#i will get to desktop rules asap

[c-rox-sprites]

i don’t mean for this to come off as rude or anything, but why won’t you do gender bends?

to be honest, i think it was originally what was common place for trans support back in 2017/18. that was around when i went dormant and six years later ive been really curious how to address a change in rules to that regard. bc the same deal is for the rules on non-trans guy lanque, non-gay dirk, non-lesbian kanaya, etc. i have no idea what people think nowadays about these ideas.

i was adhering to rules the fandom set in place at the time, yes granted there were others still doing these headcanons and genderbends and not following that rule bc who tf cares right? i was nervous to fit in though, so i saw what other blogs like mine were doing at that time. but that's not an excuse to the feelings i hurt then and now.

im thinking of doing a questionnaire about the rules to get a fair judgement on the nowadays relaxed manners on the subjects i set to rule. im happy you came to me in a calm manner friend. ill change that rule now!

[vanillahub]

Yooo heads up

Bc of the new update on the desktop version of Tumblr, I will be a lot more lenient with my reblog karma rules on my RP blogs. This doesn't mean I would like to be spammed with reblogs from my blogs solely off the RP prompts, but that's not going to be an instant block from me anymore.

I also don't mind reblogs from musings and aesthetic posts.

With that said. As I'm writing this, I can still get to the source of posts, via the mobile app so whenever I'm on mobile I will be doing things as I've already been doing for awhile.

So, here is hoping they will fix the desktop version asap or if they keep the app like this.

EDIT: I forgot to say that the reason I'm doing this to begin with is bc. If you get a reblog from a side-blog that may not be from your fandom, that's bc of it.

[topgunhappilyeverafter]

FAQ

With the deadline rapidly approaching, we've been asked some common questions and figure it's a good time to re-clarify some of them and offer some additional guidance as you're all finishing up and getting reading to post.

(Please also, as previously requested, reach out to us to reconfirm, if you haven't already, that you are tracking on time for the deadline of the 12th.)

1. Am I meant to do all of the prompts?

No. Please select 1 prompt from the list provided to you to complete by 02/12. If you'd like to do more, that's completely up to you but not required!

2. Can my fic be chaptered?

Yes. But we are asking anyone with a multi-chaptered fic to confirm to us that it will either be completed by the original deadline or within the month of February to ensure that your giftee receives a complete fic within a reasonable timeframe.

3. What do I need to do if I need more time/to drop out/a beta?

Reach out to @film-in-my-soul or @icemav86 via Tumblr DM or the email ASAP, and we will help you to the best of our ability.

4. How/When will I know if my fic/art is posted?

Due to the number of participants in this event, we will be stretching posting from the 13th through the 15th. With this in mind, we will be unveiling fics/art in the collection in the order that they submitted at 8am EST on each of those three days and throughout the day on Tumblr with a 30-minute interval between cross-posting.

You will be contacted by the day before your fic/art is set to be unveiled so that you are prepared to change the posting date of your fic/art accordingly the following day. Changing the posting date will ensure your fic shows at the top of the tags for the fandom/your ship.

5. What do I do once my art/fic is completed?

Please reach out to us ASAP via tumblr or email so that we can give you your giftee's AO3 name. Once you have your giftee's name, you can post into the collection. Because the collection is unrevealed, you do not need to be worried about your giftee seeing their fic before Valentine's day! For a more comprehensive, step-by-step how-to post into the collection, please see below:

Step 1:

Follow the COLLECTION LINK

Step 2:

Click "Post to Collection"

(this will look a little different for you, but the post to collection button will be there)

Step 3:

Fill out your fic/art as you normally would with tags/ships/etc. and then put the name of the giftee we have provided to you here:

Step 4:

Preview/Post to your liking, and then your fic/art will be added to the collection. Again, as this is an unveiled collection it will not show up in your works or in the collection until it's posted on the date provided to you.

If you need to reach out or have any questions, please follow any of these links:

Rules (app | desktop)

Schedule (app | desktop)

Askbox

[feudalconnection]

Get Ready...!!

It's the start of the 1st Quarter 2022 Inuyasha Fandom Awards!!

We hope everyone has had a wonderful and safe holiday season as we kick off the new year! A huge shout-out to everyone who participated last quarter and made it such a huge success! We look forward to all the amazing new fanfiction and fanart to be nominated and shared with this beautiful community!

Before we get started, there have been a few changes that have been made during our brief hiatus.

We want to give a shout-out to @britonell for always being so generous with her time and talent with creating award banners. (If you have not yet received your award banner for last quarter, please reach out to one of the mods asap!)

There are also some changes coming to the categories that may effect you as nominators:

- Our Roulette category for fanfiction this quarter will be Best Fluff Fiction. This is defined as: Stories that generally have a positive plot and happy ending. These stories focus on cheerful themes and "feel good" moments. Includes a happy sequence of events between characters who have a strong, sometimes romantic, bond.

- Our Roulette category for fanart this quarter will be Best Traditional Artwork. This is defined as: A piece crafted using traditional media such as paints, pencils, pens, ink, markers, pastels, crayons, chalks, etc. Computer programs are used to create minor adjustments only or not at all.

If it was not mentioned above, chances are it hasn't changed. Please be aware that the moderators always take suggestions regarding how the awards are run and category changes into consideration, and each quarter may bring about new changes. You can read up on the most recent FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories for more information (these links are only available on desktop).

As nominators, please make sure that each quarter you take a peek at our list of creators who can't be nominated to make sure you are staying current with who is eligible to be nominated.

The 1st Quarter 2022 nomination period will begin January 1st and go until the end of the day January 15th. Please send your nominations through the submit button! If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to send in an ask or reach out to one of the mods!

Mods: @sassybratt9791 @ruddcatha @umacaking @sssuperbartola

Please reblog to spread the word of the start of the new quarter!

[Below the cut we've posted the mobile-friendly FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories]

FAQs

What is The Feudal Connection?

The Feudal Connection is a place where amazing fanart and fanfiction in the Inuyasha fandom is recognized, admired, and offered the chance to be nominated for an award! In addition, it also gives lesser known authors and artists an opportunity to have their work shared to a broader extent and receive the admiration and recognition they deserve!

How do you determine which fanfictions and fanarts are nominated?

The Feudal Connection is fueled by nominations submitted by the Inuyasha community. Once someone sends in a nomination, the moderators review the nomination to verify that it complies with the rules in place. None of the pieces nominated are by “suggestions”. They are specific pieces of work nominated by members of the community.

How do I nominate?

You can send us a submission in one of our nomination formats. Your submission will not be posted and therefore remain anonymous, only to be seen by the moderators. You can send multiple nominations in one submission, as long as the nomination formats are used for each nomination. Please select your fiction nominations carefully; spelling and grammar are important parts of being an author. Anything deemed unacceptable by the moderator team will be disqualified. Once nominations are complete, we’ll post the list of accepted nominations so you can read and view them before voting.

Can I nominate my own art/fiction?

You cannot nominate yourself. Doing so will result in the nomination not being accepted and a warning from the award moderators.

How long do I have to nominate?

You will have 2 weeks from the start of the nominating quarter to send in nominations. These dates will be posted at the beginning of each quarter.

Can I nominate anonymously?

No. This is due to the fact that no one is allowed to nominate their own work. Also, if a nomination is disqualified, the moderators will be reaching out to the person who nominated to allow them another opportunity to nominate.

Can I promote my own works of fiction/art to be nominated for a quarter?

No. You are not allowed to self-promote your own work during the nomination period. This includes not being allowed to request others to nominate your work in specific categories. However, you are allowed to promote the nomination period of the awards by stating something similar to “go nominate your favorites” or the like, as long as you don’t promote your own work to being nominated. Violation of this rule will result in a warning. If there is a second offense, your work will be banned from being nominated in any future quarters.

How many fanfics/fanarts can I nominate?

Only one fiction or artwork can be chosen for each category per person. Meaning, a story or artwork can only be nominated by one person per category. Therefore, any secondary nominations will be disregarded and the duplicate nominator will be allowed to submit another story or artwork in its place.

Is there a limit to how many works can be nominated per category?

Yes. Only 10 fictions or artwork can be nominated per category. Once that category has reached its nomination limit, no more nominations will be accepted into that category for the current quarter.

What fanfiction/fanart is eligible to be nominated?

Please see Rules of Eligibility.

What is the nominating format for fanfics? For fanart?

Nominating format for fanfiction:

Category: (List the name of the category you’ve chosen)

Nominated by: (List YOUR screen name)

Rating: (The fiction’s rating)

Title: (Title of the fiction)

Author: (List the name of the person who wrote the story)

Website(s): (Add the link where the story can be seen)

(For Best “In-Character” list the character’s name):

Nominating format for fanart:

Category: (List the name of the category you’ve chosen)

Nominated by: (List YOUR screen name)

Title: (Title of the artwork)

Artist: (List the name of the person that drew the piece)

Website(s): (Add the link where the art can be seen)

Can I nominate a fanfic/fanart for more than one category?

Yes. The same story or artwork may be nominated by the same person in up to two different categories.

What are the categories?

The categories for both fanart and fanfiction can be found in the Categories link.

Can I nominate a fanart/fanfic that includes Original Characters or Crossover Characters?

Yes. For Fanfics, 80% of the story needs to be focused on Inuyasha characters and the development of the story. OC’s can be in a story, but the main focus needs to be on the Inuyasha characters. Artwork can contain Non-IY characters where specified, but NO art may contain only OC’s or Non-IY characters. (i.e. Artwork of Inuyasha and Kagome’s “OC children” are unacceptable without other genuine IY characters present in the piece)

How do I nominate a piece that has multiple authors or creators?

If multiple people are listed as the author or creators, please verify who created the piece, as some may simply be listed because it was a gift to that person; and please include this verification in your nomination (ie: simply state that you verified that these contributors all had a hand in creating the piece).

If it is a true collaborations between multiple people, they all would go in as one creator. This means that each person would be listed as the creator and the nomination would count toward each creator’s nomination limit.

For example, if a creator was nominated for a collaboration and two other separate works, only the collaboration and one of the other works would be accepted for that creator, depending on which nominations came in first.

I don’t want my fanart/fanfic nominated. Can I opt out? How?

Once a nomination has been approved by the moderators, the author/artist will be made aware of the nomination. Every author/artist retains the right to have their work be removed from the nomination list and can opt out of future nominations.

If you do allow your fanart to be nominated, you are also allowing the moderators to save your work in order to use it strictly during the voting period of the quarter. Once the quarter is completed, the artwork is then removed from the moderators’ personal use.

How many quarters are there?

There will be 4 quarters total per year. Each quarter will be broken down by dates prior to the quarter starting.

How long is each quarter?

Each quarter will be approximately 6 weeks.

How long is the voting period?

The voting period will last for 2 weeks.

How do I vote?

Once the voting period begins, the moderators will post a link to the voting form that will list all of the nominations and which categories they have been nominated for. You can click on the link to be taken to the voting poll, however, you must sign in as you will be allowed only one vote per category.

When are the winners announced?

At the end of each quarter.

What happens if my fanfic/fanart wins? Do I need to do anything?

Please send one of the moderators or the FeudalConnection ask box your preferred email address so that we may send you your awards as soon as possible. Afterward, just kick back, relax, and enjoy the feeling of being recognized for your hard work!

I want to nominate an artist/author who has won in the past. Are they still eligible to be nominated?

There is a Winner Ban in place. Once any piece of artwork or fanfiction has won an award for a category, it automatically becomes ineligible and cannot be nominated again for that category. However, it can be nominated for other categories after three consecutive quarters have passed (ie: one year since that piece won) as long as it fits within that definition. We currently do not have a rule against nominating an author/artist back into the category they won for in the past, as long as it is a different piece of work that is being nominated.

I have a question that’s not listed.

Please feel free to send an ask or a direct message to one of our mods and we will get back to you as soon as possible! :)

Rules of Eligibility

Fiction and Fanart published on any public or free site can be submitted for an award provided they meet all of the requirements of the nominations. These sites include but are not limited to Tumblr, Fanfiction.net, AO3, Deviantart, ect. If the validity of a site is uncertain, reach out to a moderator.

Multi-chapter fics must have been updated within the past 3 years of the nomination quarter. Fanart must have been created within the past 3 years of the nomination quarter.

One-shots and drabbles must have been posted within the past 3 years of the nomination quarter.

If the work was posted onto several different locations, the earliest date and time stamp will be taken and checked against the quarter’s period of eligibility. Stamps posted within reviews can be used to date a work and/or its chapters. Also, authors and artists can be contacted to verify timeframes.

You cannot nominate yourself. Doing so will result in the nomination not being accepted and a warning from the award moderators.

You are only allowed to nominate one fic/fanart per category.

Each piece of Art or Fanfiction is allowed to be nominated into a maximum of two different categories per quarter. The nominations will be taken on a first come first serve basis, meaning that once a piece of Art or Fanfiction is nominated into two categories, it will not be allowed to be nominated into other categories, and each subsequent nomination will be rejected.

Each author/artist is allowed to be nominated twice per quarter. Meaning, an author/artist can only have a max of two of their creations be nominated per quarter. So be sure and pick your favorites carefully!

The work must be in compliance with the definition of the category into which it was nominated.

Both adult and non-adult artwork are acceptable for nominations; however, any adult artwork showing explicit sexual nature will only be allowed to be nominated into the NSFW categories.

Categories

*Please keep in mind that these are subject to change pending participation and suggestions.

There are 36 categories in all - 18 for Fanfiction and 18 for Fanart. Please adhere to each categories’ definition when nominating. If a nomination does not fit within the definition, it will be disqualified.

There is a “Roulette” category for Fanfiction and Fanart that will change each quarter.

Fanfiction Categories

Best Action Fiction

Action: “actual engagement in fighting an enemy; military or naval combat” Adventure: “participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises.”

Does it make you sit on the edge of your seat? Do the characters battle adversity on a daily basis? Have the characters embarked on an epic quest?

Best Alternate Universe/Reality Fiction

Anything that walks outside Takahashi’s vision. Anything that moves the characters outside of Takahashi’s setting of Feudal Era Japan or Modern day Japan is AU/AR. Anything that changes the main characters beyond the basic core attributes Takahashi granted them. Anything that includes a separate world and series of events.

Best Canon Fiction

“The works of an author that have been accepted as authentic.”

If the story is set in Takahashi’s universe (Modern Japan or Feudal Japan) and keeps the character origins, events, and motivations for character development that she created, then it is canon.

Best Canon Divergence Fiction

Anything that walks outside of Takahashi’s original vision, but includes some key defining moments from the original canon universe. Anything that starts in the World created by Takahashi and is taken to a different outcome.

Best Angst Fiction

“Any situation or series of events having/giving a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish. An acute but nonspecific sense of anxiety or remorse.”

Stories that delve into the lives of the characters and pit them against odds that create angst.

Best Dark Fiction

Anything that brings the reader into a world of pain and suffering through abuse of the characters at the hands of the antagonist or internal strife. If it includes graphic rape, murder, abuse (mental or emotional), a character that is suicidal or possessed of depressing thoughts/outlook on life that colors the majority of the story in glum tones it can be considered a dark!fic. Can also be aimed to cause an overwhelming and painful feeling due to something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; fear. Aimed to frighten or ‘gross out’ the reader.

Best Drama Fiction

“Any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results.”

Stories that delve into the lives of the characters and take the readers with them on a journey through the gambit of emotive expression.

Best Humor/Parody Fiction

Did it make you laugh? Did it deliberately spoof the anime/manga?

Best NSFW Fiction

Sexual content/smut with plot. Both oneshots and specific chapters from multi-chapter fics are accepted in this category. If coming from a multi-chapter fic, a link for that specific chapter is required. Must include content depicting an act of the sexual nature; i.e,. sex, masturbation, heavy petting/touching, ect.

Best Oneshot Fiction

Any fiction that spans the length of one chapter. This can also be a fiction that contains more than one chapter provided that each one was posted at the same time and specifically deemed a “oneshot” by the author.

Best Character Portrayal

Did the author create an in-depth characterization that, while it may diverge from Takahashi’s vision for them, managed to attract the reader?

*Nomination must include the specific character*

Best InuKag Romance Fiction

“Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love”

Stories that have developed a believable romance between Inuyasha and Kagome. “Believable” is subjective, and it is up to those nominating/voting to draw their own line on that quantifier and vote their “Best.” This includes canon, canon-divergent, and AU/AR settings.

Best Non-Canon Romance Fiction

Stories that have developed a believable romance between two or more characters with each other that were not canonically together in the manga or anime. “Believable” is subjective, and it is up to those nominating/voting to draw their own line on that quantifier and vote their “Best”. This includes canon-divergent and AU/AR settings.

Best Non-InuKag (Canon) Romance Fiction

Stories that have developed a believable romance between two secondary characters that were canonically together within the original Inuyasha world; ie: non-InuKag. “Believable” is subjective, and it is up to those nominating/voting to draw their own line on that quantifier and vote their “Best”. This includes canon, canon-divergent, and AU/AR settings.

Best Serial Fiction

A collection of drabbles or oneshots or a combination of both that makes up one larger story.

Best Ficlet

For drabbles and poetry - of any genre or pairing - consisting of 1,000 words or less.

Best Fluff Fiction

Stories that generally have a positive plot and happy ending. These stories focus on cheerful themes and “feel good” moments. Includes a happy sequence of events between characters who have a strong, sometimes romantic, bond.

Best Completed Fiction

A story with multiple chapters that will no longer be updated and should be listed as ‘complete.’

Fanart Categories

Best Action Artwork

Any fanart depicting adventures, engagement in fighting an enemy, or battles.

Best Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality Artwork

Any fanart depicting the characters in an alternate reality or universe setting.

Best Canon Artwork

Any art featuring the characters in a canon setting.

Best Angst Artwork

Any art depicting a scene having/giving a feeling of dread, anxiety or anguish.

Best Dark Artwork

Any art that brings the reader into a world of pain and suffering through abuse of the characters at the hands of the antagonist or internal strife. If it includes graphic rape, murder, abuse (mental or emotional), a character that is suicidal or possessed of depressing thoughts/outlook on life that colors the piece in glum tones can be considered a dark artwork. Can also be aimed to cause an overwhelming and painful feeling due to something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; fear. Aimed to frighten or ‘gross out’ the reader.

Best Humor/Parody Artwork

Any artwork which evokes a feeling of amusement in the viewer.

Best Kiss Artwork

Fanart depiction of the Best Kiss between two romantic characters.

Best Character Artwork

Any artwork that is a ‘still life’ of one or two characters. It may be bust only, bust and torso, or full body. The portrait should seem more ‘professional’ than a snapshot in its form and presentation, and should successfully convey a sense of the character’s canon personality to the viewer.

Best Duo/Pairing Artwork

Any art that features two characters be it a comic, doujinshi, painting, drawing, sketch, etc. If other characters are included in the picture it is only allowed as a background. The focus MUST be on the pairing. The art can reflect either a platonic relationship or a romantic relationship between the two characters.

Best Doujinshi Artwork

Fanbased and fan made manga based on Inuyasha; art and story combined in manga form.

Best Redraw Artwork

Any art that is a redraw of a scene from the Manga or Anime.

Best Traditional Artwork

A piece created using traditional media such as paints, pencils, pens, ink, markers, pastels, crayons, chalks, etc. Computer programs are used to create minor adjustments only or not at all.

Best NSFW Artwork

Any artwork portraying the characters of Inuyasha engaged in a sex scene or a scene hinting at a sexual relationship. Can be one character, male/female, male/male, or female/female.

Best Romance Artwork

Any romantic depiction of two of the characters of Inuyasha (excluding male/male or female/female)).

Best Non-Canon Pairing Artwork

An artwork depicting two or more characters in a romantic light with each other that were not canonically together in the manga or anime (such as InuKag, MirSan, KogAya, etc)

Best LGBTQ+ Artwork

Any romantic depiction of two of the characters of Inuyasha including male/male or female/female pairings.

Best Group Depiction Artwork

This artwork must feature 3 or more of the Inuyasha cast to be eligible.

Best Overall Artwork

The quality, time, thought, and emotion that went into this piece is what would make it worthy of this nomination. Please take note: The general idea is not the “best of what’s nominated” or “best of show.” It is a category created specifically for art appreciation. That means that even if the characters are OOC, AU, or not drawn in anime style, etc., the ART itself is worthy of praise.

[wiypt-writes]

Murder, He Wrote

Part 1

Co-written with @southerngracela​

Summary: You’re sent by your asshole boss to do a review of a Celebrity Host Haunted Mansion, hosted by none-other than the arrogant, wild-eye browed actor Lucas Lee, but you’re worried you’ve missed the boat…that is, until at the last minute, an email arrives to say they can let you in on the last admission that night, which just happens to be Halloween… When you arrive, you’re actually kind of excited and intrigued…but it isn’t long until that excitement and intrigue give way to fear when you find yourself in a helpless situation.

Warnings: A creepy house, bad language words. MATURE (NSFW 18+) NON-CON situation, kidnap, violence. DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THOSE TRIGGER… READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Pairing: DARK! Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N:  So this is a collaboration between myself and the wonderful @southerngracela​ for @jtargaryen18 ‘s  Haunted House 2020 challenge…and will be a mini-series, with an as of yet undefined number of chapters.

Once again READ THE WARNINGS!!!! This is a DARK Series… don’t @ us if you can’t follow simple instructions and end up with butt-hurt. And if you’re under 18…get off my blog.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and by writing it does NOT mean I agree with or condone the acts contained within. This fiction is classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar reader and any other OCs that may or may not be mentioned. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Murder, He Wrote Masterlist // Main Masterlist.

"Y/L/N," your dick editor poked his head into your office rather gruffly. "I'm gonna need that celebrity haunted mansion review on my desk by tomorrow morning. I want to run it ASAP.”

"I can't even get in, not even with a press pass, I've been trying for two weeks, Mick!” you looked at him, your mouth slightly open. You’d told him this countless times at morning briefings. You hadn't even heard back from the organizers about sneaking around the press pass issue and offering an exclusive on the joint, a small fact you kept Mick in the dark about.

"Make it happen." He said simply, before he turned and left.

You glared at his retreating form. What the fuck did he not understand about the situation? Mind you, what did he understand about anything? There was a reason everyone working for him called him Mick The Prick.

There was also a reason he was being extra prickish to you. Earlier in the spring time of the year you’d run an article on Ransom Drysdale- the stuck up, trust fund asshole who had literally gotten away with murder. He’d confessed to murdering his grandfather’s house keeper, attempting to murder his grandfather and then, in a violent showdown with 2 police officers and a private detective present, he’d attempted to murder his grandfather’s nurse, Marta. And he would have succeeded, except the knife he’d used had been a stage prop. It was like some fucked up Murder, She Wrote plot, and when you’d interviewed the real life Jessica Fletcher (in this case the rather charming PI named Benoit Blanc who’d been a character to say the least) it got even more confusing. Ransom had hired Blanc in some elaborate scheme to frame Marta for Harlan’s death to do her out of the inheritance via the Slayer Rule. That had back fired spectacularly when she had unwittingly switched back the vials of medication Drysdale had tampered with, meaning Harlan had truly committed suicide. 

The article was supposed to be done showing his side of the story, a way for him to set the record straight, but the more you’d dug and spoken to people surrounding the case, the more you were absolutely convinced of his guilt, not least because he’d been acquitted on the murder and attempted murder charges on technical grounds due to his confession being, allegedly, obtained under duress and without a brief being present. The only thing they’d managed to pin on him was the arson which had burnt the Chief Medical Examiner’s office to the ground, and when his brief had successfully argued mitigating circumstances- he wasn’t of sound mind given the shock surrounding him being cut from his grandfather’s will- he’d basically ended up being released on license.

It was a joke, and that was basically what your article had said. You’d written a scathing attack on how money could basically render you untouchable by the law, highlighting the failures of the Criminal Justice System. At the time, Mick the Prick had been delighted with it, publishing it under your suggested head line “Murder, He Wrote”- ha, go figure, and copies had flown off the shelves, the article online going viral.

And then money had talked once more, and the Drysdale’s had threatened to sue for defamation. That in itself was a joke, as you knew full well his mother, Linda, was only doing it to salvage her own reputation, the same reason she’d worked so hard to find a lawyer to get him off the charges despite the fact she knew full well he was guilty as sin. Mick The Prick had attempted to throw you under the bus spectacularly when the board had come looking for blood, but as editor the buck stopped with him, and he was given a formal warning whilst you were forced to publish a retraction and offer a written apology much to your utter chagrin.

Which was why he was now making your life as hard as possible, and your Investigative Journalism skills, that you’d honed over the last decade; from high school paper, college tribune and now your current employer, over the last 10 years or so since graduation were now being focussed on covering stories about housewives who found Jesus’ face in a slice of toast, or in this case a fucking Celebrity Host Halloween Haunted House review. Whereas you had dominated the first 2 pages once upon a time, you were now lucky if you made it further up than page 11.

With a groan you banged your head on your desk. Why had you not listened to your dad and become a damned teacher instead of a journalist. Dealing with snotty nosed brats would be easier than this.

By the end of your day, you were burning what felt like the midnight oil however it wasn't very late at all. Dark had settled in but it wasn't late by time. Just before you were to log off and leave for the night, a TV dinner and pint of mint chip waiting for you in your freezer (and probably a job search too seeing as you would no doubt be fired tomorrow morning for failing on your deadline) your email pinged on your desktop. You frowned at it, wondering who could possibly be emailing you this late but then you recognized the sender.

It was the reply you'd been waiting on from the organizers from the Celebrity Host Haunted House. Clicking the email open, your eyes scanned the message. The organizer was setting you up with a private tour, TONIGHT. "9 pm," you finished reading aloud, relief flooding your entire body. It meant a long assed, sleepless night whilst you wrote your article, but it was better than the looming threat of unemployment. Plus, on the upside, as it was a charity gig the organizer had pulled out the big guns and the blurb on the email told you that it was to feature none other than Lucas Lee, a once-upon-a-time famous A-List Movie star, who was possibly just as arrogant as Hugh Ransom Drysdale, but you had to give it to him, in the films you’d seen he was actually damned good, and also pretty hot so…every cloud.

Glancing at your clock, you had just enough time to clock out and grab a quick bite at a drive thru on your way. The location was nearly an hour outside the city so you needed to get gone and fast. A quick reply telling the organizer you were on your way was sent out and you grabbed your coat, pulling it on over your sweater dress and were gone. 

It took a good hour like you'd estimated and that was with stopping for a quick meal, to reach the address your GPS brought you to. It was creepy even at its first glance so you could only hope this payed off. With a quick swig of your watered down and flat fountain drink, you grabbed your bag and phone, exiting your vehicle and locking it shut. The cool night air bit at your exposed cheeks and you were glad you'd worn your coat and tights.

As you stood, gazing at the dilapidated house you shivered, as though, ice had replaced you spine. The walkway leading up to house was cracked, blood red roses grew wildly in thick batches by the gate and the moonlight cast a ghoulish glow on the house. Vines formed a twisted maze upon the side of the of the house's walls which showed the black decay of neglect, in between which splotches of original paint hinted at the house’s former prosperity. Cobwebs covered the corners of the doors, tiny black spiders threading towards their prey and you gave another shudder, as far as first impressions went, yeah, it was fitting for a Halloween Haunted House tour.  

Pulling out your phone, noticing you had no reception (of course you wouldn’t, wasn’t that the cliché?) you took a few photos to use in the article and then gave a little squeak as the door creaked open on its own. Arching your eyebrow slightly, in a manner very much like the man you were here to meet, you strode forward and into the house. Immediately a musty, dank odour crept into your nose. The house was deadly silent except for the intermittent creaks and moans typically associated with a property that age. Black and brown mold dotted the ceiling of the tall hallway you stood in and the windows that framed the door on either side were covered with grime and dirt meaning the calm moonlight struggled to penetrate the darkness in thin thread rays, the main source of light being the open doorway. Sharp shadows roamed around the room and as your eyes adjusted to the dim light you noticed that there was a bright white envelope almost perched on the wooden table to the side of the hall. It was the newest thing in the room, so was obviously there for you.

You crossed over, the heels of your suede boots clicking loudly out in the silence of the hallway, and gently reached out for the envelope. A single word- Start- was written on the front in cursive, looping scrawl, very fitting for a spooky note. Another detail you committed to memory for your write up. You slid your finger into the crook of the envelope and slid it open. Inside was a small, white card, containing a message written in the same writing.

To ensure that you don’t become tomorrow’s big news, In this envelope you’ll find the first of 6 clues Of your super sleuth skills you should be proud, So make sure that you read your answers out loud. As one by one they lead to your ultimate demise. Which may or may not be a scary surprise…

Okay, now you were interested. This wasn’t just a walk through some scary assed, supposedly haunted house where Lucas Lee was no doubt set to jump out at you in some ridiculous disguise. This was a scavenger hunt, and your natural inquisitiveness was piqued. 'This could be fun', you thought as you reached for the next card that was in the envelope, reading the first clue. 

I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. I also give heat but, not enough to prevent cold

You pondered for a second, heat was leading you to think of a fire, and they certainly grew shorter with time, well eventually when they burnt out…but then again, the longer they went the hotter they got, and they certainly prevented the cold. Scanning the hallway for anything that might fit the description, your eyes flicked up to the ceiling which held an elaborate, but tarnished candelabra style chandelier. And then it hit you. Tall when young, short when old.

“Candle…” you spoke “The answer is Candle…”

At that the door leading to the outside slammed shut behind you, and you gave an involuntary scream as the dominant source of light was sealed off. You spun round to look at it, and then your scream turned in to a laugh as you shook your head, for an Investigative Reporter you prided yourselves on steely nerves but so far that was twice this adventure had caught you off guard.

Turning back round, you then spotted that the door at the end of the hall was open, and you could clearly make out a Jack-o-Lantern looking at you, the candle inside flickering. Its face was creepy, really creepy. The nose and eyes were harsh triangles and the grotesque, twisted smile it sported was constructed of sharp, jagged teeth. You reached into your pocket and pulled out your phone. You may have had no service, but the flashlight was working. Keeping the light held in front of you so you could watch your step on the cracked tiles of the hall, you made your way towards the lantern and found yourself in a large, run down kitchen. The lantern and your flash-light provided the only light in the room as the windows were all overshadowed by gnarly trees, their branches every so often scratching the glass as they swayed slightly in the wind outside. The only other sound to be heard was the drip, drip of the faucet in the porcelain Belfast sink. 

A closer look revealed the discoloration of the water, a brownish concoction as it swirled down the plug. There was an envelope on the side of the counter by the lantern and as you crossed towards it, a movement in your peripheral made you spin round only to see a lone mouse scuttling away across the dirty wooden floor. You placed your phone down, flash-light up causing it to light up an area of the Artex plaster ceiling, and picked up the envelope, tearing it open to find your next clue

Mr Jack-o-Lantern lights the night His eerie face is shining bright The ????? that shaped him lies around And holds your next clue safe and sound 

“Oh come on…” you muttered, “That’ ones obvious. Knife, the answer is knife…” You picked up your phone and shone it around the various surfaces of the kitchen and your eyes honed in on a wooden knife block containing a solitary knife. You crossed the room towards it and as you closed in on it, you noticed that the handle of the knife was an ornate silver filigree. It was no ordinary kitchen knife and as you pulled it form the block you realised it was in fact a dagger, antique by the looks of things. The blade was curved slightly, reaching a sharp point, the silver tarnished. But the more you looked at it, the more you suddenly became horribly aware that it wasn’t merely a dullness of colour at all. It was blood. 

“Dramatic…” you mumbled, and with a sigh you then realised there was no clue attached to it. Was this a distraction? A decoy? You were just about to stat ransacking drawers to find the actual knife you needed, when you glanced back at the block the dagger had been held in and noticed a flash of white peeking from underneath. Picking it up and moving it aside you smiled as you saw the same cursive writing, spelling out the word three. Seeing as you might as well play along, you used the dagger to slit the envelope open, tossing it back down on the counter as you read the next clue.

Many a Child on me they may play Any time be it night or day. My surface is hard, on it you can knock I have many keys, but can’t open a single lock…

“What has keys but doesn't open a lock?" You pondered aloud. Adjusting your cross-body strap, you sigh. Then the answer came to you, "a piano."

You fell silent, your mind racing to how the hell you were going to find a piano in this decrepit and yet enormous house. Then, your ears heard it. The subtle note from deep inside the house. It was a single key. But now that wasn't your concern, no, it wasn't the mice or the bugs or even the brown water. Your heart raced at the notion that someone was in fact in the house with you. 

"Alright, Lee, you were always one for a flare of the dramatics, let's see what you've got."

Step by step you followed the note that chimed every few steps and you found yourself beginning to wonder if it was a recording or if someone were really playing it, timing their play with the sound of your boots over the rotting floor. You wound your way through the narrow hall, ancient wall paper peeling from its tack, mastick and plaster falling away to reveal studs in places. 

Finally, to your left you heard the key loud and clear. It was in that room. Steeling yourself for a possible encounter, you carefully pushed the sliding door away from its hinge. Your booted feet traipsed across the brittle carpet, dust swirling in the air in front of your face. Cobwebs adorned many of the surfaces and there were dirty white sheets covering the various pieces of furniture in the room. Apart from, that is, the large ornate grand piano that sat in the middle of the room.

The stool in front of it suddenly jolted back and tilted toward you, making you scream at the  gracious invitation by an as of yet invisible host. 

“Get a grip Y/N” you mumbled to yourself. You were surprised to find just how much this place was starting to set your nerves on edge. You took a deep breath, the pounding of blood in your ears began to quiet and you took a look around the room. There was no one in there with you, you were alone.

With slow, deliberate steps you moved towards the piano, your eyes sweeping over the mahogany surface, searching for an envelope with the next clue, but there was none to be found. The surface of the piano was thick with dust and grime, but as you scanned over it you suddenly stopped. On one of the white keys the dust was disturbed, as if it had been wiped away and you instantly realised that had to be the key that your so far elusive host must have been playing. You paused, biting at the nail on your thumb of you right hand, before you reached out with your left and tapped the key. The melodic note rang around the room, clearly, echoing in the silence and for some reason you were taken back to a part of the article you had been thinking about earlier that day, and how Detective Blanc had told you that he had ‘played a key’ during the various family interviews ‘to make my point without interruption’. It didn’t pass you by how fitting that actually was at that moment but you didn’t have much time to reflect on it, as you heard a creak and a grinding noise and you spun to your left to see a panel in the wall sliding open. It made you jump slightly, but this time you didn’t scream. 

Not for the first time, you had to admire the effort Lucas was going to here. It was clear he had a flare for the dramatic, anyone could see that from his films and interviews but this was pretty damned good. It was making you wonder how he was doing it. Was he somewhere watching, pressing buttons to enact the various parts of his show? Instinctively you glanced up, looking for a camera or something you were being monitored by but you found no evidence of anything. 

“Well, in for a penny…” you muttered, crossing towards the small hatch. It was just wide enough for you to get your hand into, but you really didn’t want to. You grabbed your torch and shone it into the hole, finding nothing but the envelope so deciding it was safe you reached in and pulled it out.

Sometimes coloured, sometimes plain sometimes frosted, sometimes stain Be you short or thin, or fat or tall, this simple invention, lets you look right through a wall

You pondered for a moment, before the answer came to you. Fairly quickly you might add. Feeling a little smug you smiled and cleared your throat.

“Window. It’s a window.”

Usually, at that point, something happened to point your attention to the place you should be looking but this time, there was nothing. Instinctively you looked out of the one on the wall by the piano, but as you stared at nothing but the darkness outside you realised that was too obvious. Just then your ears picked up a sound you couldn’t quite figure out, but it was familiar all the same. And then it came to you, it was the familiar click and clack of a skateboard, the wheels gliding over the brittle old floor and you span round in the direction it was coming from to see a window you hadn’t noticed before, this one was an ornate, stained glass window which bore some kind of flower design that faced directly out into the hall. 

He passed by slower than a flash but just enough to allow you to catch only a glimpse. You audibly gasped, your breath coming in a sharp intake of fright, because until then you had been alone on this chase. But it appeared you dramatic host had finally come out to play. He was merely a shadow, bulky in frame, tall and dressed all in black as he moved past but it was enough to puzzle you. You didn’t remember Lucas being that broad, or tall. With a frown you ran into the hall to catch him but saw nothing, and heard nothing, the only thing to indicate he had been there was a faint smell of the cedar and amber of what you assumed to be cologne. 

You paced quickly down the hall in the direction the figure had gone but as you passed the stairwell the light flickered on, instantly attracting your attention. You’d only briefly noticed the ornate staircase before, but with the lack of light you certainly hadn’t noticed the writing on the wall, dripping in fresh paint. Swallowing, as you mouth suddenly felt dry with fear you stepped onto the first stair, and as soon as you did you were plunged into almost complete black. Letting out a shriek as, once again, he’d managed to get the drop on you, you shook your head and reached for your phone, taking another few steps up so you were level with the next clue which you read aloud.

“Tonight is not all fright and fear, a trick or treat is waiting near, the bedroom holds a sweet surprise, there solve the clue to claim your prize.” You bit your lip and looked up at the top of the stairs, wondering when someone was going to jump out at you. Taking a deep breath, you made your way up, cringing at each creak your feet caused on the old warped wood, but it didn’t sway your determination to make it to your destination. 

Halfway up, a shadow flickered at the corner of your vision at the top on the landing and you froze, your mouth going dry once more. As you stood there, shining your light into the dark you caught the same scent from moments ago lingering in the air only this time it was stronger, far more powerful and you were able to denote even more of the notes within. Alongside the amber and cedar your heightened senses picked up deep, earthy, sandalwood notes with a hint of citrus in the background.  And it was familiar for reasons beyond the fact you’d smelt it down stairs. But, as you’d surmised earlier, it was a cologne. Probably one worn by a few people you knew.

Yes that was it.

“Jesus Christ Y/N what has gotten into you?” You rolled your eyes and continued up the stairs, clearly your ‘Celebrity Host’ was once more nearby. 

You cautiously got to the top of the stairs and glanced around. Nothing. So turning to your left you entered the first room you found on the hall. It was empty bar a creepy looking doll that had been separated from its head which lay about a foot to the right. As you looked around the room, the wind intensified outside, the rustling of the leaves and branches became louder, as did the creaking of the house…and then you gulped, as you realised it wasn’t just the house that was creaking. In the corner of the room, the little chair had begun to rock, slowly. Blowing out a breath and shaking your head, you looked around at the thin strips of wallpaper which showed little trucks. Crayon markings scrambled upon the wall where wallpaper used to stick but other than that there was nothing in there bar some pretty good theatrics. You had to hand it to Lee, the creepy feel was fantastic and you were going to give him one hell of a write up for this. You took a while longer to take in the detail, smiling to yourself before you closed the door and headed to the one over the hallway. 

This room was a little lighter thanks to a lamp which stood on a nightstand. It wasn’t bright, by any means, but it was enough so that you could clearly see the bed in the middle of the room. And there, placed by the pillows was a thin box. On unsteady legs, you shuffled slowly towards the bed, the box before you making you quiver, your insides churning. A shaky hand tilted the lid open slowly, afraid something would pounce in a sneak attack. You shut your eyes ready to protect them in case a bat or bugs flew at you and when nothing happened, you opened them slowly and inspected the boxes contents. There was no envelope this time, just copy of a newspaper. Your newspaper. And you felt your blood run cold as you recognise the bold headline across the top. Murder, He Wrote: A twisted tale of Inheritance, Crime and Exoneration "Drysdale," you whispered in realization. But now, while you were well aware of what the article meant and who it was referring to, your brain shut down processing how on earth Lucas Lee and Ransom could possibly be connected. Your breathing deepened and you moved to pick up the article, but then the lid to the box caught your eye and you froze, for on the inside of the lid was another clue, only this one was a straight forward question which was spelled out using cut-out letters from the newspaper in question.

I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?

You froze, for the answer was simple. Breath. And that was it, you needed to get out. You started to back away from the bed, but before you had so much as made it 3 steps you collided with something hard. A forceful arm across your front pinned you to a firm and broad chest that engulfed your frame while a cloth with a distinct smell and cool moisture covered your airways.

"Surprise" The voice in your ear, calm, deep and known, was all you heard before nothing consumed you.  

*****

When Y/N went limp in his arms, Ransom laid her across the bed only leaving the room to hurriedly cover his tracks, blowing out candles and removing any trace of her that had been in the house. His time as his grandfather's research assistant gave him far more experience than it should have. When he returned to the bedroom she was still out cold but light as a feather as he carried her downstairs and out the back door to the awaiting SUV, smug that his plan had gone so well.

But then, didn’t everything for him? He was Ransom Drysdale, and he was fucking untouchable.

He drove away from the scene of his new crime towards the city, driving through the dead of night, on the beltway, and continued twenty minutes outside downtown Boston before pulling into the garage of a large red cedar and quartzite home. He killed the engine and closed the garage door, pulling Y/N from the seat she was slumped in when it was clear to do so.

He couldn't be seen, he wouldn't be seen. He carried her inside the spacious home, his boots tapping heavily against the dark marble floor of the kitchen and finally the lush carpeted staircase that wound down into the basement.

This is where he laid her, in the basement, on a bed, but not just any bed, the one that would now become hers. He adjusted the lighting in the space, low enough not to disturb her, but bright enough to give the room a glow so he could finish what he'd set out to do. In the shock of the struggle in the bedroom, she’d dropped her phone and he’d made sure to smash it long before he left the haunted house, making sure there'd be no device to track her. He'd already disposed of her car while she was playing his little game, every loose end as far as he could see was tied up.

And now she was all his. 

He brushed the hair away from Y/N’s face where it had fallen over her eyes.  With gloved hands he manoeuvred her undone, black woollen coat off her body, leaving her in the bottle green turtle neck sweater dress and thick tights she was wearing before he tossed it over the chair in the corner of the room and then undid the zips on her brown suede knee high boots. He dropped them to the floor, kicking them towards the same corner with the equal carelessness he’d shown her coat. With a final meticulous movement he rearranged her on the bed, so he’d appear more comfortable and just before he left the room, he wrapped the cool, metallic cuff around the ankle. It locked in place with a clink and with a final glance at her still unconscious form, he turned and exited the room, the door latching shut and with the snap of the deadbolt he locked her in.

*****

Your head pounded, your nose burned and your mouth felt dry with the faintest taste of something foul lingering as you swallowed. The light was low but still your eyes ached. You tried to decipher exactly what the hell had happened to you while you got your bearings. You tried to sit up but your body felt heavy, the soft bed you now realized you were lying on was not your own. Your breathing rapidly increased as you started to move in fear but a clink caused a screech to escape your throat. You felt the weight of the cuff around your ankle and a full panic set it.

Your night flashed quickly through your glutamate and adrenaline flooded brain

You remembered getting the email from the Haunted Mansion supposedly hosted by Lucas Lee. You had arrived and were sent on what you thought was a fun and exhilarating maze littered with clues and riddles and then you remembered the last piece of the puzzle. You gasped as you remembered how his breath felt hot on your skin and how his voice registered in your mind.

"Drysdale," you repeated the last word you had spoken in a shaky, frightful voice. "No."

Rage and fear collided in your chest as you screamed out the only thing you could think of, "HELP!" A strangled sound left your chest followed by another cry out for help, "Please, someone, HELP!" 

The door to your room, now coming into focus around you, flew open and there he stood, smug smirk, raging ocean blue eyes, hair neatly in place, dismantling frame clothed in a black sweater and dark denim, heavy footfalls sounding against the thick carpet under his feet. 

"Nice to see someone's awake," Ransom deadpanned.

You stared for a brief moment and screamed for help again, louder, and louder, and louder until you felt your voice crack and strain, your cords burning as the sound shattered away. 

"Are you done?" He cocked his head to the side and folded his arms across his chest as he stood firm and tall in front of the bed.

"What the hell are you doing? Why am I here?" It hurt to speak but you had to ask. 

“Because I want you here, Sweetheart.”

"I...I'm not, don't call me that," you spat defiantly as he moved closer, taking you in, his predatory eyes moving over your body. This was it, you were going to die all because some trust fund prick was a hurt baby about an article (that you forcibly apologized for) revealing the sick and sadistic truth about him, his family, money and the justice system. 

"Are you gonna kill me?” You watched him carefully as he crossed the room towards you, trying to keep your voice calm so as not to betray the utter fear that was coursing through your veins at the fact you were trapped, fuck knows where, shackled to a bed with a murderer being your captor. “That's what this is about, right? My apology wasn't enough?"

"Your apology was forced bullshit.” He responded, his voice carried a hint of amusement, because of course, this was all a game to him. “You smeared my name, dragged my reputation though the mud and you expected an apology like that, half assed and full of more crap than your original hatchet piece, to be enough?" He was standing damn near over you now, a hand moving up your leg that was held by the cuff, your body frozen in a confused silent argument of fight or flight.

"You... Killed... Him." You grit out through clenched teeth, and his hand was on your throat before you finished your breath, squeezing just enough to make a point.

"No. I. Didn't." He lied and you had to hand it to him, a lesser person might have bought the garbage he was talking, because he was good at it. Lying must have been enough of a second nature for him that he actually believed everything he said himself. But then again, it wasn't actually a lie was it? Sure, he'd planned on indirectly killing Harlan and that plan had backfired and Harlan had actually slit his own throat. So at most he was indirectly responsible for his death, but none of that had stuck with the prosecution and so now here he was, a free man.

A struggled chuckle came from your tightened throat, "Jesus Christ, you actually believe your own bull shit don't you?"

"You've got a fucking mouth on you," he breathed as his body loomed ominously over the bed and your frame, tiny in comparison to his.

You swallowed, feeling the hard lump strain to pass his grip, "Not really, you just don't like hearing the truth."

His eyes bored into yours and you struggled for breath as his hand constricted around your neck whilst he squeezed a little harder "Oh shut up Y/N."

"Or what, Hugh?" You croaked. 

A little flash of anger tore through his ocean blue eyes like lightning in a storm. His eyes bored into yours as you fought to swallow. 

"Or I'll shut you up myself."

"Try me, you son of a...." You didn't expect his lips to cover yours but they did. Unexpectedly warm and soft, despite the painfully harsh kiss. You managed to pull away but his hand still gripped at your throat and you felt the fear constricting your chest. But you were damned if you were going to show him a shred of weakness.

“You’re an asshole, Hugh…” It was all you had, the only thing you could use in your arsenal given your situation. You still had your voice. And you’d noticed that for whatever reason he appeared to hate that name.

“Don’t... fucking call me that!” his voice rose to a loud, angry instruction, apoplectic rage seeping from him to you, and it was almost stifling.

“Or what? You'll kill me?” your voice rose in both volume and pitch as your desperation began to show. “We both know you're gonna do that once you've fulfilled whatever sick, twisted little fantasy this is. What are you waiting for, Hugh? Huh?”

Ransom scoffed, "Kill you, no, see I'm gonna teach you a lesson. One about how money and status get you anything you want.”

You frowned, as you looked into his icy blue eyes, utterly confused “Anything you want? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You'll see Princess” was the sole explanation you got as he knelt between your legs.

You stayed stock still as large and surprisingly gentle hands trailed your curves up the outside of your thighs to your hips. As he reached the hem of your sweater dress he paused as you wrapped your hands around his wrists.

"Don't" you squeezed, attempting to stop his wrists and close your legs.

“This will be much easier if you just play-along, sweetheart” he muttered as he pressed his lips to your neck. You let go of his wrists and raised your hands, laying them over the wool of his cable knit, palms flat against the plain of muscle as you attempted to push him off.

“I said no.” you tried to keep your voice stern, despite the fact you were fighting back the fear and sadness at the realization of his task was now at hand. His large hands smoothed over your dress, cupping your breasts and he let out a moan as you bit back the bile in your throat that was threatening to spill from your mouth. You pushed harder trying to force him off of you but it was of no use, his broad frame caged you in, engulfing you under him.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.” He ground out, his lips inches from your ear as he nipped at your skin. He was impressively strong and balanced, his weight even through his body as he kept his knees between your legs, a hand against your breast and the other stroking your sides and up your thigh. All the while, his lips sucked at your neck, teeth grazing your pulse point as you turned your head away, tears filling your eyes

"Please, stop," you managed. "Hugh, stop!"

“I told you not to call me that.” He growled against your skin and pulled back, his eyes blazing as they locked on to yours. In sheer desperation, you managed to wrench a free hand from between you and gave him a slap, nails biting at his skin. Instantly you knew you’d pissed him off. His nostrils flared, his jaw set and as his eyes filled with fire and rage.

And you knew then, you were in for it.

“Bitch…” he snarled as he raised his left hand to his face where you had struck him, and then both his hands grabbed yours, yanking your arms up, pinning them above your head. You bucked upwards, violently in an attempt to shake him off, but it was futile. He was far too strong. His grip on your wrists grew tighter and despite yourself you let out a small whimper of fear.

In one hand he had the ability to cuff both of your wrists and he did so while his other grabbed at your dress, shoving it further up your body, fingers curling over the waist of your tights and panties, a handful of the material fisted in his palm. They wouldn't slide down quick enough and you felt your body lift away from the mattress slightly as he ripped away the material, the snap burning your skin. You fought, boy did you fight. You had no control of your hands or arms as he had them easily pinned, but your legs and the rest of your body gave as good as they could. You thrashed from side to side all the time screaming your objections. You drew your knees up to your chest in an attempt to buck him off. You screamed protests, threw every insult you had at him, but it was no use. He was simply too strong.

He didn't even bother with his belt or button, he just unzipped the flies on his jeans, pulled his solid cock free and slid in. You were wetter than you expected to be, but it still burned with friction and ached from the thick stretch against your tight walls. It hurt, definitely hurt.

"You know you want this. I know you want this." He rasped as he pulled out before thrusting back in, his face twisted in a look that was halfway between being smug and satisfied. Just looking at him made you feel sick but for some reason you were unable to look away as he continued his slow assault, before he picked up the pace slightly, his groans of satisfaction filling the room as he bottomed out, balls deep and it was at that point you closed your eyes and tried to block out what he was doing to you. But try as you might to remain mentally detached from the situation, your body was anything but. And the more he moved in and out of you, the more you could feel your physical reactions. You were powerless to stop them and the heat between your legs and in between your belly was spiking with each thrust into you.

It felt good. And you knew it shouldn’t. So you fought it, but eventually, you couldn't fight it anymore, not with  the way his thick cock filled you, velvety smooth skin sliding in and out of your defiant core. You didn't want to cum, but your body told your brain it was going to and Ransom nearly puffed his chest as he fucked you into your body's submission. 

"You're gonna fucking cum, aren't you, Sweetheart? I can feel it," he ground out, chasing his own release. You remained silent, breathing heavily as your insides coiled and tightened. "Fucking tight ass pussy," he gritted. You refused to cry out, not wanting to give him anything you were able not to, and it took everything you had to remain silent. In desperation, to quell the cry that was rising from your throat, you bit your tongue, tasting the coppery taste of blood in your mouth as you came hard around his cock.

“Fuck, yeah…see…” Ransom’s hips began to move faster, and then with a sudden movement he pulled out of you, making you wince involuntarily at the sting. He shot his load all over your thighs, a growl bubbling from his throat, the warmth of his release trickling down your leg made you feel even more dirty than you already did. 

“Not so fucking smart are we now, huh, miss Investigative Reporter…” his snap was snide, and childish, but you knew he couldn’t help himself. Your head remained defiantly in its position on the pillow, turned to the right, eyes focussed on a spot on the wall. “Look at me, bitch.”

When you didn’t do as he asked, he grabbed your chin bruisingly, making you wince as he pulled your face round so he could see you. You knew he would be able to see the tears on your face, and you hated that. Hated that he would see how much he’d hurt you, scared you even, 

His hand let go of your face and you stared at him, swallowing, trying to gather your voice in your painfully dry throat.

"That's all you got? You're a fucking child, Drysdale. It's why you’re doing this." You said, your voice trembling and croaking from the fear and exertion of what he had just put you through and you shook your head. “You’re a fucking man child with mommy and daddy issues. A spoilt, little whiney brat who can’t bear to be told no.”

That struck a nerve, you could tell, as his jaw clenched tight and his fists clenched around the sheets by your side to the point they were shaking. He grabbed your chin once more with his right hand and pinned your face still, forcing your eyes to look back at his 

“You'll be begging me to accept your apology.” He snarled, his face contorted in rage “You'll see who the whiney child is soon enough. I promise Princess, it's not me”

As you looked at him, you felt your anger starting to simmer. This fucking ass hole had just raped you, and he had the gall to be saying you were going to tell him that you were sorry. No chance in hell. You knew you were screwed, literally and figuratively. Whilst he had you captive behind a bolted door, shackled to a bed you had nowhere to go, he knew that you knew that too and you could see it in his face as a smug smirk flickered on his lips. Well fuck this, if you were going down it was with a fight. With a sudden movement, that caught him off guard you moved your head slightly as much as you could in his painful grip, and spat right in his face.

Ransom blinked, his anger morphing to shock, then back to fury once more as he released your face and with a flash of his hand he back handed you straight across the face. The blow to your right cheek snapped your head to the left, sucking the breath from your lungs and leaving you a little dazed.

“Fuck you.” He sneered as he rose to his feet, wiping his face. Silently he rearranged his pants, tucking his now soft cock back inside them, and swept from the room, locking the door behind him.

***** Ransom stormed up the steps to the kitchen of the house, slamming the top door behind him and bolting that one shut too. He was furious that little bitch had scratched him and no doubt marked his face. He strode over the marble tiles of the room and walked into the large hallway and across into the den. He made his way straight to the bar, poured himself a healthy measure of good scotch, slopping a little on the dark wooden counter, before he glanced up at the large mirrored surface of the bar behind the shelves.

He could make out three vivid red lines down his left cheek where she’d dug her nails into his flesh and his jaw clenched. His hair was out of place, his cheeks flushed and his normally cold eyes were blazing with anger. But as he stood there staring at his dishevelled reflection, he knew it wasn’t the fact she’d scratched or spat at him that was pissing him off so much. It was the fact she had persistently voiced a name he despised, one that was used to control those lower than him in his every-day life. One reserved for The Help, for outsiders. It reminded him of his family, of his mother and father, the two people in his life who should have loved him unconditionally but instead had him out of ‘duty’ and had taken every opportunity to pass him off into the care of others they could. It reminded him of Walt persistently telling him he was a no-one, that he would amount to nothing over than a trust-fund baby. 

It reminded him of Harlan. The one person in that entire fucked up patriarchy that had shown him an ounce of care. But who had screwed him over in the end. 

The anger that had been simmering inside him boiled over, the blood pumped into his ear and with an angry yell and an almost involuntary action Ransom hurled the glass tumbler straight at the wall where it smashed against the tasteful silver and white wallpaper, the 25 year old single malt trickling down the wall…just like the tears and trickled down Y/N’s cheeks as he’d forced her to look at him whilst he took what was his. 

As she’d glared up at him he’d noticed a fierceness in her eyes that he was surprised to find had unnerved him a little, because she clearly wasn’t going to be as easy to break as he thought. 

“Fuck it.” He mumbled to himself, grabbing the bottle from the bar before he turned and left the room, taking a large swig as he went, the burn in his throat going someway to settling his nerves.

This would work out, because he was Ransom fucking Drysdale, a man who always got what he wanted in the end, and she was going to be no exception.

**** Part 2

[valyrou]

hiyaaaaa, who are your top 3 fav star wars characters? and/or your top 3 Final Fantasy 7 characters? who’s your favorite slasher? I’m a big fan of Ghostface! oh and I also loooove your “Star Wars Characters Love Language”, what you wrote for Anakin is especially my favorite. I’d just love to be held by him OTL

(also, I noticed that your askbox doesn’t have the ability to turn on Anon for those who are more shy, if you want to find the setting for that it’s in “Edit Appearance” in your blog’s settings. unfortunately it can only be found on desktop/web browser. if Anonymous is intentionally off (bc haters or something) then ignore this and sorry if i overstepped my boundary! ^^’)

Hi!! Thank you soo much for asking and pointing out that requesting as anon was turned off! I rushed to my Pc the minute I read it and fixed it. You can now ask questions anonymously. Again thank you so much for pointing this out, I probably would have never noticed that. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ENJOYING MY LOVE LANGUAGE POST! I really appreciate it :) I honestly thought I was a horrible writer haha again, thank you so much!! Have a lovely day and I hope you enjoy what I wrote for you! If you have anything else you‘d like to share with me, you can happily hop in my Request/question inbox and request again! Maybe even as Anon this time ;)

(Requests are open)

Top 3 Fandom characters

A/n: Okay sorry to interrupt again, but this is literally perfect to write rn because I am on a car ride right now (so many Right now’s) and I really need to do something.. OKAY THATS ALL THANK YOU

Star Wars

Okay this one is VERY hard… I really had to think about this for a looong time.. I will explain myself as to why I chose each character :)

1.Din Djarin

OKAY HEAR ME OUT!! I‘m a sucker for Pedro Pascal, but I just love Mandos character in itself! He doesn’t let anyone get close to him but at the same time he builds trust quite fast. Most of the time. He knows who he can trust and is always on guard.

He is daddy. No like literally he has an adoptive, green baby on his side at all times. If you can gain his trust, he can be quite friendly and caring. I cannot tell you how many feelings explode inside of me when he says „Go! I‘ll cover you!“ LIKE AHHHH

2. Anakin Skywalker

Do I need to explain? He is so much like me!! Especially the high ego and the stubbornness..DO NOT COME AT ME LIKE „Oh so you think you can change him?“ HELL. NO. I would not be able to change a single thing about him, especially when palpatine lures him to the dark side. I would try to get him back of course but he was so gaslighted he would not change his mind.

Still he is handsome and has a great personality, even if he‘s a Jedi he still keeps his personality. He just shits on Jedi rules (relationship with padme) I don’t know why I like him so much, it’s just something I know for a fact. Legit grew up like that.

OKAY HOLD UP!! This was between Ahsoka and Obi wan.. and I‘m sorry to say this but..

3. Ahsoka Tano

I‘M SORRY BUT I CAN‘T TELL YOU HOW MUCH I FANGIRLED FOR AHSOKA IN MANDALORIAN SO I JUST HAVE TO GO WITH HER.

I see obi wan more as a father figure.. he is just papa :0

Ahsoka my love is a girl boss, fleeing from troopers that try to catch her for something she didn’t do and then realizing that being a Jedi is just meh and retreating from her status of being a Jedi? Just a girl boss. You have to love her for that

AND HELLO?!!? SHE LOOKS MAD GORGEOUS WHEN SHE FIGHTS HAVE YOU SEEN THE MANDOLORIAN LIKE WWWOOOOOWWWW

she is just gorgeous and has a beautiful personality. I would befriend her asap if I see her. No hesitation.

Final Fantasy

This one is pretty easy ngl. No hesitation while choosing at all.

1. Sephiroth

Gorgeous hair, gorgeous face and a habit of killing people. What can I say. My dream men. At first I hated him but then I read like one fanfic on accident and I saw him in a completely different light. Suddenly when I played the game myself I would scream in my pillow like a mad women.

I‘m sorry but he is just my number one. Mwuah Chefs Kiss

2. Cloud strife

He has so much sass it’s adorable. That oke scene where he was all dressed up? I questioned my speciality all over again. He literally slayed in that dress. I wish I looked like that on prom :,(

He is so cute and he is the only one that I would big spoon… like- ever. He is the only one that gets that privilege.

3. Tifa

Another girl boss. I‘m not a pervert and chose her because of her body I‘m head over heals for her kind and caring personality. She is just sooo sweet!! And suddenly I can bark very well..

Tifa just had to be here. I feel like she would be the best girlfriend ever. I MEAN- caring, kind, brave?!?? She has sooo much to offer

Slasher boys

Okay hard choice again… but I feel like Michael doesn’t really have much personality and he doesn’t talk.. what am I going to do??? So I chose as my favorite slasher…

GHOSTFACE!

Not the dbd ghostface!! I mean ghostface from the first movie. Scream 1996!! Stu and Billy are just something. I mean if they actually like you and stuff one of the two might talk to you as ghostface and leave you alive ?

Not many slasher boys talk and Ghostace has the most personality.. I can just imagine maybe trying to talk to him..? I‘m a lot like Stu on my good days.. soo I figure that he and I would go well together.. as for Billy? It would be hard. Way harder then trying to befriend Stu.

You have to like ghostface!

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Murder, He Wrote

Co-written with @southerngracela

Part 1 

Summary: You’re sent by your asshole boss to do a review of a Celebrity Host Haunted Mansion, hosted by none-other than the arrogant, wild-eye browed actor Lucas Lee, but you’re worried you’ve missed the boat…that is, until at the last minute, an email arrives to say they can let you in on the last admission that night, which just happens to be Halloween… When you arrive, you’re actually kind of excited and intrigued…but it isn’t long until that excitement and intrigue give way to fear when you find yourself in a helpless situation.

Warnings: A creepy house, bad language words. MATURE (NSFW 18+) NON-CON situation, kidnap, violence. DO NOT READ IF ANY OF THOSE TRIGGER… READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!

Pairing: DARK! Ransom Drysdale x Reader

A/N:  So this is a collaboration between myself and the wonderful @southerngracela for @jtargaryen18 ‘s  Haunted House 2020 challenge…and will be a mini-series, with an as of yet undefined number of chapters.

Once again READ THE WARNINGS!!!! This is a DARK Series… don’t @ us if you can’t follow simple instructions and end up with butt-hurt. And if you’re under 18…get off my blog.

Series Masterlist. 

"Y/L/N," your dick editor poked his head into your office rather gruffly. "I'm gonna need that celebrity haunted mansion review on my desk by tomorrow morning. I want to run it ASAP.”

"I can't even get in, not even with a press pass, I've been trying for two weeks, Mick!” you looked at him, your mouth slightly open. You’d told him this countless times at morning briefings. You hadn't even heard back from the organizers about sneaking around the press pass issue and offering an exclusive on the joint, a small fact you kept Mick in the dark about.

"Make it happen." He said simply, before he turned and left.

You glared at his retreating form. What the fuck did he not understand about the situation? Mind you, what did he understand about anything? There was a reason everyone working for him called him Mick The Prick.

There was also a reason he was being extra prickish to you. Earlier in the spring time of the year you’d run an article on Ransom Drysdale- the stuck up, trust fund asshole who had literally gotten away with murder. He’d confessed to murdering his grandfather’s house keeper, attempting to murder his grandfather and then, in a violent showdown with 2 police officers and a private detective present, he’d attempted to murder his grandfather’s nurse, Marta. And he would have succeeded, except the knife he’d used had been a stage prop. It was like some fucked up Murder, She Wrote plot, and when you’d interviewed the real life Jessica Fletcher (in this case the rather charming PI named Benoit Blanc who’d been a character to say the least) it got even more confusing. Ransom had hired Blanc in some elaborate scheme to frame Marta for Harlan’s death to do her out of the inheritance via the Slayer Rule. That had back fired spectacularly when she had unwittingly switched back the vials of medication Drysdale had tampered with, meaning Harlan had truly committed suicide. 

The article was supposed to be done showing his side of the story, a way for him to set the record straight, but the more you’d dug and spoken to people surrounding the case, the more you were absolutely convinced of his guilt, not least because he’d been acquitted on the murder and attempted murder charges on technical grounds due to his confession being, allegedly, obtained under duress and without a brief being present. The only thing they’d managed to pin on him was the arson which had burnt the Chief Medical Examiner’s office to the ground, and when his brief had successfully argued mitigating circumstances- he wasn’t of sound mind given the shock surrounding him being cut from his grandfather’s will- he’d basically ended up being released on license.

It was a joke, and that was basically what your article had said. You’d written a scathing attack on how money could basically render you untouchable by the law, highlighting the failures of the Criminal Justice System. At the time, Mick the Prick had been delighted with it, publishing it under your suggested head line “Murder, He Wrote”- ha, go figure, and copies had flown off the shelves, the article online going viral.

And then money had talked once more, and the Drysdale’s had threatened to sue for defamation. That in itself was a joke, as you knew full well his mother, Linda, was only doing it to salvage her own reputation, the same reason she’d worked so hard to find a lawyer to get him off the charges despite the fact she knew full well he was guilty as sin. Mick The Prick had attempted to throw you under the bus spectacularly when the board had come looking for blood, but as editor the buck stopped with him, and he was given a formal warning whilst you were forced to publish a retraction and offer a written apology much to your utter chagrin.

Which was why he was now making your life as hard as possible, and your Investigative Journalism skills, that you’d honed over the last decade; from high school paper, college tribune and now your current employer, over the last 10 years or so since graduation were now being focussed on covering stories about housewives who found Jesus’ face in a slice of toast, or in this case a fucking Celebrity Host Halloween Haunted House review. Whereas you had dominated the first 2 pages once upon a time, you were now lucky if you made it further up than page 11.

With a groan you banged your head on your desk. Why had you not listened to your dad and become a damned teacher instead of a journalist. Dealing with snotty nosed brats would be easier than this.

By the end of your day, you were burning what felt like the midnight oil however it wasn't very late at all. Dark had settled in but it wasn't late by time. Just before you were to log off and leave for the night, a TV dinner and pint of mint chip waiting for you in your freezer (and probably a job search too seeing as you would no doubt be fired tomorrow morning for failing on your deadline) your email pinged on your desktop. You frowned at it, wondering who could possibly be emailing you this late but then you recognized the sender.

It was the reply you'd been waiting on from the organizers from the Celebrity Host Haunted House. Clicking the email open, your eyes scanned the message. The organizer was setting you up with a private tour, TONIGHT. "9 pm," you finished reading aloud, relief flooding your entire body. It meant a long assed, sleepless night whilst you wrote your article, but it was better than the looming threat of unemployment. Plus, on the upside, as it was a charity gig the organizer had pulled out the big guns and the blurb on the email told you that it was to feature none other than Lucas Lee, a once-upon-a-time famous A-List Movie star, who was possibly just as arrogant as Hugh Ransom Drysdale, but you had to give it to him, in the films you’d seen he was actually damned good, and also pretty hot so…every cloud.

Glancing at your clock, you had just enough time to clock out and grab a quick bite at a drive thru on your way. The location was nearly an hour outside the city so you needed to get gone and fast. A quick reply telling the organizer you were on your way was sent out and you grabbed your coat, pulling it on over your sweater dress and were gone. 

It took a good hour like you'd estimated and that was with stopping for a quick meal, to reach the address your GPS brought you to. It was creepy even at its first glance so you could only hope this payed off. With a quick swig of your watered down and flat fountain drink, you grabbed your bag and phone, exiting your vehicle and locking it shut. The cool night air bit at your exposed cheeks and you were glad you'd worn your coat and tights.

As you stood, gazing at the dilapidated house you shivered, as though, ice had replaced you spine. The walkway leading up to house was cracked, blood red roses grew wildly in thick batches by the gate and the moonlight cast a ghoulish glow on the house. Vines formed a twisted maze upon the side of the of the house's walls which showed the black decay of neglect, in between which splotches of original paint hinted at the house’s former prosperity. Cobwebs covered the corners of the doors, tiny black spiders threading towards their prey and you gave another shudder, as far as first impressions went, yeah, it was fitting for a Halloween Haunted House tour.  

Pulling out your phone, noticing you had no reception (of course you wouldn’t, wasn’t that the cliché?) you took a few photos to use in the article and then gave a little squeak as the door creaked open on its own. Arching your eyebrow slightly, in a manner very much like the man you were here to meet, you strode forward and into the house. Immediately a musty, dank odour crept into your nose. The house was deadly silent except for the intermittent creaks and moans typically associated with a property that age. Black and brown mold dotted the ceiling of the tall hallway you stood in and the windows that framed the door on either side were covered with grime and dirt meaning the calm moonlight struggled to penetrate the darkness in thin thread rays, the main source of light being the open doorway. Sharp shadows roamed around the room and as your eyes adjusted to the dim light you noticed that there was a bright white envelope almost perched on the wooden table to the side of the hall. It was the newest thing in the room, so was obviously there for you.

You crossed over, the heels of your suede boots clicking loudly out in the silence of the hallway, and gently reached out for the envelope. A single word- Start- was written on the front in cursive, looping scrawl, very fitting for a spooky note. Another detail you committed to memory for your write up. You slid your finger into the crook of the envelope and slid it open. Inside was a small, white card, containing a message written in the same writing.

To ensure that you don’t become tomorrow’s big news, In this envelope you’ll find the first of 6 clues Of your super sleuth skills you should be proud, So make sure that you read your answers out loud. As one by one they lead to your ultimate demise. Which may or may not be a scary surprise…

Okay, now you were interested. This wasn’t just a walk through some scary assed, supposedly haunted house where Lucas Lee was no doubt set to jump out at you in some ridiculous disguise. This was a scavenger hunt, and your natural inquisitiveness was piqued. 'This could be fun', you thought as you reached for the next card that was in the envelope, reading the first clue. 

I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. I also give heat but not enough to prevent cold

You pondered for a second, heat was leading you to think of a fire, and they certainly grew shorter with time, well eventually when they burnt out…but then again, the longer they went the hotter they got, and they certainly prevented the cold. Scanning the hallway for anything that might fit the description, your eyes flicked up to the ceiling which held an elaborate, but tarnished candelabra style chandelier. And then it hit you. Tall when young, short when old.

“Candle…” you spoke “The answer is Candle…”

At that the door leading to the outside slammed shut behind you, and you gave an involuntary scream as the dominant source of light was sealed off. You spun round to look at it, and then your scream turned in to a laugh as you shook your head, for an Investigative Reporter you prided yourselves on steely nerves but so far that was twice this adventure had caught you off guard.

Turning back round, you then spotted that the door at the end of the hall was open, and you could clearly make out a Jack-o-Lantern looking at you, the candle inside flickering. Its face was creepy, really creepy. The nose and eyes were harsh triangles and the grotesque, twisted smile it sported was constructed of sharp, jagged teeth. You reached into your pocket and pulled out your phone. You may have had no service, but the flashlight was working. Keeping the light held in front of you so you could watch your step on the cracked tiles of the hall, you made your way towards the lantern and found yourself in a large, run down kitchen. The lantern and your flash-light provided the only light in the room as the windows were all overshadowed by gnarly trees, their branches every so often scratching the glass as they swayed slightly in the wind outside. The only other sound to be heard was the drip, drip of the faucet in the porcelain Belfast sink. A closer look revealed the discoloration of the water, a brownish concoction as it swirled down the plug. There was an envelope on the side of the counter by the lantern and as you crossed towards it, a movement in your peripheral made you spin round only to see a lone mouse scuttling away across the dirty wooden floor. You placed your phone down, flash-light up causing it to light up an area of the Artex plaster ceiling, and picked up the envelope, tearing it open to find your next clue

Mr Jack-o-Lantern lights the night His eerie face is shining bright The ????? that shaped him lies around And holds your next clue safe and sound 

“Oh come on…” you muttered, “That’ ones obvious. Knife, the answer is knife…” You picked up your phone and shone it around the various surfaces of the kitchen and your eyes honed in on a wooden knife block containing a solitary knife. You crossed the room towards it and as you closed in on it, you noticed that the handle of the knife was an ornate silver filigree. It was no ordinary kitchen knife and as you pulled it form the block you realised it was in fact a dagger, antique by the looks of things. The blade was curved slightly, reaching a sharp point, the silver tarnished. But the more you looked at it, the more you suddenly became horribly aware that it wasn’t merely a dullness of colour at all. It was blood. 

“Dramatic…” you mumbled, and with a sigh you then realised there was no clue attached to it. Was this a distraction? A decoy? You were just about to stat ransacking drawers to find the actual knife you needed, when you glanced back at the block the dagger had been held in and noticed a flash of white peeking from underneath. Picking it up and moving it aside you smiled as you saw the same cursive writing, spelling out the word three. Seeing as you might as well play along, you used the dagger to slit the envelope open, tossing it back down on the counter as you read the next clue.

Many a Child on me they may play Any time be it night or day. My surface is hard, on it you can knock I have many keys, but can’t open a single lock…

“What has keys but doesn't open a lock?" You pondered aloud. Adjusting your cross-body strap, you sigh. Then the answer came to you, "a piano."

You fell silent, your mind racing to how the hell you were going to find a piano in this decrepit and yet enormous house. Then, your ears heard it. The subtle note from deep inside the house. It was a single key. But now that wasn't your concern, no, it wasn't the mice or the bugs or even the brown water. Your heart raced at the notion that someone was in fact in the house with you. 

"Alright, Lee, you were always one for a flare of the dramatics, let's see what you've got."

Step by step you followed the note that chimed every few steps and you found yourself beginning to wonder if it was a recording or if someone were really playing it, timing their play with the sound of your boots over the rotting floor. You wound your way through the narrow hall, ancient wall paper peeling from its tack, mastick and plaster falling away to reveal studs in places.  Finally, to your left you heard the key loud and clear. It was in that room. Steeling yourself for a possible encounter, you carefully pushed the sliding door away from its hinge. Your booted feet traipsed across the brittle carpet, dust swirling in the air in front of your face. Cobwebs adorned many of the surfaces and there were dirty white sheets covering the various pieces of furniture in the room. Apart from, that is, the large ornate grand piano that sat in the middle of the room. The stool in front of it suddenly jolted back and tilted toward you, making you scream at the  gracious invitation by an as of yet invisible host. 

“Get a grip Y/N” you mumbled to yourself. You were surprised to find just how much this place was starting to set your nerves on edge. You took a deep breath, the pounding of blood in your ears began to quiet and you took a look around the room. There was no one in there with you, you were alone. With slow, deliberate steps you moved towards the piano, your eyes sweeping over the mahogany surface, searching for an envelope with the next clue, but there was none to be found. The surface of the piano was thick with dust and grime, but as you scanned over it you suddenly stopped. On one of the white keys the dust was disturbed, as if it had been wiped away and you instantly realised that had to be the key that your so far elusive host must have been playing. You paused, biting at the nail on your thumb of you right hand, before you reached out with your left and tapped the key. The melodic note rang around the room, clearly, echoing in the silence and for some reason you were taken back to a part of the article you had been thinking about earlier that day, and how Detective Blanc had told you that he had ‘played a key’ during the various family interviews ‘to make my point without interruption’. It didn’t pass you by how fitting that actually was at that moment but you didn’t have much time to reflect on it, as you heard a creak and a grinding noise and you spun to your left to see a panel in the wall sliding open. It made you jump slightly, but this time you didn’t scream. 

Not for the first time, you had to admire the effort Lucas was going to here. It was clear he had a flare for the dramatic, anyone could see that from his films and interviews but this was pretty damned good. It was making you wonder how he was doing it. Was he somewhere watching, pressing buttons to enact the various parts of his show? Instinctively you glanced up, looking for a camera or something you were being monitored by but you found no evidence of anything. “Well, in for a penny…” you muttered, crossing towards the small hatch. It was just wide enough for you to get your hand into, but you really didn’t want to. You grabbed your torch and shone it into the hole, finding nothing but the envelope so deciding it was safe you reached in and pulled it out.

Sometimes coloured, sometimes plain sometimes frosted, sometimes stain Be you short or thin, or fat or tall, this simple invention, lets you look right through a wall

You pondered for a moment, before the answer came to you. Fairly quickly you might add. Feeling a little smug you smiled and cleared your throat “Window. It’s a window.”

Usually, at that point, something happened to point your attention to the place you should be looking but this time, there was nothing. Instinctively you looked out of the one on the wall by the piano, but as you stared at nothing but the darkness outside you realised that was too obvious. Just then your ears picked up a sound you couldn’t quite figure out, but it was familiar all the same. And then it came to you, it was the familiar click and clack of a skateboard, the wheels gliding over the brittle old floor and you span round in the direction it was coming from to see a window you hadn’t noticed before, this one was an ornate, stained glass window which bore some kind of flower design that faced directly out into the hall. 

He passed by slower than a flash but just enough to allow you to catch only a glimpse. You audibly gasped, your breath coming in a sharp intake of fright, because until then you had been alone on this chase. But it appeared you dramatic host had finally come out to play. He was merely a shadow, bulky in frame, tall and dressed all in black as he moved past but it was enough to puzzle you. You didn’t remember Lucas being that broad, or tall. With a frown you ran into the hall to catch him but saw nothing, and heard nothing, the only thing to indicate he had been there was a faint smell of the cedar and amber of what you assumed to be cologne. 

You paced quickly down the hall in the direction the figure had gone but as you passed the stairwell the light flickered on, instantly attracting your attention. You’d only briefly noticed the ornate staircase before, but with the lack of light you certainly hadn’t noticed the writing on the wall, dripping in fresh paint. Swallowing, as you mouth suddenly felt dry with fear you stepped onto the first stair, and as soon as you did you were plunged into almost complete black. Letting out a shriek as, once again, he’d managed to get the drop on you, you shook your head and reached for your phone, taking another few steps up so you were level with the next clue which you read aloud.

“Tonight is not all fright and fear, a trick or treat is waiting near, the bedroom holds a sweet surprise, there solve the clue to claim your prize”  you bit your lip and looked up at the top of the stairs, wondering when someone was going to jump out at you. Taking a deep breath, you made your way up, cringing at each creak your feet caused on the old warped wood, but it didn’t sway your determination to make it to your destination. Halfway up, a shadow flickered at the corner of your vision at the top on the landing and you froze, your mouth going dry once more. As you stood there, shining your light into the dark you caught the same scent from moments ago lingering in the air only this time it was stronger, far more powerful and you were able to denote even more of the notes within. Aalongside the amber and cedar your heightened senses picked up deep, earthy, sandalwood notes with a hint of citrus in the background.  And it was familiar for reasons beyond the fact you’d smelt it down stairs. But, as you’d surmised earlier, it was a cologne. Probably one worn by a few people you knew.

Yes that was it.

“Jesus Christ Y/N what has gotten into you?” You rolled your eyes and continued up the stairs, clearly your ‘Celebrity Host’ was once more nearby. You cautiously got to the top of the stairs and glanced around. Nothing. So turning to your left you entered the first room you found on the hall. It was empty bar a creepy looking doll that had been separated from its head which lay about a foot to the right. As you looked around the room, the wind intensified outside, the rustling of the leaves and branches became louder, as did the creaking of the house…and then you gulped, as you realised it wasn’t just the house that was creaking. In the corner of the room, the little chair had begun to rock, slowly. Blowing out a breath and shaking your head, you looked around at the thin strips of wallpaper which showed little trucks. Crayon markings scrambled upon the wall where wallpaper used to stick but other than that there was nothing in there bar some pretty good theatrics. You had to hand it to Lee, the creepy feel was fantastic and you were going to give him one hell of a write up for this. You took a while longer to take in the detail, smiling to yourself before you closed the door and headed to the one over the hallway. 

This room was a little lighter thanks to a lamp which stood on a nightstand. It wasn’t bright, by any means, but it was enough so that you could clearly see the bed in the middle of the room. And there, placed by the pillows was a thin box. On unsteady legs, you shuffled slowly towards the bed, the box before you making you quiver, your insides churning. A shaky hand tilted the lid open slowly, afraid something would pounce in a sneak attack. You shut your eyes ready to protect them in case a bat or bugs flew at you and when nothing happened, you opened them slowly and inspected the boxes contents. There was no envelope this time, just copy of a newspaper. Your newspaper. And you felt your blood run cold as you recognise the bold headline across the top. Murder, He Wrote: A twisted tale of Inheritance, Crime and Exoneration "Drysdale," you whispered in realization. But now, while you were well aware of what the article meant and who it was referring to, your brain shut down processing how on earth Lucas Lee and Ransom could possibly be connected. Your breathing deepened and you moved to pick up the article, but then the lid to the box caught your eye and you froze, for on the inside of the lid was another clue, only this one was a straight forward question which was spelled out using cut-out letters from the newspaper in question.

I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?

You froze, for the answer was simple. Breath. 

And that was it, you needed to get out. You started to back away from the bed, but before you had so much as made it 3 steps you collided with something hard. A forceful arm across your front pinned you to a firm and broad chest that engulfed your frame while a cloth with a distinct smell and cool moisture covered your airways.

"Surprise" The voice in your ear, calm, deep and known, was all you heard before nothing consumed you.  

*****

When Y/N went limp in his arms, Ransom laid her across the bed only leaving the room to hurriedly cover his tracks, blowing out candles and removing any trace of her that had been in the house. His time as his grandfather's research assistant gave him far more experience than it should have. When he returned to the bedroom she was still out cold but light as a feather as he carried her downstairs and out the back door to the awaiting SUV, smug that his plan had gone so well.

But then, didn’t everything for him? He was Ransom Drysdale, and he was fucking untouchable.

He drove away from the scene of his new crime towards the city, driving through the dead of night, on the beltway, and continued twenty minutes outside downtown Boston before pulling into the garage of a large red cedar and quartzite home. He killed the engine and closed the garage door, pulling Y/N from the seat she was slumped in when it was clear to do so.

He couldn't be seen, he wouldn't be seen. He carried her inside the spacious home, his boots tapping heavily against the dark marble floor of the kitchen and finally the lush carpeted staircase that wound down into the basement.

This is where he laid her, in the basement, on a bed, but not just any bed, the one that would now become hers. He adjusted the lighting in the space, low enough not to disturb her, but bright enough to give the room a glow so he could finish what he'd set out to do. In the shock of the struggle in the bedroom, she’d dropped her phone and he’d made sure to smash it long before he left the haunted house, making sure there'd be no device to track her. He'd already disposed of her car while she was playing his little game, every loose end as far as he could see was tied up.

And now she was all his. 

He brushed the hair away from Y/N’s face where it had fallen over her eyes.  With gloved hands he manoeuvred her undone, black woollen coat off her body, leaving her in the bottle green turtle neck sweater dress and thick tights she was wearing before he tossed it over the chair in the corner of the room and then undid the zips on her brown suede knee high boots. He dropped them to the floor, kicking them towards the same corner with the equal carelessness he’d shown her coat. With a final meticulous movement he rearranged her on the bed, so he’d appear more comfortable and just before he left the room, he wrapped the cool, metallic cuff around the ankle. It locked in place with a clink and with a final glance at her still unconscious form, he turned and exited the room, the door latching shut and with the snap of the deadbolt he locked her in.

*****

Your head pounded, your nose burned and your mouth felt dry with the faintest taste of something foul lingering as you swallowed. The light was low but still your eyes ached. You tried to decipher exactly what the hell had happened to you while you got your bearings. You tried to sit up but your body felt heavy, the soft bed you now realized you were lying on was not your own. Your breathing rapidly increased as you started to move in fear but a clink caused a screech to escape your throat. You felt the weight of the cuff around your ankle and a full panic set it.

Your night flashed quickly through your glutamate and adrenaline flooded brain

You remembered getting the email from the Haunted Mansion supposedly hosted by Lucas Lee. You had arrived and were sent on what you thought was a fun and exhilarating maze littered with clues and riddles and then you remembered the last piece of the puzzle. You gasped as you remembered how his breath felt hot on your skin and how his voice registered in your mind.

"Drysdale," you repeated the last word you had spoken in a shaky, frightful voice. "No."

Rage and fear collided in your chest as you screamed out the only thing you could think of, "HELP!" A strangled sound left your chest followed by another cry out for help, "Please, someone, HELP!" 

The door to your room, now coming into focus around you, flew open and there he stood, smug smirk, raging ocean blue eyes, hair neatly in place, dismantling frame clothed in a black sweater and dark denim, heavy footfalls sounding against the thick carpet under his feet. 

"Nice to see someone's awake," Ransom deadpanned.

You stared for a brief moment and screamed for help again, louder, and louder, and louder until you felt your voice crack and strain, your cords burning as the sound shattered away. 

"Are you done?" He cocked his head to the side and folded his arms across his chest as he stood firm and tall in front of the bed.

"What the hell are you doing? Why am I here?" It hurt to speak but you had to ask. 

“Because I want you here, Sweetheart.”

"I...I'm not, don't call me that," you spat defiantly as he moved closer, taking you in, his predatory eyes moving over your body. This was it, you were going to die all because some trust fund prick was a hurt baby about an article (that you forcibly apologized for) revealing the sick and sadistic truth about him, his family, money and the justice system. 

"Are you gonna kill me?” You watched him carefully as he crossed the room towards you, trying to keep your voice calm so as not to betray the utter fear that was coursing through your veins at the fact you were trapped, fuck knows where, shackled to a bed with a murderer being your captor. “That's what this is about, right? My apology wasn't enough?"

"Your apology was forced bullshit.” He responded, his voice carried a hint of amusement, because of course, this was all a game to him. “You smeared my name, dragged my reputation though the mud and you expected an apology like that, half assed and full of more crap than your original hatchet piece, to be enough?" He was standing damn near over you now, a hand moving up your leg that was held by the cuff, your body frozen in a confused silent argument of fight or flight.

"You... Killed... Him." You grit out through clenched teeth, and his hand was on your throat before you finished your breath, squeezing just enough to make a point.

"No. I. Didn't." He lied and you had to hand it to him, a lesser person might have bought the garbage he was talking, because he was good at it. Lying must have been enough of a second nature for him that he actually believed everything he said himself. But then again, it wasn't actually a lie was it? Sure, he'd planned on indirectly killing Harlan and that plan had backfired and Harlan had actually slit his own throat. So at most he was indirectly responsible for his death, but none of that had stuck with the prosecution and so now here he was, a free man.

A struggled chuckle came from your tightened throat, "Jesus Christ, you actually believe your own bull shit don't you?"

"You've got a fucking mouth on you," he breathed as his body loomed ominously over the bed and your frame, tiny in comparison to his.

You swallowed, feeling the hard lump strain to pass his grip, "Not really, you just don't like hearing the truth."

His eyes bored into yours and you struggled for breath as his hand constricted around your neck whilst he squeezed a little harder "Oh shut up Y/N."

"Or what, Hugh?" You croaked. 

A little flash of anger tore through his ocean blue eyes like lightning in a storm. His eyes bored into yours as you fought to swallow. 

"Or I'll shut you up myself."

"Try me, you son of a...." You didn't expect his lips to cover yours but they did. Unexpectedly warm and soft, despite the painfully harsh kiss. You managed to pull away but his hand still gripped at your throat and you felt the fear constricting your chest. But you were damned if you were going to show him a shred of weakness. 

“You’re an asshole, Hugh…” It was all you had, the only thing you could use in your arsenal given your situation. You still had your voice. And you’d noticed that for whatever reason he appeared to hate that name.

“Don’t... fucking call me that!” his voice rose to a loud, angry instruction, apoplectic rage seeping from him to you, and it was almost stifling.

“Or what? You'll kill me?” your voice rose in both volume and pitch as your desperation began to show. “We both know you're gonna do that once you've fulfilled whatever sick, twisted little fantasy this is. What are you waiting for, Hugh? Huh?”

Ransom scoffed, "Kill you, no, see I'm gonna teach you a lesson. One about how money and status get you anything you want.”

You frowned, as you looked into his icy blue eyes, utterly confused “Anything you want? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You'll see Princess” was the sole explanation you got as he knelt between your legs.

You stayed stock still as large and surprisingly gentle hands trailed your curves up the outside of your thighs to your hips. As he reached the hem of your sweater dress he paused as you wrapped your hands around his wrists.

"Don't" you squeezed, attempting to stop his wrists and close your legs.

“This will be much easier if you just play-along, sweetheart” he muttered as he pressed his lips to your neck. You let go of his wrists and raised your hands, laying them over the wool of his cable knit, palms flat against the plain of muscle as you attempted to push him off.

“I said no.” you tried to keep your voice stern, despite the fact you were fighting back the fear and sadness at the realization of his task was now at hand. 

His large hands smoothed over your dress, cupping your breasts and he let out a moan as you bit back the bile in your throat that was threatening to spill from your mouth. You pushed harder trying to force him off of you but it was of no use, his broad frame caged you in, engulfing you under him.

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.” He ground out, his lips inches from your ear as he nipped at your skin. He was impressively strong and balanced, his weight even through his body as he kept his knees between your legs, a hand against your breast and the other stroking your sides and up your thigh. All the while, his lips sucked at your neck, teeth grazing your pulse point as you turned your head away, tears filling your eyes

"Please, stop," you managed. "Hugh, stop!"

“I told you not to call me that.” He growled against your skin and pulled back, his eyes blazing as they locked on to yours. In sheer desperation, you managed to wrench a free hand from between you and gave him a slap, nails biting at his skin. Instantly you knew you’d pissed him off. His nostrils flared, his jaw set and as his eyes filled with fire and rage.

And you knew then, you were in for it.

“Bitch…” he snarled as he raised his left hand to his face where you had struck him, and then both his hands grabbed yours, yanking your arms up, pinning them above your head. You bucked upwards, violently in an attempt to shake him off, but it was futile. He was far too strong. His grip on your wrists grew tighter and despite yourself you let out a small whimper of fear.

In one hand he had the ability to cuff both of your wrists and he did so while his other grabbed at your dress, shoving it further up your body, fingers curling over the waist of your tights and panties, a handful of the material fisted in his palm. They wouldn't slide down quick enough and you felt your body lift away from the mattress slightly as he ripped away the material, the snap burning your skin. You fought, boy did you fight. You had no control of your hands or arms as he had them easily pinned, but your legs and the rest of your body gave as good as they could. You thrashed from side to side all the time screaming your objections. You drew your knees up to your chest in an attempt to buck him off. You screamed protests, threw every insult you had at him, but it was no use. He was simply too strong.

He didn't even bother with his belt or button, he just unzipped the flies on his jeans, pulled his solid cock free and slid in. You were wetter than you expected to be, but it still burned with friction and ached from the thick stretch against your tight walls. It hurt, definitely hurt.

"You know you want this. I know you want this." He rasped as he pulled out before thrusting back in, his face twisted in a look that was halfway between being smug and satisfied. Just looking at him made you feel sick but for some reason you were unable to look away as he continued his slow assault, before he picked up the pace slightly, his groans of satisfaction filling the room as he bottomed out, balls deep and it was at that point you closed your eyes and tried to block out what he was doing to you. But try as you might to remain mentally detached from the situation, your body was anything but. And the more he moved in and out of you, the more you could feel your physical reactions. You were powerless to stop them and the heat between your legs and in between your belly was spiking with each thrust into you.

It felt good. And you knew it shouldn’t. So you fought it, but eventually, you couldn't fight it anymore, not with  the way his thick cock filled you, velvety smooth skin sliding in and out of your defiant core. You didn't want to cum, but your body told your brain it was going to and Ransom nearly puffed his chest as he fucked you into your body's submission. 

"You're gonna fucking cum, aren't you Princess? I can feel it," he ground out, chasing his own release. You remained silent, breathing heavily as your insides coiled and tightened. "Fucking tight ass pussy," he gritted. You refused to cry out, not wanting to give him anything you were able not to, and it took everything you had to remain silent. In desperation, to quell the cry that was rising from your throat, you bit your tongue, tasting the coppery taste of blood in your mouth as you came hard around his cock.

“Fuck, yeah…see…” Ransom’s hips began to move faster, and then with a sudden movement he pulled out of you, making you wince involuntarily at the sting. He shot his load all over your thighs, a growl bubbling from his throat, the warmth of his release trickling down your leg made you feel even more dirty than you already did. 

“Not so fucking smart are we now, huh, miss Investigative Reporter…” his snap was snide, and childish, but you knew he couldn’t help himself. Your head remained defiantly in its position on the pillow, turned to the right, eyes focussed on a spot on the wall. “Look at me, bitch.”

When you didn’t do as he asked, he grabbed your chin bruisingly, making you wince as he pulled your face round so he could see you. You knew he would be able to see the tears on your face, and you hated that. Hated that he would see how much he’d hurt you, scared you even, 

His hand let go of your face and you stared at him, swallowing, trying to gather your voice in your painfully dry throat. 

"That's all you got? You're a fucking child, Drysdale. It's why you’re doing this." You said, your voice trembling and croaking from the fear and exertion of what he had just put you through and you shook your head. “You’re a fucking man child with mommy and daddy issues. A spoilt, little whiney brat who can’t bear to be told no.”

That struck a nerve, you could tell, as his jaw clenched tight and his fists clenched around the sheets by your side to the point they were shaking. He grabbed your chin once more with his right hand and pinned your face still, forcing your eyes to look back at his 

“You'll be begging me to accept your apology.” He snarled, his face contorted in rage “You'll see who the whiney child is soon enough. I promise Princess, it's not me”

As you looked at him, you felt your anger starting to simmer. This fucking ass hole had just raped you, and he had the gall to be saying you were going to tell him that you were sorry. No chance in hell. You knew you were screwed, literally and figuratively. Whilst he had you captive behind a bolted door, shackled to a bed you had nowhere to go, he knew that you knew that too and you could see it in his face as a smug smirk flickered on his lips. Well fuck this, if you were going down it was with a fight. With a sudden movement, that caught him off guard you moved your head slightly as much as you could in his painful grip, and spat right in his face.

Ransom blinked, his anger morphing to shock, then back to fury once more as he released your face and with a flash of his hand he back handed you straight across the face. The blow to your right cheek snapped your head to the left, sucking the breath from your lungs and leaving you a little dazed.

“Fuck you.” He sneered as he rose to his feet, wiping his face. Silently he rearranged his pants, tucking his now soft cock back inside them, and swept from the room, locking the door behind him.

***** Ransom stormed up the steps to the kitchen of the house, slamming the top door behind him and bolting that one shut too. He was furious that little bitch had scratched him and no doubt marked his face. He strode over the marble tiles of the room and walked into the large hallway and across into the den. He made his way straight to the bar, poured himself a healthy measure of good scotch, slopping a little on the dark wooden counter, before he glanced up at the large mirrored surface of the bar behind the shelves.

He could make out 3 vivid red lines down his left cheek where she’d dug her nails into his flesh and his jaw clenched. His hair was out of place, his cheeks flushed and his normally cold eyes were blazing with anger. But as he stood there staring at his dishevelled reflection, he knew it wasn’t the fact she’d scratched or spat at him that was pissing him off so much. It was the fact she had persistently voiced a name he despised, one that was used to control those lower than him in his every-day life. One reserved for The Help, for outsiders. It reminded him of his family, of his mother and father, the two people in his life who should have loved him unconditionally but instead had him out of ‘duty’ and had taken every opportunity to pass him off into the care of others they could. It reminded him of Walt persistently telling him he was a no-one, that he would amount to nothing over than a trust-fund baby. 

It reminded him of Harlan. The one person in that entire fucked up patriarchy that had shown him an ounce of care. But who had screwed him over in the end. The anger that had been simmering inside him boiled over, the blood pumped into his ear and with an angry yell and an almost involuntary action Ransom hurled the glass tumbler straight at the wall where it smashed against the tasteful silver and white wallpaper, the 25 year old single malt trickling down the wall…just like the tears and trickled down Y/N’s cheeks as he’d forced her to look at him whilst he took what was his. 

As she’d glared up at him he’d noticed a fierceness in her eyes that he was surprised to find had unnerved him a little, because she clearly wasn’t going to be as easy to break as he thought. 

“Fuck it.” He mumbled to himself, grabbing the bottle from the bar before he turned and left the room, taking a large swig as he went, the burn in his throat going someway to settling his nerves.

This would work out, because he was Ransom fucking Drysdale, a man who always got what he wanted in the end, and she was going to be no exception.

**** WIYPT Tag List:

Everything

@momobaby227 @marvelfansworld @cobalt-gear @djeniiscorner @ayamenimthiriel @coldmuffinbanditshoe @nerdofthefandoms @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @what-just-happened-bro @jennmurawski13 @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @jtargaryen18 @redhairedfeistynerd @charmed-asylum @saiyanprincessswanie @just-one-ordinary-fangirl @jhayes6984 @anika-ann @icanfeelastormbrewing @gigglegirl77 @princess-evans-addict @mes-2016 @theladybiers @void-hoechlin 

Ransom Drysdale

@patzammit @icandothisallday @capsiclewinter​ @this-is-serenaa​ @alexakeyloveloki​ @perplexed3001​ @twittytelly​ @kelbabyblue​ @maan24​

If your name appears above but the tag isn’t live please let me know.

[dincobb-big-bang]

Hello there and welcome to the first annual DinCobb Big Bang!

Here's some basic information about the event:

What is a Big Bang?

In a Big Bang, authors write a fic during the event period. During one of the check-ins, they submit their fic drafts/summaries and then artists will create something to go with the fic they have chosen.

Can I sign up as both an artist and an author?

Yes! We’d love for you to join as both! Just try not to sign up for more than you can handle!

What's the event schedule?

You can find that here!

How long does the fic have to be? What kind of art is allowed? What--

For all additional information and event rules, please see the read more below! I know there's a lot of information there, so if you feel overwhelmed, confused, or anything else please reach out so we can help you!

What if I have other questions?

Please check the Read More below to see if your question is answered there, first. If you can't find your answer, please don't hesitate to send an ask!

[info] [FAQ - desktop - mobile] [schedule]

Additional Event Information

I want this big bang event to be fun and low-key in hopes that authors and artists new to big bangs might not feel too intimidated to join. As such, the rules and requirements will be relatively relaxed compared to other, larger events.

I've done my best to be thorough and include all important dates and information here -- if you have a question about something not included here, please don't hesitate to reach out!

For a TL;DR version, read the bold parts of each bullet point!

For Writers:

your fic must be about Din and Cobb, but it doesn't have to be shippy in the traditional sense -- their relationship can look like whatever you want it to, whether that's best friends, brothers in arms, lovers, queer platonic partners, you name it.

5k word minimum

the sky is the limit for the word maximum (just make sure it can be finished by the deadline!)

a beta reader is highly recommended, though not a requirement. If you need help finding a beta reader, please reach out and we will do our best to connect you with one.

For those unfamiliar with what a beta reader is, they are an individual that helps you with your fic, whether its with the brainstorming, plotting, characterization, or spelling and grammar. They can also function as a cheerleader!

workshopping will be allowed and encouraged in public discord servers and elsewhere, just refrain from sharing the whole fic with anyone but your beta reader(s) and artist

all fics must be thoroughly and properly tagged and rated. This is the one hard rule that will be enforced, as it is something that protects both artists and readers

All fics must be posted to AO3 and included in the event collection (name TBD). You may cross post to tumblr if you would like to, too! More info about posting requirements to come at a later date.

For Artists:

A minimum of one art piece is required for each fic. You are of course more than welcome to do more than one if you choose to!

art can be anything as long as the artist and author agree to the medium of choice which can include any of the following: gif sets, music vids, playlists, podfic, moodboards, artwork, etc.

art should be kept between artist and author (unless you need advice on anatomy or help with audio edits or something, in which case please keep it between the artist and whoever is helping out)

Everything else:

there will be no formal penalty (such as banning) for those who need to drop out -- it's just HEAVILY encouraged that if you need to drop for any reason that you let your artist/author and the mods know ASAP so we can find a pitch hitter in a timely manner.

Last day for writers to drop no questions asked is August 15th. Artists can drop until August 30th. If after these dates something comes up that may prevent you from finishing, please reach out to us so that we may set up some sort of extension.

If you have problems working with your partner, please reach out ASAP so that we can work something out or get you paired up with someone else.

Things that may get you removed from the event include: not including proper tags/ratings, not responding in a timely manner during check-ins or if a mod reaches out to you, harassing other participants in any way whatsoever

[green-blooded-computer]

A Guide to RPing on Tumblr

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately, so here’s my complete walkthrough on how to create a Tumblr RP blog. 

If you’d rather view on a Google Doc, here’s a link.

Enjoy.

Create Blog

Howdy, so the first thing you’ll have to do is click ‘register’ and make yourself a blog. You also have the choice of making a sideblog instead. I’m a person who likes to have this separated, so if you are only thinking of playing a couple characters, this might be the way to go for you. Here’s the difference between main/side blogs (taken from Tumblr’s help center):

Choose any url for now (we’ll talk about that later), and go to the next section.

Please note: When you make a new blog, it won’t show up in the search/people’s notifications for a bit of time (a day or so). Make sure you validate your email address asap. 

Get xKit

If you haven’t installed xKit, I highly suggest it. Go to their blog here, and get it for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Opera.

What is it? A little toolkit to make Tumblr easier to use.

When you install it, it’ll pop up on your top bar thing next to the lightning bolt like this:

It’s that thing with the x’s on it.

When you click the x’s this pops up:

Brill.

You can click ‘Get Extensions’ at the bottom and basically choose whatever you want, but may I recommend the following:

1) Editable Reblogs allows you to edit reblogs. Right. This is good because when you are replying to RP threads they tend to get rather long. Some advice that was given to me when I started: when you add your reply, delete everything before your partner’s last reply. So you should have your partner’s post and your post and that’s all. You just click ‘reblog’ and it pops up like normal, except now there’s this little guy:

If you click that, it will make everything in your reblog box editable.

2) One-Click Postage gives you a little box if you hover over the reblog button. It lets you reblog, queue, draft, tag, and add replies right from that page. You can even choose which blog (main/side) you want it to go to.  It looks like this:

The rest I will just say play around with! They are easy to add and take away.

Decide what kind of blog you want.

Multimuse Vs. Single muse: 

Do you want to play one character or a bunch of them? If you choose one character, your blog icon and theme will presumably feature that character or something to do with them. If you choose to focus on one, you should have info about your character available on your blog somewhere. If you choose to have more than one muse, you’ll need a list of the characters you offer and some info about them. 

When choosing a url for a multimuse, choose something that encompasses the spirit of you and your characters.

When choosing a url for a single muse, I go for quotes, nicknames, something about where they are from, what they like, their name, etc. Note: if you have dashes in your url (like mine @strings-have-been-cut) these won’t work with tags. People will have to turn them into separate words or one big word.

I do not have a multimuse, but I have seen them done all sorts of ways. Some people offer characters from all different fandoms, some are just one fandom, one genre, OCs, canons, a mixture...you can do what you like. 

If your blog is not affiliated with any sort of organized game, this is referred to as ‘independent’ often shortened to ‘idie’. 

Your blog description should mention which kind it is. For example: a sci-fi multimuse blog; a Star Trek OC blog; an indie Bill S. Preston Esq. from Bill and Ted RP blog. Details help sometimes. 

Canon Character Vs. Original Character

If you decide to make a canon character, make sure you have it clear somewhere where they are from! Canon characters can be canon divergent (your own version), they can crossover into other fandoms, they can be exactly as they are in your favourite book/show/movie/podcast...each version of a canon is unique and lovely.

If you decide to make an original character, make sure you give plenty of info about them! You want to tell people what fandom they fit into or if they are fandomless. ‘About’ pages are really important for OCs because there is no fanbase for them (yet!).

What should be in your description?

When someone clicks your blog, they will first see a dash preview sort of thing. It shows a description and a small header, along with the posts you’ve made. This description also shows up somewhere on your actual blog and on the top of the page on mobile view. It’s a great spot to give all the info about your blog real quick. I always include the following:

What is it? (Independent Data from Star Trek RP blog)

Age restrictions (21+)

Who you will RP with (mutuals only is called ‘private’ and choosing who you follow back is called ‘selective’.)

Mun’s name (played by [insert your name])

Possibly a link to your about/rules for easy access on desktop and mobile. I’ll talk about this more below. I call this ‘navigation’, but it varies. Note: if you edit your icon/dash header, any html links seem to go away. I’ve needed to go back into the theme customizer and add them back in. To add a link to your description, go into your customizer, go to the description section, and add the html as follows:

<a href=”url goes here”>link text goes here</a>

So mine is: <a href=”https://data-all-in-one.carrd.co”>Indie Data from Star Trek blog.</a>

The description for my Data blog reads: ‘Indie Data from Star Trek RP blog. Click here for navigation. 21+. Private/selective. Played by Fool.

What should be on this blog?

In my experience, you need a couple of pages on your blog to get you started:

About the character - basically a biography

Rules - so people know what you are about

About the mun - so people can know about the person they are writing with

Possibly a link to your ‘ask memes’ tag - see below.

These can be organized however you like, but people tend to look for a few specific things.

About the Character

This should read like a biography. Back in the day, we used to call them ‘character apps’ and they had all your basic info about the character. Sometimes this section contains a subsection called ‘verses’ in which the mun spells out what universes they exist in. Say I had an AU where Data owns an arcade in San Francisco in the 80’s. I’d list that as one of his ‘verses’. This is extremely important for OCs, but very helpful for canons too. 

Data has four: TNG era, TNG movie era, AU where he lives after Nemesis, AU where he’s around during Star Trek: Picard. I gave a little info about both. 

Rules

Rules are usually organized into the things people are looking for before they start playing with you. Some good info to include: 

Mun age

Your policy on adult content

How you deal with tagging triggers

Your policy on following back

Your policy on writing with mutuals vs. anyone

Do you allow personal blogs (non RP blogs) to follow you?

How fast do you reply?

How does your tagging system work?

How do you deal with shipping? 

Here is a link to my usual Rules page for reference. Remember, it’s not wrong if it’s different than mine!

Note: People will look for how old you are. Many people in the RPC are adults, and they want to write with people their own age. If your age is not posted somewhere clearly, they may not follow you back. 

About the Mun 

This is really just a little blurb about you. Some people include their age here. Some people include links to their other blogs. Some people include their Discord info, as that’s really popular right now. It’s just nice to know who you are writing with.

It’s important to note that there are different ways to present all of these blogs. Some people have them as pages on their Tumblr blog itself, some people put all of this (Bio, About, Rules, etc) in a Google Doc and link it, some people use Carrd.co - there are a ton of ways. A friend of mine did this amazing post about some options out there. I personally go for Carrd.co, seeing as I am on mobile a lot and I find it very helpful, but it’s up to you. 

Now I have a blog with all the info. How do I get started?

Well there are a few things you can do to get yourself out there.

Make yourself a promo. It’s basically an advertisement for your blog. If you aren’t good at graphics, you can head to an RP Resource blog and see if they have any you can use with their permission. You can also just post a picture with some info. For me, the info on this promo matches that of my blog description - I want people to know what I’m all about as soon as they look at it. Then you can tag for your appropriate fandom RP. Your mutuals will likely reblog to help spread the word. Yay.

Find a directory for your RPC by searching in the search. This will allow you to a) reblog your info and be listen in a place where people can find you and b) allow you to find others in your RPC in an organized way. Then you can go through, find people you think you’d like to follow, and follow them. 

Make a starter or plotter call. This is, again, just a picture or graphic and some information about it. Here is one I made for Data specifically asking for Picard threads:

I asked for a specific universe and a specific character here. I also put all relative tags in case someone is just searching Tumblr (although I think it’s more for the people who follow me). Here’s a simpler one I made for B-4 that’s a lot more open. 

They don’t have to be super fancy. 

When people see a starter call, they can like your post. This is a quick an easy way to let you know they are interested in a thread. 

4. Ask Memes. Asks are invaluable. There are whole blogs dedicated to ask memes that you can post to your blog, and these can be really easy ways for people to come up with plot ideas or just to read some of your writing. I always keep a link on my blog to everything tagged ‘ask meme’ so if people want to find a meme they have choices!

It seems like there’s a certain aesthetic on these new fangled RP blogs. Do I have to do that?

No! But you can, if you want. If you aren’t good at coding and graphics, there are a lot of RP resource sites that can help you. (Can I recommend this one?) It is nice to have things like a face claim, a nice looking promo, a cool theme, etc. but at the end of the day, we all just want to write and have fun.

Advice?

Look, I’ve only been RPing on Tumblr for a couple of months and I am by NO MEANS an expert. I have gotten all of this knowledge through the help of friends and nice strangers willing to answer questions for me. Here are a few things I have picked up:

Respect people’s rules - We are all shy and all have our own thing going on. If someone says they’re uncomfortable doing one thing, just like...don’t do it.

Talk to other people - Don’t ignore the mun! Unless they really want you to. It’s better to ask questions, compliment writing, talk about your plots and stuff...it’s so much harder than trying to figure out what the other person feels/wants.

Ask questions - I’m a 6th grade teacher, and I get a million and fuckton questions every minute usually. It’s been eye-opening, because now I’m all about asking questions about everything all the time. I think knowledge is amazing. People know all different things, and the most logical way to be a productive society is to share knowledge (that’s one of the main teachings of Surak) so ask some questions! Hell, ask me some questions! Reach out to someone who seems nice!

Okay, that’s all. Good luck!

[mateasha]

rendevous 18.6y

summary: chikage shows up at the front door of MANKAI after disappearing from the face of the Earth for 3 years. itaru is not happy. fandom: a3 pairing: chikage x itaru word count: 5340 tags:  original characters for the sake of plot, friends to strangers to lovers, angst, fluff, flashbacks, mentions of death, bad attempts at action, bad attempts at comedy

chapter 4: leaving

Itaru doesn’t really need much, so a single duffle bag and a suitcase might be able to fit everything— as he’s probably not going to be able to bring his entire gaming setup— which he is not ashamed to admit the fact that he did think about it (and tried, but stopped when he realized he would have to lift the actual desktop.) ...

As usual, Chikage is finished already, always ready to go and packed up all nice and neat. He sighs as he finally finishes zipping up the suitcase after stuffing in the rest of his stuff, which doesn’t necessarily make sense, because all he has is some nice clothes, a suit, a 3DS and some undergarments, of course.

He pulls himself away from the suitcase almost viciously, picking up the bag to leave it outside the door, and slowly make its way to the van, as they are going to be leaving later today.He picks it up by its handle and struggles a bit to pick it up, finally picking it up and heading to the front door.

He’s definitely dreading this trip, as for some reason, this suitcase he would normally be able to carry isn’t as manageable as he previously thought, but that barely matters to him when he has more pressing things to think about— like going on a business trip, (where he has to be professional practically 24/7, no gaming either) so Chikage’s existence has barely any effect on his psyche, when he’s mostly just in a tired state constantly.

He finally makes it to the front door, but coincidentally, as always, Chikage is standing right there in front of him.

“...Need help?”

Itaru looks at Chikage in front of him, staring at him absentmindedly, before Chikage taps him on the shoulder to make Itaru notice him.

“Oh, uh… Yeah. Sure.” Chikage takes the suitcase from Itaru’s hands effortlessly, like there was nothing in it, Itaru turning back around to pick up his duffel bag. 

“I’m putting it into the car.”

“Go ahead. I’ll meet you up there. We’re leaving in half an hour, okay?”

“See you.”

Itaru goes to the longue and dumps his duffel bag on the couch, sitting down with it, and taking out his phone, fiddling with the handle a bit. It’s late and dark outside, and barely anyone is awake, except for the couple people awake, who are the usual— Tsuzuru and Azuma.

But the one anomaly is awake— Izumi, who’s always preaching about sleeping early.

“Hey, Itaru.”

“Hey.”

“You’re going soon, I see.”

“Yeah.”

Izumi goes to the kitchen and pours herself a cup of hot water and puts a tea bag in. It’s slow and methodical, and Itaru feels like he can hear each and every movement— like just for a moment he had super hearing. He disregards it immediately, chalking it off as some weird thing that happens to him all the time, as Izumi comes back to sit down on the couch next to him.

She stops and lets her face fall into a resting position, calm as she takes a sip of her tea. 

“I didn’t prepare you one because you’re going soon, is that okay with you?”

“Yeah. I’m not really in the mood anyways.”

She chuckles a bit before taking another sip of her tea. “Thought so.”

She looks back towards the front, basically staring at nothing, exactly like Itaru is, but at least she has something to do. For some reason, time feels like it had stopped while she drinks the tea, the dust not settling anywhere. She takes another, more lengthy sip of her tea before turning to Itaru. 

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

Itaru can smell the tea on her breath carry over towards him, the faint scent of valerian softly whispering over his nose, and the sound of farewell slightly ringing throughout the dorms. The room reverberates with melancholy after she says it, like her statement echoes, when in reality, it just stops. It isn’t much different to some days where the dorms are quiet and soundless, and just the slightest conversation is somehow out of the norm. Izumi takes a breath.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Itaru is surprised by the question, but not visibly so, just the sign of his attention being pulled towards her. “Yeah, why?”

“Well… it’s just you… Chikage…”

“It’ll be fine, Izumi. I’ve survived worse.”

“No gaming except for mobile though.”

“Well, that’s the real mission here. To live through the week without straight up dying.” Itaru tries to force out a laugh, to but on at least a little bit of the façade he can usually put on at work, but it comes out empty and soulless— which isn’t really much different from how he usually is at work. But at least a little more  heart is put into it, he thinks before Izumi notices and immediately starts talking.

“Listen. If Chikage does anything to you, call me ASAP.” Izumi looks into his eyes sternly and with a matter-of-factness that she only uses when she’s giving orders in practice.

“He won’t.”

“I don’t mean physically.”

“He won’t. I’ll be fine.”

“Just… I’m a bit worried. You reacted terribly—“

“Seriously, Izumi. I’m over him, and I’m over it. I’ll be fine. I know you’ll back me up anyways. Thanks.”

Izumi sighs loudly, finishing up her tea in a swift gulp. She gets up slowly, the couch creaking a little bit— but not enough to warrant the purchase of another one. “I’ll be going to sleep.” She goes to the trash can and throws away her tea bag, and fills up the old mug with water again, before passing by Itaru. “Have a nice trip, okay?”

“Thanks, Izumi.”

Itaru definitely knows that he isn’t over Chikage. Not in the dating way, the dating breakup way that that sentence could definitely be taken as a dating breakup way. Not that he would be opposed to dating Chikage. Which is a lie, of course. Maybe.

But his train of thought is stopped immediately by the shut of a door and the open of another, as he sees Chikage enter the lounge, picking up a couple things he left on the counter. “Oh, are you ready?”

“I’ve never been more ready.” Itaru’s fake enthusiasm doesn’t even scratch the surface of trying to convince him that he’s completely happy to go on this damned business trip, when he so obviously feels like he’s been cursed with having to do anything.

“Yeah.” Chikage’s voice is soulless as he looks towards the hallway, and the exit, and starts walking there slowly, and Itaru follows close behind.

“You have the tickets, right?”

“Yeah.” Itaru opens the door to the car and gets in. It smells like a citrus scent that isn’t too intense and he hands Itaru the aux to play something.

“I’m not in the mood for anything in particular. The airport isn’t too far anyways.” He sighs and buckles his seatbelt, Itaru following in his footsteps a bit after he does it.

Itaru doesn’t play anything though, instead opting in for the radio, because he doesn’t trust himself to play anything fitting for the car ride to the airport, playing the same slow jam as they were last night— I mean, what can he say? It is definitely a vibe, as he taps his feet slowly to the beat, not bringing any attention to him because Chikage is so focused on driving for no reason. Or maybe he’s faking it, and just doesn’t want to acknowledge the fact that he and Itaru are going to have to spend a week doing whatever their boss was going to do.

He’s definitely glad for the opportunity though. Maybe he’ll be able to game even harder later. It’ll all pay off in the end. They merge into the highway slowly, and the road seems like it goes on forever, but that’s fine, when the airport is only half an hour away.

All he needs to do is endure this week. It can’t get much worse.

—

There are some situations where someone can trick themselves into believing their own lie— which Itaru almost does, until Chikage touches his hand while picking up their luggage and putting it into the trolley cart. This shouldn’t be such a big deal, he says to himself in his mind to calm himself down, but to no avail, when Chikage looks at him weirdly, then looks away quickly to push the cart towards the now opening elevators. 

“Hurry up. The elevator is gonna close soon.”

Chikage doesn’t look at him as he says that, pushing the luggage cart into the elevator, as Itaru rushes in. 

“Can you push 25?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

The air is a bit stiff and smoky, the scent of nicotine filling the elevator, even if there is a no smoking sign plastered next to the button interface but it doesn’t matter to him, when he knows no one follows that rule anyways— or just the scent of smoke imprinting and soaking into the elevator walls. Contrary to popular belief, the elevator does not play music in America— which Itaru is only slightly disappointed about, as he tries so hard to occupy his thoughts to force out Chikage.

But it’s a different type of freedom when Itaru and Chikage finally get out, into less smoky, less stifling air. The design is slightly ornate— as ornate as the modern style can get, Itaru perceives as he looks around off the railing, the center of which being a large fountain. Chikage stops and pulls out the room key, which isn’t actually a key. 

“Get in. I’m tired.”

Chikage is visibly irritated— for select reasons, the reasons being that the lady at the receptionist desk did not believe them when they said they were here on business, and in fact bachelors, or maybe even dating. Which Chikage immediately shoots down with his inaccented English. Itaru can’t lie— he is impressed.

The inside of the room feels a lot better, with the smell of fresh linen, and the clean, finally non smoky air that he needed. It’s modern— again, with gray tones scattered across the room, with splashes of color— and modern paintings which anybody could have made. 

But the real kicker is the window/sliding door that opens up to the balcony, which overlooks the city, and allows you to see the twinkling lights overtake the stars, as Itaru walks over to the sliding door, looking towards the sky, leaving Chikage to do whatever he has to do alone.

“Could you help, please?”

Chikage doesn’t really need the help.

“It’s two bags, senpai. It’s fine.”

Chikage sighs, and carries the other bag to his side of the bedroom, and puts it onto his bed. 

“Let’s unpack. We won’t be here for a while, but I’d like us to get organized in the meantime.”

Which reminds him— his only criticism of the bedroom is the fact that it’s only one room, and Itaru would prefer his privacy. Especially with Chikage. And even if they do dorm together. For now.

Chikage is already finished, taking out the last couple pieces of clothing, leaving the now single mound of electronics in his bag, some of which he recognizes from the dorm— but no matter, he thinks, once he hears his stomach rumble.

“Can we get food?” Itaru is a bit timid with it, still looking down at his suitcase, even if it’s already empty. He feels around a bit before Chikage responds.

“...What?”

“Did you not just hear my stomach growl?”

His voice is deadpan, with only the slightest bit of questioning coming from his cords. “Yeah, I did— but now? It’s 1 am, Chigasaki.” 

“So? I eat when I want.” Which is a half lie, coming from Itaru, who has now localized almost a family’s fridge worth of food into his tiny mini fridge next to his gaming setup— which he had posted “DO NOT TOUCH” in big bright red letters on the door, when he already knows Banri is gonna go through it. That’s fine. He knows he won’t take much anyways, when he could just grab Omi’s leftovers.

Chikage sighs, before grabbing a laptop from his suitcase. “And what is this about ‘we’? I’m halfway done with today, and we haven’t even started the day.”

Itaru is practically done with Chikage— because the only thing worse than being with Chikage at this moment, at this time, is being with Chikage when he’s being pissy. “God, we can just get In ‘n Out. Don’t need to be an ass about it. Nice facade you put up. I would have liked it if you kept it up until at least the end of this trip.”

Chikage thinks for a bit, sighs, and then starts walking to the bathroom. “Let me splash my face with water first.” He completely disregards the facade part of his sentence, quickly moving to the sinks. He grabs the keys out of his pant pockets, and jingles them around. “Let’s go.”

—

No, it is not weird to be eating a burger in a In ‘n Out at 2 am. Especially in Los Angeles, which is filled with its fair share of night owls— well as much as these people could be considered night owls. Clubbing isn’t the most productive thing to do at night— but he respects the hustle.

But is it unbecoming? Maybe for Chikage, but not for Itaru, who is fully immersed in his laze which gives him an aura of carelessness, as he dives into the fry carton for the last fry, crunching away. Chikage’s burger wrapper sits on the table sadly, Itaru taking a look around.

The In ‘n Out is bustling for 2 am, with its diaspora of tired barely twenty, or almost thirty year old people scattered across the room— with— for some reason, this overly brown and white aesthetic going on throughout the restaurant. It’s larger than usual, the tables a bit more spread apart, and the sounds sparse, with a low chatter from the kitchen and from the tables around them, which is all he can hear from the corner of the store— god bless that no one can really see them. He takes a quick look at Chikage’s side of the booth.

“...Are you really gonna eat just that?” He glances back at his meal, which has all the fixins— the milkshake, fries, etc.

“Didn’t know you cared so much about my caloric intake.” Chikage snarkily bites back, taking out his phone and scrolling through it.

“What about it?”

“Dunno. Just thought about stuff for a bit.” Chikage says it as passive aggressively as possible to Itaru.

“We didn’t have to go here, if you’re so… against being here right now. My stomach needs food, Utsuki-senpai.”

“No, no.” He says it with a tone that’s more similar to aggressive than passive. “It’s fine.”

“I’m not gonna argue with you. I’m just trying to be nice.” He gets up.

“What’d I do wrong?” Chikage says it like he’s the most innocent person in the world, but still with that shit eating tone that sounds like he’s won— when he hasn’t, if there ever was a winner for this nonexistent competition. “I’m acting perfectly normal.”

“Don’t do that shit with me, Chikage.” Itaru starts to get only a little mad, but still keeping it under wraps in order to prevent him from actually snapping in this restaurant— figuratively and literally. “You know what I mean.” He takes a final bite of his burger, and wipes his mouth. “We literally could’ve just ordered In ‘n Out to our hotel room. I have Uber Eats on my phone. I just wanted to go out with you. Might as well catch up right? You’re obviously closed off to the idea.” He takes a large sigh in the gap of time from Itaru’s words and Chikage’s silence that somehow irritates him, when it shouldn’t. “We’re going now. I don’t want to stay here any longer.”

Chikage doesn’t respond, but he does get up. He gathers all the trash onto the tray and leaves Itaru there.

Fuck. 

He walks to the door, Itaru taking the tray and throwing the trash away.

There are a lot of things he could’ve said, Chikage thinks as he opens the door, looking at Itaru who quickly overtakes him to get to the care even faster. Why did I choose that? Why did I choose to push him away yet again? Chikage doesn’t want to think, as he gets into the car, and stares at the windshield, keys not yet in ignition. His stare isn’t blank though— which is obvious when he sighs. I have a job to do. He’s not a part of it. It does not matter. It shouldn’t matter to me at all.

Itaru pokes him once, looking directly at him. “Chikage. Are we going to go?”

“Fucking… give me a moment.” He takes a breath.

“Chikage. Why are you so pissy today? Did I do something? Trying to squash this bullshit so I don’t have to think about it either.” 

“Nothing. It’s fine. Don’t want to hear it right now.” He starts the ignition quickly, pulling out of the parking lot, and speeding off into the night towards the hotel. 

Chikage makes a lot of mistakes. A lot is an understatement— obviously, but genuinely, he thinks he may or may not have overreacted to whatever Itaru said— which wasn’t even offensive in intention or what he said.

Stupid decision. I have to work with this guy for the next week. Why did I say that?

Itaru can feel the car get faster and faster the more Chikage says stupid in his inner monologue— which he is not aware of, of course, but all he can wonder is why Chikage is so pissy. He half crosses his arms, and unpockets his phone out of the jacket pocket to check his messages.

—

5/1

// from: kantoku (Tachibana Izumi)

   to: irresponsible itaru (Chigasaki Itaru)

   // at 3:12 am

>>

kantoku:

did you get there safe, Itaru?

<<

irresponsible itaru:

yeah why?

>>

kantoku:

am I not allowed to be worried?

listen, you’re there with Chikage. I just need to know if everything is...

good. between you two.

<<

irresponsible itaru:

as good as me and chikage can get

hes being rlly pissy rn

dunno what i did tho…

we went to In n’ Out. i was hungy

>>

kantoku:

just making sure…

what do you mean pissy? Chikage is generally like that, Itaru.

<<

irresponsible itaru:

just more than usual. wont even let me talk.

not like i was trying to talk. i asked him

“oh are you sure thats all ur gonna eat??”

and he went all like

“blah blah blah didnt know u cared about me”

when obviously i did.. i told him to stop trying to start shit w me

>>

kantoku:

doesn’t sound… the best. I definitely wouldn’t want to be there.

just… text me if something goes down between you two. nothing petty, Itaru. no time to hear you have some petty gossip or complaint about him. there’s a lot of stuff… going on here.

if he’s shitty to you, I'll kick him out. it’ll be fine.

<<

irresponsible itaru:

thnxs

i rlly appreciate the gesture

>>

kantoku:

I’m your director. that’s what I'm supposed to be doing

<<

irresponsible itaru:

whats going on over there?

>>

kantoku:

uhhh… 

the normal. just a little more backed up, I guess. with you gone.

speaking of which, I have to go now. I’ll talk to you later, okay?

<<

irresponsible itaru:

thanks

—

He looks back up to Chikage who’s brows are a little furrowed with frustration, or maybe anger— Itaru was never the best at recognizing stuff like that— but he seems to be gripping at the steering wheel like there’s no tomorrow.

There isn't much to think about when the bright lights on the strip are still on for some reason, but that doesn’t matter when he’s tired too. Maybe Chikage is just tired— but he never really showed that, he thinks, when he looks back to his past with him. It’s completely fine. It’s not like he cared about whatever Chikage treated him like. I mean— except when his job is on the line— which is what the situation is right now; so yes. He does have a reason to care.

But jobs are jobs, and he knows he could take care of his finances— so it’ll be fine. Maybe he should quit. It wouldn’t really be the best idea however, when he still needs the money to whale on his best girl. Human suffering is nothing compared to her. He berates himself in his head for saying that and then laughing a bit about it in his head later. 

He turns on the radio, but to no avail, when the volume is already put all the way down— and the car doesn’t even have any preset stations on it— which  is generally weird. He fiddles around with the knob to look for a radio station and decides on a quiet slow jam. He doesn’t know why he got into these all of the sudden but he can feel his head bob while he listens to it, up and down to the beat, Chikage’s head facing forward at the road. Itaru doesn’t know why it's not nearly as tense as before, or as awkward as it was before. Maybe it’s the conversations they’ve had. Maybe it’s because they’re getting back into the groove— which they’ll never get back into the groove that they had before— but close enough. But he can’t decide, because at least it’s not like torture being near Chikage all the time. He bets Chikage thinks that way though.

He’s not hurt by it. Maybe he’s just slightly mad at something that happened, but Itaru is far too scared of Chikage right now to ask. Scared isn’t the right word, he thinks. It’s more of an anxious thing, he thinks, because Chikage’s eyebrows are still furrowed with anger for some reason. He can see it in how he turns, how he presses on the brakes and gas, and how he switches gears. 

By the time they’re almost at the hotel, it’s already 4 am but Chikage races straight past the valet, and takes up a parking spot, heading underground to park in that section, as there isn’t much parking space above ground either. It’s probably safer, but Chikage doesn’t care, and almost makes the tires screech in, as he abruptly stops the car and parks it so straight somehow, even if it only took him 10 seconds.

Chikage takes a deep breath. “Let’s go. I have things to attend to at the room.”

Itaru wants to ask why, but he definitely knows better, of course, when Chikage is like this for no reason, so he responds with an “okay”, and opens the door quickly to get out ASAP, so he doesn’t get murdered.

But the slight breeze and palm trees slightly swaying reminds him of something. It always will.

—

8/26 - 3 years ago

“...Senpai.”

Chikage looks behind him, jerking his hand away from the water that drips from his hand slowly, making ripples in it. He looks surprised. “Chigasaki-san.” He tips the -san with a bit of surprise.

Itaru is still in his night time clothing but this time with a warm puffy jacket surrounding him to warm him up, rather than that windbreaker that he wears while gaming— because even if it is summer, the docks are always so cold at night. He can see specks of sand in Chikage’s hair, that rustles like a bush in the wind, but waving as if it was a banner. Chikage looks back down at the water, but doesn’t go back down to touch it as wistfully as wistful can get. But instead, he runs his fingers against the grain of the floorboards, feeling it bump and curve against his fingers, the rough texture of the slightly weathered wood, stroking it carefully.

Itaru is just standing there, looking at the moon, his phone in his hand, but it isn’t even on, the screen reflecting a bit of the moonlight onto the board somehow, as he gets distracted by the full moon shining brightly on Chikage and the water, the reflection of the full moon rippling water. His hair shines bright also, as if it was platinum white, but it’s just glossy from the moist ocean air blowing through his hair. Chikage’s glasses are off, and set to the right of him, also reflecting the moonlight, a slight glint decorating the steel rims.

Itaru suddenly speaks. “It’s pretty out here.”

“It is. What about it though?”

“...Just saying.” He walks closer to Chikage, who’s still wearing the same attire as usual, even on this cold, late summer night. “Can I… sit here?”

Chikage doesn’t object, still fixated on the way that the water ripple and the sounds of the crashing waves onto the area around them. The sea is calm for once, which is odd. It’s odd of Chikage to be so attentive to the water, when there’s nothing super special or very interesting about it, just the fact that the waves are quiet. But he seems appreciative of it for some reason, when there is nothing to appreciate, Itaru notices.

“It’s a nice night here.” 

Chikage doesn’t respond to it as he skims his toes against the water idly, but almost without notice. He feels the water go through the spaces between his toes but for some reason, his toes aren’t cold. They’re warm to him. 

“...It is.”

The pauses between each question and each response are just long enough that it doesn’t become uncomfortable, or a chore to keep doing. A slight gust of wind brushes Chikage’s bangs out of his forehead, Itaru takes a quick glance to the right of him, before looking back down at their feet. He never realized how nice he looked in the moonlight. 

Itaru pauses to stop himself from asking every question at once. “Why are you out?”

“No reason.”

“There has to be some reason.”

“Not really.”

“It’s 3 am.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “There’s a reason.” Itaru feels like he’s prying a bit (and is), but not too much to the point it becomes uncomfortable. “I’m up because I finished my game and saw you weren’t in the room. If you were a little curious.”

Chikage laughs a little. “Oh, so you’re curious about me.”

“Oh, fuck off.” He says in a joking tone. He plays along with the silence that Chikage sets, just the same two sounds— the waves and the wind, but just one more added to the mix, which is the sound of the water sloshing beneath Chikage’s feet, and Itaru’s, who soon joins a little later. But even in this silence, it’s not uncomfortable. Itaru starts up again. “There’s a reason though, right?”

Chikage responds, “Sure.” in this most laconic, “get off my back” way he could, just as if he does not want to hear it.

“Beeeep. Invalid response. Try again.”

“It’s open to interpretation.” Chikage says it in his normal facetious fashion, with the same asshole tone that makes him sound like he has the biggest shit eating grin on the planet.

Which he does.

“Well, if you aren’t going to tell me…” Itaru trails off, officially just shutting up for a bit, which is because of the stars. Chikage sits there, expecting him to say something else to finish off his sentence, but he doesn’t, which takes Chikage by surprise.

Itaru instead stares at the stars again, and reaches into his pocket subconsciously for his phone, before realizing he left it by his bed before sleep. He interrupts the silence. “‘S pretty tonight.”

“Yeah. There isn’t much light pollution out here, surprisingly. It’s pretty.” Surprisingly, because it’s hard to escape the bright lights of Tokyo, even 20 km out of the city boundaries. He’s glad though— don’t get him wrong— that he has the chance to glance at the stars like before, but this time with different people. Or a different person. But maybe things aren’t so different after all, as he takes a glance at Itaru, who’s eyes sparkle a bit like a rose speckled with morning dew, his hair still tied up stupidly to unobscure his face.

He thinks back to his past again, about a certain someone.

“Sure is.” Itaru gazes harder, but suddenly becomes conscious again of what he’s doing. He looks at Chikage, who’s still staring at him, unfazed, but Itaru just looks at him a bit weirdly, before feeling a bit of red coming over the tips of his ears, and decides to crack a joke to lighten the mood— or more specifically, his mood. “This is kinda romantic, isn’t it? Just you and me, st—“ Chikage punches him a little harder than light to shut him up.

“Owwww…” Itaru over exaggerates the pain. “Rude…!”

“There are just some things you keep in your head.”

“I prefer not to do that.” Itaru almost sounds like he put a heart on the end of the sentence, like a little cherry on top of the section of conversation they just had. Chikage stopped stirring the water a while ago, now solely just looking at the ripples from the waves, and the little bit of sea form that touches the dock’s wooden stands. Chikage stops, and backtracks.

“What were you gonna say?”

“Dunno.” Itaru is obviously lying. Or maybe not. Chikage can’t even tell this time, which is odd, when usually he can read Itaru like a book. “But you can tell me stuff, y’know? I’ve done more ‘Organization’ stuff than everyone. ‘Cept Hisoka but… yeah.”

“I’m… aware.” Chikage reluctantly says aware for some reason, which is only a little bit of an oddity when it is taken into consideration for Chikage, but he soon moves on just to cover it up a little more. “I know I’m very capable of doing such.”

He really does know, Chikage thinks to himself quickly, as he starts to swirl the water, when he notices Itaru’s foot covered in the foam of the sea as if it was a little too much frothy milk, which Itaru notices next before dipping his whole foot into the water to get it off. He laughs a bit, which causes Chikage to roll his eyes— in an endearing way of course, (as endearing as Chikage can get) prompting a slight kick from Itaru.

“Good.” Itaru smiles, as much as a 3 am smile can be a smile through the haziness of the night, and the fog of the brain that sticks to it like honey to a spoon.

“What?”

“It’s good that you know.” 

“...Yeah.” Chikage nods, but in an “I guess” manner, which elicits another, stronger nod from him, this time with a little more assuredness.

“You can come to us if you truly need help. Even if it does put our lives on the line— we can take it.” Itaru doesn’t look at Chikage while saying it, but instead looks down, as if he was frowning a bit, but isn’t upon closer inspection by Chikage’s eyes, who are only a little bit looking at Itaru’s form. “Head to bed soon, ‘k?” He gets up, and pats Chikage on the back. “It’s a bit chilly out here. Don’t wanna catch a cold on MANKAI vacation.”

“Yeah, yeah. Forgot it was a vacation… haha.” Chikage watches Itaru leave slowly, feeling the vibrations of his footsteps get farther and farther away, and the slight sounds of creaking boards get farther and farther away, but Chikage doesn’t even look back. He keeps swirling the water around, as if someone would come out if he had kept stirring it, but he stops, and looks at the moon, still full as ever. His eyes are only a bit glossy, but not in the crying sense.

“I believe you, Itaru.”

chapter 1 / chapter 2 / chapter 3 / chapter 4 / chapter 5 / chapter 6

[castlevania-afterdark-imagines]

blacktalonsb replied to your post “How would Hector, Carmila, Isaac, Alcuard, and Trevor try to court...”

Do you have rules for your ask requests? I have been looking through your posts and getting a few ideas for asks. I love what you've written so far!

Thank you so much! We do, here’s our rules page! It doesn’t show up on mobile sometimes, but it’s on desktop. We’ll add a better Mobile Navigation asap.

[violetren]

I was suprised by a tag. Cheers @agatalaura.

rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

name/nickname: Wren, Wrenzy

gender: female

star sign: Virgo

height: too tall to enjoy most classic play park flying foxes.

time: Late

birthday: Ages away

favorite bands: The Mechanisms, Supercell, Fall Out Boy, I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Kaleo

favorite solo artists: Hozier, Haley Kiyoko, Laura Benanti, Lorde, Ludovico Einaudi

song stuck in my head: Lost in the Cosmos by The Mechanisms.

last movie: Wonder Woman 84

last show: Prison Break

when did i create this blog: 2014ish???

what do i post: Stuff about what evey bit of media or whatever project has my attention. Some humour, some meta, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

last thing googled: that shrug emoji because i’m on desktop

other blogs: n/a ya’ll wish I’d organise my interests and its gonna go unanswered.

do i get asks: very rarely... and thanks for the reminder I have a fic request waiting from... oof. Sorry anon, I’ll get to it ASAP now my personal life has calmed down some.

why i chose my url: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m sure I had an answer for this once upon a time. I kinda remember the ren was gonna be wren but that was taken and i didn’t care enough to get clever.

following: enough to avoid ever finding posts from yesterday when I start scrolling the next day

followers: Enough for me to be seriously confused as to why they’re all here

average hours of sleep: 6-8

lucky number: 7

instruments: gods i wish i had time, place and money for that, want piano

what am i wearing: jeans, shirt, flannel hoodie

dream job: I don’t dream of having a job. I dream of being able to make stories in various formats that I can share with people without sacrificing a comfy home and regular meals.

dream trip: idk anymore tbh. Ancient historical sights around britain and europe? Kyoto?

nationality: Australian

favorite song: I have several at any given time and see no need to limit myself to one but my most recently liked on Spotify was “So Alright, Cool, Whatever” by The Happy Fits so that can stand in for this answer

last book read: The Long Way to a Small Angery Planet by Becky Chambers

top three fictional universes i’d like to live in: Fairy Tail universe, Pokemon universe, Long Way to a Small Angry Planet Universe.

Tagging: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  it’s closer to late late now than it was when I answered late and I sure as heck doing twenty of these. @gayrazacrew, @genkininja21, @foxx-queen, @ussjellyfish, @argyle-s, @tribeofthedrunkenweasles, @agosto-trese this is less a hey do wanna play a tag game (but still an invite to i guess) and more just taking an opportunity to check in since its a new year and its been a while... or never for some? but like you’re in my activity and on my dash so often that yeah I lost track of where I was going with this... ANYWAYS, hope you’re all keeping safe and feeling good about facing whatever fresh madness this year holds.

[anaetudes]

hello everyone!!! I hope you are doing fine on this holidays/exams season and that your entry in 2020 was amazing!!

After a very long hiatus, i decided to start fresh and return to this blog to keep documenting my academic journey but this time in uni!! I changed my url (i used to be "onthestudyingspot"), my icon and i'm working on changing my themes but that's still a wip! Since i’ve been away for a very long time I decided to do these blog rates so I can become more active in the community and to know more studyblrs/get back in touch with older studyblrs i already knew + im also celebrating the fact i won +13k followers even while i was a bit off!!

i’ll do this once this gets at least 10 notes. otherwise, pretend you never saw this :’))))

rules:

you must be a studyblr

if your studyblr is a side blog please tell me the url of your main in the tags

reblog/like this post!!

send me an ask off anon with ✨ and what are you studying or a fun fact about yourself!!

blogrates layout:

url: ??? | nice | cute | amazing | give it to me pleasee!11!!1! icon: eeh | okay | nice | pretty | goals | tell me who made it asap desktop theme: okay | nice | cute | truly aesthetic | getting that code brb! mobile theme: okay | nice! | so pleasing! | is it possible for a mobile theme to be that beautiful? | tEACH ME YOUR WAYS, HOLY MOLY! original content: can’t find it | okay | nice!! | aaaaaaaaa so good | goals | can i keep your originals for myself? overall: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | +++ following: no :( | just hit that button | yesss | forever and ever lmao comment (optional):

blogrates will end on january 17th at 18:00 WET ( Western European Time)!!

stay awesome and take care!! (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

[feudalconnection]

Get Ready...!!

It’s the start of the 1st Quarter 2021 Inuyasha Fandom Awards!!

We hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season as we kick off the new year! A huge shout-out to everyone who participated last quarter and made it such a huge success! We look forward to all the amazing new fanfiction and fanart to be nominated and shared with this beautiful community!

Before we get started, there have been a few changes that have been made during our brief hiatus. 

We want to give a shout-out to @britonell for always being so generous with her time and talent with creating award banners. (If you have not yet received your award banner for last quarter, please reach out to one of the mods asap!)

There are also some changes coming to the categories that may effect you as nominators: 

Considering we now have a storyline in regards to Yashahime, we are now allowing works to be nominated into Fanfiction categories. However, because the storyline is not fleshed out enough and a lot of large parts are missing still, we will NOT accept any Yashahime works into the Best Canon Fanfiction category until more has been revealed. If there are any questions on this, please feel free to reach out to the mod-team. 

Our Roulette category for fanfiction this quarter will be Best Canon Divergence Fanfiction. This is defined as: Anything that walks outside of Takahashi’s original vision, but includes some key defining moments from the original canon universe. Anything that starts in the World created by Takahashi and is taken to a different outcome. For this quarter, we are splitting the Best AU/AR category. The new definition for Best AU/AR Fanfiction this quarter is: Anything that walks outside of Takahashi's vision. Anything that moves the characters outside of Takahashi's setting of Feudal Era Japan or Modern day Japan is AU/AR. Anything that changes the main characters beyond the basic core attributes Takahashi granted them. Anything that includes a separate world and series of events. If there are any questions regarding this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the mod-team. 

As a reminder, any work of fiction may include OC’s, but it must reflect 80% of the storyline revolving around the Inuyasha characters.

One major change is that we are now going to evolve the Winners into First, Second, and Third place Awards. This has happened in past IY awards and some fans were hoping that we would be able to bring this back. However, this change is going to be based solely on the level of participation by you guys! 

For any category to receive up to three nominations, a First Place banner will be awarded to the winner. 

For any category to receive up to five nominations, First and Second Place banners will be awarded to the winners. 

For any category to receive up to seven nominations, First, Second, and Third Place banners will be awarded to the winners. 

Basically, the more nominations we receive, the more likely the chance for several people to receive banners! If you have any questions regarding this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the mod-team. 

If it was not mentioned above, chances are it hasn’t changed. Please be aware that the moderators always take suggestions regarding how the awards are run and category changes into consideration, and each quarter may bring about new changes. You can read up on the most recent FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories for more information (these links are only available on desktop)

Also for this quarter, check out @inuparentsday, taking place on January 16th!

As nominators, please make sure that each quarter you take a peek at our list of creators who can’t be nominated to make sure you are staying current with who is eligible to be nominated. 

The 1st Quarter 2021 nomination period will being January 1st and go until the end of the day January 15th. Please send your nominations through the submit button! If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to send in an ask or reach out to one of the mods!

Mods: @sassybratt9791 @meggz0rz @umacaking @hinezumi @sssuperbartola @ruddcatha

Please reblog to spread the word of the start of the new quarter!

[Below the cut we’ve posted the mobile-friendly FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories]

FAQ’s

What is The Feudal Connection?

The Feudal Connection is a place where amazing fanart and fanfiction in the Inuyasha fandom is recognized, admired, and offered the chance to be nominated for an award! In addition, it also gives lesser known authors and artists an opportunity to have their work shared to a broader extent and receive the admiration and recognition they deserve!

How do I nominate?

You can send us a submission in one of our nomination formats. Your submission will not be posted and therefore remain anonymous, only to be seen by the moderators. You can send multiple nominations in one submission, as long as the nomination formats are used for each nomination. Please select your fiction nominations carefully; spelling and grammar are important parts of being an author. Anything deemed unacceptable by the moderator team will be disqualified. Once nominations are complete, we’ll post the list of accepted nominations so you can read and view them before voting.

Can I nominate my own art/fiction?

You cannot nominate yourself. Doing so will result in the nomination not being accepted and a warning from the award moderators.

How long do I have to nominate?

You will have 2 weeks from the start of the nominating quarter to send in nominations. These dates will be posted at the beginning of each quarter.

Can I nominate anonymously?

No. This is due to the fact that no one is allowed to nominate their own work. Also, if a nomination is disqualified, the moderators will be reaching out to the person who nominated to allow them another opportunity to nominate.

Can I promote my own works of fiction/art to be nominated for a quarter?

No. You are not allowed to self-promote your own work during the nomination. This includes not being allowed to request others to nominate your work in specific categories. However, you are allowed to promote the nomination period of the awards by stating something similar to “go nominate your favorites” or the like, as long as you don’t promote your own work to being nominated. Violation of this rule will result in a warning. If there is a second offense, your work will be banned from being nominated in any future quarters.

How many fanfics/fanarts can I nominate?

Only one fiction or artwork can be chosen for each category per person. Meaning, a story or artwork can only be nominated by one person per category. Therefore, any secondary nominations will be disregarded and the duplicate nominator will be allowed to submit another story or artwork in its place.

Is there a limit to how many works can be nominated per category?

Yes. Only 7 fictions or artworks can be nominated per category. Once that category has reached its nomination limit, no more nominations will be accepted into that category for the current quarter.

What fanfiction/fanart is eligible to be nominated?

Please see Rules of Eligibility.

What is the nominating format for fanfics? For fanart?

Nominating format for fanfiction:

Category: (List the name of the category you’ve chosen) Nominated by: (List YOUR screen name) Rating: (The fiction’s rating) Title: (Title of the fiction) Author: (List the name of the person who wrote the story) Website(s): (Add the link where the story can be seen)

(For Best “In-Character” list the character’s name): (For Best “Friendship” list the characters’ names):

Nominating format for fanart:

Category: (List the name of the category you’ve chosen) Nominated by: (List YOUR screen name) Title: (Title of the artwork) Artist: (List the name of the person that drew the piece) Website(s): (Add the link where the art can be seen)

Can I nominate a fanfic/fanart for more than one category?

Yes. The same story or artwork may be nominated by the same person in up to two different categories.  

What are the categories?

The categories for both fanart and fanfiction can be found in the Categories link.

Can I nominate a fanart/fanfic that includes Original Characters or Crossover Characters?

Yes. For Fanfics, 80% of the story needs to be focused on Inuyasha characters and the development of the story. OC’s can be in a story, but the main focus needs to be on the Inuyasha characters. Artwork can contain Non-IY characters where specified, but NO art may contain only OC’s or Non-IY characters. (i.e. Artwork of Inuyasha and Kagome’s “OC children” are unacceptable without other genuine IY characters present in the piece)

I don’t want my fanart/fanfic nominated. Can I opt out? How?

Once a nomination has been approved by the moderators, the author/artist will be made aware of the nomination. Every author/artist retains the right to have their work be removed from the nomination list and can opt out of future nominations. Simply reach out to one of the moderators to let us know.

How many quarters are there?

There will be 4 quarters total per year. Each quarter will be broken down by dates prior to the quarter starting.

How long is each quarter?

Each quarter will be approximately 8 weeks.

How long is the voting period?

The voting period will last for 2 weeks.

How do I vote?

Once the voting period begins, the moderators will post a link to the voting form that will list all of the nominations and which categories they have been nominated for. You can click on the link to be taken to the voting poll, however, you must sign in as you will be allowed only one vote per category.

When are the winners announced?

At the end of each quarter.

What happens if my fanfic/fanart wins? Do I need to do anything?

You don’t need to do anything; you can kick back, relax, and enjoy the feeling of being recognized for your hard work! We will be contacting you in regards to your award within the next twenty-four hours.

I want to nominate an artist/author who has won in the past. Are they still eligible to be nominated?

There is a Winner Ban in place. Once any piece of artwork or fanfiction has won an award for a category, it automatically becomes ineligible and cannot be nominated again for that category. However, it can be nominated for other categories after three consecutive quarters have passed (ie: one year since that piece won) as long as it fits within that definition. We currently do not have a rule against nominating an author/artist back into the category they won for in the past, as long as it is a different piece of work that is being nominated.

I have a question that’s not listed.

Please feel free to send an ask or a direct message to one of our mods and we will get back to you as soon as possible! :)

Rules of Eligibility

Fiction and Fanart published on any public or free site can be submitted for an award provided they meet all of the requirement of the nominations. These sites include but are not limited to Tumblr, Fanfiction.net, AO3, Deviantart, ect. If the validity of a site is uncertain, reach out to a moderator.

Multi-chapter fics must have been updated within the past 3 years of the nomination quarter. Fanart must have been created within the past 3 years of the nomination quarter.

One-shots and drabbles must have been posted within the past 3 years of the nomination quarter.

If the work was posted onto several different locations, the earliest date and time stamp will be taken and checked against the quarter’s period of eligibility. Stamps posted within reviews can be used to date a work and/or its chapters. Also, authors and artists can be contacted to verify timeframes.

You cannot nominate yourself. Doing so will result in the nomination not being accepted and a warning from the award moderators.

You are only allowed to nominate one fic/fanart per category.

Each piece of Art or Fanfiction is allowed to be nominated into a maximum of two different categories per quarter. The nominations will be taken on a first come first serve basis, meaning that once a piece of Art or Fanfiction is nominated into two categories, it will not be allowed to be nominated into other categories, and each subsequent nomination will be rejected.

Each author/artist is allowed to be nominated twice per quarter. Meaning, an author/artist can only have a max of two of their creations be nominated per quarter. So be sure and pick your favorites carefully!

The work must be in compliance with the definition of the category into which it was nominated.

Both adult and non-adult artwork are acceptable for nominations.

Categories

*Please keep in mind that these are subject to change pending participation and suggestions.

There are 32 categories in all - 16 for Fanfiction and 16 for Fanart. Please adhere to each categories’ definition when nominating. If a nomination does not fit within the definition, it will be disqualified.

Fanfiction Categories

Best Action Fiction

Action: “actual engagement in fighting an enemy; military or naval combat” Adventure: “participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises.”

Does it make you sit on the edge of your seat? Do the characters battle adversity on a daily basis? Have the characters embarked on an epic quest?

Best Alternate Universe/Reality Fiction

Anything that walks outside of Takahashi's vision. Anything that moves the characters outside of Takahashi's setting of Feudal Era Japan or Modern day Japan is AU/AR. Anything that changes the main characters beyond the basic core attributes Takahashi granted them. Anything that includes a separate world and series of events.

Best Canon Fiction

“The works of an author that have been accepted as authentic.”

If the story is set in Takahashi’s universe (Modern Japan or Feudal Japan) and keeps the character origins, events, and motivations for character development that she created, then it is canon.

Best Angst Fiction

“Any situation or series of events having/giving a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish. An acute but nonspecific sense of anxiety or remorse.”

Stories that delve into the lives of the characters and pit them against odds that create angst.

Best Dark Fiction

Anything that brings the reader into a world of pain and suffering through abuse of the characters at the hands of the antagonist or internal strife. If it includes graphic rape, murder, abuse (mental or emotional), a character that is suicidal or possessed of depressing thoughts/outlook on life that colors the majority of the story in glum tones it can be considered a dark!fic. Can also be aimed to cause an overwhelming and painful feeling due to something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; fear. Aimed to frighten or ‘gross out’ the reader.

Best Drama Fiction

“Any situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results.”

Stories that delve into the lives of the characters and take the readers with them on a journey through the gambit of emotive expression.

Best Humor/Parody Fiction

Did it make you laugh? Did it deliberately spoof the anime/manga?

Best NSFW Fiction

Sexual content/smut with plot. Both oneshots and specific chapters from multi-chapter fics are accepted in this category. If coming from a multi-chapter fic, a link for that specific chapter is required. Must include content depicting an act of the sexual nature; i.e,. sex, masturbation, heavy petting/touching, ect.

Best Oneshot Fiction

Any fiction that spans the length of one chapter. This can also be a fiction that contains more than one chapter provided that each one was posted at the same time and specifically deemed a “oneshot” by the author.  

Best Character Portrayal

Did the author create an in-depth characterization that, while it may diverge from Takahashi’s vision for them, managed to attract the reader?

*Nomination must include the specific character*

Best Romance Fiction

“Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love”

Stories that have developed a believable romance between two characters. “Believable” is subjective, and it is up to those nominating/voting to draw their own line on that quantifier and vote their “Best.”

Best Non-Canon Pairing

A story including two or more characters in a romantic relationship with each other that were not canonically together in the manga or anime (such as InuKag, MirSan, KogAya, InuParents, etc)

Best Serial Fiction

A collection of drabbles or oneshots or a combination of both that makes up one larger story.

Best Ficlet

For drabbles and poetry - of any genre or pairing - consisting of 1,000 words or less.

Best Canon Divergence Fiction

Anything that walks outside of Takahashi’s original vision, but includes some key defining moments from the original canon universe. Anything that starts in the World created by Takahashi and is taken to a different outcome.

Best Completed Fiction

A story with multiple chapters that will no longer be updated and should be listed as ‘complete.’

                                                                  Fanart Categories

Best Action Artwork

Any fanart depicting adventures, engagement in fighting an enemy, or battles.

Best AU/AR Artwork

Any fanart depicting the characters in an alternate reality or universe setting.

Best Canon Artwork

Any art featuring the characters in a canon setting.

Best Angst Artwork

Any art depicting a scene having/giving a feeling of dread, anxiety or anguish.

Best Dark Artwork

Any art that brings the reader into a world of pain and suffering through abuse of the characters at the hands of the antagonist or internal strife. If it includes graphic rape, murder, abuse (mental or emotional), a character that is suicidal or possessed of depressing thoughts/outlook on life that colors the piece in glum tones can be considered a dark artwork. Can also be aimed to cause an overwhelming and painful feeling due to something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; fear. Aimed to frighten or ‘gross out’ the reader.

Best Humor/Parody Artwork

Any artwork which evokes a feeling of amusement in the viewer.

Best Kiss Artwork

Fanart depiction of the a kiss between two romantic characters.

Best Character Artwork

Any artwork that is a ‘still life’ of one or two characters. It may be bust only, bust and torso, or full body. The portrait should seem more ‘professional’ than a snapshot in its form and presentation, and should successfully convey a sense of the character’s canon personality to the viewer. Portraits should all be canon, and not AU/AR.

Best Duo/Pairing Artwork

Any art that features two characters be it a comic, doujinshi, painting, drawing, sketch, etc. If other characters are included in the picture it is only allowed as a background. The focus MUST be on the pairing. The art can reflect either a platonic relationship or a romantic relationship between the two characters.

Best Doujinshi Artwork

Fanbased and fan made manga based on Inuyasha; art and story combined in manga form.

Best NSFW Artwork

Any artwork portraying the characters of Inuyasha engaged in a sex scene or a scene hinting at a sexual relationship. Can be one character, male/female, male/male, or female/female.

Best Romance Artwork

Any romantic depiction of two of the characters of Inuyasha (excluding male/male or female/female)).

Best Non-Canon Pairing Artwork

An artwork depicting two or more characters in a romantic light with each other that were not canonically together in the manga or anime (such as InuKag, MirSan, KogAya, etc)

Best M/M & F/F Artwork

Any romantic depiction of two of the characters of Inuyasha including male/male or female/female pairings.

Best Group Depiction Artwork

This artwork must feature 3 or more of the Inuyasha cast to be eligible.

Best Overall Artwork

The quality, time, thought, and emotion that went into this piece is what would make it worthy of this nomination. Please take note: The general idea is not the “best of what’s nominated” or “best of show.” It is a category created specifically for art appreciation. That means that even if the characters are OOC, AU, or not drawn in anime style, etc., the ART itself is worthy of praise.

[ansonmountdaily]

Do you know of anywhere were I could watch or get a full transcript of the Fedcon interview panel with Anson, Wilson and Shazad? They look like they're having such a good time!

Hi! I haven’t seen transcripts or full videos of the Disco cast Fedcon panels floating around yet, just snippets of fan footage here and there, and reactions on twitter. Quite a few are linked in con appearance roundup posts, gif sets and reblogs in my “Fedcon” tag. In my own posts I try to link to as many clips as I can without making the posts too long. :) 

Anson, Ethan, Shazad and Wilson crashed each other’s panels and several solo panels became joint ones. Let’s hope some fan uploads them in full! I would also keep an eye on Fedcon’s own Youtube channel; they post full panel videos that are about an hour long, however it usually takes them a while to upload everything. Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes’ and other actors’ FedCon panels from May 2018 were only posted in April this year. We might also get clips of the cast interviews! I’ve already seen some of the other celebs.

I don’t wanna leave you completely empty-handed though, so here are a few extra cute moments I’ve found in FedCon fan fotoage, with links going to the specific timestamps:

- Anson grinning as he walks past the dancing Mistress of Ceremonies Lori Dungey (at 1:29). She is a Lord of the Rings actress, has attended RingCon frequently in the past, and now has MC duties at FedCon. :) Anson gave her a flower at the Closing Ceremony.

- A few cute bits of Shazad and Ethan (7:17) at the panels. 28:37 shows Fedcon’s legendary parties and the fan filming the footage says he was standing right next to Anson, Ethan and Shazad but his camera battery died, so he couldn’t get a clip of them. *o* So close!

- Wilson’s incredible dance movies at 3:34 and again at 4:11, I’ve giffed some of it but it has to be seen in full because Wilson is ♥. He also danced at his panel, and at the closing ceremony (1:27), and Ethan joined in with a few moves (1:42). This clip also includes Anson and Shazad. More Wilson dancing here and here.

- Wilson mouthing animatedly (34:37) while his German Discovery voice actor Benjamin Stöwe does the dubbing for him. Hilarious! 

- A bit of Anson and Ethan’s panel at 34:38, and a short moment of Anson, Ethan and Shazad standing on stage at 0:25.

- Wilson’s story about being cast on Discovery

- Opening Ceremony: Shazad and Ethan saying “Ich liebe euch” (”I love you”) and “Lebe lang und in Frieden” (”Live long and prosper”) to the audience, much to their delight. I’ve giffed this but footage continues with Anson arriving on stage and sharing his “Germany is a pre-warp society” story which we didn’t have in this camera angle before.

- Bonus: A great Stamets cosplayer (20:19) won 3rd place at the costume contest! (51:13) And there was a really cool Mirror Universe Tilly cosplayer, too! (16:09)

Also, here’s Anson’s upcoming con schedule from my blog, he will be in Australia in three days, and he’s recently been announced for DragonCon with Ethan!

Any new panel clips available will be posted/giffed/reblogged asap, with links to the sources. Just keep in mind, posts with twitter links in the caption (text area of a post) don’t show up in the tags on tumblr mobile due to tumblr’s rules, only in the desktop version of the tags. For the post to become visible on both mobile and desktop, I put the links in the ‘Source:’ bar below the post instead, but the ‘Source:’ bar only has room for one link, so I can’t always use it if I need to credit more than one twitter user for a pic, video, tweet, etc. 

In such cases bloggers have to use the caption and the post gets hidden from mobile users, unless they see it on their dash via a reblog or going directly to the poster’s blog. If you’re only using mobile to browse/track the tags on tumblr, you might be missing on some Discovery content because not everything shows up due to tumblr’s automatic blocking. It’s their way to combat fishy/adult links that have infested the site. Mobile users see less content than desktop users, basically, and only a handful of sites are whitelisted, like Youtube and Instagram, which are ok to link to in caption for now. Twitter no longer is. Just a heads up! Some folks have been wondering why their posts weren’t showing up. It’s not your fault, it’s just tumblr being poopy.

Sorry for the length, thank you for writing me and take care! Enjoy the videos! ♥

[cutemoniic]

((Is your blog 18+ only then?

yeup! i would prefer to be followed only by adults!

an edit tho: if i follow you and you are not 18+, i have probably followed you from mobile, and will proceed to unfollow once im able to get on desktop and read your rules page. you are very welcome to come into my IMs and ask me to unfollow, and ill do it asap!