#i'll post my own fic on ao3 sometime next week

[mimicteruyo]

Now that I’m neither half asleep nor out, a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in the Welcome to Gensokyo Zine, and another huge thank you to everyone who has or plans to check it out. I don’t think I’ll ever stop being in awe of what a treasure trove of wonderful fanworks it ended up being.

Also, a truly massive thank you to Yoshi. She was incredible throughout the production cycle and worked insanely hard (the amazing graphics she made for the zine are just the tip of the iceberg). I couldn’t have asked for a better co-mod and there’s 0% chance this zine would ever have been made without her. Special thanks to floops as well for coming in clutch when we discovered just how massive the project was actually going to be and for having really good ace attorney opinions

Have a lovely summer, everyone!

[imgeekgirlfan]

The Curse of Cassandra [EP : VII]

Read in Ao3 : here

Pairings:  Qimir x f!reader(SEA Reader)  [The Acolyte]

Content Rating : Mature 18+  Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warning (AT YOUR OWN RISK)

tags/themes : Alternate Universe - Dune & Star wars, Partners in Crime, Strangers to Lovers

Summary: You start a new life on the planet Olega with the man you love. If your life were a novel, this would be the happy ending. But fate never lets you rest. One day, you find yourself facing three unfamiliar Jedi, and one of them, a Jedi Knight named Yord, captures your attention in an inexplicable way.

Status: finished writing this fic! (It will end in Episode 14)

A/N : Since there are more chapters now, if you don’t want to miss any updates, you can ask me to add your username for notifications whenever a new chapter is posted. Just let me know in a reply, and I’ll make sure you’re included in the next update.

ps. I'll be in Singapore for the F1 from this Thursday until next Tuesday, so I'll pause updating my fic for one week. I hope you can wait patiently.

➡  Intro // EP : 1 // EP : 2 // EP : 3 // EP : 4 // EP : 5 // EP : 6 // EP : 8 // EP : 9 // EP : 10 // EP : 11 // EP : 12 // EP : 13 // EP : 14 (Completed)

Special OS : Phantom Thread

[Episodes 7] It is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present, and a waste to live in the future.

It’s often said that the safest place is also the most dangerous one. 

Perhaps that’s why Qimir chose to remain hidden on Olega, despite it being home to the Jedi Temple, a major stronghold of the galaxy’s peacekeepers.

For most people, there was no reason to fear the Jedi, who were meant to protect them from harm. But that wasn’t the case for you. You remembered well what Qimir had told you: the Jedi were looking for you, too. Even though their exact motives remained unclear, the sense of paranoia never left your mind. Especially after the massacre on Tatooine, you and Qimir felt like fugitives—always just one step away from being caught if any evidence linking you to the crime surfaced and exposed your secret.

You hated being here. Given a choice, you would have fled to some remote planet at the edge of the galaxy. But Qimir had different ideas. “Most of those who know about your bounty are outlaws or trade federations. Neither group gets along with the Jedi, so they won’t be snooping around places where Jedi gather,” he reasoned. “And the Jedi? They’re too preoccupied with galactic affairs to pay much attention to the planet they’re on. Besides, you don’t have the Force, so finding you would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”

Qimir wasn’t wrong. Life on Olega had turned out to be unexpectedly peaceful. Despite the city’s persistent chaos, it made hiding much easier. You and Qimir had managed to stay under the radar for over a year without major problems. Everything had settled so seamlessly that you almost forgot what it was like to be on the run from other planets.

With no need to keep moving, Qimir had shifted from his life as an illegal mercenary to opening a modest pharmacy. He also worked as a broker, selling medicines and various odds and ends to travelers passing through. Meanwhile, you had taken on the role of his assistant and personal apprentice. Qimir was dedicated to teaching you both the theory and practice of his knowledge, especially in combat. He also encouraged you to continue developing your powers rather than suppressing them as you had before. Like your mother, Qimir believed your abilities were too valuable to be wasted.

“Haven’t you ever thought,” Qimir once said, “that someone like you could rise to replace the Jedi one day? With your power, you could bring far more to the galaxy than they ever could.”

His words seemed absurd, like a far-fetched joke meant to tease you. You laughed every time, confident that such a thing would never happen.

Never getting involved with the Jedi, no matter what, had always been your rule for survival.

But sometimes, fate can be cruelly ironic, and this was a joke that wasn’t amusing at all.

That's what occurs at noon on a Friday—one of fate's cruel jokes when you unexpectedly find yourself face-to-face with a group of Jedi.

It all takes place at Qimir’s pharmacy on a day he isn’t around. Lately, he has been disappearing more frequently—sometimes for two or three hours, or even the better part of a day—claiming he has business to attend to involving herbal shipments from other planets. As a result, you’re left to run the store in his absence, handling the medicines and assisting customers as usual.

But everything changes the moment the shop’s bell rings and the door swings open. Brilliant sunlight floods the store, heralding the arrival of three strangers you’ve never seen before.

One of them is a teenage theelin-human hybrid girl, with paper-white skin adorned with spots and orange hair with small horns encircling her head like a crown. The other two are human men—one middle-aged, with long black hair tied in a half-ponytail, his face stern and serious; the other younger, with sharp features, sun-bronzed skin, and a tall, muscular frame, likely not much older than you.

They couldn’t be more different from each other, except for their identical attire. They’re dressed in light yellow tunics, covered by long brown robes, and each wears a large belt with the unmistakable emblem of the Jedi Order.

Jedi—The realization hits you like a bolt of lightning the moment your eyes land on their belts, and you instinctively draw in a sharp breath.

You quickly wipe your sweaty palms on your skirt, composing yourself with practiced ease. Lifting your head from behind the counter, you address them with a polite, businesslike smile. “How may I assist the three of you today?”

The older man, likely a Jedi Master, introduces himself with courtesy as Sol, while the young girl, his Padawan, is named Jecki. The other young man, a Jedi Knight, is introduced as Yord. “We’re here on a mission,” Sol informs you, his voice laced with concern. “We’re investigating a serious incident that occurred in this city.”

You have no idea what serious incident he’s referring to or how severe it must be to involve the Jedi. For a moment, your mind jumps to the possibility that it might be connected to you—until Jecki explains further, warning you to keep the information strictly confidential.

It turns out that the serious incident is a series of murders currently happening on Olega. Four bodies in four months—each victim a high-ranking Jedi responsible for overseeing the temple here.

"Since the incident is still recent, the killer might be someone who just moved here or snuck into the city illegally," Sol continues. "There are many of these types around the spaceports, which is why we need to increase security in those areas to ensure the safety of the citizens."

You can tell Sol's words hold only a half truth. The Jedi aren't particularly concerned about the lives of citizens since the killer's targets are not random people but specifically high-ranking Jedi.

The presence of the three Jedi at the pharmacy today is no coincidence. As a newcomer here, you're automatically placed among the suspects, though none of them have the nerve to say it outright to your face.

Understanding this, you begin to relax a little. After all, you have nothing to do with these murders, so there's no reason to worry. You just need to play along with the Jedi's charade until it's over.

Sol, the group's leader, takes charge of questioning you, with Jecki also taking part in the interrogation. Most of their questions are basic: had you noticed anything strange or seen any unusual people recently? They also delve into your personal history—your identity, background, and reasons for ending up on this planet.

You respond naturally, mixing truth with lies, careful not to arouse suspicion. You're confident in your ability to act convincingly—that is, until you sense the sharp gaze of the one Jedi in the group who hasn’t said a word.

You furrow your brow, the intense scrutiny from the Jedi named Yord making you increasingly uncomfortable. You try to ignore him, but there's something inexplicably magnetic about his presence—an instinctive urge that draws you to meet his gaze.

At first, you think he's trying to catch you in a lie, but when you see his expression, you're surprised.

He’s not scrutinizing you for deception—he’s staring at you in shock, as if you’re some kind of ghost.

As you peer deeply into his brown eyes with curiosity, time seems to stretch unnaturally long. You find yourself not looking at the present but plunging into the past. Every moment flashes before your eyes like pages of a book flipping by—one year, ten years, a hundred years, up to a thousand years.

Suddenly, your consciousness is yanked back to the present. You startle as your entire body trembles with the icy chill sweeping over you. Pain surges through you like a jolt of electricity, followed by the sticky sensation of blood trickling from your nose.

You know exactly what’s happening. The side effects of your vision are punishing you for seeing what was not meant to be seen.

Closing your eyes, you take slow, deep breaths, trying to steady yourself and acclimate to the pain. As your senses return, you hear Sol’s concerned voice. "Are you all right?"

"I’m fine," you quickly reply, shaking your head while wiping the blood from your nose with a handkerchief. You feign composure, even though the lingering pain continues to gnaw at you from within.

Sol looks at you with disbelief, but he doesn’t press further. His face betrays concern, and you can’t help but think how fitting he is as a Jedi. His every gesture screams 'purity' If goodness had a color, this man would be the brightest white—so blinding it hurts to look at.

The awkward silence breaks as Sol clears his throat, returning to the topic at hand. “We still don’t have any more leads on the perpetrator, other than the fact that they’re highly skilled with weapons—probably a former soldier or maybe...” He trails off, as if he almost let something slip, but catches himself just in time. "Anyway, if you find any suspicious leads, don’t hesitate to contact me or any other Jedi.”

You watch as Sol places a thin metal card on the counter before bidding you farewell with the classic phrase, "May the Force be with you." He and the other Jedi then leave the pharmacy quietly.

You reach for the card, running your fingers along its cold metallic edge. Upon closer inspection, you realize it’s an electronic contact card, storing his information. The front clearly reads, ‘Sol, Human, Jedi Master.

For a brief moment, you consider throwing it far away, but something compels you to tuck it into your pocket instead.

The sun slowly sinks, signaling the approach of evening. Hours have passed, but you're still lost in thought, pondering the group of Jedi you encountered—especially Sol’s story of the horrifying Jedi murder case. Though it has nothing to do with you directly, you can't shake the unease creeping into your mind. It's an inexplicable feeling of foreboding, devoid of any logical reason, as if instinct itself is whispering from deep within, warning you to be cautious. Yet you have no idea what or whom you should be wary of.

And then, there's another matter weighing heavily on your mind—the Jedi Knight named Yord.

His name has settled deep into your thoughts, etched onto your lips. A strange sense of familiarity fills your chest, as though you’ve known him before, despite seeing his face and hearing his name for the first time today.

How odd you think, fragments of a past you can barely recall flicker in your mind, disjointed and unclear. You want to focus your power on a vision, to delve deeper into the memory, but your body is too frail. It would only bring more pain. All you can do now is predict the hazy path of the future, as far as your bruised mind will allow.

You close your eyes, adjusting your breathing to a slow, steady rhythm. You let your mind sink into the stream of consciousness of possible futures.

There’s a ninety percent chance.

Certainty rises inside you—the answer you seek will come when you meet him again... soon.

The Bene Gesserit meditation gradually envelops your mind, nurturing it with such calm and a cold, almost numb detachment. Your fingers gently brush against the knife hidden in your cloak, recognizing that it may become necessary if things spiral out of control.

You step toward the front door of the shop, hand reaching for the handle, but a sudden hesitation grips you, freezing you in place.

A moment of silence surrounds you. You feel like a fish swimming towards a hook, drawn into a dangerous situation you shouldn't be involved with. The closer you get, the harder it becomes to turn back.

But in the end, you open the door anyway.

You stand there, waiting for something to happen. It doesn’t take long before someone grabs your arm, pulling you swiftly into the narrow alley beside the shop, hidden from the bustling street.

Your back hits the wooden wall of a nearby house—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to knock the wind out of you. You look up, meeting Yord's eyes with a calm expression, showing no sign of surprise. You know he is waiting for you, just as you are waiting for him.

“Be careful. You’re in a place you shouldn’t be,” he warns in a firm voice. “Get out while you still can.”

That’s all he says before releasing your shoulder and quickly walking back to the street, disappearing into the crowd while you stay still, watching his broad back in the yellow Jedi uniform fade from view.

In that moment, it's as if a veil of uncertainty is lifted, revealing a truth you had suspected before.

You are certain now. That Jedi can see the future—just like you.[1]

Footnotes:

[1] In Star Wars canon, some Jedi can see the future, but only a few—usually masters with strong Force abilities like Yoda (though as he got older, his visions became less reliable). You can see that Jedi powers and the Bene Gesserit abilities are somewhat similar (because Dune inspired Star Wars). However, in this fic, the author wanted to create a special distinction between the Reader (who is a Bene Gesserit) and the Jedi, so regular Jedi can’t have visions like the Reader. Yord’s case is unique and will have significant importance to the plot later on.

[f-imaginings]

in terms of inspiration and such does it feel easier or more difficult to write as you inch closer and closer to weirdmageddon? or has it made no notable difference? you’ve been working on this story for so long so i imagine it must feel kinda strange to be getting so close to what might be the end of it!

-----------------

Another wonderful question!! You are so good at these!

I think my inspiration to write is more closely correlated to the comments and feedback I get for the story, so the more people who tell me they enjoy it, the more it inspires me to write, and I've had a wonderful abundance of attention since BOB so I am being spoiled every day by nice words. I think my drive to finish the fic is pretty sustainable at this point, and I'm already getting ideas for a sequel haha. Finishing the fic was my new years resolution (even though judging by past chapters, it's been taking roughly a month to churn each one out since they're so long and intricate) so it looks like sometime in the new year I'll likely finish the story, maybe around April or June depending on how I balance writing with my workload and social obligations. I'm determined to finish it though (so I can start a cathartic sequel hahah)

I think in terms of us being towards the end of the story though, I have noticed it's made a difference on how I plan out the chapters. In the past I had all the time in the world to build the story and relationships and take things in new imaginative directions, but with the end of the story on the horizon we're left with a limited amount of time to tie up all the loose plot threads. I am being a lot more deliberate with how I plan the chapters. I write notes about plot direction and what details to include for every chapter, and I find that with every chapter approaching the end I've been writing three lots of plot notes corresponding to each 'episode'. So there's the general overview of events from the show and what I want to include from Ford and Bill's perspective, and then there's the refined version where I drill down into what factors I want to explore for each POV (for example the notes for the next chapter include Kryptos' storyline, Ford's storyline and Bill's storyline) which really breaks down what plot beats happen in each POV, and then there's the order of the different plot points, so I can weave between the different POVs in a way that flows thematically and brings out the best contrast between the characters journey.

I try to pull together similar themes in each chapter too, so for example the last chapter had overarching themes (lmao I made myself laugh by saying the themes of chapter 61 were 'dogs' and 'what if my family secretly hates me' hahah) and then I try to place story beats from different POVs together in a way that the themes compliment or contrast each other - so for example in the next chapter the themes of finding purpose after being stripped of it will apply to characters we encounter during Kryptos' POV and during Ford's POV. I've got this planned out meticulously all the way to the end, but before I start each new chapter thats when my second and third plot plans come into place. There's just something about reading the work through again once it's been posted on ao3 that makes me realise what threads I want to pull into the next chapter and that means my second and third plots happen once the last chapter is posted. I also rewatch the show's episodes about a million times lmao and add to my notes about what little details I want to highlight and bring back from the old chapters, since this fic is technically canon divergent, not fully canon adjacent.

I get inspired all the time for this story though, from all kinds of places too. Lots of times from my work (since I work in a mental health org) or from therapy or my own reading. I attended a DSFV training session through work a few weeks ago and what I learned there gave me inspiration for how I want to tackle a possible redemption arc in a sequel, especially around cycles of violence and how it can relate to perpetrators. I'll talk about healthy relationships in my own therapy sessions, and I'll get inspired to work in stuff about relearning independence after codependency. I'll read a baller fanfic (usually from other fandoms since I've been saving myself to read all the billford fics after my fic is finished, because of that one time someone accused the fic of plagarism - but since most ppl have wised up to the fact that those claims were just one person being a big meany I've read one or two fics and there is some gold out there in the fandom!!! Like Theseus' Guide To Ruining a Perfectly Good Boat by @stump-not-found theres a few chapters out but I am loving the characterisation and how punchy the prose and stakes are!) and reading fic is a great inspiration, same with published works too, I'm currently reading Youthjuice by E K Sathue which does very interesting things with description.

Anywho sorry for the essay in response haha! You always ask such great questions jada! I just finished doing my second plot through for chapter 62 today too, what timing!

[fang-and-feather]

Congratulations on your follower milestone!

Can I request Theo and the prompt "If you solve this I'll buy you lunch" prompt?

Thank you!

Thank you!! 🥰 I didn't expect getting here, but I am glad to celebrate with you!

Ikemen Vampire - Theo x Reader

Words: 3,577

Summary: The biggest proof Theo could give of trusting you were right about Vincent's safety when you tried reassuring his worries. But proving him you were right and could be trusted was a great responsibility, and the architect of such mystery wasn't making it easy for you? Or was her? And was this needed proof the only secret you were about to uncover?

Tags: Some Canon Divergence, Fluff, a bit of Romance at the end, Getting Together, First Kiss

Request from my 100 Followers Celebration. Prompts for it were from @anyfandomfluffbingo

Not planned as a birthday fic for Theo, but posted just in time for it so: Happy Birthday Theo!

(it was in fact planned to be paired with Vincent's birthday fic - and I finished neither in time - so the fic timeline is off for Theo's own birthday)

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist / AO3 Link

It wasn’t often that you had the opportunity to just sit in the dining room and enjoy a peaceful breakfast.

You always had an early, and sometimes rushed, breakfast, either before helping Sebastian serve breakfast as the other residents woke up or, most often, because Theo was in a hurry to leave for work, to which he often took you along.

Maybe you would take advantage of the beautiful day, find a nice spot in the garden, and finally read the books Vincent’s girlfriend left with you.

Or maybe you would head to town, do some window shopping, and stop by the cafe you had been meaning to visit for a while now. And maybe you could bring one of the books along. It was from Comte’s library, but he wouldn’t mind, would he? As long as you were careful with it.

But a dark cloud thundered on the horizon, threatening to rain over your sunny mood.

The name of that cloud was Theo, and by the thundering footsteps, loud enough even on the carpeted floor, his mood was as dark as the rain clouds, and with Vincent having gone out and Arthur busy writing, the problems that soured his mood would certainly rain over you.

And you had a good idea of what these problems were. The woman who had shown up about a week before, and whom Vincent introduced as his girlfriend. Apparently, they had been dating for a while, but it had been the first time Theo had ever heard of his brother having a girlfriend, and he immediately distrusted her.

Of course, he didn’t dare complain in front of Vincent. Not after his first few warnings were shut down. So it was you who had been subjected to his angry outburst the first time, until you calmed him enough to remind him that if Vincent had really fallen in love, that was a good thing.

Besides, although you had not dared say so to him then, you really thought Theo was exaggerating and being too quick to judge. Maybe because, for overprotective Theo, nobody was good enough for his brother, and anyone who dared try was targeting him because Vincent was an innocent angel that could see no evil in anyone.

You thought Vincent was more than capable of discerning bad intentions. He just chose to trust people. And his girlfriend was a little suspicious, yes, but whatever she was hiding seemed to be personal. Maybe something about her past or family, but not anything that would pose a danger to Vincent. You had yet to find a way to prove it to Theo, though.

And now you were likely in for another round of playing therapist.

Maybe listening to the same signs as you, Sebastian stepped out of the kitchen almost at the same time as Theo stormed in.

“You are quite late, Master Theodorus. I will have your breakfast ready in a moment.”

The only acknowledgement Tho gave Sebastian was a short grunt. You weren’t given even that as he roughly pulled the chair next to yours away from the table, and sat down, making the wood creak.

Finally opening the other hand that had been balled into a fist the whole time, Theo tried to roughly smother the crumpled piece of paper over the table.

By the way Theo glared at the paper as if he could set it on fire if he stared hard enough. It seemed to be the source of his foul mood, but when you peered at it, all you saw were lines.

Was it a sketch? A rough draft of an abstract painting? The lines were delicate and full of small curves and details, but they didn’t seem to form a definite shape. Or maybe you just weren’t looking at it the right way.

Theo looked equally stumped by its form or meaning. But maybe it just wasn’t finished. Why was he so determined to figure it out and so angry that he couldn’t?

You leaned over the table and closer to him, greeting in a loud, cheerful tone.

“Good morning, Theo!”

“Do you have to be so loud first thing in the morning, Hondje?” Theo groaned, rubbing his temple.

“Sorry, but you should rest if you’re not feeling well. Stressing will only make it worse.”

“Why shouldn’t I stress when Vincent didn’t come home yesterday? And I found this in his room, with my name written on the back, but that’s not Vincent’s handwriting. This must be a map to where she took him.”

You didn’t even need to ask who was “she”. There was only one person he would be so suspicious of, although you were also used to Theo being very rational. You forgot that, when it came to Vincent, Theo was a different person.

“So you think Vincent was kidnapped?”

“Why else would he just disappear without saying anything, or at least leave a note?”

“They left this. I think they just went out on a date. I mean, it’s Vincent’s birthday. Isn’t it normal to want to take your boyfriend on a date on his birthday? Maybe his girlfriend just signed the wrong paper by accident.”

In fact, you knew Vincent had gone on a date. You caught him leaving, and he made you promise not to tell Theo. But it wasn’t a problem if Vincent was already at his destination and Theo thought it was just your guess, right?

“Someday all that trust will get you into trouble.” Theo sighed. You were about to protest when he added in a softer tone. “Maybe I should really put a leash on you to keep you out of it.”

You used to complain about those kinds of comments, even if you knew Theo was joking, which led you to bicker a lot in the early days. But you knew how to read between the lines by now. And not only was he telling you that he cared enough that he wanted to keep you safe, but also, by the way anger seemed to slowly leave him, that he trusted you.

Could you be more in love with that man?

At first, you thought he was insufferably rude but, as he dragged you around to work, you started to see his inner kindness hidden by his harsh manners, as well as his passion for art and his loyalty to the people he loved. Only to start naming the things you discovered to love about him.

And he was handsome, to boot. While the house was full of pretty guys, you had to admit that, by looks alone, Theo was the one who caught your attention the most.

Theo had slowly made his way into your heart, and by now, he had taken permanent roots there. Yet, you were uncertain if he could feel the same way about you. At best, you wanted to believe the two of you had become friends.

And you would enjoy what you had while it lasted. You had to go back to your own time pretty soon, anyway. You just wanted to believe you could make Theo’s life a little better until then.

“Hondje!” Theo called loudly, and heat quickly rose up to your face as you realized you had been staring while lost in thought.

“Sorry. What did you say?”

“That little hondjes who don’t pay attention to their masters get punished.” He gave you one of his usual devious grins, and all you could think about was that he must have gotten back to his usual self, which was great.

“It wasn’t that!” You protested.

“I said that, even if you’re right about the date, this paper still holds some sort of secret. Vincent wouldn’t just leave without saying anything. And since you are so sure of yourself, then you should solve it. You two seem very close. ”

The paper was almost shoved in your hand as Sebastian set a plate piled high with pancakes in front of Theo, besides a big bottle of syrup and a glass of Rouge.

You cast a tense glance at Sebastian, your accomplice in Vincent’s little escapade, but the amused glint in his eyes informed you he had been listening and he was not going to be of any help.

As happy as it made you to know Theo trusted you enough to feel like Vincent was safe when you said so, you had no idea what these bunch little lines had to do with anything, and you didn’t think you could extract any answers from them.

“Theo, I…”

But you were shut off by a forkful of pancake drenched in syrup being shoved in your mouth.

“Do I have to keep that mouth of yours full for you to stop barking, Hondje?” He asked in an amused tone before using that same fork to feed himself, making your cheeks feel even hotter. “But fine. I won’t leave you without a treat. If you solve this, I will buy you lunch. If you do so before lunch, that is.”

Now that was a tempting offer. Going out for lunch with Theo sounded almost like a date. He’d taken you to eat out before, but it was always because he thought you were hungry or deserved a reward after work. You had never gone out exclusively for this.

You knew that was not how Theo meant it, but you could dream for a while, right? It would be a nice taste of what could have been. A precious memory to carry back when this place became nothing but a sweet dream.

“You know, it would be so much easier to figure something out if you hadn’t crumpled it this much.” You grumbled, trying to smother the paper.

Why did he ever think you could solve this, anyway? In fact, it was most likely that, now that he wasn’t worried anymore, he wanted to enjoy his pancakes in peace.

Should you leave and study this somewhere else? No. You would enjoy the company unless he told you to leave.

Your second impression of the mysterious paper, now that you could examine it up close, was the same as the first. The lines were too well done to not have a purpose, but at the same time were made of random patterns and didn’t seem to create anything discernible.

But not all art was straightforward, so you refused to let that be your final verdict.

You ran to your room to grab some supplies. You used a pencil to ‘color’ the areas between lines to get a better view of what you were dealing with. It made the picture look like some sort of pattern, which was some advance, and also served to highlight the form of the lines, making them look even more suspicious. Who drew patterns with such random lines?

The most telling result, though, was that it highlighted a few weirdly blank spots that looked like small arrows, indicating some form of direction around the pattern. At first you thought these were just flaws from the paper being all crumpled, but there were too many and all of them had roughly the same shape and were always close to the line.

Casting a side glance at Theo, you realized he had taken this time as his turn to stare at you, with a mix of amusement and… was it pride, in his gaze and smile? But as soon as you tried to get a better look, he turned back to his pancakes as if nothing had happened.

Now using the magnifying glass Theo had gifted you to take a closer look was a different story.

Whoever drew that knew what they were doing and wanted to complicate the life of whoever tried to decipher its mysteries.

It was easier to identify individual patterns like this and where they were repeated. They looked almost like letters now. It looked somewhat familiar, but wasn’t any language you knew.

That was too hard. Why would the person who left this for Theo - you were basically agreeing with him that it had been Vincent’s girlfriend - wouldn’t have left some sort of clue for him?

You closed your eyes and let out a small sigh, and Theo turned back to you.

“Giving up already, Hondje?”

“No. It’s just difficult. At least you were right. There is some sort of message here. I just need to find some context to start.”

What did you know about your new friend?

Nothing much, to be honest. You bonded through books. That was all it was.

Then something clicked in your mind. Books! What if the clue wasn’t left with Theo, because she expected for someone else to solve it for him? That person was you, and the writing looked familiar because it was in the books she left with you.

Running back to your room one last time, you quickly sought the books, finding similar writing on the first few introductory pages of the first one. Pages you had looked through just yesterday.

You hadn’t thought much of it at first because everything surrounding this house was strange and mysterious. These were books from the future, but it wouldn’t be the first time one such book made its way into Comte’s library. It currently housed all of Dazai’s books, who technically wasn’t even born yet, and Leonardo had told you they just showed up one day. The only difference was that the author of these wasn’t one of the residents. But who could prove there weren’t more books like these in the library? Maybe Leonardo, if you asked him, otherwise, you doubted anyone could know the full contents of a library that size without some sort of catalog.

But now that you thought about it, she had said something that had given you pause when you received the books. Something about you already having formed an opinion on reading it or not. As if she knew you had seen these particular books before.

You did read it before, in your time, and knew where to find answers.

You picked a new paper and, using the arrows to figure the order it was written in, started to translate it.

Curiously, it was written in English, adapted around some parts that didn’t translate well, which made it difficult to guess some words, but you were confident in your accuracy, given the context of the words you were sure of.

“I thought you had given up and ran away, hoping I wouldn’t catch you.” Theo spoke, leaning against the doorframe.

“Why do you sound like you wanted that to happen?” He smiled and so did you. “But I actually solved it. And it’s definitely not a ransom note.”

“What does it say, then?”

You weren’t sure you wanted a part in this game between Vincent’s girlfriend and Theo. Was it better to let him read it on his own?

“Spit it out, Hondje.”

Whatever. Not like the resulting translation was your fault, and Theo would understand that. So you took a deep breath and read it aloud.

The note basically complained about Theo’s obsession with Vincent, as it informed him that, because of it, she had decided to sneak out so they could go on a trip together. It didn’t explain why the cryptic message, but it informed she had left a more normal note. Theo just found this one first and got too focused on it.

To you, it sounded like she wanted him to find this note and give him a little of trouble, as some sort of revenge prank for the way he was acting.

And she had handed you the books with the solution, making you the only one who could solve the mystery. As if she knew, or at least hoped, Theo would go to you for help. As if she wanted to force him to.

Did she realize your feelings for Theo and wanted you two to interact more? Or was she just trying to push Theo towards the closest woman so she could have more time with Vincent without overprotective Theo getting in the way?

No. You knew little of her, but she wouldn’t just push people together without thinking there was some sort of relationship there. But it could be because you and Theo were friends, and she knew Arthur was too busy.

Theo swore in Dutch, from which you only understood the word cat, which you had no doubt he considered an insult, given his relationship with felines. The rest sounded awfully familiar, though, and although you didn't know the specific meanings, you knew they weren't exactly friendly words.

“She better not think that will get her off the hook. That’s why I don’t trust her.”

“Do you want to know what her secret is?” This little mystery had also given you a few clues for an entirely different answer, in a way that it felt like she wanted you to realize it. So there was no problem to share it, right? “Would that make you feel better?” You asked, before he could launch into a tirade of complaints about the girl. “I found something quite interesting during this game.”

“I don’t think it will help, but what is it?”

“I will tell you after lunch.” You couldn’t help grinning at him and adding: “If you behave.”

Instead of complaining, Theo grinned back, and stepped closer until he stood right before where you sat, forcing you to look up to see him, your eyes slowly trailing over his body. He was always such a great view from any angle, but there was something quite teasing and tempting from this point.

“Aren’t you cheeky today? What if I make you tell me right now?”

You gulped, your heart thundering in your ears with the way he looked down at you.

But the spell was quickly broken as Theo stepped back, his smile softening, and patted your head.

“If you wanted me to take you on a walk after lunch, you could have asked. You have been quite useful today. I will let you have it your way for now.”

Behind Theo’s typically weird phrasing, it sounded more and more like a date. Like he meant it as one, even though you knew there was no way.

“Don’t give me hope, Theo.” You thought, trying to keep your delusions to a minimum, enough so you wouldn’t give up your way home. Even though your recent discoveries were threatening to do so already.

Theo stepped back and pulled you to your feet, wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you close.

“Are you doubting my intentions, Hondje? Do you think I would take just anyone out like this? That I would trust just anyone when it came to Vincent? I am only interested in owning one other dog besides King. So be a good girl and stay.”

Before you could say anything in response, Theo’s lips were upon yours, his other hand moving to the back of your head, fingers tangling into your hair, as he kissed you with such urgency that it made your head spin. And you returned it with the same passion, a hand also tangling in his hair, the other around his neck, your hold on each other the only thing keeping you from collapsing.

Even at his best, Theo was powerful and relentless like a storm. One you were more than glad to be swept into the eye of. Even when he pulled away, on the brink of drowning you in his passion, the storm didn’t quiet. And you didn’t want it to. Now that you had his attention, you refused to let go of him.

But Theo released you and stepped back. You sighed, struggling to calm the storm that had overtaken you. The smile he gave you was softer that you had ever seen, and as your eyes met his, he reached out and tucked a stray strand of your hair behind your ear, but he pulled away almost immediately, a glint in his eyes you had never seen either, but that lacked the softness of his now faltering smile.

“I’m not going anywhere.” you finally replied. “As long as you’ll let me stay with you.”

“Good.” Theo turned away from you. “Now let’s take you out for lunch before I get hungry and decide to devour you instead. I’ll met you by the gate in fifteen minutes.”

As Theo left, you let your body collapse back on the bed. What an exciting day it had been. And you hadn’t gone through half of it yet.

So that was the start of his bloodlust threatening to take over that you noticed and that made him practically run away. An unnecessary proof of his attraction to you. Theo hadn’t really said he loved you, but his actions spoke it loud and clear, because Theo would never kiss someone like that without being serious about it.

You couldn’t believe it. After all the time you spent fretting over whether it was worth facing rejection or leaving without telling him of your feelings, that he returned your love.

And you couldn’t believe it took some external push for you to get to this point. You would have to do something to thank her later. But for now, you had less than fifteen minutes to get ready for your date, and you wanted it to be as perfect as possible.

Tag List:

@violettduchess, @tele86, @nightghoul381

@natimiles, @bicayaya, @eventinelysplayground

@2-lines-and-a-circle, @specters0rd, @vampiricpancake

If you want to be tagged/untagged on future writings, even if it's in specific contents, you can reply to this post or send me a message

IkeVamp Masterlist / General Masterlist

[skyfallscotland]

Hi! I'm Amy (She/Her)

I write fanfic, which you probably already know if you came here from my AO3 page (where I go by hurricane).

Currently I'm writing for Fourth Wing.

My favourite colour is green, I love Taylor Swift and Fall Out Boy, and I hate spicy food (but love spicy books).

Below you'll find links to my work/fandom masterposts & some FAQ

✧ Fandoms/Works

Fourth Wing

ACOTAR

✧ FAQ

Do you have an update schedule?

Not really. Sometimes it's once a week, sometimes twice, sometimes not for weeks (though I try to only do that in between projects), it really depends on the hyperfixation.

How do you write so much?

I get super anxious about starting things and not finishing them (and then having people asking me about them) so I try to write ahead before posting, so it isn't always in real time. I do however write on average (based on year to date) 2.5k words a day, which I guess is a lot for most people? The simple answer is I don't work full time and I try to write everyday.

What's your writing process?

I prefer writing either in the morning or later at night. I always write in bed, propped up against the headboard. Sometimes if I'm home alone I'll venture out to the kitchen and feel supremely uncomfortable for no reason, so I quickly return to my low-lit cave.

I just write what I'm inspired to write when I'm inspired to write it. I've learned not to force it, that just makes writer's block worse!

Do you have any writing advice?

I do! I get asked this a lot, so I wrote a masterpost: Part One—the advice & Part Two—the resources

Can I bind your fic?

At the moment my stance on fic binding is that it’s fine if it’s only for personal use and not for sale, profit, distribution or commission. Please don’t use commercial companies like print houses (due to legal issues). I feel very strongly about fanworks being and remaining free, and the way fic-binding has been commodified recently worries me 💖

Do you allow translations of your work?

You’re bilingual, that’s so cool! I appreciate you asking 💗 I believe in fanfiction being accessible to everyone. I would request however at this time that any translations of my work be kept on AO3—there’s a checkbox you can tick to link it as a translation.

Can I use a scenario in your fic for my own or write something inspired by your fic?

Mostly, yeah. See my in-depth answer/thoughts on this here.

Can I use your characters for a fic of my own?

I respectfully ask you not to at this time. All my original characters from my series' are very close to my heart, especially Remi (the one people ask about the most) and their stories are not yet finished! So there's more you guys don't know about them. At the moment, I'm a bit sensitive about it and I'd like to keep them close. If you do still write something inspired by them, it's also highly likely I won't read it, at least until I'm finished the series. Thanks for understanding.

What else are you working on?

I have a dozen fic ideas for Fourth Wing, at least four of which I've already written bits and pieces of while working on Basgiath (Remi's Version). I don't run on any kind of schedule though, they'll see the light of day when they do and if they don't, then they won't!

I also have two original novels I'm writing, one of which I hope to finish in the next couple of months (it's in the plotting stage!) 🥰

Will you ever come back to ACOTAR?

I plan to at some point, hopefully this year! I just want to get through some of these Fourth Wing ideas while I'm still inspired and eventually I'll come back to write Callie's story and maybe some Feysand, or an Eris fic. It's tough because I've been writing that series in third and my FW works have me in first person mode. I find it very hard to switch between them.

Do you have any fic recs?

I do! Only for Fourth Wing at the moment, you can see them all here. I'm slowly adding to the list/collection 🌟

[violetasteracademic]

Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow: Special post and readership vote!

My friends! @rae2velaris has done, in my opinion, the most magical and special thing that could possibly ever be done for this fic. She has created art for our sweet baby shadowhound Argus as well as the golden doe! When I tell you I cried, I say that with my whole chest. I will share the art down below and add it to the bonus art chapter on Ao3 here.

However, there is a request I'd like to make! While I was ruminating on how insane it is to me that more than two people (or more than zero, if we are being completely honest) are reading this fic, I've been trying to think of what I can do really express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart to thank the OG readers who have been coming back week after week and showering this fic with support and healing my cold, dead heart.

With that- our Golden Doe needs a name! Over the next day or two (let's say by 4/21), I would love to hear your suggestions, and then I will put it to a vote here on Tumblr so there will forever be that little easter egg for the readers that you guys chose our golden doe's name!

Here is the art, and I truly hope to hear all of your suggestions. Thank you for being on this journey with me!

Ps, I genuinely don't really know where the source traffic for the fic readership comes from. For all I know it is no more than five people on Tumblr and the rest just found it on Ao3. Sometimes when I'm chatting with you guys in the comments over there, I'm not sure if you are someone I also chat with on Tumblr but just have a different handle, or if GDiaVoS was just stumbled upon on Ao3. I hate to leave the amazing Ao3 readers out, but there's really no way to do something like this over there. I'll mention this in the notes in the new chapter I post tomorrow and update the notes on the bonus chapter, and do my best for anyone who wants to give a name suggestion a chance!

Thank you guys for making this so fun. I started writing this fic at I time that I really needed it for myself in my own life, and you have turned it into one of my greatest joys lighting up the dark. So truly, thank you. And I hope we come up with a sweet name for our girl!

[goodbyeapathy8]

Hi, I'm a fanfic writer with over 600,000 words to my name on AO3 and I haven't been able to write for months. I'm also not sure I can read or write dead dove fics anymore.

Because the news coming out of Gaza / DRC / Congo is worse than anything that could come out of my imagination.

More specifically, what little creativity left in my depressed brain is going towards Omar and his family. Like this video I made and posted a few weeks ago.

I thought I knew a little bit about resilience (being autistic, having lupus, depression, in the middle of a 3 year divorce with abusive ex, countless other nonsense that has happened in my life not to mention my own Korean background & our history of being colonized).

But sometimes, a lot of the times, there are no words to offer a 22 year old and 25 year old kid going through a genocide of their peoples.

Like just... fuck. Things are so fucked for them.

They are now on their 4th or 5th location. They narrowly missed the Nuseirat massacre by a DAY. They'd left Deir al-Balah the previous day and I couldn't even be happy that they'd escaped because the current death toll is at 270+.

At times, I try to sell them a fantasy. It's what I do best.

Omar, in the future, you will be just as annoying as my other young friends. Sending me pictures of the foods you've eaten, saying, don't you wish you could've tried this? Only worrying about where to travel next and hanging out with your friends. Yet another message about how elderly I am and how young you are, living it up, just like anyone else in their 20s.

Mohamed, one day, we will only talk about our careers. No more messages, checking in, saying your family is still alive. You will be a videographer again and me, well, hopefully I'll be employed again, doing whatever it is I'm doing. I know you will be way more successful than me - you've got that entrepreneurial spirit. The suffering you are going through now... One day, it will be a distant memory, something you tell your grandkids, who insist that you must be lying.

We spin tales of delusion because reality is so terrible and full of horrors. It's the only thing I know how to do right now for them.

I know we're all broke on this site. I know this better than anyone else, being unemployed for almost a year now. But $5 can make a difference if enough folks pitch in.

GoFundMe link is here.

And if you can't, I get it. I'm right there with you.

If you have Tiktok, please head on over to Omar's account and engage with his posts.

If you have Instagram, he's got an account there, too. Mohamed still has his Instagram as well (unfortunately, his TikTok was banned).

If you're interested in a cool t-shirt! A friend has generously donated their talent and time to donating all proceeds from sales to Omar and Mohamed's family *and* it's got no tags so it's sensory friendly, too.

Get your Palestine tees here. (And check out Courn's lovely Instagram account for their other work.)

I don't know how much traction this post is going to get but, I'm trying everything I can to help so, here we are. Thanks for reading.

[aurorafables]

From the Grey, Chapter 6.

“Okay, maybe you're not such a shitty friend after all,” I teased him with a smile.

“If you knew what was going through my mind right now, you would definitely have a different opinion.”

Hi everyone! Sooo maybe the things are starting to heat up around the boys 😎, just like the weather on a sunny summer day ☀️

Pairing: Noah Sebastian X Nicholas Ruffilo

Warnings: 18+, Explicit, Angst, Past character death, Suicidal thoughts

Tags: M/M, M/F, Slow burn, Childhood friends, Friends to lovers, Family drama, Band fic, Masturbation, Accidental Voyeurism

Word Count: 5.1k

Cross-posted: AO3

6.

The next morning, Aby and Steve left around eight. Noah was still asleep, so I said goodbye to them alone after helping pack everything into the trunk of the car.

“I'm glad we could spend yesterday together,” Aby hugged me.

“Me too. The cocktails were divine.”

“I see Noah several times, but you live so far away,” she complained.

“I'll always try to make sure we run into each other when I'm near LA,” I promised her.

“We'll meet in a few days on the tour,” Steven patted me on the back.

“Yes, you'll have had enough of us after a week for sure,” I joked with him, and he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Sometimes you are like bad, bad kids, but you are my kids!” he left a big kiss on my cheek, then he also squeezed me thoroughly. “I'm glad you're here with Noah. I know he likes to be alone, but still…” he said before letting go.

I smiled at him and gave a small nod. I know exactly what he meant.

“Give my regards to your mother… and your brothers and sisters too. Everyone!” Aby got into the car, laughing.

“I'll give it to them,” I promised. “And also give your son a kiss for me. I hope to see him again before he goes to school.”

"He grows so fast," Steven said proudly.

"And give our regards to Noah when he wakes up," Aby added, then started the SUV.

"Okay, I will," I promised.

I waved as they slowly rolled out of the grassy area to reach the dirt road that ran along the side of the lake. I loved them both, but the undeniable fact was that the silence was almost palpable after they left. And it was just the quiet that Noah and I needed before we continued the tour.

When they were out of sight, I walked back, sat down at the table on the patio, and booked a plane ticket in Maya's name on the laptop I borrowed from Noah. After that I also wrote Matt a message and asked him to transfer my hotel room in Vegas to two people. He wasn't happy that this was just coming out, but in exchange for a bottle of whiskey he phoned the hotel and had it all sorted out in five minutes. When I sent the reservation information to Maya, I got a series of heart emojis in response, so I sat back satisfied. I was glad that I managed to make her happy with this idea.

It was 10 am when Noah came out, but he only came down to the kitchen to go back to the room with a coffee. While he was downstairs, I quickly packed my own stuff into the other, vacated room. When we ran into each other he said he had some phone calls to make. I immediately remembered that Karin had asked to talk the night before, and maybe that's why he doesn't want me around while he's on the phone. I understood and tried to occupy myself with something while I waited for him, but meanwhile my thoughts kept wandering towards him. I hoped Karin couldn't manipulate him anymore.

I read the news, watched videos, called my brother, went through the offers at an online musical instrument store, and ordered a new set of strings for the tour. I wandered by the lake for a bit, and at around 1 pm I went into the kitchen to make ourselves something for lunch. I found meat patties in the freezer, so I decided to make two hamburgers, carefully packed with cheese, bacon and vegetables.

Before I started frying the meat in a pan, I went upstairs and knocked on the room, even though the door was ajar.

"Come," Noah said, so I entered.

He was sitting on his bed, the sun shining through the window behind him, casting a magical aura around him. He was still in a pair of boxers, his hair was messy, and he was biting his lip as he watched his phone.

“I just wanted to say that lunch is almost ready. I'm making hamburgers and all I have to do is fry the meat.”

"Okay," he answered, still not looking up.

“Is something wrong?” I asked him quietly, to which the answer was only a quick shake of the head.

"I'll grab some clothes and be downstairs in a few," he said.

I stomped down the stairs a little disappointed. There was no sign of yesterday's jovial Noah, and he didn't seem like he wanted to reveal why. Maybe he called Karin and the conversation didn't go the way he wanted. Or Matt had upset him about something. It's irrelevant. But my mood was also screwed up, and I just noticed that I barely pay attention to the meat while I'm cooking it. I almost burned them. For sure, it wasn't the most delicious meal I made, but in the end I called it edible even though the meat was a little dry. It's okay, we'll put more sauce on it.

I was just putting the top of the hamburger bun on when Noah finally arrived. I realized with sadness that he still had his phone in hand and was walking around as if he was only physically present.

“Artificial Suicide?” I asked him, to which the only answer was that his mouth spread into a smile.

I put the lunch in front of him, then sat down next to mine. While we ate in silence, I watched out of the corner of my eye as he took apart the bun, took out the cucumber slices, and started eating. I giggled softly as I put a lettuce leaf that had fallen on a plate into my mouth.

I know there are days when Noah is picky about his vegetables, just as I know it's impossible to guess what he's in the mood for. For example, he had no objection to the cucumber with the fish the night before.

Noah looked up at me from the plate, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly as he looked up from under his lashes with his dark eyes.

“This turned out very delicious,” he said with his mouth full.

“You don't have to exaggerate,” I playfully kicked his leg under the table. ”I almost burned it.”

“Just almost… I'm not exaggerating, it's a thousand times better than what I usually make.”

I continued to eat in a slightly better mood, and I felt that Noah was finally starting to relax, he was no longer as serious and troubled as he had been all morning. I was on the last few bites when I felt Noah's bare foot touch my calf. I didn't look up, ate the rest of my food, then licked the sauce off my finger. His gentle touches felt good that day, and the day before… I tried to make no big deal out of it and completely ignore the fact that heat was creeping up my entire body, starting from my feet. Noah also finished his lunch and texted Matt on his phone, then he looked at me, smiled and put down his phone with his chin in his palm. He couldn't completely break away from work and the band even for these few days, he always had to deal with something related to that, but I couldn't blame him for that. We all had something else to do in case we had to stop making music, except Noah. He only had the band. As I was thinking that I don't feel like getting up from the table, because then that little physical contact will cease, but my phone rang, which made us both startle. Danny's name appeared on the display. Noah sighed and settled into the chair.

“Until you talk with her, I'll pack the dishes,” he offered and slowly took his leg away from mine. “Tell her my regards.”

I nodded and then answered my sister's call. We hadn't spoken in days, so it was nice to hear her voice. Danielle raved about how much fun they were having in France and how sorry she was that their plane was leaving the next morning. With a big smile on my face, I listened to their experiences, which was sometimes joined by my other sister, then I wished them a good trip and we said goodbye to each other.

“Do you want to go down to the lake?” Noah asked after I finished the call. Since I had already arranged the reservation for Maya, I had no other plans for today except for rest, so I immediately nodded.

“I'll get my swimming trunks, then we can go.“ I went to the fridge and took out a fruit smoothie for myself. “Beer or soda?” I turned to Noah.

"No alcohol," he said. “The cocktails gave me a headache in the morning.”

“Or the wine you drank with the dinner…,” - I added with a laugh, then I took out a juice for him as well.

We were done in five minutes. I just put on my swimming trunks, put my hair in a bun on top of my head and threw the towel over my shoulders. We grabbed the small bottles of soft drinks, a blanket, and walked down to the lakeshore. The heat hit us as soon as we stepped out the door from the air-conditioned house, and when the sun was on our heads, I already felt that it was much hotter than before. I put on my sunglasses, I smiled and listened as Noah scolded the Sun and the heat, non-stop until we got to the beach.

"I'd think you are a vampire," I remarked as he dropped the stuff on the ground and headed to the water.

“I hate it when it's too hot and I sweat. And I hate squinting and getting sunburned. Not everyone can have perfect skin like you,” he muttered under his breath as he waded into the water and was immediately neck deep. The sight gave me the chills, but he moaned contentedly and wet his hair as well.

While he tried to cool his body, which had heated up in five minutes, I spread the blanket next to a mossy stone surrounded by ferns, in the shade of a tree. Some card game fell on the ground, which luckily was held together with a rubber band, so the box didn't fall apart and the cards didn’t fall out. At the top was The Mind written. It caught my attention, and as soon as I sat down, I began to read its rather mystical description. I was about to dive in when cold drops of water hit my back. I flinched and quickly turned back. Noah came out of the water and as he shook his head, the water flew everywhere, but when I saw the satisfied grin on his face, I was sure he did it on purpose.

“When you're done with playing the dog, we could try this out,” I held up the toy box.

“Playing the dog? What expression is this?” he raised his eyebrows, then sat down next to me on the blanket. As I continued to read the game description, I felt his cold, wet skin touch my arm and gasped as something much warmer but just as wet touched my shoulder. I reflexively turned my head to the side, and the first thing I noticed was that his face was too close to mine, and the second that his tongue touched my skin, which he pulled back between his white teeth at that moment.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a completely screwed up, breathless voice.

Noah blinked at me, water dripping from his hair onto my thigh, then he simply shrugged.

“You told me something about a dog.”

It took some time for my foggy mind to understand his words, but that didn't change the fact that this little thing had pushed me to the edge of the abyss. What the hell got into me anyway? Noah could tell that I wasn't going to laugh at him—because I must have had some hideous big tangle in my brain—so he took the little box out of my hand, cleared his throat, and backed away a little.

“Jolly hated this, he wanted to overturn the table when Jesse and I sat down to play. He already had a beer or two, but he is too down to earth anyway,” he explained with a small smile as he took the cards out of the box. “The cards are numbered from one to one hundred. Shuffle them, and in the first round we both get a card. The task is to stack the cards from our hands in ascending order without seeing the other's numbers. In the next round, we are dealt two cards, so four numbers must be lined up, but you know only yours. And so on.

“So… we have to rely on our intuition?” I asked, glad that I managed to distract myself so quickly from what happened two minutes ago.

"Something like that," Noah smiled as he shuffled the cards in his hands. “And we have to tune in to each other,” he added.

I remembered the days when we lived together and without thinking we would complete each other's sentences, raise the glass to our mouths at the same moment, or simply look at each other and smile at something while we were together. It still happened, but significantly less often than before.

Noah dealt the single hand we started with, and I felt that with a number three there was a pretty good chance I would have to fold as soon as possible, so I did. Noah triumphantly rolled his forty-two and we won the round without a problem. Our first problem was on the third lap. I put down a nineteen and my next number was fifty-seven, so I waited. Noah looked up at me several times, then bit his lip, wrinkled his nose a little, and waited. I pushed the sunglasses up into my hair, and I swear, with all my strength, with every cell, I was trying to get the inspiration to reach him. The next moment, we both couldn't hold back our laughter.

“How long are we waiting?” I asked with a dramatic sigh, clutching the remaining two cards.

“I could ask that too,” he answered me while trying to stare penetratingly without blinking with those deep, dark eyes. I glanced down at my cards, then back at him. Noah raised one eyebrow, and I saw a drop of water fall from his hair, run down his shoulders and pectoral muscles, his stomach, touch the patterns on his skin, and then melt into the fabric of his swimming trunks. I took out the fifty-seven and hit the nineteen that I had laid down before. Noah sighed. I tried hard to read his face, but he remained completely unreadable.

"Hm… that was close," he remarked, and I waited more and more impatiently to find out if we could go any further or if it was game over. I didn't think it could be this exciting.

"Come on, Noah," I finally told him when I couldn't take it anymore.

Another sigh and he finally put down the card he was holding, which was fifty-eight. Then he was already grinning like a maniac and raised his hand so that we could slap our palms together.

We failed in the sixth round and when we started again we managed to make it to the seventh.

“We're showing an improving trend?” I shrugged as I put the cards back in the box because Noah wanted to dip again.

“And it's much, much more fun to play with you than with the non-stop whining Jolly. That's stupid ,” he exaggerated Jolly's Swedish accent. “Who invented this game? And whose idea was it to play with this? Does anyone have this working? Noah, right now I can't decide if you're going to kill me, fuck me, or just scream at me with your eyes. I don't like either option.”

I laughed so hard at the perfect performance that I even shed a tear. Noah looked at my reaction with satisfaction, then nodded towards the lake.

“Are we going?”

“Let's go,” I said when I could speak from laughing. When I was up to my knees in water, my good humor waned a little, and I wrapped my arms around myself and stepped further in, as if to protect myself from the cold. Noah had long ago submerged and was lying a few meters away on the surface of the water waiting for me to catch up. When the water licked my stomach, I took a deep breath and submerged up to my neck to get over the worst part. Noah grinned as he watched me gasp for air, straighten up again, and then when I took the second dive, it didn't seem nearly as cold.

“We should have brought the ball,” he remarked when I got to him. He ran his hands back through his hair, which now looked almost black as it clung to his head and neck, then spread his arms and ran his palms along the surface of the water. His tattoos glistened wetly in the sunlight.

“And now what will we do without the ball?” I asked him. I didn't mind that there wasn't much we could do, so at least we'd get out of the lake sooner.

Noah looked at me, his eyes darting to my chest and upper arm, then his lips curled into a smile.

“Let's watch you get goosebumps, your mouth watering, and you turn into a block of ice in the heat.”

“What kind of friend would watch this idly?” I pretended to be indignant.

"Pretty shitty friend, for sure, so we have to do something," he answered mysteriously and took a step towards me. At first, only our feet met somewhere under the water, then as he straightened up, I found myself face to face with his neck, the tattoo of the forbidden fruit on his skin. I wasn't short either, but Noah still towered over me easily, and since we were so close together, I had to tilt my head back to see his face. Now there was enough light to count his freckles. And meanwhile I was thinking why we are in this situation for the second time in a day, Noah gently reached around my waist and pulled me closer. His skin was much hotter than mine, and I felt the physical contact start to warm me.

“Okay, maybe you're not such a shitty friend after all,” I teased him with a smile.

“If you knew what was going through my mind right now, you would definitely have a different opinion.”

The smile disappeared from my face as I blinked at him because the sun was right in my eyes and I begged him to explain what he meant with my gaze. I'm sure he saw my incomprehension, but didn't want or couldn't deal with it. I raised my arm to pull my sunglasses off from the top of my head, but Noah grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go.

“Don’t. Your eyes are incredible in this light.”

He had said the same thing to me before, but now the difference was in the way he said it. His voice was like liquid honey, a half-whisper, full of emotion and heat. It's nowhere near like when we used to be friendly and try to instill some confidence in each other before a silly date.

He may not have intended it as a distraction, but it still succeeded. The right thing to do would have been to push him away from me right away, instead I grabbed his broad shoulders with my hands. Who do I want to lie to? I could never refuse him. Noah's dark eyes locked with mine for a few moments, then his gaze drifted to my mouth. He swallowed, his Adam's apple moving up and down under his skin stitched with colorful inks. I wanted to lick his neck all the way. When I had this thought, I knew I had to do something to get out of this vortex. I couldn't have pushed him away, so I chose a different path. I leaned even closer to him, put my face on his shoulder and hugged him, just to get back to friendly gestures at least a little. Noah's fingers tightened around my waist, then slowly relaxed into the embrace. I could feel how fast his heart was beating and I wondered if mine was in a similar state. If we stay in a hug for a long time, do our hearts pick up the rhythm of the other just because they are physically close? Such silly thoughts were running through my head while my body was floating in complete numbness. We spoke at the same time, although I didn't even know what I wanted to do with it, I just felt that I had to say her name to see if we would sober up.

“Maya… “

"Damn…" Noah's shoulders tensed, then he took a step back and gently removed my arms around his body. ”You're going to get cold, we should go outside…,” he said in a choked voice, staring into the distance, avoiding my eyes.

I could only nod, because as he let go, I felt again how cold the water was. Noah immediately headed for the beach and upon reaching he grabbed his towel and then stepped into his slippers. I watched with furrowed brows, still frozen in the lake, as he walked towards the house.

When he got out of the view, the thought hit me like a train. What the hell happened? Even if only a little, we successfully crossed the line that should never have been crossed. But then why did it feel so right? I thought about Noah's forbidden fruit tattoo and had to laugh at the connection. Then I remembered his voice and his confused movements before he stepped away and left me alone. It was eerily similar to the moments before a panic attack.

"Shit…" I muttered to myself now as I waded through the water towards the shore, beating myself up for the fact that it had been minutes until I realized Noah needed me. When I got out, I grabbed the blanket and towel, then started towards the house. My pants were dripping with water, I was completely frozen, but nothing was important except to make sure Noah is okay.

As soon as I entered the house, I heard the water running in the bathroom, so I immediately went there. I knocked impatiently and called his name, but nothing. I didn't think much before I pushed down the door handle. It was very steamy inside and Noah's bathing suit was lying on the floor. He was already in the shower, I could make out somewhat even in the steam, and the water was running loudly, which is probably why he couldn't hear me looking for him. I took a calming, deep breath because he seemed to be okay. It suddenly seemed silly that I panicked so much about him acting strangely, so I tried to quietly back out of the bath, the crumpled blanket still clutched in front of me. I didn't want to explain why I broke the door on him, I just wanted to sneak into my room, under the covers, to warm up and to get my thoughts in order. But it turned out that life had other plans.

I was already at the door when I heard Noah. His voice almost blended into the sound of the rushing water, but I could make out the soft whimper because it wasn't the first time I'd opened in the bathroom when I shouldn't have. It was a slightly higher voice than his speaking tone, followed by a deeper moan. The little fluffs on the back of my neck were standing up, and I was flooded with heat from head to toe. I was no longer cold at all.

I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could and walked into my room like a zombie. I took off my sunglasses and ran my fingers through my hair, gripping the strands a little, hoping the pain would sober me up. My brain finally started working, but instead of solutions and reassuring answers, it just created more questions. What happened between my best friend and me in the lake? Did we really almost kiss? How long have we been dancing on this line? Did this all just start yesterday? Why did Noah run into the house? Did I cause all this…? And when I finish to think about such things, I'm able to pay attention to my own body functions… Why do I feel like I'm going crazy if I don't touch myself?

I raised my waist and impatiently tore off the wet swimming trunks. I looked down between my legs as if it wasn't clear what was going on down there, but I guess I needed that to really believe it. Then I didn't think much anymore, I just did what my body dictated. When I took my hot throbbing cock in my fist, my head fell back on the door. From then on, I was completely guided by instinct and habit, as if I was competing with how I could come as soon as possible. I think I was afraid that if I didn't focus on the physical part of it, my mind would wander and I'd mentally end up back in the lake with Noah. Or in the bathroom, which must have been even more covered in steam since then. But I was not willing to allow myself all this, because I felt I would cross the invisible border that I had been avoiding for some time.

I thought about Maya's breasts, how good my cock looked between her full lips. For a moment, Noah's thinner, pink mouth pops in as he looks at me with his dark, soul-piercing eyes. I let out a soft whimper of helplessness like an animal in pain. I tried to recall what it feels like to be in my girlfriend when she cums, squeezes, and is fucking wet… and in the meantime, Noah appeared in my mind, lying under me, his neck stretched back and his lips parted in a soft moan.

I was done in about two minutes. I put my free forearm in front of my mouth to muffle my moans and didn't notice that I slipped to the ground as I trembled. It was as if I was under the influence of some drug, because moments were missing. I didn't even remember the warning sign that radiated from my spine to my lower abdomen every time before orgasm, it just happened, and it came so unexpectedly that I couldn't even prepare for it. I wasn't really the master of my own body for the first time since I was a teenager. Panting, I stared at my hand and rolled it in disbelief, as if there was anything strange about being all sticky after masturbating. The sperm had also got everywhere, and I looked at the traces with furrowed brows. Irritated, I reached for my wet swimming shorts to wipe myself off, and that's when I saw the card game sticking out of the lakeside blanket, lying half on the wooden floor, half still wrapped in the fabric, as if laughing at me.

“Tuning into each other, huh?” I growled into the silence of the room, completely out of breath.

As I sat there totally naked on the floor, waiting for my breathing to normalize a little, my eyes wandered to my dirty feet. Then something popped in my mind. I left my slippers at the lakeside and didn't even notice until I got there. I jumped up so fast I felt a little dizzy and went straight to my bag to dig out a pair of clean pants and a t-shirt. I have rarely been as tense as in those moments. I put on my other slippers, which I usually shower in less posh hotels, and walked out the door. I don't know why I was surprised that Noah had finished his…shower and all that in the meantime. He was standing in the hallway in a pair of shorts with a mop bucket, looking at me curiously as I stormed out of my room.

“Everything is alright?” he asked me, confused. “You look like you've seen a ghost.”

Nothing was fine, but then why was he acting like this day was completely normal? Because after all, nothing happened between us. Nothing, just the harmless play and teasing of two good friends. Everything that showed beyond this was only born in my brain. I suddenly felt ashamed of myself for being so upset and tried to calm myself down. I closed my eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and counted to three.

“Of course, I just forgot my slippers on the lake shore.”

“Oh, I see.” Noah raised one of his eyebrows, smiling. I looked down at the ground, then I finally realized, why does he have a mop bucket with him. “Don't worry, probably no frog has touched it yet. It would be a big fit for them.”

I had to smile at this, because Noah's honest cheerfulness was always contagious.

“Jolly called anyway. Folio arrived a few hours ago, so maybe we should head back tomorrow. Now we can do some rehearsal together.”

“Great,” I answered completely resignedly, because I felt that the company of the others would be particularly good, but at the same time I regretted that our time with Noah alone would pass.

"I'm making dinner today," Noah added, then soaked the mop in the water.

"Great," I said again. "If you would like, I'd be happy to finish cleaning up," I offered him, but Noah just shook his head.

“Don't worry about it, I'm almost done. I just have to clean up the muddy footprints in front of the bathroom.”

Fortunately, he couldn't see my face, which was contorted in pain, because he was already focused on the floor, and I found the moment perfect to slip away before I made an even bigger fool of myself.

[cookinguptales]

well, how about this, while I wait for the roofers to come fix the mess they made of my ceiling. just so I can feel like I'm doing something productive.

since my savings are now significantly smaller than they were a week and a half ago, I guess now's a good enough time as any to start talking about some half-decided plans I have for this upcoming story I've been writing, and perhaps other original stories as well if this goes well.

while I'm still going to be posting the bulk of my work on AO3 like I usually do, I think I'm also going to be launching a patreon!

here's the soft plan, though I'm still working out details:

serialize this story at a chapter each week, which will probably take a few months overall.

chapters will be posted to AO3 the same day every week, and a week early on patreon.

extra material will also be on patreon, from author commentary to essays on historical/mythological background that's going into the story to extra fics that will be a few thousand words each. (or... so.)

the main story will fully stand alone. extra scenes will be like... stuff happening from other POVs offscreen, flashbacks, a sappy post-story fic, etc.

after the story is fully done being posted, an ebook version of the story will be made available to patrons with thanks, etc. to everyone who supported the project.

??? repeat?? m/m minotaur story this time, f/f witch who owns a familiar animal shelter story next time. lmao

part of me is still like "no, no one will pay money to support your writing" but like. I've seen worse writers than me make money, I guess, so why not try? it's not like it can hurt, and it can be fun to experiment with new methods of distribution sometimes.

I'll probably post a survey once I've finished the rough draft of the fic so I can plan out the finer details, but that's my basic plan. I want to write the whole fic and edit it before I start posting anything, and at the rate I'm going... I'm aiming for the beginning of May? it's at about 70k rn, and I'm thinking it probably has about 10-20k to go.

so I guess we'll see!!!

in the meantime, if you are a person who is interested in any of this and you have feedback about the project, feel free to lmk! anon or logged in, either is fine. lemme know if there are any patreon perks you'd like to see or if you have ideas about pricing/tiers/etc.

I'm very new to this so I'm open to ideas and opinions!

fingers crossed. lmao

[hottakehoulihan]

Setanta

Characters behave recognizably canonically: Yes Not abandoned incomplete: Complete. Engaging (Funny/cool/thoughtful/feels): Yes. All. Do I recommend it: Absolutely. Curbstomp, Cuddles, Crack, Cyoot: No. Maybe call this "artfic."

This is a post-GM fic that was written prior to Ward being conceived. It's canon-compliant. Also? It's great stuff. I'm not sure what my top wormfic would be if I ranked them, but this is probably in my top three.

This story focuses on original characters in the Worm setting. Only a small handful of the parahumans from Worm get roles in the story. You'll see a fair bit from Tattletale, Bitch, Defiant, and a dozen others you'll recognize (or could recognize), but the protagonist and his inner circle are different people.

The stakes are still high, though, and this story aims to be a serious work of fiction with the same blend of tragedy, adventure, comedy, and thought as usual.

I could use fluff after this last week, but I did enjoy having a work with substance. ...and it's also substantially lengthy; it has multiple arcs. I've been reading it at bedtime for a few weeks now.

Baseline premise is that our protagonist Jordan--who has some injuries, neurological and physical--from a period of his childhood he can't remember well and who got lots of medical aid at The Orphanage school (a pretty great place, sounds like) which helped him break out of his catatonia.

Jordan's focus since that point has been devoting his every effort to becoming A Hero, and he's what some might call inhumanly good at it because he's got his own mind broken and reformed in ways that help.

Alas, he doesn't seem to be triggering with parahuman powers. Frustrating, that. Still, he's remarkably effective. ..and there are some shadowy forces that have plans for him, which will eventually have world-shaking consequences.

...

This work is VERY good--IMHO--and it is sometimes fun. That is praise, and it is also a caution. I read much of this at bedtime (I've been busy) and, well,

I encountered an advice-to-authors once that said "if you're leaving clues for your readers that you intend them to pick up on, a good rule of thumb is to leave three times as many clues as you think they'll need. ...because you're the author, so the clues stand out more obviously to you than they will to the reader."

(and also, the days of reading as Nabokov would have us--with a dictionary, a pen and notepad, and a good memory--are not days most of us are living. I do not take notes as I read for fun, and I do not control the remember. If I always use and seldom need a dictionary, it's only a fruit of my misspent youth.)

The author (Ritic) also doesn't intend you to pick up on some of the clues. Like, ever. Just as IRL; some things are destined to be mysteries.

Anyway.

I read this on SpaceBattles and that's what I linked because I can't easily find this story on WordPress where it ostensibly primarily resides. For some reason it's not on AO3, which is what I'd otherwise urge people to read it on.

My 'rating system' for these wormfic reviews is sort of a four-star system, I guess, with zero, full, or half marks for one of the four (green) categories I've chosen to measure. ...but if I were giving this story marks on a percentage scale? It'd be at or above 90%.

Just recall that it's trying to be both a spiritual and a canon-compliant successor to Worm. You'll have a use for popcorn, but also for your staring-into-space-dumbly couch. (You have one of those too, right? It's not just me?)

Ah; I'm never gonna be a good advertiser. I sincerely endorse this story. As another bit of praise? I seldom was able to consistently predict what the story was about to do. I don't hate predictability--and indeed the next wormfic I read I hope will be fluffy and predictably squee-inducing--but this was a pleasantly mentally-engaging romp that had me gasping out loud sometimes at various surprises.

4/4 and I'll reread it eventually. ...and it's not impossible I'll take notes because there are things I'm still trying to figure out.

[incandescentflower]

cherry magic th prompt:

15 soothing kisses

10 hiding their face in the other's neck

14 putting an arm around the other's waist

14 grabbing hand to show them something

thanks for the prompts, zee! these are all such good ones! and when I see soothing, I can't help but want to write Achi taking care of Karan.

this went a little long so I could fit all these lovely prompts in. :)

I hope you like it!

This is part of a Cherry Magic Thailand fic ask game I'm playing while the show airs. Send me a prompt from one of the lists and I'll write you a ficlet! Details are in this post.

I have a few more prompts I'm still working on. Thank you to everyone who sent some along!

This is also on AO3 here. The other prompt ficlets in this series are here. (yes, I named the series "with you, everything is magic" just like new's song. yes, this is definitely a sign of my current mental state)

a special something

Karan knew so much about Achi. He seemed to log every detail Achi ever intentionally or accidentally shared about himself and he used them to constantly show how much he thought and cared about Achi. He was still a little dumbfounded that Karan knew him so well and still wanted to be close to him, but Achi had even gotten used to the little ways Karan took care of him.

In the beginning, Achi didn’t know Karan to the same extent. If someone had made Achi answer quickly what Karan liked - the most accurate thing Achi could answer was, well, him. And now, he could not simply just listen to Karan’s thoughts to learn more about him. He had to make the effort.

So he had made it his assignment to spend more time learning about Karan in the same ways as he had Achi. It wasn't too difficult, but it did require not letting Karan distract Achi with the attention he gave him. Once he put his mind to it, he discovered a few things he hadn't noticed before. For example, Karan enjoyed a warm cup of tea after every staff meeting no matter the season. Achi found out that the tie Karan had let him wear was one of his lucky ties that he would wear whenever he had a big client presentation. For example, Karan enjoyed a warm cup of tea after every staff meeting no matter the season. He found out that the tie he had let Achi wear was one of his lucky ties that he would wear whenever he had a big client presentation.

Achi had already known that Karan liked vanilla, in all ways. In the flavor, in the smell. Vanilla cakes, vanilla frosting. Achi kind of loved it because for someone so interesting, Karan loved something most people would see as ordinary. But when asking more about it, Achi discovered that Karan's appreciation for vanilla wasn’t ordinary. Karan seemed to know everything anyone could know about vanilla and could tell you all about how unique the variations in flavor could be if you paid attention.

Achi felt satisfied not only learning these things about Karan, but also by the fact that each thing he discovered felt right. He would think that's so Karan, because Achi had started to really know him too.

Not everything he discovered about Karan was a fun little fact. Sometimes it was something Achi never knew that was really important. He was surprised to discover the most stressful day of the week for Karan was usually Thursday because twice a month on that day he had a call with their most demanding customer. No matter how calm Karan looked on the outside, if it didn't go well, he would spend the last hour of that day writing plans for the next meeting in his notebook.

So on a Thursday when Achi knew it was a call day with that client, he took Karan out for a meal. Karan didn’t seem particularly stressed at first, but Achi had learned to look for the signs. Karan was a little quieter, a little more lost in his own head. His jaw looked tense and he clenched his hand into a fist, until he noticed and forced himself to relax momentarily, until it happened again.

It confirmed for Achi this was the day to put his plan into action. He suggested they go relax at Karan's condo after dinner. Karan looked tired, but he agreed easily. When they entered Karan’s apartment, he immediately went into host mode, asking Achi if he wanted a drink. Achi had been there countless times before so it was silly that Karan still treated him like a guest.

Instead of allowing him to wait on Achi, he held his hand out to Karan and said, “I’ve got something to show you.”

Karan seemed confused, but he took Achi’s hand and followed him over to the couch. 

“I know you had your tough client call today so I made you something for days like this," he said as they both sat down.

“How did you know I had a tough client today?” Karan asked.

“Because I pay attention to you,” Achi said and grabbed Karan’s hand. He took Karan's palm and spread it out, relaxing it. “And you had this fist clenched all dinner.”

“Oh,” he said, relaxing his hand. “I’m fine, really.” He gave Achi a half smile. 

Achi narrowed his eyes at Karan. He was so impossible sometimes. “Well, that’s too bad because what I have here is for someone who maybe isn't actually fine.”

“What? What is it?” Karan asked, perking up. 

Achi had his hand in his backpack, as if he was going to pull something out. He made a show of thinking really hard about it. “I don’t know. Is there someone here who could use a pick-me-up?”

“Okay, yes, fine, Achi. I would like a pick-me-up, very much so.”

“Was that so hard?” he asked.

“Incredibly,” Karan said, but he sounded very fond.

Achi pulled a small rectangular basket out of his bag and put it on the table. He tilted his head toward it, an invitation for Karan to take a look. Karan beamed and reached for it. Achi couldn’t help but feel so very pleased with his reaction. 

Karan dug into the basket, picking up each item and looking it over carefully. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“You do this kind of thing for me all the time.”

“You really didn’t have to do this, Achi.” 

“Yes, I did, Karan. I can take care of you, too.”

He grasped Achi’s hand and squeezed it. “Thank you.”

“But that’s not everything,” Achi said.

“Oh?”

“Each item comes with a special something. Which do you want first?”

Karan tilted his head. “Can I know what they are?”

Achi shook his head. “Nope, they’re surprises. Pick one tonight. Then you can save the others for later.”

“Okay,” he said, “but you know I’m greedy.”

“Just pick.”

Karan investigated the items again and finally picked out a small bottle of essential oil. He made a thoughtful face as if he might return it, but then held it out to Achi. “This one.”

Achi took the bottle. “This is a good one,” he said. “Very good choice.”

“Thank you,” Karan said, looking pleased.

“Come here,” Achi directed, beckoning him forward. 

Karan scooted himself closer. Achi opened the bottle and dabbed a little on each of his thumbs and pressed them to Karan’s temple. He massaged each side of his head lightly. Karan’s eyes fluttered closed at the touch, his breath slowing.

Achi moved his thumbs down the side of Karan's face, carefully massaging each point of contact. The oil had the lightest scent of vanilla. Although it was Karan’s favorite, Achi knew he did not like it if it was too strong, so he had spent some time trying to find the one that seemed pleasant, but not too powerful.

Karan inhaled, his shoulders relaxing. “That’s nice,” he said. 

Achi moved his hands slowly down to Karan’s neck, sliding his hands around the back, where he knew Karan kept so much tension. Karan melted into it, his head lolling as Achi gently rubbed the back of Karan’s neck with his fingers. 

Karan groaned softly, Achi giving a little more attention to that spot in response. After a few minutes of this, Karan exhaled deeply and opened his eyes. He cradled Achi’s face in return. “I’m so lucky,” he said, a dreamy look on his face.

Achi could so easily be distracted by this. That’s what Karan did, pulled Achi into him, made him feel so warm and loved and special. But this wasn’t supposed to be about Achi.

“Who said I was done?” he said, giving Karan a playful frown. 

“Oh? Something more?”

“If something hurts you, Karan, I want to be the one to make you feel better. Can you let me do that for you?”

“Okay,” Karan agreed, still watching Achi with intense curiosity.

Achi pulled Karan’s face toward him into a gentle kiss. It was a kiss with intention, one to show Karan how much Achi wanted to be someone who he could count on, who he could lean on, who could be his partner in all ways. 

Achi moved his lips slowly, but attentively, interspersing brief, light kisses with longer, deeper kisses. When Achi finally pulled back, Karan looked completely taken over with an absolutely goofy grin on his face.

“Now I’m done,” Achi said, satisfied.

“Oh no, not yet,” Karan said, putting his arm around Achi’s waist and pulling him back toward him. Karan returned Achi's kisses in equal measure while holding him tight.

They continued to kiss like this, softly, gently, just holding each other, until they were exhausted and breathless. When they broke off from one another, Karan shifted to bury his face in Achi’s neck, tightening his grip yet again. 

“Thank you for making this a much better day,” he said, muffled into Achi’s shoulder.

“Anytime,” he said, stroking Karan’s hair.

“Do I really have to wait for another bad day to find out what the other special things are that come with my gifts?” he asked, raising his head and giving Achi his best pleading eyes.

“Yes, you do,” Achi said, staying firm.

“I feel like I might have a streak of bad days ahead of me.” 

Achi knew Karan was teasing, but Achi would love nothing more than to have Karan tell him if he was having a difficult time. And even if Karan used this playfully to get Achi's attention, Achi could also use it as an excuse to ask him about the toughest parts of his day.

No matter what, Achi felt like this was a good step forward.

“If you do," Achi said. "I’ll be here to take care of you.”

[fountainpenguin]

The Hermitcraft Guess the Author event reveals pieces tomorrow, and I have a post scheduled about that, which will post on Monday.

Notes:

- If you subscribe to me on AO3, you won't get an email when the collection is revealed tonight, but you will get an email next week when anonymity is removed. I've include the collection link in my post for tomorrow

- My goal is that next week, I'll try to put my Guess the Author content in the appropriate MCYT series I have on AO3 so that people subscribed to the series will get the notification when stuff reveals, but I can't promise that (as we're not allowed to have things in series in advance and I'd have to time it right before emails go out, which is unlikely).

-> So, those subscribed to me as an author on AO3 will get the email while those only subscribed to series likely won't.

- I'm still updating 4 'fics on their usual schedule at this time, and these things sometimes overlap update days (Ex: Life of a Loser is posted every other day). If subscribed to me as an author, you may receive an AO3 email with multiple pieces in it

- In conclusion, since things are likely to be overlooked or lost, I'll make posts later in July or August to recap my posted content (Ex: Individual 'fic post for new content & a little recap for each of the 'fics that are still on their schedules)

tl;dr - If you're interested in reading my stuff, worry not about it getting lost! I will post separate alerts on Tumblr in July/August and spotlight individual things so they don't get buried, and my AO3 link is in my pinned post if you ever want it.

There is no time limit on finding serotonin, so read at your own leisure if you see multiple things that interest you.

[rescue-ram]

💕, 🥳, 💡, 🔮

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

Of the fics I consider Finished, I'm shouting out Making the Most of It. REALLY happy with how that came out :)

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

I think I was in 3rd grade, maybe 2nd- I typed "Digimon Stories" into Google and was delighted to find stories about my favorite show. I was so little I didn't totally understand how to navigate websites, and thought you just got 20 random stories every day, so you can imagine my :D when I discovered the "next" button and how to use the search feature lol. I don't remember my first fic exactly, but I wrote it after the movie came out and it was some insane Digimon crack fic lol.

I just really wanted to make up my own stories about my favorite stories, and I've always had an affection for plucky guys I felt got done wrong by fandom and wanted to do better to make people understand why I loved them so much- I wrote fanfic about Davis from Digimon and Boromir from LOTR. The only fic I left up on FFnet was an HP fic that I might port over to AO3 and revise, and maybe finish or at least add authors notes of my outline, because I do mostly like what I had, but for Obvious Reasons have not been super motivated to write for that fandom in recent years lol.

💡How many WIPs do you currently have?

Oooh okay, a lot of things in the hopper, let me categorize:

Actively Working On

Truly unhinged Hawnk fic for kinktober kfkfkfk

The Courage To Be

Star Wars fic 'Resolute'

Actively Pondering/Nibbling On

CharHawk Fake Dating

HouliHawk role play fail

Two age play fics that are similar in tone, one CharHawk and one Hawkahy- not sure if either will get finished, but don't think I'll write both, so pondering options

Hawkeye "turns into a cat" gen fic

Hawkeye Goes To California and BJ Goes To Maine at the same time without telling the other and swap lives for about two weeks.

Two post-war fics, one that is a sequel to Making the Most of It and one that's more focused on Daniel and Hawkeye's relationship, although BJ and Trapper are both there. Pretty distinct, but with enough overlap I need to pick one to prioritize to make sure I don't write too similar of scenes between them.

Soft Hibernation

The next part of my Rescue Bots fic- I know what the next bit will be, touched the doc last month, but not actively working on it

Under the Banner of Heaven case fic/undercover in a gay bar fic. Haven't worked on this in a few months, but I still really like the idea

Hibernation

X-Men Band AU. Been over a year since I worked on it, although I have a pretty good outline for a lot of what needs writing

1920s X Men AU. Soft abandoned, I remember some of my ideas for this but don't think I'll write it.

Succession KenStewy fic. I have some scenes and an outline, but it's hard to get in these assholes (affectionate) POV...

Captain America Clone Fic I haven't touched in almost a decade now god help me. Functionally abandoned but I still think on it occasionally kgkdjdkd.

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

Keep pondering, keep nibbling, and don't be afraid to shelve an idea and come back to it later. Fanfic is supposed to be for fun after all lfkdjjd

I have found it helpful to make the world's worst outline to act as a kind of checklist document and help connect scenes of I get stuck at one point and need to skip ahead a little.

I also like to try and focus on an emotional vibe to carry the fic, which helps get in the characters head so I can get in that trance state where the little guys are Doing Things and I just have to write it down kfjdjf. Sometimes I have an idea I like but it takes some pondering to find an emotional angle to connect with the character that makes sense as to why they are Doing The Plot, so nailing that angle before I commit to writing helps...

If I start getting bogged down in research I do the "five link" rule, where I only let myself read five things about the topic, try and cobble together enough of an explanation to pass a sniff test, then move on kgkrkrkdj

Also with skipping, the Sticking Point comes when I get too far ahead and then lose motivation for the part I was writing. Trying desperately to avoid this with my two multi-parters rn jdkdjd. Only letting myself write one or two scenes ahead helps a little...

[writer-and-thrasher]

Fic in Review 2023

Thanks to @trentcrimminallybeautiful for the tag! I'm (fucking hopefully) starting to get over being so deeply ill after two whole weeks, so I decided it was the time to do this! Yay!

tagging: Literally anyone who wants to, plus I'll tag @providing-leverage, @jamietarttdoodoodoodoo, and @trentcrimmisgay (sorry if you've already been tagged or if it's too late, my brain is rebooting)

Total Number of Completed Stories:

I completed 8 fics this year (1 for Dimension 20 and 7 for Ted Lasso)!!! It's way more than I planned to write in a year, especially given that four of them are over 10k words and I genuinely didn't think I was gonna write any fanfic this year. All in all, I'm really really proud of how much I've written!

Total Word Count: AO3's word count put me at 63,919, which... woah. The one D20 fic I wrote this year wasn't even 2k words, which means that I wrote over 60k words of Ted Lasso fanfic in 6 months. I didn't start writing for TL until June, which honestly makes me even prouder and more excited for tackling stuff next year!

Fandoms Written In: Ted Lasso, almost exclusively. I've also written for Dimension 20, and I figure I will more when Fantasy High: Junior Year releases, but for now I'm on a pretty big TL kick.

Looking back did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expect: I expected to write way less than this! I'd hoped I'd write some, but nothing was really grabbing ahold of me until Ted Lasso crashed into my brain.

What’s your own favorite story of the year, personally?:

Ooh, that's really tough. I'll split it into two because I can't choose:

In my Dichotomy series (I'm just really proud of it tbh), my favorite of the fics was The Dichotomy of a Captain, aka Roy's perspective. It felt the truest to any of them, though I continue to try to stay true to all of them. It's also the first of the fics in this series that made me realize I really could finish the series.

My favorite one-shot of the year is probably Out of Practice, if only because sometimes I get WIP ideas and rarely follow through, but I worked hard to finish this one. And also, I really like watching through Isaac's eyes as he learns stuff about his best friend.

Did you take any writing risks this year?: Honestly, I think the fact that I came back and started writing again was my biggest risk of the year. I wasn't really sure of my voice or style, and it was intimidating to come back and keep writing, but the community made a world of difference.

Do you have any fanfic goals for the New Year?: I've got different WIPs I want to write, like finishing the Dichotomy series and a few series I have in the bank. I think more tangible goals are to get more comfortable with writing new scenes and being more comfortable with past tense. I've always been drawn to canon-explicit stuff, and for some reason, present tense has me in a headlock lmao

Best story of the year: I don't know that I can say anything is "objectively" the best, since fanfic is subjective as hell anyway, but I feel like The Dichotomy of a Captain is the one I feel is the best written. But that one is also my favorite, so I may just be biased.

Most popular story of the year: I'm stealing @trentcrimminallybeautiful's way of doing this because I think it's good, so shoutout

By kudos: "The Dichotomy of a Couch" with 268

By subscriptions: "The Dichotomy of a Couch" with 52 (This was originally going to be one work I wrote the series on, but someone suggested I turn it into multiple works in one series, and this one was first, so it has the highest)

By comment threads: "The Dichotomy of a Captain" with 14

By bookmarks: "The Dichotomy of a Couch" with 65

By hits: "The Dichotomy of a Couch" with 2604

Overall, definitely "The Dichotomy of a Couch", though I did admittedly post it first. But also, wow, these numbers are super humbling, and I'm honored that anyone has read and reacted to what I've written. It means the world for this fic (and my others) to be so kindly received.

Most personal story of the year: Most definitely Who Tells Your Story. No contest.

Funniest story of the year: Ooh, I genuinely made myself laugh while writing The Dichotomy of a Prick, so I'd have to say that one. It's the least serious, and writing Jamie's thoughts brought a smile to my face.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Mmm, I guess Who Tells Your Story.

Most fun story to write: I gotta go with The Dichotomy of a Prick again, it was a breath of fresh air between two very serious parts of this series and amidst other more serious one-shots.

Story with the sexiest moment: I genuinely don't write sexy fics, so the answer is going to be very silly. The best I've got is an illusion to a sexy moment in the past during The Dichotomy of a Prick, but Definitely nothing actually sexy lol

Sweetest story of the year: I gotta go with Who Tells Your Story again, considering that I wrote it for the sweet moment.

“Holy crap that’s wrong even for you!” story: I'm also gonna take this to mean angsty instead of scandalous and say The Dichotomy of a Captain

Hardest story to write: The Dichotomy of a Prick was hard to write on a more technical level as far as Jamie's POV went; I was really conscious about not fucking up his character or writing him too OOC. But considering how personal it was for me, Who Tells Your Story gave me some gut punches as I wrote it that made it hard emotionally.

Biggest disappointment: I think that some fics I liked didn't do as well as others that I didn't like as much, but I also know that my writing got better over time, so I'm really not dwelling on it.

Biggest surprise: Writing again in general, definitely, but also how much love I've gotten for things I've been really excited about. I fully didn't expect so much kindness (far more a me thing than anyone in this community, y'all are wonderful) and it's definitely inspired me to keep going. Y'all are amazing and I'm so grateful for all of you.

[claudiajcregg]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by both @mihrsuri and @unseenacademic 💜💜💜 Thank you so much! I actually wrote up most of the answers the day I was tagged, and then forgot to post them. For over 10 days, probably. Me bad.

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 23! (One of them is a 'collection' of short ficlets, and has 6 chapters. So 28 stories in 23 works so far. Probably about to be more stories in still 23 works.)

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 156,597 words. For now.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently? Just TWW. Who knows in the future!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

They have about 35% of my total kudos, but the first two are ~21% alone. (The first one is the only fic that has over 100 kudos. Then again, any of them getting above 30 is a miracle.)

maybe everything's just turning out how it should be (Big Block of Cheese 2008; CJ & Josh. Posted Feb 2021) [121]

say it's here where our pieces fall in place (Vignettes, 1998-2008. Posted Jan 2022.) [66]

just your smile lit a sixty-watt bulb in my house that was darkened for days (Thanksgiving 2006. Posted Dec 2022.) [55]

nobody knows how to get back home (Missing scene from ITSOTG. Posted April 2023) (wait what. top 4?!) [50]

we could be the way forward and I know I'll pay for it (B4A Campaign Fic, spring 1998. Posted May 2021) [47]

5. Do you respond to comments?

YES. I don't take them for granted, and I like interacting with my readers. Sharing is nerve-wracking and makes me feel so exposed, so any comment makes it worth it. I like to thank peeps for their time! As of late, it's taking me weeks to get back to comments for Brain/spoons reasons (and because I try to do so in order, though not always). I sometimes feel bad I have fallen behind on leaving my own comments, so replying to what I get makes me feel bad. I love getting the rare, long, thoughtful comments, because I love seeing what people pick up on (had to restrain myself from commenting on everything), so if that one's up next… It'll delay everything. I have a harder time letting go of those.

I know replying or not is a hot topic, and I fall on the side of 'whatever the author does is fine' (I see them as being voluntary gifts to the author, kinda, but I understand why some authors can't or won't reply! Especially those who get dozens.). It does feel weird(ly demoralizing) when you see that yours is one of a couple of comments they haven't replied to, though. (Selfishly, as someone who tries to write medium-long comments, lack of anything can sting. It's irrational, it's not what I'm after, but it'd be nice to know whether that hour plus of my time was worth it. It's not transactional and I hate that c4c idea or whatever. Just. weird feelings.)

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

As we've established in previous similar memes (lol, I think I've answered these questions before), my fics don't really have angsty endings! For the most part. I think I said don't want you to go but I'll be okay then, and I can still buy that/definitely popped into my brain. I think some of my late S7 fics have an ominous feel to them, with some references/buildup to the angsty parts of IM, but I wouldn't call them angsty endings.

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

Um. The opposite is true! still you never took your hand from mine was my first thought, but I feel like oh, and I will be with you to feel the California sun is pretty darn happy. I could have picked almost any of them and I could make a case for them!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I luckily do not. I have gotten a couple of comments that have messed with my brain, and made me second-guess things, but they were not hate.

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

Yes, but not regularly and not that well. It's usually short, mild scenes at most, but I did challenge myself to write a more explicit one last summer, especially after I got those 'one bed' tropes in the Wheel but didn't go there in the 500-word limit. Streets say it's hot. IDK. I also wrote a smutty continuation to the exchange fic. Best if we forget parts of that one happened. I also started writing one that would be in my S5 pregnancy universe but 🤐

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

I don't. But this question confirms to me I have answered this before because I know I've joked about how TV has already done that for me, lmao. See: Bones/Sleepy Hollow.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? (I had to track down this question because it wasn't anywhere.) I don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! I'm having déjà vu here. I know I have answered this before: I could do it myself! But I have a feeling it wouldn't be as easy as one might think, but I'd be honored.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I don't think so…? If I have, it was years ago, in my forum/LJ days. I've been trying to make it happen for a while now, but who knows if it'll ever happen. WE HAVE IDEAS. We want to make it happen. (Wink wink, nudge nudge. You know who.)

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

Spaceships are so cool. Atlantis was the first space shuttle I saw in person (and also the one I've seen the most) and it and its exhibit are awesome. I'm only missing Discovery out of the four space shuttles, because I didn't go to the second National Air and Space Museum location in Virginia back in 2015. And once the new exhibit center is completed, I'd love to see Endeavour again.

(In all seriousness, I don't have one. Booth and Brennan will forever and always hold a special place in my heart, but I love CJ and Danny so much, writing for them, their journey. Pls don't make me pick.)

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

I am a big 'never say never' person, because I end up picking stuff up (and maybe rewriting it to fit my current style/ability) if I remember an idea… But I'm guessing many of them won't get finished. Probably some of those that are deep in my notes app or on the drive.

16. What are your writing strengths? I (try to) dig into the emotion of a scene as best as I can.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Everything else? I know it sounds like an excuse (at least to my ears), but writing in your second language is hard. I know my writing sounds limited because of it – my descriptions will never be as evocative as I wish they were, my dialogue won't be there. I am not the most imaginative person, either.

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

If it makes sense, and won't take the reader out of the story, go for it! (A few words, or a line or two, might work if there's appropriate context.)

But also, as a non-native speaker, I'll always recommend using pals who might be fluent in that language and checking with them! I know that, throughout my many years in fandom, I've read quick things in Spanish within English fics that weren't entirely correct in the context they were being used (i.e. character's fluency, smaller details), and they took me out for a second. (I know, I know – pot, meet kettle. If anyone has read an unedited story of mine, they've found me making up English phrases.)

19. First fandom you wrote for? Bones. In Spanish. (I also think I wrote some ficlets in English that are probably hidden in some random LJ comm I created for my writing. They're probably 14-15 years old.)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I honestly cannot pick! And maybe it's yet to come. But basically, if I've gone through the embarrassment of having someone edit/beta a fic and catch all the avoidable mistakes, it's because it genuinely has something I like about it and that I think others will like, too. (Perceived quality aside.)

Off the top of my head, and out of the posted fics (obvious recency bias, sorry). I have a story for all 23… Also, let's consider I've mostly not read them since they were posted so I might be off. (Would love to hear what everyone's favorite is, if you've read any and are reading this!) Obviously, that top 5 by kudos has great ones. There's a reason

don't want you to go but I'll be okay: I just remember finishing it and knowing it was something special. Felt like many things coming together. I wanted to write angstier, a break from the endgame of the IM AU I've yet to post, and I think it works. I had had that quote as inspo for a while, and I think the trip to Berlin put it back on my mind. (The first haunted by the notion draft is from around this time, too!)

your love is a secret I'm hoping, dreaming, dying to keep: the structure is likely a tad repetitive, maybe (but also, the point of 3+1s, sort of?) but I love writing in that s7 period, and there should be more fic with the press corps. I think the stuff I wrote while editing (which included an overhaul of the +1) is even better than what was there.

oh, and I will be with you to feel the California sun: recency bias, yes. I love a good early Cali story, and even if this was nowhere the story I sat down to write originally, I love how it turned out. It's silly but fun, and so sunny.

still you never took your hand from mine: I will always have all the soft spots for my memoir stories, even if two of them have yet to be posted. This one doubled its size a year and a half after “finishing” it because I realized what it was missing. It's sappy, probably unrealistic re: the publishing industry, but damn it if it's not one of those that have made me cry while editing them.

we could be the way forward and I know I'll pay for it: I had to include an oldie but goodie from my first year, and this one is so special to me. (Along with BBC 2008, which I also absolutely adore. That was the fic I always wanted to post. Hilarious it was third. But it's also my most popular fic by a huge margin.) Seeing it recommended on Tumblr? God. I love campaign stories and all their potential. I love that I took a random line from some unposted story and it evolved into this fic.

nobody knows how to get back home: I almost added the most recent one because of how fun it was to write (or, as I mentioned above, Big Block of Cheese) but I like how bittersweet this missing scene one is. I find CJ's internal struggle so interesting to explore, and this is one of her most vulnerable moments. I also wanted to see a hug so badly.

[citrus-blade]

20 questions for Writers thing

I got tagged by the wonderful @mistythedritten! thank you!

How many works do you have on Ao3?

Sixteen! I added like 7 due to the Citrus Dreamnoblade Week lol

2. What is your word count?

250.818! honestly more than I thught lol

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Dream SMP! :] (I used to write for Good Omens on another account a bit ago but have abandoned this lol)

4. What are your top 5 fics? (stats)

I'll go by Kudos! :] Infinitesimal, Home, Treasure, Hiraeth - Part 1 and Chains! :]

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

I try to! Sometimes when I don't know what to comment and it would just be a 'thank you', that i already wrote 3 times to a different person I won't. usually I try to always bring something unique to a comment to show how much I appreciate them!

However, when someone comments on a fanfiction that has long been finished I usually don't reply cause I'm not sure if that would be seen as weird or not. I'm really insecure when it comes to replying comments cause I don't wanna be annoying

6. Angstiest ending for a fic?

Oof... i think it's Home (but it's more on the bittersweet one) or Time. But if you put them next to each other it's deffo Time. Hubert is also kinda angsty but the story is kinda fast paced that it doesn't feel angsty lol

7. First Fic with a Happy Ending?

Golden! My first ever DNB fic and therefore also the first one with a happy ending! :]

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Yeah! That's why I have to agree to comments for them to be public on my fanfictions! It's always anon and usually just people calling me names and slurs, trying to tell me what a horrible person I am lol

Can't really take this serious tbh

9. Do you write smut?

Yes! I really enjoy reading smut and also like writing it! I'm not good in it and I'm always frustrating a bit but I still enjoy it!

10. Do you write crossovers?

Ehhh, not really? But also yes...? I wrote a pokemon crossover, but I don't think that doesn't really count cause it's more an AU and none of the main characters of the anime/games appear except for Team Rocket. I think. I don't remember which villains I took, there are a lot.

I usually don't write crossovers because I'm unsure how good I can represent the other show. I'd love to write a Star Wars one or a Hogwarts one, but I am NOT into those movies and am too scared to write something that doesn't make sense. So usually I try to take apsects of those universes and try to turn it into my own kinda thing.

For example my Dragon Rider-AU that I am working on was supposed to be a Hogwarts AU with magic, but it kinda turned into it's own thing with focus on Dragons but still with magic! :D

11. Ever had a fic stolen?

Don't think so? If anyone ever sees any of my fanfictions somewhere that's not AO3 please tell me! But as far as I'm aware none was stolen! :]

12. Ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I think Infinitesimal was started to translate in two languages, but I'm not sure if that's still happening. I know some chapters were uploaded? And apparently someone wanted to translate Apocylapse into russian!

13. Ever co-written?

Nope! Don't really know how that works tbh lol

14. Favorite ship?

Dreamnoblade and DNF!

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but probably never will?

OOF. I have sworn to myself to always finish what I start to write so not sure. Some ideas probably will never happen, but usually when I start writing something I will finish it sooner or later, specially when I started posting it somewhere

16. Writing strenghts?

No clue, I don't know if I have a specific strength. Sometimes I like something I write and then I read it and hate it lol

17. Writing weaknesses?

FIGHT SCENES MY ABSOLUTE ENEMY!!!

18. Thoughts on dialog in another language in a fic?

I write in english but think about including german sometimes lol When Attack on titan can do it in their openings I can do it in my fanfiction! Usually I like it as long as the translation is given atp in the fanfiction! :D

19. First fandom you have written for?

OOF. Eeeehm. I think Good Omens. I orphaned all my stuff there though lol

20. Favorite fic you have written?

Infinitesimal and Home :] (I also like that pokemon one lol)

And that's it! That was fun! :]

I'm too insecure to tag someone so whoever wanna do this, do it! :]