smirk.

“Ha-ha,” he replied, giving her some side eye, but she wasn’t wrong, even if luck had nothing to do with it.

“Also, a run down old factory would be a good place to hole up, and you know, bring a kidnap victim,” he added bitterly. His mind turned to thoughts of you being trapped in such a place and the things that could be done to you there, and icy cold tendrils danced down his spine like fingers. If he let himself dwell too long in those thoughts, he would probably go crazy, and there was no time for that. He pushed the thoughts aside, taking deep and steadying breaths.

He turned down another road. Erica noticed that as Eddie drove, the traffic was getting lighter and the weeds were getting taller. After driving on a little while longer and making another couple of turns, Eddie pulled up to a tall, rusty chain link gate that was locked up with a thick chain and padlock. DO NOT ENTER and KEEP OUT signs were fastened to the gate. 

“Welcome to the old Packard Plant,” he said, as he stared at the massive, decaying complex that sprawled ahead. 

“Jesus,” Erica breathed. “It’s huge.”

“Bigger than any shopping mall,” Eddie said. Erica thought about Starcourt, and shuddered.

The main factory looked about the size of a city block; one huge complex in the middle, dotted with small buildings all around it. Its largest buildings stood at least eight stories high, and all of them gave the sinister impression that they were watching everything that went on around them with their large, empty eyes.

“Do you really think he took her here?” Erica asked as she looked around, her voice somehow smaller.

“I can’t say for certain,” Eddie said. “But I have a pretty good idea." He raised his hand and pointed off to the right. There, partially obscured by weeds next to an old shed, was a beat-up old Dodge DW100.

Erica turned her head to follow Eddie's finger, and gasped. "That's it, that's the truck I saw! Should we call the cops?”

Eddie killed the ignition. “I’m not taking the time to go find a payphone,” he said, and swung his door open. “Besides, they’ll probably come to the same conclusion any minute and be right behind us.”

Erica snickered. “You’re putting an awful lot of faith in the police.”

“Well. Notice that we're here and they’re not,” he said, climbing out of the car and closing the door quietly behind him. Erica followed suit.

He paused for a moment, staring at the huge building, and took a deep shuddering breath.

“Okay, let’s go,” he said.

By the time Jake’s heavy boosteps had arrived at the door to your little office prison, you were ready to put on the performance of a lifetime. You shoved aside the revulsion you felt when you saw him enter the room.

“Jake….Jake is that you?” you muttered groggily, feigning confusion.  “Jake, oh thank god. Where am I? Why am I tied to this chair?”

Jake walked over and stopped in front of you, hulking and intimidating.  

“You thought you could run away from me.” His voice was menacing, but soft. “You thought you could get away but I found you. Nobody gets away from me.”

You blinked up at him. “What do you mean, Jake? I didn’t run away from you.”

Jake paused, he wasn’t expecting that.

“What– yes you did. I saw you. I saw you at the bus station, you’ve been hiding from me.”

You faked a smile. “No, silly. I would never run from you. I love you. I was running from the police.”

He blinked a few times, then bent down so as to be eye level with you. He gripped your chin in his hand roughly. “What the fuck are you talking about,” he hissed.

“After they arrested you. After that time I made you lose your temper. The police, they interrogated me when I was in the hospital,” you lied. “They told me that you were wanted for murder, and that they were going to put you away forever. They said I was an accomplice…that I had helped you and they were going to arrest me too, if I didn’t confess to everything.”

Jake’s blue eyes were piercing as he studied your face. “They said that?”

You nodded, swallowing thickly. “I told them that it was all lies, of course. I told them that I loved you and that you weren’t a killer. They said that they were going to go get handcuffs and arrest me, so when they left the room I ran away.”  You forced tears to come, to thicken your voice with emotion and roll down your cheeks. “I was so afraid. I was so afraid for you.” You wanted to vomit. 

“But–” Jake said, uncertain. “But you ran from me at the bus station, you ran onto that bus and didn’t come out when I screamed your name.”

“That was you?” you said. “I thought it was the police. I swear, if I had seen you, I would have run to you. I thought you were in jail. I missed you so much. Oh Jake, I was so scared!”  You started weeping.

“I was only in jail a couple of days,” he said. “I thought you knew that.” 

You shook your head emphatically. “No Jake. I didn’t know. Nobody told me. I got out of town as fast as I could. They were coming for me.”

“They didn’t mention anything about you, when they were questioning me.” His voice was laced with suspicion.

“I don’t know. Must have been their strategy. They talked to me a lot about you. But obviously they let you go because you were innocent. Oh Jake, my wrists are hurting. Can’t you cut these ties? I’ll never run from you Jake. I’ve missed you so much.”

You had read something somewhere, maybe People magazine, about people escaping their kidnappers by feeding their ego and pretending they were on their side. To your absolute shock and even a little amusement, it actually seemed to be working. Jake might be a psychopath, but a lot of them were also narcissists.

“You promise you won’t do anything? It wouldn’t be good for you, if you tried something,” Jake said.

“I promise. I promise Jake. I love you.”

He pulled a swiss army knife from his pocket and extended the blade accessory before reaching behind you to cut the zip tie.

I can’t believe this is working, you thought to yourself. He’s really a fucking idiot. What did I ever see in this gu–

Your thoughts were promptly silenced by your arms dropping down to your sides, circulation flooding your arms with a tingly rush of warmth and relief. You fought the urge to rub your wrists, and instead threw your arms around Jake’s shoulders in an embrace, choking down bile as you did so.

“Thank god you found me,” you sobbed. “I missed you baby.”

“I missed you too,” he said. “I was so mad when I thought you ran from me.”

“I would never run from you,” you said, releasing your hold on him. “We were going to get married, remember? Can we still get married? Maybe we could go to Vegas,” you pretended to be excited by the prospect.

Jake smiled for the first time. “Yeah, maybe. I need to lay low for a while though. A lot of people are looking for me.”

You nodded solemnly. “I understand, I’ll wait with you. Baby, I’m freezing,” You said, rubbing your arms for emphasis. It was actually true, as you were only in jeans and a tee-shirt, and it was probably 55 degrees in there at best.  “I’m too woozy to get up. Can you get me a blanket or something?”

“Okay,” he replied tentatively. “Wait here and I’ll get it for you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” you said, forcing your most angelic smile. 

He turned and left the room. After his footsteps sounded like a safe distance away (this place is huge, you thought to yourself), you slowly stood up from the chair, careful not to move it and make the legs scrape upon the concrete floor again. You crept over to the desk and started gently opening drawers, looking for something that you might be able to use as a weapon. Nothing in there. You checked the filing cabinet; also empty, apart from some old papers. 

Then you saw it. You didn’t notice it before because it had been behind you when you were tied to the chair, but on the other side of the room against the wall was a tall metal cabinet that looked at least six feet tall and was about the size of a small closet. You hurried over to it and gritted your teeth as you gently pulled the door open, and it yielded easily with only a small squeak; nothing loud enough to raise alarm. Your heart leaped happily in your throat.

Leaning in the corner of the cabinet among other miscellanea, was an iron crowbar.

Eddie and Erica crept along the side of the main building, looking for a spot to sneak inside. Eddie knew it was only a matter of time before an entrance would make itself known; the plant had been closed since the 70s and had seen its share of squatters over the years.

After a while, they spotted a broken window with its metal grating wrenched open, and it was definitely large enough for an adult to squeeze into. I wonder if this was the opening Jake used, Eddie thought to himself, his heart pounding.

Eddie silently gestured to Erica that this is where they should go in, but she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait,” she whispered. “Weapons. We need something for self defense.”

“Shit, yeah,” Eddie whispered back. He had been so desperate to find you, that the idea of arming himself almost completely slipped his mind. “Look around the building, check the weeds and shit. There’s gotta be stuff we can use nearby.”

After a little while, Eddie came up with a two-foot length of iron rebar, Erica still had nothing.

“It’s okay,” Erica said. “You whack him with that hunk of metal, I’ll jump on him or something.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Eddie said, struggling to keep his voice quiet. “I am not letting a 17 year old chick jump on a fucking serial killer!” He punctuated the word ‘jump’ with air quotes for emphasis.

“Do you have a better idea?” she whisper-spat, hands on her hips.

“Yeah, actually, I do.” Eddie said, and pointed a finger in her face. “Go wait in the car.”

“Out of the question,” she said firmly, batting his finger away.

Eddie sighed and looked heavenward. He was an agnostic, but he wished god would kill him right then anyway. “For fuck’s sake,” he said. “Fine, you stubborn asshole. But if you die, I’m telling your mom it was all your fault.”

“You’ll die first, Munson. Oh wait! Look…” Erica stooped and picked up a broken length of two-by-four. There were a couple of rusty nails sticking out of it.

“What, are you gonna kill him with tetanus?” Eddie whisper-yelled.

Erica shrugged. “You see anything else?”

“Fine, let’s just go,” he said.

The bottom of the window was just at ground level, with about a four foot drop into the building.  Eddie went first, stooping low to slide down into the building, and then turned around to give Erica a hand. He would never admit it out loud, but he was glad he wasn’t alone, even though he feared for her safety. 

Once the two of them were safely inside, Eddie looked around, allowing his eyes to acclimate to the darkness.  The room they entered was massive; it had probably been an assembly-line room back in the day, but all the equipment was long gone. All that remained were pillars every fifty feet or so, shadows, and grime.

“Where do we go now?” Erica whispered. 

Eddie paused. Any sound that occurred in this vicinity would carry quite far with no obstructions, so he held up a finger, and listened.

Erica’s hand suddenly grabbed Eddie’s sleeve, startling him. He swallowed an exclamation of alarm; choosing to glare at her instead.

“Do you hear that?” she whispered near his ear.

“What? I don’t hear anything.”

“I swear I thought I heard footsteps.”

Eddie listened for a moment, but he heard nothing.

“No I don’t–”

“Shhhh!” 

And then he heard them. They weren’t close; there was no way of knowing where they were coming from exactly, with the way the echoes tricked one’s ear. But he heard them nonetheless. 

He held his breath and listened to the unmistakable sound of heavy footsteps echoing in the building.

As you reached for the crowbar, you heard Jake coming back.

Mother of fuck, you thought to yourself, that was too quick.

You grabbed the crowbar and hid next to the door so it would obscure your body when he opened it.  The last time you heard him walking to your room it sounded like he had to walk over fifty yards, so you had a moment to steel yourself. You took several steadying breaths, and waited. 

His footsteps stopped outside of the door.  The knob turned, and the door opened. Jake was obscured from your view by the now partially-opened door, so you couldn’t see him, but you heard him say, “what the–” as he noticed you were no longer in your chair.

You stepped out from behind the door, and swung the crowbar at his head.

It turns out, knocking someone out usually doesn’t go the way it does in the movies. First off, it’s hard to aim and swing something heavy, especially when you had been gassed unconscious not long before. Second, people don’t get knocked out with just any bonk to the head.

It was an admirable effort, and you managed to land a glancing blow off the side of his head. It did not, however, have the desired effect of rendering Jake unconscious; it only made him angry.

“What the fuck?” he bellowed. “You bitch!”

He staggered, and you saw blood run from his lacerated flesh, but he, unfortunately, remained very much awake. However, his stumble did give you the needed seconds to run, and run you did. But as you passed him to run out the door, he swiped at you and knocked the crowbar out of your hand.

Unable to go back for it, you ran into the darkness unarmed, an angry and bellowing Jake not far behind.

Eddie and Erica had only been inside the building for about a minute when he heard Jake’s enraged shout echo across the building, followed by a loud metal clatter.  They froze, but Eddie’s heart thudded loudly in his ears, his adrenaline flooding his system, and he wanted nothing more than to take off at a blind run to find you, but that might only get you all killed.

“Was that him?” Erica asked in a breathy whisper.

“I think so,” he replied. 

They listened for a moment, and then they heard the sounds of running feet; light and small followed by heavy and big, and more angry yelling. 

“Oh my god,” Eddie said, less quietly this time, and he broke into a run at last. 

“Christ,” Erica muttered under her breath, and she took off after him. 

Eddie’s long legs enabled him to outpace Erica easily, and he quickly lengthened the distance between them as he ran across the massive, empty factory.  He reached a corner, and paused to listen. The footsteps seemed to be getting closer, so he chanced a peek around the corner.

He saw you materialize from the darkness, running as quickly as your legs could carry you.

She’s alright, he thought, elatedly. Oh thank fuck, she’s alright.

His elation was cut short however, when he spotted Jake running after you, and he had a pistol in his hand.

Your brain could barely register what was happening as a hand clamped down on your left arm and pulled you around the corner you had just approached. All you knew is that you were running as fast as you could and then you were being pulled roughly in a different direction. You yelped in alarm, and when you spotted Eddie, your brain almost turned to total mush.

What! How did he—

“How did you–” you started to ask, but you were being pulled away before you could finish your sentence. 

“Run!” Eddie yelled as he pulled you along. “He has a fucking gun!”

“What!” you squawked, trying your best to keep up with him as you ran toward the other side of the building and the window that Eddie and Erica had entered moments before. An insane mess of emotions warred for dominance; joy and relief after seeing Eddie, adrenaline and fear over your escape, and now an intense new terror over the fact that Jake had some sort of firearm and that Eddie was now in very serious danger.  

“Erica!” Eddie shouted after noticing the teen was no longer with him, and he looked behind his shoulder as he ran. He spotted her crouched at the corner where Eddie had found you, waiting for Jake to appear. She had her wooden plank poised in the air and ready to strike. Eddie slowed his run as he watched, eyes wide, and muttered, “Oh shi–” just in time to see her smash Jake in the face with her board of wood as he rounded the corner. Down Jake went, and she smacked the board against the back of his head for good measure, where it promptly splintered into several pieces.  Erica turned and ran like hell, leaving Jake face down on the ground.

You arrived at the broken window moments later. “Insane,” Eddie said with a breathy chuckle, panting from running and adrenaline. “Did you just fucking kill him? Insane, Erica.”

“Let’s not wait around to find out,” she said.

“I can’t believe you guys are here,” you said, trying not to burst into tears. “How in the hell did you find me?”

Eddie linked his hands to boost you up into the window. “Just a few lucky guesses,” he said.

“Lucky? More like educated guesses. He should really go to detective school,” Erica laughed.

“Me? A cop? That’ll be the day,” he laughed, as he boosted you up. You scrambled up and out into the weeds, careful not to cut your palms on the broken glass that littered the area. Erica followed close behind, and you gave her a hand out of the window.

“Come onnnn Eddie,” you said, your anxiety at a new high. You didn’t know if Jake was dead, or just unconscious, but you really didn’t want to take any chances.

“I’m coming, I’m here,” he said, as he crawled up and out, and you helped him to his feet. He pulled you in for a tight hug. “Oh god, thank god you’re okay,” he said shakily. “I was so fucking scared.” He pulled away to look into your eyes. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I’m alright, Eddie,” you said. “I tried to trick him into thinking I was always on his side,” you said, and the three of you started speed-walking toward the gate, where Erica's car sat on the other side. “The fucker’s so stupid and narcissistic he actually believed it.”

“Jesus,” Erica said. “Good thinking.”

“I can’t believe that worked, but I’m really glad it did,” Eddie said, shaking his head.  He held open the busted corner of the chain link gate that he and Erica had entered through earlier. “After you,” he said to you both.

"Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” A voice shouted, a voice that you knew only too well, and it made your heart sink. You were halfway through the gate and you whipped your head around to see Jake staggering drunkenly toward you, his face and shoulders splattered with blood. The hand holding the gun hung at his side, but it was still clutched in his fingers.

“Oh my fucking god,” you cried.

Eddie turned and his eyes met yours. “Go,” he said. “Keep going. Run, and don’t look back.”

“Eddie,” you cried. “No, we have to go, come on!”

Eddie turned, and put his hands up. “Jake, man, put the gun down. It’s over.”

Jake said nothing, just spat bloody saliva on the ground as he came closer.”

Eddie took a couple of steps closer. “The cops are on the way,” he lied. “You don’t need to make this worse. Let’s call it a day.”

“Eddie, get away from him,” Erica hissed. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Jake asked, his speech slightly slurred, his attention momentarily shifted to Erica.

Eddie pounced.

You screamed, fighting with the fence to get back through, but without another person holding up the corner it was a tight squeeze.  Erica ran over to you to help as Eddie smashed Jake in the knee with his length of rebar, and then slammed into Jake like a battering ram. Jake howled in pain. He was bigger than Eddie, but he was hurt, which helped level the playing field.  Jake went down, sprawling backward in the weeds, but he quickly put up a foot and kicked Eddie off of him, who rolled off to the side. As Eddie scrambled to his feet, you started to run over to where the two men grappled for dominance, but the sound of a gunshot froze you in your tracks.

You looked down and didn’t see any blood on your body, and you didn’t feel any pain. Eddie’s wide eyes found yours as you looked at him. “Are you okay?” He asked, panicked.

“I’m not hit, I’m okay,” you said. Eddie nodded in response, taking in a deep, hitching sigh of relief.

“You motherfucker,” you growled, and ran straight over to where Jake lay in the weeds. He was struggling to sit up, but Eddie had likely shattered his left knee, and he floundered. He barely had time to react before you kicked him in the face as hard as you could.

His nose had definitely broken, and blood sprayed into the air, propelled by his violent exhalation of breath.

“You fucker,” you sobbed, and kicked Jake in the face again, and then a third time. “You tried to take everything from me,” you shrieked, and you kicked him again, this time in the balls, but he didn’t react; he was out cold. You reached down to where the gun had fallen out of his outstretched hand, and picked it up. “You deserve to die,” you hissed, and you pointed the gun at his face.

“No, Cassidy…don’t,” Eddie said, stopping you from pulling the trigger.

Jake was gurgling, and bubbles of blood and snot pulsed from his nostrils as tendrils of blood trickled from his lips and from various points on his scalp. Erica gently pried the gun from your fingers and pointed it at Jake.

“Try something, motherfucker,” she said.

You turned to Eddie, and he gave you a beaming smile from where he stood, swaying slightly, looking exhausted but otherwise unharmed. 

Then, as if in slow motion, you saw Eddie stagger backward, and it was only then that you noticed the spot of blood blooming on the front of his jacket. Suddenly everything else was far away; your hearing faded out, your vision tunneled. Nothing else mattered. He took one step  forward, and then slumped down into the patchy grass.

“NOOO!” You shrieked, closing the distance between the two of you in a second, falling to your knees by his side.

“Eddie,” you sobbed, patting him all over, looking for the entry wound. You pulled up his shirt and found it in his upper-left abdomen, just below his ribcage. His lifeblood flowed out of it, bright and red, staining everything it touched. You grabbed the bandana from Eddie’s back pocket and pressed it to the wound with shaking hands. 

“You’ll be fine, I juh-just have to s-stop the b-bleeding,” you stammered, sobbing.

“Eddie!” Erica shouted, the gun in her hand still pointed at Jake, who was not moving. “You better not die on me, you asshole!”

You could hear sirens approaching, the cavalry was about to arrive.

You picked up one of Eddie’s hands and twined his fingers with yours. You brought his knuckles to your mouth and brushed your lips against them, kissing them softly. You couldn’t stem your tears. “Stay with me, stay, please Eddie,” you cried.  “You came for me, you found me, I can’t lose you now, please, please.”

“I’ll always find you,” he said, smiling softly. His eyes were growing heavy, and they fluttered closed. 

“Eddie, NO!” you sobbed, but he’d gone quiet. “Eddie?” You shook him gently.

You couldn’t wake him.

EPILOGUE – TWO YEARS LATER

December 31, 1993

You stood with your toes burrowed into the warm white beach sand, letting the ocean breeze wash over you, lifting the strands of your hair and making your linen sundress flutter. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the salt and surf, hearing the waves. You gave yourself a moment to soak it in, letting all your senses be fully present.

You looked down at the old bandana clutched in your fist, slowly unfurling your fingers, letting the bloodstained cotton fabric bloom open as you relaxed your grip. You brushed away the tear that rolled down your cheek. 

Even though it hurt, you liked to remember the events of that terrifying week in Detroit two years ago, which culminated on that catastrophic New Years Eve. You liked to remember all that was found, all that was lost, and it helped you realize all that you had built and reclaimed. You ruminated on all that you had conquered, and all that you had overcome.

But it still hurt, it probably always would.

The arms that snaked around your torso startled you, making you jump and yelp softly.

“You scared me,” you said with a smile, leaning back against his chest.

“I know you enjoy your annual ritual,” Eddie said softly in your ear. “But don’t you think it’s just a little…morbid?”

You turned around fully to face him, wrapping your arms around his neck. He was dressed in a dark blue t-shirt, slim jeans and simple black converse without socks. His beautiful skin was lightly tanned, his long curls tied up in a messy bun. Gone were the flannel shirts and knit wool caps of Detroit; Key West was where you called home now.

“I know you think it’s a silly little ritual,” you said, kissing him lightly on the lips. “But I like to think about everything we accomplished as the world burned down around us.”

“Yeah,” he said, smirking. “I suppose it was pretty badass. But you’re not the one who was shot.” 

You slipped your fingers up under his t-shirt, feeling the little scar. “If I could go back and take that bullet for you, I would,” you said softly.

“Whoa, hey now,” he said, grabbing your fingers and pulling them to his lips to kiss. “Let’s not go overboard. I’d rather die than see you take a bullet. Besides, I want the credit.” He smiled behind your fingers, his eyes glinting mischievously.

You looked down at the bandana in your hand, the blood long faded to a rusty brown. Eddie’s hand closed over yours, obscuring it from view.

“I think it’s time to let go of the past,” he said. “Jake’s going to be eating from a tube for the rest of his life, strapped to a bed. You and me, we’re great. Let’s look forward, okay?”

“Does that mean you’re ready to let go of what happened in Hawkins?” you replied.

Eddie thought for a moment, looking out at the sea. “I already have. I’ll never forget it, but I won’t be living in the past anymore.” He looked back down at you, and smiled. “I have you now.”

You nodded and opened your hand, letting the wind take the bandana, and you watched it float down toward the waves, flapping and twirling on the ocean breeze until it was out of sight.

“Litterbug,” Eddie said with a chuckle.

“You really know how to spoil a moment, Munson,” you said, but you couldn't help but laugh. You did actually feel a slight lifting of the spirit. Everything really was going to be okay.

You stood on your tiptoes and captured his lips in a kiss, one that started to turn heated pretty quickly.

“Hey!” a familiar voice bellowed from a short distance away. “Are you two idiots done making out? It’s New Year’s Eve! We’ve got customers!”

“Coming Tom,” you and Eddie said together, and started laughing.

You turned and started walking up the beach hand-in-hand toward Tom’s Beachside Cantina. It was going to be a busy night, after all.

THE END.

Author’s note: Thank you so much for reading this work. I hope you enjoyed reading it nearly half as much as I enjoyed creating it. This has been a true labor of love, and the first multichapter fic I have written in ten years! If I was going to come back to it for anyone, I'm glad it was for my beloved Eddie.

** As always, if you liked this, comments and reblogs are a treasure. Thank you so much!**

[palfriendpatine66]

20 Question Fic Writer Tag

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

19, soon to be 20! ( three are just little prompt fills/drabbles that I’ve considered removing but also – I want to be able to find them again just in case they ever turn into something more so.)

2.) What's your ao3 word count? 

306, 375

3.) What fandoms do you write for? 

Star Wars. That’s it, and probably all it will ever be (except for my crazy crossover aus). It’s a full time job over here.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

DX:Lovesick (I had a really weird moment when this passed PIP in the kudos count. Like, I love it and was really proud of it, but also: how dare it). Anakin is an accident prone college student who winds up in the care of one very hot Dr. Obi-Wan Kenobi

Pining in Preschool: My first ever fic (started exactly one year ago!) Anakin is trying his best to be a good dad to his twins, and that probably means he shouldn’t be falling for their preschool teacher.

Hide Here Often: This is bottom Obi-Wan smutty one shot

Helicopter Dad: This is a continuation of Pining in Preschool: 4 times that Anakin was a Helicopter parent and one time Obi-Wan beat him to it. I’ve been intending to do a part two with Obi-Wan ever since, but it hasn’t happened yet.

With a Cherry on Top: This is a ridiculous continuation of Pining in Preschool – Obi-Wan and Anakin get in a fight about eating in bed that results in a sex ban until one of them backs down. Spoiler alert: it ends with a sexy food in bed scenario because *of course* if they break they have to prove a point about it

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

I try to always yes. I used to have a 100% track record, and I really wish I was maintaining it. Comments are my lifeblood. I literally cannot tell you how important receiving comments is to me, it’s like, a problem honestly, and so it’s definitely something I want to encourage. I try to always respond to a comment at least as an acknowledgement of “I appreciate you were here and took the time to let me know you liked this”. BUT also I genuinely love engaging about my fics and am more than happy to go on my “Author’s Commentary” spiel at any given moment.

Life’s kind of been shit lately, and I’ve had a hard time if I don’t respond to comments right away as they come in they get lost in my inbox. Also. ADHD.

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

OoOoOo Window AU – to be revealed tomorrow. I don’t have the ending for Criminal Minds fully written, but even though it might be a “happy ending” it’s not going to be a happy ending, if you know what I mean. OH BUT if I ever write my post order 66 Obi-Wan on Tatooine vague idea for which the working title is “Obi-Wan Sads”. Yeah. That will probably be the worst.

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

Hmm. Pining for Preschool probably. It ends on a very high note, although also it’s not really an ending because I continued it into a potentially never ending series that seems to be 90% fluff after the angst I put them through in the original fic.

Also Center Stage (dance au)was a happy ending for sure.

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

No, generally all my comments are very positive. There was a weird moment in DX:Lovesick where I wasn’t necessarily getting the hate but Obi-Wan was, and he was getting a lot of it. I wasn’t upset by the comments so much as I was worried that I didn’t write well/clear enough to convey the situation as I thought I was, but I settled on people are going to read their own situations into stories and interpret it differently than intended and that’s okay.

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

Yes. The Obi-Wan and Anakin kind.

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

I had a fit of insanity and wrote an Obikin Titanic au.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not. That would be sad

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so no

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Nope! I think I have too much anxiety to commit to doing this, even with the right people. Put expectations on things and I just…can’t.

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

IDK man. Kovu and Kiara from Lion King II: Simba’s Pride

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

Right at the time I started writing PiP I started a time travel (?) au that resulted in amnesiac Knight Skywalker as master to padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi right when he rejoins the order after returning from Melida/Daan, instead of rejoining Qui-Gon. I would be shocked if I ever get back to thin, I really jumped the gun and there’s so much of it I don’t have in me, but…there’s still something about it that calls to me.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I always feel super awkward answering this, but I feel pretty good about capturing Obi-Wan and Anakin’s voices, especially their internal voices (if that makes sense) so that they still feel like them in other universes

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

Oh gosh. I am learning as I go. Outlining/having a plan and sticking to it vs. just winging it as I go along. Knowing where paragraphs should start and end – which feels like you should just *know* but I don’t. Descriptions.

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

Great! But I’m not fluent enough in anything to do it

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars – Hiiiii!

Also, though, the only other stuff I wrote was Star Wars but the year was 2005 and it was for an audience of one (me!). Your Pal was a nerd who carried around a little notebook and wrote down every piece of jedi wisdom and quotes I encountered while I wrote about Obi-Wan and his OC apprentice who was *definitely*not*me* (their name was literally an anagram of my name lol) on their long term undercover mission on Earth, among other things.

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

This varies by the mood. I genuinely love Pining in Preschool, and it will always have a really special place in my heart. Dx:Lovesick was a very fun ride, I really and truly enjoyed writing it  and I feel like it holds up. Right now I’m pretty attached to Criminal Minds, for a completely different dynamic and take on obikin.

No pressure tag to @renlyslittlerose and @grapenehifics

[loserchildhotpants]

Fic Writer Q & A

Tagged by @casdeans-pie :3333 (thank you for tagging me!!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

on loserchildhotpants I've got 151

on someonetoanyone I've got 30

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

on loserchildhotpants it's 1,614,148

on someonetoanyone it's 370,992

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Oh, so many. Right now, I'm writing strictly for Supernatural bc i have too many ideas to split my time lmao but I still v much enjoy writing for Good Omens, Star Trek, Star Wars and IT : )

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

On loserchildhotpants my top 5 fics by kudos are:

Madman and a Fool (w over 9k kudos y'all are insane ilu)

Seeing Wolves (Where There Are No Wolves)

Just to See You Again

Derek Hale's Possible Heart

The Witching Hour

And honorable mention to surprising me by showing up in 6th place: The 'Do Not Fucking Touch Me' Tour which is my reddie post-canon fic that i wrote an entire, original, actual stand up routine for skjdhf

On someonetoanyone my top 5 fics by kudos are:

Being Lead Home

Threw Stones At The Stars (But The Whole Sky Fell)

Years of Sorrow Wash Away

What Used to Be Mine

Perihelion

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

I do! I try my best to reply to every single comment a person leaves on any and all of my fics, no matter how old! I hope it encourages them to KEEP writing comments, not just to me, but to any authors. Fic authors suffer a huge disparity between kudos/views/bookmarks and actual comments written. The ratio sucks so bad, actually, it's kinda disheartening.

There's a big difference between eating someone's homemade cookies at an event and giving them a thumbs up before walking away, and staying at the table to tell them how the texture and sweetness was PERFECT, and they don't even usually like snickerdoodles, but you made them so well, they want more and more, they're so glad you're at the event and so glad you brought your cookies!! -- like, that really is the difference between leaving a kudos and comment. Comments are my lifeblood.

I've also made great fandom friends in the comments section of my fics lol

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

On loserchildhotpants the angstiest angst I ever wrote is in the Angst November collection for kylux -- none of them have happy endings, and happy endings are sort of my staple! It was fun to write a series of tragedies though. Beyond that, probably my kylux series Not About Angels

On someonetoanyone, probably The Levee Breaking, which is just a specific scene rewrite that offers an alternative to Despair where Cas' body is left behind by The Empty or One And Only, Time And Again which is endverse, so.....

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

A curious question! The HAPPIEST? Huh.... uh.

On loserchildhotpants probably Seeing Wolves (Where There Are No Wolves) or Madman and a Fool. The endings for both those fics are gooey and tooth-rotting lmao

On someonetoanyone maybe Being Lead Home or It Won't Be Perfect ? idk this is a hard question lmao what makes a happy ending happier than another?? sdljkfh

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yes! I have had to delete several fics in the past because the threats, suicide-baiting, slurs, and absolute vitriol was actually too much for my heart.

One of the reasons I made a new account was to outrun that sort of abuse. There were people that knew and fucking hated loserchildhotpants and among several other reasons, i decided making a new account was a good idea, but the hate i got on fics under loserchildhotpants was definitely a contributing factor.

I've had people be shitty about my fics on someonetoanyone in the bookmarks and on twitter and tumblr but not on the fics themselves.

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

i write so much smut sldkjfhsldkjfhksdhj now, i'm generally a p vanilla smut writer; some end-of-fic, on-top-of-the-covers w the lights on missionary stuff, but I've been widening my horizons as of late.

I went outside my typical comfort zone for Red, Red, Red (sterek), and Arrows Made of Desire (sterek), and I've got an unpublished WIP on someonetoanyone rn that's sitting in the drafts and it's... perhaps the most animal, insane, monsterfucking smut i've ever written lmao sdlkjfhsdkfjh but y'know, after writing so many years of original flavor smut, you wanna take up new challenges!

Like, im not into food play, so i would have never thought of it on my own, but someone prompted me w it and i was like '.... you know what, i bet i could write the shit out of that' and i did! lmao (the fic in question is on someonetoanyone; Lost In The Sauce lmao) it's not my usual gig, which made it exciting and new and fun! so, i'm usually v vanilla but i am starting to try new flavors lol

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

I have not written any crossovers, but I'm attempting my first one! It's for a dear friend, and I'm trying to make it just right, but this is way harder than i thought it would be lmao

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Several! Oh my god, so many of my fics have been stolen, and I always find out through a reader. Someone always lets me know through a comment like 'hey, head's up, [x] has literally copy and pasted this entire work and replaced the names w their current ship' and every time my shit is stolen or reposted on different sites without credit, i see fuckin red, dude.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Many! I was going to list them here, but it's actually a v long list lol if you look at my top kudos'ed fics on loserchildhotpants, you'll find several translations and podfics of those available, and i think maybe two of my fics on someonetoanyone have been translated as well : )

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Sorta? We haven't published it yet, but once it is published, I'll have officially cowritten a fic lol check back in

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

i have stared at this question for 5 full minutes i have no idea sdkjfhlsdkfjh i can't choose!!!! i love them all so much T A T my top five IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER are probably destiel, bagginshield, kylux, spirk, and johnlock (this list being comprised of who i have read the most fic for - although, sterek also deserves a spot tbh)

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

I do not have an unfinished work currently that I have no intention of going back to. A few months ago, I went to loserchildhotpants and deleted all unfinished works that would not be finished, so if it's still up on AO3, it's JUST a hiatus and i WILL be returning to it someday

16. What are your writing strengths?

... uhhhh... huh. Does tangential, narrative metaphor count? Tbh I'm not sure. When folks have told me what they specifically like about my writing, the consensus has been that it 'feels like [i am] ripping [the reader's] heart apart and then tenderly putting it back together' and that my stories on the whole are 'satisfying.'

I have a certain speaking cadence, and I write like a talk, and I talk like I write, so people can usually hear it in their heads as they read. Whenever I am composing what I hope is a deeply emotional crescendo, it appears to land ?

Again, no idea what I'm doing there, idk the technical word for that. Maybe pacing? But it feels tied to diction too... composition ??? idk skdljhfksjdh if anyone's got an answer to this, lemme know

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Exposition and character introduction skdjlfhslkdjhf too many years of writing fic have allowed me to neglect these skills and i'm really bad at them. i just hate exposition!! just let me psychically transfer the information to you!! how do i write out the rules of the universe in a way that doesn't feel like a boring info-dump ??? thiS IS HARD

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Back during my FF dot net days, I'm p sure my first fic was an Inukag fic for Inuyasha. Back in the day, I majorly wrote for Inuyasha, OHSHC, HP, Death Note, Star Trek and South Park. But yeah, I think the first time i was like 'i need these two to kissy kiss right on the LIPS' was when i was 10 and watching Inuyasha for the first time sljkdhfskjdfh

Idk who to tag! If you see this and you want me to tag you in future stuff like this, consider yourself tagged by me! I'll make a mental note!

[serpentarius]

just a smol and friendly reminder—to myself as much as to others— that comments are always appreciated on a fic (I'm primarily going to use fic as an example here, but the sentiment definitely applies to artwork or any other creative thing, as well!).

I know it can be SO easy to read a work, enjoy it and hit "kudos" or bookmark it, and then forget to comment, or not have the time to comment. Or maybe you think your comment is going to be annoying, or you feel like you don't want to bother the creator by commenting on every single chapter, or maybe you think it's not worth it to comment because you might not have much to say other than "wow, beautiful!" or "I liked this!". I know it because I've been guilty of doing the same thing. sometimes I get in my head or I think oh, my comment probably won't make a difference.

but as someone who both creates and thoroughly enjoys what other folks create, I know it makes a difference. It makes a HUGE difference.

that sort of verbal appreciation and feedback, no matter how small, matters on a profound level. and having those comments attached to the fics we write makes it easier for us to go back, reread, and feel inspired, uplifted, and motivated to keep at it. Some of the comments I've received on fics have helped me through some really dark moments, and reminded me why I love to create in the first place. it makes a huge difference.

I'm definitely not trying to say fic writers are "owed" comments. I'm more just putting this out there as a loving and friendly reminder that a lot of us are just out here creating fanworks out of passion, and in the case of fic, putting it out for free. and yes, we're doing it for ourselves first and foremost, but of course we want to know what other people are enjoying it for, if they're enjoying it at all. whether it's a couple of words or a whole-ass essay, comments are such a lifeblood for so many of us.

I know it won't always be possible. hell, I know I'll probably continue to slip up at times, and I won't always remember to comment, even when I mean to. but I think it's important to make a conscious effort wherever possible. ❤️️

[abovetherainandroses]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Storm here! 🌩 Tysm for the tag @27-royal-teas! <3 I haven't done a tumblr meme thing in forever! And I don't really have any friends on this blog so I don't have anyone to tag, but if you're a writer who follows me, consider yourself tagged! (And also come be my friend)

This got long! I talk too much! Answers are below the cut!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

So I have two accounts lol, because for some reason I decided to make a separate RPF account even though I have other embarrassing things on main account anyway?? Anyway, I currently have 100 fics on my main and 5 on my RPF account.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Across both accounts, 379,693 words for an average of 3.6k per fic. Longfic? I don't know her.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I usually write for one fandom at a time, but I will revisit/cycle through fandoms. Currently it's Fall Out Boy. Previously, I was writing some MCU stuff (mostly Spider-Man). Also wrote a handful of Good Omens stuff back when S1 came out. I have the most fics posted for Haikyuu (volleyball manga/anime) lol.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Oops I only have 5 fics so far on my RPF account and I'm still debating whether I want this account directly linked to my main.

But I will take this opportunity to tell anyone who needs it not to put too much stock into kudos!! Kudos count relies on a lot of factors, but a big two are fandom/ship size and when you post the fic relative to the height of the fandom's activity. (Getting in early with a fic right after a new movie/season/etc. comes out so you're one of the first fics for the New Thing can be huge too.)

External validation is obviously very nice but if you rely too much on it, you're not gonna have a good time.

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

Comments make my entire life and I always want to respond to them, but I inevitably fall off because the brain energy isn't there, and I keep putting it off, and putting it off, and putting it off, and then it feels too late. But seeing as I only have 5 fics on my RPF account, I recently went and responded to everything, even if it was years late. In the past few weeks I've actually gotten responses to some comments I left on fics like 3 years ago so it inspired me, haha.

I myself am not always good at leaving comments (continuous goal to get better at it), so I really appreciate the people who take the time to leave kind comments for me and I want to express that appreciation.

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

I don't usually write angsty fic... I'm too softhearted. That said, I have made a few forays into angst, but Your Mileage May Vary on which one is the angstiest. Is it the major character death? Is it the one where they're soulmates with the last words they'll say to each other written on their skin, and in the end it's not death that separates them, but their own inability to have a functional relationship with each other?

Or is it the one I didn't even think was super angsty and tagged "bittersweet ending" but then it made a bunch of people cry? I'm still like "...my bad" about that one lmao.

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

Fluff is my lifeblood and almost all of my fics have a happy ending. I couldn't tell you which was the happiest, haha. Again, I'm incredibly softhearted, and also a big sap. I cannot deny this!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thinking very hard... I have been posting fic for............. several years so it is possible I am forgetting something but nothing comes to mind! I have always felt too relatively unknown for haters, which is just fine by me.

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

"What kind" lol. What does that even mean. Listen, my kink is holding hands during sex and being ❤️ in love ❤️ (I mentioned I'm a softhearted sap, right??)

Sometimes I might explore some light kink but nothing too hardcore imo.

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

Again, I've been writing/posting fic for several years, so I could be forgetting something, but I don't remember ever writing a true crossover. Though in my personal definition of fandom terms, crossover = characters from fandom A meet characters from fandom B. I have written a few fusion AUs in my time (characters from fandom A existing in the world of fandom B), which you could say falls under the crossover umbrella. For example, I've written Kingdom Hearts characters in a Pacific Rim AU and Haikyuu characters in Dragon Age AU.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of. Though I did once see (this was a SUPER long time ago) someone repost my fic on tumblr the same day I posted it on FFN, even though I also posted the full text of the fic on tumblr myself. They credited my FFN account, at least, but like. Hey. Don't do that.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, I've had some fics translated into various languages! It's definitely an honor that people want to share some of my stuff in other languages and take the time to do that translation work. I try to ask people keep translations on AO3 but it hasn't always succeeded so there are some translations of my works floating around on foreign language fic sites... Ah well.

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

I successfully co-wrote one (1) fic with one of my friends years ago. I've tried a few other times to co-write fics (including with the same person) but none of them ever finished... Co-writing fic is hard! Idk how to do it effectively. I've done a handful of fic/art collabs with my wife though!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I don't know that I have a single all-time favorite ship, but Peterick is definitely the current fave. I........ adore them. So much.

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

Listen, I am a hoarder of WIPs and a clinger to delusions that they will one day be finished. But okay, one of my peterick WIPs from 2016-2017 that I really liked but highly doubt I'll ever finish is a no-band, dating show AU where Pete is the eligible bachelor on a queer offshoot of the Bachelor/Bachelorette and Patrick (through machinations by Joe) ends up as a contestant on the show. Patrick is camera shy and does not want to be there, but he made a deal with Joe to stay til he was eliminated. Pete, who just went through a public and messy divorce with Ashlee, does not want to be there, but he was guilt-tripped into using his moderate fame to help bring viewership to the underfunded little queer show.

Pete finds out Patrick never wanted to be there in the first place and offers to eliminate Patrick. I will copy/paste the next bit from my gdoc:

"[...] pete’s like what if…i didn’t eliminate you and we just stayed friends and hung out and stuff and patrick finds himself agreeing bc pete’s a really nice dude and they have a lot of interests in common

But then Patrick keeps sticking around through the weeks and Patrick and Pete fall in love and both end up having separate private crises because they agreed to be friends. Patrick sees Pete spending time with other candidates and clearly being attracted to them and it sucks because now Patrick is in love with Pete and Pete isn’t considering him at all. Meanwhile Pete is having a good time with the other candidates and sure there’s lust there and even some like but he can’t stop thinking about how perfect Patrick is for him except for oh wait Patrick doesn’t even want to BE here and Pete was the one who convinced him to stay and now he’s fucking in love with him."

Blah blah blah, stuff happens, Pete eliminates Patrick in the last few weeks then when he has to make the choice between the final two candidates, calls Patrick and confesses to him instead, blah blah blah, happy ending.

Anyway. I wrote 11k of that fic and I was about 1/3 of the way through. It will never be finished. But now I've told you all about it and that's good enough, right?

16. What are your writing strengths?

Internal narration and emotions. Tightly focused fics that span 1-3 scenes. Spelling and grammar.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Longfic or fic with several scenes that take place over an extended stretch of time. Related to that, coming up with external plot events rather than just internal conflict HAHA. Describing the setting/environment so the characters don't just exist in a nebulous empty space.

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

As with most of my preferences re: fic, it depends on the execution. It can feel clunky and maybe even cringey, or it can feel natural and realistic. Just be intentional about how you're using it. Also, it always helps if you know a fluent speaker who can review it for you but understandably you may not always have someone like that.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Warrior... cats...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

This is impossible to answer hahahaha. Certainly if we look at my main AO3. But if we're looking at my grand total of 5 (as of yet) RPF fics, I can say that I'm still quite fond of get us right (quitters never win), a fob AU fic where everything is the same but they all have minor superpowers, featuring empath!Patrick and telepath!Pete.

Aaaaand we are done! If you got this far, I am giving you cookies.

[holy3cake]

Twenty Questions For Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @lord-aldhelm! :)

1. how many works do you have on AO3? 47, and some of these were absolute fever dreams lmao.

2. what's your total AO3 word count? 297,357 (some of these are multi-chapter, but my current TLK fic is set to be the longest one chapter and word wise)

3. what fandoms do you write for? This doesn't cover all of the fandoms of my AO3 because I wrote a random mixture when I was younger but my main ones currently are:

The Last Kingdom

Saw

13 Reasons Why

FNAF

I've done a few random ones like Sex Ed, Squid Game, TMR, AOTD but the ones above are the main ones I try to stick to!

4. top five fics by kudos:

Your Dreams are my Reality (FNAF)

Don't ever betray me again (Squid Game)

Take Care of me? (AOTD)

Jealousy in the Office (Saw)

One Man's Worst Week is One Man's Greatest Rescue (13RW, this is the first fic I ever wrote so it warms my heart that this is still in the top 5!)

5. do you respond to comments? Yes! If I don't respond on AO3 I respond to people on tumblr, as I tend to seek out people in similar fandoms and make the most amazing friends :)

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I meaaaan no spoilers, but In His Father's footsteps will have an angsty but happy ending. I think the angstiest one I've done so far was Runaway Bride (Saw).

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? A release of toxic masculinity (13RW) was a super sweet one to write, and ended quite happily :).

8. do you get hate on fics? Not exactly, but I have been the target of bots (unfortunately).

9. do you write smut? I used to write nothing but smut lmao and about 9/10 of my fics are smutty, but I'm trying to include a bit more plot these days, mainly as I'm not great at writing smut haha.

10. craziest crossover? Uhhh probably Saw x Titanic? It was a bit bizarre haha, but I did do a 13RW x Circus thing which was also super fun to write.

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge, I really hope I haven't!

12. have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Someone asked to translate one of my Squid Games fics into a Chinese version, and I was given the link to the page. It was really nice that they asked and showed me the final product :)

13. have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope, but I do theorise/write snippets with friends sometimes!

14. all time favorite ship? Oooooh difficult one. I mean I really have only started getting into it recently but Aethelstan x Osbert from TLK have me gripped even though it's a rarepair, and Charlie and Alex from 13RW are my lifeblood.

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Uhhhh there's a few lmao. There's a couple of Saw ones that I really want to get back to, but the inspiration hasn't returned just yet.

16. what are your writing strengths? I would like to say descriptions (imagery wise) and maybe light smut?

17. what are your writing weaknesses? I really struggle with dialogue even though most of my fics are dialogue heavy lmao.

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language? I don't mind reading it, but I don't write it myself. There's no particular reason I don't write it, it just hasn't come up.

19. first fandom you wrote in? 13 Reasons Why! And it helped me through a really rough patch in my life, so I'll always be intensely thankful for the people I met at that time with Chalex (@aeonwing-blog @closetfascination)

20. favorite fic you've written? I have mixed feelings about it, but I really love my FNAF one for the couple, I just felt I rushed the story a bit lol. And maybe it's just because I adore the fandom so much, but my Last Kingdom one has a GRIP on me.

My AO3, in case you're interested in any of this madness:

No pressure tags: @aeonwing-blog @closetfascination @jayalover @book-and-music-lover

@waterfallsilverberrywrites @redacted-thething @lancedoncrimsonwings @cheesyficwriter @persephones-journey @billystoilet

and anyone else that would like to participate!

I've tagged a few of my favourite writers that have been with me through the fandoms, just wanted to say an extra thank you for your works <3

[sabetha]

20 Questions for Writers

tagged by @fandomscraziness22 <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

80 - well on my way to 100

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

299,441 which is actually SO infuriating

3. What fandoms do you write for?

whatever I happen to be hyperfixated on at the time....right now it's Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous/Chaos Theory, but Lockwood & Co. and The Raven Cycle round out the top 3, followed by Six of Crows and some miscellaneous podcasts

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

do you know i love your tattoo (and you) (l&co)

She's Just a Friend (ML)

just keep your eyes on me (l&co)

Take It From Me (soc)

See Yourself Out (soc)

This list is actually so wild to me wtf

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes it takes me a while, but yes! I try to respond to every comment I get, with varying levels of success

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

this has to be a trick question, right? p much everything I write is angst oops. although to be fair, I do usually try for a happy ending. so the angstiest ending....

based on canon: you were the story i chose for myself (the dreamer trilogy) OR what do you know, this house is falling apart (l&co)

canon divergent: slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace (l&co)

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

why is this so hard?? I don't know if these are the happiest, but I'm partial to The Great Gansey (trc), Dream Me the World (trc), and The Plan (ML)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I don't think I've ever gotten any really negative comments on my fics which is great because I would cry

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

not typically? my Dark AU for L&Co features some smut (PLEASE READ THE TAGS IF YOU'RE GONNA READ THIS FIC) yesterday we were just children

10. Do you write crossovers?

nope, i'm not inherently opposed to the idea, but a lot of times they just don't feel natural to me

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Oof I hope not

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't think so? I've had at least one person ask, but I don't know if it ever happened

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

I was working on a ML fic with a friend once! we unfortunately did not finish that, but it was a fun experience

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

..... you can't ask me to pick between my children like this

But Ronsey (trc)

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

Learn to Like The Taste. (soc) - it's started, it's vaguely outlined, it's partially drafted, some of it is posted.... I would love nothing more than to finish this story but its been years and head empty no thoughts

16. What are your writing strengths?

emotional angstttttt, it's basically my lifeblood at this point. I've also been told I'm good at mirroring the writing of the source material? so that, I guess. I'm pretty proud of the phrases I come up with when I put my mind to it

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

dialogue?? action?? don't know her

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

i've got some latin in my fics for trc, and te admo adhuc (the college tapes) is a title in a different language, so I'm deciding that counts

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Miraculous Ladybug

20. Favorite fic you've written?

this is a really mean question, actually, so now you get to suffer through me making another list

As Good As Later Gets (Wolf 359)

Something New For Every Night (trc)

trapped in yesterday (l&co)

things we have to do that we can't stand (trc)

slipping through the cracks of your cold embrace (l&co)

tagging anyone else who wants to do it, if you're seeing this, yes you!