#i just love how these two songs fit back to back and thanks to tumblr i thought of rwrb

[enobariasdistrict2]

thinking about how london boy by taylor swift expresses how alex feels for henry and american jesus by nessa barrett is henry's feelings for alex

[namig42]

Was chatting with my lovely mutual @mortalasystem about my Wyllstarion fic Just One Yesterday and some of the inspo that got me started on it, and I thought why not share those things with people who might be looking for good recs? With that, here are some of the biggest inspirations for my super involved story!

Friday Nights by @sadinasaphrite

So the first and probably most prominent inspiration for a modern au is this wonderful Bloodweave fic called Friday Nights over on ao3. I really loved the chemistry between Gale and Astarion in this one, and Gale's perspective was very interesting, especially with the mix of magic still in this au. Wonderfully written, very considerate of Astarion's circumstances as a sex worker, and a happy ending to wrap it all up nicely!

Read it on Ao3

Sex worker/Charity worker Halstarion AU by @malacandrax

This comic has nine parts as of now that are all little snippets of Halsin being a concerned social worker and Astarion as a sex worker in a 70s/80s UK setting. OP really took a lot of consideration writing this one and portraying realistic steps that someone in Astarion's situation could take, and I love how they really captured both characters so well. The progression between the Astarion and Halsin is really nicely done, even in such small snippets. 11/10, definitely recommend.

Link to Part 1 here

Perfect Slaughter by @imagineitdearies

This is a Tavstarion fic that honestly captivated me so much from beginning to end. It's a long form fic that is incredibly compelling and is an alternate au prequel to the events of BG3. Tyrus, the protagonist, is a very compelling original character, and his relationship with Astarion in the hell that is Cazador's palace was so well crafted. This was the story that had me wanting to explore more relationships with Astarion in my own writing, focus on dark topics and give them the respect they deserve such as trauma, abuse, and torture, and try my own hand at writing something long form. It's gotten a great deal of praise, all of which is well deserved, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Read it on Ao3

The funny thing about my Wyllstarion thing was that there was actually very little Wyllstarion inspiration. I saw some good art here and there on tumblr, but not very much at the time. My dash was mostly bloodweave if anything. Still, there was just enough of an inkling in my head of Wyll and Astarion, and then a dumbass idea came to me one day.

I wrote it in the first chapter's notes on Ao3, but the thing that kicked this multi chapter obsession into gear was...

Just One Yesterday by Fall Out Boy

A song off a ten year old album. That's what did it. Specifically the lyrics:

Anything you say can and will be held against you,

So only say my name. It will be held against you.

Those two lines had my brain swimming with a one-shot smut fic of a police officer Wyll and a sex worker Astarion, but a one shot wasn't enough for the romantic that is Wyll. I couldn't write him having a first meeting kind of fling. I wrote out the original one shot idea, let it sit for a couple months, and then suddenly, something clicked in my brain and the whole thing took off from there.

Still, without this lyric, the story wouldn't exist at all. Honestly, going back and listening to the whole song after everything I've written so far, I think it's a fitting title and song in its own way. Highly recommend giving it a listen if you aren't familiar!

---

That's all the big ones. If other things come to mind that I missed, I'll reblog this and add onto it. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking these things out and showing the artists some love! Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope you found something new to enjoy!

[greensagephase]

So I had wrote out a massive paragraph talking about different songs that I hoped might inspire you for Nonviolent Communication regarding Gabriella and Miguel… However, tumblr had other ideas and decided to reload and delete all of my hard work.

So first things first, highly recommend you check out the song Happy/Sad by Nathan Lane featured in the Adams Family Movie where Gomez is singing to Wednesday about growing up because to me it reminds me of how Miguel would react to Gabriella and we all know Miguel is very Gomez coded.

Secondly, because tumblr’s cruelties, I just said fuck it and rather typing out every single song for you to go back and forth listening to I just made a playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/74RQFVEFTmHizHTshKg5dS?si=mFg1O5fHTLy226vYohjnUw

Here is the link to it, I made it especially for you.

Last thing before I go.

Y/N x Miguel especially for NVC…

Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

Trust me.

Rue... I'm sitting here first of all, feeling so touched about the playlist!!! As Dr. Doofenshmirtz (Phineas and Ferb) once said, if I had a nickel for every time someone made a music playlist for one of my writing projects, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird (AWESOME) that it happened twice!!! EEEEEEEE, THANK YOU OMG!!!!!!! You're the second person that's made one for me in almost 10 years (the first being my best friend for an old fanfic back in the wattpad days)!!!

Second... Rue!!!!!! I swear there's only like 13 songs I don't recognize at all, but the rest are in my liked songs already!!! The following songs: - "Isn't She Lovely" - "Your Song" - "Slipping Through My Fingers" (OH MY GOD HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THIS SONG FOR NC!?!?!?! IT BREAKS MY HEART EVERY TIME, I'M LITERALLY CRYING RN 😭😭) - "Butterfly Fly Away" - "Chiquitita" (no bc how do you know I'm a big fan of ABBA???? I love them and this song!!!) - "Thank You For The Music" - "Tu Sangre en Mi Cuerpo" (girl, you listen to Pepe Aguilar?? I'M SHOOK!!! And now I'm imagining Miguel and Gabby singing this together, brb... gonna go cry again😭) - "Matilda" (no, the way I was listening to this song the other day and thinking about Miguel??? "You can let it go/you can throw a party full of everyone you know/and not invite your family, cause they never showed you love" and "you can start a family who will always show you love/you don't have to be sorry for doing it on your own" tell me this isn't Miguel!! 😭😭I was already thinking of adding this one for a future chapter) - "Beautiful Boy" - "Yellow" - "The Scientist" - "Rivers and Roads"(I heard this one again a few days ago while on shuffle, and I was thinking this would be a good song for NC, hehe!) - "Promise" (this Laufey song always gets me omg) - "Pluto Projector" - "Heart To Heart" (one of my favs by DeMarco) - "Are you Lonesome Tonight?" (one of my fav songs by Presley, period!! Always gets me emotional) - "Ma Belle Evangeline" (The Princess and the Frog is one of my fav princess movies ever (probably the second; it switches with Rapunzel; depends on the day) and I love this song by Ray!!) - "Recuerdame" (YOU CAME STRAIGHT FOR ME WITH THIS ONE AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT ADDING IT BUT THEN DECIDED AGAINST IT BECAUSE I KNEW I WAS GOING TO CRY HARDER IF I DID😭😭😭😭)

these songs literally have me like this rn ⬇️

ALSO NOT "CHASING CARS" PLSSSSSS THAT SONG ALWAYS MAKES ME WANT TO CRY WITHOUT FAILURE - it's nearly 1am and I'm listening to it now and trying not to cry about it (again) AHHHH BUT YOU'RE SO RIGHT - IT'S FITTING!!!

I'm def adding some of these, Rue!!!!! Thank you for making this playlist for me, I'm so happy right now 😭😭 This was so sweet of you!!! Also, I'm sorry Tumblr messed up your post!! I've seen some people complain about tumblr doing that to them, it sucks!!!

But THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I LOVE THIS PLAYLIST!!!! I hope you're having a wonderful week so far, Rue!!! 💕💕🫶🏼🥹

Alondra❤️

[mebemilena]

Every breath you take. Every move you make

A/N: I'm trying to organize it. I'm enjoying it so far and  I must practice my writing. I'm a comic book artist (writer and illustrator), and i'm slowly getting back on using Tumblr and writing fanfiction, english is not my first language. Feedback is welcome and THANK YOU so much for reading me <3

i think this would be between Bodyguard and We fight and breakup, We kiss and make up. it's a bit complicated to insert Reader on the episodes, sorry if it's a little messy. I prefer it much more whe we have more dialogues.

if you havent noticed, i love taking the titles from songs. This here is Every Breath you Take, by The Police.

pairing: maya lopez x reader AFAB reader

-

Arriving at Tamaha was the easy part. All you needed was a map and follow the track you put on Maya's prosthetic leg. You took the risk of her changing it, getting another. But you thought it'd be easy for her to steal another motorbike, or get a new phone than getting a prosthetic leg that fit her just right. Though you thought you could just put it on her favorite boots, you'd still pick the prosthetic leg. Something she couldn't just get rid of in a second.

As you drove an old Honda you'd keep yourself distant, the last thing you'd want now would be for Maya to find out you were following her. The only reason you knew about Tamaha at all was because she had told you before, when you were closer and she hadn't tried to kill Fisk yet. Before she broke your heart by running away without saying goodbye.

- - -

Watching Maya from afar was not difficult for you, as a Black Widow, you knew how to become invisible. But it hurt to see her so close yet so far from what you once had. You held yourself back as you watched stupid Vickie and those girls kidnap her, your blood boiling in your veins. But you knew better than to stop them at it,  curious at what the hell they were trying to do.

As you followed Maya's steps for the past few days, you took notes of your date ideas. "Her uncle owns a skating park!", you said

to yourself, way too excited for the possibility of skating with Maya, holding her hand at the sound of Love is in the Air by John Paul Young. Your fantasy came to an end when you saw Boonie being taken. You couldn't help a smile though. "Not like I wanted to meet you. But we have a girl's night some day, yeah?', you thought.

Temptation ate your insides. You wanted to help Maya, to give her some support and beat Vicky until he begged you to stop and apologized to your Maya. But you couldn't risk much more than you had already. If leaving New York wasn't an indication your relationship was on the line, taking her as a princess and fighting her dragons would set fire to it all.

You kept tracking Maya on your phone, watching her wander around the room through your phone screen. When Zane arrived with his gang you couldn't help but rolling your eyes at him. You hated him, he seemed to think too high of himself and you didn't like the way he chewed on toothpicks, stinking like testosterone. 

You took the time to enter the place and watch Maya from a tiny bit closer. You understood Vickies plan and it didn't take a genius to put two and two: he wouldn't get out of it alive. Stupid Vickie.

Zane's group filled the skating area, talking to Henry and Boonie. When Vickie got shot you rolled your eyes again. "Such a mess", you thought. "Where is Maya Lopez?", stupid Zane asked and Dragula by Rob Zombie screamed from the sound system all of a sudden. 

You had to hold yourself not to cheer aloud, trying to keep softly headbanging your head through the music. You loved that song, Maya knew.

You started wondering if she chose that one because she knew you liked it and it made her think of you. Were you being delusional? Also, wasn't it too loud?

Oh, right. It doesn't bother her. 

You got in the laser tag maze enjoying the music,  taking a few man down cautiously so that Maya wouldn't find out you were there. You wore a mask in case one of them recognized you decided to tell on you, if they survived. You caugth her kicking their asses by the corner of your eye and almost ran to her, to tell her how great she looked while fighting, how you missed her and how much of a wimp you were for her. But that'd ruin your plans and instead of a heart-eyes Maya, you'd get broken ribs or a broken heart. Again.

The fight was getting fun but they seemed like ants around a sugarcane, always coming for more. Maya threw herself and one of those man through the wall and you felt the urge to kiss her. She fought all of them, with guns first and the with her own wrists. It made you gawk at her, your heart beating faster. You were flustered. She used the pistol wires as a whip and you moaned in your mind. "That's kinda sexy.", you thought, taking a mental note of how much of Catwoman she resembled. You'd tell her later.

The jacket trick got you biting your lip, and you almost aplaused her flawless aim.

But then Zane brought Boonie and you grunted. "Asswhole.", you mumbled.

They gathered again, around Maya and Henry, guns on their heads. But you were ready too. With your gun in hand and your eyes on them, it'd take Zane down with a buttlet to the head in no time.

 But his phone rang and his plans changed. And so did yours.

You watched Boonie leave and had to stop yourself from offering some ice to put on her face. Poor girl, getting punched like that for free.  When Maya went back inside, you made up your mind about what to do next. After tonight's events, you had to talk to her.

-

Check out my redbubble shop:  https://www.redbubble.com/people/MilenaFernandes/shop?asc=u

toss a coin to your artist (me) at ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/mebemilena

[goodluckdetective]

Fic: Safe Ship, Harbored (Tumblr Edition) Chapter 1/3

Ship: Aziraphale/Crowley

Fandom: Good Omens

Rating: PG-13

AO3

Summary: 

Six months after Aziraphale breaks his metaphorical heart, he crash lands right on the hood of Crowley’s car.

In all of Crowley’s pathetic dreams about seeing Aziraphale again, he never thought this was how it was going to go.

Notes:

There comes a time when one must dust off their keyboard and write a fix-it, not because the scene needs fixing but because sometimes you need to provide some conflict resolution to tide you over. I'm posting this in fragments just for my sanity. I'm hoping to update once a week. I have 6k total, so there's plenty still there. The title comes from The Crane Wives song of the same name. Thank you to my Beta readers Rose and @the-moon-loves-the-sea on Tumblr.

Fic is below:

Six months after Aziraphale left Crowley for a bloody promotion, Crowley woke up in the Bentley to find a beam of light shining through the front windshield. 

Crowley didn’t need to sleep in the Bentley anymore: Shax had left him his apartment and Crowley was once again in the possession of a rather plush king sized bed. It was a nice bed, Crowley had actually gone to the trouble of trying out mattresses across London before manifesting the one he wanted in his own space. However, iit was also a bed Aziraphale once (platonically) shared with him the night after what was supposed to be the end of the world, and thus it carried some baggage. So every few weeks or so, when Crowley would wake from a nightmare and reach across for a sleeping angel, he would end up walking down to his car and instead sleep in the backseat. There was no room for two beings to rest in the backseat, and it smelled like his plants, which made it superior to stuffy angels.

The Bentley however, lacked curtains, which meant that when the sun beam shone down from the heavens at three in the morning, it also shone right into Crowley’s face. Crowley hissed, tongue forking, and wiped his hand across his eyes. By the time he had found his sunglasses, the beam was already gone, no sign that it was there in the first place except a cream coloured envelope on his dashboard. From the backseat, Crowley could see his name written on the back in fresh black ink. He knew that handwriting; how could he not? He had a box full of letters written by that same hand over the centuries hidden in his flat.

Crowley regarded the letter much like one would regard a skunk in their immediate vicinity. Part of him was tempted to go back to sleep and leave the letter for the morning, where he could visit a tavern after reading its contents to get drunk. Another part of him thought of setting it on fire, if only to make a point for Heaven’s newest top archangel that he wasn’t going to correspond in the form of heavenly post. And another part of Crowley, the part that was made of jagged torn edges that mourned over the hollow pit Aziraphale left with his departure, was desperate to read every last word. As if a simple piece of paper with familiar handwriting could even sooth even a fraction of that ache.

The last part won out, though Crowley took his time crawling from the backseat into the front. It was always a pain to change spots in the car without getting out of it or teleporting, but Crowley was still snake enough to take pride in fitting through small spaces. Once he managed to sit down, he reached out for the envelope with a hand that did not shake and regarded his name on the back.

Anthony J Crowley. Not Crawley, not “adversary”, not just Crowley but the full name he’d picked for himself. This letter had to be from Aziraphale alright; even if heaven could fake Aziraphale’s handwriting, they couldn’t fake enough effort to learn and use the actual name Crowley preferred. Crowley flipped over the letter and regarded the wax seal. The wax was a ruby red, and it reminded Crowley of the colour of those apples in the Garden. He rubbed his thumb over the front and hesitated.

After a few months of getting outrageously drunk, Crowley had made an effort to try to make a life outside of Aziraphale. That was what Nina and Maggie had advised him the last time he’d been in Soho, popping into their respective shops to check in on the bookshop without actually going inside. Maggie had handed him newspaper and tabloid clippings about recovering from bad breakups, which Crowley pretended to throw away but actually read. Nina, on the other hand, had taken one look at him sitting in his car and listening to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac and told him he “needed to build some resilience.” 

It was pathetic, being fretted about by two mortals with only a limited understanding of his own problems, but Crowley hadn’t had the energy to resist their pushing. So he’d read the clippings, moved his things back into his flat and sought out to build something for himself for once, rather than for himself and Aziraphale. 

Crowley now owned a calendar that he sometimes used. He’d joined a community gardening group where people found his methods off-putting but not so much to be considered alarming. He reached out to Muriel (never in the bookshop, he refused to step foot into the bookshop) and sought to teach them the basics of passing as human less they blow occult beings cover for the next century. He’d even stopped by to visit Anathema for advice on blocking himself from heaven and hell, and spent twenty minutes complaining about inaccuracies of demons in some of her books.

It wasn’t a satisfying existence. He knew his many new connections were mortal, and like those mortal connections before them, would one day be taken away by Death themselves. But he wasn’t outright miserable most days, which was an improvement. He’d managed to turn the loss of Aziraphale from an open wound into a constant ache; always present but not always debilitating. Were Crowley to open this letter, he thought, he’d be ripping open the wound anew, letting in waves of fresh hurt with it. And for what? For Aziraphale to beg him to become Heaven’s choir boy? To receive instructions about how he needed to stay out of holy business? To read that he still had Aziraphale’s books about early astronomy and Azirapahle wanted them back? It really wasn’t worth it. He’d be far better off leaving the letter unread.

The problem was, well, Crowley had been the serpent of Eden for a reason. He’d always had a taste for knowledge. It was both his best trait and his most damming attribute. The tempter was weak to what it should not touch; questions, knowledge, Principalities. If he was going to break his heart even further, at least it would be on brand. 

With that thought, he opened the letter. The stationary was not the type Aziraphale favoured, too crisp with no texture. Crowley could practically smell the heaven on it; the office smell of starched suits and overpriced coffee. He unfolded it, smoothed it out and then began to read. 

It was less than six sentences. That was reason enough for alarm; Aziraphale would never write something in three words that he could accomplish in three paragraphs. He was only this brief under two circumstances; when he was furious and when he could not spare more time to write. As Crowley read, it became obvious this situation was the latter. 

If you have received this letter, I’ve failed yet again. I have no right, but I must ask one more thing of you and I implore you to listen.

Go to Alpha-Cebtarui. Or any star. Heaven is coming: please be safe. 

I’m sorry. 

Before Crowley was even done finishing the last line, he was starting the car and plotting the fastest way to get the entrance to heaven. He still had that outfit and sticker: it would work again to sneak in. If he needed to sneak in anyway; as much as Aziraphale had hurt him, he doubted he’d try to keep him out. Crowley would just go up, get this all sorted for the sake of his enjoyment of fine wine and whiskey, and then leave with as much of his dignity intact as he could muster. He pressed down on the gas and-

The Bentley for the first time in his century of owning it, did not move. Instead, the headlights shone into night and Queen’s Don’t Lose Your Head began to play. 

“Oh come on. Now is not the time to be throwing a fit.” 

The Bentley’s headlights turned off along with the engine entirely. The Queen, however, kept playing.

“Is this your way of trying to protect me? I’m a demon, I don’t have any dignity to save. Where was this level of protectiveness when I decided to drink three bottles of Jeppson’s Malort?”

The Jeppson’s Malort was a low point in his post Aziraphale sulk. After spending so much time stationed in London, Crowley had decided to leave the city where every location reminded him of soft blonde curls and a lovely smile, and do some travelling. Said travelling mostly consisted of hitting up bars across the world and drinking as much of their liquor as he could stand. The Malort, he’d encountered in a tiny hole in the wall on the Southwest Side of Chicago. After drinking three full bottles, he’d woken up in the Adler Planetarium, his drunken corrections of the stars' ages scrawled across the planetarium sky.  After that, he’d sworn off his tour and returned to London, where the grey clouds greeted his mood like an old friend. 

The Bentley still did not move. Crowley scowled, slapping his hand on the dashboard.  With his other hand, he waved the letter around.

“Look, this is important. I appreciate your concerns but I have self respect-“

The engine started with a low whine then stopped again. Crowley’s lips curled into a frown.

“Okay, I don’t, but I’m not going to let him walk all over me. He might be in real trouble and that means the world might be in real trouble. Do you want to try driving off road in space because if the world is done for, so is pavement!”

The Bentley’s lights flared on and Crowley was thrust into the steering wheel as it moved exactly one foot forward and parked there. The letter fell out of his hand with the shock and he fumbled grabbing it with his other free hand. He pressed down on the gas again and scowled.

“What in Satan’s name are you waiting for-“

After centuries of experiencing the invention known as weather, Crowley had gotten somewhat used to things falling from the sky. He’d been one of them. Rain, snow, sleet; it was all part of being on the Earth’s surface. He’d also seen some unusual things come from above, God had enjoyed some oddball signs in the early days, and thus Crowley considered himself well prepared for most things the upper atmosphere could throw at him.

When something large crashed into the front of the Bentley, grazing the front and shaking the pavement, Crowley was entirely thrown off guard.

“What the-“ Crowley sprang out of the car, the letter he’d been holding falling from his grasp. It was dark out, but with the Bentley’s headlights and his own vision, he could see the figure that had fallen in front of him. Their clothing, once clean white, was torn in places. The jacket they wore, at least 50 years out of fashion, was missing a few buttons. Face down on the pavement, they groaned like one waking up from a hangover. 

Crowley took a step forward and reached out, grabbing the figure’s shoulder to turn them on their back.  Before he move them over, he knew exactly who was in front of him; how could he not? He’d recognize those blonde-white curls anywhere. And those bright blue eyes, slightly teary but trying desperately to hold them back to save face. The same his eyes had looked the last time Crowley saw him.

“Aziraphale?” Crowley whispered. Aziraphale had a massive cut on his cheek and he looked up at Crowley and smiled. The same smile he given Crowley for thousands of years and then tried to hide. Maybe it was due to his current state, but he didn’t hide it now. Instead, his gaze drifted to the Bently and chagrined look graced his face. Like he’d been caught enjoying Crowley’s music instead of free falling right onto his car.

“Oh dear,” Aziraphale said, one hand coming up to pat Crowley on the arm. “I tried to not hit the car.”

With that, Aziraphale’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he passed out.

[verladyweek]

DAY SEVEN: All things end, Dante. Even Verlady Week.

Verlady Nation, I am so happy to be a part of you and to have been a small part of this amazing event week. While the day is not quite over yet, it's getting late in my part of the world, and I want to take the opportunity to say a few things before we all give ourselves and each other a well-deserved pat on the back and say farewell to Verlady Week 2024.

First of all: Thank. You. To all of you. To each and everyone who left a like, shared a post, saw a post and forwarded it to their one (1) friend who they thought could maybe get a kick out of it. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time out of their day to hop over to AO3 and leave a kudos or even a comment on one of the (so far) EIGHTEEN! (pardon my excitement, but that number necessitates all-caps) wonderfully intriguing short stories that have been created for this week - and I know that there are still some stories in the works that are not quite done editing yet. To put this number into perspective, there are - as of the moment of me writing this post - 131 stories in the Lady/Vergil tag on AO3. Which means that almost 14% of all VL stories on AO3 were created in the span of this event week.

Like. You guys. Are beasts. And I say that with awe and adoration.

Thank you to everyone who shared a song - I made a Spotify playlist out of the suggestions and will share it in the masterpost I will compile sometime in the next week.

Thank you for sharing your headcanons and your personal thoughts regarding the intricacies of how you view Verlady's dynamic.

Thank you for all the funny memes! For the photo manipulations! For the renders! Thank you for sharing how Verlady has influenced your real life in small ways, like tiny heart/cheeks on your fingernail.

And I know that was already a very long section of "first of all", but I just wanted to add one last thing:

Thank you so much for every single person who has started a project inspired by this event, regardless of whether you actually finished and shared it or not! All I ever hoped for, was that people would find ways to enjoy this ship and maybe even engage with each other, and I am so happy to say that you have literally made my whole week, I am completely blown away by all of your hard work and the love and support you show each other.

You can still share any works you have not finished yet, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now, it doesn't matter, I got you. Just yell at me give me a ping and I'll reblog your post and add you to the masterlist!

If I have - for whatever reason - NOT reblogged a post you made for this event, please reach out to me! I am so sorry. I promise it was a genuine mistake on my part. I check the event tag regularly, but I might have missed a post or two by accident.

Now, second of all: some of you have already expressed that they would like to see this event return, and I absolutely 100% agree. Next Verlady Week will run from September 8th to September 14th 2025 - and if you happen to have the time or energy for a side hustle, there's always VXLENTINE'S DAY 2025 on February 14th.

Before I go into more detail about the latter, I want to talk about the former for just one more second: I will post a link to a Google form sometime next week, allowing you to anonymously suggest prompts that you'd like to explore or see others explore for Verlady Week 2025. I actually have this huge mountain of unused prompts leftover from brainstorming this year's event, but if any of you have any unfinished WIPs and you think that "oh well, maybe participating in next year's event is that final push of Motivation(TM) I need to finally finish this", then please, toss a fitting suggestion my way and I will do my best to include it. Or if there is any concept you've always wanted to explore with Vergil and Lady, just yell at me over on Google Forms, or in my DMs (@verladyweek or @kintsugicore) or just write a frenzied post here on Tumblr one morning, explaining in excruciating detail how you are haunted by visions of Vergil accidentally becoming a stripper and Lady running into him on her friend's bachelorette party and I will probably nod in agreement and mutter "I bet that is all just one of Dante's elaborate ploys to do the And Now Kiss(TM) with them" and add something like Striptease to the prompt sheet.

There will not be any prompt voting because VXLENTINE'S taught me that there are certain limitations to how well I can restructure my RL to allow me pockets of time to organize forms and polls and put together necessary graphics, etc. But as of now, I don't think voting is necessary. Verlady nation is tiny, and if any of you want to suggest any prompts (would love ideas for any misc. prompts, tbh!), I think it will be easy to fit at least one suggested prompt per person into next year's prompt sheet!

Now. VXLENTINE'S! I am so so sorry that I didn't manage to put together a poll or a prompt post yet. To simplify the process of choosing the next prompt, I have decided to show you the suggestions I received and explain which suggestion I chose to use and why.

Now, different first meeting is the one person who left empty-handed, but I have decided to carry that prompt over to Verlady Week 2025 instead (so, there's your first prompt, ha!)

VXLENTINE'S DAY 2025 will have the prompt "Sweet Surprise" because I felt it checked the most boxes for prompts suggested. It can be made to fit for a gift, but also for a blind date or first date or any of the other things person #2 suggested, really. Technically, depending on how you envision that Different First Meeting, it could probably work for that one, too.

I will make a proper announcement post for next year's VXLENTINE'S DAY when the dust has settled for a bit and we've all had time to read through everyone's wonderful contributions to Verlady Week and the stress we may have experienced the past few days no longer feels as draining. (And again, you were all so amazing! You did so well! You've put the D in Dedication.)

To close out this already very long post: Verlady Nation is probably among the tiniest little fringe existences in this fandom. It was so nice to be a little louder than we usually are. Thank you again, so much. I hope to see you again in February, and maybe September 2025!

Godspeed and keep on shipping!

[peachjagiya]

“His career goals and music style are highly marketable” sounds like a reformed way of saying only certain genres will do well which is what the comp has been pushing since it branched out into the US and what the fandom repeats to justify their clear bias towards being ot2.

Ok I'm not sure on your tone here. I think you're being salty.

There's a lot of assumption in this ask.

You're assuming I am basing my opinion on what the company pushes.

Not to be this guy but I've mentioned before I have 35 years experience in UK radio. Bear in mind UK radio which has it's own set of rules but that's where I'm based, that's where my opinion comes from. And if the company is saying only certain genres will do well, uhhhh... they are right, sadly. The actual problem would be if they said only certain ARTISTS would do well.

From my experience with playlisting very mainstream commercial radio, Jungkook's music is highly marketable for mainstream play. I got Standing Next To You added to my primarily 70s, 80s and 90s radio stations rotation by playing it to the SM who had never heard of Jungkook and only vaguely knew of BTS and he just loved what it sounded like.

Jimin also has a very commercial sound. As does The Astronaut. Namjoon's Still Life absolutely definitely has marketability but I'd say maybe Change Pt 2 doesn't, for example.

Fri[end]s has viability too but Layover might be a touch too experimental and chilled for mainstream play. For Us could be the exception. Think about how many pop songs you hear with that pitched up vocal. It's a very commercial sound. But then it gets very laid back after that and laid back sounds are a hard sell on radio when sometimes you have to keep the energy up (breakfast radio and drive time radio for example.) These aren't fandom opinions. They're just tried and tested principles of commercial airplay.

Rap like AgustD and Hope would usually probably end up on a genre show or in a "spice" playlist (which is like very limited play over a month to add a bit of interest) which is by definition a niche.

(Side note: and I think any of them would be happy to accept these truths if it means they're making music they love that feels authentic?!)

And almost every single by BTS has marketability. It's not an illegal word or a stick to beat anyone with. It's not a criticism. It's not an indicator of selling out or whatever stupid shit people want to throw at Jungkook. It just happens he loves to make pop music which is called popular music for a REASON.

You're also assuming I'm active in fandom and have a single clue what anyone says - Nah. It's just me on tumblr with a small circle of follows, occasionally seeing the odd tweet and sending my wife stupid BTS memes on Instagram.

You're also assuming I recognise OT2 as a thing. I don't even know what that means, if I'm honest. I'm Tae-biased OT7. I certainly don't recognise any two members as being better musicians or more valuable than others and my personal musical preference actually favours Hope, Yoongi and Tae so...

A side effect of doing this for many years is that I have to be realistic in how I listen to music and recognise where it will fit. It's not about who I like more.

If you were being nice and I just misunderstood, send me another ask and tell me off. :D

Boo anon/Thanks anon, depending on your intent. But have a heart regardless 💜

[zepskies]

Hi Zep! Buckle up because I have a number of picks for your ask game! How about 2, 10, 17, 40, 48, 55 and 70?

Hey Michelle! Hope you're having a lovely Sunday. ☀️💜

Omg these are amazing questions!!

Lmfao this is hilarious to me, but I actually had to think hard about this one. My pre-writing/outlining process is pretty methodical. However, I think the biggest time the narrative hijacked my hands was in Smoke Eater (firefighter!Dean x reader).

I had several scenes in the original outline that just weren't fitting right when I got to the drafting stage, to the point where I had to chuck them out entirely. Also, the whole murder mystery that's central to the narrative was complex to tease out, but that also took me by surprise when I was outlining!

I wasn't intending to go that route at first, but when I thought of including John Winchester and Cas as homicide detectives (drawing from my childhood obsession with Law & Order), it kind of just started coming to me.

So I usually have the premise of the idea before the title. It's gotten easier as I've become more experienced as a writer, but sometimes I just put a placeholder title that kind of encapsulates the idea before I come up with something better, then I start outlining/researching.

Often I get placeholder titles from songs/lyrics of what will likely give me inspiration for the story, and sometimes those titles stick!

Ooh another great question. 😂 Funnily enough, the ones that come to me off the top of my head are mostly from Break Me Down:

M.M. scoffed, with a subtle shake of his head.  “Nah, man,” he said ruefully. “That’s true motherfuckin’ love.”

And a fun one:

“Alert the media,” you said. “We’ve got the ultimate weapon against Soldier Boy: a slow ride on his dick.”

😂 This one also sticks out in my mind from the Midnight Espresso-verse - Devour Me (Part 2), as a playful one I was weirdly proud of lol:

“Question: do you consider yourself more of a tits or ass man?” you ask him. You’re half teasing, but still curious. Dean snorts at the question.  “More of a connoisseur,” he replies, smirking.  “Ah.” You nod sagely, and you point between him and yourself. “So this is like a ‘sample the menu’ situation.” Dean’s smirk deepens. “Sweetheart, you’re a goddamn buffet.”

Finally, this one from the imagine "You are Dean's one exception":

Oh man, that's very tough. I've been blessed to get some amazing feedback from you and others, and believe it or not, I do go back and reread comments and reblogs. It puts a smile on my face whether I'm having a bad day, or want to continue smiling on a good one. 💖

I think one of the best compliments I can receive, however, is that a story touched someone on an emotional level and somehow got them through a difficult time in their life, or is one of their "comfort stories." That's happened a few times, and it almost makes me cry every time. 🥲

I can also say that you, @chernayawidow, and @waynes-multiverse have given me some of the best feedback I've ever gotten on stories. Not just because the other two have made me cheese grin/nearly cry of laughter, but also because all of you are writers and have been able to tell me narratively (or on a character development level) what you liked about what I was doing in a story. As a writer, that kind of feedback is amazing as well. 💖💖

Also, some of my favorite feedback of all time has been on Midnight Espresso -- whether it's been people thanking me for the representation of the Hispanic/Latin culture, or sharing experiences with being plus-sized and how that's viewed in society. 💗

😬😬 Ahh guilty, lol. At the risk of sounding prideful, I think if you're doing it right, you should be writing the stories you want to write. So it stands to reason that you should be able to enjoy reading your own work. 💜

None on Tumblr, but unfortunately I do have a few on FF.net, which I don't even post on anymore, and maybe one or two on Ao3. Sometimes you just lose the drive to write for that fandom, especially if engagement is down. Sometimes you just move on to other things.

I'm a voracious editor. I believe good writing is also good editing -- that's just part of the process. So yes I guess I can be self-critical. lol

Sometimes I'll be rereading something, and I'll go in and edit it after it's already been posted for months, whether it's a typo, or a line that doesn't sound quite right for the character, or part of a scene that I think needs smoothing out. I guess I'm a bit of a perfectionist that way. 😅

Again, thank you so much for these questions, my friend!! I'm going to be sending you some too very soon. 😘

[spaceyaceface]

Ace's HL Writing Challenge

Well folks, we did it!!! After five long years, this blog has reached 1,100 followers, which is amazing!!! As a thank you, I wanted to celebrate your talent by doing a Hogwarts Legacy writing challenge! More inforamation under the cut :)

How it will work:

I'm keeping it pretty simple. The rules are down below. To sign up, simply send me an ask with the prompt number and character/ship you'll be writing for. For now, we'll do just one person per a prompt, but that may change depending on how much participation there is.

When you've written your work, just post here on tumblr and tag me! I'll be reblogging each of the works that are submitted and giving positive feedback!

The rules:

Must be focused on characters from Hogwarts Legacy. AUs, adding OCs, etc, is more than welcome, but make sure that it involves characters from the game.

That being said, it can be ANY characters from the game! It can be x reader/MC, ships of two characters from the game, or not have any romance and just the dynamics of different characters. Whatever tickles your fancy!

Please, no NSFW or smut. Keep things PG-13 for this one :)

No word limits---just have fun!

You don't need to use the exact prompt in your work. You can do so if you choose, or rephrase it, or just go off of vibes alone lol.

The Prompts:

I will keep this updated for what prompts are/aren't available. All of these are song lyrics, and a playlist of all the songs used is available down below :)

"I was never one for short endings or cheap goodbyes." @shiinzhon

2. "I still don't know how to get to you." @talesofesther Sebastian x Reader

3. "I hear a storm is coming in--My dear, is it all we've ever been?"

4. "You go to find another place for your sun to shine."

5. "For the record, I've made my hell."

6. "I will wait for you, though I can't wait forever."

7. "Let's dance until the sun aches, love until our bones break." @shadowtriovibes Sebastian x MC

8. "Expectation is the currency of fools, and I spent it on you." @boomingsmile

9. "Now I feel like I'm finally me."

10. "I pretended I could read your thoughts, now it's just the truth."

11. "I'm in love when you're around."

12. "Can you hold on just for a little while longer?"

13. "I lost you when I lost me."

14. "I've done so many things wrong, I don't know if I can do right."

15. "A man can never dream these kinds of things."

16. "If I shut my eyes, will you appear? Because I'm not me without you here."

17. "Lonely are the ones who fall from love."

18. "One look and it all falls down."

19. "Even while you hold me as I cry on the floor, I still don't know how to be yours."

20. "If you're leaving I gotta know why."

21. "All my emotions feel like explosions when you're around."

22. "I want to find a home and I want to share it with you." @shadowtriovibes MC x TBD

23. "I like you, say it back."

24. "How can I be the boy you dream about?” @ravenelyx Sebastian x MC

25. "Just so easy when the whole world fits inside of your arms."

26. "I hope I'm not the last of what the world gave you.”

27. "We thought love was something we weren't meant to find."

28. “I was afraid to let it happen, but now I cannot forget it.”

29. "I could cut my hands on your edges, but I won't pull away."

30. "I swore that I'd become a better man for you and I tried." @sallow-tales Sebastian x MC

31. "I usually hate these cliches, but loving you feels that way." @eggymf

32. "The funny thing about love is it makes you wait."

33. "It's hard to find an end to something that you keep beginning." @localravenclaw - Sebastian x f!MC

34. "It happened when I least expected it." @finalgirllx

35. "And we wait until one of us caves." @emptycauldron

Playlist link

[phanfictioncatalogue]

Fluffy Ending (2) Masterlist

part one

All That Really Counted (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: "Imagine your OTP in bed after a fight, facing away from each other. They both begin to feel guilty about the quarrel, and roll over to apologize… at the same time. They do it so abruptly that they bump their heads together. After being dazed for a few moments, they giggle and kiss, twining their legs together and snuggling. They quietly murmur their apologies and endearments to each other until they fall asleep." based off of this tumblr prompt. (x)

Boy (wattpad) - wreckthisphan

Summary: “You’re an idiot but I’m an even bigger idiot, so let’s fall in love”. In which Phil is selectively mute but Dan can’t hear so that’s okay.

could've knocked me out with a feather (ao3) -deletable_bird

Summary: “Thank you, love you,” says the guy, and freezes. Dan’s smile suddenly feels a lot more genuine. Fluff, 2.6k

Flower Crown Luck (ao3) - HeartsAndSpades

Summary: Punk!Phil has a slight crush on Pastel!Dan and when Dan drops his flower crown in the library, Phil returns it and they start talking.

Friends Shouldn't Kiss Me Like You Do (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: Dan knows Phil is in love with him, and has been since 2009. But as he realizes his feelings for Phil, Phil slowly stops loving him.

Hotel Day (ao3) - Fluffyphanfics

Summary: Dan and Phil do not have enough energy to go out of the hotel since they were at a YouTube event (you can choose). So, they have a lazy/fun day at the hotel

How Rare and Infinite It Truly Is That We Exist (ao3) - Felilla

Summary: In which Phil is obsessed with the stars and Dan realizes he’s in love with his best friend.

I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it - phantasticlizzy

Summary: He feels it when Dan’s thumb is wiggling out of his grasp, rubbing the pink skin under his eye relentlessly, making Phil squint. “Stop that,” Dan says. His voice is commanding but also soft and it only makes Phil cry harder.

or: the aftermath of a fight

little by little (ao3) - deletable_bird

Summary: Dan's voice is voice relaxed and liquid, his posture much the same. He’s draped over the arm of the couch, looking at Phil upside down, the rim of a half-full wine glass clasped in the fingertips of his right hand. “You’re drunk, you arse,” Phil tells him, skirting the coffee table and sitting down at his feet.

Love Of My Life (Phan Fluff) (ao3) - thegirlwholikestowrite

Summary: I suck at summaries. Three words; Phan, fluff, coffeshop.

Play Me A Song, Write Me A Story (ao3) - phanimist

Summary: Dan is an English teacher who loves words but doesn’t quite love his job, and Phil is the new band conductor/music teacher with bright blue eyes that Dan loves to describe.Their friendship blossoms instantly, despite both of them wanting more right from the start.

Sick in New Years (ao3) - Fluffyphanfics

Summary: Prompt: Phil got really sick and he decided to have New Year alone at the apartment but Dan surprises him.

That Guy (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: One video by a certain YouTuber has Dan Howell wondering for years.

We Always Come Home (ao3) - YourEyesHoldTheGalaxy

Summary: Dan comes back early from Playlist to an empty new flat and wonders what that means for him and his future with Phil.

We'll Never Be Royals (Extended) (ao3) - phanimist

Summary: royalty au where phil's the kind handsome prince and dan's a poor commoner who dreams of becoming world class musician. phil's parents hold a ball so he can meet his suitors, but he ends up falling for the pianist instead.

We’re Okay - whatisfanfiction

Summary: Dan is scarred, probably forever, which makes him vulnerable to ‘fits’. Phil, who takes Dan under his wing, tries to make things easier. Its just kinda angst with a really fluffy ending.

What was 2012? (ao3) - Yayroos

Summary: Dan and Phil talk about what 2012 was to them, now that they are together at last.

You Are Not Trivial (ao3) - phanimist

Summary: dan being a ghost doesn’t once hinder the friendship between him and phil. the two are constantly there for each other, despite their various differences in problems, and they never let the concepts of what’s ‘real’ and what isn’t define them and the relationship they have.

You're Beautiful (ao3) - Kovicenterprises

Summary: Dan's a sleepy baby and Phil can't help but fall in more in love with him every minute.

You’re Mine and I’m Yours - danalingphil-fics

Summary: Phil get’s possessive over Dan. Fluffy ending.

[nadvs]

hii i love your story sm that i’ve made a playlist for it😭 i’ll keep adding more songs when new chapters drop, hope you like the playlist <3

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4Zi3iMl05tNIxLQWOPhPVn?si=-o-tD4jBSSiD01QPIrbnRw

HOLD UPPP THIS IS LIKE THE BIGGEST HONOR TO GET AS A WRITER WOW 😭 i saw a post on here ages ago about readers sharing their interpretations of fics through art and music and i remember thinking how cool it would be if someone actually enjoyed my work so much that they created something out of it?? wow i love you 😭😭😭 ok this is gonna get long so i had to put an under the cut but damn i loved this playlist 🥺

first of all i have to say when i saw cry by cigarettes after sex i literally said “no way” out loud because when i tell you how many times i’ve listened to that song while writing this fic because it has the exact vibe that i’m trying to capture… i’m floored!!

like are you joking… rafe hating himself and being unable to see himself as good? years of pushing her away, while wishing deep down he could return her love and wondering why she even has any left for him? god

**

HAPPINESS IS A BUTTERFLY 🥺 another reader mentioned this song, too!!

him being broken and her seeing past it and still wanting him. it hurts

**

i have to say when i saw sade on this playlist, i needed a moment… i adore her 🥺

godddd i think this song fits them both 😭 they carry around so much pain and she’s ashamed of not being there for him the way he needed and he’s ashamed of the person he’s become. ow

**

also sza actually owns my heart fr and this song is so so so beautiful 💘

BOTH POVS like “i don’t want to lose what’s left of you” actually kills me because even though rafe is a broken version of who he used to be, she wants what’s left, and “only like myself when i’m with you” is so him because everyone else wrote him off but she sees the good and being with her is the only time he doesn’t hate himself?

**

ok this billie song full on made me cry 🥺 “sometimes you look the same, just like you did before the accident” is so painful. the way she sees glimpses of the boy she knew, even for a second 🥺

i actually can’t believe how perfect this is to the story. they have so many “what if’s” between them and it’s the very definition of his grief 😭

**

like this is actually from her diary. the way she doesn’t tell him all the things that haunt her because she wants him to have his peace. her leaving such a bad relationship and not knowing what it’s like for someone who doesn’t hurt her 😭

**

i had to pull two lyrics from ghostin because i’m losing it…

this to me just screams the feeling of fate between them. if any other man pushed her away like he did, she’d give up but she’ll never give up on him 😭

HIS POV SO HARD. she never lost patience for him, not once, and he feels so guilty for it 😭 it’d be easier if she hated him so he could hate her back, but she never will!!

**

not only does rafe suffer because of the drugs, but because of how he decided to cut everyone out, including the girl who knew him best. he pays every day for what happened and how he dealt with it but it became second nature to him 😭

**

“good looking” is fr one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful songs ever!!

her learning about how deep his trauma goes and uncovering his secrets? her remembering that there was a time he loved her, adored her, and wishing he could find it in his heart to love her again 😭

**

FYM APPARENTLY TUMBLR HAS AN IMAGE LIMIT OF TEN FOR POSTS?? 😠

this playlist is impeccable. thank you so much for reading my work and for making something that so beautifully compliments it 🥹💘 i fr have put so much into this fic and the feeling of knowing it resonated with someone so much is truly indescribable. I LOVE U

[in-my-loki-feels]

🎥(cheating but bad things verse as a whole?) 🤩🟥🥘😁

Thank you for the ask! (From this game.)

🎥 Pick a fic and I'll tell you the song I imagine playing during its movie trailer.

I loved this question! It really made me examine all the songs on my Bad Things playlist. For the 'verse as a whole, I'd pick "You Are Mine" by Mutemath. I almost titled the most recent fic "Objects of Affection" based on the lyrics:

There are objects of affection That can mesmerize the soul There is always one addiction That just cannot be controlled

It's such a chill song, though, so it probably makes terrible trailer music. "Make You Mine" by Madison Beer would be a better beat to cut scenes to and fits just as well. (And thank you very much for introducing it to me!)

🤩 What's the most meaningful comment you've ever received?

Now I'm going to cheat because there isn't one single comment, but instead a lot of the comments I've received on the Bad Things fics that have been some of the most meaningful I've ever received. I've never written for a character like President Loki, where people love him or hate him (or don't give a shit about him), and having readers say that my fic(s) made them actually care about him has been huge. That, and hearing that I managed to create a fully fleshed out being, with complexity and depth, from someone we saw for maybe 2 minutes. If there's a better way to make me feel accomplished in my writing, I don't know it. I'm not joking when I say that, mentally, I'm taking those comments and clutching them to my chest. <3

🟥 How long do you spend in edits?

Once I complete a first draft, I usually do at least 2-3 passes through it, which probably takes a week if I'm able to work on it a little each day. After that, I always try to leave it alone for at least a day before I come back for the final check. I've learned from experience that if I just keep poking at it without taking that break, I'll miss things and also get frustrated with the fic as a whole.

🥘 What wip are you most excited about?

I'm usually most excited about whatever I'm currently working on (which is why I'm writing that) but right now I'm between two wips. I was really excited about the appropriately named Jet Ski wip but then I typed a sentence that threw me for such a loop I had to abandon it and move on to the Stranded In Asgard wip.

Actually, the shorter (and better) answer is: whichever Bad Things 'verse fic is next. <3

😁 What makes you happiest? New fic comments, kudos, bookmarks, user subscribers, story subscribers, or Tumblr asks?

Definitely comments! I just love hearing what readers think about my fics and the more detail the better. It also usually gives me a chance to talk more about the characters/story, which I'm always eager to do. I'd place Tumblr asks second for that reason, though I think they're less frequent. (I liked your point about notes in bookmarks but my fics almost always have bookmarks without notes, so I didn't place them higher on this list.)

[littlesparklight]

<3 thank you @papillon82fluttersby :D

The Rules: Tag (9) people you want to know better and/or catch up with, then answer the following:

Four ships:

Zeus/Ganymede: feel like it'd be a crime not to start here, haha. I've always been into mythology, but randomly thinking about Ganymede's myth a couple years ago now (that long!!) got me wanting to read Greek myth stuff, and I started with the Iliad (for the Trojan-related angle) and the Bibliotheke, and so. I might currently be more focused elsewhere but this is still my beloved ship <3 You can do so much with them, and, especially, I'd say, by interpreting them as mutually in love. There's obviously other m/m couples in Greek myth and even one of those that at first looks tragic doesn't need to end that way (Apollo/Hyacinthus) but there are so many reasons Zeus/Ganymede is the one that has me by the throat.

Menelaos/Paris: Honestly, looking back I'm not quite sure how I didn't zero in on this one from reading the Iliad itself the first time, because this is definitely one of the flavours of ships I love. This ship is also what led to, first, Helen/Menelaos/Paris for me and then Helen/Paris, because 99% of the time I just don't care at all about het ships. This ship is also why I currently am like I am about Paris! Make no mistake, I didn't hate or dislike him before that, either, like the majority of Tumblr (and elsewhere) seem to do; reading the Iliad I mostly thought him kinda hapless and inoffensive, so going from there and liking him wasn't that big of a step. The possibility of them having bonded during those nine days in Sparta (or in Troy!), going from friends (or more) to enemies with complicated feelings still in the background is just so damn juicy to me.

Carmilla/Laura: original novella flavour! One day I hope to do a rewrite/retelling of my own, that would definitely end with Laura going or otherwise together with Carmilla, one way or another. The way Carmilla talks to/about Laura and what they feel for each other is just. so great. The caterpillar quote. The one about Laura loving her or hating her, and especially "love will have its sacrifices; no sacrifice without blood". And you know. The boob-biting to feed is extremely inspired and very hot, even if Le Fanu undoubtedly didn't mean it that way. I don't care. They're mine now. :)

Darth Vader & Luke Skywalker: Since I am so deeply into gen&family ships aside from romantic/sexual shipping, it feels, again, like a crime not to mention these two. The ST might have broken the back of my fannish engagement in SW currently, but these two? I love them. I love Luke's impossible and earnest belief in his father's inherent goodness, I love that fucking scene at the end of ESB where Vader reaches out and Luke reflexively, despite everything, says 'father?' HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE IT???

Last song: Oh, uhh... I don't remember, but it's possible it was Teeth by 5 Seconds of Summer (happens to be one of my Helen/Paris songs for late war lol). I end up listening to a row of songs while drawing, sometimes (which is the only time I can listen to music and actually do something else at the same time), but it could have been another one, just as well.

Currently reading: Iliaden - en cover, by Dimitrios Iordanoglou, which is a (pretty heavily, sometimes) abridged and modernized version of the Iliad where the language is extremely slangy sometimes and the setting has been moved into "present day". Everyone uses guns and stuff. Apollo's main epithet is now "the Bomber" lol and he uses bombs and grenades. It's both extremely fun(ny) and really interesting, even if the language used sometimes make me wince even when I get why he's chosen it. But it's exactly because I know the changes he's made etc. that makes it extra interesting. When he keeps lines word-for-word from the Iliad they both stick out and fit in very well and it's interesting to see that, too. Also, and much longer than the above, is Paris in the Epic Tradition : a Study in Homeric Techniques of Characterization by Roberto Nickel, his thesis from 1997! I've mentioned it before; Nickel is exploring the possibility of the Iliad having changed/presented Paris (a lot) differently from how he might have been in traditional oral epic material. It's really interesting!

Last movie: Dungeon and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves! Loved it, a lot of fun, and despite how long it was, it all moved along at a good clip, nothing dragged.

Craving: Uh... :C Fics/art for my rare pairs? lol

Tagging: @a-gnosis @battlinghurricanes @crowlilies @my-name-is-apollo @scribeprotra @kebriones

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

Thank you so much @inthedayswhenlandswerefew​ for allowing me to pick your brain again, and giving us a glimpse into your process for your amazing stories. 💜  

This series is near and dear to my heart, completely self-indulgent, but I am glad others are enjoying it too. You can look over the masterlist to see the other amazing authors I have spoken with; this series is just a BTS of some of the talented minds on Tumblr and ao3.     

Name: inthedayswhenlandswerefew

Story: Now I’m Covered in You

Paring: HotD/War of the Roses AU Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Rating/Warning: Language, sexual content (18+), dubious consent, miscarriage, pregnancy, childbirth, violence, warfare, murder, alcoholism, sexism, infidelity, illness, death, only vaguely historically accurate, lots of horses!

Where did the plot for Now I’m Covered in You come from?  I’ve always, always, always loved British history. I’ve read countless books (mostly nonfiction, some fiction) about it and when I studied abroad in college, out of a hundred possible locations I chose to go to the United Kingdom. London is still my favorite place on Earth and I would love to live there someday. It’s truly where I feel like I belong. NICIY is definitely inspired by my love of British history (especially Renaissance-era) as well as two phenomenal television series: The Tudors and The White Queen.

I had the idea for NICIY but was still warring with it—I desperately wanted it to just go away so my life could be nice and simple, haha!—when I was driving to work listening to my Spotify playlist. I have a long commute, about 40 minutes, so I listen to a LOT of Spotify. And Taylor Swift’s song Ivy came on and I was like…about to drive off the road it hit me so hard. It struck every chord of this story and made it louder, unignorable. The forbidden pining. The wintery, mournful, timeless quality. The idea of someone growing over you and through you, like ivy, and turning you into a whole new version of yourself. And ivy (the plant) is indomitable, it’s very difficult to get rid of and it ends up destroying a lot of other foliage. The love that Aemond and Ivy share is like that, but Ivy herself is too. She’s adaptive, resilient, and…under the right circumstances…a bit ruthless. She was always going to survive. What is your planning process? How do you know the steps that need to unfold? I really adore foreshadowing. But I have to be careful because there are a few people (like @aemcndtargaryen​) who have this superpower where they seem to be able to latch onto EVERY little hint. So I'm always working on perfecting that balance between foreshadowing and being the right amount of mysterious!

My planning process always starts with a chapter list. For each chapter—starting with the last few and then looping back to the first one—I give it a name and a few key words to remind myself of which major events go where. Then as phrases, scenes, and conversations occur to me, I write them non-chronologically. 

For example, one of the first parts of NICIY that I wrote was the miscarriage in Chapter 3 and the disjointed exchanges between Aemond and Ivy as she’s floating in and out of consciousness. I fill in the gaps when it’s time to publish each chapter. I think this helps me maintain a consistent thread of foreshadowing that runs throughout the story because when there’s a certain metaphor or phrase that I like, I’ll go ahead and drop it into every chapter where I think it’ll end up fitting, and then tweak it later if necessary. 

But honestly, there are a lot of aspects of writing that I still can’t really explain. Sometimes a phrase will pop into my head and I’m thinking “what??” and then, weeks later, I finally see how it fits in the design. It’s all rather mystical in a neat sort of way. Explain your interpretation of Aemond. What drives him? Why is he the way he is in NICIY? NICIY Aemond is, to me, a mirror image of canon Aemond and also the version of Aemond that appeared in my first HOTD fic, Have You No Idea That You’re In Deep? 

He’s a bit more sensitive, reserved, emotionally intelligent, merciful, and of course poetic. Sir Criston tells Ivy in Chapter 9 that Aemond had changed for the better since she arrived in England, and that is what allows him and Ivy to get their happy ending. NICIY Aemond is affected by his past, but he’s not ruled by it. He is ultimately motivated by the future—by the possibility of having a family with Ivy, and the need for England to be stable in order for that to happen—rather than retribution for past wrongs. So he tends to be less reckless and more forgiving. He does lose his temper at times, he’s still human (and watching your brother be married to the woman you love is stressful), but he tends to be able to move past that wrath quickly and shift to something more productive, for example strategizing or comforting.

However, it must be said: Aemond is rather unhinged when it comes to Ivy, like he behaves in a way that is borderline obsessive. I think that’s a natural consequence of someone who does not connect with 99% of humans finally feeling like he’s found a perfect match that he never believed would exist. But Aemond cares greatly for Ivy’s wellbeing and respects her autonomy/preferences, so it’s a partnership that works.

Was his poem to Ivy a Maggie original? So my main writing medium is fiction, but I do occasionally write poems. I don’t feel especially comfortable with poetry but every once in a while the inspiration strikes and I’ll write like five in a week, and then none for months at a time. They usually fit with one of my stories rather than as standalone pieces, for example the way that “Ivy” only occurred to me because it was an aspect of NICIY. It’s an unapologetically deranged poem, especially in the way that Aemond uses it—he confesses love that he can’t bear to express out loud and then runs away to hide in the chapel—but the sentiment is heartwarming, I think.

What was the inspiration for Ivy?  I spent a lot of time thinking about the values that were instilled in royal women of this time period (1400s) and how different personalities would cope with those pressures. Ivy is (generally) a dutiful wife and does genuinely want to be the mother of a large family, but she’s also more scrappy than a typical princess. I think this has a lot to do with her upbringing. 

Ivy is from Navarre, which was a relatively small and undistinguished kingdom, and we have hints that her family life was a lot less stifling and formal than Nico’s, Kunigunde’s, or Alicent’s. She did a lot of rough-and-tumble activities like sparring and horseback riding, and seems to have genuinely warm relationships with her parents and siblings (Alonzo!!! 😍). She has an innate willfulness and ferocity that Aemond is mesmerized by.

He was instantly attracted to her when she arrived in London—hence being too shy to interact with her—and then when he saw how bravely she handled challenges (Aegon, Daemon, the miscarriages, court gossip) he fell absolutely madly in love with her. Aemond values nothing more than strength in the face of adversity, and he desired AND respected Ivy in a way that transcended anything he’d felt before.

Aemond and Ivy’s first interaction in Chapter 1 is this odd moment because for Ivy, it seems random and confusing (although welcomed), but for Aemond it’s this culmination of a year of all-consuming clandestine longing. Aemond finally talking to Ivy is sort of by chance—he runs into her and is caught off-guard, therefore he hesitates too long to excuse himself gracefully—but he’s also pushed into it by how much she’s suffered in England up until that point. He genuinely feels tremendously sorry for her and feels that she deserves better…and he also feels a drive to protect her from further harm. Aemond wants Ivy to be happy, and that eventually overpowers his paralyzing shyness.

Why do you feel Ivy complements Aemond well? Ivy and Aemond complement each other wonderfully. She is amazed by him—his competence, his beauty—and gives him the tender, protective, unconditional sort of love that he has always craved. Ivy is also not disturbed by Aemond’s disfigurement and has difficulty understanding why Miss Kuni has such trepidation about it in Chapter 6. Ivy can understand the trauma that Aemond carries because she has suffered similarly—in both her miscarriages and in her marriage to Aegon—but she does not consider him limited by it. 

They are equally dutiful yet passionate, and have the capacity to be both extraordinarily gentle and selectively ruthless. They are a bit of a power couple, and accomplish more together than either could separately.

What was the inspiration for the character creation of Kunigunde? Kunigunde—who I always refer to fondly as Miss Kuni, it’s cute but also proper in a way that I think suits her—is the perfect Renaissance-era princess. 

She’s wealthy, she’s honorable, she’s loyal, she’s beautiful, she’s clever, she’s sporty, she’s confident, she’s all the Spice Girls rolled into one. But Aemond feels absolutely nothing for her. This is a manifestation of the fact that Aemond is truly changed by Ivy at this point, and that she has covered him; the old Aemond never would have dreaded a match that was THIS advantageous to the Greens, nor spurned a bride that is supposedly everything he’s always wanted. 

Furthermore, Aemond’s prior sexual experiences (with the exception of Ivy and the Bearskin Rug Incident™️) were not what we would consider to be consensual, and the trauma that he carries from that adds another layer to his inability to be intimate with Miss Kuni, someone that he not only doesn’t have feelings for, but also cannot touch without feeling that he’s betraying Ivy.

Miss Kuni does her absolute best in a terrible situation and demonstrates steadfast loyalty to Aemond and the Greens. This is in part because honor demands it, but it’s also because her upbringing was very different from Ivy’s. 

Kunigunde grew up in a very formal court, and her family was not as warm as Ivy’s; Miss Kuni mentions in Chapter 7 that her family would blame her if her marriage failed, a stark contrast to how Ivy’s family has already plotted to bring her back home after feeling that Aegon wronged her. 

Miss Kuni confronting Daemon also illustrates just how cemented her traditional beliefs are—women aren’t combatants, princesses can’t be harmed—and it ultimately dooms her. But that sacrifice paves the way not only for the Greens’ military victory near Castle Rising, but also the Holy Roman Emperor taking Rhaenyra’s youngest children hostage as revenge for his daughter’s murder, which helps to neutralize Rhaenyra as a threat once the war is over.

Were there any other characters in your story that you enjoyed writing? I always adore writing Aegon. In every fandom, there are a few characters whose voices are so clear and so impactful in my head that their lines just feel like they write themselves. Aegon is like that for me. He is damaging without being malicious, pathetic and yet unpredictably heroic at times, weirdly insightful but also a dumb babygirl. I just love, love, love writing him. Especially since the Aegon who exists to me is Tom Glynn-Carney’s more nuanced and sympathetic interpretation, not the HOTD show canon version.

I also really enjoyed writing Nico. She is light and bubbly and enthusiastic and innocent, and compulsively honest in a way that is cringey for the royal family but hilarious to us readers. She adds some much-needed levity to an, at times, deeply tragic story. She’s also brave in a way that is sometimes unwise and childlike, which is consistent with her personality.

Lastly: Alonzo, as one wise anon message said, is a vibe.

So, I have to ask, you were “retired” but... Does this mean my “retirement” is over? Well…at the moment…yes. 😂 

I’m a lot more open to new fic ideas now because I’ve learned how impossible it is to predict when inspiration will strike, and I’ve also gained the perspective of what a loss it would have been if I’d never written NICIY. 

I think I’ve accepted that fics are likely just a part of my mental landscape and will be indefinitely. For example, after I finished up NICIY two weeks ago, I immediately dove back into my novel, write 20 pages…and then was assailed by a new fic idea! Of course I tried to ignore it, but as we have all learned, I am not very good at that. 

So a new HOTD fic is on the way! You will know more about that soon…very soon…very very soon… 👀

[parkerflix]

wc: 0.6k

a/n: the style of this chapter as if it’s a move script thought it was fitting since it’s a tv interview and very dialogue heavy.

and now an exclusive interview here on starstruck tv with choi yeonjun about his latest singles & the mystery girl! (crowd cheers)

[STELLA]: hello and welcome back to the studio yeonjun!

[YEONJUN] : thank you for having me here stella! it’s an honor to be here (laughs)

[S]: as you can see the studio audience is so excited to see you and talk about this project that you’ve been working on. why don’t you explain what the concept is behind “strawberry lipstick” ?

[Y]: well it’s a much more different concept than anything i’ve done it the past. the song is very more rock and guitar heavy and i feel like it was just time to do something completely different than before. i think the concept was how relationships can be easily exploited when with someone who has ill intentions, and how the person in the relationship can’t see that.

[S]: and the phrase strawberry lipstick? it seems to be an innuendo for something else… (crowd laughs)

[Y]: i can neither confirm nor deny that!

[S]: so let’s switch and talk about the other song released “lie to me”. tell me about that song and that process.

[Y]: lie to me was one of the last songs to be made, and it took a while to truly articulate the words i wanted. i had some amazing friends help me along with the process. the song is about when love just doesn’t line up. when maybe you were two people who were in love once but circumstances or people changed that. it’s very much a heartbreak song, but i feel like it has something melancholy about it. one person can see the other is happier and doing better, while the other is still stuck in love. i mean we’ve all had that feeling , unreciprocated love, sometimes wanting to be lied to just to spare us from the truth. it was a very difficult song to write but i love how it came out.

[S]: and it’s a very good song. i was wondering, in the song is there a specific line that you like the most?

[Y]: hm… well when you put me on the spot (he smiles and covers his laugh with his hand) i think the lines “i wish we never met because you’re too hard to forget” is my favorite lyric. it just shows how powerful heartbreak can be, and even sometimes you wish that you had never the person to be able to just cope and endure the pain.

[S]: those are some very meaningful words. does this have any correlation to the mystery girl that’s been going around social media?

[Y]: (awkwardly laughs) well to be truthful, i think i’ve met her a few times? she might be a fan or something i’m not really sure.

[S]: oh come on yeonjun, fans spotted you guys at the mall recently together as well as fighting outside of supernova. are you sure you don’t know who she is?

[Y]: oh is she the fan i met at the mall? i meet fans everywhere but i didn’t know that it was her. we probably just shopped at the same stores. honestly i meet so many lovely fans that it’s hard to keep track. and as for supernova, i think i spooked her by accident and it was just a conversation of me scaring her accidentally. i think she wanted to be alone outside and seeing someone else there scared her. her reaction was a valid one. (he half smiles, crossing his feet together)

[S]: so you’re saying that the rumors are not true? you don’t know yn?

[Y]: sorry stella, the rumors aren’t true. we might have similar friends and had run ins but i don’t know her. i hope that everyone can respect her privacy though and the privacy of everyone that was swept up in that whole rumor.

[S]: well you heard it here first, and up next, yeonjun will be performing his newest songs! stay tuned after the break!

(the camera man calls cut and stella thanks yeonjun for the interview)

027

previous | masterlist | next

a/n: pls lmk what u think of this format! ok bye

taglist: open! send an ask!

(insert divider here bc tumblr won’t let me format)

taglist!: @gothmingguk @simplystraykids @pikachuwithadalek @envy-brr @jimblekook1 @minasbadweather @taesputnik @planethyuka @hannahdinse8 @90s-belladonna @ye0njunch01 @taejinxkoya @meiiiwa @catecita @kingkaithekiwi @13isacoolnumber @hoshi4k @hobistigma @jiminaaaahhhh @nycol-ie @bettyschwallocksyee @nshitae @bngchhris @daisyhwa @fool4yjn @lokideadontheinside @pixyseeun @salty-satan @97bbies @etherealcherrie @jisungsquirrelhabits @jaemsluvr @soobsdior @jeonkoookiee @00-baejin-05 @pineapple-hoseok @mintay @lovesoo @berrychyuu @poutypeachyprincess @meowtella @ahnneyong @vantezza @junniesavidreader @letmeal0ne @aj-1154 @ibunnygyu @mellowhumandonkeyprune @mochisnlix @jaiuneamesolitaiire @soobana @hey-i-really-miss-you @jaycheoluwu @multi4lifer @tulips4u @jejenono-ren @navsnct @squiishymeow @marksluvs @stroberrylite @butterflx @socialcastawayreject @summery-bat @viscoolreal @whosayeonjunie @7suno @nomniki @angelictomione @lunaflvms @blaaiissee

[fairy-writes]

i saw u opened it to two asks and so i am sliding back in here hi 👁👁 i’m on a bsd brainrot rn and i’d love if you could do in case you don’t live forever with atsushi? i feel like it’s a very fitting song for him i couldn’t resist 😭 I love him sm <3 and as always, thank you so much !! (tumblr writers really do carry the earth)

IN CASE YOU DON’T LIVE FOREVER

Reblogs and Comments are greatly appreciated!!

__________________________________________________________________________

Requester: jeongyeonsbluehair

Fandom(s): Bungou Stray Dogs

Pairing(s): Nakajima Atsushi x Gender Neutral!Reader

Song: In Case You Don’t Live Forever by Ben Platt

Genre: Childhood friends to lovers (is that a genre?), fluff—just pure fluff

In honor of the new BSD season 4 stuff coming out!

__________________________________________________________________________

You put all your faith in my dreams

You gave me the world that I wanted

What did I do to deserve you?

I follow your steps with my feet

I walk on the road that you started

I need you to know that I heard you, every word

Atsushi wasn’t sure why you put up with him. 

He was weak. He didn’t have any strengths and felt all too clingy to be by your side. 

But you always assured him you loved him the way he was and that he was stronger than he knew. He tried to believe you. He really did. But it was hard. 

How could you love someone like him when you deserved someone so much better?

I've waited way too long to say

Everything you mean to me

You both had met at the orphanage. Atsushi had been locked inside while the other children played outside. The adults said he was too dangerous. But you had noticed. You had made your way over and smiled at him. You had shown him your stuffed bear and had put on a little play for him. You had made him laugh.

Even at eight years old, he had developed a crush.

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you now

I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth

I'm everything that I am because of you

It wasn’t until ten years later when he had joined the Armed Detective Agency that you had asked him out. You had joined right alongside him despite not having an Ability. You were there more for the paperwork than going on missions. 

He had exploded into a bright red blush the second you finished your sentence. You? Wanted to go on a date with him? Had he died and gone to heaven?

Both of you had gone out to the Yokohama shopping district just to look around. You had bought him a crepe, and he had bought you a plushie of a white tiger. You grinned at him, pressing a kiss to his cheek as you thanked him. He stuttered through his sentences for a solid five minutes after the fact. 

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth

I'm everything that I am because of you

Atsushi hadn’t kissed you until months later. 

Really it was you who kissed him, but you always told everyone he had kissed you first. 

The kiss was a little awkward at first. This was his first partner, his first love. But as soon as your lips brushed his, it was like a switch had flipped inside him. 

His fingers dug into the back of your shirt, and he tilted his head slightly so your noses brushed and he could kiss you better. You sighed into the kiss, hands cupping his jaw and bringing him closer. 

I, I've carried this song in my mind

Listen, it's echoing in me

But I haven't helped you to hear it

When you pulled apart, he was surprised to find himself not blushing up a storm. Instead, he felt content, happy even. He felt giddy like he was floating on a cloud. You seemed the same, a small happy smile on your face, your hands sliding to his shoulders as you leaned in and kissed him once again; this time was much quicker. 

As soon as you leaned away, he found himself talking,

“I love you.” He whispered, and your eyes widened marginally before your smile grew.

“I love you too, Atsushi.” You said, and he wrapped you in a tight hug, burying his nose in the junction between your shoulder and your neck. He pressed a kiss there and delighted in the way you shivered. But he pulled away before anything happened. You left his embrace, almost reluctantly, and headed towards your room in the ADA dorms. 

We, we've only got so much time

I'm pretty sure it would kill me

If you didn't know, the pieces of me are pieces of you.

Days later, his arms were wrapped around your waist as you pressed closer to his side. You were both in your bed, with a blanket thrown over the top of the two of you. Sunset light streamed through the window, warming the room just enough to make him sleepy. He was still dressed in his regular clothes save for his belt and shoes. He didn’t want you to be uncomfortable. 

He tightened his arms slightly, feeling your arms snake around his waist in return. Your bare legs tangled together with his, your shorts riding up somewhat as you shifted to be more comfortable. 

I've waited way too long to say

Everything you mean to me

Atsushi looked down as you shifted again, your noses brushing. You pressed a kiss to his collarbone. He loved your kisses; you poured all your love into each one. He adored them even though each one made him flush red. 

“Goodnight, Atsushi.” You say in his ear, and he shivers at the sensation. He leans his head on yours and closes his eyes. 

“Goodnight, I love you.” He whispered back, just as the sun went down over the horizon.

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you now

I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth

I'm everything that I am because of you

The kitchen was alive with the scent of tea and rice. Atsushi had his arms wrapped around your waist again as he watched you prepare dinner. You were making tea over rice, grilled fish, and a variety of other Japanese dishes. Strawberries and cream were for dessert.

He felt spoiled. 

But it was your anniversary, after all. 

You said he deserved a fancy meal like this one.

You took your seat across from him at the kotatsu table, pressing your hands together. Atsushi mimicked the action.

“Thank you for the food!” You both said and began to dive in. Atsushi, of course, started with the tea on rice, using his chopsticks to shovel it into his mouth like a man starved. 

Atsushi caught your eyes watching him and looked up to see you with a smile.

“What?” he asked, though, with his mouthful, it sounded garbled. You laughed quietly, and his heart soared at the sound. It was like bells tolling, as clear as a spring morning, like the dew on grass when he walked to work. 

He loved your laugh.

I have a hero whenever I need one

I just look up to you, and I see one

I'm a man 'cause you taught me to be one

The first time Atsushi walked in on you wearing his clothes, he almost passed out right then and there. 

He had knocked on your shared bedroom door—two years after the two of you started dating and three months into moving in with each other—and waited for your answer. When there was no answer, he frowned and opened the door. 

There you were, standing in front of the full-length mirror in the corner, tying his tie loosely around your neck. You wore his shirt tucked into your own trousers. It had been ironed. He had forgotten to do that the night before, so you had likely done it yourself. You were attentive like that. 

As soon as he realized what you were wearing, his face flushed pink, and he made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. You turned and blinked,

“Are you alright?”

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you now

I love you more than you'll ever wrap your head around

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth

I'm everything that I am

He nodded after giving himself a moment to clear his throat. Then, he approached you and pulled you into a tight hug,

“You look amazing.” He said and felt you grin against him. 

“I thought you might say that. I wanted to surprise you, but you surprised me first.” You said, pulling back to look at him. Your arms were wrapped loosely around his shoulders, playing with the baby hairs at the back of his neck. He shuddered at the sensation and leaned in to give you a kiss. 

Whoa... whoa...

In case you don't live forever, let me tell you the truth

As long as I'm here as I am, so are you

This was what love was like, wasn’t it?