#i just think this is funny but i actually wrote about 150k more words in 2022

[i-write-hurt-not-comfort]

my AO3 wrapped for 2023

i'm posting this as a tiktok but thought i'd put the actual slides here. note i still haven't finished writing my final fic of 2023 so technically december would be about 8k higher but well, i can't include that.

[abstractredd]

AO3 Twenty Questions

1. how many works do you have on ao3? 17 wowzers

2. what’s your total ao3 word count? 269,878. (but honestly that’s not super updated because oMaM is like… twice as long as what i have published on there lol. this also doesn’t include my older fics from Fanfiction.net and Wattpad which would easily give me another 150k)

3. what fandoms do you write for? mainly elder scrolls at the moment

4. what are your top five fics by kudos? (oh lord the bnha fics SHAKSJD)

5. do you respond to comments? i try to, always! i don’t think there’s many i haven’t responded to and if i haven’t it’s usually because it’s a friend of mine and i’ve already messaged them here or on discord LOL

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending not any of them really?? i’m a Happily Ever After kinda person. i mean i have one fic that’s a scene rewrite from Your Lie in April but it doesn’t actually change the canon outcome of the show which if you’ve seen it you’ll know it’s pretty “angsty” but i feel like that doesn’t count because i didn’t write that yknow

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? as previously established i’m a big fan of HEAs. literally all of them lol. although bad habit certainly has a pretty cheesy ending

8. do you get hate on fics? i have but that was way before my ao3 days. i honestly can’t recall if any of my ao3 fics have gotten hate? people are pretty chill on there in my experience. Fanfiction.net is a whole other animal though

9. do you write smut? if so what kind? oh absolutely. i’m a sexually active adult and i tend to both read and write about sexually active adults so i feel like there’s really no surprise there

10. do you write crossovers? what’s the craziest one you’ve written? i have before but i’m not really a fan of them now, reading or writing. i wrote a superwholock fic in like, 2016, and that’s about it hahaha

11. have you ever had a fic stolen? no? is that a thing that happens?

12. have you ever had a fic translated? not on ao3 but one of my fics got translated to Italian by a fan on Wattpad once that was pretty cool

13. have you ever co-written a fic? yessir! me and my sibling in hadlof @plutoprophecy / @midnightfangz wrote one together: here

14. what’s your all time favorite ship? my OTP you mean. cmon let’s call it what it is. it’s patrochilles btw

15. what’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Go to Bed Dumbass. i stated writing it when i wasn’t in a good place mentally and i can’t even look back on it without getting bad memories. also i just had no idea where i was going with the plot. and i’m not in the bnha fandom anymore lol. i hate having unfinished fics on my page and have literally gone back to update years-old fics before but not this one.

16. what are your writing strengths? i like to think my prose is complicated enough to sound professional but not so over the top that my writing isn’t easily digestible. i feel like i can write dialogue pretty well too

17. what are your writing weaknesses? i feel like i have a problem with repeating myself lol. like i use the same conjunctions a lot. and i struggle with action/fight sequences but i feel like i’m getting better at those the more i write them (i didn’t write them at all really until i started writing TES fics)

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i mean. i feel like this is so situational. if the dialogue is crucial to the plot and it’s going to be a chore to make the average reader look up what it is? i don’t really care for it. but if it’s something off handed that doesn’t really change the plot or is more of a funny joke that a reader can get by either A) happening to speak the language or B) going out of their way to look it up and in that situation it’s more of a fun little bonus and not needed for them to understand the story beat that it’s a part of.

19. first fandom you wrote for? one piece. in 2013. lol

20. favorite fic you’ve written? i really really like somewhere the light won’t reach us. it’s a character study of a TES oc so it’s honestly closer to an original work than it is a fanfiction but i think it turned out really nice. i also think liebesfreud is a really good story and i'm in the process of making it into an original novel (with different character names obv)

not tagging anyone cuz im lazy but if you wanna do this go for it weeee

[scepterno]

my 3rd time rereading insulting indif and once more I am laughing hysterically at the skatoony mentions. I swear the show could've been a fever dream. really love ur writing(noahs internal struggle HITS) but also am slightly relieved ur writing this chapter more slowly. for ur own sake mind u. I saw the sheer amount of words u had written in like a month and I was like. ok maybe it's rushed. it was infact lovely to read. so my next thought was. ARE THEY OK?? anyway really like it. gen q tho, how the hell do u always have such funny texts between alejandro and noah??? I swear everytime it feels so organic.

hahaha wow thank you so much for your kind words (and the re-reads!) skatoony was a fever dream not only to us, but to the cast as well......

i think i wrote like 150k words in about 2 months. which is probably a record for me? it helps that i write during downtime at my desk job... and also at home as my main hobby (more than i draw, funnily enough)

it's also much easier to write for total drama since the characters are so modern, and north america-based. i dont have to spend as much time researching (like i do with ranking of kings or other anime I've recently written for) or editing dialogue to fit a certain time period or region i don't belong to

something i personally pride myself on is my ability to adopt a character voice in my head. when i write conversations between characters, it's less that im writing and more like im listening to them actually speak, and i just happen to be recording what theyre saying by writing it down

ANYWHO i don't think the speed i write at really has anything to do with the quality of my work. like this most recent chapter im writing... well, let's just say im not TOTALLY happy with the quality of it, even though i've been taking my time with it. but then again, i have very high expectations for myself so im kind of a perfectionist... it's why i reread my own chapters at least 5 times before i post them X_X

i hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! it's around 11k now, so probably close to done. i think this will be the second to last chapter in the fic!

[thefledglingdm]

Umm can I request directors commentary for literally any Leopika fic you’ve written??? Love your stuff!

❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

ahhahaha thank you so much! yes, absolutely! this is going to be long, because i have decided to do that scene in light of my life, pain of my ass. beware LONG BULLSHIT and spoilers below the cut!

ok to set the scene. i was TERRIFIED to write this part. because this is the climax, you know? we've had 150k words of build-up and emotional tension to this scene. while this has been a romantic story, this is the actual climax of the story. we've spent all this time in kurapika's head as he's dealt with his anxiety, his need for control, his fear of letting go. how he's changed as he's opened up his heart and his life to people outside. and finally he's actually working through all of his emotions and the progress he's made out loud, in front of everyone. and because he forgot about giving his speech until like five minutes before (sorry, kp), he is forced to speak from the heart.

For five agonizing seconds, Kurapika stood alone in the middle of a silent room. Above him, the string lights coalesced into a single shared point of soft white light that illuminated his space.

i so wish this could be adapted to, like, netflix or made into a movie. i put so much into this imagery. the play on light? the cinnamon topography? *chef's kiss* yes please netflix CALL ME.

Everyone in his life was staring at him expectantly, Pairo and Altair and Gon and Killua and Nanika and Alluka and Kalluto and his parents. And approximately a hundred other people on top of that, extended family on both sides, industry insiders, coworkers. All staring at him and waiting for him to say something amazing and powerful and deep about love and what did Kurapika know about love, anyway? He was a thirty-two year old trans man so terrified of his own emotions, so paralyzed by his fear of loss, that he did not figure out he was in love with his best friend until three weeks ago.

this is me screwing the knife in deeper for poor kurapika, sorry. this is so incredibly horrifying for a person with anxiety, as someone with anxiety. behold, the terrifying ordeal of being known.

Five seconds. Kurapika finally found Leorio standing near the back, leaning against the bar. He wondered if Leorio picked the same spot where they sat together the very first time they came here on purpose. Leorio sent him a wink and a thumbs-up.

the terrifying ordeal of being known and being so, so loved anyway. it was great to write in a way that showed leorio realized he was in love with kurapika first (indeed, realized that kurapika was in love with him before kurapika knew himself), because these little interactions shows so much how leorio is inviting and allowing kurapika to come to him on his own time. and supporting him the whole way, because they are friends!!!!

Breathe, Kurapika thought. Just breathe. It’s going to be okay.

this statement was not supposed to be a running theme/motif, but i'm super glad it did! i wrote it as a one-off line for melody, but then i was like, hang on, that's kinda good? every other time i write i'm like, hey, you could make a theme out of this!

“Um,” Kurapika started, his voice cracking. Christ, he sounded seventeen again. He cleared his throat.

my friends told me about how their voices changed and dropped on T. any trans person is stronger and more powerful than any us marine.

“For those of you who may not know, I’m Pairo’s brother. Kurapika. His older one, just to be clear.”

this is definitely something that has happened like a hundred times.

There was a smattering of chuckles around the room. He twisted to look at Pairo. “I’ve known Pairo since he was a toddler dragging a ragged, threadbare T-Rex plushie around behind him. I was there when he read his first chapter book on his own – Dino Hunter, of course – because he came bursting into my room at two o’clock in the morning to tell me about it.” Another round of laughter. “I was there when he got his first notebook, when he won his first writing contest, when he was published in his first magazine. I was the first person he told about liking boys instead of girls. I’ve watched him grow and learn and fall in love. And now Altair is part of our family, too.”

pairo and kurapika's lives as brothers were amazing. dino hunter is a reference to the book they both read in the manga that led to kurapika wanting to leave the kurta and explore the world.

i also thought that writing fit pairo well because it's a pretty accessible career for his eyes. he could type, he could enhance the screen and font when he needed, and he could do talk-to-type. one day i want to write a side-story of when pairo and altair met, because i have it perfectly formulated in my head and it's adorable.

Kurapika took a deep breath, tucking a lock of hair behind his ear. He confessed, “To be perfectly honest, I was scared when Pairo asked me to do this, because I’ve run out of things to teach him. He’s run on ahead of me in life. Settled down, moved in with his boyfriend – now husband, congratulations on that by the way – and gotten married, while I’m perpetually single and living alone in my loft apartment with an absolutely spoiled monster of a cat. Stop laughing, that wasn’t supposed to be a joke.”

emperor the cat was also not intended to be a character. i came up with him like, right before i started writing the chapter.

i think it was hard for kurapika to watch his brother fall in love and move on ahead in life. even if he was genuinely happy for them both. i had a conversation with a coworker a few months ago where we both talked about how we feel like we are "behind," even though we're both very accomplished. she felt like she was "behind" because i have a master's degree; i felt like i was "behind" because she was happily married and already had a child on the way (who is here and beautiful and perfect). and i imagine kurapika wondered if he was falling behind or missing something when he saw his brother succeed in love and business without really trying.

but there's no competition at all, of course. the world spins on, and we grow and change and find our place in our own time. there's no race.

The room quieted again. Kurapika went on, his eyes flicking over the crowd. He was starting to smile, too, now.

he's starting to realize this is okay, he's not going to mess up, he may actually have something worthwhile to say or share. he's getting more comfortable in all this.

“But I’m also a wedding planner – I know, ironic – and I’ve learned a lot about love from my clients. So if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share some of those lessons now.”

No one from the back shouted at him to shut the fuck up, that he didn’t have a single clue what he was talking about, so he thought he was safe to carry on.

how funny would that have been??? like, it would have been fucked-up and humiliating, but in any other situation?? hilarious. just killua looking like that dude in mean girls being like HE DOESN'T EVEN GO HERE except it's like HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT LOVE IS.

He thought back to Light of My Life’s various couples, musing over their own rocky paths to the altar and the beautiful, fractured glimpses into their lives they gifted Kurapika and his team. What did they teach him? What did they teach his heart, that terrifying, terrified lump of meat frantically beating in his chest?

More than you think, his heart seemed to be telling him. Trust me; I will guide you through this. Trust me, trust me, trust me.

*"listen to your heart" plays in the background*

also like. trusting oneself and your perceptions and your feelings and your heart is so necessary. it's an important part of healing. and being honest with yourself and your feelings is part of a foundation for all healthy relationships, i think.

also i really like writing alliteratively. the play on words with "terrifying, terrified" was. inspired? terrifying, because kurapika for a long time feared his own heart and feelings, viewing them as a loss of control; and terrified, because his heart is afraid, too. and they are taking this leap together!

And Kurapika explained: “Love isn’t just found in eloquent professions or grand, romantic gestures. It’s supporting each other through your lowest, worst moments and coming out the other side stronger for it. It’s standing together, hand in hand, against the world. It’s in looking at someone simply existing in the world and seeing them as they are: good, beautiful, strong, intelligent, kind. It’s in your communication and your foundation and trusting that all good things will come together in time. It’s in the family that you build together. It’s in the work you each put in to get through the hard times. Together.”

me: yeah uh-huh jj you really did summarize the fic so far.

this is also where i started being sappy and thinking about love. friendly and romantic love. the love i've seen in my friends, the love i feel myself in my relationships.

There. That’s what his clients taught him. Menchi and Buhara; Morena and Theta; Pokkle and Ponzu; Knov and Morel; Knuckle and Shoot; Canary and Amane. But so many more people showed him what love was. He pictured Pairo and Altair on his couch, laughing at him and judging him and helping him put his own puzzle-piece heart together into something cohesive and beautiful. He smiled at his brothers and saw the way they were clutching each others hands, mouths beaming and eyes dewy.

they LOVE their brother so MUCH. their view of the outside looking in for the past year, watching kurapika fall in love, go soft, be happier than they've ever seen him.

He told them, “It’s in the way you can communicate in gestures and looks, and sometimes, without looking at all. It’s in banter and private jokes and finishing each other’s sentences. It’s in casual touches and... pouring their coffee before your own.”

my coffee is never as good as when my partner makes it. my honey-lemon tea is never as good as it is when my partner makes it. my jokes are never as funny as they are when my partner and i finish each other's sentences, build off of each other's quips. we can communicate across rooms with nothing but a look. these little signs of love are everywhere and expressed in so many tiny ways. these examples here are between people in romantic relationships, but these apply to platonic friendships as well.

His eyes swept the room and found Killua and Gon. Gon had his camera hefted onto one shoulder, and Killua stood behind him, arms around his waist and chin on his shoulder. “It’s on the first day you wake up and realize the way you look at the world has changed. The way you open your hands and your heart and give what you have, simply for the joy of being received.”

to love? transcendent. to be loved? incandescent. to love and know that it is valued and cherished and requited?

and this was a callback to killua talking about, of course, how he fell in love with gon like melting ice. like sinking into a bath. and this was also a quieter callback to how gon fell in love. because it wasn't just that he had/has so much love to give, but because for the first time in his life, he got to see it truly received. accepted.

Kurapika saw Killua’s breath catch and Gon’s hand flex over the fingers interlaced over his middle. Heedless of their surroundings and of the running camera, Gon twisted to kiss Killua on the mouth.

SMOOCHES ahahaha!

He turned his head back to Leorio. The man had not moved; indeed, he looked like he was nailed to the floor. His eyes were so intense as they watched him that Kurapika was almost surprised he had not yet burst into flame. Kurapika said, “It’s in the moment you see someone you’ve never met before, but you look at them and just know, to your core, that this is really going to be something.”

leorio realizing something is happening here. something huge is about to happen, is about to change. and he's trying so hard not to dare to hope it might be good. it might be everything.

A chorus of oohs went around the room. Even from this distance Kurapika saw the way Leorio’s face went red, and he ducked his chin, looking bashful and embarrassed.

leorio: holy shit holy shit holy SHIT IT'S HAPPENINGGGG

How was I such a fool before, Kurapika wondered, How was I so blind, so willfully ignorant and oblivious. How did it take me so long to realize you were talking about me. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I’m sorry I made you wait for so long.

this is important because it's not just kurapika realizing and accepting his feelings for leorio. this is kurapika's version of realizing that leorio feels the same for him. leorio is in love with him, too. and he's wondering how it was possible he was so scared and blind for so long. he fears he may have hurt leorio by holding off on this for so long, so he wants to be brave, take the leap, and see what they could be.

Kurapika did not want this man to wait another second. He did not want Leorio to spend another moment trapped in this limbo. So he confessed in the middle of a silent room in front of over a hundred people, “It's the first time you hear them laugh, and your entire world’s axis shifts beneath your feet.”

i remember the first time i met my partner. i remember the first time i looked at them and felt my world shift a little to the right. i remember falling in love and thinking that this one was unlike all the others. it was warm, golden, comforting.

Kurapika watched the confused frown on Leorio’s face when he heard that, amused by the almost puppyish tilt to his head as he considered it. He knew the moment Leorio realized what he meant when his eyes blew wide, amazed and awed and achingly soft. His lips parted.

gOD he is so CUTE. he's like oh hmm huh what does that mean

and then he remembers

i promise, he's not a huge dickwad!

and leorio laughing at gon's accidental gaffe and his sweet earnestness. and kurapika walking in. leorio realizing kurapika wanted to know him before they ever even met.

Kurapika made himself turn away from the arresting sight. “One of my favorite venues lately was the Roseview Ballroom downtown. Among its many beautiful, gaudy attractions are its murals depicting scenes from Shakespeare’s plays all across the ceiling. One is a famous quote from Twelfth Night: ‘journeys end in lovers meeting, every wise man’s son doth know.’ But the more I think about it, the less I agree.”

i'm such a WHORE for shakespeare, as any readers of mine will know. check out my modern college adaptation of much ado about nothing.

He turned to meet Pairo’s eyes again, repeating, “‘Journeys end in lovers meeting.’ But nothing is ending here. It’s just changing.”

life does not end when we start relationships! or when they end! or when we move, change jobs, graduate, go to school, drop out of school. happy endings in stories still aren't endings. the greatest constant in life is change.

“Because what I’ve learned in this job, Pairo and Altair, what nugget of wisdom I have to give you, is this. Love is looking at a world that can be terrifying, cold, capricious, and indifferent, and finding the person whose hand you want to hold through it all anyway. Because you want every laugh, every tear, every wrinkle, every spark of joy. Love is life’s greatest leap of faith, because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. But you know exactly who you want to spend all those tomorrows with.”

me finishing this: dammit i just wrote out my wedding vows.

Kurapika looked around the room again. At Gon and Killua; at Kalluto, Nanika, and Alluka; at his parents; at his brothers. At Leorio.

He concluded, “So you simply breathe. And you trust it will be okay.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room when Kurapika dropped the microphone.

DAMN ME TOO THIS SHIT WAS GOOD TF?????? sorry my writing has peaked here.

[angst-in-space]

december ‘21 writing progress (and yearly wrap-up)

yes this is extremely late, oh well lol

december progress:

words written: 47.3k

yearly total: 345.9k

projects worked on:

- ya sci-fi book - unfolding melody zine piece

works published in december:

“if you leave the light on” - (ace attorney, narumitsu)

december goals: - finish draft of my novel - start edits on next draft of novel?? - prepare materials for applying to mentorship - finish draft of sylvix dreamscape fic ch 6 + send to betas - edit & post narumitsu commission - finish draft of umz piece, submit for beta’ing - continue renga fic edits? - finish ch 4 of wenzhou modern au? - work on matchablossom fic?

notes:

well i was a bit overly optimistic about how december writing would go lol... in my defense, trying to finish up a draft of my novel ended up taking a lot longer than i suspected so uhhhh. i essentially had to pull another nanowrimo and even then i didn’t finish my draft by the end of december (i....did end up finishing a draft in early january but more on that when i write my january summary post lol). so yeahhh not much to report because december mostly consisted of me frantically trying to finish my book and getting together all my materials for the mentorship i was applying to (again, more on that when i get to january). 

other than that, didn’t have much time for fic unfortunately BUT i did finally edit and post the narumitsu commission i’d been working on for months so i was very happy about that!! and also finished a draft of my unfolding melody zine piece and submitted it for beta’ing!

2021 wrap up:

total words written: 345.9k most words written in a month: 50k (november) least words written in a month: 13.7k (february)

works completed:

- fresh blood, this love / thanzag - something to hold onto / galolio - she feels brand new (and just like home) / brea/deet - as i wait for you (to tell me you love me) / thanzag - running faster than the night / dimileth - let your waves crash down on me (and take me away) / klance - you’re a dream (i’m never waking up) chapters 1-5 / sylvix - singing my life with his words / klapollo - sk8 through the seasons zine piece / matchablossom (not published yet) - hold my hand (to keep me steady) / marihilda - wherever i end up (i end up with you) chapters 1-3 / wenzhou - if you leave the light on / narumitsu - renga practice kissing fic (not published yet) - unfolding melody zine piece / klapollo (not published yet) other wips: - ya sci-fi book - you’re a dream ch 6 - matchablossom bedsharing fic - wherever i end up ch 4 - post-canon wenzhou fic

2021 goals:

- write every day - write at least 150k words - finish the sylvix dreamscape fic - start on like 1 or 2 other sylvix multichaps…? - finish altea rising - work on red skies again - do some fic commissions - continue planning my novel and maybe start the first draft

notes:

i think...in 2021 i wrote more than i ever have in my life haha. *collapses* on the one hand i’m glad that i accomplished so much, but i also definitely burned myself out at points so idk if i’d attempt to write so much in one year again lmao.

i will say though, i am really happy that i did a lot of things i’d been putting off for years, i.e. i did fic commissions and i wrote most of a first draft of a novel!! 

the latter was especially meaningful to me since i had been terrified to do any original work for about 5 years so it was a big step forward for me. :’) the funny thing is, it actually ended up being a novel other than the one i’d been planning for a long time, but i’m not complaining lmao. in fact i feel like i learned a valuable lesson that sometimes it’s easier for me to write something if i don’t over-plan it. so yeah!! i’m currently working on editing my book and  hope to get at least a couple more drafts of it done in 2022!

in terms of fic... i wrote for like 7 different fandoms in 2021 i think??! i feel like in general i explored a lot more and experimented with my style and wrote a lot of things that i’m very proud of! i....didn’t finish any of my multichapter fics as i was hoping to do. but i definitely hope to finish the sylvix dreamscape fic and the wenzhou modern au in 2022, and perhaps get back to updating altea rising and red skies as well (yes i know it’s been like 3 years but shhh). and there are a lot of new things i would like to start as well!

i also have a backlog of things i really need to edit/post sooo look out for those! *finger guns*

2022 goals: - write every day - write at least 200k words - finish a couple more drafts of my ya sci-fi book - finish sylvix dreamscape fic - maybe start writing sylvix pacrim au?? - edit/post renga fic - finish wenzhou modern au - continue writing wenzhou post-canon fic - finish matchablossom bedsharing fic - work on altea rising and/or red skies if i have time? - start planning my second novel?? january goals: - cut my novel word count down to under 140k - maybe start writing the Actual Ending of my novel (the current ending is...kind of a placeholder) - turn in final umz piece - work on sylvix dreamscape fic ch 6 if i have time

[lady-grace-pens]

Wip Excerpt: HTKAG

In light of this wip hitting another 10k word goal recently (currently sitting pretty at a whopping 120k/150k 😅), another excerpt is due! This babe I wrote today, buut I actually loved it so much I knew I had to share it with y'all right away. That all being said, let's stop wasting time and get straight into it!

Our scene begins with Allister entering a restaurant to have dinner with Mikko, Fingal, and Perci, but Perci is late.

—

Upon telling the hostess Fingal’s name, she leads me away to the right half of the room. Off in a booth stowed away in the corner sit Mikko and Fingal jabbering away mid-conversation. Once they notice me, they stop and smile.

“Hey! There’s the man of the hour,” Mikko exclaims, throwing his hands in the air.

“Not late, am I?” I grin, taking a seat beside him.

“Nope. Right on time to get some drinks,” Mikko starts smouldering at our hostess.

“With what money?” Fingal retorts with a glare.

Mikko blinks, struggling to come up with a defense. It seems he mustn't have anticipated Fingal to interrupt his attempt at flirting…

“Wha - With our money, of course,” he laughs, trying his best to make a smooth recovery.

“Aye. Which is why we’re not using my money to buy alcohol while a minor is here.”

Mikko doesn’t reply. Then again I suppose he doesn't need to, his confusion is written all over his face.

“Don’t tell me you forgot about Perci. He’ll be here any minute.”

“Oh! Fuck, that’s right. Him. Well obviously he won’t be getting any. And come on! You know how fast I can down a beer Fin! It’ll just be a few. Just a few rounds! Don’t be an ass.”

“Watch yourself Mikko, it's not polite to use such language in the presence of a lady.” I chime in, giving the hostess a polite smile.

“Oh I’ll show you what’s not polite-” Mikko says before slapping my head.

I try to hit him back, but he catches my hand before I can. Before we know it, we’re caught in a ridiculous slapping fight, both laughing our asses off.

“Not in a restaurant, not in a restaurant!” I speak through gasps, trying to end things.

Mikko obliges, tossing his hands back in his lap.

“A waiter will be right with you,” the hostess makes a case to look at each one of us except for Mikko before finishing her sentence, “... gentleman.”

Much to my surprise, Mikko doesn’t seem to be affected by that backhanded insult. Instead he kicks his knees up against the table and rests his head back, totally listless.

“Mikko, I would’ve thought you’d be more offended by that.”

“Huh? Why would I be offended at something when it’s true?”

“I’ll say. You and Al couldn’t be any more opposite. If there’s anything larger than the truth, the fact that you’re not a gentleman is way beyond it.”

“Exactly. And Mikko, you are aware of the fact that she was just a hostess, right? It isn’t even her job to serve us drinks.”

“I... “ Mikko laughs before leaning over the table again. “Listen. You two just don’t get it, do you? No. You don’t. Allow me to be the one who graces your palettes here, eh? Let me tell you what I’m gonna do. Okay? I’m gonna give you a tip. A piece of advice that will change your lives forever. All for free! You don’t even have to pay me. All you gotta do is listen. Got it? You both ready?”

Fingal and I share a look. I can tell we’re thinking along a similar vein of confused intrigue. We should most likely stop Mikko here, as whatever will come out his mouth won’t be anything good. However, we’re both too stunned to stop him, so…

Mikko beckons us to lean closer to him. Fin and I oblige. We’re almost touching heads when at last our dear mentor speaks once again, in a hushed voice. “It’s not about what you say. It’s about how you say it.”

…

There are no words. For about a minute straight Fingal and I are just staring at each other wearing the same expression that exudes two questions. ‘What the fuck? You’ve heard that too, haven’t you?’

Soon after that’s established and our shock subsides, we burst back to life. Fingal starts us off with, “Dammit Mikko. What the fuck? Where did you learn that? Who taught you that?”

“Some guys from the bar! Why, what’s wrong with it?”

“Which guys from the bar?”

“I don’t see how it-”

“Mikko. Which guys from the bar taught you this?” Fingal insists, a flash of anger showing in his eyes.

Mikko seems to notice this, and complies straight away. “Leo, John, Peter and Paul!”

Fingal buries his head in his hands. This sparks my curiosity. I haven’t heard these names before, but Fin clearly has.

“I can’t say I’m familiar with them, who might they be?”

“Bar friends-” Mikko starts, only for Fingal to finish for him.

“Jokesters. Jerks. Cheapskates always looking for a laugh. Assholes. Can’t wait to give them a piece of my mind.”

Mikko shrinks away from Fin. His head is turned away from me, but I don’t need to see it in order to know how stunned he is. It’s expressed flawlessly through the abnormal quietness of his voice. “Fin? What’s up, why’d you-”

“Because those dicks have been filling your head with shit like this every damn time I turned my back, Mikko! Dammit, this - this is why you always get rejected! Universe, I just wish you would’ve checked with me first about things like this. Not some strangers you barely even know, yet idolize them anyway.

You wanna know how you get a girl Mikko? Huh? You be nice. You be nice to them, you talk with them, and you listen. Compliments and flirting, all that helps, of course, but not forever! And you sure as hell can’t build a relationship strictly off of it. Okay? Standards and expectations vary from girl to girl, but with each and every single one there are a few things that you just have to do. Be nice, have respect, help them just for the sake of helping them! Don’t expect anything in return. Overall just - just be a decent fucking human being. That is how you get a girl.”

Mikko sits there, staring at his brother. I can’t help but do the same. In every respect, Fingal is right. Of course he is. It’s just… rare that we see him so worked up. I can hardly believe my eyes. I can hardly believe my ears, I… I can’t imagine how Mikko must be feeling.

Oh so gradually his head sinks down into his lap. He slumps over, and I swear I can see fractions of tears reflect the golden light radiating above us.

“Can’t believe I’m actually telling you this when you’re eighteen. Fucking eighteen,” Fingal scoffs, crossing his arms.

“I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be. I’m not mad at you. This is my own fault, I blame myself.”

“Aw, come on man! That’s even worse,” pouts Mikko.

Fingal then turns to me with an abruptness that makes me jump. “Al, what’s up? You’ve been quiet for a while. You can back me up on this, can’t you?”

“I…” I force a chuckle to try and lighten the air some. “I don’t think that I’m currently in a position to give advice like this, to be honest with you.”

Fingal leans his elbows on the table, holding his head with one hand. “Why? Something happen with Maddie?”

“Oh, did it ever,” I shake my head.

—

Aand that's all you guys get for spoiler reasons! Lmao

(also because that's all I've written today but shhhh don't tell anyone)

Buut yeah. Legit I swear I didn't mean to go so hard on feminist Fingal 😂 I mean don't get me wrong here, he's absolutely right and I'm keeping it in. But still, the words just kept on coming and coming and we ended up with this

so

y'know

yeah

writing is super fun sometimes

Plus tbh, writing the part where Mikko is stroking his ego and whispers his ‘top secret trick to get women’, I was literally laughing out loud 😂 like he's just so wrong, and I love how horribly Mikko fails in life. It's just super funny to me, I enjoy it a lot.

Fingal, however, clearly does not enjoy it, lmao. Legit I had no clue he could be so protective until today! Especially over Mikko. I mean I always knew their dynamics, but today… it really hit home for me.

Go back and look at the line of dialogue Fingal says right after Mikko apologizes (a rare occurrence, actually).

It’s just one little piece of dialogue, barely a few sentences! Yet I feel like it hits you. You know? It reveals so much about his and Mikko’s vibes, their situation. A pair of brothers poor and orphaned by their birth parents and raised by their grandmother, who is only growing older and weaker each year. Fingal, the eldest, having to take responsibility often. He feels pressured to raise his little bro, and feels like he's failed when Mikko turns out to be the way he is. Ya know? It's just one little thing of dialogue but I feel like it makes you feel the pressure Fin has to bear in a situation like theirs. Even if it’s only for a moment.

And Mikko! While he does incite a lot of the comic relief in HTKAG, I wouldn’t call him a strict comic relief character because that's never what I had in mind while writing him. He and Fin actually play a vital role in the plot of the story! Much more than what I can currently reveal to y'all.

Buut anyways, I'll stop rambling now. I really hope you guys enjoyed this little excerpt just as much as I adored writing it :)

—

taglist (let me know if you want to be added or removed!): @vampire-with-a-pen @writingonesdreams @justyouraveragewriter @kazenokaori @dahladahlabills

[maybeeatspaghetti]

1) I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but do you have fics that you haven't posted, or don't plan on posting? If so, and if comfortable with sharing, are there any particular reasons, be it the content, how it's written, etc?

2) Somewhat generic question, but as someone who is interested in writing, be it fanfiction/smut (possibly?) or otherwise, do you have any tips? I know that reading more is the big one, but y'know.. still.

Have a great day/night! ♡

1) I have three fics that I haven’t posted and don’t plan to post. Two are short fics that are so similar to fics I’ve already posted that it would be redundant if I did post them. The third one is a 150k novel that was a Whizzvin fic, but the characters changed so drastically as I wrote the book that I changed the names and developed them into different characters. Maybe it’s a little bit selfish, but I wanted to keep that one for myself and not share it. And I actually cut down the sex scenes, to make it less about sex and more about the story—so instead of four or five sex scenes, I cut it down to two and rewrote it to sound more like Warm Baths, where there are no typical erotica words (like “cock” or “thrust” or “hard”) it’s more about feelings than anything else. 

2) Write, write, write. That’s the biggest tip, and I know it gets thrown around a lot to the point of “I’ve heard this so many times already,” but it’s because it’s true. If you’re starting out writing and you look at it and think, “this is terrible” and you stop writing forever, then you’ve prevented yourself from ever getting better. The more you write, the better you’ll be. I’ve been writing for 15 years, and I can tell you, the writing I did when I was in middle school is horrific. It’s really bad. And I got marginally better in high school, and a lot better in college, and even better now, beyond college, when I’ve really been able to develop my voice without being encouraged to write a specific way by my teachers and professors. So allow yourself to write badly.

Write and get feedback. It’s not as easy to improve if you’re writing into a vacuum and you’re the only one seeing your work. As hard as it may be, share your work with other people; let them tell you what works and what doesn’t. If you’re uncomfortable sharing your writing with people you know, look for beta readers on the Internet. Feedback is key to helping you grow as a writer.

Yes, reading is important, but I’d rank it lower than writing. Reading helps get a sense for how authors structure their sentences, pace their stories, weave in subplots, and split their chapters, but ultimately, I personally lean much more heavily on the writing than I do on the reading, though I do read, just not as much as some authors. Some authors say to be a good writer you must 1) read x number of books a year, 2) read with a pen in your hand, and 3) read “good” works of literature only. I disagree with all of those: 1) There’s no certain number of books you have to read a year that makes you a reader or a writer. Go at your own pace and read how much you want to. I know some people good-naturedly compete to see who can read more books, but if that’s not the way you work, then don’t feel bad about not reading as much as other people. 2) Taking notes while you read doesn’t necessarily make you a better writer. If you like marking up texts and it works for you, go for it! And I do it sometimes (my Falsettos script... there’s hardly any white space left), but it can make you feel like you’re at school when you do mark in the books or take notes, and that might kill your interest in reading it. Just by reading (without taking notes or writing in the text), you’ll unconsciously absorb a lot of information about what makes a story work. 3) “Good” is subjective. What’s considered “good” by the people who say things like this is usually confined to the literary canon. And while I agree that some knowledge of the literary canon is valuable, there are so many wonderful works beyond it that are just as good. So when people talk about “good literature,” they’re usually deliberately denigrating and stepping on everything beyond the literary canon (which excludes a huge range of diverse works/voices). So don’t listen to them. There’s plenty of good literature outside the literary canon, and who’s to say something they personally didn’t like isn’t good? It’s all about personal taste. So read what you want, be it novels or nonfiction or comics or manga or fanfiction—whatever it is, it can be valuable to you as a writer.

Going back to writing—sometimes, you just have to write something bad to get it out and then take it out and start afresh, and I know that takes extra time and effort, but sometimes you need to do it. For example, I was writing a serious story about depression and I just couldn’t keep from writing a specific scene in a humorous way. So I wrote the scene that way, with a completely different feel and tone and pacing to the rest of the story, and then copied and pasted it somewhere else and went back to the beginning of the scene. Once I had gotten that awkward funny stuff out of the way, I could write it seriously. 

I’ve never been particularly good at plot, as I’m a much more character-driven writer, so I’m afraid I can’t offer too many tips about that. I usually let my characters lead the story, no matter whether it’s a short piece like what I mostly post on AO3 or it’s a longer, more involved piece like What a Wonder You Are.

In terms of writing smut... let me tell you—my first attempts at writing smut about five years ago were dreadful, and I actually gave up until this summer, when I jumped right off the deep end into my Shameless Whizzvin Smut series. And I’d grown a lot since the last time I tried to write it, and I did my research and tried to focus on the language and the emotions over the actual acts themselves (though some fics require a level of detachment, like Pretty Little Thing, where the fic is about the acts rather than the emotions), and I thought I did alright. And in the last four months, I’ve gotten better.

If you want to learn how to write good smut, turn to fanfiction authors. I have rarely read a good sex scene in a published, literary, mainstream novel (but for god’s sake, don’t read Fifty Shades of Grey; I know that was fanfiction, but it really doesn’t depict healthy or safe sex in any way—The Atlantic article “Consent Isn’t Enough” is great at explaining why). A lot of novels do the “fade to black” type scene where they cut away just as the characters are falling into bed together (Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin is a “fade to black,” but it’s done really masterfully). But if you want to learn how to write good smut, read fanfiction and remember that you can write smut that’s sexy without foregoing safety, communication, and consent. 

There’s kind of a fine line between what’s sexy and what’s absurd, and it’s all too easy to step over the line into the absurd, and this is sometimes as basic as word choice—if you say “his cock was flushed and quivering,” it sounds much better than “his flushed and quivering manhood” or “his flushed member was quivering.” If you’re going for the absurd, then use all the ridiculous words you want (manhood, member, manmeat, prick, rod, love muscle, meat stick, loins, etc. etc. etc.)! Just know it’ll be more amusing than sexy and people will probably make fun of it. But if that’s what you’re going for, then go all out! 

If you’re wanting some more specific advice about writing in general or smut writing, you’re welcome to send an ask or message; this response would get entirely too long if I were to go into more detail here. 💕

[chunsoftie]

#1 2 3 5 9 11 13 for Fanfic Day Meme unless you don't wanna write that much in which case do what your body tells you

Thanks for the ask! Sorry I didn’t answer this sooner - I was at work when I got this but thank you so much, regardless!

1.  What is your favorite fic you have under your belt? 

My favorite fic would probably have to be either the(broken) road to recovery, my current WIP, or if we’re talking about oneshots,the king to your satellite castle is one I particularly admire. 

I think broken road is a fic that’s opening me up to writingmore multi-chapter works. Obviously, I cater more towards the short-story,oneshot style of writing, so the fact I wanted to embark on something longer ischallenging me to the extent I want to be challenged. I think writing this fichas allowed me to experiment more. 

The latter fic is a oneshot that I found myself proud ofwhen I finished. I really enjoy those Kyle/Cartman stories where it’s the twoof them bonding through mutual means, whether it be by deep, intellectualconversations or just hanging out at a D&B’ and then gazing at the stars. Ifind that I always have to include these heavy conversations between the two ofthem – like if I didn’t, what was the point? Kyle and Cartman are both smartkids, they can learn to adapt to the world themselves, but the idea of themneeding the other as they get older, knowing they can’t survive without theother…that’s really impactful to me. 

I also have to give credit to my compilation of oneshots onFFN, “The Most Random One-Shots You’ll Ever Read.” Basically it’s my Lord ofthe Flies compilation I’ve had published since 2014 and it’s over fiftychapters with over 150k+ words. It’s definitely something I’m proud of.

2. What is your favorite snippet of dialogue?

This is from my Junjou Romantica fic, the jetlags and thecatalysts:

Akihiko was just asconfused. It wasn’t sheer egoism that he was surprised not everyone knew who hewas, but a comfort that he could start scratch with someone. He shot the restof the drink, leaving his glass empty.

“I’m an author – my name is Usami Akihiko.”

“Ah, Usami.” The boy refilled the glass.

There was a brief silence where Akhiko expected the action to bereciprocal. When the boy caught on, he become flustered.

“My name is Takahashi Misaki.”

The feminine name left the writer in bafflement but he went withit. Misaki. He found the bartender start to laugh and he raised an eyebrow.

“It’s funny, your name is Usami. An old friend of mine – well,he was friends with my older brother – we called him usagi because he remindedus of a rabbit.”

“Well, that is what usagi means.” Akihiko took a drink. Misakigave off a comical expression.

“I see that the more you get drunk, the more your sarcasm comesout.”

“And I wasn’t even trying to be sarcastic.” Akihiko replied.

And I love thisfrom the king to your satellite castle”

“I should be pissedthat you assumed I wasn’t busy, but considering you never question yourassumptions, what else is new?” Kyle pulled on his jacket and hopped shotguninto Cartman’s truck, and the brunette just scoffed as he pulled out of thedriveway.

“Nice to see you too, Jew.”

“We’re a little too old for the nicknames, aren’t we?” Kylemuttered, eyeing the black jacket Cartman was wearing over his red shirt andhating himself for finding it hot. “Where are you taking me?”

“We should just let it be a surprise.” Cartman grinned, cominginto an intersection. Kyle rolled his eyes and leaned in, eyebrows narrowed.

“Where are you taking me?”

“We could sneak into a movie.” Cartman commented, a suggestivetone rather than a commanding one that took Kyle by surprise. “Terrance andPhilip’s new movie is out.”

Kyle was tempted, but he had already seen that with Stan and hedidn’t feel like seeing it again. Plus, Cartman would just talk during thewhole movie and Kyle knew he could barely take a few sentences with tolerance.

“You would suggest sneaking into a movie, probably because youdon’t have the money to get in.”

“Hey, I actually have a kickass job, Jewboy. I help society withgood deeds and commercial products.”

“You’re a grocer, Cartman.” Kyle sighed. “All you do is stockshit and put things under a beeper.”

“And what do you do, Kyle? Flaunt your pretty little ass and letyour family pay for all of your shit?” Cartman reached for what Kyle assumedwas a Dr. Pepper in the cupholder and took a drink. Kyle flushed a little atwhat seemed to be a compliment, but he flicked Cartman on the arm.

3. What inspired (broken road)?

In another ask I was told to include Broken Road with this,so that’s what I’m doing.

I actually came up with the idea for Broken Road on a walkback home from studying. I was almost back to my dorm and I thought, ‘You know,if you want more Eric-centric psychological works, why don’t you try writingone, yourself?’ And I was hooked with the potential of a behavior correctionalfacility, so I stuck with it. I ended up going back to the library either thatsame night or the next just to look up research before I started writing thefirst chapter. 

Originally I wanted to just continue writing it and make it along oneshot, but I felt like making it multi-chap was the right thing to do(and honestly I am glad I stuck with it in that regard).

 5. What’s your favorite headcanon you use in your fics?

I don’t really use a lot of headcanons for fics but if I hadto say a repetitive thing when it comes to my fics is when it comes to Kyman, Ilike the more ‘drunken exploration’ trope…a lot more than I care to admit. Myother OTPS, like Jalph, I don’t even care to use this as often just because Ifeel like if two characters could benefit from this, it would be Kyle andCartman.

9. What’s the fic you like the least?

Probably ‘he’s your ride home.’ I kind of wrote that at twoin the morning and thinking of it now, there is so many ways I could havewritten it better. I may go back and edit it just because compared to my otherKyman oneshots, it’s relatively weak.

11. What’s a fanfic idea yo haven’t done yet?

There’s a Stormpilot fic idea I’ve had for a while now thatrevolves around Finn and Poe’s confrontation regarding what they feel towardsone another with the setting of another couple’s wedding and them on the sides,not realizing how this plays with their own lives until they get a littlecarried away and well, yeah. It’s something I’ve been wanting to write for awhile but I just haven’t started yet.

I also would like to write a restaurant!AU Kyle/Cartmanoneshot. I have a few plans for this already so I may go ahead and write thissooner than later.

And, of course, I have another Bellarke piece I want to workon, but that’s going to be for another time.

13. Do you have a favorite character to write for?

I love writing for Cartman. He’s my absolute favoritecharacter to write for and I love it when people request me to write him,because, he’s fantastic. 

I also love writing Ralph. Jack is tied as my favoritecharacter in Lord of the Flies, next to Piggy, but there’s something aboutwriting Ralph that makes it so enjoyable for me, like I can envision hisexpressions in my mind and laugh mentally.

Thank you, @polarspicecaps-blog!

[disregardcanon]

end of the year writing meme: tagging anyone who wants to do this! i’m just bringing it back from last year again 

or: 2017 in fanfiction 

Total Stories Written: 62

Total Words Written:  150k ish  Average Words Per Story: somewhere 3-5k probably  Shortest Story: Skyscraper and Short Stuff at 302  Longest: Jane the Metahuman, my still incomplete the flash/jane the virgin crossover fic at  19,936 

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?

less, probably. i had a great fic stall over the summer and the first few months of the school year where i just couldn’t get anything written. also i have a ton of unfinished wips that i can’t apply to my word count.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write most?

i wrote the most for snaibsel and young justice, though i didn’t get caught up on one fandom much  What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

hannibal/brooklyn nine nine crossover fic. enough said Did you take any writing risks this year?

i wrote longer fics and some crossover fics, both of which scare me quite a lot so trying them out really paid off. 

Do you have any fanfic or general writing goals for the new year?

1. post a lot of fics for femslash february. i have a goal of at least 15.

2. write more original fiction.

3. maybe finish that yj season 3 fic i’ve started work on? maybe.

these are the exact same goals as last year omg

From the past year of writing, what was your… Best story of this year: 

you, me and the flash makes three probably. it’s the story that i’n the most proud of in general. i feel like i was able to work within the flash season 1 canon while also tweaking and adding things to make the ot3 work. 

Most popular story of this year: Imagined Infidelity is the most popular on all fronts but bookmarks, which belong to Mantis Prays to Oregon (a far superior fic in my opinion. that one’s of my favorites of the year) 

Personal favorite:

Borrowing Problems from the future was the first real fic i was able to complete in months after my writing drought, so i have a real soft spot for it, especially because it allowed me to explore alex fierro’s character a bit and try to fix a few problems i had with the way their relationship was handled. 

Most under-appreciated: 

i have two for this one, tbh 

the man in yellow in the living room with the knife: this is my flash/pushing daisies crossover which REALLY ends up working but hardly anyone read

The Spark that Will Light the Fire: what if rose tico was a stormtrooper and we actually addressed the stormtrooper issue in tlj? what if???? 

Most fun to write:

Jane the Metahuman. I haven’t worked on it in a while, but it’s always so fun to just slip into the universe where the jane the virgin characters and the flash characters are friends. it’s just so delightfully weird and fun to write. Story with the single sexiest moment:

Blame Me, I Will Wear It hate sex between iris west and a caitlin snow that’s almost kind of herself and almost kind of killer frost, enough said

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: maybe All Katz Go to Heaven? I didn’t write a lot of fucked up stuff this year, but the idea that every person hannibal lecter has ever murdered ends up in Brooklyn Nine Nine is kind of a fucked up premise for a fic haha

OH WAIT maybe it’s grieving schrodinger’s dad? it puts zatanna zatara into a time loop of the day that her dad becomes doctor fate. 

Most challenging to write:

It was really hard to crank out the second chapter of dead girl walking, especially since i was trying to finish it during my ireland trip. it was a lot of heavy content, a lot of characterization issues, and some action scenes, which aren’t necessarily my strong suit. 

Biggest disappointment: Pushing Irises. it turned out well, but I also had zero motivation to continue it so it’s just a single chapter that ends on a cliff hanger. It might always be a single chapter that ends on a cliff hanger.  Favorite character to write:

this year i really enjoyed writing eleanor shellstrop and cisco ramon. i didn’t write either of them a lot, but whenever i did write them it was a blast. 

Favorite opening lines:

Zatanna crosses her arms over her chest as she leans against Bruce’s black SUV. The “parking lot” at this camp is a glorified field of grass. It rained last night, and there are muddy ruts left all throughout the field and little muddy puddles scattered everywhere. It’s disgusting and rundown and everywhere that Zatanna doesn’t want to spend three weeks of her summer. Endless Summer

Her first memories are of Ego, him cradling her in his arms, tickling her, telling her that he loves her. Her first memories are of him calling her daughter and her calling him dad. Mantis Prays to Oregon

The 99th precinct had a strict, no dating rule. At least, it acquired one the moment Holt showed up. She's pretty sure the old guy wouldn't have cared if they had an orgy in the break room. An Emoji is Worth a Thousand Words

Murder and money are messy businesses. Verger Virtues

The first thing that Rosa thinks when they get to the orchestra hall is that this dressing room will never be clean again. The decor is all bright white except for the places where it’s been stained red by blood. There are a lot of places where it’s been stained red by blood. All Katz Go to Heaven

Favorite closing lines:

Bart's going into uncharted territory. Trying to have friends and a family and be a hero in an era where he's not a slave or even a child soldier. He doesn't know how to go about it, but that's alright. He thinks he can work it out later. How To Fall in Love with Your Mark

“I love my dead gay wife,” Kelly says, hugging tightly, “and I love my dead trans son.” And they laugh, not because it’s funny, really, but because it’s ridiculous and happy. They laugh because somehow life just got so much better. We’re All Dead Here

They may be in the bad place, but they have a freedom now that they’ve never had before. here they are, a tortured academic, a hot rich fraud with legs for days and a selfish ass helping a demon to keep his job, with the help of an idiot DJ and his AI wife. Three hell-bound people just trying to make it in this crazy world, becoming better people and loving each other only after it’s too late.   Eternal Recurrence

"Stop taking your hand?" He asks, and Rey can't tell if he's joking.

"No," Rey says, "don't ever stop."

A Pair of Somebodies

Other favorite lines:

"Romance isn't just for the straights," she says. Pair the Spares

"He's not just a bucket head," Ahsoka says, cracking a grin, "he's the king bucket head." An officer of a notable rank comes up behind them, and stands respectfully to the side.

"No, he's Lord of the bucket heads," Aphra corrects, "you gotta get the title right."

"Lord Buckethead," the officer says with an enormous grin, "your presence is requested on the control deck." Anakin turns towards him, and holds his hand out immediately. The man makes a strangled noise, and he's pulled by the Force.

"Master," Ahsoka says, her voice wobbly. Anakin clenches his fist, and the officer falls to the floor, dead.

"Any more remarks?" Anakin asks. The other officers and troopers on the floor all divert their attention. They got the message: only Ahsoka and Aphra are allowed to tease Darth Vader. Ahsoka feels sick to her stomach. Between the banter and the sex, she had almost forgotten she wasn't supposed to feel at home here. Sympathy for the Devil

Jane Gloriana Villanueva is twenty eight years old. She is a lot of things: a published author, a mother of three, a beloved wife, a local gay icon. She is no longer a virgin. Unless, of course, your definition of virginity requires a penis going into a vagina, then Jane is still a virgin. These are all technicalities and have no bearing on our current story. Jane the Metahuman

Joe, however, had already heard the murmur, and knew that something very wrong was going on. He threw the door open and stormed into the room. Nora Allen, who was dead the last time he looked at her, was sitting up on the morgue table with the bloodstains still prominent on her shirt. the man in yellow in the living room with the knife

“It’s Brandy or the sea, child,” Ego says.

“Brandy,” Zatanna says, exhaling breath,  “I choose Brandy.” That was always going to be her answer. How could it not be, when the choice isn’t even just Brandy? It’s the port. It’s the sailors that it serves. It’s the whisky and the wine, and the whole damn bar,  and- ugh

This is a bullshit metaphor anyway.

The choice Ego offers isn’t between Brandy and the sea. It’s between the sea and the world. It’s not leaving Brandy for adventure, it’s destroying the entire harbor town for Ego’s bullshit god complex. Brandy Beats the Sea

A pile of blue beetles has emerged in the place of Jaime's body, like the Oogie Boogie man without his burlap skin.

Bart screams, and the Jaime figure laughs a laugh that isn't Jaime's as it shifts into something else entirely. The big, muscular Blue Beetle stands before him, maniacal grin plastered on his face.

"You're not Jaime," Bart says. The Beetle laughs, demonic voice over Jaime's.

"Am I?" He says, "you don't know. You won't know until it's too late." A sinking feeling settles in Bart's stomach, like a hush puppy that settled in with a gallon of Mountain Dew and a whole basket of fries.

"You aren't," he says. He wants the words to be true, but he doesn't know . He might be letting his guard down for a traitor to humankind. He might be falling in love with a monster. How to Fall in Love with Your Mark

"I told him I would. I promised that I wouldn't do this." Maybe she does have a problem. Maybe she should see Black Canary, or- or something. She has a chance at normalcy. She doesn't understand why she doesn't want it anymore.

She has a chance for true love and The American Dream, for the kind of life she'd dreamed of as a kid. She has a chance to settle down and be a normal fucking human with a normal marriage to a normal guy who wants a normal sort of happy ending. She doesn't know why she can't be satisfied with that.

Zatanna’s voice is soft and gently as she tells her, "Artemis, if you're supposed to be with him, then you should be able to be yourself with him."

"Are you trying to break up my relationship?" It's a cruel jibe, a reminder of Zatanna's (mainly) unrequited crush and her subsequent rejection. Zatanna barely looks phased.

"Are you?" The words knock the wind out of her. She hadn’t considered that, but now that Zatanna’s put the thought in her head, Artemis can’t stop considering it. At this point, Artemis doesn't know. climbed a mountain and turned around

Will Graham, the bride of Frankenstein and his monster rolled all into one. The Stuffed Dog

It’s destiny. Destiny is an otherworldly Eldritch beast, devouring everything in its path. It eats up all other options, and leaves only one path. It wraps its hideous, shadowy tendrils around her and drags her back into the dark. This is destiny like Ragnarök, fated to happen and rip the world apart.

  mountains out of molehills

“I wanted to find her and run away,” Finn says, “I just didn’t want to be a stormtrooper anymore, Rose. I wanted to run as far away from the First Order as I could, but then I met Rey. So I came back for her. I never signed up for the Resistance. I just want Rey and I to be safe.” Rose feels a twist in her gut. This might be worse than finding out he wanted to desert. This is knowing the reasons behind it, having to see him as human in his mistakes and understand why he made them.

Oh how heroes fall and then stumble back up again.

The Spark that Will Light the Fire

Most telling fic:  international harvester certainly tells you something about my background. also the fact that i, too, want to make out with a girl in a combine