#i honestly haven't done much work on it over christmas | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sidesteppostinghours · 1 month ago

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so uh. hi. this was supposed to be a short fic for christmas that could be done in a day. it, in fact, was the longest fic ive worked on in the shortest span of time. im gonna post this on ao3 tomorrow, but because i play favourites, have nearly 5k words of cecilia being an absolute menace to all the ros, 2 days before new years lmfao

It's Christmas, which means Cecilia has to get gifts. Predictably, this is much easier to do when you're a wealthy, telepathic villain.

When Daniel sees Anathema dropping off to his rooftop, he nearly swears. He grabs his phone, guiltily explains to his friends that he might be late to their dinner, then flies out the door before he can wonder if it's a trap. In the chill of the December night, Anathema waits casually, greeting him with a waggle of her fingers when he arrives. She's holding what he recognizes to be a canvas wrapped in festive red cloth. Did she steal a painting? Why?

"Awful cold out here without a coat," she says, the cheerful tone coming through even with the voice modulators. "Wanna borrow my cape?"

He ignores her geniality, instead fixing her with a hard glare. "What do you want, Anathema?"

"Touchy, touchy," she tuts, clasping her cape back on. "It's the season of giving, so I thought it would be nice to give you a gift." Daniel can't see her smile through the mask, but he can imagine the grin when she says, "You know, to repay all the good you did for me this year."

"You're one to talk," he mutters not bothering to hide his bitterness.

"I'm serious," she insists, propping up the canvas and gesturing at it with a flourish. "I know we have our differences, Danny, but I really did want to treat you tonight."

"I don't want anything you have to give." His voice is harsher than he meant it to be, but he can't bring himself to care. It still hurts, the way she uses his nickname so casually. She acts as if nothing happened between them, while Daniel still has to turn off the news everytime her name comes up.

He's waiting for Anthema's reply, but after a beat of silence, he realizes it might not be coming. Was she... hurt by that?

"Well, you're free to reject it if you want," she says, the chipper tone a little too forced. She sighs theatrically. "And after all the trouble I went through to get it."

"What... is it, anyway?" he asks hesitantly, hating the fact he's actually curious. Anthema straightens, her usual bouncy energy coming back, and Daniel regrets asking.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but since you asked so nicely," she drawls. "It's some painting of a little known artist I came across. Honestly, I don't even remember the name. I think it was..." She taps her chin. "Mmm, Norma Lee, or something like that?"

He stares at her.

"Hmm, you haven't heard of her?"

He can barely collect his words enough to gasp out, "I can't accept this!" Then, he remembers that she's a villain and frantically adds, "Cecilia, return it now."

"Sorry, Danny boy, no can do. I have plans tonight– I can't deal with all that headache." She spreads her hands, the painting wobbles, and Daniel can feel his blood pressure spike. He's already instinctively clutching onto the tacky Santa wrapping, trying to slow his beating heart.

"Tell you what," she hums, "I'll give you the reciept, and you can return it in your own time. Sounds good?" She doesn't wait for his reply, pulling out a crumpled paper from seemingly nowhere. Daniel's hands are shaking, and he can't tell if it's from the shock or the cold.

"Did you actually pay for this?" He turns it over, desperately looking for any sign it was fake, finding nothing. Anathema laughs at him, the sound clear and crisp.

"Of course I did. You think I don't know you well enough to realize you would give it back immediately if I didn't?"

Daniel makes a sound between a hack and a wheeze. Did she actually expect him to keep this?

"You're not going to?" She cocks her head, stance relaxed as she keeps both hands behind her back.

"I..." He looks between her. The reciept. The painting. He can't keep this. He can't.

He groans, burying his face into his hand, crumpling the receipt further. He's going to, isn't he? She claps his shoulder, and he looks back up to glare at her.

"Have fun on your dinner! Tell your friends I said hi, okay?" Once again, she doesn't bother to wait for his response, and it's not like he was going to give her one anyway. She just walks off, not stopping when she reaches the ledge, and drops. For the second time tonight, there's a visceral spike of terror, and Daniel flies to the edge, frantically searching for Anathema.

She swings down, grappling hook caught on the roof of another building, and when she touches ground– which in this case is the roof of a lower building– she rolls, detracts the grappling hook, turns back to him and salutes. He huffs in frustration, hoping she can feel it from where she's standing. Not that he bothers to check. He turns back to the painting and groans. He is going to be so late to dinner.

–––

Chen inspects the package in front of him, debating throwing it out. It's a simple one. A box, wrapped in christmas-tree patterned wrapping. On it, there is a yellow sticky note. It reads:

To: Chen

From: Your Secret Santa ;)

PS: Tell Spoon Merry Christmas or I'm blowing up HQ.

He knows who it is from, of course. If the message below hadn't tipped him off, the handwriting would've. Cecilia hasn't bothered to mask it, which makes sense. Ever since it was revealed she was Anathema, she's hidden from them less and less, to the point where it's clear she's taunting them about it. Ricardo and Daniel, unfortunately, are falling for it. He's unsure about Argent or how much she knows, but since Anathema was already flirting with her before Cecilia, he supposes there's not much of a difference.

Spoon has come up to the table, sniffing at the package with interest. Chen pets him to stave off the excitement, contemplating his options. The threat is a joke, but it's concerning how Cecilia was able to get his address. It's also a testament to her telepathy or her armor that he hadn't spotted any trace of her when she rang the doorbell to deliver his package. In either case, her abilities alongside being able to dig information on the Rangers at will is a dangerous combination.

The package has been sitting with him for the past five minutes now, which at least proves it isn't a timed device. He can't be sure of the risk involved with it, though. Would Cecilia take this opportunity to set a trap? It doesn't sound like her, but while painful to admit, he has been wrong about her before. Is he willing to take a bet on a woman he could never understand?

He sighs, hand hovering above the present. Slowly, tentatively, he tears away the wrapping. As he does, Spoon's excitement grows, to the point where he stands pawing at the gift Chen unwraps.

He looks inside.

It's... sweaters.

He tugs one out and groans. It's clear these aren't meant for him. 'ANATHEMA' is printed out in bold letters, her visage swooshing her cape at Chen. A glance inside the box confirms that there are others, this time with each of the Rangers. All of them are, of course, dog sweaters.

Spoon keeps licking at the box, and Chen finally pulls out the last of the gift– a smaller box full of dog food. Fancy beef and very, very expensive, if the tag on the side is anything to go by.

He pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply. He should've known. This is hardly a surprise; it is exactly something Cecilia would do. Spoon is licking his hand, so he takes one of the packets out, heading to the bowl, Spoon padding behind him happily.

"Merry Christmas, boy," Chen mutters, as Spoon enjoys his gift.

–––

Argent brings her bonnet closer to her ears, tugging her scarf down as she speaks.

"I'm supposed to be taking you in by now, you know."

She spotted Cecilia on her walk home from the bakery. If Argent hadn't noticed the mix of blonde and grey peeking out from underneath the hood, she would've walked right past her. It's not everyday Cecilia Rider dresses in such drab clothing, after all. She's only wearing a grey hoodie over a simple shirt and pants, making her look like just another delivery girl serving last-minute shoppers on Christmas day. Her cane doesn't even have stickers on them, which is equal parts surprising and disappointing.

Cecilia tugs her cap down, raising an eyebrow at her. She fails badly at trying to keep a straight face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm just here to make a delivery. For..." She pulls out a slim gift from her bag, pretending to squint at the letters. "Mrs. Angela Smith?"

Argent rolls her eyes, punching her shoulder.

"Hey!" Cecilia rubs at it, pouting. "Fine, I see how it is. Maybe you don't deserve a gift."

"Too late," Argent smirks, snatching it out of her hand when she moves to put it back.

"Damnit- hey, give it back!"

Argent holds it over her head and out of reach. As if that would stop Cecilia. She pulls Argent in and swipes for the present, nearly toppling the both of them over. Argent has to dig her heel into the ground to regain balance, Cecilia still on top of her trying to make a grab for it, and stuff it in her bakery bag in a single move. Victorious with her prize, she grins and finally pushes Cecilia off her.

"I can't believe you stole from me. On Christmas!" The look on her face is slandered enough to make Argent snort.

"That was supposed to be my gift. Technically speaking, you stole from me." She takes out a biscuit from her bag, chomping down on it. "What are you doing here, anyway? The project isn't finished until next month. Don't tell me you came here just to give me a gift?"

"Alas, it's true," she sighs, leaning on her cane dramatically. "I am but a humble woman doing my civic duty of giving to those in need." Her cheeks are rosy red when she smiles, highlighting the glint in her eyes.

"Hm." Argent takes out another biscuit, swallowing it in one go. "It's getting cold. does this humble woman accept her payment in apartment dates?" The idea of spending Christmas with somebody after so many years makes her mouth twitch a little, but who knows? It could be good for the both of them. Cecilia frowns at her, lips thin and pursed. Not upset, more... surprised. As if that wasn't a thought that even crossed her mind until Argent brought it up.

Looks like Argent's not the only one used to spending the holidays alone.

"I'd love to," she says, voice so wistful that Argent's almost surprised when she continues. "But I gotta run. I'm already late."

Argent shrugs. "Your loss." A thought occurs to her, and she narrows her eyes. "Wait. You're not going to make your plans my problem, are you?"

"Wanna find out?" The grin is wide enough to be a challenge.

"God, no," Argent groans. "Hurry up and go, I don't want to know."

"Coward," she teases, already walking off. When she reaches directly beside Argent, though, she hesitates. "We'll meet up later, okay?" Her voice is low in a way the two of them only share about the project, but this time tinged with a quiet longing. "I need to see what you think of my gift."

"As if I'd let you run away without giving you my thoughts," she bites back, voice equally soft. She pushes Cecilia away, not hiding the smile on her lips. "Go finish whatever evil scheme you've planned so I can kick your ass about it."

"Yes Ma'am." One more flash of a smile, a salute, and she leaves. Argent waits for her to disappear fully before trekking up to her apartment.

It feels too big for one person, the way it always does during the holidays. She sighs, dropping her coat off on the couch before flopping on it herself. She doesn't see the point in waiting– she sets her bag down, takes out the gift, and starts ripping the elf wrapping to shreds. It's not like she's getting any other presents tonight, afterall.

She stares at the gift, still with stray pieces of wrapping clinging to the edges. It's a movie, like she predicted. What she hadn't predicted was the ridiculous elf on the cover, a man and a woman on each shoulder. The title "The Shelf Elf" is emblazoned in almost unreadably curly font, and the slogan reads, "What do you do when you need to look after somebody on Christmas?"

"That little shit," she gasps, her voice too soft for it to be an insult. She talked about this movie to Cecilia before, how it ruined Christmas for her family because Argent would play with the elf on the shelf without fail every year after seeing it. She hasn't watched it in years– they stopped making copies, and for obvious reasons, she couldn't keep it once she left home. Did Cecilia steal it? Buy it? She doesn't want to think about either case. It leaves her feeling too sappy, and she's unexpectedly grateful Cecilia isn't here. If she picked up on that, the teasing would be insufferable.

"Fine, then," she mutters, taking out the tape and popping it in the TV before sinking back down onto the couch as the movie starts.

For once, she might actually enjoy this evening.

–––

Anathema is late. That should've been strike number one.

When she does arrive, she greets him with a flourish and joviality, then heads off, presumably, to enjoy the rest of the party. However, while Dr. Mortum was in the middle of conversation with a few guests, she failed to announce her presence as she snuck up behind him, scaring him half to death when she placed a hand on his shoulder. It was only a matter of luck that he didn't spill his drink. That should've been strike number two.

Mortum looks into his glass, silently wishing it held champagne. It was a safety measure not to include alcohol in the menu, drunk villains would be a disaster, but he firmly believes it would make dealing with the woman next to him much easier. As it is, the fizz of his soda will have to do.

"Mon amie, what exactly did you call me here for?" he asks, looking behind her to make sure nobody tries to enter the room she pulled him in. It still feels awkward to use that name for her– 'Ma cherie' had settled into his mouth quite nicely over the years he's known Ace. The damage of their relationship may have been repairing, but the smallest discrepancies tend to be glaring.

"I came to apologise," she says. It's impossible to tell her tone with the dissonance of the vocal distorters.

"Over...?" He circles a hand for her to continue. There are quite a few things Cecilia has to be sorry for, though to her credit, she has put in the work for most of them.

"Being late to the party, of course." She cocks her head to the side. "And for nearly spilling your drink."

"It's fine," he sighs. "Please just warn me next time. When you're going to be late and when you're going to pull me aside," he adds as an afterthought.

"It's not," she insists with an unusual heat that comes through despite the modulators. "I had a few appointments to take care of, but that's no excuse. So..." She reaches into one of the compartments in the side of her armor– he's still proud of that addition, and the fact she finds use in it– and pulls out a singular box, wrapped in a decorative ice skating pattern. "I got you this."

He raises an eyebrow at her. "Presents aren't allowed, Anathema, you know that." Another precautionary measure. Villains can be... touchy about what gifts they get, and prone to jealousy. He silently debates whether this should be her third strike.

"Good thing this isn't one. I told you, it's an apology." She holds it out.

"One might even call it an apology gift." He makes no move to take it.

"Consider it a bribe, then. For your continued good will."

"And if I choose not to accept?"

"Then I'll have to try harder."

Mortum pinches the bridge of his nose. That has the tone of a challenge, and if there is one thing he's come to learn about Cecilia, it's that she can never back down from one. A part of him wonders how far he can take it before she gives up, which is a silly thought, because she simply won't stop. He's forced to admit that it would be easier to everybody involved– including the rest of his guests– to take the bribe.

"Fine," he sighs, taking it out of her hands and stuffing it into his trouser's pockets.

"You're not going to open it yet?" While he can't be entirely sure, he's almost certain she's not happy about that.

"If we're considering this a bribe, then I'd prefer to be discreet about it," he explains, a thin smile playing on his lips. If he knows Cecilia, and he would like to think he does by now, she'd be dying to know his reaction to her gift, and Mortum is much, much more patient than she is.

"I can be discreet!" she complains, gesturing to the room. "I took you in here for a reason, didn't I?"

"And I appreciate that, but I like to go the extra mile." His teeth flash white, and Cecilia sighs.

"Nobody has any appreciation for gift givers anymore," she laments.

"You have a whole party ahead of you. That's more than enough appreciation, don't you think?"

"I wish." She steps a foot back and looks around, the cue that the conversation is over. "The party is lovely, but I have other matters to attend to tonight. Have some drinks for me, okay?"

"We don't serve alcohol here," he points out.

"Another reason I have to go, then. Who hosts a party without any alcohol?"

Without bothering to wait for his answer, she saunters off to the door. Just as she leaves, she turns to him, adds, "Oh, and Peak is starting a fight in the kitchen," and closes the door behind her. It takes him a moment to process what she said, but when he does, he's left desperately scrambling out of the room.

The party was mostly successful, aside from the brief scuffle between Peak and Chronos Claw. Peak had been handled appropriately, by which Mortum means he kicked them to the curb with a suitable warning for next time. He's finished cleaning most of the trash; the decorations he can deal with tomorrow. Mortum pours himself a well-deserved glass of wine and sighs contentedly, taking a seat at the dining table. As he does, though, something digs into his leg. Frowning, he takes out the offending object.

It's Cecilia's gift– in the bustle of the party, he'd forgotten about it completely. He purses his lips together, contemplating it, before giving in and unwrapping it cleanly. The box inside is a plain white, giving nothing of its contents away. Part of him is tempted to shake it for hints. The other part of him argues that if this is fragile, he could be left with no gift. The debate holds for roughly half a second before he reluctantly opens it without clues, adjusting his glasses to get a proper look inside.

It's a simple gold watch, chic and sleek. He takes it out, inspecting it, before noticing the small, almost unnoticable latch on the bottom of the watch-face. Intriguing. Suspicious. If this is a prank, Cecilia is officially banned from any future parties, and potentially his lab.

Against his better judgement, he flips it. A small holographic screen lights up, painting his arm in blue, and his eyes skim through the words.

He can feel himself smile. Oh, this is a fun, fun toy.

He recognizes it now: a compact EMP ray, capable of targetting and killing certain electronics. He turns the watch over again, and, ah, there it is– a button, just under the watches' crown. That should be the button to fire it. He'd considered getting one for himself before, or perhaps even making one, but he never had the time or reason to. Not to mention, in his lab, a stray fire could be disasterous. Now that he has it, though, it'd be much easier to deal with the more technologically advanced threats. Perhaps even clients, if some prove to be too risky. It's a wonder how Cecilia got this. Or why she felt the need to gift him it in the first place.

Mortum cringes, rubbing his eyes. He's been avoiding that line of thought since the party: the fact that Cecilia only went to it in the first place because of him. It was invite-only– did she feel obligated to come? To make up for everything that had happened between them?

'Consider it a bribe, then. For your continued goodwill.'

How much of that had been a lie?

He sighs to himself. Deeply. He supposes he can overlook Cecilia's strikes. For now.

–––

Ricardo dumps the marshmallows into his steaming mug of hot chocolate. Looks like he's spending Christmas alone this year. He's gotten too busy to take the drive to visit Mama at the Ranch. He thought about crashing at Chen's, but decided against it. He's not in a real holiday mood this year. A bitter thought that this could've been the first Christmas he's spent with Ceci since she came back worms its way into his brain, but he squashes it. He heads out of the kitchen, pauses at the fridge, then pulls out a bottle of bourbon. He's probably gonna need it tonight.

He heads for the living room, trying to decide if he'll get a book or not. Maybe the TV instead, he's not feeling like-

Movement?

He swivels to the couch. Somebody's there. Sitting on the armrest, kicking their feet, and...

He blinks.

"Cecilia?"

She looks up from staring at her own legs, waving at him.

"Hey."

Ricardo doesn't think. He carefully sets the mug and the beer on the table, turns back to her, and lets sparks fly.

"Wait, wait!"

She raises both hands up, abandoning the cane she's been twiddling with. She's a damn lucky bastard he didn't actually try tasing her. He's caught halfway between his punch, narrowing his eyes. He doesn't know why he let her speak– maybe instinct. Shouldn't have given her the opportunity, she'd take that as an invitation, and she loves the sound of her own voice.

"What are you doing here?" His voice is hard. He hasn't moved an inch, his fists are still raised, daring her to speak. She takes a deep breath.

"Have dinner with me?"

He has to pause to make sure he heard her right, staring at her incredulously. No, that was stupid to do. Of course he heard her right. Who else would have the audacity?

"Seriously?" He asks anyway. He's pretty sure he's in a fever dream.

She lowers her hands, but continues tapping them on her legs. "It's Christmas. I left my armor at home. I promise I won't try anything." She looks physically pained when she adds, "Please?"

There are a million questions swirling through his head right now. Where has she been? What does she want with him? Why now? Too many thoughts at once, so he does what he always does and blurts out the first one that comes to his mind.

"How did you get into my house without your armor?"

Ceci's smile is small, but it has some of the same mirth as her usual ones.

"Villain secrets. Sorry, Ric. Maybe up security a little if you wanna keep me out." There should've been a wink at the end of the sentence, but she continues fidgeting with her skirt, her cane, her fingernails. Anything she can get her hands on. He sighs, straightening himself up again and dragging a hand over his face.

"Give me one good reason I should have dinner with you instead of throwing you out right now." He glares at her, keeping his voice unyielding.

She's quiet for a second, the plastic bag on his couch he didn't originally notice rustling as she pulls out a bottle. "I brought beer?"

"I have bourbon," he says deadpan, gesturing to the table.

"...And gifts?"

Ricardo raises an eyebrow at her. "Paid?"

"Hey, I tried." She spreads her hands, irritated, voice stronger than it's been all night. "The seller tried to scam me out of it. That is not my fault. He got exactly what he had coming to him."

Ricardo holds his glare for one second. Two. Three, and he sighs again, deeply. "Soy un maldito idiota... fine, but you're helping me with the food."

She lights up in equal parts shock and delight, and he feel himself regretting this already. She swings off the couch in one smooth move, taking her cane and plastic bag with her.

"You got anymore of that hot chocolate?"

"Are you going to spike it?" Ricardo picks up his mug and bourbon, heading back to the kitchen. He can hear Ceci following behind him.

"Well, duh," she says, like he knew she would, setting her bag down at the counter. "But..."

"But?"

She takes out a single box wrapped with reindeer print and hands it to him. He frowns at her.

"We're not saving it till after dinner?"

"Just open it, jackass."

He shrugs. He's not going to deny himself a gift– some would say he's got a soft spot for them. He's not gonna deny that either. He takes it, ripping the wrapping, enjoying the feeling as it tears. The box that greets him is white, with a generous helping of teal and black. There's a bold heading and a picture at the front that...

"You're kidding," he says, hands working to open the box before he even finishes his sentence. There's no way Cecilia would do something like that.

Yet there it is– a goofy Sidestep mug, identical to the one sitting cracked on his shelf.

"They still make these?" It's the only thing he can say right now. His hands are settled on the counter, not touching it.

"No. I had to track down some asshole collector for it." She pulls out her own box as she talks, revealing a matching Charge mug in all its glory. She looks so pleased with herself it's hard to buy her annoyance about getting the mugs.

"Did you get that from your seller too?"

She snorts. "No, and he's lucky I didn't. I could get this one from the official store, it's just too overpriced." She holds up her mug in cheers.

"You don't even have the hot chocolate for them yet," he points out, but he's smiling. She lowers it, raising an expectant eyebrow at him.

"Then hop to it, Sparkles."

"You said you were helping!"

"I said I was helping with the food. I didn't specify how I would be helping." She does a sweeping gesture with her arm and a bow. "Consider me your moral support for tonight."

There's a mix of grumbles and curses before Ricardo reluctantly accepts his fate and gets the pot, while she sits on the counter beside him chatting about nothing and everything. When her cocoa is done– generously spiked with bourbon and beer– they clink their mugs together, Ceci with the widest, most honest smile he's seen in weeks.

"Hey Sparkles?"

"Mm?"

"Merry Christmas."

He can't help the small smile worming its way onto his lips.

"You too, Ceci."

#hope you all had good holidays <3 #im gonna write out my thoughts on this tomorrow when i post the fic on ao3 but for now. goodbye world i am taking the fattest nap #oh right most of this was written and edited at 1am or 2am so if there are any mistakes or inconsistencies #shhhhh #no theres not #cecilia rider #sidestep #ortega #chen #argent #herald #dr mortum #fhr #pulp writes

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andreafmn · 1 year ago

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12 Days of Ficmas ❅ Day 1

Word Count: 4.8K Paring: Stiles Stilinski x Fem!Reader Prompt @alloftheprompts: Character A and Character B broke up but now they meet at a Christmas party.

Summary: In unpredictable Beacon Hills, Stiles and (Y/N) being together was one of the only things that made sense. But sometimes the smallest of changes can create the biggest of chaos. And a simple college admission letter can do just that. Maybe all it takes is the right Christmas gift to make things better.

A/N: yup, that's right, I'm doing 12 Days of Ficmas again (even if I haven't finished Kinktober 🫣🫣 but I am nothing if not a masochist (and a slight procrastinator) But enjoy!! This story actually made me tear up, honestly. But it wouldn't be one of my stories if there wasn't an insane amount of angst 😅 Also, disclaimer, I have not seen the last two seasons of Teen Wolf or the movie so, sorry for any inconsistencies.

Next ->

“Let’s just get this over with,” (Y/N) sighed as she fixed the Santa hat on top of her head. “They don’t have to know yet.”

“Yeah,” Stiles grimaced. “It’s better to wait until after the holidays, I guess.”

It was the first time Stiles and (Y/N) had ever been terrified to enter Scott’s house and face all of their friends. Even worse, they had to pretend everything was fine between them.

Since they were little, the pair had been inseparable. Being next-door neighbors allowed them to grow close at a rapid pace. It was in her that he found solace on the nights his mother’s illness would take the best of her mind. He would run over to her house and climb the lattice that ran all the way up to her room.

And she wouldn’t ask questions. (Y/N) would simply let him in through her window and distract him until he eventually drifted off to sleep. She did not need any explanations or reasons to comfort Stiles. She simply knew he needed her, and so she was there for him. Because if there was anything she knew of, it was the pain of slowly losing a parent.

They shared a bond that no one could break. Even as Scott entered their duo and they became the perfect trio, Stiles and (Y/N) shared a connection like no other. So, it came as no surprise to anyone when they got together. Even after Stiles had continuously professed his love for Lydia. Even after (Y/N) and Boyd had a quick fling. Everyone knew that it would be the two of them at the end of the day.

What no one expected was that one day, they wouldn’t be Stiles and (Y/N) anymore. Hell, not even they had seen it coming.

Their downfall had begun the second week of December. For some reason, the couple had not spoken about what happened after high school. In their senior year, they were focusing on the present, leaving the future where it was. Because what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.

(Y/N) had applied under early action to various colleges, thinking nothing of it. But there was one college that had been her dream since her father had passed, and that was her only early decision application. She had worked every day since to make sure she was at least close to being accepted. But it was never a sure thing.

She had promised herself to put it in the back of her mind. Stressing over that envelope would only drive her into madness. As much as she wanted it to be true, she knew the reality of the situation. The chances she could ever get in, much less with a full ride, were slim to none. And hoping only made things worse.

Still, that hadn’t stopped her from applying; it hadn’t stopped her from wishing.

“Honey,” her mother had said one afternoon after she got home from school. “Look what came in the mail.”

In her hands, there was a white manila envelope with blue lettering that clearly read: University of Oxford.

(Y/N) could have sworn she could feel her heart in her throat, beating at an unnatural pace and threatening to leap out of her body. She crossed the distance between her front door to the kitchen faster than she had ever done before, needing to feel the paper in her hands. Only seeing it was not proof enough that it was real.

“I don’t think I can open it,” the girl worried. “What if it’s bad, mom?”

“You won’t know unless you see, my darling,” she smiled softly. “But no matter what, you will still be the most impressive young lady I have known. And any college would be lucky to have you.”

With trembling hands, she broke open the envelope and pulled out a beautiful and crisp piece of white paper. “Dear (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” she read before taking a steadying breath. “It is with greatest pleasure that we inform you that the Admissions Comittee has decided to offer you admission to Oxford University through our binding Early Decision (ED) option on a full scholarship.”

As (Y/N) read those words, tears spilled from her eyes, and the papers fell from her hands. Her mother wrapped her arms tightly around her, showering her with words of love and encouragement. It had been everything she had worked for. Something not even the supernaturals of the world could take from her.

“You’re going to Oxford, baby girl,” her mother cooed. “I knew you could. Your dad would have been just as proud as I am.”

That moment should have been the happiest in her life so far. But there was a dark cloud that lingered over her as she celebrated. She had not told anyone she was applying to a college so far away, much less the reason she would be doing so. Mostly because she was terrified she wouldn’t get in. But part of her knew it was because she was leaving all her friends behind, leaving Stiles behind. And that was the hardest part.

For the rest of the week, as she celebrated internally, she hid the biggest news of her life from all of her friends and the boy she had deemed the love of her life. Anyone would have thought she was the one harboring a secret supernatural life with the way she was guarding her secret. And, maybe it shouldn’t have been something she kept to herself. Maybe they would have all been excited for her and understood the reason for the distance. But something deep in her stopped her every single time.

If her friends had noticed there was anything different from her demeanor, they didn’t say a thing. In the midst of final exams and the Christmas holidays soon approaching, everyone seemed to be stuck in their own heads. So, if they were in their heads, they couldn’t know there was something happening in hers.

But that Friday night, at the same hour Stiles would always sneak in, (Y/N) knew there was no way she could continue to hide her secret any longer.

“Come on,” he chuckled as he jumped onto her bed, holding his arms open. “Tell me what’s going on with you.”

“What do you mean?” she said, forcing a smile. “Why do you say that?”

“You know you can’t lie to me. I may not have super hearing, but I can tell, (Y/N).”

“Yeah,” she chuckled softly. “You know me too well.”

“Of course I do,” he smiled as he crossed the distance between them and caressed the softness of her cheek. “Now, please, tell me what’s wrong?”

That was it. That was the moment that had changed them, the moment that had broken them.

(Y/N) took a steadying breath and took his hands in hers, focusing on the veins on his hands rather than his worried eyes. “I got a letter last week,” she started with a sigh. “I told you about all the colleges I had applied to as early action.”

“Of course, you bright mind, you,” he said. “Did you already start getting the acceptance letters?”

“Uh, there’s another college I actually applied to. Early decision.”

“Like binding early decision?”

“Yeah, exactly,” she said, her voice trembling as she spoke. “I, uh, I applied to the University of Oxford. And I got in.”

Instead of embracing her, Stiles dropped her hands, taking a step away from her. “In England?” he asked as though he was offended. “Why would you wanna go that far?”

“It’s not about the distance,” she grimaced, finally meeting his hurt eyes. “It’s about what that school means. That’s where my dad went to school. That’s the place my parents met. That was the school that started my entire life, Stiles.”

“So, why didn’t you tell me about it? If it was so damn important, why did you never mention it?” Stiles seethed, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. “You wanna start a new life, is that it? Follow in your parents’ footsteps and meet the love of your life there? Great, (Y/N). And you made sure you did it in a way you couldn’t back out.”

“Stiles, that’s not…”

“So, what? Were you gonna wait until graduation to tell me that you were moving halfway across the world to get away from us? From me?” the boy cried. “Or were you simply going to disappear and start a new life without telling anyone? But I guess that’s your thing now, huh? Keeping big shit like this until you can’t anymore.”

“That’s not fair, Stiles,” she frowned, hugging her arms tightly across her torso. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so I didn’t say anything. That doesn’t mean that I would have never told you about it. I’m not looking to escape. I’m looking to start my future.”

“And it looks like you were starting it without me then,” he croaked. “What does that mean for us, (Y/N)? We ride it out until graduation, and then you leave for the rest of your life?”

“I don’t… you wanna b-break up?”

“It’s inevitable now, isn’t it?” Stiles said in a tone that broke her more than the words he was speaking. “You’re gonna be in England, and I’m gonna be god knows where. It’s better just to do it now.”

That night was nothing like she had imagined it would be. She had hoped Stiles would have been excited for her and promised her everything would be alright. That somehow he would have the answers to how they could withstand so much distance because they had to make it. Out of everyone in their friend group, those two had to make it.

Instead, it had taken a turn for the worse. One second, Stiles was standing before her with a smile on his face, and the next, he was leaving through her window with tears streaming down his face. What she had most been dreading was that scenario to play out, and a week before their friend’s holiday party, it had. They had gone through life-threatening and mind-boggling situations, but it was a college acceptance letter that broke them apart.

The coming days (Y/N) spent buried in bed. Although she should have been celebrating one of her biggest achievements –other than saving lives and defeating many, many creatures– she had wasted more tears during that time than she had done the past years of her life. She was distraught and defeated, and she had no idea how she would make it through the last semester of high school, much less how she would have made it through a Christmas party.

Somehow, they had arrived at Scott’s house at the same time, even after she had made sure she left twenty minutes after Stiles. The universe liked to play its mean tricks, but that one was almost unforgivable.

“Let’s just try to stay out of each other’s way,” he grimaced. “The less we are near each other, the harder it’ll be for them to find out.”

“Harder to find out what?” Scott asked as he swung the front door open, his signature goofy grin stretched across his mouth. Instinctively, Stiles draped his arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders and smiled brightly. “Ooh, did you bring your brownies, (Y/N)?”

“Yeah,” she smiled. “Still warm from the oven.”

“Wouldn’t be a party without them,” Stiles commented. “Now, let us in. It’s kinda cold out tonight.”

The second they were inside, Stiles broke for the living room while (Y/N) moved to the kitchen with Scott. She set the tray on the overfilled kitchen island, noticing to the side that the dinner table was perfectly set up. “Oh, the table looks nice,” she commented. “But I thought we’d be doing something more low-key.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Lydia thought it’d be fun to do a more grown-up dinner party.”

“Yeah. Place settings and everything.”

“We were waiting for you guys to start eating,” he said. “We’re doing gifts after.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Slowly, the rest of the group trickled into the kitchen, greeting and hugging (Y/N) as they looked over all the food and served themselves their plates. And, of course, her seat was right next to Stiles’. Even if she had wanted to sit anywhere else, the rest had already taken their assigned seats, and the only open spot was the one that had her name.

She gave her ex-boyfriend a small smile, looking anywhere but into the brown of his eyes. Her heart beat against her chest, threatening to jump out of her body. It made her fidgety as everyone ate, thinking any of the wereanimals around her would be able to tell how she was feeling.

But Scott was laughing with Stiles, Malia was talking to Lydia, and Hayden, Liam, and Mason had their own conversation running. (Y/N) was all by herself. She was surrounded by all the people she loved, but it was the loneliest she had felt in a long time. Without the usual comforting words from Stiles, she couldn’t help but feel so out of place. It was the happiest time of the year, but the girl was miserable, and it hurt that it didn’t seem like the boy she loved was sad as well.

“Alright,” Lydia spoke up as everyone ignored their mostly empty plates. “Now that our bellies are full, I think it’s time for Secret Santa! And I truly hope you all kept it a secret this time.”

“Not that it’d matter anyway,” Liam chuckled. “We all know we ask for help every time.”

“Anyways,” she said, ignoring the soft laughter that erupted from the group. “Let’s go to the living room, and (Y/N) you’ll go first.”

“Oh, uh, sure,” she smiled as she followed the group into the living room. She crouched under the decorated Christmas tree, pulling out the gift that had been there for almost two weeks. “I got Lydia.”

“How wonderful!” the redhead mused, quick to hug her friend and rip away the wrapping paper. Inside the gift box was a mosaic picture of Lydia, Allison, and (Y/N), the first time they had finally considered each other friends. “Oh, it’s beautiful! I wish I could take it with me everywhere.”

“It was hard to get it just right, but I loved how it turned out.”

“It’s perfect, (Y/N),” she beamed. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I love you, Lids.”

“Love you too,” the girl said as she wrapped her friend in a tighter hug. “My turn!”

Lydia had gifted Liam nine books out of his TBR list —nine because of his lacrosse number. Then, Liam gifted Scott a new leather jacket so he could “actually look cool when riding his motorcycle,” Liam snickered. Scott then gifted Malia a light blue hoodie to add to her ever-growing collection, while Malia gifted Hayden a journal and pen set, saying it was for when her mind felt too busy. After a warm smile and a hug, she announced her gift was for Mason, laughing as he pulled out an ugly cat sweater. Once the loud laughter subsided, Mason gifted Stiles a massage mat for his Jeep.

“For when you’re taking really long drives,” the boy smiled, clearly proud of himself. “There’s quite some distance between here and D.C. It’ll come in handy.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled as he hugged Mason. “Thanks, man. It’s great.”

“Don’t mention it.”

As Mason sat back down, Stiles cleared his throat as he pulled the last gift. Everyone knew by then who it was for. There was no one else left. “Well, I guess you all know who this is for,” he said. “I hope you like it, (Y/N).”

The girl received the bag with a soft smile, trying her best to swallow the tears that were threatening to spill. She had forgotten for a second how cruel the universe could be. She pulled out the white tissue paper first before finding a beautiful brown bear dressed in a blue knit sweater. Around its neck, there was a necklace with something she could only assume was a soundwave. With curiosity washing over her, she looked to Stiles for an explanation.

“Uh, so, it’ll make a lot more sense if you press the bear’s hand,” he stammered. Once she died as told, the sound broke her. From deep in the belly of the teddy bear, her father’s voice rang out, singing the words of “You Are My Sunshine.” There was not a single night when she was little that her father didn’t sing that to her, and even as she grew old for the lullaby, he would call her sunshine. “I got a recording from your mom of your dad singing the song when you were a baby,” Stiles spoke over the music. “And the necklace is the image of the soundwave of your dad calling you sunshine.”

Tears had long since fallen down her cheeks, clutching the bear in her arms as though it was her own father. With her eyes closed, it was almost as though he was right there, singing to her. But it was what came after the song that shattered her. “You’re gonna do great things, (Y/N),” her father said through the bear. “I love you forever, my little sunshine.”

At that moment, all she wanted to do was hug Stiles and kiss him like she had done a million times before. That was the boy she had fallen in love with. The one that cared and listened. The one that had made her heart race and her stomach turn into butterflies. She wanted to tell him she loved him and never let him go, but she couldn’t. Just like she could never do with her father.

“I, uh,” she said as she stood from the couch, feeling as though she would faint in the crowded room. “I need some air.”

(Y/N) stammered her way out of the living room and through the front door, only allowing herself to break down when she was at the end of the driveway. She fell to her knees and hugged the bear to her chest as she cried, letting the hurt that had accumulated over the years spill onto the pavement. In less than six months, she was going to walk into a new life halfway across the globe without the support of her father and now, without the support of Stiles. All alone.

She should have been celebrating. She knew that. She should have been crying tears of joy and jumping into her love’s arms. Instead, it was the bear’s arms that she could feel. The softness of its fur, the sound of her father’s voice.

Without even realizing it, she had begun singing along to the lullaby, sniffling between words as the tears didn’t relent. “You’re gonna do great things, (Y/N),” her father said once more through the bear. “I love you forever, my little sunshine.”

“I love you too, dad,” she cried.

“Hey,” his voice startled her. Through teary eyes, she looked up to find Stiles draping a jacket over her shoulders. He slid to the ground next to her, facing the house before them as she was now. “I’m sorry. I bought the gift weeks ago, and I wasn’t sure if I was still allowed to give it to you.”

“No, it was… i-it was perfect,” she stammered, running her hand over the bear’s fur. “It’s just everything rushed over me. Like the breakup, the fact that I won’t be here next year, the fact that my dad won’t even see me gradua…”

Another string of sobs ransacked (Y/N)’s body, but that time it wasn’t the bear she was hugging. Stiles had wrapped his arms around her, pressing her into his chest. She could smell his cologne and feel his warmth, a feeling she had missed for the past seven days. All she wanted was to melt into his touch and profess to him all that she felt. But she couldn’t. Not anymore. Because he didn’t want it.

“I didn’t want things to be this way,” she cried into his chest. “I didn’t want everything to fall apart.”

Stiles remained quiet as she cried, a hard feat for someone like him. But he let her cry and cry until only quiet sniffles filled the air. Because he hadn’t wanted things to be that way either.

He knew he had overreacted. When he had told (Y/N) his plans of enrolling in George Washington University all the way across the county, she had told him they could make it work. Especially if she got into any of the ivy leagues she had applied to on the East Coast. It had been fine. Hell, it had been perfect.

But when she told him that she wouldn’t just be a couple of states away but that she would be on another continent, he couldn’t help but let his abandonment issues take control.

He knew she was brilliant. He knew she deserved to do and be all that she had dreamed. But he feared that once she achieved all of her goals, he would just not fit into her life anymore.

“You’re gonna go on to do great things, (Y/N),” he sighed sadly as her tears stopped. “You’re gonna go to Oxford, just like your parents, and you’re gonna probably graduate at the top of your class on your way. And I’ll be here —well, in Washington, technically—cheering you on.”

“But why couldn’t we be great together, Stiles? We couldn’t we both go on to do great things, together?”

“Come on, (Y/N). Once you’re there, you’re gonna meet so many people, and you’ll have guys falling on their knees for you,” he chuckled dryly. “I won’t fit into your new world. I mean, you said it yourself: that’s where your parents met and your life began. And now, maybe you’ll have a new beginning. And years from today, we’ll run into each other, and you’ll tell me about your job and your husband and your kids, and I’ll be so happy for you. Because you serve all the love and happiness in the world, even if it’s without me.”

“Have you even asked yourself if that’s what I want?” (Y/N) asked as she left his warm embrace, her red eyes boring into his. “I’m not leaving because I’m searching for a new life. I want to go to Oxford because it’s one of the last things I can share with my dad. I can walk down the same halls he did, I can take classes in the same classrooms, and eat at the same places he did. But I was always going to come back, Stiles. Because my friends are here, my mom is here, because you are here. I don’t want to run into you and talk about another man or the kids I would have with him. I don’t want to run into you at all. I want to walk beside you, Stiles. If I ever have kids, it’s only if they’re a part of you too,” she cried, fresh tears falling down her already-stained cheeks. “If you don’t love me anymore, then fine. I can understand that, and I can walk away. But don’t you dare say that you wouldn’t fit into my life because you’ve been there longer than anyone I know, and I need you to be there until the end. Because I already lost someone important to me and I can’t lose you too. Not you.”

“(Y/N), I don’t want to lose you either,” he sobbed. “But how can we fight with the distance? How could we ever withstand the fact that we’ll be an ocean away?”

“We have gone through worse battles than a plane ride, Stiles. We have been on the brink of death more times this past year than any person would in their lifetime. Do you really think being in a different time zone is the limit to our relationship? I know the future isn’t promised but you were the one person I always knew would be there.”

“I’m scared, okay?! I’m scared that you’ll meet someone better than me, (Y/N). I’m terrified that you’ll realize that maybe I’m not the guy that can give you your happy ever after,” he finally confessed. His voice croaked, and his chest heaved as the words fell out of his mouth faster than he could ever stop them. “This week has been torture without you. But it’s made me realize that Beacon Hills has always been too small for you. After May, you’re gonna go out there and find your place. And this town will be nothing but a memory you’ll come back to.”

“There is no one better for me than you, Stiles, and Beacon Hills will always be my home,” she replied softly. Her cold hand found his cheek, and she wiped away his tears with her thumb. “I don’t want to know a life where you’re not there. You can’t give up on us without even trying, Stiles. You just can’t.”

Without thinking twice, (Y/N) crashed her lips onto his, sinking into the warmth of his mouth. After a week, kissing him felt like the very first time. It was desperate and filled with need —the need for closeness and passion, the need for love. Instinctively, Stiles’ hands found her waist and pulled her closer to him, wondering how he ever thought he could live without her touch.

“I love you, Stiles, and I don’t even want to think about ever having to love someone else,” she whispered as she parted from him. “My heart belongs to you. And if this is the end, it’ll still remain in your hands.”

“I couldn’t love anyone else like I love you, (Y/N),” he replied with a soft smile. “But I just can’t help the thoughts that flood my brain sometimes.”

“Then don’t listen to them and listen to me when I say that since the moment I met you, I’ve known you were it for me. There is no other man waiting for me in Oxford. It’s you, and it will always be you,” (Y/N) said before kissing him softly once more. “You’re the best thing that has happened to me, Stiles Stilinski, and you’re the only thing that I want to keep happening to me.”

“I can’t believe I ever broke up with you. Especially during Christmas,” Stiles chuckled as he rested his forehead against hers, flicking the tip of her nose with his own. “It was honestly the worst week of my life.”

“Including being possessed?” Scott’s voice startled them as he came into view. “Although, I get it because this was completely avoidable.”

(Y/N) chuckled as she took Scott’s extended hand and got on her feet, wiping away any tears that still remained. “Did you hear that whole thing?”

“More or less,” he chuckled. “It’s a bit hard not to when I was coming to see if you guys were okay.”

“We’re good now, Scotty,” Stiles grinned. “Just had some unresolved feelings to work, though.”

“Can you not mention the whole thing about the breakup? I don’t wanna make it a whole thing.”

“That’s a bit hard, (Y/N),” Malia called from the open front door. “We all kind of already know.”

“Oh, cool, great,” she said as she hid in Stile’s embrace. “That’s not embarrassing at all.”

“Eh, at least our parents are back together,” Liam commented. “Best Christmas present.”

“It really is, huh?” Stiles whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

“Yes. Very cute and adorable,” Lydia added in a desperate tone. “Now, can we go back inside before Hayden and Mason finish all the brownies?”

As the group walked back into the house, Stiles and (Y/N) shared one more moment together on the front porch. “Hey, look up,” Stiles said with a smile. “Mistletoe.”

“Funny that they’d hang that at a werewolf's home,” she chuckled. “Although, I’m pretty sure that one’s plastic.”

“And I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to kiss me.”

“Maybe I’m waiting for another guy to kiss under the plant.” Stiles frowned at her words, and all she could do was laugh. “Too soon?”

“Much,” he said. “Now, come here.”

He snaked his hands on either side of her face and kissed her passionately. He kissed her for every day they had spent apart. He kissed her for every hurtful word he had spewed. He kissed her as a promise of his love for her. Stiles kissed her like she was his future.

Next ->

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remindingpersephone · 2 months ago

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Christmas Is Not The Same

I'm putting this under the jump because it's about grief and loss.

This is the first Christmas without my Mom. I knew it would be hard. It's better than it would have been if we were still in our old house back down on the coast. I honestly don't think I could have decorated the house she loved for 28 years without her.

Here in the new house it is easier, but it isn't the same. Dad helped me with the the lights and garland I couldn't reach. I'm the family midget at 5'4" and he's 6 foot, having shrunk in his later years from his prime of 6'2". But when it came time to decorate the tree, to unwrap the ornaments they had collected over their 52 year marriage, he couldn't do it. I asked if he wanted to help - knowing that he'd been melancholy since Thanksgiving - and he just looked at me sadly and shook his head. I understood and I finished the tree alone, because I couldn't bear not to decorate the tree. Mom loved those ornaments. She especially cherished the popsicle stick and construction paper ones my brother and I made for her in grade school. They are so fragile by now I don't know how they haven't disintegrated.

I tried watching some of the Hallmark movies she loved. The ones we used to watch together every year. I barely made it to the first commercial. It just felt empty. Like I was trying to create something that was simply impossible. I know life goes on, as it will and as it should. But Christmas is about family and memories and there's a big part of mine missing.

I have purchased gifts and baked cookies and gone to parties. I have done so with genuine hope that those I am with know how much I love them. That they know I want only good things for them, now and always.

My holiday wishes for others, my greetings to friends and colleagues, are 100% sincere. For others I want only the very best holidays and as much joy as they can get. The holiday cards I have received have been wonderful and put a real smile on my face when I go to the mailbox. I am grateful for that.

I'm putting on a brave face for my Dad and my brother. My sister-in-law has worked so hard to create family outings and gatherings and I've shown up for every one with a true smile and authentic merriment. There is no way I would let my grief bring down anyone else's holiday. There have been true moments of joy and astonishing awareness of gratitude. And then there are moments when I am shattered by grief and loss. The swing between the two seems to be amplified at this time of year. I was not prepared for that. Even though it was inevitable and unstoppable, I was not ready for Christmas without my Mom.

#tw grief #tw loss #Christmas

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romeodraw250 · 2 months ago

Note

Sorry for the anon.

Regarding the WHB translation errors over the MC gender...this has been a problem since it first launch. They never addressed it. It's clear the translations/writing is geared towards female and considering how they haven't done much to ease the other issues the community has had they're not about to listen now. I actually preferred to play a male MC despite being cis female, but since then I purposely left my profile as male to see how much they mess up and I'm sorry to say it's constant. I'm so sorry.

This is very sweet to hear but it's not your fault at all. Don't worry.

I started playing Whb since day one too. So I knew how it was at first. Sometimes there's some issues but that's alright. I honestly don't mind and understand. Knowing it's not a big game like genshin impact where they really have to be careful on which twin your choosing so they don't fail the cutscenes.

But here....

I won't go in too much detail but I've been very busy and exhausted from my art school. Making me unable to play any games even when I need to rest.

So I was very veeeeeryyy happy and excited when I saw the new Christmas event. But first thing I read... Female pronoms. Obv I knew they sometimes forget to change it in some sentences. But not the full story? Like I did keep going just a few hours ago cause well. I was calm down but still. This made me uncomfortable.

My classmates didn't see me but a online buddy know, I was about to cry. It's not a big deal I know. It's just a game. But well... Sometimes it's not good timing.

Anyway, I'm glad to see the male mc is for everyone too. It's very sweet to know I am (and others) are not in the same issues.

Honestly I'm pretty neutral towards PB. But here... Why let us choose if they just ignore the second one. We even got a cool new outfit with leviathan bride card. Both mcs looked amazing. I should draw my Ra-on... Urg no time.

Anyway, I'm not use to ramble but I'm better now. Knowing I'm not the only one who found this hurtful in a way.

Obey me was a game I cherished a lot because of the gender neutral mc, same for twisted wonderland that I love a lot.

I tried to play Tokyo debunker and still play love and deepspace. But it's a bit hard for me because of the female mc. I know "otome game" means game for women dating make lead. I'm not here to say "guys, put a male mc" that would be stupid.

Just saying my preference.

I've been able to talk to some of my classmates Abt this game, with ensemble stars. They r both games I really love and cherish. I have no clue why but sometimes the hyper fixation is on weird ass game.

Well I miss my wife Mammon now. ( Sentence I kept saying when I'm alone in my thoughts, in class mostly)

For work I had to do a big ass illustration so here's Kathy mc of @katy-the-same-as-tsuki and my silly Ra-on

#what in hell is bad #whb mc #whb rambling #🐢ramble

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allisonreader · 3 months ago

Text

Here is my fairly early Christmas Inklings Challenge story. I honestly didn't expect to have a story done so quickly, though it's not the idea that I started with.

@inklings-challenge

A little background on this story so that if you haven't read anything in my The Hidden Royals realm, you won't be lost.

This story is told entirely from the perspective of Beth Wood (which isn't her full name). Beth is actually Elizabeth Ravenswood, wife to Theodore Ravenswood (going by Theo Wood) who is the crown prince of an island nation called Windsmere. (A secondary world, not a place fit into our own.)

They're both currently living in a different island nation called Shadowfen in secret exile after a tyrant named Roland killed all Theodore's family and took over as king. Theo and Beth were only able to escape thanks to a servant who snuck them out at the first sign of danger.

So the pair are raising their children in Shadowfen. They end up with three children, Thomas (Tom/Tommy who was conceived in Windsmere but was born in Shadowfen), a lost baby, Patricia (the middle child and only surviving girl), James (the youngest, whom is later kidnapped by one of Roland's men/spies), and the two babies who also didn't survive, many years apart.

Then here are a couple of links to the related stories.

The Hidden Royals; The Spark

The Hidden Royals "Master List"

Now the actual story.

Christmas Dress Tradition

All of her little family was home safe and sound, snug in their little cottage.

Theo would be off from guard duty the next couple of days before having to go back. Her babies were both asleep, although the one she was carrying was being rather active as she worked on Patricia's dress.

She had been working on it after Thomas and Patricia had gone to sleep for the last couple of months already. Patricia was probably too young yet to fully appreciate the work going into this dress. But she wanted her little girl to have a pretty dress.

One that wasn’t as plain as her regular day to day wear. A dress that could truly be considered her best dress. She had even made the dress in a way that she could let out the seams and hem as Patricia grew. And if the new baby was a girl, she could wear it too.

Part of what was taking so long to make the dress was the embroidery she was adding to it. As long as it was ready for Christmas was all she wanted.

…

As the years went on and her three children grew, it had become a tradition for her to make some sort of pretty dress for Patricia to open and wear on Christmas.

Neither her dear Tommy, nor James cared much about what they wore, while Theo mostly wore a Shadefenian guard uniform. Something that she never thought that she would get used to seeing him in and always made her heart ache with the reason of why he wore the foreign uniform.

So, she continued on with her project of making a pretty new dress for Patricia who would be delighted by opening it on Christmas.

…

Patricia was 16 when she started to help with the dress.

It had been a hard year for her. She had fallen rather ill near the time where she normally started to work on the dress.

At first she hadn’t realized that she was pregnant again, having thought those days were long past, but the pregnancy had ended without a living baby. Her third child buried, born far too soon to survive and leaving her both physically ill and heartsick.

Patricia, seeing her pain, decided that they would both work on her dress. It wouldn’t be a surprise like it had previous years, but she appreciated working with her daughter.

Never did she expect that on Christmas Patricia would surprise her with a dress of her own.

It was the prettiest dress that she had owned since she and Theo had fled Windsmere.

From then on Patricia and her would work on a dress for each other together. It made the loss of another child an easier burden to bear.

…

The first year back had been in Windsmere had been hectic.

Removing a tyrant king from power whom had kidnapped her youngest son and had killed her husband’s family was no light task. There was so much to do and put back into place that Christmas had nearly been forgotten about, dress making had been put on the back burner and forgotten about as they as a family got settled in a new home.

It was only the year after when Patricia came into her room with material for a new dress that she had remembered about it again. So much had happened and Patricia herself was pregnant with her first now; but together again, they worked on new dresses for each other.

Laughing as the dressmakers scolded them for doing so.

They just invited the women to join them and encouraged them to make something for their own loved ones. Adding to their tradition from there.

#the hidden royals #inklings challenge #inklingschallenge #christmas challenge #Christmas inklings challenge #inklingschristmaschallenge #genre: secondary world #story: complete

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lucithekingofhell · 2 months ago

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Luci! I'm so sorry I haven't done ANYTHING for over a MONTH! Since October 7th I checked😞

Okay so. How are you and Alastor and Zoe and everyone else doing????

Here are some jokes to make up for all the missed Joke Of the Day’s!

Who's in charge of the candy corn? The kernel.

When do cows turn into werewolves? During the full mooooooooon.

Why was the corn afraid to go to the Halloween party? Because it was poppin’!

What is a zombie's favorite kind of bean? A human bean.

What do you get when you cross a black cat with a lemon? A sourpuss!

What’s the banshee’s favorite flavor of ice cream? Cookies and scream.

What do you get when you cross a vampire and a snowman? Frostbite.

What did the leftover turkey say? “Make me a sandwich!”

What is a turkey‘s favorite month?

They don’t have one, but they prefer any other than November.

Why did the turkey bring a microphone? He was ready to roast.

what do you get when you cross a turkey with a centipede? “Drumsticks for everyone!”

If you call a big turkey a gobbler, what do you call a small one? A goblet.

Oh and it's December first! Here is a Christmas joke for ya! Oh er… Xmas I mean. Sorry. Still used to Christmas not Xmas😅

Where do short people go on the first of December? Santa’s Workshop. They need to get back to work.

And just in case I don't show up tomorrow!

How much is a short person’s holiday bonus? Nothing. They never get one.

Anyway! Have a lovely day! I hope you are doing well! Oh, and Luci, remember my friend who did the handsome Squidward drawings? Yeah, she made an account on Tumblr. So if you happen to come across her work. That's the same gal who did those drawings!

Bye bye! 👋👋

"don't worry, it's good to hear from you again! When I saw you licking some of our old things pretty happy to see you online. We're all doing pretty well, also don't tell Zoe I'm telling you this but she's got a girlfriend! She likes girls too, we have so much I'm common! Now let me read these jokes-"

...

Charlie: "so um Charlie here, again. I honestly don't know what happened but my dad, Zoe and Al are dying laughing... what happened?.."

...

//Zoe: HAHAHA OK SO I COME HERE TO GIVE AN ANSWER. PAPA WAS LAUGHING CAME TO CHECK I SAW AND STARTED LAUGHING. THEN DAD CAME AND HE ALSO STARTED LAUGHING. WE CAN'T STOP LAUGHING HAHAHAHAHAAH

#hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar #lucifer hazbin hotel #hazbin lucifer #hazbin hotel lucifer #alastor #luci #lucifer #hazbin #sinner zoe

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tangyangie · 2 years ago

Note

Hii! Honestly thank you for all your works!, they’re so good and feel so accurate, you embody the characters so well😫‼️.

I dont know if ur taking requests right now but i was wondering if you could do a karma x enfp reader head-cannons? I saw you did an isfp one, idk if you’ve done any other, but Thats alright if not of course!

Reader is really bubbly and loud, she makes alotta dirty and crude jokes with Rio and similarly, she has good grades she just doesnt try. She’s girly (loves being feminine) but that doesnt stop her from getting dirty, Shes very much a hopeless romantic and goes feral for some loving.

— 𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐀 𝐗 𝐄𝐍𝐅𝐏 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 ⊹

desc. karma x enfp!fem!reader, who's loud, playful, and talkative, yet stubborn, smart, and romantic.

notes. i'm preeeetty sure i'm an enfp (or infp), so a lot of these traits reminded me of myself!! so, this one was pretty easy to write, and i hope you like it!!

he's drawn to you from the beginning.

you're funny and joke about everything with him. oh, someone fell out of a tree? oops, you guys are literally on the floor.

you guys never have a dull moment. you always have something to talk about, and your conversations usually end up lasting hours.

physical touch is biggg for you guys. it's rare to see you guys not hugging or being close in some way.

he loves your outfits. no matter what you wear, though, he will be completely infatuated by you but he does like seeing you in dresses.

he picks you up a lot. piggy-back rides, carrying you bridal style, over the shoulder... any way that your feet aren't touching the ground.

you guys bounce around a lot. like, people mistake you as children for how energetic you guys are—you're constantly running around places.

you guys are constantly texting. it's kind of funny how much battery is wasted, even though you two are in the same room.

you guys also play gamepigeon a lot together. you've both gotten really good at the word games, and you're constantly competing. your screen is lit up like a christmas tree because of just how much you guys play together.

karma and you are both stubborn, and so you guys are like a rainbow brick wall with bubble guns at the top. it's the most accurate description of your personalities together that i can give.

when it comes to school, you guys are one and the same. you've got good grades and stuff, but you do not pay attention.

you will have an assignment that was given at the beginning of the week, and you're finishing it literally morning of. and then you get a perfect score.

you guys spend a lot of time outside together. whether that's looking for cats in sidewalks, going to playgrounds and parks, or finding a lake and skipping rocks together. you guys definitely feed the ducks, too.

you kiss him a lot. he definitely doesn't mind—he welcomes it. while, of course, throwing in a few teasing phrases.

you guys make a lot of dirty jokes together. it's crazy you guys haven't been reported to the police for the amounts of looks you guys have gotten.

you guys collect stuff for each other. you collect stamps and he collects rocks, so you guys trade each other stuff. if someone doesn't have enough to trade, you pay in affection.

you guys climb on stuff a lot. it's a normal occurrence to see you guys on the roof or hanging off a window of a 6-floor tall apartment building.

notes: every time i write these i get reminded of my nonexistent social life 🫶

also i'm so sorry for taking so long ☹️ been feeling v unmotivated to write but i did see the spider-man movie so i'm feeling much better (and in love w miles oh m y god)

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sleepy0s · 1 year ago

Text

grian? grain? never heard of him

Zedaph: I have a bad feeling about this...

Ariana Griande: What do you mean?

Zedaph: Don't you ever get that little voice in your head that tells you if you're going to get into trouble?

Ariana Griande: No?

Martyn: That actually explains so much.

(This isn't my best work as i haven't written in a while + my laptop broke so im using an old one that doesn't work very well)

Shapeshifter G au!

He can change his form, looks, features, EVERYTHING (Including his voice, but he can't mimic voices, so it's just a more feminine version of Grians voice for Ariana but its so different no one notices. )

Skyblings

—--------------------------------------

It’s the Christmas holidays! Many hermits had gone back to their home servers to spend time with family, whilst the rest stayed on hermitcraft together.

Those staying on hermitcraft decided to host a large ‘party’/ festival inviting the hermit's friends and families and any popular people from other servers such as; Empires, Dsmp, MCC, etc. Now, everyone knows a good party needs music and you’d expect no less from Hermitcraft than one of the Best idols across all the servers, Ariana Griande! Luckily, Grian has an Amazing, truly the best sister; Pearl, who can help back up his story of being with family and unable to visit the party.

~~~

Ariana sat on the stage, drinking a bottle of Fanta and just generally relaxing. She had her hair plaited back to keep it out of her face and was wearing a comfortable pink sweater that hung off her shoulders with a soft pleated black skirt. Martyn stood next to her.

“Martyn, you know you don’t have to stay with me all night.? I know your friends with most of the hermits.” She looked towards Martyn, poking his shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. But I'm your bodyguard, plus. I don't want to leave you on your own.” he sighed, sitting down on the stage Causing Ariana to chuckle, “You're a big softy! Why aren't you like this when I'm just Grian!?” She fake pouted, they didn’t have to worry about being overheard due to the loud chatter across the server.

~~~

Time Skip!

~~~

Zedaph seemed to appear out of nowhere, not that he noticed Ariana and Martyn. The ram hybrid seemed very suspicious, redstone dust covered his face and he was smiling like he’d done something- “Zedaph, mate you good?” Martyn waved his hand at Zedaph, snapping him out of his trance.

“Yeah, I'm great actually!” Zedaph responded, practically skipping over to them. It took Ariana a minute to realise she should probably introduce herself (You never think you'll have to re-introduce yourself to someone, it's a bit awkward honestly) She stuck her hand out for a handshake, “nice to meet you! I'm Ariana,” Zedaph took her hand, shaking it slowly, “Yeah- yeah i know who you are.. My name is Zedaph.” (God, she’ll never get used to the awkwardness)

“ZEDAPH.” Doc's voice could be heard screaming through the server, causing Zedaph to burst into laughter, “Man, Zed what did you do?” Martyn asked, trying to spot Doc.

“Oh… Nothing.”

“Zedaph, come here!”

Zedaph paused, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this now..”

Ariana looked at him, tilting her head slightly, “What do you mean.?” Zed was confused for a second, unsure of how to respond, “.. Don't you ever get that little voice in your head that tells you if you're going to get into trouble?”

“Uh… No? Should I.? Is this something everyone has?”

Martyn hit himself in the face with his hand, sighing in disappointment, “That explains.. So much.”

“You know, Ariana, you remind me of my friend Grian.”

Martyn burst out laughing, leaving Ariana to stumble out a response,

“O-Oh, that's- that's funny. You- you might need to introduce me to this, this, grain? Grian?”

“You’ve never heard of Grian? He’s quite popular..”

“NOPE. NEVER HEARD OF HIM- I don't get out much- yep. That's it.”

—------------------------------------------------------

#grian #ariana griande #hermitcraft #pearlescentmoon #sleepy0s #docm77 #zedaph #martyn inthelittlewood #inthelittlewood

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alethiometry · 1 month ago

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9 books i plan to read in 2025! // tagged by @aeide and @leofrith and i think it will be interesting to see if i can actually stick to this lol

1-2. calling on dragons & talking to dragons by patricia c wrede // i read dealing with dragons about a billion times as a kid, it remains one of my favorite comfort reads, but my school library never had the sequel books. so now i'm finally revisiting the series (am almost done with book 2, searching for dragons) and finishing it once and for all. it's just very cozy and nice!

3. bad cree by jessica johns // has been on my to-read list forever, for whatever reason i could never find it on libby, but i got it as a christmas present and am so excited to dive in!

4. cue the sun! the invention of reality tv by emily nussbaum // i actually just got this as a skip-the-line checkout on libby so i've already started reading! i've watched so much more reality tv in recent years and the whole industry never fails to fascinate me in mostly a morbid way.

5. fevre dream by george r r martin // during my revisit of asoiaf last year it was recommended that i check out some of grrm's other horror works. all i know is it has something to do with vampires in the bayou, and some asoiaf theorists refer to it a lot when discussing bolt-on which i find to be one of the wackier crack theories lol.

6. the tenant of wildfell hall by anne bronte // i've been reading through the bronte sisters on serial reader so this will be my next one after i finish wuthering heights!

7. dust child by nguyễn phan quế mai // the mountains sing was my absolute favorite book that i read last year and it moved me to tears/made me ugly-cry so so so many times. so of course i am beyond excited to read everything else she has written! also if you haven't read the mountains sing this is your sign from the universe to do so. it's amazing.

8. the orchid thief by susan orlean // so i got this as a birthday gift last year and read probably the first 1/3 or so before i fell off of reading pretty hard for most of the year (aka got super busy with 5,000 other things). i really want to pick it back up and finish it this year.

9. the will of the many by james islington // a couple friends made a book recs list/zine at the end of 2024 and they honestly all look great and i don't have space to list all of them here! so i picked this one at random out of the ones i haven't read yet!

oh also my secret 10th answer is if either the winds of winter* or the book of dust vol. 3 drop this year they will immediately take priority over any other books on this list 👀

idk who else has already done this but i'll tag @winedark and @roadtriphoax 😘

* lol. can you imagine.

#cool story charlotte #tag games

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milascenta · 2 months ago

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December 22nd 10:41pm

I'm so sorry I haven't talked in a while, N. I wanted to wait until I was in some sort of good place or heading in a good one but its not really working out that way too much. A few things have happened over the months. Though I am hoping for next year should be a bit better.

I'm so happy you had a good time in London, the Stranger Things play looked awesome and the stuff you got looks so cool. I love the bag and the plushie Demogorgon (? I'm sorry I didn't watch too much of stranger things, first season was awesome and I love Winona Ryder but Its so hard for me to get into shows lol, same with the Witcher I love it but haven't watched past the first season haha) You looked really beautiful in that black dress, and I also love your hair with the black its a nice change and twist on your usual look. I hope you kept it or have something similar because it really suits you. You tattoos too OMG they looks good, I really love the Cpt Rex ones, subtle and cute on the fingers (omg again another series I need to get back into hahaha I'm really bad with shows) the portraits look insane, although I haven't seen much of the show they are probably my favourite characters too. I just looked up the Jaig eyes and I love them so much more now, its really up my ally and something I would get done, they suit you more now. I'm looking into starting a large tattoo idea hopefully during next year. I want to get a torso tattoo from cyberpunk, the one with the snake and the ram head on the back. I want to start with the snake curling around my body then work from there. The fact that you got them done in one day is very deserving of the aussie coveted "Hard Cunt" status, on the shins and everything is insane, I'm really proud and impressed you could sit for the whole thing.

I'm happy you met someone but then also I'm sorry he kinda turned out to be only really there for one thing. Maybe things have changed by now? either way it sucks to have met someone and you think one intention and they're another. I'm also so sorry you were having troubles with your friend, the trip started so nicely I hoped it would end that way too. I hope you're in a better place with each other, maybe talked it out or at least got closure.

I want to reassure you that you don't have to talk about anything you don't feel fully comfortable with, so I'm glad you didn't force yourself with that. Whenever you're comfortable to talk I'll be here but I'm here regardless. I'm just sorry you were ever reminded of those things and hope that person isn't continuing to do so. (cause they'll catch these hands nah jk.... unless) I'm also sorry about the news with your grandmother, its definitely not the news I was hoping for and I really hope things a turning around.

I want to properly reassure you that you are important and you are significant. These posts are really important to me and I know it helps you get things off your chest. I understand the thoughts you have been having, and can relate to them too, I just want you to know I care about you and you're important to me. I know that can't take any of the bad thoughts of feelings away, as much as I would like that, I just want you to hear them and hope they can act against those thoughts in some way. Those thoughts aren't you, those thoughts aren't shaping you or the path you're going down, you are doing better ever year and I'm so proud of you for that. Being strong sucks sometimes and you know that more than a lot of people but its won't be forever I promise.

Thank you for your birthday wishes. I did have fun, even though birthdays don't really mean much to me these days lol. honestly just reminds me of time I'm wasting. But I tried to have fun and surprisingly did. Before I say what I did on my birthday day, I took my friends to go see Nightmare Before Christmas with a live symphony at the start of November and that was unbelievable and fantastic and amazing. Such a surreal experience, watching the movie and the music being right there, by people. I watched the orchestra more than the movie, which I hoped they appreciated. One of my favourite movies with the music live was a great experience. I then saw the new Wicked movie on my birthday day with my friends too, and that was surprisingly great! They really did translate the stage show to screen, both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande did amazing and really sold the characters and their relationship. And the visuals were amazing, apparently a lot of it was real and they took a lot of the in set vocal takes too. We then went to fortress, which is a kinda of "nerd" bar, looks like a medieval tavern, they sell mead and stuff as well as good food and you can rent board games, play video games and do dnd sessions there too, they also have a really cool futuristic cyberpunk cocktail bar upstairs from the tavern which we went to aswell. I bought a shirt from them, senpais.jp did a collab with them so I got a really cool shirt from them, but I took it home at the end of the night and it turned out they gave me the wrong one, so I had to trek it all the way back to the city the next day to exchange it, which they almost didn't do they had to get a manager involved but he said it was ok to change, I had proof of purchase and everything. I also bought a lot of stuff I needed for myself. A bunch of shirts, some new black jeans, and new cologne Jean Paul Gautier Le Male Le Parfum, long name but its my favourite cologne lol oh and a nice green linen shirt too.

But then its kinda gone a lil down hill, a couple week ago, we found out my grandmother had passed away, heart attack. Which I'm glad it was quick and painless but sucks she's not around anymore, I feel really guilty not talking to her more or going to visit her more. We went to her town for her funeral, which we had two. A smaller close family one at the crematorium and one we had at a church that had sooo many people attend. She was very community driven and had a relationship with probably everyone in the town to some degree so it was great to see that. You would have liked her, she was a badass headstrong woman, and stayed very active and lucid up to the end. Going back to her town was very surreal. All the smells and sights were the same, well the sights mostly, the town has grown a lot. A lot of people go through there now so its developed a lot more. And her house was the same, but none of it had the soul anymore, all of it felt empty. We didn't stay super long, a few days, I took lots of pictures, mostly of nostalgic things, patterns in her house and things that were always around. Then my brother got me sick with a chest cold, how that happens in 35+ degree weather I have no idea. But its starting to go now just a bit phlegmy lol. I'm on the waiting list for some psychologists my doctor recommends. I've tried a couple recently and they've not been good, I got lied to about cost, was told one thing and ended up being charged almost double with no warning which sucks and we just didn't click so I'm trying again with someone else. I don't mind if its a little bit expensive just tell me that at the start not after I've been charged and have no control over it like what is that, especially after I was told a different amount. I told my doctor that and he was like ok I'm not going to recommend them anymore lol.

I'm hoping next year will be better, for both of us because we really need it. I really hope at least your new year is better and you can keep progressing. I hope you have a good christmas, and hope you get some good holiday time off too. Know that I'm thinking of you.

I'll talk to you soon,

"Hey little monster, you know its all okay"

#her

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eyra · 1 year ago

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20 questions for Fic Writers

thank you to everyone who tagged me and I'm sorry it's taken me a month to do this.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

25 plus a few that I've posted anonymously. bonus points if anyone ever finds them.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

348,031

3. What fandoms do you write for?

just HP/marauders these days

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A Brief History of Dragons - people like this Remus I think.

Beneath a Big Blue Sky - my love letter to Yorkshire.

Statten Park - an old one but I do actually still like this, it's a lot of fun.

Sunshine on Leith - can we knock this out of the top five already please.

And a Hedgehog in a Pine Tree - I'm so surprised that this is here, it's such an inconsequential little thing. people like Christmas I suppose.

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

oh god I try I really do, every email that comes through with a new comment makes my day but I'm terrible for leaving them all unanswered in my inbox. I'm sorry to everyone who has ever left a comment that I haven't responded to.

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

The Proctor House for sure. A Winter, Forever Ago is pretty bleak too.

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

most of them! probably the most joyous is something like Beneath a Big Blue Sky because you've been on a decent journey to get there. that goose threatening everyone's happiness and all.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not really. one comment I do get sometimes is that the way I write Remus/Sirius is OOC and yes I agree, it absolutely is. Remus in Beneath a Big Blue Sky has nothing to do with e.g. Remus in Ullswater. those men have never even met in a bathroom. James in A Brief History of Dragons is an arsehole compared to living legend James in Beneath a Big Blue Sky. Sirius in Statten Park is a complete stranger to Sirius in Heartstones. none of them, really, have much to do with their canon counterparts. just bits here and there but I haven't read the HP books in well over a decade and I don't really remember what these characters are actually like beyond the surface-level stuff, so a lot of what I write is fairly OOC. it's all done knowingly and intentionally and I'm not going to change that.

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

oh gosh a little bit a little bit. please understand that I'm a repressed Englishwoman and I'm trying my hardest. Seventeen Hours and Statten Park are both fairly smutty. I'd like to write more but I'm awkward af.

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

no not really my thing but I do like to take other stories and plonk marauders characters into similar worlds - Ullswater was very much inspired by If We Were Villains.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no but people keep nabbing them to get them printed and then apparently sell them? so actually maybe yes. grow up.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no because I'm a control freak and I don't allow my work to be replicated. sorry about it. I think people have done it for personal offline projects though and that's absolutely fine.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

back in the day I used to co-write with my then-partner but it was just bits and pieces, not full fics. again, I'm a control freak so I'd struggle with this. I need to get my own way always.

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

right so I should say Remus/Sirius but honestly... Remus/James just reaches places other pairings simply cannot. so it's a toss up.

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

oh god how long have you got. I think one of the reasons I dislike Sunshine on Leith so much is because I put that stupid note at the end promising a third part in a few weeks. that was in 2020 and I've still not done it. help.

16. What are your writing strengths?

description, particularly when it comes to: natural landscapes, buildings, food, weather. I think I'm alright at witty dialogue too.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

actually writing anything down. also action, can't do action to save my life.

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

I don't think I've done it but I'd give it a go.

19. First Fandom you wrote for?

I think it was LOTR and yes it probably still exists somewhere on an old desktop computer at my dad's house and yes that thought keeps me up at night.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

The Proctor House and Beneath a Big Blue Sky

#ask game #ask

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spaceorphan18 · 6 months ago

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State of the WiPs

Okay, so I realize I'm somewhat notorious for having a thousand projects going on at once. But I took a look, and when it comes to my writing, it's not as bad as it may seem? Anyway, not that there's much interest in this other than my own, I just felt like I'd write about it anyway...

So, out of the 66 works I have on Ao3 - 15 of them are incomplete. That means only a 1/4 of what I've started I haven't finished (yet)... We can break this down into a few categories...

Things I will (probably) never finish

The Ancient Office Things ::

This stuff is so old that I barely remember writing it. I brought it over from another website just for completion sake; so that I could have all my writing in one place. But, no, I'll never be going back to this stuff.

Dunder Mifflin, This Is Pam

Different Perspectives

One Week --- this is actually the first fanfic I ever wrote (and published), and, I mean, I could chop off the last chapter and call it complete, as it does come to an ending point if I ever felt the need.

The Old MCU Things ::

Okay, so while I've never really left the MCU fandom, I did kind of stop writing fic for it. And this is really when my unfinished reputation really started to happen, because I did start creating a ton of things and never really went anywhere with them. I do have a half a mind to take them all down, and leave it for if/when I ever feel inspired to come back to it, since most of it is just a bunch of first chapters of things...

Misplaced

The Ensemble

A Summer Holiday

Faking It --- the thing about this one is that it's really just a collection of stand alones. There really is no beginning or ending, it's more like a short story collection, left open for possibilities.

The Glee Stuff I Probably Won't Be Touching ::

Black Kitty -- Back in the day, I had this funny idea about a Glee/OMGCheck Please crossover. It was amusing at the time. And should have been maybe a sketch? Out of all my unfinished things, this is my least favorite. I kind of hate it. But every time I threaten to take it down, people yell at me, lol. And yes, I know I could orphan it - but I don't like having my work out there that I no longer have control of. So I'm stuck with this abomination.

The CrossRhodes Saga -- I still have all my notes for this noir piece, and I honestly still love the idea. This is one that I might actually take down and start fresh with because it deserves actual attention. Plus, I think I'm a better writer now than when I first wrote this and would want to rework it.

Changed For the Better -- This was one of those Christmas challenges that, honestly, I hated doing. I don't think it's a bad story, but it never really worked for me. I feel bad that this one literally is half unfinished. Maybe some day I'll there will be a spark there to do something with it, but doubtful.

The Smut Challenge -- *sigh* I mean, part of me almost does want to work on this again, because the thought of having 365 short stories of smut is kind of hilarious to me. But writing this became really tedious after a while. Do you know how hard it is to keep smut interesting? I still have all my notes, so who knows, maybe.

Actual Open Projects

In The City That We Love -- I probably should have not posted this until I was ready to actually focus on it. The nice thing is that this first chapter stands on its own relatively nicely. It was going to be the thing I work on after Head Over Feet is done, but I keep getting distracted by other fandoms, so I'm not sure if and when I'll come back to it. But I still love the idea enough to keep it open.

The Spaces In-Between -- This has been open and barely worked on for years, but I don't think I'll ever really close the door on it. Maybe it'll be nicer when I have more distance and I come at the show feeling fresher about it after not seeing it for quite a while. I guess we'll see.

Head Over Feet -- Yeah, I know. I am dragging my feet on this one. Bless the people actually who've been with me on this one for literal years. I didn't mean for it to take so long, but that year in Indiana really put a damper on me writing anything, and I struggled. But, I will finish this fic. It was a passion project for so long that I couldn't not. I even have the next chapter half written and all organized and ready to go. I just need more time and less distractions :P But please don't give up on this one.

Double Date -- Hey, it's the Bridgerton fic that I'm currently working on! And yes, it's occupying all of my time at the moment. I promised myself that before I started anything new - this was getting done. And I'm holding myself to that.

Things Yet to Come

Believe it or not, there are things I've refrained from publishing. Honestly, I've been trying to keep focus (especially the last few months) and work on one thing at a time.

The X-Men Projects :: So, there are two bigger ideas that I want to do. First, I have nearly a novel length Romy fic that I've detailed outlined and I love. I LOVE this idea so much. I did start to write it (and then totally got distracted by Bridgerton, oops). But I think so I don't fall into the trap of the Marvel stuff, I want to wait to publish it. I think maybe I'll post it when it's done, done, which will be nice for people who are concerned about my track record.

The second idea, though, I have started, but have been smart about it. One-shots! I figure instead of having one story that cover's the whole Romy spectrum, i'd post little one-shots that came to me. And while this feels like a big project to me -- I'm not leaving people hanging, as the one-shots are very much intentionally stand alone moments in time.

The Bridgerton Projects :: Honestly, I have a bunch of them. And while a good handful are one-shots, I promised myself to work on one thing at a time, so not to feel overwhelmed. And I think that's working.

If nothing else... it feels nice to be creative again. And I am writing pretty regularly, which I couldn't say was happening the last couple of years, especially when I was in the dark place that was Indiana, lol.

#s.o. writes things #mostly for myself #thinking out loud

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