#i'm LATE with this one which is hilarious because i came up with the idea months ago and told myself i was gonna get it done early

[magniloquent-raven]

the devil ain't a beast

Day 1 of @harringrove-flip-reverse-it: Found Family

(read on ao3)

**

Dear Steve,

If you’re reading this, I better be dead. I told you assholes not to open

It’s okay that you guys couldn't

Hey,

It’s weird writing this while you’re sitting right over there

Steve,

I just…wanted to say thank you. I never said it, after you stood up to Billy for me. For Lucas. I should have.

Thank you.

Not just for what you did that night, but everything after that. All the little things. The free movies and driving all of us around and letting me poach quarters out of your glove box (I know you noticed). I know I’m about to die so Maybe it’s stupid to be thinking about some change and a back entrance into the theatre when I’m under the circumstances, but it’s more about the fact that you didn’t have to do any of it.

I know Dustin strong-armed you into helping with the whole D’art situation, but after that you kept choosing to hang out with us, when I’m sure you could’ve found better things to do.

So. I hope you don’t mind that we all kind of see you as a big brother, because we do. I do. It was nice knowing what it’s like for people who aren’t scared to care about their siblings.

When Billy died I’m sorry for pulling away after Starcourt I couldn’t even handle losing the brother I sort of hated, so

Please keep looking after Lucas for me.

-Max

Billy never really learned to keep his nose out of other people’s business.

Maybe this will finally teach him.

The letter falls from his numb fingers, floating back into place on Steve’s desk, light as air and landing silently.

His grip on the page left it crumpled, wrinkled, sweaty fingerprints dented into the blank space below Max’s last words for Steve. Damning evidence that he’s been snooping around, not that Steve would normally care. What’s mine is yours, he said. And so far it seems he meant it.

The words leave a bitter taste in his mouth now.

But he never wanted Max to be his sister, did he. He always said as much. To anyone who would listen, including Max herself. It’s not surprising that she decided to replace him with someone better. His stare goes glassy, scattered papers and trophies and the yellow lamp all blur. His eyes sting.

He has no right to be hurt over this. It shouldn’t hit him like a punch in the gut, but it has, and he aches all over, swaying, nauseated.

And there’s not a damn thing he can do about it. That’s the worst part. He can’t make it better, there’s no fixing this, no patching things up with Max, no going back in time and beating the shit out of himself before he can ruin everything.

No one wanted to tell him, at first. After he clawed his way out of a fissure in the ground, blood and dirt under his nails, and scared the shit out of all of Max’s little nerd friends. She was conspicuously missing, and no one would tell him why.

Being trapped in hell for eight and a half months wasn’t as bad as finding out he was two days too late to ever talk to his sister again. At least when he was being attacked by monsters he could fight back. There’s no fighting this. There’s no excising his grief no matter how many times he bloodies his knuckles.

The sound of the front door being flung open echoes up the stairs. “I’m home!” Steve calls just barely loud enough to be heard, muted by exhaustion.

Billy goes rigid, tension coiling up his spine. It’s usually a relief when Steve comes back, after the quiet, the boredom of being cooped up in an empty house all day. He’s a bright spot, a comforting presence…

It’s not hard to see why Max preferred him.

Billy lets out a slow breath, and swipes at the wetness on his cheeks.

Familiar anger bubbles up in the back of his throat. So familiar it’s almost comforting. He’d rather be angry than blubbering like a child, wallowing in misery.

He’s tired of being second best. Never the favourite, never good enough.

He can’t do anything about how fucking inadequate he was, he can’t ever change enough to make it right, so what’s the fucking point, what’s the point of any of this.

It’s pressure behind his eyes now, tears blurring with something else, that rage that threatens to blind him. He can feel it in his fingertips, and coiled like a snake between his ribcage.

He has to get out. He has to just. Go. Before he breaks another thing that can’t be fixed.

He doesn’t look at Steve, doesn’t listen to his confused stuttering, and he barely feels their shoulders collide as he pushes past him, out the door.

[chuluoyi]

✎ treasure

- gojo satoru x reader

the strongest sorcerer meets his match in his petulant son, who inherits his six eyes and is having trouble with them

genre: taking care of your son with dad!gojo, fluff/comfort

note: AAAA i love this waaay too much!😭 this brilliant idea gave me baby fever so bad came from an anon who so energetically dropped by my askbox, thank you! and seeing this artwork by Yoon in twitter definitely gave me more ideas too!

a part of gojo's love entries

general masterlist

"No!"

"Why? This helps—"

"That's ugly! I don't want to look ugly—like you!"

Satoru blinked in utter disbelief, and you broke into the most satisfying fits of laughter. In front of him, standing tall and sullen and very much like him was his own son, now barely five years old.

Your boy mentioned that he had been experiencing discomfort in his eyes lately, which also caused him to become dizzy. And Satoru attempted to persuade him to use a blindfold like he did because it was effective.

However, as we can see, his son didn't take his suggestion well at all. His bright blue eyes, ones your husband passed down, bore an intense glare aimed squarely at him.

"I..." Satoru sputtered, his eyes twitching. The sight was comical as no one had ever managed to elicit such a reaction from him. And no one ever considered him an unattractive person too! "I'm not—"

"You are!"

Once again, you let out a triumphant cackle, and this time your husband shot you a glare. But you didn't care. All those years of tolerating his antics had paid off. His son had finally put him in his place!

When he was a baby, you thought your son was Gojo Satoru incarnate. He was the spitting image of him—with all gaits and expressions too. And you had worried if he would turn out to be just as much of a menace as he was.

But apparently, life has other sweet plans because like you, he was a relatively calm boy, diligent, and didn't like to make a fuss. Satoru argued that it was definitely in his genes—claiming he had also been a sweetheart when he was a child, but you couldn't quite imagine him being remotely as reserved as your son.

That aside, the cause of this hilarious exchange did actually make you worry a bit.

"Look, I know it probably looks odd," Satoru gestured at the blindfold in his hand, but your little boy still didn't seem convinced by the pout he displayed. "But it will help you, I promise. If only you would—"

Oh, but it was almost like karma because besides his appearance, the other trait your son inherited from your husband was his strong sense of winning.

His face reddened from sheer indignation, and he once again screamed, "I don't want to! I'll just cover my eyes with—" he took a nearby napkin and pulled them over his eyes, "—this!"

Satoru sighed in annoyance, and you decided to jump in. Crouching down next to him, you gently pried the napkin from his hand.

"Papa just wants to help you, okay?" you reasoned, cupping his plump cheeks. Gods, he used to be this round thing in your and Satoru's arms and now he was already this big. "He uses it everyday and he has no problems, see?"

"But it doesn't look good..." Your son drooped his head in disappointment, and you could feel Satoru rolling his eyes beside you, evidently miffed at the thought of him being less than good-looking.

Parenting is challenging, especially when your husband still holds onto some of his childlike tendencies. So you decided to end the discussion here.

It was later at noon, while you were in the kitchen preparing lunch when you heard your son's scream and something crashing. Your heart was in your throat as you rushed to the backyard, only to see something that made your heart lurch even more.

Your sweet boy was wailing on the ground, clutching his head, and Satoru—

His expression was as horrified as yours if not more, as he ran and caught your son in his arms, pressing him tightly against his chest as if shielding him from the sun altogether. "Shit. Hey, hey—buddy, you okay?”

Satoru lifted him up and carried him inside. You were right beside him as he settled on the sofa, gently hushing your son, who was still shaking and had his eyes covered against his chest.

"M-My head..." your son whimpered, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. "...h-hurts..."

"It's okay, it's okay..." he murmured, caressing the child's hair in a soothing manner, and it reminded you so much of what he would do to you in the early mornings. "I've got you now, nothing’s going to happen to you. Hang on a little longer, yeah?"

You felt warm tears threatening to well up in your eyes at the sight. It was heart-wrenching to see your son in such torment, and the way your husband was consoling him deeply touched you. It served as a poignant reminder of just how many years had passed from when Gojo Satoru was still that brat who used to mess with you during high school.

Soon, your little boy's breathing became even, and he went to sleep in Satoru's comforting embrace.

You looked at him while biting your lip, undiluted worry in your voice. "What should we do? He's been experiencing pain often lately..."

Satoru really wanted to wipe that expression from your face, but with his precious child clinging onto him for dear life, even he didn't have the heart to.

"Don't worry, I'll be with him," he assured, a plan already forming in his mind. "If he hates blindfolds that much, then I'll get him some pairs of glasses just like the ones I have—for kids. We'll start with that."

Bearing the weight of his clan's revered eyes was a heavy burden, and honestly, he would prefer it if none of his children had to inherit them. After all, he went through it all too as a child—the manifestation of the six eyes' powers marks the beginning of life as a sorcerer. The perilous world he was still trying to keep away from his son.

Nonetheless, he would be there for him every step of the way. It was what he vowed to himself on the day he was born. He wouldn’t let anything befall him—or you.

You had calmed down after hearing his plan, and as you gazed at your precious boy’s innocent face in his protective grip and the gentle pats he gave him, you suddenly found yourself in a mischievous mood once again.

"Heh, quite the doting papa, aren't you, Satoru?" you winked, a teasing smile on your face. You could have sworn his cheeks slightly flushed as he retorted:

"Hmph. He is my personal little body warmer, after all."

[joels-shitty-puns]

Kings & Queens

Pairing: Post-Outbreak!Joel Miller x Reader

Summary: I saw a list of reverse writing tropes, one of which was "too many beds" which I thought was hilarious until my brain went crazy. So here's where my mind went when there are oddly... too many beds.

Word Count: ~900

Warnings: None! This could even be read as platonic.

Other stuff: No descriptors. It can be romantic or friendly. Choose your adventure.

To those of you who are reading this: Thank you! I know I haven't written in months. I have barely even been on here. I want that again, but mentally I just haven't been feeling like much of anything lately. That being said, I saw the trope and I had an idea and quickly scribbled this down. It is short, not my best work, and doesn't have much emotion, but I did it :) To those of you who might also be struggling, I see you! You'll get through this. I hope all my tumblr buddies are doing well. I miss you guys.

_________________________________

It had been nearly a year of patrols with Joel. A year of nasty buildings and hard rocky floors to take shelter for the night, a year of either taking turns on watch, or being stuck sharing the same sleeping bag. Or the same mattress. Your only reprieve was your nice bed in Jackson, which you knew was safe, and warm, and most importantly… yours.

Joel was… alright. You two were friendly at best. But for the most part, it was all business. He didn't like to talk much, and you became tired of receiving looks or grunts when asking about Ellie, or Tommy, or his former life. But you worked well together, you made a good team, and you trusted each other to stay safe. You had run into trouble before, and you always had each other's backs. Words were often left unsaid, but you both knew what you meant to the other.

So when you stumbled upon an abandoned shopping mall while scoping potential areas of left-behind goods, it was a breath of fresh air. Malls could be dangerous with so much ground to cover, and so many potential hiding places and dark corners for the cordyceps to fester.

But the mall could also be a light at the end of the tunnel. A plethora of abandoned items to loot and sell or keep for yourself.

After hours of digging through every nook and cranny, you managed to fill a couple of bags full of items, and planned to make it a regular stop on your raids. But as the time grew later, the long-broken clock didn't tick on, and the windows grew dim, you knew it would be an overnight stay. However, choosing a sleeping spot was becoming exhausting with Joel around.

“I saw a sporting goods store. They probably have some sleeping bags, or maybe even a tent,” you provided.

“Nah, we're indoors. I wanna sleep like I'm indoors,” gruffed Joel.

“Oookay. How about that old food place? I think I saw a conveyer belt in the kitchen, next to the oven! It looks like it was used to make pizza,” you chirped excitedly. “I bet we could set up some blankets and make it like a bed.”

“Look, I know that machinery and oven have been dead for years, but on the off chance there's some malfunction, that just seems like a Final Destination event waitin’ to happen,” Joel shook his head.

“Wow you're difficult..” you huffed. “What if we go into the old children's photography studio and make a fort! The walls are even painted to look like a sky,” you offered with doe-eyes.

Joel just looked at you before grumbling back a “no. My back would kill me. There's gotta be a bed in here somewhere.”

Upon finding an old, faded mall map, Joel studied it before picking up the pace with a clear destination in mind.

He came to a stop in front of “Royal Mattressty.”

You raised a brow before saying “royal… mattress-tea?? What?”

“It's a play on words. Royal majesty.” 

“That's the stupidest thing I ever heard,” you rolled your eyes.

“No, no, it's because mattresses come in Kings, Queens, and-” he broke off at your grimace.

“You're such a dad!” 

____

The two of you made your way inside, only to find nearly 100 beds. Memory foam, spring, water, reclining… the possibilities were endless.

“WOW!” You squealed, running from bed to bed. “There's too many beds. I can't choose!”

Joel stretched, moving to a bed near the back corner. “I'm gonna set up here for the night. Sleep where y’want,” he gestured.

Sitting on a few different beds, you finally settled on one. A perfect, firm yet soft bed at the far end of the store. It was against a wall, allowing you to still see the door and keep your back safe. Perfect.

____

But as the night ticked on, you tossed and turned. You weren't at your home in Jackson. This bed was nice… but it wasn't your safe, cozy cabin.

When you aren't home, you're with Joel. All this time you've been wanting space at night, but now you feel scared and alone. Even a bit cold. But Joel was over on his own bed, probably sound asleep. You wouldn't dare take that away from him.

___

Until what felt like an hour passed.

___

And then another hour…

___

Finally, it had been about an hour and a half when you gave in. You wouldn't be getting any sleep at this rate. Fatigue is a dangerous fate when you need to be alert in this world. So you swallowed your pride and walked over to Joel's bed in the far end of the store.

But he wasn't there…

You wandered back, a bit nervous, until you spotted him. Curled up on a mattress only a row away from yours, you saw him blink in the night.

“You moved beds?” you whispered.

“Yeah, there was a draft over there…”

“A draft? In a mall with no electricity and no windows in this store?” You asked skeptically.

“Mmhm…” he grunted, sleepily.

“Sure. Well… turns out there was a draft over in my corner too. Move over,” you nudged.

“Draft, huh?” He wiggled over, letting you in the bed.

“Mmhm…” you mimicked his earlier grunt, settling in next to him.

“Good night Joel,” you whispered.

“G’night,” he replied, pressing his body closer to yours in the king sized bed.

Maybe there is such a thing as too many beds after all.

__________

Thanks for reading!!! Let me know what you think, and be sure to check out my masterlist for more. Reblogs are appreciated! Xoxo

[linskywords]

Hockey RPF Recs from 2023

I realized recently that I haven't done a great job keeping up with hockey fic beyond the authors I was already subscribed to, so I did some reading in the tag for the past year (and of course fell in a hole and neglected other parts of my life, you know the drill). Mattdrai is even bigger than I thought?? (She said, having been living under a rock.) Also, wow, *amazing* writers out there I had no idea about! Here are my favorites of the stories I've read so far:

so is the longing by dogjuice (mattdrai): This one might win as my favorite fic of the year. You know how sometimes you read something that's not quite as well written as you want it to be but it's doing the thing you want so you read it anyway? This is NOT that fic. It hits such good juicy trope buttons and also is clever and hilariously written. Top marks.

i'll tell you when to stop by dogjuice (mcmattdrai): Sadly this is the only other fic dogjuice has posted, but it is also excellent. The premise could be ridiculous in someone else's hands but rings so true. I was on tenterhooks for it all to work out.

In From the Cold by makeit_takeit (TK/Patty): FERAL. OVER. THIS. All three stories in this (loosely related) series are impeccable, but this one gave me the most feels. I am weak for a repressed closeted character gradually discovering happiness, and the depth of characterization is breathtaking.

Baby, I'm a Wildcard by wearemany (mattdrai): The writing!! This fic is mostly developing/established relationship, which is not usually my fave, but somehow I loved the entire thing?? Just really compelling character-focused writing that had me completely absorbed without needing to rely on angst or drama (much as I love those in other stories).

Edmonton 10 by Helenish (mattdrai): Helenish is incomparable. I cannot express how happy I am that they've (she's?) gotten into hockey lately. Read everything; I don't even know if this is the best one because I *am* subscribed to them so I read the stories as they came out and didn't rank them or anything, but this one is excellent and also you can't go wrong.

this must be the place by rafting (Jamie/Trevor): Love me some sexuality exploration. The USNTDP ensemble was so vividly and delightfully present in this one. Also, Trevor is so dumb. How can you not love it.

let me look at you by isozyme (mattdrai, mcmattdrai): This one is emotionally ROUGH but so well done. Heed the warnings, but there's plenty of emotional satisfaction as well. I read it several weeks ago and it's still living in my head.

roughed up in the afterglow by notthequiettype (mattdrai): This one is pretty short but gets a lot done in not too many words. Really excellent character interactions and dialogue.

linger by bropunzeling (mattdrai): Top-notch A/B/O content. Sometimes you just want Matthew to have heat sex with Leon and pretend not to have feelings until he can't anymore.

in the honey by donderwalk (Jamie/Trevor): Okay it's been a while since I read this one but I remember it as the highlight of my Jamie/Trevor tag search at the time, so I'm gonna say it's probably great. 😄

Serenity in Those Deep Waters by angry_geno_is_score (larsdunn): This mashes the D/s buttons sooooo good. Has it inspired me to write more D/s? Oh yes. Check it out; You Will Have Feels.

how lovely are thy branches by quadratics (mattdrai, Brady/Tim): Hilarious premise, charming execution. This isn't even about characters getting together and yet I loved it.

Hourglass Theory by puckedup (mattdrai): So short, and totally managed to punch me in the chest (in the best way).

[bomberqueen17]

Big Easy

I am on vacation this week in New Orleans. There are many reasons for this but mostly they're not about me. I'm just here for the ride. Hilariously the one thing I found on on my own that I was like "oh i gotta do that while we're here" is also the thing that has been recommended to me by literally everyone i've spoken to including the Lyft driver from the airport, which is the WWII Museum, and conversely the more people recommend it the more I'm like :/ I might not enjoy this that much. WWII history was a childhood hyperfixation of mine but I've found the shit I was into about it is not the stuff other people like about it. This museum features a movie narrated by Tom Hanks so I feel like it's going to mm emphasize the bits I don't care about a lot. BUT I am going to go and I am probably going to devote a whole day. The upside of this is that probably Dude will not be deadly bored by it. He does tend to have the issue of not being into what I'm into sometimes... but this will probably be fine.

My hip is doing okay, the one I've been physically therapizing for ages? But what's popped up is that as the bad hip heals, the "good" hip starts giving me trouble-- I have prettty bad sciatic nerve problems on that side, and I didn't notice them so much because the cartilage tear on the bad side hurt enough to distract me. But lately it's like-- a little electric current of Badness inside the back of my right knee. No fun. But I've been doing physical therapy exercises for about fifteen weeks now (I just counted), three times a week, so I'd damn well better have seen some improvement LOL.

But mostly I can walk around, and I have a better idea earlier on whether walking is going to be good for me or not, so idk it's progress.

So far I have had a few bites of a shrimp po'boy (in the Atlanta airport, where we ordered something else and the waitress didn't hear us and just brought better food, no regrets on our part), some amazing gumbo, a bit of really good crawfish etouffe, and a really good Hurricane cocktail, and have seen the steamboat Natchez going up the MIssissippi with a brass band playing on it. Oh yeah there was a live band at the baggage claim? Apparently there were Many Doings in the French Quarter last night because of Cinco de Mayo, our Lyft driver was explaining they'd barricaded a bunch of the streets and she was delighted they'd moved one barricade because otherwise she could not have dropped us at our hotel. But by the later evening when we were out and about it wasn't quite so crowded but there were police cars and sirens and apparently some kind of disturbance a couple blocks away from our hotel. We kept walking because whatever it was was Not Our Business.

I'm mostly here for the food. I brought mostly me-made clothes. I was wearing a nice button-up shirt to fly in, and i sat at the gate during our layover and hand-bound two of the last three buttonholes on it (I'd cut and overcasted them at home but ran out of time). Relaxing and chill, honestly.

There are a couple of fabric stores I want to visit but apart from that I have zero agenda. Maybe Dude came up with something. I think he's mostly been researching restaurants.

I did not expect this, though: I know the names of so many of the places here from the news coverage of Katrina, and when I saw the Superdome in person i started crying, and had to explain to the driver that I'd been an airport bartender during that time and so had been stuck in front of huge TVs with 24h live coverage, and I'd had a bunch of online friends living there and I didn't realize until this moment how much it scarred me, so I could only imagine for the people here, and she talked about how she'd been a cleaner in an apartment complex at the time (I'd sussed that she was my age or older so I figured she'd remember it as well as I do, because to my shock that was 20 years ago now) and how many people had just left and never come back, had abandoned their possessions and just never came back for them because the power didn't come back on for two or three months.

She said "Now I know, when they tell you to evacuate, you get the hell out."

She also complained that nobody knows how to act, because it's all tourists. Which, fair.

... Anyway, anyone with recs for New Orleans feel free to tell them to me, I'm just here for the food and the vibes.

[chaiandsage]

I was thinking about Trust Life (when am I not, I am insane and obsessed, I swear) and how it would fit into the larger canon of the life series as a whole, and two major things have always stuck out to me.

1) Limited Life, what with Jimmy being a Bad Boy and not saying I love you back to Scott (bc bad boys only love their moms) and how Scott would react to that through the lense of a post Trust Life game - I imagine him going back to visit Tango at TIES and just acting over the top about it like "How dare he not say he loves me back! Evil! Jail! Jail for Jimmy for ten thousand years!"

2) What healing happened between Scott and Impuse between the end of Trust Life and the start of the Secret Life games, because Scott was so ride or die for Impuse that season, Gem and the Scotts were all so close, but like, he and Impulse had MATCHING SKINS. And I mean, I know that it's difficult to say because Secret Life was only coming out around the time you finished TL and so it wasn't exactly something to factor in while it was being planned/written, but as established I am crazy and so I'm going to be fitting the TL lense over every life series that happens for the rest of forever and it's just funny trying to fit it together.

Anyways, that is all. Just weird thoughts with me.

Omg. Okay, so I too have considered this and first of all, for the record, I'm pretty sure I did come up with the outline and story idea for the fic long before LL and SL came out. I did try my best to alter things as new stuff happened, like for example, most of the interactions between Scott, Tango, and Jimmy after Trust Life (the game) were going to take place in Rivendell rather than a mix between Chromia, Tumble Town, and the Citadel--but I'm getting off track here. My point is that while LL does still take place after TL, if a bit later than it did in cannon, whatever happens during that game is still up for interpretation. Like that whole "Say it back" interaction between Scott and Jimmy could have still happened, or it could not have because the offshoot events of TL made things happen differently later. It's completely up to you what you would like to believe happened.

That being said, assuming that interaction did still take place between Jimmy and Scott, that whole "jail for then thousand years" bit is hilarious, but my take on it would be more like: Maybe Scott takes it for the joke that it is at first, but later, it slowly starts to eat at him the more he thinks about it. Same with Jimmy. Like in the moment he probably assumed that Scott would understand that he was doing it for a bit (which he did) but then starts to question if Scott really did understand that--and oh god, it's such a small thing to worry over and Scott seemed perfectly fine when he left but what if he really did take him seriously?? Maybe the worry keeps Jimmy up one night and he snaps, deciding to run over to Scott's base at (insert crazy late hour here) in the morning, knock on his door, grab him into a hug the moment he answers, and ramble about how sorry he is and that he was only joking and how he really, truly does love him and Tango more than anything in the world, and "please don't be sad, I will always love you I promise"-- And Scott just reassures him that he understood he didn't mean it (even though it did bother him a little, but he decides he'll just mention that later). Maybe they message Tango to come over and they all just fall asleep together that night only for Martyn to wake up and find them sleeping soundly in a tangled pile, thinking to himself 'How the heck did Scott's bfs break into our base am I really that heavy of a sleeper?' In conclusion, they're all idiots in love.

Scott and Impulse... yeah, that's a tough one. I would imagine that they'd heal eventually and start being friends again, but as you said, the speed and intensity at which that happens in SL would not make much sense when applied to the TL universe. And it wouldn't make sense for someone to pressure them into being on a team together since not doing THAT again was suppose to be Grian's entire takeaway after TL. So with all that in mind, here's the best take on this I can come up with:

Tango is very understanding about Scott's dislike for Impulse. He still hangs out with him, but constantly lets his boyfriend know that he is under no obligation to hang out with them or befriend Impulse just because he's someone close to him. Scott is fine with this at first, but later, he starts to view it as a challenge. He thinks back to what Cleo said to him during TL, how back then, she suggested that he try to get along with Jimmy since even though they'd broken up at the time, they weren't leaving each other's lives completely any time soon. He thinks the same applies to Impulse and how if he and Tango's friendship was able to make it through the mess that was Trust Life, then Impulse probably isn't going anywhere either.

Impulse still feels genuinely sorry and regretful for everything he did and said to Scott. He's spent some time before SL making up with Jimmy, but has made little headway with Scott. Scott doesn't outright hate him anymore but they're still far from friends. Impulse continues to feel guilty for his actions all the way till SL and he spends the beginning of that game quietly approaching Scott and trying to make conversation with him. Scott doesn't push him away, but he is still hesitant to stick around him. Nevertheless, Impulse continues to help him out occasionally during that first day, leaves little things for him like iron or food, asks him if he needs anything or if he could get him something, maybe shoves him out of the way and takes an unexpected headbutt from a stray mountain goat for him at one point... But sometime later, Impulse gets his secret task that says he needs to "make cherrywood his entire personality." He sees that Scott and Gem have decided to build their bases in the only cherrywood biome on the server, so now he's gone and made things even more awkward by being forced to do the same through his task. He continues to hang around them in the same biome while being entirely unable to explain that he's not trying to be weird, he's just doing it for his task and Scott just happened to want to set up his base in the one biome he really needed to be surrounded by for the day. So ensues some very awkward tension that carries on throughout the day where Scott feels as though it would be too harsh of him to outright ask Impulse to leave while Impulse continues to panic internally and Gem tries her best as a mutual friend of them to lighten the atmosphere a little and defuse the tension. Surprisingly, it works and the three of them end up having a little fun.

At the end of the day, when Impulse is FINALLY able to reveal his task, Scott is the first one to burst out laughing at how ridiculous it is--"THAT was why you wanted to build in that biome? Ha! Oh my god-!"--Any lingering discomfort between them is effectively broken and Scott decides that he's alright having Impulse stick around the same biome as he and Gem for the rest of the game. He wouldn't just force the guy to build an entirely new base somewhere else, would he? That would just be overly petty. They continue to talk throughout the game, grow a little closer, Gem continues to mediate between the two of them and tries to get them to see the good in each other. Maybe she has a few one-on-one conversations with each of them about this when they're alone and the timing calls for it. Meanwhile Jimmy and Tango (Tango especially) start to wonder how the heck these two are so okay with each other now. Scott tells them about it later. But yeah, that's about the best I can do for how wild their situation is. Would love to hear some of your ideas if you have any or ever come up with some!

[oliolioxenfreewrites]

Writer Questionnaire ❦

Taking a break from writing to catch up on my tags writing 2 books at once is not for the weak 😭 so thank you @drchenquill for the tag as always!

- how long have you had your writing tumblr/writerblr? a fast and loose estimate is fine!

At least since April or early May!

- what lead you to create it?

I wanted to connect with other writers and creatives to make new friends!

- what's your favorite thing about the writer community?

My favorite part is the absolute powerhouse of creativity and innovation. You all have this incredible knack for coming up with unique ideas that never fail to inspire me. Plus, they're hilarious! Their sense of humor adds a delightful twist to everything we do, making even the wildest ideas feel approachable and fun. Honestly, being around such talent and laughter is a constant source of my motivation and joy!

- what’s one thing you'd like in mutual to know about you?

No notification I receive on this app goes unnoticed. I'll be at work, smiling because someone found my writing and enjoyed it! It means so much to me and only makes me want to write even more!

- is there anything you'd like to see more of on your dash?

I would love more collaboration and interaction in my messages. I am open to discussing and exchanging ideas with another writer. I’m particularly interested in co-creating a planetary system and bouncing creative ideas back and forth.

- which wips or writing projects are you noodling about lately

I'm currently working on fleshing out a novel titled Journals from The Whitmore Estate, which is a modern/historical fiction story. The novel explores the slave and civil war era, and also delves into our near future. It centers around the actions of a power-hungry ancestor who sought to shift power dynamics, and the resulting centuries of generational backlash.

- how long have you been working on them?

Its been about a few months, I had to take a break to give myself new perspectives and coming to a decision on who the main character was!

- do you remember what inspired them/what got you started

I was looking at writing prompts and came across one that said something along the lines of “Your character inherits a manor from a distant relative. Upon moving in, they discover what lies within its walls, answering why your family has been plagued by bad luck for as long as anyone can remember.”

- how much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

Wayyy too much! Now rhat I've found the main character, I can't put it down!

- when someone ask the dreaded "what do you write about?" question what do you usually say?

“I write whatever comes to mind!” Or “You can read my writings to find out.” 😗

- name any characters you created. Side characters, protagonist, antagonist, characters who’ve never been written, the first original abomination you ever pulled from your ass; whomever you’d like!

Kirjani is my favorite oc to date! Her chosen family: Rick, Raelin, and Lena. The three sisters from the Isles of Aurorith! Imani, Jade and Jasmine, the first ocs I ever created, they deserve their story to be told. (I’m working on it!!) My scrapped character folder is at about 60 something, but the one I just couldn't figure out completely was their grandmother Queen Amara, those who've followed me for a while probably remember her! She was just a bit too sinister and I tried to work around certain motivations and rationality kept getting in the way 🤣 I might use her for another story of mine I've been thinking about

- who’s the most unhinged?

I think it would be between Amara or Kirjani for sure. One of them is justifiably so, the other… not so much LOL

- who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Jules a gay sophmore in high school who is grieving the sudden loss of his mother (I haven't introduced him yet!) He's the first character I've ever based on myself or someone like me rather.

- do you ever cringe at them?

Oh yeah, that’s when I'm writing his best romantic scenes. Love, especially teen romance is supposed to be cringy and awkward at times. That's what makes it so!

- how much control do you feel you have over your characters? do they ever “write themselves,” refuse to cooperate, or do things you didn’t expect? to what degree? are some less cooperative than others?

They literally form their own lives that I just go with, its their world I’m just living in and writing it! I'm considerably outnumbered lmao

- do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? and do you have a preferred means of receiving said questions? for example, as asks, as replies, as reblogs, as tag notes, as comments on ao3, etc.

More than words can express, that's why I love sharing my characters and their personalities. I want to open discussions on humanity and how the human condition can create dynamically and perplexing people!

- what makes you want to follow another writeblr account? do you follow ‘em as you see ‘em, or take time scoping out the blog to make sure you align with its content? do you follow based on wips, or vibes?

I don't really have enough mutuals or followers, so I follow people based on their creativity and if they're on Writeblr. I don't have much discernment at the moment :)

- what makes you decide against following?

Just depends. I guess I haven't found a page I've ever said, “Oh no, can't follow that,” too.

- do you interact with non-mutuals often?

Not really, and if I follow you and you don't follow me back, I will give you 24 hours before I unfollow. We're all creatives here; no one is more creative than the next person, in my opinion.

This was so much fun to answer, I have so many more tags to do, but I’m not gonna stress ah finishing them all today 🥲 I have some short stories I wanna post as well from the weekend.

I tag @leahpardo-pa-potato, @slenders1ckn3ss, and @coffeewritesfiction. + open tag to any writer interested!

[temnurus]

Wangxian Top Ten Fic Recs

So. I got into MDZS/The Untamed back in February, & I've sort of fallen into a Wangxian black hole from which I am not sure I will ever emerge. Thusly, I've been reading a ton of Wangxian fanfiction lately & have acquired quite a few favorites. Naturally I had to eventually compile a rec list lest I combust with all the barely suppressed love I have for this ship.

Now you lucky people get to reap the benefits of all my hard work because not only have I ranked my top ten, I am also including a bunch of honorable mentions because I'm ridiculous & have no self restraint because I'm such a kind & generous person. Note that the honorable mentions are not ranked & are listed in no particular order.

Fair warning, all of these recs are rated Explicit because I enjoy either a sprinkling or a flood of adult content with my fics. It's far from the focus of many of them, but it's there to varying degrees in each. Also, some of these fics cover some heavy content that may be triggering for some folks, so please do mind the tags & any authors' notes for your own peace of mind.

And with no further adieu, onto the recs!

1. Scars Where They Used to Be by CwythanWind (E, 58,467)

Thoughts: I lost count of how many times I cried in this fic. It was gorgeous in every sense of the word. The characterizations were phenomenal. Wei Ying’s pain was palpable, & the pining was agonizing. Lan Zhan conveying his love through poetry made me sob like a baby twice. The prose was just that beautiful. I can’t recommend this enough. As soon as I finished it I knew it was going to become my favorite Wangxian fic, & nothing has managed to top it yet.

2. Beneath Your Skin by Wrenwolf (E, 147,201)

Thoughts: I was sold on tattoo artist Wei Ying from the word go, haha, but Lan Zhan as an antiques dealer was also surprisingly on point. I go on about characterization a lot in these recs, but I have to tell you that Lan Zhan's here is one of my absolute favorites. I felt like I'd crawled into his skin & was just living there right along with him. And don't get me started on Wei Ying in this fic. I just.. fuck, I cried so much, y'all, & it was incredibly cathartic. Nie Huaisang was my favorite side character in this, & they were an absolute BAMF! You can't go wrong with this one. It's just stunning.

3. Pentimento. by orange_crushed (E, 72,966)

Thoughts: This fic was full of sentiment: regrets, longing, & so, so nostalgic. The love of art was apparent & beautifully on display here, & it added a richness to the whole thing. I cried several times during this from the empathy I had for both Lan Zhan's & Wei Ying's experiences (can you sense a theme with my favorites making me overly emotional? lol). The tone got heavy in places, but it didn't feel graphic or overwhelming at any point for me. The writing was just fantastic, & I've enjoyed a few more of the author's fics since I read this one.

4. i'm gonna drown when you wake up by teenjiism (E, 51,752)

Thoughts: I related to this fic on several levels because both characters are portrayed as neurodivergent in ways that felt very authentic, & I rarely see it done as well as it was here. I have ADHD, & Wei Ying's headspace felt extremely familiar, ha. Lan Zhan & Wei Ying's friendship was so lovely here, too. I adored their easy intimacy & how they were each other's favorite person before Wei Ying even realized he was in love with Lan Zhan. Oh yes, this is another fantastic oblivious Wei Ying/One Brain Cell WWX Strikes Again fic. The pining was perfect, & the overall sweetness of their relationship made this a very floaty/happy reading experience for me, personally.

5. Nothing But Trouble by brooklinegirl (E, 60,318)

Thoughts: Continuing with the theme of One Brain Cell WWX Strikes Again, this was a hilarious & heady fake dating scenario fic. His cluelessness reached new heights in this one, & I about died when he came up with the idea that naturally he & Lan Zhan should practice things like kissing for authenticity's sake. (Oh Wei Ying, you sweet summer child... he kills me; can you tell?) I loved how matter-of-fact Lan Zhan was about the whole thing, too. I laughed a lot during this fic. I even blushed a couple of times, too! Highly enjoyable & a must-read for me.

6. you've ruined my life (by not being mine) by cicer (E, 132,713)

Thoughts: None of the parents in this fic are doing a good job, but hey, they didn't in canon either, in my not-so-humble opinion. It's not what I focused on in the fic, but the tags certainly amused me. I haven't come across many texting fics in MDZS, so this was a pleasant & welcome surprise. The whole fic wasn't done through texting, but their text exchanges were SO CUTE. Lan Zhan texted exactly how I thought he would in this, & it made me laugh every time. The pining was lovely, & when they finally got to see each other in person again in New York I was glued to my computer until I finished the fic. I adored the tone of this one. It was great & just a really fun read.

7. and so my heart beats wildly by lily_winterwood (E, 106,435)

Thoughts: This was one of the most original modern AUs I've seen & featured competitive cultivation that had a Hunger Games meets professional figure-skating competition vibe. It was wild, but it made sense when I read it, I promise. The author was very good at fleshing out their world, & I was fascinated by the concept. Wei Ying once again failed to notice Lan Zhan was in love with him, & his confusion over their interactions never failed to entertain me. I never get tired of their dynamic, y'all, & it was just perfect here. I highly recommend this one.

8. Falling to the Rhythm by Selenay (E, 128,916)

Thoughts: Ever seen So You Think You Can Dance or Strictly Come Dancing? This was basically that but Wangxian! Wei Ying was stunning as a professional dancer being handed a socially awkward, concert violinist Lan Zhan & having to teach him to dance in front of the nation for 12 weeks, & I absolutely loved Lhan Zhan in this. He was precious. The sexual tension during some of the dances was electrifying, & watching them fall in love over the course of the filming of the show was a delight to read.

9. Two Dollar Coffee by marizousbooty (E, 145,286)

Thoughts: I almost fell out of my chair laughing because how do you acquire an accidental sugar daddy?! Well, if you read this fic, you'll find out. One Brain Cell WWX Strikes Again! Yeah, it's one of my favorite AO3 tags, so sue me, lol. The sex was obviously one of the highlights, which I am known to enjoy in a fic (don't judge me, Puritans), but it certainly wasn't the only thing that was well written here. I loved everything about this from beginning to end.

10. things that make it warm by yabakuboi (E, 33,327)

Thoughts: This fic hurt my feelings, not gonna lie. I cried ugly tears at the break up, but I've always had a hard time with reconciliation fics. It was very worth it, however. The way the fic covered their relationship growing & changing over time was very compelling, & a highlight of this for me was Wei Ying's relationship with the Wens, particularly A'Yuan. It was very sweet amongst an ocean of angst, haha. I read this in the span of a couple hours. Just couldn't be torn away. If you're a sucker for angst with a happy ending, then you might want to check this one out.

Honorable Mentions

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane (E, 70,972)

Thoughts: This was so heartwarming I couldn't stop smiling over how adorable it was. Kid fics aren't typically a favorite of mine, but I do enjoy a really good one every now & then. This was one of the best I've read, to be honest. A'Yuan was the sweetest little angel, & he was so cute with Wei Ying spazzing out about every aspect of his care. Lan Zhan being the quiet, responsible source of reason & support was expected but of course always a welcome addition to the mix. Accidental Baby Acquisition isn't a tag I'd seen before, but it's a new favorite when it comes to Wangxian getting to be surprise parents together, haha.

undone (the spreadsheet song) series by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 282,452)

Thoughts: This is a two part series that tells the same story from each love interest’s point of view, a la Rivals by Reiya in the YoI fandom, which is one of my favorites of all time. Similarly, this story is also phenomenally written. I was sucked in immediately & read both fics over the span of like 3 days. I actually read Lan Zhan’s POV fic (the second in the series) in a single day. I was spellbound by the whole thing, couldn’t get enough. I highly recommend this. The characterizations are incredible, & the emotions are so intense I couldn’t help but feel everything right along with each of them as the story progressed.

My only word of caution is that if you have a hard time reading about Wangxian being intimate with people other than each other you might want to skim/skip those sections of the second fic like I had to. The author makes it fairly easy by giving a heads up in the author’s notes at the beginning of each chapter in which that occurs, which I very much appreciated.

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25,470)

Thoughts: This fic started with a very serendipitous first meeting between businessman Lan Zhan & Wei Ying, who he mistook for the (non-sexual) escort he'd hired for the evening. I nearly died of mortification right along with poor Lan Zhan when he figured out his mistake. Him confessing this to Wei Ying was painfully awkward & hurt my heart, but fear not! We all know I can't handle a fic without an eventual happy ending, haha. Watching their instant connection develop into something more was such a treat. I loved this fic quite a lot for it being a quicker read for me.

Multiphonics by androkastia (E, 63,705)

Thoughts: Wei Ying was such a lovable disaster in this (as he often is, bless him). Him & Lan Zhan both being in the orchestra was a fun idea, & I loved the author's choice of the harp for Lan Zhan's instrument. I thought it was very different from the usual violin or cello choice I've seen previously but still suited him perfectly. I also loved his overall characterization, down to his fashion sense being tastefully eclectic when his style is usually portrayed as very stuffy & conservative. I really enjoyed this college/university AU, & I've read quite a few of them at this point. So obviously this one stood out.

No Compasses, No Signs by brooklinegirl (E, 36,041)

Thoughts: Ah, finally! A soulmate fic. A Temnurus rec list really wouldn't be complete without at least one. This was a modern AU, which made it especially fun when their soul bond inexplicably manifested as they literally collided with each other on the sidewalk. It was painful watching them fumble for answers to why they suddenly knew things about each other they had no way of knowing only moments before, but the sweet conclusion made it more than worth the temporary angst.

A Haunting Love by Selenay (E, 64,621)

Thoughts: This was another very unique modern with magic AU, & I was nervous because Wei Ying was a ghost haunting Lan Zhan's new house in the quiet little town he moved to in order to write his next novel. Naturally Lan Zhan became ensnared by the mystery surrounding Wei Ying's departure. This had a very romantic feel to it, intensely poetic in a way that I found very alluring. There were even thriller-esque moments towards the end of the story, so it had a bit of everything, all of it equally satisfying to read.

love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360,042)

Thoughts: This was an example of a cool MDZS-specific trope I hadn't seen before, & in it Wei Ying, the infamous Yiling Patriarch, was a cultivator who had achieved immortality (aka, he's OP as fuck but in a fun way). The great sects enlisted his help to win the Sunshot Campaign, & what did he demand in return? Lan Zhan's hand in marriage, of course! It was a fantastic slow burn in which poor Lan Zhan suffered the mortifying ordeal of falling in love with his own husband. An amazing & complex plot, chock-full of angsty goodness.

a place to hide (can't find one near) by yiqie (E, 76,091)

Thoughts: I'm giving y'all a heads up first thing that this fic pulled no punches when it came to the heavier subject matter covered in the tags & author's note. Some of the descriptions were fairly graphic, so please take care of yourselves when considering this one. That said, it was a powerful portrayal of someone suffering from mental health issues & the long & often complicated journey of healing. This one also happened to contain a love story so beautiful that I was brought to tears several times by Lan Zhan's patient & loving care for his most important person, nevermind all the times I cried at the sad parts! I found the emotional cost of those very much worth the payoff of their happy ending, which is why I just had to include this one.

Just You, Just Me (Just Us, Just We) by wincechesters (E, 19,777)

Thoughts: Lan Zhan thought his brother made him an appointment at an acupuncturist & was aghast when he discovered it was for a session with a professional cuddler instead! Enter Wei Ying, gratuitous cuddle therapy, & his usual chaotic charm. Poor Lan Zhan being so overwhelmed while also becoming hopelessly besotted made me laugh, bless his fragile little heart. This was an adorable & light-hearted fic that made me want to go back & reread it almost immediately, haha.

my age has never made me wise by idrilka (E, 63,439)

Thoughts: I absolutely loved this. It was pretty CQL (The Untamed) compliant & told the post-canon story of Wei Ying wandering alone as a rogue cultivator after the events of the show. Of course he was pining after his zhiji the entire time, so when he heard gossip that the Chief Cultivator might be married by summer's end it nearly undid him. The angst was excruciating, but at the same time, One Brain Cell WWX Strikes Again fics somehow always manage to be fun at the same time. I've read several post-canon, wandering Wei Ying stories, & this one was particularly good.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Actually hang on, that AU would have so much potential.

Adora seeing Imp as her chaotic little sibling who helps out with pranks etc but might also snitch on her and Catra. Also, more internal conflict because he and Hordak are, at least on some level, family to her.

The other cadets not interacting with C and A because A is Hordak's protegee and C is SW's. Both of them are scary, so C and A really only have each other, which makes their separation in s1 only hurt more and make Catra all the more obsessed with getting Adora back bc she literally doesn't have anyone else (until Scorpia) (she could bond with Imp?)

Catra struggling to bond with Scorpia and accepting her friendship because she never had any friends outside Adora so, oops, social skills whomst? But eventually learning how to be a decent friend and growing as a person, as well as letting the sting of Adora's departure fade a little. She gets to grow as a person AWAY from Adora so that once she does join the Alliance, she is a bit more functional.

Catra worrying about Scorpia during s5.

Catra, spying at Angela interacting with Glimmer: oh ew what is this? Affection? What a cheap attempt at manipulation. -> Wait a minute, this looks... nice, actually. -> If she's the evil one, why is she such a good mom? -> Why isn't SW being this good to me? -> FUCK OFF SHADOW WEAVER YOU'RE A HORRIBLE MOM I'M OUTTA HERE.

Adora getting dragged back to the Horde in s3 and Hordak potentially acting like a disappointed father whose teenage daughter came home late from a party.

"Did you get everything out of your system? Y'know, Horde Prime would've killed me if I did what you did. You should be grateful."

[some character development later] "Hey, wait a minute... You shouldn't kill/brainwash people for doing that. HORDE PRIME IS AN ASSHOLE."

The comedy of Adora looking at Entrapta and Hordak interacting like "??????????????? HORDAK??? HAVING POSITIVE EMOTIONS??? DO I HAVE TO CALL ENTRAPTA MOM FROM NOW ON?????????"

Entrapta: I fucked your dad shitlips

Catra feeling genuinely horrible for Angela getting trapped between dimensions bc of the portal not only because she learned that Angela was good all along, but because she glimpsed what it's like to have a good mother figure and she took that away from Glimmer.

Maybe even Catra knocking some sense into Bow because he's mad that Glimmer did the stuff she did in s4. "Dude, cut her some slack. I know what it's like to be in position of authority (force captain) and it's stressful as hell. We were winning back then so you guys were losing badly and she was/is grieving. You do stupid shit when you're stressed and desperate (I would know, I made the portal happen.) So just... I'm still not 100% sure how to be a good friend so take what I say with a grain of salt but... Y'know, go easy on her."

^ character growth, shows willingness to forgive and thus bridge the gap between her and Adora. Results of being friends with Scorpia, feeling like shit when Scorpia left her, and the self reflection done throughout s4 following the "oh God I fucked up" at the end of s3.

No Melog. I'm sorry I just don't see the point. Instead, I'd really want to see Swiftwind be featured more heavily. Possibly Catra initially thinking he's weird bc she's never seen a horse before and later going "hey, you're close with Adora. Can we, uh, compare notes? I spent the last 3 seasons being her enemy and I'd like to go back to being her friend now. Help?"

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. this AU would have worked so much better than the trainwreck that we got. (also the idea of entrapta technically becoming adora's mom crossed my mind too, it would have been HILARIOUS)

[igotanidea]

Here we go again : Matt Murdock x reader x Dick Grayson

A/N: I think I got myself into an unhealthy addiction of writing stories based on the songs stuck in my head, but well, it fits, so why not.

A/N 2 : This is just something to make you grasp the idea behind the story. The next chapters are going to go back in time to properly deal with the timeline and events.

inspired by : That's hilarious by Charlie Puth.

PROLOGUE

That's hilarious

Hahahaha.....

haha

Yeah, if you haven't already guessed I'm laughing because at this point nothing seems real anymore and if I wasn't laughing at the irony I would probably start crying, screaming and then jump our of the window.

Let me give you a quick introduction into my life, so you could understand me better.

Hi,

my name is Y/N and I'm a citizen developer. Which means I pretty much do everything that has to do with IT, Artificial Inteligence, programming, computers and programming. I loved my job to the point where I was spending hours and hours in front of the screen to be the very best. And truly, finally I got to the top. At the age of 21 I was a most-known in my profession.

And that got me some attention.

Did I mention I was born and living in Gotham?

So, perhaps you guessed who was the guy that gave me my first job?

No?

Well, it was Bruce Wayne. Yes, Wayne as in Wayne Enterprises.

Oh, god, I was on cloud nine being able to put my hands on all that technology, give my ideas and finally having someone to listen and apreciate them. I upgraded it, gave a bit of personal touch to the systems and god, it was amazing., I felt like I was where I belonged.

Bruce, however reserved and distant he was soon started to treat me like his own daughter. I mean, what else can you expect from a relationship between a CEO who spend most of his time with the youngest IT who also happened to be a half-orphan?

So, soon, he let me into the Wayne Manor, where I met his adopted son, Dick. Quite different than his parential figure, but pretty much the same with distant and pushing away. I didn't force him. It took us half a year to become some sort of friends and another half a year to fall truly, madly, deeply in love. No irony here. We spend a lot of time together. Or at least as much as our busy schedules allowed us to. Dick was a detective with crazy work hours, both night and day so when I get the chance I worked from the Manor, even when Bruce was not content with it.

Now that I think about it, i wonder how love-blinded I was.

That's when the story starts to go downhill.

When I was 23, Wayne Enterprises' tech department, with me leading it, introduced some new prototype. The whole project was on the highest security level, full NDA and confidentiality, so from some point the only people involved in the details were me and Bruce. I was literally sunsine and rainbows I get to be involved, hell! be the head of the assignment.

Until I got myself in trouble walking home from work at late night.

Remember, it was Gotham City and I was overwhelmed with our success.

So, due to my absent-mindedness some assaulters came right at me, grabbing both of my arms and dragging me into the dark alley. Of course I was figthing back, screaming and squirming, but what can one girl do in confrontation with 3 pretty beefy men?

Yes, three points for the right answer. NOTHING.

I was pretty much saying goodbye to my life (or at least my sexual health and good memories in that aspect - thank you, Dick Grayson for giving me them) when Gotham's heroes - Batman and Robin decided to show up, blowing everything and beating the assaulters to shit. Maybe they exaggareted a bit, after all those men were not criminals, and there was no need to knock them unconscious and that made me wonder. Still a bit overwhelmed I looked around and then I spotted Batman's new gear. Based on the technology I created.

So there were two, maybe three options:

Batman stole the technology from Wayne, and therefore he was not a hero everyone believed him to

Batman got the techonology from Wayne and therefore Bruce knew Batman's identity (Bruce would never let anyone, even the hero got it without checking all the details)

Bruce was Batman.......

"Bruce......?"

"Y/N."

"What is going on here?" I took a step back and bumped into wall

"Let me explain it to you....."

"Y/N!" another voice came from my right and before I realised what was happening, another caped vigilante was holding me close to his chest, his warm embrace being oddly famliiar. "Are you alright?" Robin's hands started caressing my back, his breaht ticking my face.

Holy fuck!

If Bruce was Batman than .....

"Dick?" my eyes went wide. Stupid, stupid girl! You should have known!

"Are you all right?" he asked again, a mix of desperation and remorse in his voice.

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean, I don't know. What is this? some sort of Surprise Sur Price?"

"Let us explain...." Dick took a quick glance at Batman Bruce who nodded

"Not here. It's not safe."

NOT SAFE!?

"Y/N." Dick took my hand squizing it gently, but lovingly "come on, baby, let's get you out of here."

"Um, well, okey...."

They got me to the Manor and then, since the secret was out and in their own words, they trusted me, I got a quick tour around the batcave. Yeah, they trusted me so much they kept their second life in secret for two fucking years! How is that trust?! I felt betrayed, played with, used, you name it. All that anger made me cry and clench my fist at the same time, my face going red and my heart at the edge of literally breaking.

"Talk to her." apparently that was too much for Bruce, since he decided to let my boyfriend deal with the damage. "You're off the patrol tonigh. Just make sure she'll be fine."

Oh, quite a conversation it was. However, at first not many words were used..... Anger, or rather fury, found another way out......But, when we both calmed down enough to use our mouths to actually echange full sentences it was all painfully clear.

The problem about heroes comes down to the fact that when being torn between their mission and the person they love ,they always choose the duty. And Dick did exactly that when he decided to sweet talk all my worries and cover up the truth for two whole years. That was sad. But, trying to be rational, I didn't scream or blame him. To some point I understood his motives, I mean, as a gotham citizen. As his girlfiriend I could not. I stayed in the manor until he felt asleep in his serene belief we were fine now.

We weren't.

I left Gotham that nigh, leaving him a letter explaing why I had to do this and kindly asking him not to look for me. The thought of the heartbreak he had to go through must have been soul-piercing. At least that's how it was for me when I found myself in Hell's kitchen trying to put my life together and move on.

I found a new job, but it was not the same without him.

And then Matt Murdock came into my life. He was such a nice guy, With an opinion amongst girls, as his best friend Foggy told me. Well, I was not going to fall for him. I had my walls high. Matt and Foggy were both lawyers and a bit of tech was kind of useful in this profession so soon we were working together. As friends. But clearly it was not enough for Matt. We were working late in his aparment, foggy has already left and I was picking my stuff to go home as well, already halfway to the door when Murdock yanked me back by my hand and kissed me with the most knee-buckling, hot, passionate kiss. You know, the one when you just reciprocate in an instant, no need to process what the hell is going on, while the other person's hand sneak around you pulling you closer. At first, i just let him caress my body, but quickly fall on the concrete.

"Stay with me...." he whispered against my lips

"Matt...." I pushed him away and he backed out immidiately

"I'm sorry Y/N. I didn't mean to push you, but I just... I have so many feeligns for you."

"No, I'm sorry. I'm just..... not ready. Yet."

"Yet?" damn lawyers

"Yet" I smiled lightly to defuse the tension

"Well then, I'm not giving up on you".

***

You know the saying "the history repeats itself?" Well it really does. I learned that in a painfull way, when a month later it turned out Matt Murdock was the devil of hell's kitchen. DAREDEVIL for fuck's sake. What was wrong with me and why the hell was I attracting vigilantes from the whole damn country?!

At least I didn't have to get myself in trouble to get to know his secret identity.

Oh no.

This was much worse when he stumbled into my apartment at 3 a.m. waking me up, in not so pleasant way, al bloody and on the verge of life. Yeah, we.... well, we had an argument. But somehow, he convinced me to stay. Something Dick couldn't do in the past. He never asked me to stay.

So I give in to the hope that this time it would be diffent. And I stayed, ready to fight for whatever was blooming between us.

And I was happy-ish to work through it with him.

And I was slowly moving on.

Until one evening, half a year after I left Gotham the past came knocking at my door.

Literally.

I was at my apartment, working and cuddling with Matt when the noice from outside made me get up and open.

"Y/N...... I found you...."

Dick fucking Grayson was at my door.

"Y/N...." he whispered tenderly "I need you back. I want you back with me...."

"Y/N? who is that?" in a blink of an eye Matt was by my side and at this point I was just turning my gaze from one guy to another in shock.

"Who the fuck are you?" Dick hissed

"Well I could ask you the same question" Matt retorted coldly

"I'm her boyfriend" ok, now it was Robin talking

"Funny thing, because that is who I am." hello, Daredevil, nice to see you woke up as well. I guess it was automatic - when Dick went into vigilante mode, Matt responded with exact the same.

"Guys....." I tried to stop them, but they did not let me.

"So you must be the ex?" Matt smirked

"You know about me? Does she moan my name when you two....."

"Ok! Ok! That is enough!" ultimately I got their attention, pretty sure I was red as an apple due to Dick's words.

Now.

I was the only thing standing between two vigilantes in their full-on fighting mode, ready to kill each other .

Oh, boy......

@somest1

@pinksirensong

@everything2134

[hannahssimblr]

For Simblr Gratitude Day!

This year, 2023 has been a really really amazing year for me creatively. I wrote over 270K words, I started and finished both parts 2 and 3 of Lucky Girl and I started Lucky Boy! When I began writing last year I really didn't see myself at this point, having written so much, having improved so much, and most importantly, having falling completely head over heels for this amazing community

Without the support and amazing feedback from so many people I would have quit a long time ago, but coming here and talking to you guys and being so incredibly inspired by other work is what really pushed me past the finish line. I want to express my gratitude for every single person who engaged with me this year, for those who liked and commented and shared and left me questions and anon asks, and even those who didn't, and just read along in silence - I see you there! You can't hide! Thank you so much.

This graph only shows my top 10, but I reached over 50 countries this year! that's pure mad.

You can see that it's the Americans and the British who really came through for me, and I'm sorry for poking gentle fun at you in my story - I know you are more than semi-automatic machine guns, UFOs & undesirable tourists, you know how it is, we're like the ignored middle child between you two and I'd be going against my cultural heritage if I didn't act up a little bit.

Most importantly I want to thank specific people today! Starting with @armoricaroyalty for making this day happen, and @daniigh0ul for coming up with the idea. I'm really excited to get to know you both much better in the new year & finally find the time to start reading your stuff - I've heard only good things.

to @sirianasims for poking me to join the writers group that has now absolutely swallowed up my free time (in a good way lmao) and for being hilarious and fun and just generally a gorgeous, open and supportive person. I've been reading Siri's story lately and I INSIST you check it out - I'm on gen 3 and completely obsessed by the thought that goes into this, the complexity of the relationships and really sensitive exploration of difficult material.

to @lynzishell for always being so positive and engaged, always taking the time to leave thoughtful comments and get genuinely excited over everyone's work! I'm DUG INTO her legacy, which is still on gen 1 and it makes my day better every single time I see an update from her - and I'm not even just saying that to be nice. It's an honest to god thrill for me to get to read about her characters. I'm beyond excited for what she's going to do in the new year

@mannylikessims deserves a shout out too for writing some of the best and funniest simlit I've had the pleasure of reading in a long time. Those Villarreal kids (and Jacques, obviously) have me on the edge of my seat. I feel insatiable for this story, like, give me more, all of the time. Just shovel it into my mouth. Manny has also brought me to literal tears with her comments. It's rare enough that you meet a reader that seems to truly understand what you're trying to say in your work - like, right to the heart of it, and Manny is one of those people.

I've just recently started reading @rebouks Somnium and Forever In Between (Don't do what I did if you haven't read yet - start with Somnium) and when I say I am HOOKED I mean it. The visuals alone are enough to make me want to burst into tears with the knowledge that I will never wrangle something so beautiful from the game, but you know what, that's okay, because I can come here and sob over Becca's work instead. I'm not even halfway through and I'm already bowled over by the character development, the dialogue, the humour, everything. The only thing I wish is that I had unlimited free time and 0 commitments so I could absolutely consume this work in one sitting, but I guess savoring it is good too.. Thank you Becca for pure inspiration <3

@pixelnrd for The Langston Legacy, a decades challenge which was actually the first sims 4 legacy I ever read - I stumbled across it on my very first day on simblr and I've loved loved loved it every since. The visuals are gorgeous, the story lines are always engaging, and just about every topic under the sun has been covered now. The dedication to accuracy is really admirable, and now that we've reached the 80s I'm genuinely beginning to feel nostalgic. I always find myself wanting more. I'm so much looking forward to the 90s! (And I can't believe you've made it this far, that's an achievement and a half)

Other storytellers and creators I want to shout out are @simstrashkingdom, @bakersimmer @simmysunset @igglemouse @simsstuph - You guys have created some really great stories this year, and I so long forward to reading more!

To @nexility-sims for creating our wonderful writing group (and for pairing with me) I'm dying to start reading your work properly, because even the small bits I've read have been so beautiful.

And to everyone else in the writing group! I know I have so many stories to catch up on, and I'm very intimidated by that fact, but I know that it means that 2024 holds a lot of exciting times! I want to learn from you all and be inspired and support you, so this is the year I'm going to do it <3

[taylor-on-your-dash]

Writing Of Fearless Timeline

DISCLAIMER: None is this is my opinion unless stated otherwise. Some dates might be wrong, I was not in the fandom when Fearless was released, I joined shortly after Fearless Platinum dropped. If you saw the rollout of the release, I'd love to hear your story!

Please credit me if you use this timeline!

Early 2005: Taylor has a writing session with the Warren Brothers. They write That's When.

[BMI Article from May 2005] “She has written songs with a list of renowned writers including Troy Verges, Brett Beavers, and the Warren Brothers.”

[Alexa Skill for Taylor's Version] “That's When is a song that I wrote with the Warren Brothers and it was really fun writing with them because they're just hilarious people in general and I remember it was a classic Nashville songwriting session: you sit around a room, you go to a publishing office, you sit around in a room, everybody's got guitars and we just kind of came up with this song about space and independence and what happens when two people love each other but one of them just needs to take a breather and think about it and what would happen if rather than saying "No, if you're not sure, then leave and I don't want to talk to you ever again", what would happen if the partner was like "Do what you need to do, I'm here and I'm sure that I want to be with you, so if you need to take some space then do it", and we're just kind of playing around with that idea and we came up with this song.”

It's also possible that That's When was written later (but before September 2005) and they wrote Long Time Going and Welcome Distraction first.

February 12, 2005: Taylor writes with Scooter Carusoe for the first time, but it's unclear if they wrote You All Over Me, or Thirteen Blocks or Pretty Words. Either way, You All Over Me was written in early 2005. Scooter produced the demo, which leaked in 2017.

Scott's email to Taylor's manager, Dan Dymtrow (thanks @backup-baby-backup for sending this to me!):

[Alexa Skill for Taylor's Version] “The song You All Over Me is one that I wrote with a writer who goes by the name Scooter Carusoe, his name is Travis Hill. This was one of the songs that I remember us painstakingly going over the lyrics and trying to come up with all these different symbolic imagery references to how it could feel after you have your heart broken, just to feel like you've been ruined by the whole thing and I think that's one of the hardest things about heartbreak, this feeling like it's damaged you and now you carry that damage with you.”

Late 2005: Taylor writes Don't You with Tommy Lee James.

[Alexa Skill for Taylor's Version] “Don't You is a song that I wrote with Tommy Lee James, who's a fantastic writer. We wrote it about the idea of seeing someone that you used to have a thing for and seeing them out in public for the first time after you've heard that they've moved on and that you know your life is your life is kind of in shambles and they have moved on and they're really happy and it's almost like even them being nice to you hurts you because you're in such a state of pain and you haven't moved on yet, so that was a really fun song to write because that's just a well spring of emotion to draw from.”

[Tommy Lee James] “The crazy thing about this song is that I remember writing with Taylor that day, and I remember her just being really sharp and smart. I knew I was writing a good song. And then normally, back then I’d probably just do like a worktape or whatever, and I would throw it into my Garage Band on my computer just to save it and label it. But for some reason, I never labeled it correctly. And then, all of a sudden, Taylor comes out with ‘Tim McGraw’, and all of a sudden she’s a star. My publisher at the time, she’s going, ‘Where is that song you wrote with Taylor!?’ And I was like…'I cannot find it.'”

There are three demos of Don't You. Taylor only sings in a piano worktape, while other people sing on the other two. The IC owns these three demos since 2019. They bought them from Music Row. They described the worktape as: “A melancholic piano demo with haunting vocals, that have a sadness and longing to them, this was likely recorded in 2005, and was probably considered for the first album. Taylor runs into her ex and feels pain, because it brings back so many hard feelings and sad emotions, she feels that she still loves him and wonders why he doesn’t feel the same way, she will try her best to go along to go on with her life.”

Somewhere in 2005: Taylor releases a digital EP called “Majorly Indie Demos”. The tracklisting is unclear but the demos of Sweet Tea & God's Graces and We Were Happy were there.

There are two demos of We Were Happy, one acoustic worktape and one studio demo. Both of them have leaked.

One thing that I want to point out is that Majorly Indie was Arturo Buenahora's website. Buenahora is the executive who signed Taylor to music publisher Sony/ATV and introduced her to many songwriters, including Scooter Carusoe and Deric Ruttan. Buenahora left Sony/ATV and founded his own publishing house called Ole Majorly Indie, which then changed its name to Anthem Entertainment. This is Liz Rose's music publisher.

September 2006: Taylor writes Come In With The Rain.

Description of the Come In With the Rain Acoustic Demo: 4 min 03 sec. Simply Taylor and her acoustic guitar in this early demo recording. Passionate guitar playing during the breaks between vocal parts when Taylor stops singing. [Not Leaked]

She'll later release an early mix of the song on MySpace also in September. Posting the song on MySpace got her to surpass 1 million followers.

October 12, 2006: [From a Lover Journal] Taylor doodles Come In With The Rain on her diary.

November 2, 2006: Taylor writes Sparks Fly. This song was considered for Fearless before being cut.

December 1, 2006: [Interview with CMT] Taylor talks about the Debut rejects that will later become some of the Fearless Vault Songs in 2021.

“I've been very selfish about my songs. I had this dream of this project [Debut Album] coming out for so many years now that I just stockpiled. I'm so happy that I did because now we have a second album full of songs and a third album full of songs, and I don't have to lift a finger.”

December 2006: [From a Lover Journal] Taylor writes White Horse.

Original Lyrics from Taylor's Journal

Another handwritten version from the Grammy's Museum (partial photo)

[People Magazine] "[White Horse] was written with frequent collaborator Liz Rose in a 30-minute spurt while sitting in the hallway of a Nashville recording studio-Swift scribbled the lyrics into her ever-present journal. "I write stuff so fast that it comes out really messy!" she says. The writing session was "like therapy," and helped her reach the conclusion that ends the song. "Someday I'll find somebody who makes me feel like a princess," she says of the sentiment. "This isn't my last fairy tale."

[Liz Rose] She was in the studio doing some vocal changes. She just called me and said, "Hey, I have an idea, will you come into the studio so we can write this?"

Description of the White Horse Studio Demo: 3 min 36 sec. A perfect acoustic studio version. Taylor sounds so young here, it makes us think this song was written prior to the first album.

December 28, 2006: Performance at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville. Unknown setlist except for Nashville and Our Song. Sam Armstrong was there and will comment in 2018 that Taylor performed a song about him there. It's unclear whether it was White Horse or Nashville (which is not about him, by the way).

Early 2007: Taylor writes The Other Side Of The Door.

Description of The Other Side of the Door Studio Demo: “4 minutes and 01 seconds: Starts with a catchy drum loop similar to the studio version of "Permanent Marker" and has less instrumentation. Very country with electric guitars coming in sooner.” She sounds SO young in the demo, it's basically the same baby voice she has in the Christmas songs. [Leaked]

April 2007: Taylor writes You're Not Sorry, possibily about Sam Armstrong.

[Interview from October 2008] “I wrote it about maybe a year and half ago about this guy that kept apologizing and kept doing the same thing over and over again and after a while you just have stand up to that person and say, ‘You’re not sorry. At all... bye.’”

“I wrote a few more songs [other than Should've Said No] on this upcoming record about him just because, you know, I wasn’t done being mad about it. I know he's on the edge of his seat waiting.

“It is about this guy who turned out to not be who I thought I was. He came across as Prince Charming. Well, it turned out Prince Charming had a lot of secrets that he didn’t tell me about. And one by one, I would figure them out. I would find out who he really was. I wrote this when I was at the breaking point of, ‘You know what? Don’t even think that you can keep on hurting me.’ It was to a point where I had to walk away.”

Gossip Speculation: The other songs for Sam are: White Horse, You're Not Sorry, Come In With The Rain and The Other Side Of The Door.

May 15, 2007: During an interview with Unrated Magazine conducted while she was getting ready for the ACMs Awards, Taylor says she has written more or less 75 songs, including Fearless.

[Unrated Magazine Interview] “I've got, like, 75 written, and we just have to whittle it down to whatever number of songs we want to put on the album, and start recording. I wrote this song that I'm really excited about called "Fearless." It's about the best first date that I haven't been on yet. I just try and put myself in the position of "this is really happening,' and what would happen on the coolest first date. So I haven't ever written a song about, you know, that feeling before. I've written songs, but I haven't recorded them or put them on an album, and so I think that would be a cool. It's about angry, not sad . The whole thing - I think it's really going to be cool for people to see that sort of song coming out of me. I would tell you about every single song on the album right now, I just can't wait for you to hear it.”

“She conceived the song while touring as opening act to promote her eponymous debut album: "This is a song about the fearlessness of falling in love. No matter how many break up songs you write, no matter how many times you get hurt, you will always fall in love again. When I wrote “Fearless,” I wasn’t dating anyone. I wasn’t even in the beginning stages of dating anybody. I really was all by myself out on tour and I got this idea for a song about the best first date. I think sometimes when you’re writing love songs, you don’t write them about what you’re going through at the moment, you write about what you wish you had. So, this song is about the best first date I haven't had yet.”

[Hillary Lindsay to MusicRow.com] “I had a writing date with Taylor, and she came to my home. She came in like a fireball. She was young, but she knew exactly what she wanted. She had been working on the song with Liz, but wanted to finish it with me.”

May 30, 2007: First recorded performance of Sparks Fly in Oroville, CA.. Steve from the Inner Circle/Dark Blue Tennessee.com films it and posts it online.

July 10, 2007: [From MySpace] “So lately, I’ve been in the studio on my days off recording a CHRISTMAS album! Haha. Not kidding. It’s a Target exclusive thing, and I’m really excited about it! There are two songs on it that I wrote. More on it later!”

According to its copyright file, Christmases When You Were Mine was written in 2007, but it's totally possible that it was written around Christmas '06. In my opinion, since Nathan Chapman is credited as writer, it was likely written in the studio just for the EP.

Christmas Must Be Something More was written in 2003. The Acoustic Demo from 2003 has never leaked and its existence only surfaced in 2018 thanks to Bob Orrall.

July 19, 2007: Taylor and Brad Paisley stop at the Jamboree In The Hills in Morristown, Ohio, where she sings Permanent Marker, and Fearless, along other songs from Debut.

March 2007: Taylor has written more or less 75 songs, including Fearless.

[Unrated Magazine Interview] “I've got, like, 75 written, and we just have to whittle it down to whatever number of songs we want to put on the album, and start recording. I wrote this song that I'm really excited about called "Fearless." It's about the best first date that I haven't been on yet. I just try and put myself in the position of "this is really happening,' and what would happen on the coolest first date. So I haven't ever written a song about, you know, that feeling before. I've written songs, but I haven't recorded them or put them on an album, and so I think that would be a cool.”

“She conceived the song while touring as opening act to promote her eponymous debut album: "This is a song about the fearlessness of falling in love. No matter how many break up songs you write, no matter how many times you get hurt, you will always fall in love again. When I wrote “Fearless,” I wasn’t dating anyone. I wasn’t even in the beginning stages of dating anybody. I really was all by myself out on tour and I got this idea for a song about the best first date. I think sometimes when you’re writing love songs, you don’t write them about what you’re going through at the moment, you write about what you wish you had. So, this song is about the best first date I haven't had yet.”

[Hillary Lindsay to MusicRow.com] “I had a writing date with Taylor, and she came to my home. She came in like a fireball. She was young, but she knew exactly what she wanted. She had been working on the song with Liz, but wanted to finish it with me.”

August 2007: Taylor writes The Best Day while on tour with Brad Paisley.

“I wrote this song on the road and didn’t tell my mom about it. I decided that I was going to keep it a secret and give it to her as a surprise for Christmas. I wrote it in the summer and then recorded it secretly with the band in the studio. After it was done, I synched the song up to all these home videos of her, and my family. She didn’t even realize it was me singing until halfway through the song! She didn’t have any idea that I could possibly write and record a song without her knowing about it. When she finally got it, she just started bawling her eyes out.”

September 22, 2007: Taylor posts on MySpace: “I'm just counting down to December, when we start recording the next album. There's so much that I'm excited about.”

August/September 2007 (not confirmed): Tell Me Why and Acting Like A Boy, both co-written with Liz Rose, are registered together in her Music Publishing catalogue (Sony/ATV). Acting Like A Boy is the 66th song and Tell Me Why the 67th. Shortly after, a song called Too Beautiful, solo written, is copyrighted.

The singer told The Associated Press that this was inspired by her frustration at a boy that she liked acting up. She explained: "I walked into Liz's house, and I said, 'I can't believe what's going on right now, I've gotta tell you about this.' I told her all about it. She goes, 'If you could say everything you were thinking to him right now, what would you start with?'" Swift began venting: "I would say to him, 'I'm sick and tired of your attitude, I feel like I don't even know you' ... and I just started rambling, and she was writing down everything that I was saying, and so, we turned it into a song."

“I’d been talking to a guy I’ve never “officially” dated. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing when you have all these dreams of dating them, and you’re getting close, but it doesn’t work out. He would say things that would make me go, “Did you just say that?” It bothered me so much because he would say one thing and do another, do one thing and say another. Because he didn’t know what he wanted, he would just play all these mind games. So I went over to write with Liz and was just ranting and raving about how this guy is such a flake and such a jerk sometimes, and so cool other times. I was like, “Liz, I don’t know what’s up with this guy!” So I just started playing the beginning, “I took a chance, I took a shot. And you might think I’m bulletproof, but I’m not.””

Description of the Tell Me Why Acoustic Demo: 3 minutes and 7 seconds long. An extremely rare worktape demo from the Fearless album sessions. With studio production stripped away, we are left with Taylor singing along to an acoustic guitar using vocals that are softer and carry more emotional weight. The lyrics are different in some places, which makes for fascinating comparisons.

Description of Acting Like A Boy (worktape): Taylor starts this demo in a unique way by stating the song title. The boy Taylor has been dating has been sending her mixed signals. He has been playing a little game, acting like he doesn't care, and picking fights with her. Taylor is not going to put up with this forever. She is going to slip through his hands soon and he won't find her anymore. This song has a very pretty chorus melody.

October 10, 2007: Taylor premieres Fifteen.

[From the Inner Circle] “First performance of Fifteen at the All For the Hall New York. Quality unknown. We do not currently have a copy of this and are not sure if it was recorded. Tickets cost $1,000 each to attend and Taylor was a surprise guest.”

“I wrote this around the story line of my best friend from high school, Abigail. I started everything with the line “Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind” and wrote everything else from that point, almost backwards. I just decided I really wanted to tell that story about our first year of high school because I felt in my freshman year, I grew up more than any year in my life so far.”

October 14, 2007: Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection is released in a limited edition through Target. It will be later reissued in 2009 with a slightly different cover.

October 17, 2007: During an interview with Country Weekly, Taylor says: "I have 30 songs that I want to put on it, which is a little bit difficult because I can only put on 12. I'm real excited for people to hear the new stuff."

November 7, 2007: After months of putting it off, Taylor finishes Change after winning the CMA Horizon award. This will be the last time in which her fiddler Emily Poe would perfom with Taylor.

“That’s when I finished it, because I knew I couldn’t finish it until something like that happened. It was absolutely the most amazing night of my life, getting to see the emotion of all the people who worked so hard for me.”

“At one point, I began to understand that it would be harder for me on a smaller record label to get to the places and accomplish the things that artists were accomplishing on bigger record labels. I realized that I wouldn’t get favors pulled for me because there weren’t any other artists on the label to pull favors from. It was going to be an uphill climb and all that I had to encourage me was the hope that someday things would change. That things would be different. After so many times of just saying that to myself over and over, I finally wrote it down in a song.”

November 30, 2007: Taylor meets up with Colbie Caillat and they write Breathe, for her former fiddle player, Emily Poe.

“She was doing a show in Nashville and I just happened to be in town, so we got together and wrote a killer song. It’s really cool, and I can’t wait for you to hear it. She’s gonna record back up vocals on it for my new album. (They’ll be really loud back up vocals, because she has an incredibly awesome voice and I want it to be turned wayyyy up).”

[Alexa Skill for Taylor's Version] “Breathe is a song about having to let go of someone in your life who you care about and you don't want to hurt but you've outgrown the friendship or the relationship and I wrote this one I wrote the idea for it and Colbie Caillat was in town playing a show and I brought her this idea and she really liked it and we wrote it together, we sat there and wrote the song right before her show, I mean it was the afternoon she was about to play that night. She's singing backup vocals on it that are just so haunting and I'm so lucky because she agreed to do the same backup vocals on my version of Breathe, so it absolutely would not have been the same without her.”

“It’s a song about having to say goodbye to somebody, but it never blames anybody. Sometimes that’s the most difficult part. When it’s nobody’s fault. I was a huge fan of Colbie’s record. When it came out, I fell in love with the way that she makes music. I contacted her management right away and I asked if I could write with her and, sure enough, Colbie had a date coming up in Nashville where she was going to be playing a show and she had the day off. I think she sounds beautiful on it. I’m so excited to have her voice on my album.”

December 5, 2007: [From MySpace] “Speaking of my next album, today was my first day in the studio “pre-planning” for recording it!! My producer, Nathan, and I basically spent all day listening to songs and picking which ones to record first.”

“When Taylor sat down in December 2007 to start planning her sophomore album, she knew she had a tough act to follow — her self-titled debut had just been certified double platinum. “Pressure is one of my favorite things in the world,” Taylor told the Tennessean. “When I heard before my second album, ‘Is she going to experience a sophomore slump?’ it made me more motivated to make sure that didn’t happen. ‘Is she going to keep this fan base?’ ‘Is this thing going to run off the tracks?’ Those things motivate me. My gut instinct has worked so far, and I’m not going to mess with that.””

December 10, 2007: Taylor is in the studio to record Change and Breathe. Taylor Swift goes double platinum. Our Song reaches No. 1. It's her first song to do so.

December 13, 2007: Taylor turns 18. Footage from her birthday party will be later turned in the Beautiful Eyes music video.

[From MySpace] “I had an amazing time at my party. I wore a hot pink dress. Pictures soon! The party was a blast.. My favorite thing about it was this photo booth. All of us were taking pictures in there the whole night. We had tarot card readers and palm readers and all kinds of fun stuff to do. I’ve never really had a big birthday party before, so it was amazing to get that chance! My record label surprised me with this HUGE pink truck!! They’re so sweet to me, and I’ve always wanted a truck.”

Around this time, an alternate version of Christmases When You Were Mine is released thorough Entertainment Weekly.

December 23, 2007: [From MySpace] “We’ve got six songs recorded already, and they sound amazing. I’ve been in the studio with Nathan (my producer. Same guy who produced my first record! But this time we’re co-producing) all month and it’s been so much fun.”

December 27, 2007: The Mirror tracklisting is released through a photoshoot with People Magazine:

Permanent Marker

Tell Me Why

I'd Lie

Fearless

Dark Blue Tennessee

Sparks Fly

The One Thing.

Lyrics to I'm Looking Out For You are also photographed. This song is speculated to be about Gracie Johnson, a friend of Taylor's who was battling cancer. Gracie can be heard at the beginning of the Beautiful Eyes Video and seen in the first picture in the Love Story (Taylor's Version) Lyric Video. She passed away in October 2019.

“Bye Bye Baby [previously known as The One Thing] is a song that I wrote with Liz Rose and it was just one of those ones that it would always get stuck in my head, just the idea that you're facing disappointment when it comes to somebody that you really cared about, and kind of that grand letdown that happens when you're growing up and you're learning to trust people and trying to learn about love and everything and kind of realizing that you have to let go.”

Somewhere in 2007: Taylor writes The Way I Loved You with John Rich and SuperStar with Liz Rose.

[About The Way I Loved You] “I got this idea for a song about being in a relationship with a nice guy who is punctual and opens up the door for you and brings you flowers... but you feel nothing. The whole time you’re with him, you’re thinking about the guy who was complicated and messy and frustrating. So I brought that idea, the title and where I thought the song should go to John. He was able to relate to it because he is that complicated, frustrating messy guy in his relationships. We came at the song from different angles. It was just so cool to get in a room and write with him because he really is an incredible writer.”

John Rich is a Republican and spoke against Taylor in 2018 after Marsha Blackburn won, so this is probably all we'll ever know about their writing session.

There are two demos of Superstar, and on the worktape Taylor reveals that the superstar was born in Arkansas. Fans speculated that it's a reference to Joe Nichols, a famous country singer.

January 2008: Taylor records three more songs for Fearless.

[Taylor to Mix Online] The recording process on this album was spread out over the last year. We started recording last winter, and we did about three songs. About a month later, we did three more. 

This is a theory but I think that 3 out of the 6 songs mentioned in December were Breathe, Change (we have footage) and The Best Day (Taylor gave this song to Andrea as a Christmas gift). The other 3 were/are unreleased and that's why Taylor had to lower the number from 6 to 3 during the album press. They might've been The One Thing (now Bye Bye Baby), Permanent Marker and Sparks Fly, but that's just a personal theory. For the January songs, on January 17th, Taylor is interviewed by Blender Magazine, and the interviewer mentions listening to Change and Fifteen (and The Best Days Of Your Lives, the Kelly Picker co-write). The other two might've been Fearless and Tell Me Why.

January 28, 2008: Matt Jenkins opens for Taylor at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. They write a song together called This One's Different. It was probably intended for Jenkins' debut album (which was never released) but I'll inlcude it anyway.

[Description of the song from the Inner Circle] The singer reflects back on how there can be really bad days and nights where it seems like everything goes wrong. But things can change for the better in a single moment when we meet the perfect person. The story in this song culminates in a romantic proposal and wedding. This song is unique because Taylor only sings background vocals and the story is told from the boy's perspective.

Video of Taylor and Matt explaining how she contacted him.

February 28, 2008: Love and Theft open Taylor's concert in Spartanburg, SC. This is likely the period when Taylor and Stephen Barker Liles met and Taylor wrote Hey Stephen.

“We were recording at John and Martina McBride’s studio [aka Blackbird Studios in Nashville] and he was like, ‘My kids are dying to meet you. Do you think that you could say hi to them?’ I said, ‘Sure, have them come and hang out while we’re recording.’ So his daughters and their friends from school – there were about ten of them there – they all came into the studio when we were recording “Hey Stephen” and they loved it. They were singing along with it by the end of it." The children ended up snapping their fingers on the song.”

March 2008: According to Nathan Chapman, Love Story was recorded in March. On March 8th, Taylor posts on MySpace: "The second album is coming along quite nicely. :-)", possibly referencing the latest recording session for Fearless.

[From Everyday is a Fairytale by Liv Spencer] “Taylor wrote this song lying on her bedroom floor in a mere 20 minutes and recorded a rough cut of the track in 15 minutes of studio time the next day.”

[Nathan Chapman to ProAudio] “The vocal was a tracking vocal — that's the vocal she cut live with the band," Chapman reveals. "The band was just acoustic guitar, bass and drums; everything else was overdubbed.”

Nathan is likely talking about these two demos: Love Story (4 min 8 sec / Acoustic in a Studio) Taylor went into the studio to record this demo shortly after writing it and you can hear Nathan (the producer) speaking during the recording; Love Story Justin Niebank Master Mix (3 min 58 sec / Studio) - As the music starts playing, Taylor clears her throat in preparation for singing. This album demo is more like a raw unmixed studio version. Sometimes Taylor's vocal is simply one take with no enhancements. At other times, harmonies are mixed in loudly or there are multiple Taylor vocals all singing together.

[Taylor on Rolling Stone, January 25, 2010] “Love Story wasn’t technically the last one, but it was very, very last minute.”

“This is a song I wrote when I was dating a guy who wasn't exactly the popular choice. His situation was a little complicated, but I didn't care. I started this song with the line "This love is difficult, but it's real." When I wrote the ending to this song, I felt like it was the ending every girl wants to go with her love story. It’s the ending that I want. You want a guy who doesn’t care what anyone thinks, what anyone says. He just says, “Marry me, Juliet, I love you, and that’s all I really know.” It’s sort of told in a character kind of thing, where it’s Romeo and Juliet, and it’s not me saying that I’m getting married or anything...but I think it’s fun to write about it.”

March 2008: Just days after writing Love Story, Taylor has a writing session with Craig Wiseman. She brings Love Story with her, asking if he wanted to finish it with her, but he refused. They end up writing another unknown song.

March 28, 2008: [Rollling Stone Interview] “I’ve recorded six songs, including one that I wrote with Colbie Caillat, that she’s going to throw some harmonies on, which I can’t even wait to hear. And I’m going in to record six more this week and then we have another session scheduled for summertime. We’re really trying to just cut a bunch of stuff and put whatever is best on the album.”

May 10, 2008: Banjo Ben Clark, the banjo player who has been touring with Taylor since 2006, reveals that he had recently played some banjo on new Taylor songs. Through an email exchange with him, I was able to confirm that he played on a Fearless song of which the production was changed and the banjo track discarded. Mr. Clark was not able to confirm which song this was.

Early June 2008: Taylor records Crazier and White Horse.

“I actually wasn’t going to put [White Horse] on the album. I was going to wait for the third album because I really felt like we had the “sadness” represented on this record. Then my agency out in LA set up a meeting with executive producers Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes at Grey’s Anatomy because that’s my favorite show. It would just be a dream come true to have a song on it. So, I played them “White Horse.” It was just me and my guitar and they freaked out. They loved it. They said, “We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” For a while, we didn’t know if we were going to put it on the record because if it wasn’t going to be on the show, then we weren’t going to put it on the album. Then they called and said they were very interested in the song. We recorded it right away, sent it off to them, and they put it in!”

“White Horse is about what, in my opinion, is the most heart-breaking part of a break-up – that moment when you realize that all the dreams you had, all those visions you had of being with this person, all that disappears. Everything after that moment is moving on.. But that initial moment of "Wow, it's over" is what I wrote White Horse about.”

(About Crazier) [Billboard Interview, March 2008] “There are songs that I wrote when I was 13 that I think are perfect to bring out now. I didn’t get a chance to put ’em on the record the first time around. There’s so much stuff that I’m gonna to pull from the back drawer and then there’s some stuff that I will write today and cut tomorrow.”

“I wrote the song ‘Crazier’ when I was thirteen, and so this song is really a reflection of what I thought love was supposed to be. And, you know, sometimes you write a love song about what you hope will find you, and what you hope you’ll find someday, not about what you’re actually going through. I wrote the song in hopes that possibly it would be in the movie, but I never thought that it would be such a big, prominent song. It’s absolutely one of the most exciting things. The song is playing when the main characters in the movie, Miley and Billy Ray, are both falling in love, with that song as a background. It’s really cool to have that kind of a part in the movie.”

[Co-writer Robert Ellis Orrall on Crazier] “Disney called her up and said, 'We need a fiddle waltz song for Hannah Montana the Movie, we would love for you to sing it. She had one, so she sent it to them.”

Speculation:

I'm pretty confident that the songs written at 13 which she considered to release were Crazier and R-E-V-E-N-G-E.

I'm not entirely sure it was June, but Crazier, White Horse and Beautiful Eyes were mastered together, so I'm gonna assume that they were done in the period between her cameo in Hannah Montana and the release of the Beautiful Eyes EP. Grey's Anatomy was in post-production in that period, so that checks out.

June 9, 2008: Taylor shoots her cameo in Hannah Montana.

July 15, 2008: Beautiful Eyes is released.

[From MySpace] “I’m only letting my record company make a small amount of these - the last thing I want any of you to think is that we are putting out too many releases. I’m not going to be doing a bunch of promotion for it, because I don’t want there to be confusion about whether it’s the second album or not.”

Beautiful Eyes was written by April 20, 2004 and recorded on August 9, 2004 and it was produced by Orrall. The song released is actually the exact same demo, not even remixed, just mastered. [Source: Bob Orrall's Instagram]

I Heart? was written in early 2004 and the demo recorded in June 2004. The released version, available for download if you bought her Debut album the first week at Best Buy, was recorded on November 3, 2005 (instrumentals) and on November 4, 2005 (vocals). Both versions are produced by Bob Orrall.

FAQ: What's the difference between mixing and mastering?

July 2008 - A Sunday: Taylor and Liz Rose write You Belong With Me.

“I came into the writing session with Liz Rose and said: “I’ve got this idea. I had overheard a friend of mine talking to his girlfriend and he was completely on the defensive saying, “No, baby...I had to get off the phone really quickly...I tried to call you right back...Of course I love you. More than anything! Baby, I’m so sorry.” She was just yelling at him! I felt so bad for him at that moment. So I came up with the first line “You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset, going off about something that you said,” and I ran that into the story line that I’m in love with him and he should be with me instead of her. It just became this whole picture. It was really fun for us to write the line, “She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts.””

[Liz Rose Interview] “Taylor said, ‘I’m finishing the record on Monday. Let’s write an uptempo song.’ We wrote ‘You Belong With Me’ in one or two hours. It’s amazing to go back to the work tape and listen to it, because you wouldn’t believe the nuances that show up in the album version, too. When she’s writing something, she’s already producing in her head. She hears it all.”

[Liz Rose - BMI Conference] With "You Belong With Me" she called me on a Friday I think, and said, "Hey, I'm finishing the record and I need another song. Can you write on Sunday?" [...] When I hear the worktape I hear the production, the stop and the clap, she was hearing all that when we were writing it. And then she called and said, "We cut it, it's amazing!" And I was like, "We just wrote it? That's cool, ok!"

Description of the worktape: You Belong With Me (3 min 7 sec / Acoustic)- Provides an incredible window into the songwriting process which went into this future hit song. Taylor clears her voice and then unleashes her acoustic guitar as she sings along with great feeling. There are some unique lyrics on this demo including an entirely different bridge. Simply stunning.

July 2008 - A Monday: During the summer sessions mention on Rolling Stone, Taylor records You Belong With Me and other 4 songs.

[Nathan Chapman Interview] We moved a little quick sometimes - most of You Belong With Me took two hours and a half. We started at 10AM and we were done by 12:30. I said, "Hey, let's go to lunch", but on the way back, one of the guys from the label said, "Hey, it's not cool to take that much time for one song". So we did four songs that afternoon. And then her management called and said, "You really wore her out today, can you go easier on her tomorrow?"

July 29, 2008: First live perfomance of Untouchable from the Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 is the album which was released without Taylor's approval in April 2020. Before the "official" Big Machine release, these songs were on the Target YouTube channel. YouTube channel EAS Music Official waited until Taylor regained possessions of Fearless before uploading a 4K remastered version of Love Story from this live. Both videos are ethical-sourced.

July 31, 2008: Taylor shoots the Fearless photoshoot. (I got this date from an insider)

August 5 and 6, 2008: Shooting of the Love Story music video at the Cumberland University and Castle Gwynn in Arrington, Tennessee.

August 8, 2008: Change is released. Brian Mansfield, a journalist who has followed Taylor since the beginning of her career, reveals some song titles:

Swift, 18, hasn't finalized the new disc's track list, but other likely songs include Hey Stephen, You're Not Sorry, Fifteen, You Belong With Me, Change, Tell Me Why, The Best Day and Breathe, written and sung with Colbie Caillat.

August 15, 2008: Week of the Jonas Brothers 3D Movie shooting where Taylor performs Should've Said No; Should've Said No reaches No. 1; Fearless is announced for November.

August 30, 2008: [From MySpace] “So now is the time for planning. In 73 days, November 11th will be here and so will the release date of my new album. And so right now I’m in the middle of writing my ‘thank you’ section and thinking about track listing order (wondering “What song should go first..? Or last? How do you get the perfect flow of an album? What IS the "flow” of an album? Hmmm..“). And I’m also thinking about the secret codes to put into the lyrics. [...] This next record is on my mind 24/7, all the time. It never stops. I’m always either listening to a new mix of a song or scanning through pictures to make sure we’ve chosen the right ones, or wondering which songs you guys are going to like the best. I’m just so obsessed with it right now, all the planning. And sometimes I just have to sit back and remind myself that 73 days is not going to be here any sooner if I obsess. It’s still going to be 73 days away.”

Somewhere between July and August 2008: Taylor writes Jump Then Fall and Today Was A Fairytale.

[About Jump The Fall] It’s probably the happiest, bounciest, most fun song to drive down the street listening to. It's one of my favorites on the Platinum Edition. It's just really fun and happy and takes me back to a good place.

September 1, 2008: The first Fearless tracklist is released. Originally, Change was the first song The Way I Loved You wasn't included. Forever & Always was also missing, as Taylor hadn't written it yet.

01 - Change 02 - Fearless 03 - Fifteen 04 - Love Story 05 - Hey Stephen 06 - White Horse 07 - You Belong With Me 08 - Breathe 09 - Tell Me Why 10 - You're Not Sorry 11 - The Best Day

September 12, 2008: The lead single Love Story is released.

[From MySpace] “A lot of people have been asking me what inspired this song.. I think the line that sums up what that song is about is “This love is difficult, but it’s real.” It just means that sometimes you have to fight for love, but sometimes it’s worth fighting for. Like with Romeo and Juliet. Except without the death. :) To me, the song isn’t really about living in a castle and having met your true love at a royal ball. It’s simpler than that. It’s about love being worth it. The hard times, the things that keep you apart, the times when you question it.. I would really like to think that the right love is worth the energy we put into it. So that’s what this song is about. Love and Romeo, and how we fight for those things that we can’t be without. In 1789 or in 2008. Whether you’re 16 or 60.”

Taylor will call the guy who inspired Love Story “a creep” in a 2011 interview.

September 16, 2008: The second Fearless tracklist is released.

01. Fearless 02. Fifteen 03. Love Story 04. Forever & Always 05. Hey Stephen 06. White Horse 07. You Belong With Me 08. Breathe 09. You're Not Sorry 10. Tell Me Why 11. That's The Way I Loved You 12. The Best Day 13. Change

September 18, 2008: The Jonas Brothers are filming their music video Lovebug. Joe meets Camilla Belle there.

September 22 or 23, 2008: While in the studio, Taylor writes and records Forever & Always, a last-addiction to Fearless.

[From MySpace] [...] And I recorded a new song the other day for Fearless. I think it’s fun to put yourself under crazy pressure to finish a song by a certain deadline. That’s what I did with this last song. And that makes 13 songs on the new album. 13….. I think that’s a good number of songs to end up with….<3

“Forever & Always is about when I was in a relationship with someone and I was just watching him slowly slip away. I didn't know why, because I wasn't doing anything different. I didn't do anything wrong. He was just fading. It’s about the confusion and frustration of wondering why? What changed? When did it change? What did I do wrong? In this case, the guy I wrote it about ended up breaking up with me for another girl. Guess I know why he was fading.”

[Taylor to Mix Online] The recording process on this album was spread out over the last year. We started recording last winter, and we did about three songs. About a month later, we did three more. Two weeks before the album had to be turned in and mastered, after all the other songs were finished, I wrote a new song and also decided that I wanted to put another song [The Way I Loved You] that we already recorded onto the album, making 13 tracks instead of 11. I went to the label and said, “Is there any way we could get an emergency recording session? I need to record this new song.” And [laughs] my record label president took a deep breath and said, “Yes, I guess you can do that.”

September 26, 2008: White Horse is premeried on Grey's Anatomy.

September 30, 2008: [From MySpace] “So this week, we’re in “final approval mode” for the album. You know, all the emails that say in the subject lines “Fearless album booklet: FINAL APPROVAL” or “CD design: FINAL APPROVAL”. So I’m doing a lot of approving. And then they send it to the magical CD maker people and they make all the CDs just in time for November 11. Actually, it’s called the distribution branch, but I prefer “the magical CD maker people”.”

Somewhere during the last two weeks of September: Drama Queen, co-written with Martin Johnson is written and recorded. It will be mastered along the rest of the Fearless songs and another re-recording of R-E-V-E-N-G-E (not the one leaked). Since the song was mastered, it's considered an outtake and not a demo.

Fun fact: Along with I'd Lie, Drama Queen and R-E-V-E-N-G-E are the only three unreleased songs to have been mastered.

IMPORTANT PERSONAL NOTE: I know that a lot of people think that Drama Queen is exclusively a Speak Now cut, but this is not my opinion, but what the master engineer (Hank Williams) and Big Machine officially declared. Feel free to not believe them though. It's totally possible it was considered for Fearless Platinum or for Speak Now (and I believe it was) but cut in favour of Better Than Revenge, but it doesn't change the fact that it's also a Fearless cut. If you really have proof that Big Machine falsified documents, call them out, don't waste time coming after me, I just copy-past stuff. They're already considered liars anyway.

October 2, 2008: An interview with Rolling Stone is published, where she says: “I just wrote songs about what I like to write about, which is boys,” she says. Working again with producer Nathan Chapman, Swift spent nearly eight months in Nashville studios recording 50-plus new songs, from which she picked Fearless‘ 13 tracks.” It's unclear whether whether 50 songs were actually fully recorded or if they were just considered.

October 14, 2008: Through Countdown to Fearless, an exclusive campaign by the iTunes Store, Fearless is released as a promotional single.

October 28, 2008: You're Not Sorry is released as a promotional single through ITunes. The physical copies are also completed.

[From MySpace] Just letting everyone know that my new song “You’re Not Sorry” comes out on iTunes tonight at midnight, so check it out! I stopped by the label today and held the actual CD in my hands… It’s finished. It’s ready to go. TWO WEEKS! Let me know what you think of the new song!

November 4, 2008: You Belong With Me is released as a promotional single through ITunes.

November 11, 2008: Fearless is finally released.

March 19, 2009 (not confirmed): [From MySpace] “I've been in the studio all day (I know, I know.. We JUST put out a new album. I think I have a problem, I cannot stop writing songs.)”. The song is possibly Mr. Perfectly Fine.

[Alexa Skill for Taylor's Version] “Mr Perfectly Fine was definitely an early indicator of me sort of creeping towards a pop sensibility. I've always listened to every type of music and even though Fearless is a country album, there were always these pop melodies creeping in. But I really love this song and, I love the bridge, I think the lyrics are just wonderfully scathing and full of the teen angst that you would hope to hear on an album that I wrote when I was 17 or 18 or you know on that cusp.”

April 23, 2009: The Fearless Tour starts in Evansville, Indiana.

October 26, 2009: Fearless Platinum Edition is released.

The six new songs on the Fearless [Platinum Edition] are songs that I either recorded and wrote really recently, wrote maybe a year ago and almost put on Fearless but decided not to for one reason or another, or a songs that I wrote when I was 14/15 and re-recorded recently. It's a good mixture of songs from different time periods throughout my life. When I make an album, I always have a general theme for it. And when I hear songs, or go back and listen to old ones, there are some that I know fit in with the theme.

Check out my Spreadsheet with all the writing and recording dates.

Follow my playlist 'Fearless in Chronological Order'.

Go to my Writing of Speak Now Timeline

Go to my Writing of Red Timeline

Other Sources used:

U.S. Copyright Office;

Mastering Archive Website;

Sony/ATV Catalogue;

Fearlyssa/Rare TS Songs Website;

Alexa Skills from Fearless TV (audio courtesy of u/emmafan3070, transcripts by me);

Big Machine Interviews Archive;

Taylor's Concert History;

TS MySpace Archive on Tumblr

Last but certainly not least, the king of Taylor's timeline: Robert Ellis Orrall.

[starrycassi]

A tragedy in a rooftop.

“Do you bring all the girls you like here?”

Ambrosius laughed, face going red. Standing next to him, Ballister waited for an answer, raising one of his eyebrows.

The best view in the city — a wonderful sunset, pink and orange and soft and fiery — was right in front of them, yet he couldn't tear away his eyes from Ballister's face. How pathetic, one can be, when one is in love.

“So? Is this a kissing spot or something?” Questioned Ballister, trying to be brave.

“Do you want it to be?” Answered Ambrosius, trying to be smart.

Ballister stopped, blushing, and they looked at each other. The light, warm and cozy and ethereal and divine surrounded them, filled them with a sense of peace that can only be given by the heavens, by the clouds, by the universe. It can only be obtained at the exact hour in which the fire of the sun decides to paint the sky pink, and bathes the whole world in doing so. This one could've been a love story, a happy story, if only the rosy lights gave them a bit more of courage, if only the world didn't take so many things away from them.

But their fates have been chosen, already. And I'm sorry. They have been chosen by their ages, by their status, by their bodies and by their parents. By me and by you, and by all the tragedies that have ever been written before.

Under their shoes, the cold, dry concrete seemed to disappear. The rooftop they were standing on — one of an abandoned house, one of what used to be a home — wobbled when they looked at each other. Over their heads, the sun and the moon shared the place, shared the canvas, as if allowing the other to be here and witness the ending of the day, the start of a night. They said hello to one another, and in the same breath, said goodbye.

“I'm not sure” admitted Ballister, after what could've been minutes, could've been years, “I'm not sure of many things lately, I think. Not with you”

And this was hilarious — because Ambrosius wasn't sure, either. He wasn't sure of what to do, what to say, what to expect, what to ask for. They'd met merely a year ago, and he was already so deep down on this, so deeply in love with this boy, that nothing seemed to matter. Not his reputation, not his parents, not his mother's quietly disappointed stare that came with a cross or his father's icy demeanor that accompanied him all the way from Asia when he talked about gayness, not his classmates, not Todd Sureblade or the director or the world. Not himself.

“I've never kissed a girl” he admitted, because Ballister had asked him. Then, with a quivering voice, he added, “I've never even liked a girl, Bal”

Which was a bit conflicting to admit, specially given his reputation as a womanizer. You and I would know that it's a lie, that it's based on rumors and gossip. The world, however, does not. The world is unaware of how Ambrosius can only love in shadows, how his romances are doomed to be no more whispers and stolen kisses. And he intends to keep his secrets, to take them with him to the grave.

“Can't be” Ballister shook his head, as if he knew better. Ambrosius hated him, for a split second. Look at me and believe in my words, he wanted to say, but he stayed still, “you can't say that, Ambrosius. Not here”

“Why not?”

Mother, why not? Why couldn't he, world? What did he do, to deserve this fate? To be sixteen and so tired and so in love and so defeated? What did he do, sun, to be born with so many expectations that his back was already giving up from carrying the weight of his parent's dreams?

If the fire had been able to talk, it might have consoled him. It might have done what his mother didn't, what his father tried to do.

“Because that will give me ideas” pleaded Ballister, tears stuck on his heart, his lungs, his eyes.

And why, moon, why did he have to be born with so many thoughts and so little pennies? Why did the world insist upon placing everything he wanted in front of him and yanking it right off of his hands? This year everything was supposed to turn around, to change. He came here looking for an opportunity, clinging with tooth and nail to a scholarship, but he'd found a boy and so many problems. Why couldn't he just get by, keep on? Why couldn't he just adapt, move along?

“What kind of?”

Ambrosius took one step forward, Ballister backed away. The concrete under them used to be the place where Ambrosius's played in, as a kid, and it was now merely a spectator of the endeavors of two teens. They'd moved years ago, but sometimes, some days, he could still hear his mother laughing and his father singing in the kitchen.

“Don't do this to me. Please, Ambrosius. Don't-”

He couldn't do this again. Teenhood — specially that weird place between sixteen and seventeen where everything feels too intensely and everyone loves too deeply — is definitely not the place to put your heart out, to play with it. Ballister's been under rooftops like this a thousand times, a thousand homes that he got in and out and ripped away from and saved from and ran from.

“I want to” admitted Ambrosius, and he wanted so many things that it felt ridiculous to even dream of them, but this, he could have. He knew he could, and he wasn't going to give up. “I want you”

Ballister wasn't used to being wanted, so it was natural for him to shake his head and laugh, because this wasn't funny, it was terrific. Ambrosius Goldenloin was supposed to be an asshole, a complete idiot, a stupid flirt and a heartless arrogant boy. That's what they said about him.

But didn't they lie all the time? Didn't the same mouths that called Ambrosius all those things lie about Ballister, too? Didn't they call him a thief and a cheater, a scammer and a danger, harmful and useless? Didn't you hear the same rumors about him? What was he supposed to believe in — the mocks in the halls or the pleads on the rooftops?

“You can't” he tried, tried to save himself from this, from falling, “You can't want me, Ambrosius. This isn't fair”

But the world, in all of its years, has never been known for its fairness, and Ambrosius stood there, heart bleeding with feelings.

Oh, the tragedy to be sixteen and be in love. The tragedy to be something you're not supposed to be, something no one wants you to be. The tragedy to love and be loved back in a world where love like yours is supposed to be punished, hidden, whispered about.

He tried to take a step forward, kiss Ballister, like in the movies. The sunset would be the only witness of their love, their hearts. Ballister took another step back, avoiding Ambrosius. The world would be the judge of their love, and he already knew what the verdict would be.

“Why can't you just leave me alone?”

He didn't want to be alone, that was the problem. He wanted to be loved, to love him back. But he was tired of the hidden smiles, of pretending, of putting up an act. He deserved to be loved in public, didn't he? He wanted to be with him, yes. He didn't want the shadows that came with that premise.

“Because I love you"

He needed this. He needed to tell someone that he loved them and mean it. Not like his mother and her disapproval or his father and his disinterest. He wanted to be himself, in a secluded corner of the world. He didn't want to deal with the problems, the stares, the questions.

Ballister understood, at that moment, that sometimes love isn't enough. He hated the shadows he'd been born in, and Ambrosius loathed the spotlight that followed him around ever since he was brought onto this world. They loved each other and hated their own realities, and sometimes there's nothing that can be done. He could choose this, or he could walk away.

He didn't want to do either of them. He didn't even want this. He just wanted to graduate, to be valedictorian, to be able to take care of himself, to be believed. He wanted to be wanted and cherished. What a tragedy, it was, that they loved each other under the wrong conditions.

The last sun rays of the day lightened up Ambrosius, his white jacket and blond hair making him so much like an angel, like a star. Like something shiny and perfect and meant to be appreciated but not had.

And Ballister understood. With the sun and the moon as his witnesses, he turned around.

He had a life — a choice to make. He had a little sister waiting at home, even if neither one of them knew their parents and home was not a place but each other, he had work to do, even if he was already tired of everything, of everyone. He had dignity, even if the world tried to stripe it away from him time and time again.

He was meant for one life. Ambrosius, for another. What a tragedy, it was, that they loved each other.

Perhaps the next time. Perhaps in another life. Perhaps in another genre of history, they would be able to hold one another in the broad daylight and kiss and laugh and love. But this one is a tragedy, and the ending was already chosen, reader. We can be sorry, but that won't change that this one is a tragedy, and he isn't going to wait around and see who dies on this one. He'd lost too much, already, to risk losing himself to a love hidden in shadows and a lover bathed in light.

The sun settled, and the moon was the last one to ever see them together. What a tragedy, she thought. Perhaps in another time.

This is also on AO3!!

[lixenn]

*breaks into ur window so i can spill all my questions here while I read Yves' 😳😳✨ profile*

Lix...there are so many Marina mentions in Yves' profile sdjfbhsdf their beef is so hilarious to me, I might just start shipping them lowkey but then iirc Marina is alr married right? (another L for Ein, I will be staying in my DanxSqualo corner) 🤣😭🤣😭

Does Yves have a favorite flower in particular? Or maybe a flower that would represent them best?

I see that they're also a massage enjoyer!! How often do they get massages?

If "humiliating Marina in one of their verbal sparring matches" is one of their future goals, does that mean that that they've never really won? or does it always end in a draw? 🤣🤣

Heya there Ein!! *hands you a cup of tea* Nice having you drop by, it's always a pleasure 💜🫂✨

Yves and Marina

Yes... those two... I honestly don't know where that dynamic came from, it lowkey attacked me in a dingy alleyway and now I'm stuck with it lmao. As for shipping: Marina never married for love, she married for political ambition. She's fond of her husband and might even love him in some way but it's more of an owner indulging a particularly silly pet than anything substantial. He was a means to an end and he fulfilled it after Marina established her network and gave birth to her son. So technically her husband isn't really in the picture, but Marina's view of romance is... twisted. She likes the idea of it but often finds the reality... disappointing. Her family and her goals are her priority, anything else is inconsequential. To the surprise of everyone who knows them Dan is actually the more romantic out of the two siblings, which is why he really really doesn't like his sister's husband. But he will keep his mouth shut because Rina is happy with the situation. Yves on the other hand... They fail spectacularly at romance and dating because they miss the point of it entirely. There's no balance in all of their past relationships because Yves takes too much but never gives back. They manipulate and break hearts and cheat and they only feel an echo of pain when people leave them for it, if they even get a chance to do that. Most of the time Yves ditches their partners before they have a chance to break up with them. I can see the appeal for the ship though I feel like it would a be a very toxic one lmao.

Flower

Thanks to lovely @rebo-chan and her flower wisdom I can tell you that the flower that represents Yves is foxglove!

The foxglove is strongly associated with fairies, a fitting flower for the Fae. It's believed that fairies would play them as music in order to lure in those who are foolish enough to come into their gardens and from there they are tricked into sitting amongst the fatal blooms. They are painful if touched, and fatal if ingested. Foxgloves represent insincerity and deceit, but also immense pride in oneself and individuality and honestly this is Yves in a nutshell. They are arrogant, they lie and manipulate as they see fit but even if they put on different masks to trick their victims, they will always know who they are underneath. There's no taming the spark that makes Yves the selfish, beautiful, greedy individual that they are. In the end Yves will always be poison. Do not touch for you will suffer and do not look because if you do it's already too late.

Massage

Massages are the best and Yves knows it so they go to their favourite massage pallor bi-weekly. It's one of their many expenses which they can afford because their info isn't cheap by any means.

Verbal beatdown

Most of the verbal sparring matches do end in a draw since both Yves and Marina have silver tongues and a well of information at their backs. But more often than not Marina gains the upper hand which vexes Yves tremendously. Rina simply finds it hilarious and uses Yves' rage to further humiliate them. So even when they actually manage to win, Yves will always strive to beat Rina verbally into the ground.

[sailforvalinor]

Hmm, how about some slightly more obscure FMA pairings? Denny Brosch X Maria Ross, Jean Havoc X Rebecca Catalina, Olivier Armstrong X Buccaneer (the last one is basically crack, but I have a soft spot for it XD)

(ACK I'm so late getting to this I apologize)

Denny Brosh x Maria Ross:

Sure, why not?

What made you ship it?

This sounds like a dumb answer, but kind of just because, as partners, they were paired up all the time? I wasn't actively thinking while watching "AAAAH I SHIP IT I SHIP IT" or anything, but I was kinda sitting there like "hmmmm. Yeah. Could be cute."

2. What are your favorite things about it?

They are in cahoots!! I adore ships where they are in cahoots!!! Watching their shenanigans trying to act as Ed and Al's bodyguards was hilarious.

Wait wait wait. Denny still doesn't know that she's alive, does she?? Did anyone tell him??? Oh my gosh no no the angst NO

3. Is there an unpopular opinion that you have about this ship?

No idea, lol.

Jean Havoc x Rebecca Catalina

Well, I don't think I've met Rebecca yet, so I don't know yet. But I am immensely fond of Jean and am a big proponent for the ship Jean Havoc x Happiness, so honestly I'd ship him with any decent woman who loves and respects him.

Olivier Armstrong x Buccaneer

OH MY. That's an interesting one. I don't have too much of an opinion one way or another, but for the sake of the question I think I'll say no?

Why don't you ship it?

I think mostly because I think Olivier needs someone who will help her lighten up a bit, and Buccaneer, while he can lighten up a bit, is a bit too much like her (and idolizes her a bit too much) to do that effectively. I think I'm just gonna say that Olivier shouldn't date anyone in the military. Or at least from her division. Yeah.

2. What would have made you like it?

I don't know why, but what immediately came to mind was that a situation where one of them has a one-sided crush on the other would have actually been entertaining.

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

They DO have that whole "undying loyalty" thing going on, which I have to confess I am a sucker for.

Thanks so much for the ask!

[tdoong15]

Can you do tzuyu turn into baby and twice have their concert tour and they bring baby tzuyu to the concert and once shock how cute baby tzuyu. Please 🤍

Hii of course you can, also I'm sorry for completing this so late I was procrastinating and I don't know why I did it.

Warnings: none

Baby's first concert

The girls were about to go on stage for their tour until they realized that Tzuyu was a baby. “What are we going to do?” Dahyun asks out of worry. “Uhm I don't know, how will Once react?” Mina wonders since it was something that doesn't happen normally. “We should probably wait until the encore to bring her out, or else we might upset her.” Jihyo states that and the other girls agreed with her.

With that in mind during the first part of their show Tzuyu stayed backstage with Manager Unnie and the others went on stage and performed without Tzuyu because it was better to perform as 8 at the very last minute instead of having Tzuyu perform whilst she was a baby. Whilst the girls performed, Tzuyu was hitting and giggling at the screen in front of her as it was showing the others performing.

“Do you like watching your sisters perform, Tzu?” Manager Unnie asks and Tzuyu enthusiastically nods her head. When the others finished performing ‘Moonlight Sunrise’ Tzuyu clapped her hands and she babbled happily, she then gasped loudly when she saw them come off stage when they had finished performing some more songs. Tzuyu wriggled out of Manager Unnie's arms so she could be with her members during intermission.

“Hey Tzu-Tzu! Are you enjoying the show?” Nayeon asks Tzuyu who smiles widely and reaches her arms out to Nayeon so she could be picked up, which Nayeon obviously obliged to do. So with that in mind, throughout the first intermission the girls all played with Tzuyu and they would hype her up whenever she tried to dance this didn't last long as Dahyun, Momo, Sana and Mina had to prepare for their Solo performances but that didn't stop the other girls from playing with Tzuyu.

“Let's go watch their solos, y'know so we can support them.” Jeongyeon suggested and the girls agreed with Jeongyeon, they didn't think much about it since Dahyun was first anyway. As soon as they heard ‘7 rings by Ariana Grande’ start to play they realized that they had to act quickly. “Oh god, cover her eyes! I don't know, just make her not look!” Jihyo slightly yells at Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung they all then covered Tzuyu's eyes with their hands except it basically looked like they had completely covered her face.

Tzuyu didn't know why this happened but she found it hilarious and at some points she even tries to move her head so she could get a look at MiSaMo's performances since the others now fully acknowledged that it wasn't a good idea to make baby Tzuyu be exposed to twerking, pole dancing and Sana's choreography. Thankfully, it was a different story when Jihyo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung did their solos, except for the fact that the girls backstage didn't make Tzuyu see the solos because they were petty over the fact that only Dahyun's was shown to Tzuyu.

When it came to the encore, Tzuyu crawled over to where her solo outfit was and she put on the hat despite it being a bit too big for her head at that moment in time. Everyone else laughed lightly and they decided to let Tzuyu wear her hat because they thought she looked adorable with it on. They also decided to do ‘When We Were Kids’ first so Once can know that the baby on stage wasn't a random one which had passed security it was in fact Tzuyu.

“Well, let's just hope that Once take this sudden news well.” Sana says softly and the others nod their head and they do their chant, Tzuyu also placed her hand in the middle but that was because she didn't feel like being left out. When they went on stage they were met with loud cheers from Once and when it was revealed that Tzuyu was with them but as a baby, Once filled the stadium with “Aww!” Tzuyu actually surprised everyone by smiling widely instead of crying over the loud noises and her hat made it at least 10 times cuter.

Tzuyu had fun with all of them during the encore and when she had to do a dance part in Likey, all nine of them actually joined in a huddle and they did random dances including choreo from their own music like ‘Signal.’ Towards the end of the concert Once were throwing plushies on stage and no matter who Tzuyu was with at that time she gave them the same treatment of pointing at the toy and making a sound to basically command the girls to pick up the plushies for her, she would then kick her legs happily when she got the plushy even though some of them were for the others. They didn't mind it though because they saw how happy Tzuyu was when she was able to hoard all of the stuffed toys for herself.

I hope everyone has a great day, night, or evening. Also what do you guys think about Twice's new song and MV for "I Got You"?