#i'll have less than 40 chapters left

[dibrujas]

Sorry guys, I'm procrastinating making my own comic by reading another comic

[youwouldntdownloadapizza]

The Pleasures of The Unknown | Kate Middleton x The Unknown (Glasgow Wonka Experience 2024)

masterlist | ao3 | follow @youwouldntdownloadapizza and turn on notifications for updates

When Kate Middleton mistakenly ends up at a magical chocolate factory in Glasgow, she finds herself drawn to a mysterious cloaked figure with a penchant for dark chocolate.

pairing: Kate Middleton x The Unknown (Glasgow Wonka 2024)

rating: 18+, minors DNI

word count: 1.2k

tags: crack, crack treated seriously, crack fic, smut, mild smut, finger sucking, chocolate, sex and chocolate, light BDSM, choking, thigh riding, rpf, bald harry styles, balddry, infidelity, glasgow, willy wonka experience - freeform, glasgow willy wonka - freeform, Balmoral, british royal family, unhinged innuendo

chapter warnings: smut, infidelity

Kate Middleton stared at her bangs in the Buckingham Palace bathroom mirror.

"I can't go out like this," she complained to William. "The Sun will rip me a new one!"

"Kate, my dear," he kissed her on the cheek, turning to lean against the counter. She continued tugging at her botched fringe until he took her hand. "It's just hair. It'll grow back."

"That's rich, coming from you."

William looked down at his royal bunny slippers with a frown. Even they had more hair than he did. Perhaps he should have them fashioned into a wig. He'd have to ask his frenemy, Harry Styles, for wigmaker recommendations.

"I don't know what to do." Kate looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes. He wiped them away with his royal hanky.

"I do," he smiled. Sliding his hand into his back pocket, he produced the royal AmEx.

"Take a holiday, Kate. Go to Balmoral or Hollyrood for a few weeks. Grow them out. Maybe even get that BBL you've been talking about getting. Scotland is a great place to recover from surgery. What with all the free healthcare and all, innit?" he said Britishly.

"You're so right, William. I'll leave first thing tomorrow."

---

Kate double-checked the address her husband had given her as she stepped out of her royal Uber Black.

"This can't be the right place. Balmoral was never this colorful!"

The cabbie rolled down his window. "Don't worry, ma'am, this is Willy's place! Be quick and get inside, it's looking like rain."

With a soft 'innit', the driver pulled away, and Kate was left on Willy's doorstep.

She assumed 'Willy' was short for her husband 'William', but as she entered the foyer, she began to have her doubts. The place appeared to be some sort of magical chocolate factory.

Although sparsely decorated, the place maintained some air of whimsy. Well, less of an air, more of a spritz, but clamato, clamato.

"Soo la voo," Kate shrugged, walking beneath the sparkly, styrofoam rainbow and towards whatever fate awaited her here.

"Ahh, more guests! Welcome!" A depressed-looking woman in a green wig approached her.

"Here, compliments of Willy," she said, sliding a plastic cup containing a splash of what appeared to be sparkling lemonade into Kate's left hand. Into her right went a single jelly bean.

"What is this?" Kate asked.

"Our welcome gift to you! And only $40, such a deal."

Kate supposed $40 was a fair price for such splendor. After all, if bananas were $10, this was surely worth four times that. She popped the jelly bean and washed it down with the lemonade.

"Carry on down the hallway. Your future awaits."

Kate left her luggage and her empty cup with the so-called Oompa Loompa and proceeded down the bare linoleum hallway. That uncanny-valley candy landscape tapestry really ties the place together, she mused.

A voice greeted her at the end of the hall.

"What. Is. That?" A blonde man in a red top hat and coattails pointed towards an unassuming mirror.

Why, that's me! Kate Middleton! Kate Middleton thought to herself.

Kate nearly leaped out of her skin when the creature emerged from behind the looking glass.

"It's...THE UNKNOWN!!"

That's when Kate fainted.

When she awoke, her head was spinning. "Where am I?" She asked to the blackness that surrounded her.

A deep voice answered her. "You're in the walls. This is my home. My own dark chocolate factory."

"Your what?" Kate asked.

As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in a small bedroom combined with a confectionary workspace, almost a studio apartment of sorts.

"My dark chocolate factory. You see, Willy Wonka seeks only to pump this world full of river-churned, high-fructose, milky delicious bullshit. What I aim to create is something far more sophisticated. Far more complex. And far, far darker."

"Oh? Might I try some?"

"Why of course," the silver-masked, black-hooded creature pulled back its sleeve to reveal long, nimble fingers.

He crossed to his chocolate worktable and dipped his index and middle fingers into a whirring chocolate fountain. The creature stalked towards her, extending the sample.

Kate leaned towards him, but froze. "Before I suck on your fingers, I should probably know your name."

The creature angled his head, as if considering her. "I have no name. I am only...The Unknown."

Kate's heart raced in her chest. That chocolate, those fingers, it all looked simply divine. And if William could be unfaithful, why couldn't she do the same? She deserved it, just this once. As a treat.

She opened her mouth, and The Unknown slid his fingers past her lips. She sucked deeply, the flavor sliding across her tongue and down her throat, the complex flavor and intensity of the delivery method sending shivers down her spine.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

"A bit," Kate admitted.

"Well then," she could hear the smirk in his voice even if she couldn't see it on his face. "Perhaps I'll have to warm you up myself."

Kate bit her lip. "Would you...put your willy? In my chocolate factory?"

His fingers closed around her throat. She drew a sharp breath.

She could feel his breath as he whispered in her ear, "Forget willies. Forget chocolate factories. Allow yourself to submit, to embrace the pleasures of The Unknown."

Kate let out a shuddering breath as she gazed up at that shiny mask. She didn't know what lurked behind it. She didn't care.

She kissed him then, the plastic of his mask hard against her soft lips. And then she was sprawled on the bed, his knee between her legs, and she was grinding against him.

"Oh, The Unknown!" She moaned.

"Please, there's no need for formality. Call me The."

So Kate did. She sounded like the gilded first word of a sponge's term paper as she wailed his name over and over again, into the dark stillness of this secret room behind the walls.

"I'm close," Kate moaned.

"Good girl."

He leaned down to kiss at her neck. The rough edges of the cheap mask scratched at her sensitive skin, but she didn't care. She was lost in the pleasures of The Unknown.

It was the hair that brought her to the edge, something her husband could never give her. The chemical scent of his cheap, black wig filled her nostrils as she rode his thigh, dangling there on the precipice.

"Ohh!" Kate screamed as she came, her thighs shaking with pleasure as she clenched around nothing.

A low, satisfied chuckle rumbled at her throat, and she swooned. After all these years of marriage, William had never rocked her world like this masked stranger just had. As they lay there together, she slipped into the chocolatey darkness of slumber, utterly content.

---

When Kate returned home, butt bigger and bangs longer, William had wanted to hear about her experience in Scotland.

"What was your favorite part?" He asked.

"I learned a lot about myself on this trip," she told him. "But the most valuable lesson was in learning to embrace the pleasures of the unknown."

"See, a little uncertainty is good sometimes!" He teased, tugging on her much-improved bangs before giving her a soft kiss.

"Mm," he smacked his lips. "Tastes like chocolate."

[arsenalmatildasengland]

  FAKE STORY!

Chapter One - Hey Fangirl!

*you are Alessia in this story*

                                        ~2023~

I am extremely excited to watch that Men's game tonight as they were playing against West Ham,

Lately I had become overly chatty online with Declan Rice. I met him years ago while playing for England, but we remained acquaintances until recently when he congratulated me on a game I played well in.

I realised about a month ago that I liked him more than just a friend and I have a feeling that he's remained speaking with me non stop daily for a reason but I don't want to give my hopes up and be disappointed if that wasn't his intentions to begin with.

**********************************************

You've just finished practice and you are off in your own world in the locker room going through your phone.

*your notifications*

Declan - 2 hrs ago

Good Morning :)

Declan - 1 hr ago

Have fun at training talk to you later

Declan - 40 mins ago

Damn it, I keep checking my phone hoping to see a reply and smiling like an idiot.

You read them and your heart pounds and you're staring at the screen smiling.

"Less, who's got you smiling?" - Mary Earps

"awww Lessi is in love!" - Ella Toone

"Can't someone just be happy? I'm catching up on what I missed" - You

You turn off your phone and put it down, you grab your shower bag that has all your toiletries in it and head to the bathroom.

Whilst in the shower you have so many scenarios playing out in your head on how you want tonight to go but you're a little nervous about if any of them were to play out.

" Less, we have to get going if you want to go to the game" - Ella Toone

"Okay I'm coming!" - You

You quickly get out and put on some jeans and a clean jersey, left your hear out and put on some adidas black and white shoes.

Tooney drove to the field.

Once you got there your nerves began to show, you were so nervous that you were going to run into him and not know what to say, part of you just wanted it to happen and part of you wanted to be prepared.

"What are you stressing about? It looks like your preparing for a year 8 speech infront of your class" - Tooney

"Declan Rice is here today." - you

"Okay and? You literally see him quite often" - Tooney

"Nope, Nope. This is different" - You

"Is he who is making you smile at your phone?" - Tooney

Your cheeks go bright red and your eyes open wide.

"That's cute I can see you both getting along" - Tooney

You both make your way to the seats where a few other players from the women's team are sitting.

Kick off is in 20 minutes but you really need a drink ,You quickly run down to the canteen and grab a Pepsi Max and a packet of Chicken Crips to eat.

You've made your way back up to your seat and you sit down scrolling through your phone.

*Notification*

Declan - Now

You didn't tell me you were coming.

You look up to see if you can see him, you haven't been able to find him

You -

Working hard or hardly working? Can't see you out there warming up.

Declan -

You realise now I have to play better to impress you.

You -

Well don't pop up out of nowhere cause I may go all fan girl on you and just squeal

Declan -

I'll score a goal for you cause you made the long journey here.

You -

I'd say I am honoured if that happens but you are the opposition and it was literally a 10 minute drive.

Declan -

Ouch, opposition. I see how it is Russo.

You -

Good Luck.

You put your phone in your lap and tune back into what the girls are saying that you are with.

Your hear is pounding like crazy and you can't help but smiling at the fact he said felt he needed to impress you.

The game is about to start, you watch them men's team come out of the tunnel and your eyes instantly lock onto Declan Rice, He's looked towards you as well and you locked eyes and your cheeks have gone red.

"Blush much Less?!" - Tooney

You look away and then look back, he has a smirk on his face. You realise the big screen camera is pointing towards the players from the female team

"Look who we have here, the women's team of Manchester United here to support the club" - Commentator on loud speaker.

You look back at Declan as the commentator said that and he's pointing towards himself, the camera quickly switched to him and it was caught him pointing towards himself.

"And it looks like Declan Rice seems to think they are here for him as a West Ham player" - Commentator

You instant laugh at him being called out. Ella looks at you and laughs cause she can see you both were silently communicating.

The game kicks off and United has the kick off. The first half of the game was pretty entertaining you found, a few yellow cards and some goals. Declan hasn't managed to score yet but has had a few on target shots that were intercepted by the goal keeper.

It was half time and United scored a goal but the West Ham players think they were offside so they are arguing with the referee, the referee doesn't believe they were and Declan kept arguing which resulted in him getting a yellow card just before the half time whistle went off, he was mad.

At half time he walked off into the tunnel, he kicked all the water bottles as he came off. You just wanted to know if he was okay, you believe the yellow card was a little harsh.

The half time break felt like it was taking forever, you've been just wanting to see he's okay and know that he won't answer his phone as he's needing to stay focused.

You see the team heading out but can't see him, he eventually walks out and looks mad. You tried to get his attention without being noticed but he looked at you then looked away without acknowledging you, it stung a little but you understood he was probably just trying to stay focused on the half ahead.

The game kicks off again and you've just been watching the game in general this half not just him, you have noticed a few skills that are being used and make a mental note to try and use them.

Declan managed to get the ball off a United player, he shot from a distance and it went in. He looked at you for your reaction but you didn't notice him and he stopped celebrating and went back to the game.

"Looks like Rice wanted a reaction from someone but didn't like what he saw" - commentator

You heard what was announced and looked for him but he wasn't bothered.

The Full-time whistle went off and you joined the men's team on the pitch to have a chat. Some of the staff of the United Men's team came and asked if you could come sign a jersey of a young girl in the crowd who had been wanting to meet you.

You agreed and followed them over to her. You see her little freckles and hair pulled back in a ponytail, you go over the barrier but remain behind the fence.

"Hello, it's so lovely to meet you." - You

"She's been coming to every local game men or women's in hope she'll get the chance to meet you" - little girls Mum

"What's your name?" - You

"Imogen" - Little girl

"Oh I love that name, did you want mum to take a photo?" - You

Imogen smiles and nods her head, you life her over the fence and are holding her whilst her mum takes a photo.

"Now I don't have one of my jerseys on me but next time I see you at a game I will come find you, is that alright?" - You

The little girl smiles and you say your goodbye and are heading back over towards Mary, Ella and the United Players.

You see Declan sitting in the middle of the pitch alone and you decide to walk out there. You are quickly running through what you want to say, you don't know whether to sit or stay standing.

You get out there and are a few steps away, he's looking in the opposite direction and doesn't know you're coming.

" Hey you," - you

You gave him a gentle playful kick as you approached him. He turns around and sees you standing there.

"Oh hello, I thought you left when I didn't see you with your friends over there" - Declan

"Just had to say hi to a little fan she was so cute was in hope I'd be at the game" - you

"That's sweet, shame you weren't playing could have given her a jersey" - Declan

"Yeah I know kind of disappointed for her" - You

He stands up and gives you an awkward side hug, your heart instantly beats faster. You both walk along playfully bumping into one another.

"Alessia, we managed to find a jersey here if you wanted to give it to the little girl." - United Staff

"Yeah of course, do you have marker so I can sign it?" - You

They hand you a marker and you go over and ask Mary and Ella to sign as-well, a few of the Men's United signed too. You walk back over to Declan who was waiting for you.

"Want to come meet my number one mini fan, just can't get jealous if she doesn't recognise you?"- you

"Oh please she'll forget about you the second I get over there" - Declan

You both laugh as you walk over to where she was sitting, you're looking around trying to find her, you see a little hand waving and run towards her.

"Hello again cutie, I found you a jersey and got heaps of signatures for you." - you

"Thank you Lessi" - Imogen

She leans towards you and gives you a hug, you get her a hug back and she has little tears of happiness in her eyes, you see them and wipe them away for her.

"Imogen I just have to ask, do you know who this is?" - You

She shakes her head and says no, you look right back at him and smile with attitude. You say your goodbyes to her and head back.

"So what are you doing now?" - Declan

"Was going to head back home and get ready for bed, pretty sore from training today" - You

He looks a little defeated after you said that, he looks away and slowly moves away from you.

"But if you wanted a tour guide, I could totally show you some cool places." - You

He smiles and comes closer to you again.

"So you want to go on a date is what I'm hearing cause if you wanted that should have said so, I'm not a mind reader " - Declan

You give a questioning laugh cause you're so confused but sort of nervous.

"Ahhh crap haven't got a group chat" - You

"You don't have a what?" - Declan

"Hold on wait here." - You

You sprint off to fine Ella, you are running around like a headless chicken and he is just laughing at you, you find her and speak so fast she can't understand.

"Tooney Tooney Tooney" - you

She turns around thinking something was wrong.

"What's the matter?" - Ella

"He's asking if I want to go on a date with him but not in those words." - You

"Well why are you telling me? Go answer the question you either do or don't" - Ella

You run back towards him, you realise you made a fool of yourself running off. You get back and he's just laughing at you.

"So is Tooney coming with us?" - Declan

You nervously laugh.

"I'm your designated tour guide." - You

"Okay, I'm glad. Let me go get changed then I'll meet you somewhere." - Declan

"Do you have a car?" - You

"Yes I have a car, do you?" - Declan

"No, well I do but not here with me" - You

"Okay Fan girl, go destress somewhere and I'll send you a message." - Declan

You walk off back over to Tooney and catch her and Mary up on what's happening, they both are laughing at you for running off and not answering. You end up waiting in the Foyer cause it got cold, Mary and Ella have left and you're waiting for him.

*notification*

Declan:

Hey Fangirl, ready to go?

[scopophobia-polaris]

Hello, it's the new year and I haven't been...talking much for a long time.

As I've stated, I've had multiple health scares this year, and I -goddamn this is too formal, I dont like to talk about myself much, I'd rather keep things to myself, but I'm currently taking multiple meds for a formal diagnosis, right now I'm being treated for Bipolar. Turns out there was something up. I aint really afraid to talk about it, I mean lots of people get treated for many things and it's normal.

This was uh.....scary for me, I figured something was up and I mean I'm fine now but DAMN first 15 minutes of hearing that? Nasty. Lot of things that are super personal tied to just a lot of shit yada Yada I feel like shit for just being nonchalant about this but I don't know what else to do, I'm taking care of myself and trying to fix my life up.

But now that I'm getting to a point where I'm more stable, I'm starting to feel more ....me? Genuinely, it's gonna take me a long time to make myself get into a solid schedule, I dont think I'll ever have one, maybe the slight one i have now, but atleast I don't feel like I have 0 control over my life at this point.

Idk man I had some kind of control but I don't know...who am I kidding. I feel like a new person. I feel better, my body doesn't hurt as much.

I don't know if being a new person is a good or a bad thing for me but uh...idk idk idk maybe I kept reading through my scripts and realized something.

Anyways, now that I know when to take the meds so I can draw, I've been back to just? Drawing and having fun?

Really living by this its why I'm not online much, if I aint having fun what's the point.

BUT now I get to the uh...other shit.

So because of the meds stuff and all kinds of shit mostly......IM ABOUT TO LOSE INSURANCE...... and I've done a few things.

For starters. I'm setting up a patreon, I'm going to do it so that it would only charge when I make a post of 5-10 pages of the comic, I'm gonna get through my first half of chapter 4 before I ever even think if taking anything from ANYONE, so no monthly just for specificposts. Quite ffrankly, I do not like money, like in a way of it makes me nervous and I want people to get a bang out of their buck because I'd I don't make it good is it worth it????

tWO......I don't like advertising, I never did, I probably should of said I have them last few plushes during December (like everyone around me was saying to do and YET....there is less then 10😭) but I wanted people to be spending money on something worthwhile. Hell I mean, it's guilt, its massive guilt, there are people more in need and NOW MORE THAN EVER.....so to not feel like a thief, anyone who gets this critter here, I will donate a solid 30USD out of each purchase to a family in Gaza in need, of your choice of course. I need to pay for shipping but whatever else is left I will donate the rest. That should leave me around $40 on each plush and that's fine, I'm gonna save it for meds because when I go uninsured idk how long it's gonna be, maybe a bit maybe a while, I dont know yet but I wanna provide aid in some way. Like ceasefire don't mean shit until it's permanent, and I don't trust Israelis to hold true to any promise. So I want some of that money to atleast help SOMEONE. Because in the end I know I can get by but.

But my wife is the only person with a job.......😬😬😬😬😬

Besides all of that I'm sorry I haven't uploaded pages or drawings or anything, I wanna have a better relationship online, like I did when I was younger, when it was just fun and I had my own corner, maybe that'd nostalgia but I'm getting sick of social media, and maybe I don't wanna be walking on eggshells because of fandom whatever. So I will be trying to do more in the future, I hope yall have a good day.

And thank you again for all the patience with my slow ass 😭

[arislary]

Brewing Chemistry (2/5) Han Jisung x (f) reader

Synopsis: Reader and Jisung are excitedly preparing for their long-awaited date. Both of them are eagerly getting ready, but a series of unfortunate events begin to unfold. Reader, despite her excitement, is dealing with a particularly rough day—facing work stress, and a series of minor mishaps that has shaken her confidence. She begins to feel insecure about how she looks, wondering if Jisung will still find her attractive or if her bad mood will ruin the night. She tries to push these feelings aside, but they linger, causing anxiety about whether she'll end up actually going on the date.

Pairing: Han Jisung x (f) reader

Genre: fluff, eventual smut, strangers to lovers, coffee-shop au, non-idol au, meet-cute au

Warning: fluff, smut, unprotected smut (wrap tf up!), slight dom/sub, slight Dom Jisung, slight Sub reader, cute nicknames, spit kink, makeouts, dry-humping, i lied about it being a slow-burn, moving too fast?, insecurity, slight body-image issues from reader, pants don't fit, crying, whiny Jisung, whiny reader, reader is forever clenching.

WC: 2.2k

AN: this could totally act as stand alone drabble, but I enjoyed writing about coffee shop Jisung x reader way too much. If you want to see more too, let me know please and I'll try to set up a taglist. Be patient with me as I do not have a schedule out for chapters yet! UNEDITED

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 1 <- Part 2 -> Part 3 -> Part 4 -> Part 5

I wiped my makeup off for what felt like the fifth time and almost started crying. My date with Jisung was in less than 30 minutes and I felt like everything that could have gone wrong that day, had. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bedroom, wearing just my robe and undergarments. 

From the spilled coffee on my desk, to the passive aggressive email from my fellow team lead, to my favorite lunch spot unfortunately being closed. By the time I got home, it felt like the universe was laughing at me as my favorite pair of pants felt too tight to be comfortable and even if they did, none of my shirts felt right and I didn’t even want to look at the offending dresses on the floor. 

I looked over at my phone and almost pouted. For the better part of the week since meeting last Tuesday, every text exchanged between Jisung and I, I had been able to continue being this self-assured, confident woman, but right now I just wanted to cry and be snuggled in my bed. Conversation with Jisung flowed too easily; the very awkward and cute boy from the coffee shop was replaced with this funny, flirty, charming guy. Still slightly awkward and cute though, but now I didn’t know if I could do this date anymore, it all just felt too much. It was way too early for me to show him any of this, I just didn’t want to do it today. I grabbed it with shaky hands and pulled up our last message thread. 

Jisung 🐿️👀🥴: Really looking forward to tnt! Pick u up at 7!

I looked at the time at the corner of my phone. The 6:40 glaring at me. I went back to our thread before pressing on the call button. It barely rang before the soothing sound of Jisung’s voice rang through. 

“_______! You know we’re about to see each other in like 5 minutes,” the chuckle he released had your insides twisting and left a large desire to hear it again. “That excited for our date?” That did it. I could feel the ball beginning to form in my throat. 

“Jisung…”

“What’s wrong?” My stomach dropped hearing the immediate worry in his voice.

“I, uh- I’m gonna have to reschedule actually on tonight”

“W-why? Is everything okay?” And now it felt like I had been kicked, I grimaced my hand coming up to cover my throat, the lump growing even bigger in my throat. I cleared it. 

“Actually-“ I took a deep breath before a small whimper escaped. “I’m so sorry Jisung, I just- I had a horrible day and I feel so awful. Nothing has gone right, fuck-“ the first hiccup escapes before I can’t hold it back anymore. “-And then my coffee spilled, a-and my favorite pen stopped working, a-and fucking Kevin, god he’s such an asshole! It wasn’t even my client!” I gasped out, sucking in air harshly through my nose, eyes starting to feel so swollen. “My clothes don’t fit and my makeup looks awful and now I’m saying all of this to you. God I must sound like such a loser-“

“Okay, hey, no, don’t say that, ______.”

I sniffled and wiped a hand across my eyes. 

“It’s true-“

“No, baby, it’s not.” 

Baby? It was the first time he’s called me that. Granted we’ve only known each other for a week, but I felt the weight of it all the same. Don’t get me wrong, he was a flirt and made it very clear throughout our conversations to know what his intentions were, but to hear him call me such a name. The intimacy of it left me feeling a tingle in my stomach and had me clenching. 

“It’s okay, trust me. It sounds like today was really hard huh?”

I sniffled and sank down to my plush rug. My left hand rubbing at the smooth fabric. It was like with just that sentence, a cooling wave washed over me. 

“Yea.”

“Kevin is also such an asshole!” A giggle bursted from my lips, falling to the side, keeping my phone pressed tightly to my face so that I wouldn’t miss anything from his velvety voice. “But most of all, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable on our first date.”

I rubbed a finger under my nose and pouted. God, could he be more perfect, he was just so nice and sweet, no one has ever been that way with me before. 

“Baby?”

“Hmmm?” I hummed out to him, feeling myself slipping into that fuzzy feeling. 

“C-could I-“ he cleared his throat, “could I maybe come over still? Would you like that?” 

I bite my lip, one hand playing with the strap of my robe. 

“Please.”

“Thank God, I’m downstairs in the parking lot-“ I sit up up quickly from where I had been laying down, eyes flashing to my bedroom door.  “I’ll be up in a second okay?”

I whimpered and nodded my head, before rolling my eyes, he can’t see you. 

“Okay- b-but stay on the phone, okay?” Rising to my feet, rushing to put my slippers on to head out to the front door. 

“Of course, baby.”

It was less than a minute before there was a gentle knock on my door, but hearing his breathing on the other line helped ease my stress and finally Jisung cooed at me to open the door. I ended the call and rushed to unlock it to meet him. Worried brown eyes met mine before I was suddenly wrapped up in a warm embrace. Jisung’s arms wrapped around the tops of my shoulders, pulling me tightly against his frame. 

He was dressed comfortably in a black hoodie and sweats. His wired frames sitting crookedly on his nose. I breathed in his comforting scent, my own arms wrapping around his tiny waist, face burrowing into his chest. 

“Hi,” he whispered against my head, his warm breath fanning against my ear and the side of my neck. The shiver that ran through me shook even him and he only pulled me tighter to him. 

“Hi.”

He let out a small groan and pulled back to look at my face. His bottom lip tug tightly in between his teeth. There was a faint blush on his face and from where we were pressed against each other, I could feel the rapid speed of his heartbeat. 

“And to think I would’ve missed out on this,” his hands curling at the satin fabric of my robe. A blush rose to my cheeks as I realized what I was still dressed in. I let go of his waist, my hands coming up touch the tie still tightly secured. I scurried out of his embrace, calling out to him.

“Give me two seconds!” I popped my head out of my bedroom to peer back at him from down the hall. “Oh! Also please make yourself at home!”

In less than a minute, I rush back out, this time dressed in shorts and a large graphic tee. I found Jisung looking at the collection of albums and books on my shelf. I had to stop for a second and stare. He just looked too good. God, seriously who looks like that!

“Coffee?” He startles, turning around to face me, eyes wide and mouth open. I wince, hands going up in a surrender position. “Sorry, I-“

“Yea, I’d love some,” he sounds breathless and my eyes flash up to meet his. He hasn’t looked away from my legs. I squirm in place before walking over to the kitchen area. I start up the stove top coffee maker, fighting everything in me to chew on a fingernail as his presence enters the kitchen. I could feel him come up behind me before the hesitant touch of his hands on my hips occur. 

“Is this okay?” He asks as he pulls me back against his chest, arms wrapping further around me. I nod and lay my hands on top of his covered arms, hands forming fists in his sleeves. His head comes down to snuggle into my neck. “Do you wanna tell me more about your day?”

I pinch at his sleeve, my head falling back on his shoulder as he begins to sway us. 

“It was just- it was so tiring. I felt like it was a lot of small things that normally don’t bother me, but…” I trailed off, feeling a lump forming once again in my throat. 

“But it was too much today?” I pouted, nodding my head, wanting to turn myself in his arms to bury further into his warmth. 

“Yes,” it was cracked whisper that had Jisung turning his head, nose digging into my hair and tightening his arms around me. “Sungie,” I whined out causing him to gasp and grip me even harder. 

“Baby,” he rumbled in my ear, turning me around. His forehead rested against mine, nose lightly brushing against mine. “Thank you for being so honest with me today. You didn’t have to, but I’m so glad you were. Thank you for letting me know and be with you today anyways,” he squeezed me to him, his hands feeling needy and desperate on my body. “I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to today, I really don’t care how we spend it, I just- I want to be with you and honestly being like this with you, I just- ______, I- baby please tell me you feel it too? I’m not alone in this right?” I shook my head already before he could finish his sentence. My hands gently ran up his arms, feeling the muscle that lay hidden underneath the thick fabric, to his shoulders before entwining behind his neck. I brought my face closer to him, lips grazing his. 

“No, I- it’s not just you,” he whimpered, his hand now dragging my face close to finally have our lips meet. I pushed myself closer to him as he wasted no time to grabbed at my thighs and lift me up on to my counter. Fuck, would kissing him be like this every time? Jisung’s hand dug into my hip, bringing me flush against him as his other hand found its home nestled in my hair at the base of my neck to move me as he wanted. I could feel the heat pulsating in my core, tingles shooting all throughout my body begging for a release. I panted as his lips left mine, no doubt bruised from the dominating pressure, only to gasp loudly as he began to harshly suck, lick and bite at my neck. I pulled roughly at his hair feeling his hips rut against mine. “Fuck.”

Jisung gave me a harsh bite, mumbling against my neck, “language, princess.” 

I moaned loudly, my own hips now thrusting up against him. Jisung hissed, not hiding the hard length in his sweats as he began a sensual roll of his hips to meet mine. I could feel the rough drag of my underwear with each thrust against my clit, the fabric helping to bring me closer to where I wanted to go, but it just wasn’t enough. My hand slid from his hair, nails dragging down his chest, catching lightly at his right nipple through the fabric of his hoodie, causing a deep groan to leave his mouth. My hand continued further down, fingers just beginning to play with the straps of his sweatpants when a sudden loud bubbling noise and water hissing sounded from behind Jisung. 

I gasped withdrawing my hand and sitting up straight to push Jisung off so I could turn the stove off. He stilled my movements, grabbing my hands that pressed into his shoulders, and placing a rushed kiss to my knuckles. He quickly turned, reaching over to flick the dial off. Turning back to me, chest heaving. I must have looked like a mirror-image of him as I tried to calm my own rapid beating heart. My lips felt swollen and neck felt exceedingly warm. There was a steady leak trickling out of me and I clenched my legs to stop it, hands gripping at the ends of my shirt.

“So…”

“Coffee right?” He looked at me with a slight smirk, his eyes playful as he came back towards me, pecking my lips. He pulled back to gaze at me. So many emotions rushing through his eyes that it was hard to focus on any of them, but it all left me feeling warm and sharp pings in my lower stomach. I wanted to rub my thighs together, but a part of me also didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of just how much he affects me. He leaned his hands on either side of me, his face same level as me. His brown eyes were blown wide as he continued to stare at each detail of my face like he was trying to memorize it. I tilted my head, a content smile coming to rest on my face. Oh yea I could definitely get used to this. 

[aydaptic]

I hope this doesn't come off as rude but I can't wait for you to finish your webcomics because I want to see what other reed900 creations (fics or otherwise) you will make due to being able to dedicate your time to other projects.

I love your portrayal (and understanding) of Gavin's character and I'm excited to see what comes next.

Not rude!

Considering that I'll likely be working on the A&E and Liberosis (sequel) WebComics until the year 2028... I'd be surprised if you were even in the Detroit: Become Human fandom anymore by that time, lol.

I still have to finish up A&E -- having 3 chapters left -- and 17 chapters took me 3 years. I suspect Liberosis might take me 2 years at most. That said, it might be even longer than that. I'm starting my 1st job by either the end of the year or the start of the next one meaning I won't have a lot of time anymore. So we're already talking 2029 before I move onto something different. Even then, my next projects will just be the animated series adaption of those two WebComics.

It's easy to say "I'll always be a Reed900 fan," but truth is, most ppls' interest wavers each year. I'm confident that's never gonna happen to me as I've loved at least one ship for over a decade -- I was (still am) a huge fan of the Mass Effect ship m!Shenko of which I was likely introduced to in 2012 -- and my love for m!Shenko doesn't even come close to my love for Reed900. So that says a lot. The same can't be said for everyone, though. Ppl get bored. They want something different whether it be a fandom, ship, etc. Especially if they're just a viewer and not a creator.

For context, I have to

finish up the A&E WebComic: likely done by mid-2025

start the Liberosis WebComic: likely done by 2028

dedicate to the animated A&E series: likely a 10-year project (that being said, I'll ofc be publishing episodically... so it might take me slightly less than 1 year to get CH1 out)

dedicate to the animated Liberosis series: likely a 5-year project

...and so it'll be year 2043, and I'll be in my 40s, before I'll be able to do something different with Reed900 outside of A&E/Liberosis. If you're still in the fandom in year 2040, I'd be legit shocked.

I've said before that canon Gav is practically the male equivalent of me, so that makes him very easy for me to write/portray :)

[starlit-crossing]

A Ghost of Yourself Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Flying Solo

---

Danny had lost track of the time quickly after beginning to fly, his stress ebbing away with the landscape that spend by. He tried to focus on the grass, the roads, the horizon, anything but what had just transpired. Every time his mind wondered; he would be reminded that he needed to not feel. His friends' face as he took off — nope, not thinking about it. How worried Jazz would be — what a really cool tree I just passed. His parents’ confusion and not getting to say goodbye to anyone — that is a lot of white vans up a head. Wait… Danny stopped midair above a state highway. Similar to a police barricade, white vans, jeeps, and motorcycles were stationed in the middle of the street. Guys in White were stopping the passing cars, scanning them, then letting vehicles through the state border. Lines were beginning to form and angry honks floating up to him. This isn't good… Danny fished for his burner phone, feeling for the metal at the bottom of his backpack. Digging it out, the clock read 12:45. He had left Casper high during lunch, which had been around 11:30, and he had left Amity around 11:40. Good to know it takes less than an hour for the Goons in White to make a move. He floated closer to the cars to see if anyone had a Wi-Fi spot open. I should've grabbed the Fenton GPS from the emergency OPS center, finally a Wi-Fi signal popped up under the name __Not_The_FBI__. Danny choked on a laugh as he pulled open his map app. He was going to need to avoid every joke and pun on this trip, or he was a dead man. Well, a deader man… wait! Bad brain! He yelled at himself. He had to be less than a five-minute flight from Chicago. Zooming in, he looked for a train station or a ferry… and there was a train station used for hauling cargo from the US into Canada.

“Perfect!” Danny exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air, only to hit something metal. Turning, Danny watched as a pristine white drone steadied itself in the air. Its camera focusing on him.

“Shit.” Danny turned to watch as the men below froze, then look to the sky. Spotting him immediately, he just waved as they began to take aim. Turning invisible and speeding away as round after round of ecto blasts lit up the sky. Nice going Fenton, he berated himself flying towards Chicago; I have two things I can't do: express emotion and use powers publicly. I've already done both! Like he thought it hadn't taken long to reach the station, gravely rails and signs directing conductors were sprawled throughout. He found an empty car, checked for any passerby, and phased inside. A flash of light leaking through the cracks as he returned to his human self. The darkened car was cold, with metal walls and doors. The floor was a kind of embossed metal, a crisscross pattern embellished the sheet metal.

“I should've brought a book or something.” he laughed tiredly to himself… “Damn it!” Danny yelled, banging his head on the car wall. It's probably best if I just sleep, I'll be over the state border by the time I wake up. He thought to himself, settling into a corner. Propping his backpack to use as a pillow, the cold had no effect on him as he drifted to sleep.

---

It had been a little over an hour since Danny had gone on the run. Sam and Tucker had decided to skip what was left of school and head straight home. It would be difficult to catch up with him, but they had to at least try, and every second that passed was a second wasted. They didn't have anything in mind for Danny being tracked so easily, but they would figure something out. They had to.

When Sam got home, her house was surrounded by GIW agents. Her parents stood at the door listening to a panicked Jack and Maddie. As she pushed her way to the front, she was able to make out some of what Danny's parents were saying.

“Please! Just let us make sure Phantom didn't leave anything here. Anything could be a clue to where he took Danny!” Maddie cried, Jack stood by her as she pleaded, an arm around her shoulder. Her parents shared a pained look as they tried to decide what to do.

“Maddie, we know your situation with ghosts is important. To your career and with your family,” her mother started softly, remaining in her polite and cheery tone. “But we can't risk involving Sammikins more than your son already has.”

“Not to mention when we let you search our home earlier during that wild goose chase! Left a large mess that our house cleaner had to pick up.” Her father chimed in, annoyed.

“We understand that, but we need every clue we can! Sam!” Jack shouted, seeing her as she entered the path leading to the door.

“Sammy get inside! You don't need to be pestered by agents as well.” Her dad called, ushering her inside the large house.

“Same, please! Have you heard anything from Danny? Is he with Tucker?” Maddie called, fighting the door as her mother tried to close it. Sam tried to calm down, closing her eyes and slowing her breath. Key word being tried.

“No! I haven't and neither has Tucker! So just leave the two of us alone and don't you dare try storming his house too!” she hollered, shoving the door fully closed. She sighed back sliding against the door.

“That's right Sammikins! Just because they risked their family with ghosts doesn't mean they can risk ours!” Her mother cheered.

“And sorry, Sammy, the house cleaner couldn't get to the second floor today, so your room's still a mess.” Her dad added.

“It's fine, dad. I'll clean it myself. Can I… Can I just be alone for a bit? Stressful day and all.” Sam mumbled, making her way upstairs.

“Of course, sweetie!” they answered, leaving Sam with herself. Once her parents were out of sight, she ran up the stairs. As she entered her room, she looked at the damage caused by the aforementioned goose chase. It looked like a storm had blown through, her bed and desk had their contents thrown about. Anything related to Danny had been pulled out. Ignoring the mess, she pulled over a chair to her closet and felt for the backpack taped to its ceiling. Once down she poured out its contents mentally checking everything was still there. Her clothes? Check. Money? Check. A letter? Sam pulled out the simple envelope that made an appearance in her bag. It was addressed to her, the whole thing crisp and clean. Inside a piece of notebook paper full of Danny's handwriting, nothing looked rushed, and it seemed he had prepared these in advance.

*Ring* *Ring*

Tucker’s face lit up her phone's lock screen, she answered the video call while reading the letter.

“Sam! Did you get home safe? I heard the GIW were swarming your house. Did you find a letter?”

He blurted, the room behind him burring as he moved.

“I'm fine, and I did. Did you get one too? Why would Danny write these?” She flipped the page to see if there was more, a hint to what he was thinking.

“I did, that was why I called you. Does yours say the same thing. Well, maybe not the exact same.” He rambled, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up, Tuck! He wants us to stay in Amity? To abandon him and protect the town that barely cares he's here?” She exclaimed. Tucker nodded along from the camera.

“I know right? He's our best friend, we can't just let him be on the run!” Tucker ranted, “Can we? I mean, I know where he's coming from. We can't really trust his parents or the GIW to keep ghosts out. Valerie can handle her own, but she still hates ghosts. It will be hard for her to leave the neutral ones alone.”

“I don't know, Tuck, Danny even said we could tell Valerie his secret if things got out of hand and became too much for us and Jazz. I don't think he plans on coming home, at least not anytime soon.” she contemplated; there had to be something they could do. “What about other heroes?”

“What? What would they do?” Tucker asked.

“I'm not sure, I know we don't really keep up with stuff outside of Amity, but the Justice whatever works with the government, right? We could tell them our local hero is being unjustly hunted.” Sam suggested pacing the room.

“Sam, what will they find when they look into Phantom? That he's a wanted criminal, robbing banks, and threatening mayors? The media doesn't shine Danny in a good light.” He countered.

“But those can be explained, the GIW have files on Freakshow.”

“Didn't Danny wipe his memories with the Reality gauntlet? They couldn't get the whole truth, or they would learn his brain has been messed with through magic or martians.” They went back and forth.

“Then what do you propose we do? We can't track him down without others noticing.” Sam huffed in defeat.

“We'll just have to do what he asked of us. We'll watch over the town, if Valerie gets out of hand, we'll offer our help first. Say we helped Phantom with ghosts, Danny included. We can say Danny is protecting Phantom even now, and it will buy us some time to see if she can handle Danny's secret.” Tuck finished.

“She trusts Danielle, right? We might be able to convince her.” A moment hung in the air between the two friends. The reality settling in that they may never see their friend again. “Where is Danielle? She might get caught in the crossfire of this, being a clone and all.” Sam wondered.

“She's in Italy last I checked, I'm glad I gave her one of my old phones before she left the US.” Tucker answered.

“That's good… Which of us is telling Jazz?"

---

The train started to move shortly after Danny fell asleep. Four hours passed before Danny's body forced him awake, ghost hunting had ruined his sleep. He could hear Jazz's voice in his head talking about the importance of sleep for teens today. He checked the burner for the time and saw the numbers 6:05 glowing back at him. Pulling open the map he saw he had made it to Indiana, finally.

“Time to get moving, I guess.” As he spoke, he focused on keeping his voice even. The events of earlier, still fresh in his mind. The sound of the car's rolling wheels echoed in the empty car as he stood. Stretching to pop his back. He stuck his head invisibly through the train door, seeing the cargo station grow closer. Bringing his head back in, he readied to slip off the train. Steadying himself as the train arrived, opening the door, and running through the train yard as fast as he could without getting caught. It had been easier than expected, no one cared, as the teen bolted through the gravel-filled rails with ease. Once outside, he went searching for food. A mini mart was on the corner and a King Burger across the street. He couldn't risk lingering, so he made way for the minimart. The convenience store felt dated with white walls and neon signs, the floor was black and gray checkered tiles. Grabbing some water bottles, bags of jerky, and some premade sandwiches. The many sweets and freezy drinks were tempting, but the longer the food could last, the better. The place was deserted, only the clerk scrolling on his phone could witness he was ever there. After finishing his resource gathering, Danny went on the hunt for a gray hound bus stop, it would be the easiest way to get around without drawing too much attention. Looking for the longest possible route to the East Coast, he was left with two options: Gotham or Metropolis. Both had international ports and superheroes that protected them. He had always meant to look into other heroes more, find some inspiration or role models for hero work, but with ghosts constantly attacking the town and homework, he just didn't have time. Mr. Lancer tried to keep class interesting by referencing the things happening on the global news. Now if he could only remember what he had said about the heroes protecting the cities. Danny had actually perked up when Lancer mentioned that one was an alien with super hearing and other abilities. Aside from that, all he could remember was their names, Batman and Superman. I'm feeling a lot better about my hero name. He would have to give Amity News a break about Invis-O-Bill. Between the two, he was pretty sure Superman was the alien. Sam had done a report on meta-human rights and had gotten very passionate when she discovered that they didn't reference the ecto acts whatsoever. She had been so sure that someone would shed light on the act, accounting it to being unknown meta-humans being unjustly removed of their rights. A point she got stuck on was that Batman had all but banned metas from Gotham. Stating they should seek sanctuary elsewhere due to the antics of his villains. It had something to do with gas, scarecrows, and clowns? So, he could either go to the city where no powers were allowed, or the city protected by a super-hearing alien. The GIW might expect him to go to an alien for sympathy or to overshadow him in a power grab. Gotham seemed like the safer choice, even with the high amounts of criminal activity they seemed to have. He would be able to fight off most thugs without causing serious damage, humans can't normally through a guy through a brick wall like ghosts can. No one would question him being alone and sneaking around, he'd use his powers to get on a boat for Europe and keep a low profile while he searched for Danielle. He'd fill her in on what was going on, send a message to Sam and Tucker that he was safe, and wait to hear what was happening in Amity. So, Danny waited in line and got his ticket for Gotham. The bus was crowded full of people trying to do the same as him; to take a bus as far from one's old life as possible. He was able to grab a seat towards the back, settling into the stained fabric seats. His backpack between himself and the wall of the bus window. Settling in for the longest stretch of his journey out of the country.

Hello and welcome again! I hope everyone is enjoying the story. It’s been very exciting getting to see everyone’s comments and enjoyment for the fic. Don’t worry about the lack of Bat family, I am getting their as fast as I can. I wanted to revisit Amity a little bit to wrap up a few loose ends. I’m not sure at what point in the DP timeline I am placing this, but it will most likely either be prefinal of the show or post A Glitch in Time. Two very different time periods but both work with the general DC timeline I am using. As for the Bat family I’m more familiar with the characters themselves than the canon timeline. So, I’ll primarily be referring to the Batman: Family Adventures for the family and Young Justice for world events such as meta-humans.

I spent a lot of my time working on this listening to the Epic: Underworld Saga musical concept and got stuck on the song No Longer You. It’s so good and feels like it could fit Danny in some aspects if you go for a post A Glitch in Time ghost king Danny. Might draw something if I got time.

See you next week, byee!

Master post - Chapter 2 Prev. <<< Next >>>

[softstarlite]

The Casualty of Love

CHAPTER 2

Summary: He's back home. You have almost forgotten how warm his eyes were and how big your crush for him was.

Warnings: Age gap (Javier is 40 and reader is 27), talks of baby loss, talks of pregnancy, angst, cheating, mentions of cancer, mentions of death.

Rating: +18 (not explicit)

Word Count: 2.9k

Chapter 1 / Masterlist

A/N: here you go guys!! Second chapter is up!! I'm feeling so much better from my stupid cold. I would like to keep a schedule with posting, my goal is to post at least one new chapter every week but I had a cornea transplant less than 5 months ago (I still have 14 stitches on my right eye) so sometimes I need to rest my eye from screen time or the pain sometimes gets too bad and I need to rest in general, so I don't know if I'll be able to meet my goal every week, sorry in advance. I hope you guys like this new chapter!! <3 <3

Divider by @saradika

Javier wipes the sweat of his hands on the front of his jeans for the fourth time in the last hour since he started getting ready to go to Maria´s house, he looks at his reflection on the mirror, he can feel fear engulf his body, fear of disappointing Maria, he wasn't the same man he was when he left for Colombia. That day…

His mom, Alma, had been diagnosed with lung cancer four months before it happened, when Lorraine had told him that she was pregnant, he was shit scared, how could he be a father? He didn't know anything about being one, he was only 27, he assumed that he had at least 5 or 6 years more before even thinking about having a family of his own.

He didn't hesitate to get on one knee and proposed to Lorraine, part of him was happy that his mom would be able to meet at least one of her grandchildren; the doctors had already prepare them for the worst, the cancer was very aggressive, and even if his mom was still young, only 44, they had detected it very late.

The night before the wedding Lorraine showed up at his parents ranch, crying her heart out. They were sleeping in different houses since it was bad luck to see each other before the wedding. He got really worried, he didn't believe in that tradition, she had been the one very keen in doing it so it was already rare that she had showed up there unannounced but even more that she showed up crying.

“Lor? What happened?” he had been sitting on the front porch when she appeared, he got up from his seat quickly and headed to her putting his hands on her cheeks “What is it Lor? Is the baby okay?” he asked her with so much worry in his voice.

Lorraine only kept saying sorry and shaking her head no again and again. “Please baby, tell me what is happening, are you hurt?” he pleaded her.

“I'm sorry Javi… I'm so sorry… There´s no baby…” she said, not able to meet his gaze.

“What? Baby…” he could feel tears in his eyes already, he thought that she had lost it, he never would've thought that she had done what she did. He tries to make her look at him ¡. “Baby…Lor, look at me. Baby it's not your fault, we need to take you-” he was interrupted by her.

“No, Javi… There's no baby, there never has been a baby…” she took a step away from him, feeling shame in what she had done.

“What? Lorraine, this is not funny… Stop it” that was the only possibility in his head, she must have been pranking him, she would never hurt him this way, she loved him, right?

“I'm so sorry Javi, baby…” she tried to reach for him now but he didn't say anything and just walked inside without a word.

The next morning no one could find Javier, until his mom saw a little note on the kitchen table where he had written that he had accepted the job with the DEA in Colombia that the rest could be explained by Lorraine.

You were only 14 when you were sat down by your mom and Alma and got the news about her sickness, that was your first heartbreak, but definitely not your last. You loved Alma like a second mother, she was there when you said your first words, she had been the one encouraging you when you took your first steps… You couldn't imagine a life and a world without her, without her smile or her kindness… No, it had to be a mistake, the doctors mixed up some papers and they gave her the diagnosis of someone else, she couldn't leave you…

When Javier left, you weren't given the real reason from the adults around you, they told you that he and Lorraine weren't together anymore and he had to go work in Colombia, that was it. Obviously, living in a place like Laredo you heard the truth very soon, and felt heartbroken all over again for him, as big as your crush for him was, when you saw how excited he was when he talked about anything related with the baby in the weekly dinners your families shared, it filled your heart to see him just happy, so you couldn't understand how Lorraine had been able to break him like that, she said that he loved him and wanted to spend her entire life with him but then do that? How can you be so cruel to someone that you supposedly love?

A year later from Javier´s move to Colombia, Alma passed away, you only remember crying for three days straight without even sleeping. You remember your mom telling you that “Javiercito is coming for the funeral, he'll be here tomorrow morning”, then the next thing you remember is been dressed in all black, that made you think that Alma would´ve hate it, then not been able to see the casket through the tears and the last thing you remember of that day was how Javier had put his arms around you, caressing your hair and telling you how much Alma loved you and that would never leave you. It never did, you could feel her love everyday, in little things like the chirping of the birds outside, the warm sun, the little desserts you would bake with her recipes, etc…

That was the last time you saw Javier, when you were 15 and crying for the biggest lost in your life.

He parks his truck on Maria´s driveway and gets out with a nervous sigh. After he knocks on the door twice, you open the door with a big smile, fuck, he thought you wouldn't be here. He didn't have a problem with you being here, on the contrary, he was very happy when he saw you the other day, it had been way too long without seeing you. But the problem was that you had grown up… And fuck, did the years had treat you amanzingly. You were a full on woman now, and he didn't like that, because it made his body feel things that it shouldn't. If Maria or his own father could read what had gone through his mind since he first saw you a few days ago, he would definitely be six feet under.

“Hey! You're here!” you say with that big smile on your face. He doesn't say anything, just nods and gives you a tight smile back.

“Come in!” you move a little to give him enough space to come inside. “Mom is still cooking what must be her twentieth dish” you chuckle. He slips inside but you hadn't anticipated how broad his shoulders were so he bumps one of his shoulders into you.

“Oh, sorry” he apologizes and you can't help but feel a million goosebumps all over your body. “She shouldn't have trouble herself…”

You shake the feeling away, you weren't a stupid teenager anymore. “yeah, tell that to her” you smirk knowing he would never dare.

He walks to the kitchen with you behind, he remembers the way as if no time has passed, as if he hadn't gone through more than a decade without putting a foot in this house. When he makes it past the arch of the kitchen, he sees your mom, her back facing him, he can see the grey conquering her whole hair. For a moment he can almost see his own mom beside her cutting some vegetables.

Seeing his silence, you decide to clear your throat to make your presence known to your mom. She turns around starting a sentence that sounds like a question about who was at the door, but as soon as she sees Javier there, before her, her mouth shuts and she freezes. Knowing they'll need a moment, you walk around them to the stove to continue to stir whatever dish your mom is making now, so it doesn't burn while they catch up.

“Javiercito!” she almost screams, launching herself into him, a hand on the back of his head and the other arm across his back.

“Maria…” is all that he can get out of his mouth, apart from the biggest breath out that he has ever let out. He didn't even know that he was holding that breath for so long.

“Déjame verte bien mijo (Let me get a good look at you, my son)” she pulls away from him and pushes him a little back by the shoulders, then looks him up and down like she was examining that he isn´t missing anything.

“Ma, esta bien, no le agobies (Mom, he's fine, don't bother him)” you say from the stove, not even looking at them.

“¿Bien? (fine?) Have you seen him? Está demasiado delgado, gracias a dios que prepare suficiente comida. Siéntate, mijo. (He's too skinny, thank god i´ve prepare enough food. Sit, my son) I'll bring you some food right away” She says, patting his cheek and signaling with a hand to the kitchen table, then she goes back to the stove and replaces the place you were filling.

You chuckle and shake your head in disbelief. “Do you want something to drink, Javi?” you ask him while opening the fridge to get a beer for yourself.

He talks again after feeling overwhelmed by the situation. “Sure, whatever you´re having” with that you pull out another beer for him and after uncapping them, you hand him one. “Thanks” he says, not meeting your eye.

You sit across from him on the kitchen table and take a sip of your own beer. Your mom puts a bowl of Pozole in front of each of you, and while you eat, she and Javier talk about a million things, how things around the house had been since your dad died, how you and her go to Chucho´s every now and then, how you help Chucho everytime the fruit trees need harvesting (which brings a blush to your cheeks when Javi asks if that's right and looks at you), and of course your mom starts to let Javi know about all the gossip he has missed in Laredo, which by his face, he couldn't care less to be honest but i guess your mom didn't want to pick that up. He just nods and hums while eating, while your mom tells him about how the girl from the Gonzalez´s was seen in the local theater every week casually talking and giggling with the guy working there; after a bit something pricks his ears, specifically when your name is mentioned.

“And you wouldn't believe all the commotion that it caused , pff, nos tuvimos que quedar en casa varios días antes de que ella se atreviera a enseñar la cara (we had to stay at home for a few days before she was brave enough to show her face)” she says while picking up both of your bowls to bring to the sink. You don't know where to hide in that moment, you couldn't believe your mom was telling him about that.

“Ma…” you say, trying to make her drop the subject. She obviously doesn't want to catch your desperation.

“What? Sorry i was lost in my head for a moment” he says not realizing that you don't want the subject to be brought up.

“Ay mijo, te estaba diciendo (i was telling you) about how she used to go out with the Lopez´s boy, Diego, and she heard from Doña Lucía about him and a girl, that no one knew, been seen in Jacinto´s ice cream shop, then she decided to confront him that same day, but she instead saw him and the girl on the town square just there,” she makes a dramatic gesture with her hands like she was physically pointing at them right there. “just sitting on a bench, muy acaramelados los muy sinvergüenzas (very lovey-dovey, those scoundrels). Doña Lucía told me that she just took the lemonade in the girl's hand and threw it to him, allí delante de todos, ¿tu te crees, mijo? (in front of everybody, can you believe it, my son?)” she shakes her head in almost disappointment.

“Well, if I'm honest with you Maria. Creo que le hizo poco, yo le hubiese dado un buen puño” you can see how his hands become fists, and his jaw becomes more tense. Javi feels a fire inside of him that he hasn't felt since he left Colombia, he already knows that if he crosses paths with Diego Lopez, he won't be exactly kind towards him.”Wait, he cheated and you had to hide at home?!” he asks, now looking at you.

“I didn't hide, she did” you say pointing towards your mom, who's washing the dishes, with your head. “I was just going through a breakup like a normal person” you shrug your shoulders to try to take some weight off of the conversation.

He nods, understanding now the situation. “Good, you shouldn't feel embarrassed, it's his loss” he huffs “He must be as stupid as he was when he was a kid” he says more to himself than to you, it makes you blush again.

“Javier Jesús Peña!!” your mom scolds him from the sink, turning her head towards him. Javi for a moment feels like a teenager again, being scolded by Maria and his mom for saying a bad word in the kitchen of Pena´s ranch while they make empanadas.

“What? No podes defender al desgraciado, hizo daño a nuestra vampirita (you can't defend that bastard, he hurted our little vampire” he chuckles sincerely now. You gasp at the mention of your old childhood nickname he gave you for being obsessed with the book Dracula when you were 9 years old.

“You don't want to play that game, Peña” you challenge him, squinting your eyes at him, but a little smile in your lips betrays your facade. He laughs with his whole belly now, throwing his head back. You decide right then that you like seeing him laugh sincerely a lot.

After some hours of more delicious food and banter, Javier informs you that he needs to go back to the ranch before his dad comes looking for him for leaving him all day alone with the chores.

You walk him to the door, his arms full of mountains of tupperware full of leftovers that your mom had insisted him to take for himself and Chucho.

You open the door for him since he has his hands occupied, those hands that you´ve been stealing glances to all day, you wonder how rough they would feel around your own hand, around your neck, around your- “Thanks for um… everything” he says interrupting your thread of thoughts.

“Don't mention it” you give him a shy smile, like he could´ve read what you had been thinking. Next thing you know, your mouth is working by it´s own mind, you ask without thinking.”Are you going to the barbecue at Doña Lucia's house this Sunday after church?” when you realize how eager your voice sounds about the prospect of seeing him again in less than two days you add “I believe she invited Chucho the other day, and i'm sure she did it in person with the sole purpose of having you at the barbecue and confirm the rumors of you being fully back home” you chuckle trying to play it cool, god you felt like you were 15 again, drooling for him.

His dad had told him about the gathering but he wasn't planning on going, but now, seeing the slight spark your eyes got when you asked him about his possible attendance, he couldn't think of a better plan for Sunday. “Yeah, my pops told me the other day. I take you´re going too?” you nod with doe eyes and he can't help his eyes for going down to where you tongue tips out of your mouth to wet your lower lip, he gulps and can feel a drop of sweat going down his spine; his mind wondering how you tongue and your lips might feel against his own, against his neck or his chest…

Your mom suddenly yells your name from inside the house. “Dani is calling you, mija!!” you both can hear her voice coming from the living room where the telephone is.

“Dila que voy ma!! (tell her i'll be right there mom!!)” you yell towards her, turning your head over your shoulder, then you turn towards Javi again. You guys keep looking into each other's eyes for what feels like a second and an eternity at the same time until you decide that if you don't stop it, your mom will come over and ruin the moment even more. “I'll see you on Sunday then?”

He nods and then does something that makes you melt into a puddle of water into the ground, he kisses your cheek and with a breathy and deep whisper wishes you a good day to then turn around and walk to his truck on the driveway. You can't help but to stay right there frozen with your heart going way too fast and an almost shocked expression, watching how he puts the leftovers on the passenger side then gets behind the wheel and drives away; it isn´t until your mom calls your name again that you defroze.

Next chapter

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

i love love love the new fic and im sooooooo excited for where you'll take this 🥰❤️

just curious, could i ask how many chapters ur planning for the new fic? like just in general, cause i know that can change from time to time - but like how long do u see it going on for?

i'm sorry it was too funny not to slap those at the start,,

genuinely? on a hopeful estimate? i want to say 30-40.

realistically? i've no fucking clue. i'm so sorry. that's like- a running joke at this point here. i do not control the chapter count or word count. i just write. when i think it's only going to take five more chapters, there's 200k words after it. when i say we're nearing the end, we end up on the first third.

so like- the safest thing i can say is that it shouldn't be longer than cyanide. but like. fuck if i know if that's actually going to turn out being true. plus it could still be longer than cyanide on word count even if it has less chapters given cyanide only started hitting 9k words average per chapter on like... chapter 30 and up i think. whereas jadeite's chapters are all 8-9k (i know there's only 4 so far but still) not to mention, 'not longer than cyanide' doesn't tell you much given cyanide is- quite big.

so uh- TL;DR - i'm sorry i just have no fucking clue LMAO

fun fact though- i know i laugh about it and i honestly am more flaberghasted by it than annoyed? about this not being able to control the lenght fo a fic thing. but i won't lie and say i sometimes wish i could bc then i could like- coordinate chapter titles.

geuinely the only reason why most of my fics have no chapter titles is bc i've always wanted to coordinate them, and only a few fics on the shorter side lend themselves to having basic chapter names about stuff that happens in the chapter (like babysitting and every good intention). not that i couldn't do that for the others, but i just wanted to coordinate them from the start, but ended up not doing that since well. you know.

so the actual fun fact is that i actually started jadeite- obviously for various reasons, but one of the things that got me writing was the idea that i could coordinate the chapter titles of this zhongli-centric fic idea i had to one very specific song's lyrics. as in, have each verse be a chapter title.

for that reason alone i really, really want jadeite to have 37 chapters in specific. but since i know that's mostly wishful thinking, i've left the chapters titleless. if i somehow actually manage to get it to stick to 37 (i'll take 38 or 39 even, could probably fit it in 40 as well), then i'll change the chapter titles to what i had originally intended them to be. but we'll have to see if the fic ends up matching the draft i had when it comes to matching the lyrics. or we could accept it's just for the cool aspect of it and have some chapter's titles have nothing to do with the chapter, all in the name of being able to open the chapter index and read an entire song that does vibe with the fic as a whole hahah

[biteghost]

State of Affairs: oh, it's not good. Bad, in fact!

listening music (lol)

Greetings, all! I apologize for not much communication, art or comics this month, but things were a bit out of my control! I'll cut right to the point: I had a big oopsie at the start of May, and the situation overall has not gotten much better since then.

Here's the scoop as plain as I can explain it: I dropped my external hard drive, and it no longer connected to my computer. My computer has a very tiny amount of memory (the OS capacity is less than 120GB), so I have used an external hard drive as the brain of my computer for years now. I have no back-ups either on another hard drive, older computer, or cloud service.

This external hard drive housed everything I have created and brought with me between computers since 2013. It stored all my art. All of it. My comic pages, my working files, my works-in-progress, my commission pieces, as well as gifts from friends and other artists. It had all the sessions of my at-home tabletop game 'Blueshift', which is a pretty big hit for me as I had only just finished the game. I didn't even have time to be happy the game was finished until I had to mourn a loss of it I had not anticipated.

I sent the hard drive to a data recovery company with good reviews. It had nearly 2TB of data on it, and I tried very hard not to get my hopes up that they'd be able to retrieve most of my data. Despite this, I still was disappointed by what they sent back.

To be blunt: they did not retrieve most of my data. In fact, I'd say in total they only recovered about 40%, if I am being generous. They were unable to recover any of my in-development projects (A Cure for Athanasia, Super Manifest: Steward Cycle, The Tenth, The Sword of Hours, etc), and unfortunately BACKLASH didn't make it out unscathed either. Old art files that I one day wanted to make Prints off have been lost, as well as small doodles and secret sketches which never made it online.

While reviewing the files that they managed to recover, I also noticed that whole chunks of BACKLASH's working page files have been lost or corrupted. This isn't a huge setback for the comic itself since all of BACKLASH is online to read. But it is hard and heartbreaking for me, because despite everything I did one day want to make a printed edition of BACKLASH. I wanted to hold my comic in my hands.

That dream is not impossible, but it is now much further away. I can recreate my old pages with what I currently have, but it will be a lot of extra work, and there is no getting around that.

Losing this much of my history, artistic journey, relationships and formative time as an artist has been really hard on me, emotionally and mentally. I'm very sad. It's hard to draw right now for myself. Commission work comes easily, since I am given a prompt to draw for someone else, but creative ideas are not flowing for me at the moment. My hands are frozen and dejected.

I am now waiting to get back the files that the data recovery people managed to retrieve for me (probably by tomorrow, they said), and I am looking into other places in order to get a second opinion of sorts. At this point there really is no harm in trying, and maybe a different operation might have better luck. Who knows? It may be grasping at straws, but at this point things can't get any worse than this.

When I get my data back I'll be able to finish up BACKLASH chapter 7. I want to finish it off - there are not very many pages left, and miraculously the few remaining pages are among the ones that were recovered! So that's good. I will be finishing up the chapter, and afterward BACKLASH will be taking a bit of a break. I don't know how long the hiatus will last, and I won't be making any kind of estimate. It'll take as long as I need until I feel I can put one foot in front of the other again. Maybe I'll work on something else for a while, maybe I won't draw anything. Who knows! I don't, haha.

Eventually I'll be okay, and I'll get back on the horse. Even in the midst of all this turmoil I really just want to be making comics ;_;

Until then, I just need some time. It's the only cure for this kind of problem, I think. So, I thank you for your patience, and I thank you for the love you've shown me, my work, and my characters. I couldn't be where I am and I couldn't have made all the work I have without your support and love. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I'll see you when I get back! Much love and many kisses, xoxo 💖💖💖

(cross-posted from patreon)

[lamuradex]

40K In 42 Days Update: Week Four

@the-wip-project

Less than a week remains!!! I've really enjoyed this so far, because I always like having a good excuse to write rather than just because I should.

So okay, what's my score this week.

Wordcount Last Week: 35,618 Words - 89.0450%

Wordcount This Week: 40,550 - 101.3750%

Woohoo! I've done it! I've got the majority of a novel written in 40 Days. I'm quite happy about that.

But I'm also not done.

As I said in the previous entry, I'm going to do my best to finish this novel before the end of the contest. I've got like five chapters left, but since there's only 5 or so days left, I'm not overly hopeful. Still, I'll do what I can. Who knows, maybe I'll just get in a writing frenzy.

Now, the snippet of what I've been writing. This time my main characters, Gideon and Maddy, are preparing to confront a wretched man who seems to be stabbing them in the back for no good reason. All the while, Gideon's getting a little worried about Maddy being involved.

Enjoy, and I wish everyone luck for the final stretch of the contest.

The Bitters Mansion loomed like a thing that could really loom. Like a cathedral or a gallows. There wasn’t much point comparing it to something else, because its looming was just that absolute. At least it was when you had even some idea of the things that happened inside it. And in that case, you likely moved and avoided the looming altogether. It was never good to be in the shadow of something that loomed, because there was usually a terrible reason why it was looming, waiting, ready for victims of its grim work.

Gideon stopped and wondered what the fuck he was talking about.

Him and Maddy were across the road, getting ready to go in. A grave and wretched place, haunted by the actions of the man who owned it. And Gideon knew the stories. Everyone knew the stories. And that was why most people steered clear of Alfred Bitters. Even people were just property to him.

“Last chance to back out,” Gideon offered. “I am begging you, please wait out here.”

“And what if something happens to you?” Maddy countered.

“Then you can go and get help or avenge my death. You can’t do that if you’re in there with me.”

“I got us into this by accepting Bitters’ deal, Gideon. I’m helping.”

Gideon looked over, but any pride that she was behind him was tinged a deep and dark regret. Regret that he couldn’t talk her out of it, regret that she was here at all, and regret that he taught her to be that stupidly brave to begin with. At least he thought he taught her that….

“Maddy, are you really sure about this? Do you not just want to go home? Because you don’t have to be like me,” he counselled. “You don’t have to do this.”

Maddy looked a little surprised, but bounced back well. “I’m not being you, Gideon. I’m old enough to make my own choices. And I’m choosing to take responsibility.”

Gideon tutted. “God, forsake the nun that taught you guilt, Miss Anthorne.”

“God ain’t got nothing to do with it,” Maddy said confidently. “Now, let’s head in.”

“Alright. If I can’t dissuade you…” He gave her one last moment to renege. She didn’t. He continued. “Then we need a plan.”

“You’re making a plan? We don’t usually.”

“Needs must as the devil is driving towards a cliff.” Gideon said sourly. “I’ll go an in by myself and meet-”

“I said I’m coming with you-”

“Meanwhile!” Gideon cut of her objection. “You split off and flank them. Once we’ve got multiple angles on him, we’ll be in a better shape. Got it?”

“And what if he has security with him?”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it,” Gideon pressed on. “You ready?”

“Sure. Now let’s do this. Bitters is getting his head kicked in,” she smirked.

Gideon didn’t argue, though the enthusiasm bothered him. He was starting to suspect Madeline couldn’t feel the terrible looming of the house. The ignorance of youth, he guessed. To him it was like walking under a guillotine.

[tohisprettyc00l]

A new best friend! chapter 4

A/n: I posted the wrong chapter. So any of you Tumblr-only people saw a glimpse into future chapters.

Thankfully you were able to go to sleep. And you woke up more refreshed than usual. Which was slightly soured by your alarm clock screaming at you. You smacked it and it shut up. The number 5:40 appeared on the clock. You got up and put on your mask.  You then walked out and went to get your missions for the day, you expected to have the normal missions. But Belos had other plans. You bowed "Greetings, may you give me my missions for the day." "That will not be happening," Belos said flatly. "Wait, what? Why?" "Because of your recent failures, you will be working on missions with the Golden Guard," Belos explained further. 

Oh, right. "He should be waiting for you at the front of the castle." You nodded and left. You saw The Golden Gaurd standing at the front of the castle. "Let's go this over with." He grumbled while opening the door and leaving.,"Just stay behind. You will weigh me down. "Hey, what the fuck?" You said confused. The Golden ignored you and just kept walking. You followed him now pissed off at him. 

You got to your first destination, The Knee. A slitherbeast was causing havoc up there. So you were tasked to trap it. You both arrived at your destination and spotted the slitherbeast. The Golden Gaurd shot at the beast. You froze the beast's legs. Which it broke out of with ease. "You idiot! It lives in ice!" "You can insult me later!" You said as you dragged him away from the beast.  You wrapped the slitherbeast up in abomination goop and moved far away. "Where did you just send it?" The Golden Guard asked. You shrugged in response. "Are you kidding me? You just sent a ravenous beast someplace random, where there could be thousands of civilians!?" "I'm not that dumb, I sent it some were random in the middle of the forest," Hunter grumbled something under his breath that you couldn't understand.

"Also you failed your last trip to the selkidomus." Hunter stated flatly, "So we need to go back." "How? I actually brought him scales. I've heard rumors that someone else didn't bring anything back from their trip." "You didn't bring back enough scales," Hunter said with annoyance clear in his voice. "Whatever, we need to succeed this time. Not even sure what he'd do if we failed three times in a row." The Golden Gaurd nodded. 

The trip was taking way longer than on the boat. "Hey, Golden Gaurd I've learned your name. What is it?" "Hunter." "Neat my name is Y/n." "I do not care."  You supposed a groan. Thankfully you saw your destination growing closer. Once you arrived you started running to get to the selkidomus f. But you remembered the moms... Less than favorable opinion of you too late. Once she spotted you she started charging at you. Hunter appeared behind you and tied her up. "What the hell did you do to her." "I also tied her up. So now she's going to try to murder both of us." Right as you said that her fin slashed out you. It hits your past wound. You let out a scream as any healing reversed. 

"Leave. You're being a nuisance." Hunter said. You were going to argue but you figured healing was more important. While you sat on the sand healing your arm you heard Hunter tussling. "Do not kill her!" You yelled into the cave. "I wasn't going to." You heard him yell back. Soon he came back slightly beaten up. "Let's go." He said, "I'll drop you off at the castle." "What!? No, I healed myself." "You are going to drop off the scales. Then you'll watch and not get involved."  He stated as if it was already agreed upon.

In spite of you not wanting to do what said. You didn't have the energy to fight him anymore. You delivered the scales and then left. Only to find out Hunter was no longer there. "Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me." You looked around. Once you were sure no one was there you teleported to The Collector's room. "Woah! Y/n did you get your chores done early-" "I hate the Golden Gaurd so much." 

"What happened?" "He was supposed to do missions with me today. He told me to make a quick delivery. Then left to do the rest of the missions!" You ranted. "What a jerk? I'm sorry aren't you happy to not have to do work?" "But then how will I prove myself to Belos!" "I think you've done quite enough, now you can hang out with me!" A small smile lifted your lips up. "You just have to be positive, don't you?" The Collector giggled, "So what do ya' wanna play?" "Twenty questions?" "Sure you do first!"

"Okay got them." "What is their gender?" "Male." "Are they nice?" "They are the worst." The Collector had a smug looked painted across their face. "Is it Hunter?" "Yes. Your turn." "Okie-dokie I got it!" The Collector yelled excitedly. "Alright, what is their gender?" "Male." "What's their hair color?" "Blonde? Brown? I don't know it's kinda both." You paused thinking of what he could have meant by that. Suddenly it clicked. "Are they in a position of high power?" "They are." "Is it Belos?" The Collector shapeshifted a huge bell beside him. "Ding-ding-ding!" You chuckled. "Okay, I've got it." "okay first and foremost, gender?" "Nonbianry." "Eye color?" The Collector asked. "Black? I think." "Hair color?" "I don't know if they have hair." The Collector had a confused look on his face, "How do you not know?" "That gives it away, also that counts as a question." "Hey no fair! Anyways are they nice?"  "They try to be." "Are they an adult?" "Not sure physically but defiantly not mentally." "Wait is it me?!" "Correct."

"Also I have red eyes and white hair and I'm not an adult by Collector and Archivests standers." You smiled, "I Can't wait to see you, also we don't have anyone else we both know." "That's okay you should probably leave before Belos comes back though." You started walking away. "Well then goodbye! I'll be back."

[questinwitchface]

Do tell me more about "brood" and "self-exposure" too, please, very intriguing

Sorry in advance, this is gonna be a long answer since there's two.

Self-Exposure is a rewrite of The Promise of Cheesecake and a Decent Wine (my 217,000-word, very angsty, SamBucky fake dating fic) from Bucky's perspective. It's really too long for me to summarize in a satisfying way, but if you've read Cheesecake, you'll know the vibe of this one. I have about 3 out of 40 chapters written, so you know... a long ways to go before this one comes out. Anyway, here's a snippet:

This is not going how Bucky wanted it to go.

Bucky had planned to pick up takeout from one of Sam’s favorite restaurants.

He was going to wear one of his nicer shirts and actually put some effort into his hair, enough to look nice but not be suspicious.

He planned to give Sam a bouquet of flowers—he’d been leaning toward sunflowers, since they symbolize adoration and loyalty, and that’s a pretty apt description of Bucky’s feelings for Sam, but he hadn’t decided for sure. He’d planned to talk to the florist and ask for hypoallergenic options before buying any flowers for Sam. He’s pretty sure no matter what he picks, Sam’s going to make fun of him, but Bucky doesn’t really mind.

Old-fashioned or not, Bucky was going to be a gentleman about this. Sam doesn’t deserve anything less, and Bucky used to be good at this sort of thing. Bucky can still be good at this sort of thing, in theory.

Anyway, once he’d surprised Sam with the flowers and his favorite dinner, all that would be left for Bucky to do is just use his words and ask Sam out. He had practiced this the way his therapist suggested, writing out the words, practicing saying them out loud until they didn’t get stuck in his throat anymore.

He can do this.

Simple.

Easy.

It is not fucking easy.

Brood is a mission fic. SamBucky is established, and the two team up with Joaquin and Yelena to take down a group they think is trying to revive the Red Room. This fic will be rated M because it deals with lots of fucked up shit including experimentation on children. Tbh idk if I'll ever finish this one because every time I work on it, I end up working on it for a week, making myself really sad, and then having to take a break from it again. Here's a small snippet:

CW: discussion of child assassins and children being used in war

Sam is exhausted. Not just exhausted, but the kind of bone-deep exhaustion that comes with knowing that he’s about to deal with a horrible sort of mission involving children. He can’t get the little girl’s face out of his mind. The bright red hair pulled back in braids, the way she’d held the knife at the councilwoman’s throat. She couldn’t have been more than six, maybe seven years old.

Sam pinches the bridge of his nose. He’d known child assassins existed in the world. He’d been close friends with Nat, after all. He’d seen children with bomb vests on sent to blow up troops before. It’s not like Sam’s unaware of the awful things that exist in the world. It’s just that it had caught him off guard, that’s all. He wasn’t expecting to see it today.

“You good?” Joaquín asks, sitting down next to him.

“Shouldn’t you be in the cockpit?” Sam asks, looking up at him.

Joaquín shrugs a shoulder. “It’s on autopilot,” he answers.

The blonde woman that had actually stopped the assassination sits across from them, watching. She’s got a relaxed posture, a nonchalant expression, but her eyes are focused and intent as they watch, like Bucky’s would be.

God, Sam wishes Bucky was here. Sam could use a hug right now.

“I’m fine,” Sam tells Joaquín, turning back to look at him. “Just wasn’t expecting a kid.”

“No one ever does,” the woman chimes in. “That’s why it works.”

Want to ask me about my WIPs? Here's the post!

[youwouldntdownloadapizza]

I'm so sorry! Please enjoy!

The Pleasures of The Unknown | Kate Middleton x The Unknown (Glasgow Wonka Experience 2024)

masterlist | ao3 | follow @youwouldntdownloadapizza and turn on notifications for updates

When Kate Middleton mistakenly ends up at a magical chocolate factory in Glasgow, she finds herself drawn to a mysterious cloaked figure with a penchant for dark chocolate.

pairing: Kate Middleton x The Unknown (Glasgow Wonka 2024)

rating: 18+, minors DNI

word count: 1.2k

tags: crack, crack treated seriously, crack fic, smut, mild smut, finger sucking, chocolate, sex and chocolate, light BDSM, choking, thigh riding, rpf, bald harry styles, balddry, infidelity, glasgow, willy wonka experience - freeform, glasgow willy wonka - freeform, Balmoral, british royal family, unhinged innuendo

chapter warnings: smut, infidelity

Kate Middleton stared at her bangs in the Buckingham Palace bathroom mirror.

"I can't go out like this," she complained to William. "The Sun will rip me a new one!"

"Kate, my dear," he kissed her on the cheek, turning to lean against the counter. She continued tugging at her botched fringe until he took her hand. "It's just hair. It'll grow back."

"That's rich, coming from you."

William looked down at his royal bunny slippers with a frown. Even they had more hair than he did. Perhaps he should have them fashioned into a wig. He'd have to ask his frenemy, Harry Styles, for wigmaker recommendations.

"I don't know what to do." Kate looked up at her husband with tears in her eyes. He wiped them away with his royal hanky.

"I do," he smiled. Sliding his hand into his back pocket, he produced the royal AmEx.

"Take a holiday, Kate. Go to Balmoral or Hollyrood for a few weeks. Grow them out. Maybe even get that BBL you've been talking about getting. Scotland is a great place to recover from surgery. What with all the free healthcare and all, innit?" he said Britishly.

"You're so right, William. I'll leave first thing tomorrow."

---

Kate double-checked the address her husband had given her as she stepped out of her royal Uber Black.

"This can't be the right place. Balmoral was never this colorful!"

The cabbie rolled down his window. "Don't worry, ma'am, this is Willy's place! Be quick and get inside, it's looking like rain."

With a soft 'innit', the driver pulled away, and Kate was left on Willy's doorstep.

She assumed 'Willy' was short for her husband 'William', but as she entered the foyer, she began to have her doubts. The place appeared to be some sort of magical chocolate factory.

Although sparsely decorated, the place maintained some air of whimsy. Well, less of an air, more of a spritz, but clamato, clamato.

"Soo la voo," Kate shrugged, walking beneath the sparkly, styrofoam rainbow and towards whatever fate awaited her here.

"Ahh, more guests! Welcome!" A depressed-looking woman in a green wig approached her.

"Here, compliments of Willy," she said, sliding a plastic cup containing a splash of what appeared to be sparkling lemonade into Kate's left hand. Into her right went a single jelly bean.

"What is this?" Kate asked.

"Our welcome gift to you! And only $40, such a deal."

Kate supposed $40 was a fair price for such splendor. After all, if bananas were $10, this was surely worth four times that. She popped the jelly bean and washed it down with the lemonade.

"Carry on down the hallway. Your future awaits."

Kate left her luggage and her empty cup with the so-called Oompa Loompa and proceeded down the bare linoleum hallway. That uncanny-valley candy landscape tapestry really ties the place together, she mused.

A voice greeted her at the end of the hall.

"What. Is. That?" A blonde man in a red top hat and coattails pointed towards an unassuming mirror.

Why, that's me! Kate Middleton! Kate Middleton thought to herself.

Kate nearly leaped out of her skin when the creature emerged from behind the looking glass.

"It's...THE UNKNOWN!!"

That's when Kate fainted.

When she awoke, her head was spinning. "Where am I?" She asked to the blackness that surrounded her.

A deep voice answered her. "You're in the walls. This is my home. My own dark chocolate factory."

"Your what?" Kate asked.

As her eyes adjusted, she realized she was in a small bedroom combined with a confectionary workspace, almost a studio apartment of sorts.

"My dark chocolate factory. You see, Willy Wonka seeks only to pump this world full of river-churned, high-fructose, milky delicious bullshit. What I aim to create is something far more sophisticated. Far more complex. And far, far darker."

"Oh? Might I try some?"

"Why of course," the silver-masked, black-hooded creature pulled back its sleeve to reveal long, nimble fingers.

He crossed to his chocolate worktable and dipped his index and middle fingers into a whirring chocolate fountain. The creature stalked towards her, extending the sample.

Kate leaned towards him, but froze. "Before I suck on your fingers, I should probably know your name."

The creature angled his head, as if considering her. "I have no name. I am only...The Unknown."

Kate's heart raced in her chest. That chocolate, those fingers, it all looked simply divine. And if William could be unfaithful, why couldn't she do the same? She deserved it, just this once. As a treat.

She opened her mouth, and The Unknown slid his fingers past her lips. She sucked deeply, the flavor sliding across her tongue and down her throat, the complex flavor and intensity of the delivery method sending shivers down her spine.

"Are you cold?" He asked.

"A bit," Kate admitted.

"Well then," she could hear the smirk in his voice even if she couldn't see it on his face. "Perhaps I'll have to warm you up myself."

Kate bit her lip. "Would you...put your willy? In my chocolate factory?"

His fingers closed around her throat. She drew a sharp breath.

She could feel his breath as he whispered in her ear, "Forget willies. Forget chocolate factories. Allow yourself to submit, to embrace the pleasures of The Unknown."

Kate let out a shuddering breath as she gazed up at that shiny mask. She didn't know what lurked behind it. She didn't care.

She kissed him then, the plastic of his mask hard against her soft lips. And then she was sprawled on the bed, his knee between her legs, and she was grinding against him.

"Oh, The Unknown!" She moaned.

"Please, there's no need for formality. Call me The."

So Kate did. She sounded like the gilded first word of a sponge's term paper as she wailed his name over and over again, into the dark stillness of this secret room behind the walls.

"I'm close," Kate moaned.

"Good girl."

He leaned down to kiss at her neck. The rough edges of the cheap mask scratched at her sensitive skin, but she didn't care. She was lost in the pleasures of The Unknown.

It was the hair that brought her to the edge, something her husband could never give her. The chemical scent of his cheap, black wig filled her nostrils as she rode his thigh, dangling there on the precipice.

"Ohh!" Kate screamed as she came, her thighs shaking with pleasure as she clenched around nothing.

A low, satisfied chuckle rumbled at her throat, and she swooned. After all these years of marriage, William had never rocked her world like this masked stranger just had. As they lay there together, she slipped into the chocolatey darkness of slumber, utterly content.

---

When Kate returned home, butt bigger and bangs longer, William had wanted to hear about her experience in Scotland.

"What was your favorite part?" He asked.

"I learned a lot about myself on this trip," she told him. "But the most valuable lesson was in learning to embrace the pleasures of the unknown."

"See, a little uncertainty is good sometimes!" He teased, tugging on her much-improved bangs before giving her a soft kiss.

"Mm," he smacked his lips. "Tastes like chocolate."

God works fast but fanfic writers work faster

[ilightmytorch]

My Year in Writing, 2024

I wrote 201,352 words in 2024. That was considerably less than the 300,000 I was aiming for, but is still a personal best. I have officially crossed the 1 million word mark!

Although I didn't win NaNoWriMo, November was still my most productive month. You can see the dip in the graph below related to packing and moving during July-September. Overall, I wrote 551 words/day, 488/day outside of November, and December 31 was day 2,871 of my write-every-day streak.

About 2/3 of the words I wrote were fanfiction and the other 1/3 was original fiction. I finished Electric Boogaloo (Jatp Season 2), Wrong Coast (an Arrow fanfic), and They Don't Know About Us (original fiction).

According to AO3, I published 268,014 words this year. However, 148,863 of those words are me re-publishing all of the individual fics for Electric Boogaloo in one fic, so it's really more like 120k.

Plans for 2025

I'm going to try again to use the same word count goals as last year:

I want to hit 50,000 for NaNo in November. For April and July Camp NaNos, I want to write 1,000 words/day, so 30k and 31k.

I want to take it somewhat easy in the three months after NaNo events, so May, August, and December - 600/day, or 18,600 words/month.

For the other six months out of the year, I’m going to try doing “NaNoWriWeek” or 1,667 words/day for the first week of the month and then 600/day for the rest of the month, which will get me around 25k per month.

All of this totals up to about 300,000 words.

With the caveats that 1) I might be moving again, in which case I'll have another 3 months of little productivity, and 2) I may need to spend more time on editing, revision, and marketing this year which might cut into writing time

Fanfiction

I trunked a couple of projects, so I only have 3 fanfiction folders left in my writing folder. I expect Battle of the Five Phantoms to be the only one I actually work on in 2025, though. This is going to be a totally new experience for me--publishing chapters of a multichapter while I'm still writing instead of waiting for it to be done. If I dedicate half my words for the year to fanfiction, I don't think I'll quite finish writing it by the end of the year, but I think I will have made substantial progress. I should have the first 30-40 scenes published--I'll aim for releasing at least 2 scenes/month, but I haven't been writing in order so I may end up with nothing to publish while I fill in scenes that I skipped.

Original Fiction

I'm aiming for February 2026 as the release date for Don't Date the Guitarist, my first book, which sounds like a long time from now but it's really not--I need to put a push on to finish the first draft so that I can do some rounds of revision, editing, and getting feedback. I need to do the same for my lead magnet, They Don't Know About Us, a ~10k short story in the same universe which I'd like to release sometime around September-October. If I can write about 150k in original fiction, that's all of DDTG and Don't Use the Bassist, the sequel. There's also a novella in this universe I need to work on sooner rather than later, so I may start that, too, if I have time. And I will most likely work on other books in this 'verse and/or Christmas in the City when I need a break.

Writer Stuff

Beyond writing, there's so much I have to do to prep for the book launch, including:

picking a penname

launching a website

setting up social media and posting regularly

figuring out processes for self-editing/revising

figuring out how to get feedback

finding a professional editor

going through a whole editorial process for TDKAU and DDTG

getting covers for TDKAU and DDTG

figuring out what kind of marketing to do

probably a lot of other tasks I don't know about yet!

And now I need to get to it! I'm meeting the local writing group at a coffee shop in a a couple of hours, so I need to get ready to leave so I can get started on my words for the year!

[count-von-kit]

Current WIPs and Some Incoherent Ramblings

🌹 Realm of Roses & Rosaries: With chapter 2 of my silly little for-funsies writing mess completed, I have now started on plotting where I want chapter 3 to go, with an outline.

So far I have the first arc planned to be five chapters total. My issue with this is that I initially wanted to write shorter chapters (less than 15 pages), but there's so much yet I still want to happen that I feel like they may just be longer. And, I mean, so long as I'm not dropping some 25-40+ paged chapter, I think I'll be ok with that. My ultimate goal was to make sure I was having fun with this and writing strictly for myself, so that's what I guess I'm going to throw in my face whenever I start to question something I'm doing.

As for the other arcs, I'm... still trying to organize that all in my head. Because I know what I need to get the characters to where they need to be. If that's the case and I keep them all together, with 5 chapters each between them, that would be a total of 15 collectively for the trio. With a third and final arc being their revolution and the final battle against the big bad. I think for an approach that's fine enough, and satisfies what I want.

🌹 Abel's YTP: Ugh. I'll be honest I was working on this, but then since editing a side document during a TTRPG night, I forgot (maybe) to transfer over changes (maybe), so now I'm not sure which draft was my good draft, and I really hate when I do this to myself. So I haven't been able to go back to look at it just yet. I know I'll have to figure this out at some point, but the issue is that both variants read fine, so I'm just at a loss. That said, there is a lot still to this. Chapter 3 is "finished", but the revisions are what is keeping me from marking it as DONE done. I really need to sit down at some point and finish it so that I can move onto transferring chapter 4 from my notebook onto my PC's worddoc. Far as the full novel goes, it's still 5 chapters lone, with an Epilogue, and four smaller shorts in-between as intermissions (because music-based). So uh... This project is still nowhere near completion. But also I think once I get a lot of my other WIPs cleared (I know, that's a huge writer lol there. Don't look at me rn. I can hope), I'll be able to come back to focusing on this. That's my plan anyway.

🌹 Xmas Piece: This is the time of year I should be starting to wrap this up. I vented to a friend about this last night on Discord, about how I really don't have much left to do with this. Literally 3 scenes left to finalize. That's it. But I think the reason why I haven't gone back to work on it is because of two things:

The first being my mood so far has actually been pretty good! Which is surprising given my depression is amplified by the onset of seasonal depression which just makes it an awful time for me mentally? Despite the fact I actually really love autumn? I've been hanging out with some friends more which has fed my starvation of human interaction, and I've been laughing more at some of the silly things going on - whether its something I've been reading or watching, or just something off-the-wall a friend has sent me. I've just been getting a lot more serotonin lately, and it's been kinda nice.

The second reason I feel hesitant is because this is the emotional climax to the story, where a lot of shit just drops. Normally when I'm in a bad mood I tend to write that energy into these kind of scenes because mentally I'm already there so why not? But also because I've been in such a good mood lately I'm kinda terrified that by crawling into the bathtub of bad vibes and big sad to soak in, that it'll wipe away my good mood. If that... makes sense. I've had to forcefully put myself in not-so-great mindsets before just to write out specific scenes from my other novel that's just... kinda setting off to the side... and I guess because of that, because it pulls big ol' sad energy from very specific songs, I'm apprehensive maybe that it'll happen. It has a happen ending, so I know I don't have to worry about anything. But ugh. I just need to push myself at some point or another.

🌹 Soloing The Other Side: This one is super close to being done. I haven't worked on it for a while, but I only had a few bits to finish up. Unfortunately it won't make much sense until I finish up the Xmas piece mentioned above, because it follows directly after, but at least by the end of the day it's a smaller and singular (not multi-chapter) piece I can cross off once completed. It's not complexed, but uh... I've only been working on it because of my apprehension towards Abel's YTP and the Xmas piece. lol

🌹 Abel's Backstory, Part 2: Man... I remember all the shit going on with this, but at the same time I have to completely revise the first part before I post it up, because SO MUCH with Abel has changed. Anyway, I haven't touched this at all with the others above pulling me in different directions. Maybe at some point I will get this finished. It's still in the very beginning stages, but tbh I think to get those vibes going I should just relisten to Magnus Archives, because damn does listening to Jonathan Sim read really inspire me to write.

🌹 Other Miscellaneous Ao3 Projects: Of the multitude of ongoing Ao3 projects I have that were "almost finished and then forgotten", I know I have quite a few. On top of everything else listed above. In terms of priority, the ones I'd like to finish, ideally, are Les Vampires (because it's close to the ending), Espresso-ly For You (because it's also almost finished), and maaaybe Eleanor? I haven't quite decided entirely. I'd like to finish the Senpai one as well, but that one is a bit harder to do because it's filled with so many inside jokes. I just... I need to not have writer's block when revising things, or to lose interest so I can actually finish all of these. ToT