#i have half of a fanfic outlined in my head around this

[mortal-ethos]

Rook Meme: Revasulahn "Rook" Elera Aldwir

General

Name: Revasulahn Elera Aldwir

Alias: Rook, Revas

Gender: Genderqueer, transmasculine

Age: 31

Place of birth: Minrathous

Spoken languages: Trade, Antivan, Tevene (modern and Arcanum), Elvhen, Orlesian (not fluent, but can communicate on basic levels)

Sexual orientation: Sapphic, demisexual

Occupation: Veil Jumper (the one that makes Strife's life harder), Leader of the Veilguard, future Shadow Dragon (mission organizer for slave emancipation), Bellara's fanfic consultant

Favourite

Colour: Blue, and he's grown especially fond of the teal eyeliner Neve uses

Entertainment & Past time: Reading, Arte di Disputare ('Art of Arguing' in Antivan, my own lore) with Lucanis, sparring with Davrin

Food: Pumpkin bread

Drink: His specific blend of coffee, sweet and nutty with hints of honey and floral notes

Books: Slow burn romances with complex lore and world building, 'A City of Sticks' by X. Azizian (my own lore)

Have they

Passed university: No, he never received formal education

Had sex: No

Had sex in public: well, no

Gotten tattoos: Yes

Gotten piercings: No

Been in love: He never felt close to a person or felt seen by someone until Neve, but eventually yes

Are they

A cuddler: Yes, but not easily. It takes him a long time to feel safe with touch like that

Scared easily: Nope, he's almost always hyper-vigilant. Whenever he does get scared, it goes straight in the vault.

Jealous easily: No, most things go over his head. But protective easily? Absolutely. He trusts no one, especially not around Neve.

Trustworthy: Yes. He barely lets out his own secrets. Everyone else's are under complete lock, no key.

Family

Siblings: He has a REDACTED half-brother.

Parents: Elera, his mother, was a linguist from a Dalish clan in Arlathan. His father was REDACTED, a REDACTED

Children: Rook and Neve discuss the idea of kids, but they both worry so much. They do eventually have a child after many late night discussions around a corkboard full of red thread connections specifically for deciding on having a child. They are the most adoring parents, affectionate but knowing the right balance between freedom and rules.

Pets: It starts with a cat that follows them home all the way through the Crossroads, and turns into them eventually taking care of half the cats in Minrathous.

I'm writing a slowburn Neve x Rook fic if you're interested! The first 1/3 ish will be posted in the next week or so. You can find my work under Pr13st on AO3!

I wasn't tagged but I saw this outline on @dragonagegayz blog, and really wanted to do it.

[melonisopod]

My personal headcanon for the WH Mirror World is that Ishmael agreed to be a maid under the Edgar Family because she knew the heir was a sickly waif of a man who would probably croak from TB in a decade or two and she can train up to face Ahab in that amount of time, but unfortunately she got really attached to the sickly waif of a man she was banking on dying young.

[crippleprophet]

let me open by saying I Know How This Sounds (fem whose undergraduate chemistry professor recommended ze take turmeric to cure zyr arthritis, etc) so no hard feelings if you keep scrolling, but hopefully folks who know me know i'm speaking honestly about my experiences, even if those don't end up being the same for other people. so!

2 Tbsp of a common kitchen spice is doing as much or more to manage my ME/CFS as any of my meds or self-medicating drugs

@lakeeffectbitch outlines a way of trying this with a control in their reddit post (link); i just went directly to the one they thought might work so i'll put my experiences & the science/theory behind this under a cut for folks who want to avoid potential placebo effect :)

i'll get more specific about this in the "spoilers" but please be aware, especially folks with diabetes or other blood sugar conditions, that this substance may cause a blood sugar drop. it's less likely at this dose but probably keep a sugary snack on hand just in case

if you experience post-exertional malaise & want to try this but don't have spare money to spend on spices feel free to dm me & i'll see if i can help!

my experience:

i took 2 Tbsp ground sumac mixed with warm water on February 11. i tried taking it with a straw first because that's what my colonoscopy prep had said would make that go down easier but because the sumac particles were so big they didn't want to remain suspended & trying to get them in the straw was difficult, which then made it harder to swallow without, yknow, noticing that you're slurping down sediment

what worked better was getting the powder wet, putting a big clump of it on my tongue, then swallowing it with water like a pill

within about half an hour of taking the sumac it was like my fatigue just faded around me where i stood. it dissolved to the background & when i thought "oh i want to do this" or "i should do that" suddenly i found myself just doing it. i had spent the past week at least bedridden except for the bathroom, & though i took the sumac on a better day, i'd been planning to return to bed with a snack after taking it.

instead, i made myself lunch, and i sat on the couch to eat it. all of this was without taking an edible that day; usually i've gotta take at least 25mg delta 8 + 25mg cbd to even consider sitting on the couch. also, it was storming.

from my write-up the day of: "everything felt very sharp & clear & lucid." i washed the dishes from my lunch. all of these activities were about 2 hours, & at that point i emphatically needed a nap. waking up felt like after taking a muscle relaxer & sleeping: my muscles were more relaxed, & my whole body felt like it'd gotten a bit of a break

i've taken sumac at least 8 times since then on at least 5 different days (this time by modifying this sumac tart recipe to include a lot of sumac powder in the crust, which has been much more enjoyable than the Glass O' Sediment lmao) & adjusting for factors like weather, the effect has been comparable every time:

i watched Inception on the couch with my husband, & understood when she explained things to me

i watched leverage on the couch all day when it was below freezing

i worked a bit on fanfics i've barely been able to touch in a year

i "meal prepped" measuring spices, gathering ingredients, & soaking beans to make beans & rice in the instant pot later that day. i literally can't remember the last time i was able to use my instant pot, after thinking about it i think it was when i made palak paneer last summer, but that was a one-off special occasion thing, i've used it maybe 3 other times since developing ME

i wrote this post

the science:

okay a lot of this shit was over my head before i developed ME so i'm gonna be summarizing at my level lol, look to @lakeeffectbitch for a higher-level analysis

but what i do know! (all images from "The malic acid inhibiting inflammation in ankylosing spondylitis by interfering M1 macrophage polarization" by Ji et al., January 2025)

sumac contains high levels of malic acid, which is found in certain fruits (apples, peaches, etc)

the drugs.com page classifies malic acid as an inactive ingredient, so there are no known drug interactions

mice with ankylosing spondylitis had lower levels of peripheral malic acid than control mice

ID: bar graph showing mice with AS had about 0.03 micromoles per milliliter of peripheral malic acid, compared to the control mice level of over 0.2 micromoles per milliliter. the difference is labeled significant via asterisks. end ID

mice with higher malic acid concentrations had lower ESR and CRP (inflammation markers)

ID: two graphs showing lines with a downward slope. the top graph, ESR versus malic acid concentration, is labeled: r=-0.6802, 95% confidence interval =-0.8843 – -0.2578, p=-0.0053. the graph shows ESR, an inflammation marker, decreasing as malic acid concentration increases. the bottom graph, CRP versus malic acid concentration, is labeled: r=-0.6068, 95% confidence interval =-0.8537 – -0.1371, p=-0.0165. the graph shows CRP, an inflammation marker, decreasing as malic acid concentration increases. end ID

mice treated with malic acid had lower levels of TNF-alpha than the mice with untreated ankylosing spondylitis. humira & similar biologics that treat autoimmune diseases are TNF-alpha blockers

ID: a bar graph of relative mRNA expression of TNF-alpha. M0, the control mice, has a relative expression of 1. M1, the mice with ankylosing spondylitis that did not receive treatment, has a relative expression of slightly less than 4.5. M1+MA, the mice with ankylosing spondylitis who received the malic acid treatment, has a relative expression slightly less than 3. this indicates that the mice treated with malic acid had lower expression of TNF-alpha than the untreated mice. asterisks between M0 and M1 and between M1 and M1+MA indicate significance. end ID

the mitochondrial function of M2 macrophages in mice treated with malic acid "was significantly enhanced"

analysis of the mice's spinal tissue blew my fucking socks off. trying not to jump to conclusions & i know journal articles are full of errors but that looks potentially disease-modifying.

ID: a 5x3 presentation of samples of mouse spinal tissue. the control mice, which are healthy, have thick, undamaged, glowing tissue. the mice with ankylosing spondylitis have thin, curved, cracked-looking tissue. the mice treated with celecoxib, a common prescription NSAID for arthritis, appear very similar to the untreated mice. the mice treated with 250mg/kg of malic acid per day have tissue in between the untreated and healthy appearances; the tissue is "glowing" like the healthy tissue but still narrower and curved, although less so than the untreated tissue. the mice treated with 500mg/kg of malic acid per day have tissue which looks even closer to the healthy appearance, with less curvature than the other treatment groups. end ID

since i started drafting this post i've started taking these malic acid supplements from Nature's Life – the full dose made me feel weird including some heartburn so i cut the capsules & take roughly 2/3 – 3/4 of it at a time (i drop the rest into a spare pill jar to make more doses from). it's been similarly effective for me

please be aware that the supplement instructions say to only take it once a day, i haven't had any issues but everybody is different & this avenue is definitely under-researched! (the mice were given 250mg/kg per day which for me would be like 27 grams but i am not a mouse lol)

[anakinstwinklebunny]

Hello! I'm Anon who requested the Spiderman!Anakin Headcannons. I was wondering if you could make a fanfic about him? 👉👈(Because ever since I read those headcannons he lives rent-free in my mind.)

Only if you feel comfortable and if you have the time, of course.

Bye~

PAIRING: nerd!spiderman!anakin x reader

City you lived in buzzed faintly in the distance as you made your way home after work, the cool night air nipping at your soft skin. The streets were quiet—eerily so—except for the occasional sound of a car rushing by or a distant siren wailing. You tried to ignore the tingling in your gut, the sense that something—or someone—was watching. Closely. Intensely. Purposely

You turned a corner, faint light from a streetlamp casting long shadows along the brick walls, and that was the moment you heard it.

“Shouldn’t a pretty thing like you be home by now?”

The voice was playful, dripping with charm and laced with a grin you could almost feel. You stopped in your tracks, glancing around, heartbeat quickening.

“Up here.”

Your gaze snapped up, and there he was, of course. Your favorite, friendly neighbor Spider-Man. Hanging upside down from a fire escape, his body silhouetted against the dark sky, one hand gripping his web while the other hung loosely at his side.

“Late-night strolls can be dangerous,” he teased, the lenses of his mask tilting slightly as if he was narrowing his eyes. “Lucky for you, I’m here to save the day—or, you know, just say hi.”

“But you really should stop making this a habit,” he continued when you didn't say anything, too stunned to speak much when his tone was turning to more of a teasing one yet with softer undertones than usual. Like he was genuinely, really concerned.

You huffed, crossing your arms. “I’m fine. It’s not like you aren’t always watching anyway.”

“True,” he admitted, tilting his head so casually. “Guess that makes me your personal guardian angel.”

His voice dipped lower, almost to a purr, to which you swallowed hard. Your heart beat a little too fast in your chest as he hung there, relaxed and so completely at ease.

“You really think you’re that charming?” you muttered, trying to keep the voice steady.

He didn’t answer right away, but you saw his hand flex on the web he was clinging to, grip tightening as if he were holding back. “You tell me,” he said, words slowly leaving his mouth.

You took a step closer, the space between you shrinking until you could see the faint outline of his lips beneath the mask. The memories of the last time he saved you—of the way he looked at you, spoke to you, even with the mask on—flooded your mind back, making your cheeks burn. This is what you meant by saying you have a weird relationship with spiderman. All the teasing, bickering back and forth, his appearance when you don't need him, his flirtation, even made you think a lot of thoughts..

“God, you never shut up,” you muttered, and before you could lose your nerve, you reached up and tugged down the edge of his mask.

His lips were soft—warm, inviting, pretty—and you leaned in, pressing your own lips to his before he could say or do anything. It wasn’t hesitant or shy. It was bold, almost desperate, and you felt the way his breath caught in his throat as he froze for half a second before he actually kissed you back.

The world around you melted away as his lips moved against yours, slow and gentle, like he wanted to memorize the taste of you. The gloved hand brushed against your jaw, or tried to from his position, and you felt his thumb stroke your skin, sending more sparks down your spine.

When you finally pulled back, his breathing was much heavier, and you could feel the sudden warmth radiating off him even from inches away.

“You’re full of surprises,” he murmured, voice lower, raspier, lips swollen from the kiss

“Someone’s gotta keep you on your toes.”

He huffed a soft laugh, but there was no denying the way his gaze lingered on you, body tense as if he was holding himself back.

“G-get home safe,” he called, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving you standing there, breathless and trembling, taste of him still lingering on your lips.

TAG LIST: @kingdomhate @divineani @haydensprettyprincess @skyguys-princess @catnipaddictt @heartscone @haydensbbg @inneedsoffanfics @jediavengers @literally-izzy @anisluvrgirl @slutforfinnickodair @xhunnybeeex @fuckmyskywalker @gallerygourmet @ysrjune @anakinskwkler @bimbo-baggins17-deactivated2025 @cookybananas @emotionallybruisedx @diorvalentina @sevinax @throughparisallthroughrome @aniiuv @ritosparty @ninastyless @lily-strnlo @thesassypadawan @awhhayden @sydkneez @anisangeldust @l1ttle-misssunsh1ne @anakinca @rubiesarepretty @luluartpop @nikiloveshayden

[n0tamused]

Hi! New follower and I’m angy at myself for now following sooner T_T I’m going to look back at your works and binge read! Also, your OC is so?? Lovely?? I love her colors so much! 😭

If you still are doing your 1.5k event (congrats btw that’s AWESOME! 💜) would it be okay to request a romantic action prompt “8. Person B won't let Person A get out of bed by cuddling them” for my lovey wife Castorice? Gngnghh she deserves all the love in the world :( I just want to be able to touch and hold her and offer her love yknow? That’s what fanfic is for! :D

I wish you a lovely day! Congrats again on that milestone!! 💜💜

˖ ࣪⊹Castorice x Reader

Prompt: 8. Person B won't let Person A get out of bed by cuddling them

A/n: Hello! And welcome, welcome! :D It's never too late to join me for my shenanigans, so don't worry at all. I hope you enjoy what you see <3 Also thank you so much, I'm genuienly so happy to hear you like her :,) I also hope you enjoy this little treat of Castorice. Thank you for partaking in the event!

Contents: Castorice x Reader, Gn reader, fluff

Words: 502

Ko-fi |  1.5K followers event

“I must go..” she whispered with another attempt to make departure of the arms that ensnared her and kept her in bed, but you gave no sign of letting up. You murmured something through your lips, head still heavy with sleep and wanting her warmth. Need to have her close for just a moment longer. You told her you’d only keep her for a few more minutes, but that was nearly half an hour ago, and Castorice was speaking of going again. Her long hair was falling off her shoulders in messy strands, a rare sight of the Lady of Death, yet no less beautiful. 

Your lashes fluttered open, heavy eyelids making it a struggle to keep them open but seeing her was worth it. Her form, the faint outline of her body against the light of the early morning, was a vision you couldn’t bear to turn away from “Just a moment longer.. please.. I know you don’t have much on your schedule today” your eyes found her gaze and held it with intention, a need unspoken. Castorice faltered, her eyes softening while the edges of her jaw grew tense for a brief moment as she took in the sight of you. “You only need to see Lady Aglaea in like..nine hours from now..” The bed, still warm from the heat of your shared bodies, felt like a small universe where time had no hold, and you were two people who belonged in this space, at least for now

“The hour grows late..”

“Let it.. I have not seen you in a week besides for dinner, love..please?..” you countered, soft yet firm, riddled with sleep.

She sighed, the breath a mixture of surrender and contentment, and for the first time in what felt like forever, her body relaxed into the warmth of your embrace - although it would be no lie to say she did not crave this either, this thing you called ‘five more minutes’ that stretched on for an hour with your limbs growing more and more entangled. 

Human touch was a foreign thing to her, one could not blame her for still not being accustomed to it. You were the only one she could hold without fear, and the reasoning behind that was yet to be revealed. 

“Alright.. just five more minutes” she spoke, her face softening as a small smile graced her features. She sank into the mattress, her arm sliding underneath yours to bring you closer to her. The blankets were amply adjusted around you, letting no chill touch your back, and her sigh melted her right into you. In that moment, the world could have fallen away, and it wouldn’t have mattered. Time didn’t exist here. Only the warmth of her presence and the quiet beat of her heart against yours.

And for a brief, shining moment, it was just the two of you- no responsibilities, no expectations, just the kind of quiet intimacy that only two souls who understood each other could share.

Ⓒ n0tamused/jarttavia_. Do not repost, translate, edit, and/or copy any of my works. Likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated.

[iloveamberfreeman]

― 'casual' crash in

pairing - bestfriend!jaime x fem!reader

summery - jaime basically crashes reader's window by accident, cashing a huge panic. reader doesn't know jaime is blue beetle. This was written for shit and giggles. (first time writing fanfic so this might be low quality) (rushed the end cuz I have homework)

words - around 1k

Today was supposed to be a calm day, you didn't have work today due to your boss having 'family issues'. You were off the hook today. You take a seat on your sofa in the quiet living room, the whole area being dimly lit by three half broken lights. 'I'll fix it later' you thought, that wasn't a big issue on your mind. Lights can always be fixed and replaced so fuck it.

You start to scroll though your phone mindlessly, taking in all of your friends latest Instagram posts. Fancy dinners, stargazing, picnics, geez, why did they have all the fun and you didn't? With a long dramatic sigh you put your phone down next to you, taking a take of your house. You gaze around the living room, you actually did a pretty good job for a first time home owner.... Pictures of your family and friends in nice frames, a good size TV... Damm, it looks nice.

Halfway through your thoughts you were rudely interrupted by the sound of a break in though your dining room window. 'oh fuck NO.'

Without second thought you jump up, jerking your head towards the broken window right in front of you.

"MY WINDOW.... WHAT THE HELL―" you whine out, covering your mouth with your hands as you make way to your now-broken window. It was a REALLY confusing scene, seeing your window broken into twenty million peaces. Also seeing your best friend getting up from the floor, groaning as he grabs his head in pure embarrassment.

Oh.

My best friend.

On my dining room floor, near a window that HE crashed.

You wince slightly at the scene, pointing back and forth . Window. Him. Window. Him. Your mind racing with a billion possibilities, how, who, what, where?! With pointing a accused finger at him, you yell, "JAIME WHAT THE FUCK." This is impossible, out of all the things to happen why does it have to be you?

You didn't even do anything to do this- zero karma - no bad meet ups- the world just hated you.

He scrambles to get up, practically falling on thin air as he quickly spews out what you like to call nonsense. "No no no- I can explain if-"You look at your window again, glass all around the outline of the table. Yeah, insurance was not going to cover this.

"NO YOU CAN'T EXPLAIN IT! HOW WOULD YOU EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN THIS?" Oh you were MAD― mad would be an understatement, you were livid yet also two seconds from passing out from shock. Before poor Jaime can even begin his sentence you cut him off, walking back and forth, mumbling loudly to yourself,

"This-" you gesture towards the window, "does not just happen by ACCIDENT. IT LOOKS LIKE A FUCKING TRUCK RAMMED INTO MY WINDOW!" All around the whole dining room floor was shattered pieces of glass, it was looking like this would cost quite a bit to get replaced.

"CALM DOWN, i-i-i got pushed and, um, I was near your house-" he stammers, moving his hands while he frantically tries to explain the situation. Of course, you were NOT having it. Why should you listen to him? This was literally supposed to be your 'safe' zone, away from work and people.

You stare at him, trying your very best not to start yelling at him because after all he did just crash into your window after all. You take a long dramatic sigh before tapping your foot impatiently, "And WHY were you near my house?!"

He gives a short glance at you, looking utterly embarrassed as he just stares at the floor playing with the ends of his shirt. "I was in the neighborhood, um, a-and, like...." He drags off, not even giving a decent explanation to the whole situation. "I..um.. can't really tell you."

You blink at him several times, giving a judgement look at him before placing your hands on the dining table. Well at least that didn't break. "What? Excuse me? Y-you can't just break my damn window and not tell me WHY?"

"I really just can't-"

"That is such BULLSHIT!"

[oreolemur]

Unknown Intentions- Toji Fanfic

Unlocking the door to your apartment, you happily welcomed the tall muscular man into your home. “Ta-da!”, you cheered. “This is my place. Make yourself comfortable”. Sitting his bags down by the front door, Toji examined the one-bedroom apartment. “Nice”, he grinned, glancing over at you. “Thank you, I try my best to keep it clean and neat”. You helped Toji settle down, feeling proud of your good deed. It was unexpected for him to have met someone like you at the city’s local bar. He was flat on his ass, waiting for his next job. Knowing that he didn’t drink, the bar was somewhere for him to chill out. He was minding his own business until you came along like a stray. Sitting next to him, you didn’t hesitate to start a conversation. After that, you instantly trusted him, allowing him to crash at your place for a few days until he got himself together.

“There you go”, you said, fixing up your couch for Toji to sleep on. “I was supposed to buy an air mattress, but I forgot”. He looked at you and smiled, “As long as it’s not the floor, I’m fine with anything”. Thanking you, he stretched out on the furniture, observing your movements. “Are you hungry? I don’t have much, but I can fix us some ramen. I’m good at that”, you offered as you struggled to reach for it on the top shelf. “Sure”, the man replied, enjoying the view. The higher you went, the more the black dress you wore rose. You didn’t feel the breeze, but Toji could easily see the pink laced underwear that perfectly brought out the shape of your ass.

“Need help?”, he asked, making his way towards you. He pushed himself against your bottom, feeling you up with his lower half. Your pelvis was pressed into the edge of the counter while you were oblivious to the man’s perverted behavior. “Did you get it?”, you asked. His body covered yours as he felt himself get hard. “Not yet”. From his view, the ramen was easy for him to grab, however, he was too busy reminiscing over the situation. Feeling something poking your ass, you looked over at Toji. “Your phone is tickling me”, you giggled. He raised an eyebrow at you, grabbing the ramen. “Phone? Is she slow?”, he thought.

Making the food, you offered the man a chance to shower, so he could relax more. “Here’s a towel and washcloth”, you handed him the materials. “There’s an extra bottle of shampoo and bodywash under the sink. Take as long as you need. The food will be ready when you get out”. Thanking you, Toji sneakingly closed the door behind you, forcing you to back up against it. “Can you show me how to turn it on?”, he grinned with his eyes piercing into yours. Feeling his body heat, you looked over at the shower. “Oh!”, you shouted. “I’m sorry. I forgot. My shower can be a bit complicated sometimes”. Moving away from the man, he sucked his teeth.

After giving him a little tutorial, you reached for the door to head out. “Hold on”, Toji said. You turned around, noticing his shirt was off. “It’d be nice if you could join me”, he undid his sweats, exposing his waistline. You glared at him wide-eyed. “I can’t do that. Our food will burn”, you smiled, leaving him annoyed. “What is her problem?”, he gritted.

In the kitchen, you finished preparing tonight’s dinner. As you placed the food down on the table, you accidentally spilled water on your shirt. “Oh no!”, you gasped. Grabbing napkins, you cleaned up the mess. Unbeknownst to you, Toji, who was standing by the couch with a towel wrapped around him, was watching you. Your chest was wet, causing the shirt’s material to become see-through. Not wearing a bra, the light above the dining table exposed the outline of your breasts. “Hmm”, the man smirked.

Catching your attention, you looked up and smiled. “You came out at a perfect time. The food is ready”. He walked over to you, keeping his eyes on your body. “Oh, do you not have any pajamas?”, you questioned, seeing the towel. “I do, but I’d rather eat first and then dress”, he replied. You gave him an “Ok” while handing him a pair of chopsticks. “Eat as much as you want. I fixed some side dishes after I realized the ramen might not be enough”. 

❤~Time Skip~❤

Getting ready for bed, you put on a sage green nightgown as you headed into the living room. “Are you comfortable?”, you asked Toji. He gazed over at you while setting up the comforter you gave him, “No”. You frowned in concern, “What’s wrong?”.  Slightly grinning, the man thought of an idea, “I forgot to tell you…I can’t sleep by myself”, he lied. Feeling bad, you approached him. “I’m sorry to hear that. You can sleep with me if you want!”. Hearing you say that, Toji instantly accepted your request.

Back in your room, you made space for him on your queen sized bed. “Sorry it’s a little messy. I did laundry the other day”. Putting your clothes into the hamper, you accidentally dropped a pair of your panties, “Shit”. As you bent down to get them, Toji licked his lips at the sight of your bare ass. “Is she doing that on purpose?”, he wondered. The man rubbed his covered boner as he watched more of your privates become exposed.“Fuck”, he quietly groaned, begining to stick his hand in his shorts. “Are you ok?”, you asked as you turned around. He continued to jerk himself off slowly. “I’m getting tired”, he stated, patting the space beside him. You gave him a smile while you put your clothes in the bin.

Turning off the light, you glanced over at Toji. He stared at you seductively, making you wonder what was wrong with him. “Are you going to sneeze?”, you squinted, trying to read his face.  “My room is a little dusty”, you placed tissues on the nightstand beside him. “Use however many you want”. Attempting to walk away, Toji grabbed your wrist. “Hold on”, he said. “Instead of walking over to the other side, you could just climb over me. It’ll be easier”. Without hesitating, you instantly did what he said, “Ok!”. With him laying on his back, he felt your ass graze against his cock. “What a stupid bitch”, he smirked. “Alright!”, you exclaimed, getting comfortable. “I’m going to catch some z’s. Wake me up if you need anything, ok?”. He raised an eyebrow at you, “Ok”.

An hour later, Toji remained awake. He tossed and turned, finding it difficult to fall asleep. “Is she pretending?”, he questioned. No matter how big your bed was, you somehow managed to come into contact with him. Your back was faced towards the man, but the deeper you fell into your slumber, the closer your ass came to his dick. Toji wanted to control his urges, but ever since he stepped foot into your house, he sensed that you were teasing him. It’s not in his nature to straight up ask for a fuck. He’d usually wait until the woman opened up first. However, he just couldn’t shake the feeling that it was you who was waiting for him.

Putting his arm around you, he pulled you closer to him as he gently turned you on your back. He traced his fingers from your neck, to your breasts, and then down to your thighs. Toji lifted your gown, reaching for your bare breasts. “Mmm”, he groaned, proceeding to take off his boxers. Sticking two of his fingers in his mouth, he began to play with your cunt.

Having your clit in the middle of digits, he sinfully pinched it, making you whine. “You like it don’t you?”, the man whispered into your ear. Feeling him kiss your cheek, you woke up. “What are you-”, you tried to speak, but Toji covered your mouth. “Don’t play dumb. I know you want it”. He inserted his fingers into you, feeling your walls tighten around them. A muffled moan came out of you as the sudden pain caught you off guard. Grabbing his arm, you squirmed around. “Want me to go deeper?”, he asked, shoving his digits in more. You rapidly shook your head, feeling tears form in your eyes.  

Trying to escape from him, he grabbed hold of your neck. “I’m not finished”, he gritted. The look on his face scared you, making you freeze up. Toji positioned himself between your legs, “Just take it. I haven’t fucked in weeks”. Sliding the tip of his cock on your sensitive bud, you cried as you begged. “Please don’t do this.”, you croaked. “I’m a virgin”. Not giving a shit, he thrusted every inch into you. “That makes it even better”, he chuckled. Placing his hands on each side of your waist, he pulled himself into you deeper. You squealed, feeling him painfully stretch you open.  “Please stop. I can’t take it”.

When he leaned into you, you attempted to push him off. He rolled his eyes, taking your limbs and pinning them above your head. “The more you fight, the longer, and harder I’ll be”, he warned. You felt inferior to him, wondering why he was hurting you. “Why?”, you questioned. “Shut up”, he replied. “Why are you hurting me? Did I do something wrong?”. Toji rested his head near your neck, laughing at your patheticness. “Maybe you shouldn’t bring strangers into your home next time”. 

[guilty-pleasures21]

Yooooooooouuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!! You SUCK!

ATSV fanfic starring Miguel O'Hara (my weakness!!! 😭)

0. The Slow Burn

Part 1 - the meet cute

Part 2 - the coffee mug

Part 3 - the spicy song

Part 4 - the absence

Part 5 - the watch/the sweet song

Part 6 - the backrub

Warnings: none.

_______________________________________________

     He brought his hand closer to her face, the heat of his flame raging against her, threatening to burn her skin. And then, suddenly, it was gone, and she could breathe again. She looked around, trying to locate her enemy, and found him smashed firmly into the wall, the brick forming a perfect outline around his golden form. What? She definitely hadn’t done that. At least, she didn’t think she had. She turned back and found a new figure standing in front of her. A man, judging by his broad shoulders and heavy build. He was clad in a red and blue outfit, not a single patch of skin in sight. But the material was tight, clinging to his muscles, defining their sharp lines and letting his enemies know exactly what they were up against. He was big and tall and … tall and … big. 

     “Um, please don’t tell me I’m going to have to kill you too,” she only half-joked. She was already barely surviving the fight against the strange new villain that had sprung into existence only moments ago. She definitely couldn’t handle another insane man who thought the world owed him a living right now. The man folded his arms across his chest and let out a small chuckle, almost definitely smirking at her beneath his mask. 

     “I’d like to see you try, arañita.” She frowned at the  easy confidence of his tone, at the smoothness of his voice and the spark of warmth it ignited in her chest. Argh! She hated him already. She averted her gaze, giving herself the space to collect her thoughts and refocus her attention back to the task at hand. She cleared her throat. 

     “Well, thanks for your help, Mr …” she trailed off, leaving him to fill in the blank with a name, something that might help her identify him. He let his hands fall back to his sides and studied her carefully for a moment. 

     “Spiderman,” he supplied. Wait, what? She raised an eyebrow, confused. 

     “Like the character?” Now it was his turn to look puzzled. 

     “Wait, what?” Before she could elaborate, a golden blur shot from the side, slamming straight into the … Spiderman, he’d said? She winced at the impact, cringing on his behalf. It didn’t matter how big and strong he was; being tackled by a man made of literal metal had to hurt. The Spiderman stumbled for a second, dazed, but then he regained his bearings and threw a punch at the other man, forcing him to the ground. 

     “Spiderman?” she repeated, picking up their previous conversation. “The fictional character they created as my love interest because having a woman fight bad guys isn’t good press for the patriarchy?” She vaulted to the balcony on the second floor, her eyes flickering around her surroundings, her brain calculating all the possible ways they might come out victorious. She paused. She’d only known this Spiderman for, what, five minutes? And already she was thinking of them as some sort of team. And that was when she saw the fire extinguisher. Her gaze slid back to the two men below her, both of them continuing to trade punches. It could work. But only if the Spiderman was somehow able to read her mind from all the way over there. She called out to him. 

     “Oh god. Please don’t tell me you’re just a random guy in a costume,” she teased him, flying over his head to get to her new weapon of choice. He hunched his shoulders at that, clearly offended by the very suggestion. 

     “I can assure you, arañita,” he replied, ducking to avoid another punch. “I am very, very real.” And then he looked at her, just for a second. But it was the second she needed. She gestured to the fire extinguisher, hoping he’d know exactly what she was trying to say. And judging by the slight pause he gave, he did. He nodded, then turned back to the golden man, trying to keep him busy, making sure he didn’t catch onto their plan. “Unlike pretty boy over here.” 

     It worked. The man lit up in flames, screaming with anger as he rushed the Spiderman. X ripped the extinguisher out of the wall and threw it to him, the object landing perfectly in his hands. Without a moment’s hesitation, he aimed it at the flaming man and sprayed, disorienting him. When the can was finally empty, he smashed it over the villain’s head, the force of his blow knocking him out. X landed in front of his prone form, then looked up at the Spiderman across from her, gesturing for him to tie the man up with his webs. He tilted his head, considering, but then did as she’d asked, wrapping the man up firmly in his spider silk. At the same time, she began weaving her own web, twisting it into a thick, impenetrable rope. When she’d finished, she swung it into the air, looping it around the railing of the second floor balcony. Then she knelt down and attached the end to the Spiderman’s, suspending the now unconscious metal man in the air when she stood up and pulled on it. Perfect. Now to deal with the next problem at hand. She turned to the Spiderman, standing there, watching her with his arms crossed over his chest. So he really did have powers. But then why had he left her to be the lone hero for so long? 

     “So, uh, thanks for your help but, I could have used it, like, a year ago?” she told him as much. He released his arms, his shoulders sinking slightly in weariness or exasperation, she couldn’t quite tell. 

     “That’s not how this works,” he replied cryptically, turning to the man hanging between them. He swung him over one wide shoulder, then reached up, a finger outstretched. Except that, it wasn’t a finger, not exactly. She looked on in bewilderment at the sharp, elongated tip, which he flicked across the spider silk rope, snapping it in half. Then he tossed something to her, a small, bracelet-like device which she caught easily. She waited for an explanation, but he just waved a hand at her expectantly. “Put it on. We’ve got a lot to get done.”

He'd brought her to his HQ after they'd returned the Molten Man to his home dimension. They'd been in the control room for about half an hour now, her nodding along enthusiastically to his explanations about his missions and the Spider society he'd brought together. He'd originally intended to just give her a brief overview - as he'd started doing when the other Spiders he'd brought back quickly lost interest in the science of it all - but the look on her face: contemplative, interested ... it had kept him rambling on. Until her eyes had narrowed, her eyebrows drawing together as she tried to comprehend his explanation.

     She frowned, her features scrunching up as she thought about how to phrase the question on her mind. “Okay, but isn’t you manipulating space and time to travel to different dimensions also going to contribute to rips in the aforementioned space and time?” 

     He paused, impressed; though he would never admit it. All the questions he’d been asked before had been dumb, brainless. Some of the other spiders hadn’t even bothered to ask any, silently accepting that they’d never be able to understand. But she … she questioned him, challenged his hypotheses, made him wonder if there could be more than just one way to do things.

     “Well, no. Because I’m not actually manipulating space and time,” he explained patiently. “I’m just travelling faster than the speed of light. It’s like taking shortcuts through space.” She nodded slowly, her eyebrows creased together in thought. It made sense. If she didn’t think about it for too long, that is. And there was still the question of the watches and how they managed to stabilise the bonds holding organic matter together outside of their own dimension. But maybe it was best to just leave it here for now. Before her brain started melting in her skull. 

     “Ugh, physics,” she groaned, pulling on her hood in exaggerated annoyance. “I hate physics.” He raised an eyebrow at her dramatics, slightly intrigued, against his better judgement. She claimed to hate it, but she seemed to grasp whatever concepts he threw at her quickly. He knew based on her file that she was a biologist - like him, though that was besides the point - which meant that she must have had to do some outside reading in order to understand at least the basic foundations of astrophysics and quantum mechanics. And she must have been especially smart to have somehow gained an understanding of those subjects all on her own. She gave herself a shake, oblivious to the thoughts running through his mind, and inhaled deeply. 

     “Okay, I’m good,” she decided, ending the discussion. “Can we take a break? My brain hurts.” He didn’t realise until she turned to him with a pleased expression on her face that he’d let out a snicker. His eyes widened, surprised by his own reaction, and he quickly cleared his throat, his features melting back into their usual scowl.  

     “Fine, okay.” He waved her off, dismissing her to go do whatever she wanted. “But be back here by four tomorrow. We’ve still got a lot to do.” He turned back to his computer, forcing himself to not look back at her, to not think about how his watch had lit up green the moment they'd met - an indication of a successful canon event.

     "Adiós, Miguel," she called out to him, her voice echoing through the cavernous room. "See you tomorrow!" He hunched over his desk, his voice just loud enough that she could catch it before she left. 

     "Hasta mañana, arañita.”

[goldenchimmy]

Concert Confessions

Pairings:JungkookxFem!Reader

CW: Smut, cursing,oral(fem-recieving),breeding kink

(This is my first fanfic with jungkook,edits might be needed!! Apologies!)

You confront your boyfriend Jungkook backstage during a performance.

Jungkook knew that he was overworking himself. That he'd pushed himself to his limit once again this past week. But he couldn't help it. He was the Golden Maknae after all. He had to be absolutely perfect at everything he did. Otherwise, he didn't even deserve that title.

The man knew that he was also neglecting your needs. Leaving you for long periods of time without so much as a text letting you know how he was doing or when he'd see you again. But you had let it slide. He was an idol after all and you knew that he had a busy life outside your shared apartment walls.

You had to learn how to balance work and play, just as he had. Or rather... was trying to do. It was still just work for him. He spent less and less time at the apartment with you and more time exercising and practicing his already perfect dance skills.

"Bunny.." You had muttered one night while you layed there in silence together. His cock still securely buried inside you after he had thoroughly used you. "Stay with me tomorrow. We can lay around and binge watch movies. Eat junk food and such..." your voice groggy with oncoming drowsiness as you stroked his hair. Sweat clinging to the long, dark strands.

But he just sighed in return, his half-lidded doe eyes meeting yours. "You know I can't..." He whispered, a yawn leaving him. He was always tired after nights like these. You didn't call him 'Bunny' just for his smile...

"You say that all the time. You're busy all the time. Why can't you just take a day off? Please?" You begged quietly. Listening to his breathing in the ever-darkening room. Moonlight starting to crack through the curtain covered windows of your shared bedroom.

He stayed silent for awhile. You could have almost sworn he had fallen asleep until he let out another sigh. Deep and irritated as he moved to separate from your tangled limbs. Causing the softest of groans to leave your lips as he slid out of you, leaving a trail of your mixed releases on your inner thighs.

"The answer is no. I can't. Not with the concert coming up later next month." His back was to you as he sat on the edge of the bed. His head in his hands as he rubbed at his eyes. The moon outlined the dark ink covering his right arm and the muscles in his back. He definitely had been working out.

A frown set on your face as you gently moved over to lay your head against his back. Your arms wrapping around him. "Okay. It's okay bunny." You breathed into the quiet, before a yawn left you. Jungkook chuckled softly then at your tired state before he turned and pulled you into his arms.

"Go to sleep baby." He hummed, his lips kissing over your forehead and then your eyelids. Over your nose as well before he layed down with you again. Pulling the blankets up around both your naked forms. "I'll be here when you get up, hm?" He whispered against your hairline. The only acknowledgment from you was a faint nod.

----

But that had been nearly a month ago. And since then you've had yet to share a morning with him. If you saw him at all, it was usually when you forced yourself to stay awake or when you'd send him texts asking if he was coming home.

It was getting old. And it was getting on your nerves. Almost a whole month of barely seeing eachother had made you a madwoman. And his concert was tonight. The first leg anyways. It was here in the city, before he would continue his tour to the states. A tour that he hadn't even told you about until last minute. A tour that you couldn't even go on.

Your own plans kept you away from that. You had family here and friends. And online classes in America you needed to attend. A world tour would only distract you. But that didn't stop you from being upset at him for springing the news on you like that.

Through a text of all things!

But tonight you would change things up. You weren't going to wait for him to come home. You were going to him. Sure, you didn't have tickets to his show, but you knew the staff and the other members of BTS. His brothers in every sense of the word. They could easily get you in. Even if jungkook didn't want to talk about this, you were going to make him.

You felt like you had become second to everything in his life. Jungkook had been dating you for nearly a year and a half now. And until now, everything was perfect. You would make it perfect again.

And showing up at the concert that night was only the beginning. The easy part of the whole confrontation. Jimin and Hobi had led you through the back door. They had already performed and now RM was on stage talking to Army as the boys called their fans.

The screams were near deafening as the two men led you around a corner full of staff and bodyguards, into a long hall with doors on either side. Jimim was wiping sweat from his brow before he cleared his throat. "You know...he only works so hard to make you happy."

You stayed silent as you nodded. "I know. But I don't see him anymore. This isn't fair to me or to our relationship."

Hobi shared a look with the younger before shaking his head. The three of you stopping at Jungkooks dressing room. Hobi patted your shoulder as he led Jimin away from you.

You took a few breaths before entering the room. Closing the door behind you, blocking out the noise from the stage and the crowd. "Jungkook?" You called softly. Your eyes searching the room before he came walking out of the small bathroom. His makeup done and his hair wild around his face.

"What are you doing here baby?" He asked, his dark doe eyes wide as he paused across the room. "I thought you were busy at home?" He asked, setting his mic and jacket down on a nearby table.

You watched him for a moment, debating on all the words you had planned to say to him. But nothing came out. It felt like you hadn't seen him in forever. And now you were rendered speechless.

Jungkook watched you, his brows knitted together before he took a few steps towards you. His hand reaching out and cupping your cheek. His ringed thumb stroking over the soft skin. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"This. This is wrong." You whispered. "It feels like I haven't seen you in years, bunny. It shouldn't feel that way." You breathed. Your voice shaky as you watched him frown. "You're always here. You're never home. I never see you anymore unless it's for a brief time when you forgot something at home. You're always busy, and you don't take time out for me anymore."

Atleast the idol had a slight hurt look to his face. Atleast you had explained how you were feeling to him. You had had trouble doing that in the past. But you were tired of it.

"Well?", you asked, your hands on your hips as you stared at him. Jungkook stayed silent for a moment before eventually he let out a soft sigh. The boy chewing on his pierced lip. "I have to be perfect. Always. And that's why I train and work out. Why I leave you all the time. It's not easy. But it's what I do." He shrugged.

"You've used that excuse before. You can't keep neglecting our relationship like this. It's not fair to me. To us." You whispered, moving to place your hand on his arm. "Jungkook...if- if you need time away. If you need a break from our relationship, I understand." You smiled sadly.

Jungkooks doe eyes widened as his gaze snapped to your face. He was quiet as he stared at you. Before his lips were suddenly on yours. His pierced tongue working into your mouth. Fighting for dominance as you opened up for him. Muffling the surprised gasp that left your mouth.

"You're dumb." He mumbled against your lips. His hands holding a tight grip on your waist as he pulled you against him. And when he kissed you again, you leaned into it. Your hands finding their way into his dark hair. Tugging slightly as you used your tiptoes to put more force into the kiss.

Jungkook kissed back with a passion. A hunger. One that he hadn't felt in a few months. Maybe he had been neglecting you, as it was apparent that you definitely needed more than just his lips.

"Baby.." He breathed softly after pulling away. His lips ghosting yours as he spoke. "I have a show soon..." He whispered, a slight smile on his face as he ran a thumb along your bottom lip. His other on your hip still, squeezing gently.

"I know." You smiled up at him. "I don't care...I want you bunny." You laughed slightly. He chuckled against your lips then, looking over to check the clock on the wall. Before his dark eyes were on your face once again. "I think I can spare thirty minutes. Let's see if we can beat your record, hm?" He grinned.

Before you were lifted by his strong arms, the boy moving and setting you on his vanity table the stylists used for his hair and makeup. His lips attacking yours. His hands had secured your legs around his waist, your ass on the edge of the table as your hands dug into his hair.

A shuddered groan left your lips as you felt him push his hips against yours. The obvious bulge in his pants making you more aroused than you already were. "Fuck." You breathed, pulling away for air as jungkooks lips moved to suck and bite at your neck. It had been forever since he had marked you. Had claimed you so proudly for others to see.

Your hands reached down to take off his shirt, but his own hands stopped you. "Not enough time." He whispered quickly, his eyes meeting yours before he nodded towards your pants. "Those need to be off though." He winked before moving his lips to the other side of your neck.

You nodded, leaning back against the mirror. Your head craned back against the glass as your breaths became short. Soft groans leaving the two of you. Jungkook made sure to leave behind perfect purple and red bruises along your neck and collarbone. Your shirt slightly tugged down so he could leave more.

Meanwhile, your shaky hands reached down to unzip and unbutton your jeans, your thumbs hooked in fabric to slide them down your generous thighs. Jungkook pulling away to watch you. His own hands sliding his belt off and unbuttoning his own jeans. Before he moved closer to tug your jeans down. Taking your underwear with them.

Once both your pants and underwear were shed somewhere on the floor, jungkook had you securely bent over the table. Your tear-stained face meeting your own in the reflection of the mirror as you held back your loud cries of pleasure.

Jungkook on the other hand was knelt down behind your bare half, fingers spreading your glistening folds apart as his tongue slid along your pulsing clit. It made your toes curl as you struggled to remain silent like he had asked. The door was locked, but still...you were known to be loud-

"J-jungkook-" you gasped shakily, warmth spreading down your spine as the familiar closeness of an orgasm began. Your teeth working your lip as you moaned softly into your hand. Your hips pressing back against the boys mouth.

"Not yet. Hold it." He breathed against your heat, before he all but pulled away, making you whine, your eyes meeting his hooded, dark ones in the mirror. "I'm not done. We still have twenty minutes." He grinned.

And those next twenty minutes were pure carnal desire. He had you on your back, on your side. Bent over the edge of the couch arm. Virtually any available surface was used in that dressing room.

But right now, he was still driving into you with a force. His cock soaked with your multiple orgasms. The boy panting over you as he pushed your legs back further so he could reach deeper inside you.

"I'm gonna cum baby-" he whined slightly, sweat sliding down his temple as he looked down at you. Your brain was practically numb, so the only thing you could do was nod quickly. Letting him know with your movements that you wanted it. Wanted him to fill you with all his seed.

You wanted him to claim your body again as you moved, locking your legs around his waist tightly. You were safe. Protected from pregnancy. And you loved when jungkook finished inside you. You could say it was almost a kink. A ritual in your relationship.

And when jungkook came, he filled you until you could take no more. Release spilling out of you and around his cock when he slowly pulled out of you. A perfect smile on his panting face as he watched.

You always liked it when he looked at you like that.

"I love you." He breathed, leaning down to kiss your lips multiple times. "I'm sorry I work so much. I promise to make more time with you. Let me finish this last concert and we can go home and talk. Yeah?" He nodded. Finding his pants and sliding them back on after cleaning himself up.

Jungkook helped you up as well, cleaning you gently before he handed you your pants. He kissed your forehead again before he had to leave for his set. The fans outside cheering loudly when he opened the door to backstage.

And when his show started, and he was there dancing and singing perfectly, you were there with a proud smile on your face (and a limp in your step) watching from backstage. With the promise that there would be more time with him in the future.

----

I hope you enjoyed this first story! I hope to write more soon! Leave me recommendations! Until next time!!

💋💋💋

[kurayami-no-ko]

My WIPs

I got tagged by @study-in--scarlett to share my wips and I assume that this means stuffs I am actually working upon instead of random ideas I keep meaning to write but never actually get around to writing so here is a list.

[Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell] The Lady with the Shawl: This started as a discussion in a Discord server but I ended up actually writing it. It is a story about the affair between Mrs Redruth and John Uskglass. I am not sure how it will end but I am just making it up as I go along.

[The Second Reproduction] Half Demon or Half Human?: This is a love story between Jin and my OP, Melissa. The first chapter was published in 2022 and I took a long time between some chapters (it only has 7 chapters) but I still mean to work on it despite not having written a single word for this fanfic for quite some time now. (I swear I will work on it tomorrow, next week or something!). However, Jin is my trashy husbando and Melissa is one of my most detailed OPs and they both live rentfree in my head so I will try to get this finished one day.

Idea that I probably will work on (maybe if you hit me with a stick?):

[Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories & Homicipher crossover] Tentative title: Segundus, Simonelli and the sojourn in the house of monster. I already drew a rough outline in my mind but the crossover fanfic will be basically Segundus and Simonelli getting stuck in the house from Homicipher and having to decipher monster speech while trying to stay alive (it will be mainly Segundus trying to stay alive because I am pretty sure Simonelli has mad luck and survival skills). Mr Crawling, my beloved, will obviously show up in this and aid Segundus in not getting murdered.

Tagging: @liliththunder if you want to talk about your WIPs.

[literally-just-there]

⭒˚.⋆✨️ 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖊𝖊𝖐𝖊𝖗'𝖘 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖑𝖊𝖘

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 ɪ : 𝕬𝖓 𝕬𝖙𝖞𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑 𝕬𝖗𝖗𝖎𝖛𝖆𝖑

Word count : 1,686

Content warnings : none

βeta read : yes (many thanks to Mrs G. !!)

Masterlist || Read on AO3

Author's note : the very first chapter of my main fanfic, already posted on AO3 but anyways, have it here too since the second chapter will (finally) come out soon !!

She opens her eyes.

Her small, clammy hands grip the leather of the armchair. It lets out a wailing creak as she slowly turns around in her seat, trying to make out her surroundings. 

It is dark.

The moonlight shines in through the large windows, illuminating the cluttered insides of the room.

She tries to get up, but quickly sits back down as the ground seems to sway under her feet, pressing her warm palm to her head in a futile attempt at stopping the sudden pain. It comes in short waves, steady as her own heartbeat, but nothing accompanies it. No images come to her mind that could possibly tell her how she ended up here.

Only darkness.

She catches her breath as she absentmindedly rubs her forehead. The pain soon fades away. She manages to get up, and makes her way to a window, where she is greeted by the sight of an empty, misty street.

Where am I ? 

She leans in, pressing her hand to the window, trying to make out anything helpful. Just then, a figure appears in a corner of the street, floating, yes, floating, she realizes, towards the window. It has no feet, and only the faint outline of a skeletal body can be seen under the black, swirling clouds coating it. Its eyes blaze red from under a worn-out hat. 

She jumps back with a shaky gasp, her dry throat refusing to let any scream escape. 

A click echoes in the shop, making her heart jump again as she frantically looks around the room, trying to locate the source of the noise.

What's going on ?

A pull.

Without thinking, she turns her head, sharply, towards a globe. It is in no way special, unlike the golden glow gleaming through the half opened trunk hidden behind it.

Was it open the whole time ?

The light is soft, and gently beckons the young woman forward. She pulls her cloak tighter around her, as a nervous shiver courses through her small body. It is suddenly warmer in the shop. The girl pushes the globe aside, her gaze never wavering as she stares at the trunk, the golden light reflected in her eyes.

She kneels down, and the lid squeaks as she pushes it open; the back of her hands brush an ancient helmet and a sculpted candle holder aside, as the light glows brighter with every movement that brings her freckled hands closer to the mysterious light source. Underneath books bound with fragile covers which faded gilt faintly glints, lies the artifact aglow.

Her hand does not hesitate before grasping the rolled parchment. As soon as her fingers make contact with the soft paper, its light fades off. She turns the parchment in her hand, observing the clasp holding it closed, and brings it closer to her face, to better see the elegant symbol of a tree and the arabesques forming a bas-relief on the clasp. As she approaches her other hand to open it, the mural lamp above her flickers on, making her gasp in surprise, as she looks up at the eclectic lamps hanging at the back of the room, which are now lit up as well. She momentarily forgets the strange parchment in her hand, when at the corner of her eye, she notices the street, outside.

The mist is moving.

She approaches the large window again, her hand resting on the lifeless shoulder of an old mannequin, lowering her head into her shoulders to see under the large letters reading 'ANTIQUES AND COLLECTIBLES' backwards. The bluish mist swirls and rushes off the street, and disappears. The young woman cocks her head to the right and to the left, trying to see any sign of the shadow-like creature she saw earlier, but the street remains peaceful and unperturbed, as if nothing had happened at all. The full moon shines brightly in the cloudless sky, its large, all-seeing eye sneering at the clueless girl.

She is pulled out of her reverie by a man's voice, the words soft and unrushed, as if he were speaking to a frightened child.

"Don't be scared ! It's safe to come out now."

She could have sworn the purple clad gentleman was not standing out there a second ago. Yet, there is no hesitation in the way her hand brushes the lace curtain off the door handle, and pushes the door open. The man greets her with a smile, his cane clinking on the wet and irregular cobblestones as he takes gentle, slow steps towards her, the light of the streetlamps shining on his short red hair and sideburns. From under the brim of his top hat, his bright blue eyes twinkle with unknown knowledge.

"Welcome to Darkwood. I know who you are, and why you're here."

He stands still in the middle of the street, his hands resting on the pommel of his cane.

Darkwood ? What do you mean ? I… Who… am I ?

She steps forward, willing to inquire about her situation. However, he speaks again before she does, gesturing to the rolled parchment she is still holding firmly in her hand.

"The Map has chosen you, and it is your destiny to save this town from its Curse."

Her hand tightens around the parchment. 

So this is a map ? What do you mean it chose me ? Why was it glowing ? A Curse ? Why me specifically ?

"Take care of it, and it will help you in return. Good luck, Seeker…"

The man tips his hat as a goodbye. The young woman opens her mouth, to take a chance and ask him the thousands of questions she has before he leaves, but a barn owl's hooting resounds, and she looks up as the bird flies straight towards her, its black round eyes reflecting the full moon. Startled, she raises her arm in an attempt to protect her face, however the owl's wings only graze her forehead, letting her feel a small gust of wind created by the sharp feathers, before it flies away in the night sky.

While attempting to calm her heartbeat, she turns back towards the mysterious man, hoping for some answers; however, she is met with nothing. She turns confused eyes towards the street to her right, but it is utterly devoid of people. The man has vanished, seemingly into thin air.

Was that a dream ? Am I asleep ? I must be…

She is alone again now, with this strange… Map. She holds it in her hands, and her thumbs move on their own, pressing the buttons of the clasp with one swift movement, as if she had done this countless times before. The clasp falls open, and she unrolls the parchment. 

A city is represented with a great attention to detail, from the sharp coastlines to lonely letterboxes in street corners. 

This must be Darkwood…

Her eyes follow the countless tiny threads of golden light which seem to be woven into the very fibers of the parchment. The lights move in a shimmering, lazy waltz, before uniting in a bright and focused ballet, leading towards a single point. She squints, trying to decipher the small, curvy letters.

Grand Stage

A pull.

The young woman closes the Map, and starts moving. The silence of the streets is only disturbed by the echo of her sharp steps on the wet cobblestones. A stray cat stirs and runs away into a dark alley, hissing at the one responsible for interrupting its slumber. But the young woman does not stop, or even make a sign of acknowledgment. Her feet move on their own, their pace fast, steady, mechanical, leading her further into a city she does not know. Her hand is wrapped firmly around the rolled parchment, its tendrils of light crawling lazily towards her fingers.

꒰ 🧭 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

A little further away, an old man is walking down the street. His calloused fingers move gently and deftly as they knot two loose threads together, to prevent a piece of his worn-out jacket from falling off. A few coins tinkle in his pocket. Maybe, had he earned more today, he would have been able to buy a ticket for tonight's magic show; it has been so long since he saw a performance… He needs not even sit with others in red velvet seats, only catch a glimpse of the colourful stage lighting up from a dark corner, his vision obstructed by flowery hats and newer frock coats…

He looks up. The stars are especially bright. His eyes narrow as he spots the small silhouette ahead. It stops for a second, before taking a sharp turn, and stopping again under a street light, in front of a wall. Intrigued by the individual's unusual pace, he takes a few steps closer, and notices long red curls strewn with flowers, cascading down the cloaked back of a petite woman.

"Hey, miss ? You alright here ?"

No answer. She has her back turned to him, and seems to be staring at the street sign in front of her.

"Erm… Are you lost ? You shouldn't be out alone so late, I've seen some—"

He lets out a strangled cry, stepping back, not daring to turn away from the bright light. Like two golden full moons, her eyes stare at him. He frowns, his wide eyes scrutinising her face, looking for any sign of hostility, but her expression remains implacably impassive. Not a single muscle twitches on her young, sun-kissed face. 

She takes a step forward, and he steps back again. Another step forward. And one backwards. And again. She steps out of the small circle of light around the street lamp post, her unblinking eyes boring into his as they illumine her features, still as an ancient statue's. 

A gust of humid wind rushes through the street, and his hand shoots up to keep his frayed hat from being blown away. Her long red hair flutters around her face like a bloody halo. 

She takes another step forward.

He runs, his nervous hand holding his hat down on his head. He mutters to himself, his jaw quivering, his eyes widening.

"That ain't human !"

[awrkive]

I'm curious how nb came about! Me personally I didnt particularly look for it, it came on my dash randomly and then I realized it has everything I want in a fic 😅 I'm curious how you came up with the characters, plot, everything! I love it so far 🥺 So excited for the next chapters to come!

oh goshh!! how do i even start..... nb had SO SO SOOOOO many versions before i decided to go with what it is now lol😭 i started working on it around march 2023, originally wanted it to be a one-shot, initially planned it to be a summer fic (first pic), then i faced some major writers block and just.. didnt really want to write at all 😭 then on dec 2023 i picked it up again and rewrote it as a xmas fic (second pic)

i finished love, theoretically at the time (dec 2023) and felt really inspired! so the whole fake dating schtick with jimin was wholly inspired by the mini fake dating element in that book lol 😭

obviously, i didnt finish it and dropped it again in the first half of 2024 😭 i was completely going to step back from fanfic writing tbh until summer 2024 happened and i was Bored as fawk and then i had a huge crush on this comp sci guy in my entrepreneurship class who wore glasses and dressed like jungkook lmfao 😭😭😭

and then everything clicked to me... ive always liked jk in tech aus (pls do not ask me if i have a thing for guys in tech i have a Very very idealized version of them inside my head)... and i wanted to write a fic where jungkook has a long hair 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 so yeh i revisited the fic again, rewrote it to be a summer fic (AGAIN), and then wrote a whole ass outline for it because it felt like i was writing the fic of my dreams.

NB is WHOLLY self-indulgence 😭😭😭 nb!jungkook is my irl type in a man (nerdy, chronically offline, techy, introvert but carries himself with a certain oozing confidence) and nb!oc (who is a completely different person from me) is a character that I know I would #love to read. jimin's and oc's friendship is the kind of friendship i have with my irl friends, just very unserious but we'll also lowkey keel for each other ykwim 😭

also if its not super obvious yet, i wanted the fic to have kdrama vibes!! fight for my way is my fave kdrama ever lol, so the apt complex in nb is referencing namil villa from the drama itself!! it also has some references from business proposal, which was such a feel-good watch i rmr watching it and suddenly feeling like love was real IJBOL

sorry this is so long!!! i just looooove this fic so much. it's like my child 😭😭 i love writing it, i love where i'm going with it, and i love how much you guys love it as well!!

anyway thank you for reading anon!!!!

[fallenaphelion]

Discord is my usual plot idea dumping ground, but sometimes I stumble into Tumblr at 3 am in the morning like it’s a Denny’s and I want to talk about my fic ideas but no one is awake to talk to me so I’m just going to ramble to the waiter who does not get paid enough for this and just wants to go back to napping in the break room.

…

ANYWAY!!!

I’ve slowly but surely been sucked back into the Marvel fandom! Hooray!

Specifically, I’ve been revisiting all my favorite time travel fics and my brain has not stopped bombarding me with ideas since.

All that to say that I’ve come to the Marvel fandom with an offering (If y’all are interested);

Summary

Tony Stark dies in Siberia. Perhaps that should’ve been the end of the story. A fitting final act for the villain of the story. The evil former war profiteer billionaire, finally brought down by the righteous Captain America. A man born in fire and blood, drowning in his regrets as the cold seeps through the cracks in the armor he’d been so proud of.

It should’ve been the end.

But it wasn’t.

No, Tony wasn’t getting off that easily. Instead, he wakes up in the cave, before the Civil War, before the Avengers, before Iron Man…

“Fuck this. We’re doing things my way now.”

(Full disclosure: This is going to be a series of works in the same universe. Which means I can split things up to help with pacing and motivation. Unfortunately, it also means my urge to hop around the timeline is a bit harder to control. As it stands, the only thing I have written for this so far is half of chapter 1, and then all 5 chapters of part, like, 7 or something. I wish I was joking)

In any case, if this sounds at all interesting to the fanfic readers of Tumblr, let me know. I would love to hear y’all’s thoughts and suggestions!

Quick note for tags: Somehow, despite planning something entirely different, Winteriron snuck in through the window, assassinated the original planned pairing, and nearly seated itself on the driver’s seat.

A lil breakdown of the current arcs

Part 1: Iron Man 1 & 2 (Tony speed runs both of them while avoiding SHIELD like the plague. And, because the outline looked a bit empty, he went and stole Bucky from SHIELD in a valiant attempt to pretend he was even remotely emotionally stable)

Part 2: Avengers (Tony ends up teaming up with Fury’s little boyband in Manhattan, despite adamantly refusing the recruitment pitch. The Avengers are a sad group of depressed PTSD-riddled individuals that are very interested in pulling him into their family. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt) (Tony also gets to shoot Loki in the face. Not sure if it’s canon that he was mind controlled, but it is here! So he’s free now, helps fight off the Chitauri cuz it’s already too late, and gives Tony the heads up about Thanos. In his weird, cryptic Loki ways, anyway)

Part 3: An Interlude (The Avengers try to pull this sad little billionaire into their club, while Tony tries to resist what he knows will end up becoming a disaster. Also- The Avengers get a SHIELD funded compound this time! Loki also gets stuck on community service duty for New York. And by community service, I mean Avengers duty. Ends with Tony finally attending a team dinner, tho he’s still not all the way there yet)

Part 4: Iron Man 3 (I’m still working out how Tony meets Harley again, because I love him, but shhhh. Anyway, the entire team, minus Thor and Loki who are off doing their Dark World bs, shows up during the Tony vs Killian showdown to help, and Tony is learning to trust again!)

Part 5: Dealing with Shieldra (Bucky’s already been liberated from their care, so no Winter Soldier movie. Instead, Tony has been systematically hunting them down now that he’s decided to place the blame of his parents’ murder firmly on Hydra’s head, not Bucky’s. It’s also made clear that while Bucky remembers his Winter Soldier days, he can’t really recognize the people beyond them being targets. So he doesn’t actually remember killing Howard and Maria Stark, because they’re just two more faces among countless other victims. So he’s free hasn’t realized he killed Tony’s parents, and Tony isn’t keen on bringing it up. It’s not super central to the plot yet, tbh, just something I wanted to note)

Part 6: Age of Ultron (To be clear, I hate the movie. Thus, I will be changing it. Tony didn’t want the scepter anywhere near his tech or JARVIS, sorry Vision, so after ensuring it wasn’t in danger of falling into Hydra hands, he let SHIELD take it. SHIELD, being SHIELD, ended up enlisting Dr. Hank Pym for research. Hank ends up creating a murderbot without Tony’s name on it, and Tony gets the closure that the Ultron fiasco really wasn’t all his fault like everyone else claimed. And then he goes after Ultron, because no way is he letting something capable of killing JARVIS stick around long enough to try. I don’t see how I can possibly work Vision into this tho, so until I do figure it out, he’s unfortunately a non-entity in this AU)

Part 7: Social Media Interlude (Lots of background info from previous parts, like what all Stark Industries was doing. And also Winteriron somehow happened. I have no idea how, don’t ask me. Mostly fluff, tho the footage of the Stark murders gets leaked and Tony gets to be the emotionally mature one in the group finally. Very fond of his lil “I’ve known about the murders since before I met Bucky, don’t harass him, he was the gun, not the shooter, etc etc” rant. He does have to wave away his knowledge with hacking Shieldra, which wouldn’t really work, but no one else knows that so shhhh)

Part 8+: I’ll let you know when I’ve figured out how Tony’s gonna handle outliving his past self in the other timeline. But it’ll go all the way to Infinity War/Endgame, dw

If any of this does interest anyone, please let me know. I love hearing feedback!

[halfratsalready]

Help me figure out what fic to write next! ✨

I feel like I’m in a weird limbo after finishing the first arc of the Lose Yourself series and I have a few ideas floating around in my head for what to write next (after the Wanderrose fic exchange, at least), but I have no clue which one to focus on.

So if you happen to like my silly little stories and want a say in what my next fic is, I’ve got some ideas and a poll below the cut! 💕

Idea I: Dark & Angsty Murder Mystery 🔪

I've discussed this one on here before so it might sound slightly familiar, but this would basically be Angst: The Fanfic. If you thought any of the Lose Yourself series was angsty, this fic is probably 10x worse. Part of me worries it's a little bit too dark to be a Just Dance fic. Multiple murders (though not described in detail), an intense attempted murder (that is described in relative detail), and some of that patented Night Swan mind control, plus some supernatural elements later on. But also a sizeable portion of it is Brezziana and Disocball playing detective and trying to solve a rash of murders, which should be very fun, in a weird and kinda dark sorta way.

Wanderrose ft. best friends Jack & Brezziana. Also featuring Discoball, Sara, Mihaly, Mothigan, Cygnus, Felicia, Boss Witch, Si'Ha Nova, and Agent D

I have the first chapter and a half written of this one already. It would be 9 chapters total.

Idea II: Angsty Jack-Centric Post-JD24 Fic 🥀

This is an idea I've had for a while but haven't really gotten around to properly outlining. This is based on my theory of sorts that Night Swan exploited the wrong weakness when targeting Jack in Dance With the Swan, where she realizes after the events of JD24 that she hadn't done it right and approaches it from a different angle. Basically just a lot of Jack-centric angst, a lot of Night Swan & Jack interactions, and a world where Treasure Jack may or may not actually become more than just an illusion...

A lot of Night Swan & Jack but definitely featuring at least some Wanderrose. Also featuring the Just Dancers, Si'Ha Nova, and the Traveler, and maybe some others.

I haven't even outlined this one yet, so I have no idea how long it would be.

Idea III: Significantly Less Angsty & More Random Self-Indulgent AU (Actually a "Silly Little" Fic This Time, For the Most Part, at Least) ✨

I've been toying with the idea lately of an AU where Leda and Sara were sisters on earth and Sara has been searching for her sister. I think it would be fun to do some intentional canon divergence (and not just have my fics' canon be derailed by a new event). There's a few directions I've considered taking this in, including Jack ending up on earth (there's like two or three ways for that one to happen and like two or three directions I could take it in) or Sara's adventures in the Danceverses just going really differently.

Still a lot I'm not sure about with this one but it's been bouncing around my head since Night Swan: The Prequel dropped, so here we are. Definitely would have Wanderrose cuz they own my heart.

The Poll

I have no idea which idea I really wanna commit to following through on first. Every time I think I'm leaning towards one, I end up leaning towards another. So I'm throwing these out there in the hopes that a few of you will be able to help me out with your opinion!

If you wanna share your thoughts in the comments or reblogs also, I’d love to hear what you have to say, so I don’t have to wait the whole week for the poll to finish to be able to see which idea(s) is/are getting the most interest!

[cocrante]

I Start Over With You

[SOLANGELO FANFIC]

summary: After the great battle against the forces of Gaea, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter had formed a long-lasting alliance. Everything had gone well, and everyone was ready to start anew. This included Nico, who, after confessing his feelings to Percy, was prepared to open a new chapter in his life—perhaps the happiest one the Fates had ever written.

note: the chapters will be updated every Wednesday. If you want to read upcoming chapters of the fanfiction in advance, I invite you to follow me on Patreon. Subscribing is not necessary, these chapters will be added for free on the platform on Mondays and Fridays. Following me there is just a kind and free gesture to support my work c:

Reblogs are highly appreciated c:

[CHAPTER 15]

NICO STOOD STILL, GAZING INTO THE DARKNESS THAT SHROUDED HIS NEW ROOM. That room seemed to have grown colder after the message. He sighed before lying down on the bed, staring at the ceiling of his room and thinking about that one boy who could unsettle his mind with just one smile. He tossed and turned, wanting to try to really sleep for the night.

He fell asleep around three in the morning, with Will's sad eyes on his mind, somehow looking shattered. He had never seen that expression on that sunny face before. He was certain that whatever Will hadn't been able to tell him that night in the woods must be something important to so affect the son of the sun god.

With his head full of thoughts, he managed to fall asleep. It didn't seem like a long sleep to him; it felt like just five minutes, but the alarm clearly stated otherwise. He got up with a grunt, dressing and preparing for the first day of school.

He brought along a few things, some pens and a notebook, hoping they wouldn't start lessons right away on the first day.

The outside was kissed by the cold morning rays, slowly awakening the city. Nico took a deep breath of that air that seemed to smell like true Rome.

Lost in his memories, he made his way to the school. There was already a hustle and bustle of people on the streets accompanying younger children, and then there were older kids in groups making their way to the building. The building looked very welcoming; he hoped the inside would be too.

Finding his classroom was a real challenge. The school was larger than he had expected. But once he found it, he went to sit in one of those desks at the back of the class, near the window overlooking the courtyard.

Soon, the classroom began to fill with boys and girls, all cheerful and excited to start the year. They filled the air with warm and contagious laughter, asking each other how they had spent their holidays, ignoring the war that had just passed.

Then the bell rang, and with it came the teacher of the day. She introduced herself as their literature and Latin teacher, and then went on to outline the program they would be tackling throughout the year.

The morning seemed to fly by, perhaps because it was just an orientation day. Nico wrote down some notes on a piece of paper, names and class schedules along with the names of the books to bring.

During the break, someone had tried to strike up a conversation with Nico, but it died down when he mentioned which camp he came from or that his father was Hades. He was already used to those reactions; he had seen them in the eyes of his companions at Camp Half-Blood, although by now they had gotten somewhat used to it there.

He left in the afternoon, heading towards his new home. Outside the building, his sister was waiting for him, wearing the usual purple T-shirt from the camp. He smiled at her, hugging her as he always did when he saw her, then inviting her to come up.

Still, the apartment was empty; he had nothing to offer her except running water. He would make sure to stock the pantry the next day.

At the table, they began to talk a bit about school, how the first day had seemed to him, which according to Nico had been considered "normal" or rather, it went more or less as he expected. He also mentioned those two boys who had come to talk to him. Hazel shrugged, accustomed like him to the same welcomes.

"Speaking of more pleasant things" his sister changed the subject. "Jason sent a message to Reyna a little while ago, he said he'll come tomorrow to see how the work is going" she told him.

"Good" he managed to say, not expecting him to arrive so soon.

"Anyway, aside from Jason, what happened yesterday?" she asked, with that kindness that seemed to have been forgotten. Nico sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Do you know Will Solace?" he lowered his gaze slowly, wanting to lift that weight off his chest.

"Yes, by sight" he replied. "Has something happened to him?" she asked, immediately concerned. Her brother shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, he's fine" he reassured her. "We spent time together, as friends" he told her everything, about the week in the infirmary, then about the canoeing, archery and even fencing lessons. He didn't spare her a single detail of those days spent smiling again. He also told her about the awkward conversations with friends, and there Hazel had to refrain from blushing, in those times people were really very explicit about certain things. "Then there was capture the flag" he said with a sigh, also telling her about that night when he had held his hand in the dark. "And that's not all" he lifted his gaze, resting his arms on the table. "On the hill, before coming here yesterday" he began, recalling in his mind that warm and pleasant memory. "Well, he kissed me. Right here" he pointed to his cheek, which still seemed warm.

Hazel remained silent, nodding at her brother's words. She knew that look; it was the same one she had when she got lost in memories of Sammy's smiles. "Nico, do you like him?" she asked.

The son of Hades didn't answer immediately, but the answer was obvious, clear as a fresh water spring. "Yes, Hazel, I like him" he confessed, unable to meet her eyes. "I like him in a completely different way than I liked Percy" he said, lifting his gaze to her amber irises. Pluto's daughter pursed her lips slightly, she wanted to see him happy finally, much like everyone else. She wanted to do something, but she knew she couldn't interfere in her brother's life; she would never forgive herself. "Nico, you have to tell him" she reached out, taking his hand, locking her eyes with her brother's dark and brooding ones.

"Hazel, I can't" his voice trembled; he had been there once before, hating the pain that emotion brought. "Who's to say he feels the same way?" he asked more to himself than to his sister.

Hazel didn't respond, Nico's question was a difficult one.

"No one tells you" she replied. "But you should try, from the way you've talked about him, it seems like this Will is looking for a different kind of relationship" she smiled. "Trust what you feel and tell him" the girl added, placing her hand on his wrist.

"I don't know, Hazel, I don't want to lose him as a friend" he looked at his sister, revealing his biggest fear.

"Trust me" she smiled.

Nico sighed and lowered his gaze. He knew Hazel was right, and so were the others. In a corner of his mind, he also wanted to talk to Will about his feelings that had developed over the course of the summer. Even Zephyr had warned him about his own feelings. He had to be honest and talk to Will, he couldn't keep it inside. "I'll try"

Before it got dark, Hazel said her goodbyes, hugging him one last time before leaving the apartment.

The boy went to his room, putting on something more comfortable, then glanced at the books still sealed in plastic wrap on the desk. He hadn't had a chance to take a peek yet. He randomly picked one, removing the protective film and started reading a few pages. They weren't bad, the words were large and spaced enough for him to read without them starting to blur together. Of course, it was still a struggle; his vision started to blur after the first two lines, but at least what he read more or less stuck in his mind.

The next moment, he remembered the schedule for the following day, where he had marked the books he needed to bring. He put them in his backpack, which suddenly felt heavy.

He resumed reading, occasionally flipping through some pages, eagerly awaiting Will's Iris message, and as he had thought, the air folded in on itself, revealing a window into the son of Apollo's room.

"Hi" Nico greeted.

"Hey!" Will replied, instinctively spreading his lips into a contagious smile. "How was the first day?" the boy asked, taking a seat. Nico shrugged, closing the book. "Normal, I think" he replied, briefly recounting what he had also told Hazel, mentioning those guys. Will couldn't help but let out a gentle laugh. "I've already told you, when you greet someone, you have to smile. Just like I do" he gave him a quick demonstration, still stretching his lips into a smile. Nico rolled his eyes, shaking his head, wanting to keep up the banter. "I swear, I tried. Smiles don't work even with me" he sighed theatrically.

"Then they must be blind, because you have a nice smile" he said, without any hint of joking. Will really meant it.

Nico was taken aback by that statement, then chuckled. "You must be blind too, it's not true that I have a nice smile" he replied.

"I like it" he said seriously. Once again, Nico fell silent.

"I like yours too" he murmured, trying not to lower his gaze due to embarrassment. Will smiled gently at him. "Thank you"

They remained silent for a few moments, with Will occasionally parting his lips as if to say something and then closing them as he reconsidered. It was Nico who broke the awkwardness, clearing his throat first.

"So—" he said. "Will I ever get to know what you wanted to tell me?" he asked, with a slight smile. Will's lips trembled a bit, he had been pondering it all day, even discussing it with his mother, whom he couldn't hide anything from. She had advised him to tell Nico, just like his half-siblings from Cabin Seven.

The boy took a long sigh, reorganizing his thoughts. Nico stared at him, patiently waiting to hear what he wanted to say that night, when they had accidentally held hands.

Will met his gaze, his heart beating loudly in his chest. He was convinced it would eventually burst out of his chest. "Well—" he began, stuttering a bit. "The thing, Nico, is that I—well, in a way, I admire you" he said, cursing himself for being so cowardly, but he couldn't bring himself to tell him the truth, not there, not in that barbaric way. He would tell him one day, for sure, but he would do it with the real Nico, not with a projection of himself that couldn't even touch.

Nico looked at him, slowly lowering his shoulders and slightly parting his lips as if to utter a weak "oh". A part of him was disappointed to hear this, he had hoped Will would say something else, something he had thought and hoped for all day. It seemed he had been so wrong.

The two talked a bit more before Nico asked to end the conversation, saying he was tired and that the next day would be a very heavy one. It wasn't entirely false, but he couldn't bear another moment looking at those blue irises, not now that he was sure Will considered him only a good friend.

"Shall we talk tomorrow?" he asked before ending the conversation. Nico didn't respond; at that moment, he wasn't sure if he wanted to spend another night talking to Will, who "admired" him only. "Maybe" he replied vaguely, his gaze now lowered and his eyes slightly stinging. "Will you call me?" he asked, extending his gaze in an attempt to see those dark eyes again, which he knew didn't only contain sadness but also joy.

Nico simply nodded. "Goodnight, Solace" he said, trying to sound stronger than he actually was.

"Goodnight, Nico" the boy replied, his voice sounding more subdued, he should have told him what he really thought.

The son of Hades looked away, quickly passing a hand over that steam-made window, thus wiping out the light from his room.

[CONTENTS]

1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20

[acacia-may]

4, 11, 52, and 65 for the 100 writer asks? 👉👈💖

Thank you so much for the ask, Erika! I'd be delighted to answer these questions for you! Cheers!! 💖

4. What is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

SO.MUCH.EXISTENTIAL.DREAD.

I answered this question here and talked about my Langris x Finesse Beauty and the Beast AU. Super fun stuff that I never got around to writing at all unfortunately. I have a lot of plot bunnies, but I think that's the oldest I'm still carrying around and have never made any concrete progress on.

11. What's something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

...do you want to know how the human knee joint works in excruciating detail??? I now have my honorary PhD in Patellar Instability thanks to fanfiction.

Jokes aside...I think a lot of the things I've learned for fanfics are related to injuries. I know way more about corneal lacerations, punctured lungs, broken fibulas, amputation recovery, and direct blood transfusions in World War I than I ever expected to know (among a lot of other things).

I also try to research the personal experiences of people who have similar struggles to the characters I'm writing if I don't have a personal frame of reference. For instance, I think I've read at least 100 first-hand accounts from widows and widowers who eventually remarried detailing their specific struggles in processing their grief and opening themselves up to love again. (A special thanks to the Widowers Support Network. They were very informative.)

Sometimes I just disappear down the research rabbit hole. I once spent literally an hour and a half researching cantera fountains for one throwaway line in a one shot. If the story takes place in a historical setting, I'll spend a lot of time researching that or (more often than not) researching whether or not certain things existed yet.

Recently I have been learning a lot about bridges. (I have this OC who is super passionate about bridges, but I know absolutely nothing about them 🤦‍♀️ so it's been a struggle). Last weekend I watched a 45-minute documentary about cantilever bridges just so I'd know how they work--only to discover that the cantilever bridge in this city where the fic was taking place had been torn down at this time and a new cable-stayed bridge had been built. So then I had to watch a bunch of YouTube videos about how those work too.

Oh I also do a lot of canon research too (i.e. going back to reread or rewatch relevant moments from the story because I generally want my fics to be as close to canon as possible. There is nothing worse than catching continuity errors in my work. Yikes 🙈

So yeah...needless to say, I do a ton of research--probably WAY too much because it's most likely that nobody even notices these things but me. But it's still important to me to be accurate to the source material and as realistic as possible.

52. How many unfinished ideas/stories are you working on at the same time?

I try to only actively write one story at time, but I generally work on actively drafting and outlining up to and around 5 at once (by shuffling around the ideas in my head). I specify "actively" because I constantly juggle a lot of WIPs and story ideas, but I can only make concrete progress on a few of them at a time. That doesn't mean I've abandoned my wips, just that they don't have my attention and therefore, won't get concrete drafting, outlining, or writing progression.

Going back to question #4, this also fills me with existential dread.

65. What is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written? 

Probably "A Ceiling Made Of Stars" (which is DRV3 fic). In a once-in-a-lifetime event for me, I actually titled that fic before I wrote it. It just came to me when I had the initial idea for that story, and I think it's poetic, especially in context. I'm also very fond of "The Hero You Loved" (which is an OMORI fic) though I haven't written the 2nd chapter of that fic which would fully explain where the title comes from yet.

It's worth mentioning though that a lot of my fic titles are borrowed from/inspired by lines in music so I felt I should share my favorite titles in this category too (the fandom is in parentheses): "Tackle The Monsters" (DR UDG) "Hearts In Tune," (OMORI) and "Lights Will Guide You Home" (EOA)

My favorite cheeky title is probably "Everything I Need To Know About Love I Learned From Latin" (Horrible Histories; The Movie) though "How To Catch A Mermaid" (OMORI) is a close second. 😁 "It's a Future Problem" is another fun one especially given what that story is about (and that's actually a Black Clover fic unlike the rest of these😅).

To be honest, I think some of my unfinished wips actually have some of my favorite titles I've ever come up with so I'll mention them too: "Lightning In Their Eyes" (Fairy Tail; about how each of the members of the Thunder Legion first met Laxus) and "Dissonant Melodies" (YTTD; about the Yabusame Siblings' (who are both musicians) extremely strained relationship). But alas, these stories never got finished...maybe someday...