#i'm still suffering quite a bit of writer's block on this fic

[solalunar-eclipse]

Sonic Boom - S3E10

Episode title: The Obligatory Band Episode

Summary: When a boy band competition comes into town, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles immediately decide that they have to enter as Dudeitude. The only problem: their other two teammates who aren't allowed to join...

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[Episode opens on a shot of a poster.]

BATTLE OF THE (BOY) BANDS!!!! the poster proclaimed, using far more exclamation points than were necessary. All boy bands (and ONLY boy bands) welcomed to join and compete for the prize of 10,000 rings and a record deal!! 

A crowd of villagers had quickly gathered around the sign—which of course soon drew the attention of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, who had been wandering around the village chatting happily about nothing in particular. (No, literally, they were discussing what the word ‘nothing’ meant to each of them.)

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Tails asked, taking to the air in an effort to better see what was making everyone else so interested. 

He studied the poster, growing more and more excited by the second. “Sonic! Knuckles! Check it out!”

“Whoa!” Knuckles cried. “Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?”

Sonic’s smile widened. “I think I am thinking what you’re thinking….”

“It’s Dudeitude time!” all three shouted at once.

[They snatch up the poster so that it fills the camera frame, leading to a transition where the camera zooms back out on all three of them smiling hopefully.]

[Camera cuts to Amy, sitting on her couch with a distinctly unimpressed look on her face.]

[Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles’s smiles take on a rather panicked quality, before the opening sequence begins.]

…

[The same intro sequence plays as last time, complete with a reluctant Shadow.]

[Eggman’s villain reveal starts off similarly to that of the second episode, but the malfunction is caused by most of the minor villains turning the lights on and photobombing him. The green screen glitches out, leading to green and choppy outlines around each villain, before Eggman chases them out while shaking a wrench at them angrily.]

[The sequence then continues on, before ending with the title of this week’s episode.]

…

“What is it, Ames?” Sonic asked, the smile slipping off his face. 

“Seriously?” She sighed. “Why aren’t they letting any girls participate at all?”

“Oooh, yeah.” Tails winced. “That’s kinda rude, I guess.”

“I don’t know about rude—it’s mostly just downright juvenile.” Amy sniffed disapprovingly.

The fox and Sonic both turned to stare at Knuckles. “Man, I thought you knew about this kind of thing!”

The echidna cringed. “I mean…I dunno, guys, I can’t know everything all the time! Gimme a break, okay?”

Amy nodded approvingly. “That’s very true. There’s always more to learn!”

In the background, Sonic winced, more at the concept of learning from Amy Rose than learning, full stop.

“We don’t have to compete, then.” Tails said decisively.

Sonic and Knuckles were fully prepared to agree, but then they saw Amy’s determined expression.

“I have an even better idea.” she explained. “You guys are going to compete—and win—with a girl as your manager.”

“Uh…hang on, who would be our manager?” Sonic asked, frowning in confusion.

Amy facepalmed. “Me. I’d be the manager.”

Sonic grinned sheepishly. “Ohhhhh.”

“What’s a manager?” Knuckles added.

“They’re a person who helps organize all of your paperwork and performance dates.” she explained.

At that exact moment, Sticks kicked the door open and rushed inside, a pair of binoculars dangling from her hand. “You guys are hanging out? Without me?!?” (This of course ignored the fact that she was implied to have been watching them ‘hang out’ in Amy’s house for an indeterminate amount of time.)

“Oh, Sticks!” Amy’s expression brightened up considerably. “Do you want to work on the lighting for the show? There aren’t any government agents, aliens, or ghosts involved, I’m afraid, but it’ll still be worth your time!”

The badger frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that sounds boring.”

It took two minutes of explaining (and convincing) to get the idea across to her, but the moment the words ‘fight the patriarchy’ came into the conversation, she was onboard instantly. As a matter of fact, the word ‘fight’ probably would’ve been enough all on its own.

After that, the entire team ended up so excited that they spent the rest of the day planning out a dance and lights routine to some of their music. By the time they were worn out and crashed in various places around Amy’s house, there was paper strewn everywhere, but the general concept for the show was complete.

Just before Sonic fell asleep, using the couch armrest as a makeshift pillow, an idea came to him.

I wonder if Shadow would want to join Dudeitude….

…

Of course, the next day, they ran into a (not at all plot-convenient) problem almost immediately. When Amy sent Tails over to get the forms necessary to enter the competition, he found that there was one minor issue with their entire plan.

All competing bands were required to have at least four members.

Amy rubbed her eyes in frustration. “I can’t believe we’re going to have to rework our entire performance routine!”

Tails sighed. “That’s the least of our worries. We can’t even compete right now!”

Suddenly, Sonic dashed into the room, his arms laden with to-go chili dogs from Meh Burger. “Hey guys, how’d it g—oh. What happened?”

Amy looked up at him sadly. “We need four members in the band to compete. And right now we only have three!” she cried.

“Oh! Well, if that’s all, then,” Sonic said, putting down his food and dusting his hands off at sonic speed, “I know what to do!”

And with that, he vanished in a blur of blue.

…

A black ear twitched as the telltale zooming sound of Sonic’s running reached its owner. Shadow straightened up from what he’d been doing—adjusting a new bed frame in his room—and walked out to the front of his cave, wondering what could bring Sonic here in such a hurry. Knowing him, it could be anything from just wanting to race to the world actively ending.

“Shadow! Great, you’re here. Listen, we have an emergency.” Sonic said quickly.

“An emergency?” he asked, concerned. “What kind? Is it the doctor?”

Sonic shook his head. “No, worse! Listen, we need you to join our band, like, now, or else we won’t be able to compete in the battle of the bands competition.”

Shadow stared at him blankly. “I…I think your definition of ‘emergency’ is somewhat different than mine.”

“But will you do it?”

“Let me see what you have planned first.” Shadow sighed.

Sonic did a rapid fist-pump. “Yes!”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “I didn’t actually agree to join yet.”

“But you did agree to look at the plans, which means you’re considering joining.” Sonic said smugly.

Shadow muttered “You’d better not make me regret this.”, but with that, they took off, leaving twin trails of blue and red behind them.

…

“So let me get this ludicrous plan straight. You want me to join your rock band, which involves playing on absurdly designed instruments and wearing insanely sparkly suit jackets, in order to win a competition exclusively for boy bands. That way, we can rub it in the organizers’ faces when they discover that we have multiple girls—or rather, one girl and one demigirl—working with us.” Shadow said slowly.

“Yes!” Amy exclaimed. “We’ll come out onstage after the others have claimed their prizes, and then we’ll take the most smug bow in the history of bows.”

“I still think that a speech calling out the secret underground alien-cryptid alliance would’ve been better.” Sticks muttered, rolling their eyes.

Shadow frowned. “And why can’t either of you—” he gestured to Amy and Sticks— “just be part of the band anyway? It isn’t as if they’d know whether or not the band was made up of all boys until the concert.”

“Actually, they would.” Tails explained. “There’s a rehearsal the day before that all band members have to be there for.”

“Ugh…” the hedgehog groaned. “Whose idea was it to join this stupid competition?”

“Well, first it was me and Sonic and Tails.” Knuckles said. “And then we were ready to quit when we realized they didn’t let girls in, but Amy said we should do it with her plan, so we did.”

Shadow leaned back against the couch for a moment and closed his eyes. “….fine. I’ll do it. But this is a one time thing, understand?”

“Alright!” Sonic cheered. “Now we just need to find you one of those suit jackets!”

Soon enough, the team had scrounged up Sonic’s spare outfit and handed it over to Shadow, at which point he began to regret every single one of his life choices.

“No. No way. This is utterly disgusting.” he snapped, holding the offending garment as far away from himself as possible. “I will never, ever—”

[Cut to a shot of Shadow standing stiffly while wearing the jacket.]

“This is humiliating.” he grumbled.

Amy winced. “Is this seriously what you guys wore while saving the town from Justin Beaver?”

“It was the best we could come up with on short notice, okay?!” Sonic cried defensively.

“You know what?” Shadow said. “Fine. Fine. I’ll wear it. But don’t you think that we should each customize our own outfit instead of all looking the same? After all—wait. You’re not doing this as…that tacky pop group, are you?”

“Nonono, don’t worry, we’re doing this as Dudeitude, not Dreamboat Express.” Sonic explained hurriedly, trying to stave off Shadow’s growing expression of horror.

“Actually, that sounds like a really good idea!” Tails said excitedly, pulling out his own jacket. “I wanna put, like, cool gear cufflinks on mine—let me go get the Build-It Box!”

[A montage ensues, complete with lots of tacky fashion choices and comical mistakes, including (but not limited to) a patch that was supposed to say ‘Knuckles’ but instead came out as a strangely detailed fabric replica of the echidna himself.]

[The team’s brief experiment with differently-colored jackets was also strongly vetoed by Shadow after they all came out of the box in different varieties of neon.]

Eventually, the three original members of Dudeitude had their new outfits all set and ready to go.

Sonic’s white jacket now had red and gold stars around the cuffs and hem, while Tails’s had—as he had mentioned—gear-shaped cufflinks and buttons with a crossed wrench and screwdriver stamped into them. He had also added golden sequins along the back spelling out ‘Prower’, akin to a sports jersey.

Knuckles’s jacket, on the other hand, had all sorts of patches sewn onto it, including a barbell, a circular one labeled ‘Weightlifting Champion’, and multiple stylized green emeralds. He seemed awfully proud of it, enough so that Sonic and Tails had to keep preventing him from flexing in front of the mirror so that he wouldn’t rip a seam.

When Shadow walked out, though, his jacket didn’t appear to have changed at all. Sonic frowned. “I thought you were the one who wanted us to change our outfits up!”

Shadow smirked. “I did.” he said proudly. “Tails, do you happen to have an ultraviolet light handy?”

The fox’s mouth dropped open. “You didn’t.”

Shadow’s smirk widened.

Tails scrambled to get his biggest UV light, shining it on Shadow’s jacket…and then everyone gasped at what they saw. Blue and purple threads wove throughout the entire garment, creating a variety of geometric patterns that almost seemed to shift as Shadow moved. 

Amy looked over at Sticks, smiling excitedly. “Hey Sticks?”

“Yeah?”

“How do you feel about adding some black light to the show?”

…

It had been decided that Shadow would play the bass guitar, since Knuckles was already handling the drums and Tails had taken on the keyboard/synthesizer role. Sonic, of course, was more than excited to use his two-necked guitar, tearing through riffs and fills with ease.

They’d had a week to practice before the rehearsal, and it became clear that Shadow had taken the time to learn every single song, as he played chord after chord perfectly. Despite his skill, his backup vocals were barely audible, and he outright refused to sing alone at any point in the show.

This only encouraged the entire team to try even harder to get him to change his mind, of course.

In the end, it was Amy who got lucky enough to hear him first—they’d all stayed behind to watch the other bands play so they could get an idea of the competition, but she and Shadow had been the only ones with enough patience to suffer through three poor performances in a row. 

Their only real competition was a new band made of some boys whose personalities had seemed almost custom-built to sell well with fans, run by Justin Beaver himself as part of his new reality show. They had decent vocals and a generic backing track, but the test audience ate it up. The team had nearly suspected them of using mind-control technology again, but a quick reconnaissance mission on Tails’s part showed that the audience’s reactions were legitimate.

Somehow.

After the rehearsal had finished, the organizers left most of the microphones set up so that they’d still be in place for the concert tomorrow night. Amy had been getting ready to leave (and maybe snag a couple of the complimentary refreshments to take home when nobody was watching), when she noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye.

Quickly, she crouched behind a conveniently placed bush just as Shadow stepped forward on the stage.

He cleared his throat, looked around nervously, and then began to practice his backing vocals in a small, awkward voice. At first, his voice was too weak to carry very far, but when he saw nobody around, he began to relax.

His speaking voice was raspy and clipped. But when he sang, all of that fell away, and his vocals became smooth and deep, nearly making Amy gasp.

Quickly, she texted her friends and told them to come over discreetly, but also right now.

The moment they showed up, crawling into the bushes next to her, their faces immediately transformed into nearly identical shocked expressions.

“Is that Shadow?!” Sonic hissed under his breath.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Who else would it be?”

They watched in silence after that, still stunned. Shadow’s singing voice…well, it really couldn’t be described as anything other than beautiful.

The moment he finished, Knuckles shot upwards and began to clap excitedly. All of the others whispered at him furiously and yanked him down behind the bush, while a decidedly uncomposed shriek came from the general direction of the stage.

After a moment, Shadow barked, “Who’s there?”

The entire team stood up awkwardly, wincing. Sonic smiled nervously. “That was really good!”

The other hedgehog’s hands tightened on the microphone stand until his fingers nearly left imprints in the metal. “Sure.” he sneered sarcastically.

“No, seriously, it was amazing!” Tails cried.

“Yeah, it really was.” Sticks added.

“I loved it!” Amy exclaimed.

Shadow’s grip loosened slightly. “You mean it?”

The team rushed onto the stage, gathering around him. “Yes!” Knuckles exclaimed. “It was so cool!”

“Ah. Well then.” Shadow said tightly.

But as the team watched, his mouth curled into the tiniest of smiles.

…

On the night of the performance, all four members of Dudeitude had the jitters. Tails was making sure all of their equipment was accounted for the tenth time in a row, Knuckles was doing his best to curl up into a ball, Sonic was literally shaking in place, and Shadow was grinding his teeth and hissing at anyone who came near him.

“Alright!” Amy declared, clapping her hands together. The boys all promptly hit the roof, before turning to stare at her with various degrees of fear and frustration.

“Listen,” she continued, lowering her voice, “I’m so proud of all of you. You guys did a great job in the practice sessions, and you’re sticking it to all of these stupid organizers, too.”

Knuckles sighed. “Yeah, but not as much as the people out by the front fence.”

What he meant, specifically, was the all-girl band protesting the entire competition out front by playing their own songs loud enough to be heard from the rehearsal tent. They had camped out long before the concert had begun and were showing no signs of flagging, no matter how many people tried to drive them off. 

(They also had a sign in front of them that read If you can be petty, so can we.)

Amy shook her head. “Everybody has different ways of dealing with these kinds of people. Just because ours isn’t as loud as theirs doesn’t make it any worse.”

“Right, but what happens if we’ve put in all this effort and don’t win?” Tails asked nervously, holding open one flap of the tent and gesturing to the band run by Justin Beaver. They were doing, quite frankly, a really good job, and the judges seemed almost won over already.

Amy frowned. “Well, I’m still glad I got to do this with all of you anyway. The only way we could’ve done this wrong is by giving up or by not having me and Sticks participate at all.

“And,” she added, “I’m also glad we now know that Shadow is an amazing singer!”

The hedgehog in question looked away briefly, embarrassed.

Sticks darted into the tent suddenly. “It’s time.” she whispered dramatically. 

(Shadow and Sonic had to do their absolute best not to impale the walls of the tent with their quills at that.)

…

“And now, the final band of the night…it’s…Dudeitude!!”

The announcer’s voice rang in the ears of all four band members as they took to the stage. Sonic grinned at Knuckles. “You ready, dude?”

“Yeah, dude!” he whispered back, practically bouncing in his seat.

Tails leaned over to tell Shadow, “They’re always nervous until they hit the stage. It’s the waiting that’s the worst for them.”

“Oh. Good for them.” he muttered tersely, obviously not experiencing the same relief.

“You’re gonna do great!” Sonic cheered under his breath, smiling at Shadow in the darkness.

He didn’t even have time to react before the lights flashed on and the drumbeat began.

Shadow played his music almost entirely on autopilot, his hands moving more on memory than knowledge. He performed without thinking, doing the choreography (or the stripped-down version of it that he’d demanded they give him, because he didn’t dance) while staring blankly out at the audience. He’d never been more grateful that he was joining the band in its rock incarnation instead of when it was a full-on pop band.

As they entered the breakdown of the final song, where Sonic vocalized solo over chords from Shadow’s guitar, that autopilot ended up betraying him. Shadow had, on his own time, tried out singing along to this part in the test track an octave lower, because he’d found it enjoyable. It hadn’t been made part of the performance plan, and if he’d been in his right mind he never would’ve done it, but as it was…

…well, the audience ate it up.

They finished their song, accepted the audience’s applause (with much whooping and bouncing up and down from the original trio), and filed offstage, all while Shadow was still processing the performance.

The moment they entered their tent, Shadow’s knees gave out and he collapsed abruptly onto a chair.

“Whoa, Shadow, are you okay?” Sonic asked, hurrying over to stand next to him, his hands hovering nervously over his former rival’s shoulders.

“I sang.” Shadow wheezed. “I wasn’t even supposed to sing then, and…”

“It was incredible!” Amy gasped, stars in her eyes. “That was such a good idea!”

“So…I didn’t ruin the show?” he asked, looking up with a carefully blank expression.

“Honestly, I think you just won it.” Sticks said, poking their head into the tent. “I mean, the crowd is still shrieking.”

Shadow’s limbs went obviously loose with relief. “So you’re not upset.”

[The entire team suddenly locks eyes, remembering Shadow mentioning that his last brush with friendship ended badly.]

“No, no, no!” Amy cried. “No, not at all! Honestly, I’m glad you decided to sing.”

Sonic smiled at him. “It sounded amazing.”

Shadow shook his head, stunned. “I was so out of it up there. I barely even realized what had happened until I was done.”

Tails’s eyes widened. “Wait, does that mean you were practicing the song like that this whole time?”

“…maybe?”

“You should’ve told us!” he exclaimed. “I would’ve done all the sound prep so the audience could hear you better!”

Shadow looked cautiously down at his skates. “Thank you, but I’m alright.”

“You at least have to do karaoke sometime with us then!” Knuckles insisted cheerfully.

The entire team looked so excited that Shadow found himself smiling wryly against his will. “Well, I guess, if you insist…”

“The awards are starting!” Sticks called from the entrance to the tent. Then they frowned. “Wait, when did I become the responsible one here?”

All four members of Dudeitude took to the stage, along with the other bands. They were forced to jostle with their rivals for room, leading to many dirty looks and a minor shoving war. However, they all stood up straight when the announcer called, “Now, the winner of the competition is…”

“…Dudeitude!!”

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all screamed at top volume, making Shadow flinch before watching his bandmates with a smirk. As soon as they had received a check for the money and a guaranteed record deal, however, two things happened.

First, Amy and Sticks raced out onto the stage to celebrate too, completely forgetting their plan in the process. The audience went absolutely silent upon seeing them—and then burst out into cheers that were even louder than before. Sticks and Amy stared at the crowd for a moment, before smiling, putting their arms around each other, and taking their well-earned bow.

Then, the entire team all gathered together in a group huddle for a minute. Sonic whispered something to them that made their eyes widen and the hero bounce in place excitedly.

He snatched up a microphone and ran to the edge of the stage. “Hey guys, listen. All of us loved playing for you, and we had so much fun tonight. But, uh, being a hero is kind of a full-time job, and most of us already have enough on our plates. So…I wanna give this to a band who’s really gonna use it. A band who actually performed tonight, but never got judged, and a band who we all think was probably both one of the best ones here and who deserves this more than anything.”

“Yo! Ladies out front!” he yelled, getting the attention of the band who had been protesting the event all night.

“Yeah?!” their leader, a chipmunk dressed in a blue vest and white leggings, yelled. 

“Can you guys come up here for a sec?”

The crowd parted to let the band through as they came to the stage. It was composed of the aforementioned chipmunk, a lynx in a pink dress, a lemur wearing all yellow, and a wolf who looked like she’d stepped off the pages of a goth/punk magazine.

“What is it?” the chipmunk asked.

“Hey, uh, do you want this?” Sonic said, offering her the prizes.

The crowd was completely silent.

“Why are you giving this to us?” the lynx asked softly.

“‘Cause we think you guys sounded great, and you really deserved to be included in this competition. And now that it’s ours, we get to do what we want with it. So we thought you should have this.” he explained.

Tails gave a thumbs-up from behind him, and Knuckles smiled encouragingly. Cautiously, the chipmunk stepped closer and took the prizes. “What’s the catch?” she asked.

“No catch. Seriously.” Sonic told her.

She watched him skeptically for a moment, before holding out a hand to shake. “Thank you.” she said quietly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you—my name’s Sally, by the way.”

“Nice to meet ya!” he said cheerfully. “Name’s Sonic.”

“These three behind me are Nicole, Tangle, and Whisper.” she added, pointing at the lynx, lemur, and wolf in succession.

“Hey! Thank you, like, so much!” Tangle cheered, appearing directly next to Sally. “Man, we’ve been dying for a chance to do something like this for ages!”

Whisper smiled in agreement.

“Uh….” Soar the Eagle (the reporter covering this event) stammered, trying to regain his bearings, “Well then, how about a picture with the…two winners of this competition?”

[The camera flash obscures the screen for a moment, before revealing a picture of Dudeitude (plus Amy and Sticks) and the other band. Most of them are smiling, and Shadow has mustered up a moderately friendly neutral expression for the camera.]

[roll credits]

[idyllic-affections]

i have thoughts

okay so my personal favorite hc about scara/wanderer is that he has doll joints but hoyo is a *redacted* and also he has cracks on his skin after he fights (which he has to fix)

SO

İMAGİNE: blind reader, a little sibling to wanderer (maybe theyve also suffered from dottore who knows) and wanderer is kinda insecure and reader is like stfu idc

(im totally not planning on writing a romantic version on this totally mhm --> is in writers block and has been thinking about this for *months*)

thoughts pretty please

the wounds on your skin.

summary. the wanderer does not get wounded like a human does.

trigger & content warnings. blindness written by a sighted person (i am visually impaired but not blind, so if something is inaccurate, please correct me!), insecure wanderer is implied.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. slight reverse comfort. wanderer & blind!younger sibling!reader. 0.4k words. they/them pronouns used for reader. wanderer has doll joints in this.

author's thoughts. i can be the platonic to your romantic hehe 🫶🫶🫶 i agree though i LOVEEE wanderer with doll joints. and i also love wanderer who does not get wounded like a normal human.

"is something wrong?"

the wanderer peers in his sibling's direction, scoffing, despite his nervous fingers habitually picking at and tracing the wounds on his skin that he had yet to repair. the cracks. his elbow joint clicks slightly as he raises one arm, resting his chin in his palm. he shot them a look he knew they couldn't see.

...though, they could almost certainly feel it, given the sharp intensity of his eyes. if they did, they pretended not to notice.

"i have no idea what you're talking about."

it was their turn to scoff now, turning their body towards him. their eyes didn't quite land on his face, but did land in his general direction. he knew they were scrutinizing him even without their sight. "please. you've been quiet all day since we encountered those fatui agents earlier."

he doesn't say anything.

"...is there something on your mi—"

"i'm sore," he snaps, then winces a bit when the harshness of his own tone reaches his ears. he softens his voice a bit when he goes on. "i'm just sore, [name]. that's all."

unbothered, they pointed out, "you don't get sore."

"yes, i do."

"no, you don't," they insisted, "just— ugh, gods, brother, is it the cracks?"

he, again, fails to respond.

this time, they don't say anything either.

their hands blindly reach out for his, squeezing his fingers in theirs when they do find his hands. a thoughtful hum rumbles in their throat as their thumbs rub comfortingly over his knuckles.

"you're not human, so i won't say those cracks don't make you any less human, because you never were in the first place—"

if he had a heart, he's sure it would have stopped in his chest. had anyone else said something like that to him... maybe they wouldn't be dead where they stood (nahida really wouldn't like that, he thinks), but they would have most certainly left crying.

since it was his sibling, he chose to hear them out.

"—rather... you are no less of a living thing because of it. you have feelings and thoughts and you deserve to be treated as such." they gently turn one of his palms over, releasing the other. with tender fingers, they traced up his forearm, until they finally encountered one of the cracks in his porcelain skin. calloused fingertips carefully traced the area of the wound. "you're not any less alive simply because you get hurt differently than humans do."

the wanderer still does not reply. he feels his throat tighten ever so slightly. they don't say anything else, hoping that their point had been communicated with those words alone.

his skin was cold against theirs, but nonetheless, both the wanderer and his sibling found solace in the contact.

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[xxwhiskeyxx]

If you still take writing requests

I had an idea for an Alpha x Ghoulette fanfic

Alpha gets incredibly overheated because of his abilities and his temper, ghoulette reader cools him down because they run naturally cold

Fluff comfort :))

Anyways have a wonderful day!

Again if you don't take requests anymore I'm do sorry!

Elsa and her Fire Boy

Hello from the barrel of accidental hiatus! I do infact still take requests I have just been in a writers block since the last semester of college due to personal reasons but I have been wanting to try to get back into writing a bit (this is something i have said time and time again and I shall attempt whenever is possible!) I always love getting requests and actually have some in my inbox that I have been meaning to catch up on (I am so sorry if you’re reading this and they belong to you and i haven’t fulfilled your wishes yet, theyre coming i swear!) I am hoping to crank out some of them this next week since I will be busy the rest of this one as I am going to houston to visit a friend for her birthday (we’re seeing the Ghovie!)/ celebrating her recently discovered pregnancy! Anyways, I shall shut my yap and get to the summary!

So the lovely @evolutionghoul requested a fluff comfort fic with the ever so hotheaded Alpha! For context, reader shall be a air/water hybrid ghoulette who is a healer in the infirmary with the Quintessence ghouls. Now let’s see what the barrel cooks up!

-Love Whiskey

It had been a grueling day, with a never-ending procession of siblings and ghouls suffering from seasonal hay fever, weather-induced arthritis & migraine flares, and colds. The (height) hybrid had been tirelessly darting around, offering their assistance wherever it was needed. She had been seen sitting with Zephyr, gently applying icy hot on their aching joints and later placing her cool hands on Mist's forehead to alleviate her pounding head from the cluster headache triggered by the changing season and bass lessons with the kits that afternoon. She had also been glimpsed rubbing Omega's back and shoulders after he had spent the afternoon adjusting the vast majority of the Abbey's Earth ghouls that had overworked themselves trying to get the spring harvest planted as soon as possible after the last frost of winter had melted.

"(Y/N), hon, you can head home, ya know; your shift ended an hour ago?" Aether calls from the entrance of her office.

Glancing up from where she had been typing a report out on the computer, the (hair-colored) ghoulette sighs, "I know, but I have to finish these reports for Meg before he realizes, or he'll be here until tomorrow trying to finish it so he can go on that trip with you, Papa Copia, and Papa Terzo to the sister church in Italy next week." (Y/N) takes a moment to stretch and pop her back after sitting in her hunched-over typing position

The older ghoul chuckles, "Fair enough, I can grab my laptop and can come help you with that, so you don't have to-" 

Before he could finish his sentence, the door to the infirmary slams open as a familiar Fire ghoul storms in, smoke quite literally streaming from his nose and ears, "Where the fuck is Aether!? His fucking runt of a 'successor' just ruined my fucking guitar!" Alpha snarls loudly, prowling through the infirmary in search of his victim; the heat from the enormous ghoul's body is so high that both (Y/N) and Aether can feel it from her office

"Fuck, Aeth hide in here, 'll I go distract him!" (Y/N) whisper yells, standing and basically yanking the Quint into her office with unexpected strength as the emergency system triggers and the alarms begin to blare. The hybrid ghoulette had become quite close to the former lead guitarist and was very intuned with his infamous temper.

Racing down the hallway after closing the door to her office, (Y/N) searches for her friend throughout the infirmary. 

While the infirmary's emergency system blares, (Y/N) spots Alpha's fiery figure stomping through the chaos. She quickly maneuvers through the distressed patients and concerned ghouls, her eyes fixed on Alpha's burning rage. 

Spotting him near the entrance, she steadies herself and approaches him with a calming but assertive demeanor, ready to divert his destructive fury away from Aether. "Alpha, hey! What's going on?" to which he whirls around with a snarl, "Can't you notice I'm dealing with something right now? Don't bother me with your questions. Where the fuck is Aether!" he barks.

The harsh words make (Y/N) shrink back slightly, involuntary tears creeping into her eyes, but she quickly steals herself and bristles, "Calm your tits and realize who you're talking to, Mr., now try again." watching as he seems to realize his tone and softens, sighing. "Sorry (Y/N), I'm just pissed at that little shit Phantom...Aeon..whatever the fuck his name is, he broke my guitar fucking around with Dew and Ifrit." he goes to rub his face but hisses as the literally red-hot appendage singes his beard.

The hybrid chuckles, "C'mon big guy, it's time for some cuddles and talk therapy," taking the large ghoul's hand with no issue with her cooling abilities already working full blast and dragging him down the hallway.

Looking around the infirmary, (Y/N) quickly finds the room she's looking for, "Code Pants on Fire," she giggles as she opens the door, making Alpha grumble disgruntledly before grunting as he's pushed onto the couch. "You know the drill, shirt off, gotta cool you off before you trigger the sprinklers again. We both know wet pissy Alpha is worse than dry pissy Alpha," (Y/N) teases, stripping down to the tanktop she wears under her scrub top.

The Fire ghoul continues to grumble about 'stupid runt' and 'Damn Elsa and her stupid icepack body,' the nickname having been dubbed upon (Y/N) after a drunken night of a Disney movie marathon with all of the packs and she had performed a damn near perfect rendition of 'Let it Go' using her air affinity to make snow from her water and even made a miniature snowman in the middle of the kitchen that was not very much appreciated by a half asleep still drunk Pebble who slipped on Bitchloff, named by Alpha and Swiss, on their trek to the kitchen for water the next morning.

"Oh hush, we both know you love cuddle time with me, ya sentient air fryer," (Y/N) laughs as she flops atop the pissy ghoul, whose flicking tail then twanks her ass, making the ghoulette squeal, earning her a laugh. "I will not admit anything, but having my favorite girl on top of me and cooling me down is something I will never complain about," Alpha smirks down at her.

Rolling her eyes, (Y/N) rests her chin atop his toned chest and runs her ice-cold fingers up his overheated sides, making the ghoul squeal and her cackle. This descends them into a wrestling match.

*Minny Timeskip brought to you by Alpha's tits*

Not long later, Alpha was eased into a purring and much cooler ghoul, very content having (Y/N) cool fingers running through his hair as she hummed. Soon, the door cracks, and Aether's hesitant voice comes from the doorway. "Everything all good in here?" he calls, "Very much so; got things calmed down out there?" (Y/N) returns, sitting up slightly, much to Alpha's discretion; a soft growl rumbles from his chest as she moves. "Yep! Also, Alpha, I called Phantom, who told me he fixed it. Just a little quint magick and it's good as new; he is very sorry for breaking it, which I will add that it was Dewdrop's fault because he threw it at Phantom just before you came in," Aether explains.

The Fire ghoul sits up suddenly, groaning as he rubs his face, "Fuck..I need to apologize now, don't I" he sighs as (Y/N) chuckles, "Yup! But later, I was enjoying my personal heater," she chirps before yanking him back down, making Alpha yelp and Aether laugh, "Alright lovebirds, I'll let Bug know that you'll be by later" he says before closing the door.

Alpha chuffs as he presses a kiss to the hickey he had left on (Y/N)'s neck last night, "You're lucky I like you, and I enjoy my personal icepack," he mumbles before relaxing into her again.

[lady-rose-moon]

Stay after class || Loki x Reader || 18+

A/N: I am so sorry that I have been absent for so long. I am suffering with really bad writers block and I can't come up with any fics. Something really surprising happened when writing this... I struggled writing smut! I'm horrified! I'm going to try to knock myself out of it but if I disappear, I am still supporting all of you from the sidelines! <3

My Main Masterlist

Warnings: smut, teacher-ish x student (over 20)

“Y/N,” his voice called through the bustle of the students leaving his hall, preparing for their next lecturer. You looked up from packing up your books to stare at the substitute teacher. “Stay behind for a few minutes,” Professor Loki continued, his hands leisurely sliding into the pockets of his black slacks, “I wish to speak with you.”

You froze for a moment, recounting any instance within the last hour and a half of the lecture that could warrant a conversation after and when you could think of nothing, you were perplexed. 

After all of the students had filed out and the two were on their own, you shifted your feet nervously as Professor Loki stood in silence, observing you. Under his gaze, it seemed as if you were being analysed through every muscle in your body. It unnerved  you. 

“Well done today, your participation was quite… encouraging,” professor Loki began after a moment, filing through some of the papers on his desk, “I shall report to your usual lecturer that you are one of the good ones, Y/N.”

“Thank you, sir,” you breathed, your nerves still going haywire with panic, wondering what else this boy might have to say.

“And another thing,” Professor Loki spoke up after a minute, his smile warm and welcoming, his eyes locked onto yours intensely, “please call me Loki. I am not your official lecturer after all, just a substitute temporarily.”

You nodded and bit your tongue, your heart starting to race the longer you looked at this man. Professor Loki smiled professionally and leaned against the oak desk, tilting his head curiously as he took in your expression and the rising blush on your face. “Is there anything you wish to discuss with me?” the man asked softly, carding his fingers through his hair and pushing it back, causing a wave of arousal to rise within your gut as you stared at the professor in front of you.

“Nothing, sir-Loki,” you quickly corrected with a blush, “I have nothing to ask, thank you.”

“Alright then,” Loki nodded his head with a genuine smile, inclining his head towards the door, “you best be off before your friends get worried.”

You nodded and walked towards the door leading out but before you could go, you felt Professor Loki’s hard chest up against your back and his hot breath on your neck. “Y/N,” he whispered lowly, making you gasp with arousal at how his voice lit a fire in your core, “your bag.”

Your brain short-circuited as you realised that Loki was holding your bag in his hand and you quickly took it from him, whispered ‘thank you’ and rushed out of the lecture hall. 

While you were walking back to your accommodation, all you could think about was that hard chest against you, the heat of Loki’s breath curling around your nape and raising all the hairs on your neck. You had fantasised a lot about Professor Loki from your best friend having him as her lecturer and you were tempted now to ask Mrs Lawrence if you could switch to Professor Loki’s permanently. The heat between your legs grew as you remembered how alluring the professor looked leaning against his oak desk. 

Professor Loki would only be a substitute teacher for another week while your teacher was away on annual leave but you knew that you had to become his permanent student. 

That night, after you had prepared for bed and were already asleep, your dreams formed the fantasy that had plagued you all day. 

You nodded and walked towards the door leading out but before you could go, you felt Professor Loki’s hard chest up against your back and his hot breath on your neck. “Y/N,” he whispered lowly, making you gasp with arousal at how his voice lit a fire in your core, “your bag.”

Instead of your embarrassed exit, your dream self turned to the professor and a coy smile appeared on your lips as you gazed up at the emerald green eyes of your substitute professor. “You could have just called out to me,” you whispered, attitude coating your tongue and you saw how it riled up the professor in front of you, “why didn’t you?”

“Will you make me say it?” Loki’s low voice awoke that dormant arousal in the pit of your stomach, his tones so alluring and seductive that your knees almost collapsed, “I desire you, darling, I desire your glorious form against mine, tangled in the throes of pleasure with you calling my name.”

You gulped, cornered against the door with your substitute professor pressing himself against you, his hardened erection pressing against your hipbone. Desire pooled between your legs as you stared up at the professor, forcing down the drool building up in your mouth. 

“I long to see you on your knees before me,” Loki growled, watching as you shuddered with arousal at the growl in his voice, “do you long for that too, pet?”

You gasped as you looked up at him, feeling a flood of emotions in your chest at the use of the nickname. You weren’t supposed to get this close! He wasn’t your professor but he was a professor! Yet, while half of your instincts told you to run and stop this, another egged you on, arching your back and pressing your hips to his harder. 

“What if I wanted you to fuck me up against this door, where anybody could walk by and see you compromising your contract?” you hissed, arousal clear in your voice as you glared up at him..

Loki purred as he leaned closer, his breeath wafting over your face and neck, fillingg your nose with the scent of mint and his morning coffee. You shuddered at the closeness. He was all that you wanted and all you needed to stay away from at the same time. 

Loki’s hand cupped your heat through your jeans and smirked at you as he growled, “do not tempt me, pet.”

You don’t know who kissed who but soon enough, his lips were on yours and you were both kissing as he pressed you up against the door, eliciting a moan from your mouth as he hungrily pressed his tongue into your mouth as his knee pressed between your legs.

You woke up after that and huffed as you thrashed in your bed, your body on fire with need from the realistic dream and you sighed as you dragged yourself out of bed to get ready for your lecture that day. 

The lecture was mostly spent with you staring at Professor Loki but you did manage tto draw up a few notes that would be vital for your final but you knew that it wouldn’t quite be enough. Every ttime you felt that Professor Loki’s eyes were going to be on you, you hastily looked to the board or down at your notes, your cheeks heating up like fires. 

“Y/N,” Loki called out at the end of class, not looking away from the essays that everyone had just handed in, “stay after class.”

The whole class chittered around you and you felt your blush worsen. “Actually, professor, I can’t,” you trailed off, looking at the time as if you had another lecture after this.

“I know that you can,” Loki insisted, looking up from his papers to glare at you. The professor’s glare only reminded you of the dream that you’d had the night before and the fires in your core lit up again at the memory. “Now stay after class,” he hissed.

The class began to file out and soon you were left alone with the handsome professor. You stayed by your seat and nervously filed around in your bag, trying your best not to look at the professor even if you were now in the same room, alone.

“Why won’t you look at me?” Loki asked from the front of the class, his voice easily slicing through the silence of the room. You gazed over at him and saw him leaning against the oak desk with his hands spreading his arms on the oak. “Did I say something wrong to you yesterday?” he asked, tilting his head and studying your expression, “or is it… something else? Something - may I say - darker? Do you lust for your professor, Miss Y/L/N?”

“Of course not!” you protested a little too quickly, a heat rushing up your neck and colouring your cheeks, “that would be very irresponsible!”

“Indeed,” Loki hummed, smirking at you and making his way over to you slowly, his eyes like a predator hunting its prey, “and yet you do it anyway.”

He was in front of you now, the scent of his Dior aftershave wafting over your nostrils and adding fuel to the flame of desire in your core. You reminded yourself that this was not a dream. That this was real life and the things you did now held consequences. 

 “I…” you trailed off, unable to meet the professor’s stare, choosing to look over his shoulder with a grimace.

“What are you looking at over there, darling?” Loki purred, his smirk pulling tightly at his lips as he lifted your chin and directed your eyes back to look at him, “I’m here, not over there.”

You stared at him, desire filling your mind as you stared at his ebony locks flowing around his shoulders, his eyes a shining emerald green and the pull of his smirk on his lips. “I desire you,” you whispered, your voice hoarse with desire, “but I cannot have you, it is not allowed.”

“Who says so?” Loki whispered with a purr, his eyes locking with yours as he whispered, “I am not your professor, am I? Only temporarily and I do have a life away from my tutoring.”

You sighed and took a step away from him. “You may have a life away from your lecturing and tutoring but on campus, you are my professor and…” you trailed off as you bit your lip.

Loki smiled and pressed a kiss onto your forehead. “I understand,” he whispered, his eyes flicking down to your lips, “I’ll be going to the club with Profesor Strange tonight. If you must know.”

With that, he left the room and you were left shocked by your packed bag. Did he just suggest that you go clubbing to hook up with him? How unprofessional! Yet, curiosity brimmed inside you and you knew you had to find him in the club that night.

So, a few hours later, you and your friends were standing in line waiting for entry into the best club in town, the only club that you knew would be worth Professor Loki’s time of day. 

“It’s strange for you to suggest going out drinking, Y/N!” your roommate, Clara, whispered to you with a grin, “any reason?”

“Shitty day at lectures,” you responded with a grin, tilting your head and adjusting your outfit a bit. You had dressed appropriately for the dress code but you didn’t know if it would be enough to catch your professor’s attention. If he was even here. 

When you were ID-checked and granted entry, Clara quickly guided you over to the bar and ordered the first round of shots. You quickly downed the alcohol, smiling over at Clara before taking yourself to the dancefloor.

The music was so loud, it reverberated throughout your body and you felt it deep in your gut but yet it was still a fine volume you knew that you wouldn’t be able to hear the person next to you over the noise and banging of the music. 

You danced with a few drunken men for around half an hour before gentle hands gently slid down your forearms before wrapping around your wrists, a hard body pressing against yours to grind against your body to the music. The scent of him alerted you to who it was. 

Professor Loki Laufeyson.

You turned in his grasp and suddenly it was only the two of you in that club full of drunken men and women seeking a one-night stand. “I didn’t think you’d be here,” you whispered, knowing you were close enough to hear each other.

“I didn’t think you’d take the invite,” Loki replied with a smirk. His hand groped down your side, his head nestling into the crook of your neck. “Now, my dear,” he purred into your ear, “shall we drink the night away or do you want me now?”

You smirked and winded through the crowd with Loki still holding your wrist and you whispered to Clara, feigning a drunken slur, “I’m gonna go home! I have a headache! G’night!”

“G’night!” Clara replied, throwing her head back with another shot, “make sure you get a good dicking from that one! He seems familiar but I can’t place it.”

You grinned and left the club with your professor. Instead of heading to your accommodation, Loki guided you down the streets to his apartment complex. When you got inside, you instantly knew that there was more to Professor Loki than his love for English Literature. From the looks of his bookshelf, he was a Shakespeare enthusiast and also collected a lot of ancient texts like old Norse and greek mythos. 

“Wow,” you whispered as you looked around his apartment, “do you lecture on any other topics?”

“Just literature, I’m afraid,” Loki replied with a smile as he walked up to you, beginning to kiss down your neck and he smirked when you hummed happily and pressed into his touch, “I would love to lecture about other subjects but no one has ever asked before.”

“They should,” you replied, reaching your hand back to play with his long curls and tug on them slightly, forcing a pleasured moan from the professor’s throat.

Loki chuckled and guided you to his bedroom. Inside, the curtains were pulled closed so the professor had to switch on the light for you to see where you were going. His room had walls painted green and black highlighted with golden flecks over the paint. There was a bookshelf across the far wall with a built-in TV and then a door that you assumed led to a walk-in wardrobe. 

His bedspread was emerald green with hints of black and when he pushed you down onto it, you moaned at the feeling of silk beneath your back. Loki hungrily glared at you and took a step closer to the bed, pulling on his tie and loosening it. “I have desired you for a while,” he whispered, lust coating his voice, “every time I saw you in the corridor, every time you came to the staff room for advice from your actual lecturer, when I first saw you in these temp lectures. My body burns for you, Y/N, perhaps I can quench my thirst now.”

Your desire was obvious in your face and you shuddered as you nodded. “Please,” you whispered, a pull in your heart telling you that this is the correct choice, “I need you.”

Loki smirked and kelt above you, his hands ghosting over your wrists before your lips were on his and you were consumed with the pleasure that had filled your dreams the night before. His body arched in a way that almost caused you to moan, his seductive eyes only fuelling the need in your cunt. 

“I bet you’re absolutely dripping below these clothes, am I correct, pet?” he whispered in your ear and you gulped, feeling his hands pull down your leggings and panties. “Oh,” he purred, making you clench and whine, “you’re gushing.”

Loki then took no time ridding you of your dress and a strapless bra. “Won’t be needing this,” he smirked, taking a moment to savour your surprise before he threw the dress across the room and began to press gentle kisses down your body. 

You felt as if you were about to sleep with a God! Loki was so attentive and gentle in a way that you’d never seen before in another man that you’d slept with. You feared that he would ruin you for all other men! 

Your cheeks reddened as his lips made their way down to your hipbone. You'd had sex before, yes, but never had they attempted to pleasure you in such a way. "Professor there's no need…" you began with a nervous bite of your lip.

"Loki," he growled, catching you off guard, his growl rumbling through your body and making your cunt throb. 

"Huh?" you whined through the thrill of him touching you.

"Call me Loki," the man growled again before latching his lips onto your needy cunt, swirling his tongue around your clit as he listened hungrily to your desperate moans.

"Loki," you played the name on your tongue, your moans rising as Loki's tongue teased at your entrance, swiping up to your clit regularly before entering you, exploring your entrance keenly. "Lokiii-ah… fuck," you cursed, your hand clamping over your mouth, afraid of making noise.

Loki's hand caught your wrist and he pulled it away from your mouth. "Moan all you want, darling," Loki purred, his voice hoarse yet still alluring, "I have no neighbours so you can scream and beg all you need."

You didn't have time to form a reply as his mouth was back on your dripping core. His attentive tongue spun circles around your clit as his nimble fingers played at your waiting entrance before sinking in, filling the room with sounds of your moans and slick. You threw your head back and moaned, "Lokiii- mmmn fuck."

Loki steadily began to pump two fingers into your needy cunt, his smirk only widening as you lost the ability to speak. "Is this what you wanted, pet?" Loki purred, taking a moment away from suckling on your clit to smirk at you, "is this what you fantasise about in my classes?"

"Ye-es," you moaned, your body arching as his fingers hit that special spot inside you that made you see stars. The professor simply chuckled and returned to suckling at your clit, teasing the nerves as his fingers scissored inside you, releasing noises into the otherwise silent room. 

That coil in your gut tightened as you rolled your hips against his knuckles, pulling his fingers deep inside you and ripping a moan from your throat.

Spurred on from your noises, Loki continued to suckle and pump his fingers deep into your cunt and that coil tightened even more before it snapped and you came with a blissful shout, your head flopping to the side as you heaved for breath. 

“Oh, darling,” the professor cooed, taking your chin between his index finger and thumb to force you to look at him, “your face is so beautiful when you cum for me.”

You were so blissed out but your body yearned for more of him and you knew that he knew that as he chuckled and knelt between your spread legs. “Shall we give her what she wants?” he asked you with a sultry smirk, his fingers lazily circling your overstimulated clit, “or would you like to sleep?”

“Please…” you whined, rolling your hips against his lazy fingers, biting the inside of your cheek with irritation, “fuck me.”

Loki’s smirk widened and he whispered ‘with pleasure’ before ridding himself of the last of his clothing and pumping his cock as he watched your eyes rove over his sculpted body.

Okay, you thought, your mind half coming up with thoughts through the sinful imagination running wild alongside rationality, this man had to be sculpted by Gods. There is no way that a human looks this good.

Your legs spread wider as Loki leaned down to seal your lips into a kiss. His tongue toyed with your bottom lip before sliding inside your mouth as his hands roamed down your supple skin and he aligned himself at your dripping entrance. Slowly, he eased himself inside you and pulled away from the kiss to hear the pleased moan on your lips.

The professor pushed in all the way and when you were full to the brim of his cock, the only thing you could do was moan blissfully as you stared up into the emerald world that was his eyes. No dream could live up to this reality that you were living right now. 

Loki then pulled out to the tip only to thrust deep into you again, taking the pain of the stretch with him. You were consumed by thoughts of this man in front of you. As he began to push into you again and again, you were consumed by the man above you, overwhelming you with the power that he held over you.

“Fuck, darling,” Loki purred in your ear, making your stomach curl with interest as his movements became more routine and the head of his cock hit against the spot inside you that flashed stars behind your eyes expertly, torturing you with the promise of bliss. 

Your arms wrapped around his neck and you moaned aloud into the silent room. Keenly, you wrapped your legs around his hips and released a deep moan as you felt him sink deeper into you. Holding him close to you, you felt him start to thrust harder into you and you moaned as your fingers found his ebony curls again, "Lokiii! Oh, L-Loki!"

Loki watched as you squirmed with anticipation and felt pride bubbling inside him as he did. You wanted this. You wanted him. 

Smirking, Loki continued to make love to you and he pulled away from your neck to sit up on his knees and he pulled one of your legs up to wrap over his shoulder and you screamed with the pleasure as he increased the pace of his thrusts and he wanted nothing more than to fuck you in this bed until his dying day.

You gripped the pillow underneath your head as you stared up at him, gasping for air and begging for more before finally, you called out his name, "L-Loki! I'm gonna cum, Loki!"

Loki groaned and his cock twitched before he started to increase his pace and how hard he was fucking you until your eyes squeezed shut and your breasts bounced from the force of how good he was fucking you. "That's right," he encouraged quickly, his hand slipping to circle your clit as he moaned, "say my name, pet! Scream it!"

Your eyes rolled back into the back of your head as an incredible orgasm ripped through your body and you keened, your hands flying up to bring Loki down into a deep kiss as you rode out your orgasm and he moaned as he came deep inside you, releasing the kiss to press his brow to yours.

The silence in the room after that was heavy and when your arousal melted away and you watched as the professor cleaned you up, you realised the severity of what you had just done. You had slept with a professor! How did you allow that to happen?!

But when his arm wound around your waist and he pulled you into the warmth of his hard chest, your regrets melted away as you felt comfortable with him. You’d wanted intimacy like this. Even if it turns out that he might leave in the morning, these hours you have now are the most important.

You could just allow yourself to believe that you two could be something. 

Main tags:

@lokisgoodgirl @lokisninerealms @evelyn-kingsley @slpnbty2001 @jennyggggrrr @hahaha12123445 @ozymdias @holdmytesseract @itsybitchylittlewitchy @lovingchoices14 @xorpsbane @huntress-artemiss @muddyorbs @nerdy-fangirl-65 @lonadane @silverfire475 @chantsdemarins @iamsherlocked1479 @kittiowolf210 @just-someone11 @stupidthoughtsinwriting @loki-laufeyson-1054 @fictive-sl0th @coldnique

[not-a-space-alien]

K&J x MMSS 4: Valen & Jim Part 9

Part nine of the fourth crossover with @whumpsday!

Sorry I've been slow getting these out--I've been suffering some writer's block due to some personal stuff I've got going on IRL. I'll admit that I'll probably be putting a liiiitle less effort into polishing the crossover fics from hereon out, but we got a lot of enthusiasm for them so I'm going to keep them coming even if they're a bit messy! There's still a lot of fun stuff in there imo :)

Also this ch is pretty long just because I couldn't find a good place for a chapter break!

K&J masterlist

MMSS masterlist

K&J x MMSS crossover masterlist

To be added to the taglist, contact @whumpsday

Warnings: Capture, dehumanization, nonconsentual bondage/restraint, gag/muzzle, mentions of rape and torture

In this chapter: Valen's fear of getting hatecrimed creeps towards plausibility, but even moving doesn't save Valen from an unexpected nightmare. Luckily this time, he has people looking for him.

***

It's unheard of for anyone to escape vampire territory after years of captivity, and a pretty big shock that another vampire helped him do it. Though it doesn't garner quite the response an inspirational solo escape story might, it's still an incredible tale of something really unusual and an unlikely alliance between humans and vampires, and the media eats it up. Jim does do several interviews about it, wearing the turtlenecks that have recently become his regular wear.

He's purposely vague about Valen, knowing that he doesn't want to be in the limelight. He doesn't even mention him by name. He doesn't mention Kane or any other vampire by name either, worried about Kane being able to find him somehow if he got access to human media. He's given a writer permission to write a book about his experience. She's not pushy like a lot of other journalists, and is intent on getting it right.

Life goes on. Jim helps Valen collect mushrooms. He goes vegetarian. Liz is back to patrolling. Liz makes Jim try therapy, but his preferred method of dealing with it is thinking about it as little as possible, so he drops it fairly early on. Talking with the writer is already pushing it.

Reporters will sometimes come to their house.  Valen is thrown into anxious spirals every time, terrified there’s going to be an incident.  But the visits die down over the first half a year. Jim doesn't reveal that Valen is living with him, but it's figured out anyway. People who know Liz and see her change from constant anger and depression to actually having some life back in her are grateful to Valen.  But many people who don't know Jim and Liz are more hostile: this is an area where a lot of people have been affected by vampire attacks, to boot. They're getting left angry notes.

Valen goes out with Jim during the day, since Jim is still nervous about leaving the house at night.  Valen is also nervous about leaving the house, so he doesn’t go to human stores or anything.  He either asks Jim to get him things, or goes back to vampire territory and just nervously looks over his shoulder for anyone from the Kithrara estate.

He goes out to get mushrooms, though. He keeps working on his project.  He avoids the media, unless someone contacts him directly and is really polite.  If humans approach him, he's very polite and doesn't dodge them, but he does excuse himself before too long.  He's not antisocial, but he is shy.  He likes spending time with Laken, Liz, and Jim, and will socialize with people they deem safe.

One day, Jim and Valen are getting ready to go gather mushrooms while Liz is fast asleep. It's getting hotter out now in the summer. Jim tosses Valen the keys to his car, since Valen is already ready to go. "Hey, can you start the AC running so we don't cook in there while I finish getting dressed? If you're cool with that."

"Sure thing, Jim, dear."  He secures his mask to his face, doublechecking that he's completely covered, and heads out, approaching the car in the driveway to unlock it and turn it on.

A man and woman are chatting idly while walking their dog on the other side of the street. When Valen comes out, the man hands the leash to the woman and encourages her to go home, crossing the street and approaching while she leaves.

"Hey!" he calls, looking pissed-off. "It's bad enough there's a vampire in our neighborhood being supervised, now you're out in broad daylight on your own?!"

Valen stops in his tracks and starts to back away.  "I apologize, sir, I'm not doing anything nefarious.  My-my associate is coming out shortly."

"Yeah, yeah, you saved the Lieberman kid. Well guess what, he's not the only one who lives here! You're scaring my wife, my kids won't play outside anymore!" He pushes Valen.

Valen stumbles back, scrambling back towards the house.  "I-I assure you I pose no threat to your family, sir, I've done n-nothing to pose a threat to them."

"You're a fucking vampire! You being here is a threat! Thought the hunters were supposed to protect us!"

Jim comes downstairs shortly, pushing the door open. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Keep that thing on a leash." The man spits and walks off.

"F-fuck off!" Jim shouts, but it loses its impact since the man is already leaving and Jim's voice always wavers when saying anything defiant. He runs to Valen, hugging him. "Are you okay?"

Valen's face is downcast, eyes on the ground.  "Um...Yes, I'm not, I wasn't in any physical danger..."  He sounds extremely disheartened.  "That man said his wife and children are afraid of me.  I-I wanted to say he should let me speak to them, so they could see there's no danger, but I doubt that would have been very well received."

"That's not the kind of okay I mean." Jim sighs. "I've been kinda... thinking. That maybe we should move or something. Somewhere more secluded, where you wouldn't have to worry about shit like that. Not too far away from Liz obviously, but y'know. How would you feel about that?"

Valen rubs his arm.  "That's probably for the best...but it feels bad they won't even give me a chance.  Is there really nothing I can do to win them over?"

"Prolly some people, but not all. Some people are always gonna have their heads in the sand." Jim wonders if his parents would've approved of him and Valen. He's pretty sure they would- Valen brought him back, after all, and they were wonderful loving people, but he can't know for sure. They hated vampires. He doesn't even know for sure if they'd approve of him being gay. He never got a chance to ask.

"You don't need that asshole's approval. I was thinking we could wait 'til the book comes out, Mindy said it'll only be a few more months. And then we could use money from that to find a place. Or we could use some of the stuff you took from Priscus, if you wanted to do it sooner, but that's your call."

Valen still seems downcast.  He wants to try and show everyone who he really is, but there is no way to do it without putting himself at risk and making everyone even more uncomfortable.

They end up buying the house and moving sooner rather than later, when Jim finds Valen crying over the latest hatemail he's received one too many times.  When he starts being too afraid to leave the house even at night, that's how he knows it's time to go.

Moving is easy with Valen's superior strength and Liz's truck.  The house isn't huge, but it's nice and cozy, and it has a basement with no windows.  Valen doesn't expect Jim to want to be down there at all, but it's nice to know it's an option if Valen ever wants to rest somewhere where there's no chance the sun can get him.

***

Their life there is cozy, until one day Valen doesn't come home.

Jim freaks out fast. Valen doesn't ever just not come home. And when Jim didn't come home, it was the worst thing that ever happened to him- even though it led to meeting Valen, one of the best.

He calls Liz first, of course. She has connections with other hunters, and the first thing he wants to rule out is that Valen's been killed. The worst-case scenario, and unfortunately, what he thinks is the most likely one. He can't stop crying. He wants to go to Liz, but he doesn't. He has to be home if Valen comes back.

Liz calls around, asking if anyone in various branches have seen a vampire matching Valen's description in the last day. The last two days. The last three days. She ends up on the phone with the director of a branch a day-trip away, who finally confirms that Valen has been seen. And he's alive. He's been captured, and he's being... experimented on for weapons testing.

Liz informs the director who Valen is, and politely asks to please let them pick Valen up today.

"I'm sympathetic to your story, but are you quite sure this merits release?" the director asks her.  "Live capture of vampires is quite a difficult feat."

Liz's heart pounds. There's no way she's leaving Valen there, but it would be a lot easier if he'd hand him over. "He's never hurt a human in his life. The opposite, he's actively saved a human from capture. He's accompanied me or my partner on hunts on a few occasions, when one of us was out of commission. He's working on synthesizing artificial blood vampires can live off of out of mushrooms. Hell, he's an innocent person. Those should all... merit release, right?" She's trying really hard not to blow up on him.

The director puts her on hold.  Then, a few minutes later, he asks if he can call her back, because he needs to discuss it with some other people in the branch.

"Yeah, of course. I'll- I'll be here. Please call back."

Liz calls Jim immediately- she doesn't stay on the line long, giving a quick summary and a location, wanting to keep the line open for when the director calls. Jim is on his way the second Liz gives him the info, gathering two blood packs and a spare change of full-coverage clothes and a mask in case Valen's own have been compromised. He needs to get there right now. He needs to save Valen.

He doesn't know whether he'll get there to people willing to give Valen back, or hostile hunters refusing to. He can't stop crying, hasn't been able to stop crying for days, but now it's making driving harder. Despite it, he goes as fast as he can.

The director calls back a while later--an annoyingly, stupidly long time later--and he says that he's talked to some people from Liz's branch of the hunter's guild.  There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that Valen is not dangerous--but there are also testimonies from neighbors who lived in concern for their safety for quite a long time, and the director says that he has an obligation to protect the innocent people whose safety he has been entrusted with and can find no strong basis on which to support the release of this vampire.  He does say that Liz is free to appeal, which would start the process of gathering a committee to draft a resolution outlining under what circumstances a vampire can be released, since this is such a rare issue and there is no precedent for how to handle it.

Liz wants to pull her hair out. "Valen doesn't- he hasn't been neighbors with those people for years. He moved away when the concerns were initially raised. He keeps away from humans. But, yeah," Her voice breaks. This is the second time someone she loves has been kidnapped. "I wanna start an appeal. Can you at least just... not hurt him? He hasn't done anything. Please."

The director puts her on hold again.  Then when he comes back:  "I've phoned the hunter's base where he is and told them not to start any new experiments.  Thank you for your patience through this irregular situation."

"Thank you." She doesn't want to thank the bastard who approved Valen's torture, but being cordial to this man is now the most important thing. "Um, one more thing. My brother, he and Valen are, obviously close. He's kind of already on his way. Can you at least let him see Valen?"

The director hems and haws.  "I suppose that should be all right, as long as it's supervised."

"Thank you. Please keep me updated."

Jim arrives a few hours later. The things he brought are stuffed in his backpack, and he knocks hard and fast on the door until someone opens it. His eyes are red and puffy. When someone opens it, he cries, "Please don't hurt Valen! Please, he didn't do anything, please let him go!" before the other person can get a word in.

The person who answers is a gruff-looking woman with spiked hair.  She opens the door, is yelled at for a few seconds, and then looks bewildered.  "Wha-  Who are you?"

"My name's Jim Lieberman. Please. He didn't do anything, please let him go." Jim begs. "I swear to god, Valen is the kindest, most harmless person on earth, human or vampire. Please."

She huffs.  "Ah, shit.  Okay.  All right."  She opens the door and lets Jim in.  "Lex!" she calls into the building.  Her leg is in a boot, and she drags it across the floor into the next room, where another woman with bandages over her nose is sitting on a couch.  "Lex, I knew something was up with that fucking vampire.  Listen to what this guy is saying."

"I'm Jim Lieberman, Valen, the, the vampire you- kidnapped-" He's on the verge of tears, again. "He saved me. And he's never hurt anyone, ever. Please, you can't just- this is supposed to be what hunters are against. Kidnapping random innocent people. Please, where is he?"

Lex's face falls.  "Oh my god.  Okay."  She stands up and comes over.  "I'm sorry, Jim, we--We thought something was strange, so we brought him back alive, but then Nick wormed his way into the situation.  Has anyone talked to the director about this?"

"Fuck the director," Ari says.  "I'm making an executive decision of fuck the director."  She walks to the basement door with an unsteady gait and turns the knob, opening the door.  "He's downstairs."  Through the now-open door, Jim can hear Valen sobbing miserably and wordlessly calling out hysterically.

Jim runs down the stairs and straight to the horrible fucking cage with the love of his life inside. "Valen!" he sobs, tears spilling over again. "It's, it's gonna be okay, I'm here, I've gotcha."

Valen's tear-stained face breaks into an expression of relief at seeing Jim, and he sticks his hands through the bars as far as they'll go before the chains stop him. He is topless, wearing a muzzle, and already covered in burn marks.

There's a man at a desk catty-corner to the cage with the hysterical vampire inside of it. He looks up, irritated, as Jim enters. "And what do you think you're doing?"

Jim takes Valen's hands in his, holding them tight. "I'm taking him home. You- you need to let him go. Please." He takes a shuddering breath and repeats his story that worked on the hunters upstairs. "My name is Jim Lieberman. This is Valen, the vampire who saved me from spending my life as a bloodbag." He's so much more than that. "He's never hurt anyone. You're torturing an innocent person. Please fucking let him out of this thing."

"This creature is capable of killing me with a word. I think it will be staying right where it is."

Valen lets out a pitiful whine and tugs on Jim's hand.

There's a clomping sound on the stairs, and Ari appears coming down. "You're so full of shit, Nick. You're not even the one who got your ass beat bringing that thing here. We didn't take him here for you to play with, we wanted answers, and you're done dodging the issue."

Nick looks stormy.

Jim keeps holding Valen's hands. "He's not a thing or an it! Stop treating him like he's not a person! Of, of course he fought back, Valen wouldn't hurt a fly even if someone was screaming in his face, you were kidnapping him! Wouldn't you fight back? If you were him?" He looks up at the spiky-haired woman tearily. "Please help. Please let me take him home. Please, I love him."

Ari sighs and rubs her temples. "All right, I've spent the last two days sitting upstairs trying to decide how I feel about this situation, and this raving lunatic showing up here rabid about this vampire being innocent is enough to push me off the fence. Nick, give him the keys."

"I beg your pardon," Nick says, eyes narrowed.

"Give him the keys, let him take the vampire home."

"You have no authority to tell me to do that," Nick says hotly.

"Oh! You're right. Sorry." She unholsters her revolver and points it at him. "How about now?"

Nick narrows his eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

Lex makes a "cut it out" motion across her neck to Nick, but Ari has already pulled the trigger and put a slug in the floor inches away from Nick's foot with a huge BANG, causing him to jump.

Jim screams and flinches hard when the gun goes off, eyes wide. He's not as terrified as Valen, but he's still terrified.

"The keys," Ari says brusquely.

Jaw set with hatred, Nick comes over and hands a keyring to Jim. He takes the keys from Nick and shakily unlocks the cage, reaching in and pulling Valen out.

"I've got you. I've got you. It's okay, we're gonna go home." He goes to take the muzzle off.

"Do me a favor and take that off after you get outta here," Ari says. "I'm sure this guy is safe for you, but he's none too pleased with us." She reholsters her gun and moves between Jim and Nick, staring Nick down.

Lex comes over and helps Jim lift Valen out of the coffin. "I'm sorry," she says tearfully. "This was a huge mistake, I shouldn't have let this happen."

Valen shakily stands between them on wobbly legs, tears streaming down his face

"I at least need to take the cuffs off so he can get dressed, it's still light out." Jim protests, holding Valen close. "What- what did you do with his clothes? I brought an extra change, but..." But you're fucking monsters. Even Kane didn't strip me.

Jim sniffles. "Valen's the gentlest soul on the face of the planet." He doesn't know if even Valen might be pushed to his limit by this and fight, but he wouldn't blame him if he did.

"Absolutely not," Nick says. "Throw a blanket over him or something. That's a safety hazard."

"Shut up, Nick," Ari snarls. "The keys for the cuffs are on that keyring too. Unlock him if you want." She pointedly does not answer the question of where his clothes went.

"I'm sorry," Lex says. "I didn't realize how messed up this was. Here, let me help you get them off."

Jim takes the hint that they've destroyed his clothes. Even Valen's cute plague doctor mask. He similarly avoids responding with anything meaningful to Lex's apology- it's not okay. None of this is okay. A teary "Yeah." is all he says to her.

He takes the cuffs off with Lex, swings his backpack around, and takes out the change of clothes he brought. "Here, lemme help you get dressed. You're gonna be alright. Goin' home." Jim maneuvers Valen into the clothes until every inch of him is covered, putting the mask on over the muzzle. "Brought some blood packs, too. You can take that thing off and drink in the car. Won't even be- won't even be light for long."

Valen allows himself to be manhandled in Jim's hands, safely bundled up back up, covered, armored, eyes glazed over and distant, barely responding.

"I really don't know what the director will have to say about this," Nick says maliciously.

A growl rips from Valen's throat, and he suddenly comes to life, ripping the mask off, hands fumbling with the straps of the muzzle.

"Shit," Ari says, and Lex backs away nervously.

Valen repels all the hands on him and rips the muzzle off with an animalistic snarl. Then he does something Jim has never seen him do before: he uses persuasion.

"Tell them what you did to me last night," he barks at Nick, eyes aflame, face crunched with his fangs bared.

Nick's gaze goes soft and distant, hypnotized. "I raped you."

"See what the director has to say about that," Valen snarls, and he grabs Jim's wrist and drags him up the stairs.

Jim cries out in anguish at the confession, horrified. He wants to go right back down there and sock the guy, but getting Valen as far away from here as possible as fast as possible is more important. "You f-fucking piece of shit! I'll kill you!" he screams back downstairs Valen drags him out, sobbing.

He hands Valen the backpack. "I'm sorry, I'm s-so sorry it took me this long to find you. Fuck, I can't imagine- why would they do this?" It's not a real question. It feels like the universe is determined to have as much horrible bullshit as possible happen to him and the people he cares about. I don't know how Liz can believe in a loving god in this world.

Ari, it sounds like, is way ahead of Jim, because she also shouts "You fucking what?" And as they rush out and away from the scene, the sound of fists meeting face sounds out loud and clear from downstairs, accompanied by more enraged shouting.

Valen's enraged mask falls as soon as he's upstairs, and he lets go of Jim's hand, sagging against the wall and bursting into tears. He slides down to his knees, strapping his mask back on with fumbling hands.

Footsteps from behind them as the sound of Nick getting the shit beat out of him downstairs continues. Lex comes up, also in tears. "I didn't know he did that," she cries. "I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea he would do that."

Jim goes to stand protectively in front of Valen. Now that he has the damn muzzle off, they're safe. He doesn't need to hold back. "No, when you kidnapped him to torture him, you had no idea you were handing him directly over to a rapist! That makes it all fucking okay!" Jim yells at her. "What's wrong with you?!"

Lex shrinks back. "I didn't --it's compli--I'm sorry," she finally settles on. "I didn't--I thought he was, like, like--come on, you know what vampires are capable of, you know most of them are monsters!"

"Get- get away from us." Jim sobs. "You've done enough. Valen's not the monster here. You're the ones torturing people in an- in an evil lab."

Lex looks like she wants to defend herself, but before she can do so, Valen snaps,"Go back downstairs."

Lex's eyes go distant and she impassively turns and goes down the stairs.

Valen clings to Jim's knees. "Can we please go home now, Jim? Please?"

Jim's glad Valen can just use persuasion to make their exit smooth, even if the distant look he remembers from Kane's party still gives him the creeps. "Yeah, we're going home. Goin' home right now."

Jim helps Valen up and to the car, opening the passenger side door and ushering him in. "There's blood in the backpack, if you can get it under the mask. Here, actually." Jim takes off his flannel and hands that to Valen, too. "You can make a little tent if you don't wanna wait for sunset. We're going home. I'm taking you home. Not gonna let anyone hurt you ever again."

He gets in the driver's seat and pulls onto the road.

"Thank you, Jim. Th-thank you." Valen takes the flannel and curls up on the floor on the passenger's side, jamming himself underneath the glovebox and using the flannel as a blanket to cover himself. "I'm, I'm very grateful you thought to bring food, but I don't think I can eat anything right now."

"Yeah." Jim wipes his eyes as he drives, but more tears keep coming. "I thought, thought you were dead. That you might be dead. Liz's been calling all the hunter branches looking for you. I left as soon as we knew where you were. It's over now. He's not gonna get away with what he did t'you. I'm so sorry, Vale. W-what do you wanna do first, when we get home?" He hopes thinking about nice things like sleep in our own bed or take a bath might help him feel better. Grounded. Knowing he got out.

Valen sobs. "C-call Liz, I suppose. I was just walking, Jim, th-they didn't even give me a chance to talk, I know that's smartest for them so I didn't just use persuasion, but, but they didn't even give me a chance, Jim."

"They're awful." Jim agrees. "They're fucking awful. You're a damn teddy bear. You've never been a threat to anyone. I can't believe they just- they just took you."

He never wanted Valen to feel this way. What it feels like to get taken. And on top of that, the burns, and if that wasn't bad enough, the rape. As if Valen wasn't traumatized enough already, he can't be safe from it in vampire or human territory.

"We're gonna go home, and I'll treat your injuries, and you'll get all cleaned up and into some nice soft pajamas, and you'll be safe and sound." he promises.

Valen trembles on the floor of the car.  He's never felt this threatened by humans before.  Hunters, a little.  The bad neighbors, the potential for an angry mob to form--yes.  But he's never been so thoroughly terrorized by humans that any human feels like a threat.  He's...a little scared of Jim, somehow, inconceivably.  This must have been how Jim felt when Valen had saved him from Kane.

When they get home, Valen wordlessly goes down into the sunless basement, curling up underneath the stairs, still crying.

Jim calls Liz and lets her know what happened, and she immediately goes to come over. Jim puts the untouched blood packs back in the fridge, grabs a big fluffy blanket, and goes to the basement he seldom enters.

"Knock knock." he says softly. "Liz is coming over. She's gonna stay over a bit, make sure you're nice and protected." Since they weren't exactly supposed to take Valen. "Can I come down?"

Valen lets out a strangulated sob.  "Can--can you just give me a few minutes?  Can you maybe come back in twenty minutes?  Can you--can you lock the door and come back later?"

Jim is fucking heartbroken by how scared and miserable Valen sounds. "Course, whatever you want. Blanket incoming." He tosses the blanket over the side of the stairs. "I'll knock in twenty minutes, and if you don't want me down then either, it's okay. Lemme know if you need anything." His lip wobbles. He wishes he could take all the pain away, but he can't. "I love you." he says before he goes.

Valen just sits there, thinking about Jim, replaying in his mind the few days when they first met.  Valen saving Jim, comforting him.  The fact that the door is locked makes him feel secure--no one can get him.

He gradually starts to come down, and then he starts to want Jim.  He slowly gets to his feet and drags himself up the stairs the next time Jim knocks and opens the door.

He walks straight into Jim's arms, plonking his face in Jim's shoulder, sniffling.  "Thank you, Jim," he says, voice muffled.  "I love you too."

Jim holds Valen close, rubbing his back. "You will always be safe here." he promises. "I can't make the world less fucked up, but I can promise you'll always be safe in this house." Valen's made him feel safe for years. He's determined to do the same. "Liz'll be over in like, ten minutes. You want me to get some cream for your burns? Or you wanna just leave it to heal?"

Valen sniffles.  "Yes, please.  I would like it if you rubbed the burn cream on me.  I would like to see Liz.  Thank you."  He accompanies Jim to the bathroom.

Jim goes to take Valen's clothes off so he can see the injuries, but hesitates. "Can I see?"

Valen whimpers.  How had he not thought this far ahead?  This is Jim.  Jim is safe.  Jim has never been anything but safe.  But...it's going to take a while for this to wear off.  "I-I changed my mind, I don't want the cream that bad, I want to keep my clothes on.  Please don't take them off, I want to keep them on."

"Then they're staying on." Jim agrees. "Do you wanna put it on yourself?" But there are burns on his back, they'd be difficult to reach. "Or- if, if it makes you feel safer, you could hypnotize me and have me do it." It's Valen. He trusts Valen enough for that. "Or we can just forget about it and go wrap you up in a burrito on the couch."

Valen shakes his head.  The thought of using persuasion on Jim for anything but the most dire circumstances repulses him.  "Let's just leave them.  I would.  Would like to be a burrito."

"Then a burrito you'll be." Jim leads Valen back to the living room and bundles him up all nice and cozy, sitting right by his side.

Liz arrives shortly, bursting through the door and rushing over. "Valen!" she wails, hugging him. "I'm so glad you're okay!" She thought it was going to be another someone she loves is taken away forever situation.

Valen hugs her back.  "I'm so glad you were able to f-find me, Liz, thank you so much."  He hiccups between words.  "I-I don't know what I would have done w-without you."

Without us you never would have been in human territory in the first place. "Well, you got us. You got us for as long as we live. I'm your own personal bodyguard for the next few days, 'til we're sure everything's settled down. I don't think anyone's gonna come after you, but if anyone does, the great thing about silver bullets is they work even better on humans."

Valen clings to Liz and Jim both a lot over the next few days.  They get word that Nick has been fired, apparently at the pushing of the two women who had met them at the compound, who reported to the director what they'd found out when Valen had used persuasion on Nick.  Those two hunters also try to contact Valen--they eventually get word to Jim that they want to talk to Valen to apologize, but Valen says he doesn't want to talk to them, and tells Jim not to give them their number.

Valen still doesn't eat for a few days, and only breaks his fast when Jim and Liz finally force him to sit down and eat something.  It's a long, long time before Valen works up the courage to go outside again, and the only time he does it by himself is at night, when he has to make his weekly trip back to vampire territory to buy blood.  He continues to work on his project--at one point, the formula is far enough along that he can cut down on his trips to load up on blood to once a month.

The work is slowed down by Valen's newfound fear of leaving the house that Jim had promised is safe. But it is safe, safe and secure and still more than he ever thought he could have.

***

@barebarb

@cc1010foxy

@emcscared-whumps

@gt-daboss

@hurtpluscomfort

@jakersdaboss

@lolrpop

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@pigeonwhumps

@secretwhumplair

@some-thrilling-heroics

@t0rture-me

@thecyrulik

@thejinglingcourtjester

@vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff

@whuarri

@whump-cravings

@whump-my-heart-away

@whumpycries

@wolfeyedwitch

@whump-addict

@why-not-ask-me-a-better-question

[chuwuyas]

about c&r

Hello my dear saioumers, it is I, jul chuwuyas. I wanted to stop by to talk a little bit about c&r since people ask me about it a lot

Unfortunately, to talk about it, I will have to dive into some personal stuff and share some things with you all that I've been keeping to myself for quite some time now and didn't really want to share, but felt like I needed to. So, since some stuff will be kinda, uh... serious? I will put everything under the cut

(TL;DR for those who don't wanna read about my personal life tho: c&r is NOT abandoned, but writer's block is not the only reason why I haven't updated the fic yet (tho it is one of them). I don't know when the hiatus will end. I'm sorry)

(CW for the things under the cut: mental illness, pet death, suicide ideation)

So, to start: yes, writer's block is one of the reasons why c&r is on hiatus. No, I have not been lying about it. I burned out so badly in 2021 that it's Still hard for me to write things that satisfy me because I reached my peak back then and was popping out 5, 6 fics in a month for 7/8 whole months when my usual is/was about 2 or 3 a year (if you check my ao3 page and the dates in which my fics were posted, you'll see that aside from the danganronpa fics, that usually was the case. I'm a slow writer). I'm still recovering. And the universe seems to not want me to.

Last year, around January, I felt like I was finally setting myself free from writer's block. I started writing something for my oc ship (yes, yes, I know. Not c&r. But what can I say? They bring me comfort) and I was so happy with what I got, so inspired to write, I was actually seeing the words on the doc again.

Then, one of my three cats got sick. Then, he died.

It completely broke me in a way I don't think I will ever recover. I was extremely attached to him and I drained all the money I had saved for therapy to try to save him, but it didn't work and I lost my cat, the money, and consequently my mental health. We spent almost an entire month taking him to the vet and bringing him back home because the vet kept telling us he was okay and then he'd get even worse and need hospitalization again, so that was more money spent on him. I had my friends help me with that, and I am immensely grateful even though it didn't work out in the end. Thank you for helping me bring him some comfort on his last days @ friendos.

After he died, a couple of months later, I tried writing again and managed to write a few thousand words, but my mental health still wasn't the best. Then, I started getting some personal problems that I will not talk about here but took a toll on me and shoved me back into the writer's block box, but now with the addition of increasingly growing self-doubt and depressive thoughts that soon turned suicidal.

Then, around September, another cat of mine got sick. And, this time, we didn't have money to help him.

He was my best friend. We basically grew up together (he was 13 and was born when I was 11, so I had him longer than I didn't have him) and I was also extremely attached to him. When he got sick, I would sit down on the floor and talk to him in tears asking him to hold on just until I got a job so I could pay for his bills. I didn't get a job fast enough to help him. It was me who found him, too.

From August to November, things were so bad in my life (between my personal life, my pets' deaths, and family members getting sick) I genuinely caught myself considering ending my suffering. Planning it. Thinking about it every day. Not wanting to wake up. It was a rough period of my life that I made it through alone because I didn't really tell anyone what was going on with me. I wished I could go back to the past. I wished I could change things to make the future not so bad. I'm still caught up in the past and nostalgic for a time that will not come back no matter how much I wish it would. But I pushed it through.

And one of the things that kept me from ending it all was the fact I haven't finished c&r yet.

I didn't wanna go without concluding the story. I didn't wanna go without showing you all what I have planned for the last chapter and how this story will end. So, I started using c&r as some sort of anchor — something to keep me going because I still have something to do on this earth before leaving. I love this story and I don't wanna leave it unfinished. I wanna see your reactions reading the last chapter, the freaking out, the key smashes, the DMs I'll receive, the theories, the fanarts. I love how big this story got and the little fandom it got for itself. People love something that I wrote so much they make art of it! They cosplay the characters, they write things based on it! It's so mindblowing that something like this would ever happen to me, I started telling myself: I can't die until I finish catch & release.

My mental health is way better now and I'm no longer considering suicide (though, ough, it sucks not having a lot of money). I have a job now and can pay for the vet in case my last cat gets sick. My personal life is good now, too, and my relative who's sick is doing a lot better. I have things to look forward to. Things are good now. I'm happy, though I still miss my cats every day.

I am, however, still using c&r as one of my anchors, and I don't know when I will stop doing so. So, for now, the fic is still on hiatus. But it isn't abandoned, and it will never be. I will finish it one day. So, until then, keep bearing with me.

Thank you for reading, and most of all thank you for understanding. I love you all.

[neaxsfiction]

Would love a Shigaraki fic! Or just headcannons of some sort!

I wanted to write something about shiggy! I'm still on the writer's block tho so it didn't come out as I wanted :/ however thanks for the request ❤️

Treating Shigaraki's injuries

I've been recruited in the LOV for quite long now. Enough to know about the members weird habits. The leader of them was Tomura Shigaraki. And let's be honest, he is the weirdest of them all.

While on the one side, Toga and Twice were two extroverts with bubbly personalities, there was Dabi with his cold attitude too. Shigaraki was neither in those two categories. He was more of a category of his own.

My original job there, is being a spy but since LOV isn't active all the time, I do many other things as well. I help them with cooking, cleaning and with dealing with their injuries, while they give me some company.

I've been sitting on the LOV's living room for some time. I haven't been doing much today and was waiting for someone to come back because it felt lonely being alone in such a big building.

The door creaks a bit and it kinda scares me. Living with all of those guys has made me feel some kind of safety, that now I don't feel at all. How can I fight when I'm quirkless?

The door opens widely and I see Shigaraki getting inside while holding his arm.

"Tomura!" I yell trying to get some reaction from him.

"Shut up..." he scoffs in pain. He looked like he was suffering a lot.

"Please sit down..." I say guiding him to the couch and then run to close the door.

"What happened Tomura?" I ask trying to be calm. The more I notice him, the more injuries I notice, and even on his face.

How strange, he ignored me.

"Lemme help you" I say and go to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit box.

"I'm fine..." he manages to say. His voice was barely coming out of his throat this time.

"You don't look fine, at all." I reply back. What kind of person is fine when bleeding like that?

"Then stop looking" he said with a taste of irritation in his voice.

I just grab at this point some things from the box and start treating his wound. He had lost lots of blood but he would survive. He had to.

This time he didn't say anything about treating his injuries. Instead he kept staring at both his wound and me.

"Here you go." I say after I finish tying his wound tightly.

He doesnt reply. How strange. Typically it would be the time for him to say something sarcastic.

"Is everything okay?" I ask worrying a bit now.

"Yes" he replies still staring deep into my soul.

How weird of him

~

shigaraki pic

posted on 230723

[kimmimaru]

So, I've been struggling with my writing lately. Its not a writers block, it's just because its summer and my brain turns to mush this time of year. On top of the beastie being off school, its not easy to find the time or brain power lol. However, I have managed this much, its just a little bit of what I've been trying to write for my Vincent/Veld fic 'Monster'. Its not edited yet so ignore mistakes etc. Just thought I'd assure people I haven't totally quit writing, just in case anyone's interested and its under a cut for length.

XXX

Veld's hand moved before Vincent could react, his fingers wrapped firmly around the collar of his shirt and he found himself yanked into a half kneeling position. He grabbed Veld's wrist, a glare on his face, “What is this?” Veld didn't answer, instead he tore open Vincent's shirt. Vincent froze, stunned into silence. Veld's lips parted as he stared down at the mess of wounds covering Vincent's chest, he'd taken so many bullets he'd lost count. Blood streamed over pale skin, rivulets soaking into the fabric of his clothes. Veld's face twisted, “What were you thinking?” He asked, his voice rough and tense. Vincent managed to untangle Veld's hand from his ruined clothes. He dropped to his knees, balancing himself on one hand. He suppressed a grunt of pain, eyes closing as he hung his head and tried to breathe. Blood spattered the ground in front of him. “I'm immortal, they can't kill me...” Vincent wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, spitting into the dust. He looked up again, “It doesn't matter.” “Doesn't matter?” Veld blinked down at him, as if in shock. “Doesn't...?” He paused, shook his head then cursed. He turned and kicked a rock, sending it flying into a nearby pile of rubble. “How can you even say that?” He turned, anger not yet vented, and once again grabbed Vincent by the collar. He pulled back his left fist and sent it slamming into Vincent's face. Vincent cursed, pulling away and managing to regain his feet. He panted, one hand on his cheek, “What was that?” “That was me trying to knock some sense into you!” Veld shouted, “Look at the state your in! You think this is OK?” “I saved your life!” “Yeah, you did...” Veld ran a hand down his face, “You saved me but...” He waved a hand at Vincent's wounds, “Look! Look at what it cost you!” “This? This is nothing.” Vincent winced as he shrugged what little remained of his poor shirt back onto his shoulders, “I've had worse.” Veld stared at him, silence hung between them as thick as a wall. “Look, they're already healing.” Vincent said, looking away. As he spoke the wounds were closing, the bleeding slowing. “You really don't get it, do you?” Veld said shakily, “Yes, its true. You can't die, I understand that...but...it still hurts, doesn't it?” Vincent went still, he met Veld's gaze and saw his face twisted in pain as he looked at the wounds. “What...?” “It hurts. You still feel pain, you always have.” “I...yes. Yes I still feel pain.” Vincent wanted to ask why Veld had that look on his face but couldn't quite get the words past his teeth. “I don't need a meat shield. I can look after myself...” Veld hesitated, eyes darting away before being drawn back again, “Don't make me watch you suffer.” Vincent's eyes widened, he opened his mouth but no words would come. He closed it again and hung his head, clutching at the ruined fabric of his shirt as if to hide the blood on his skin. “I can't watch you do this to yourself time and time again.” Veld ran a hand through his hair, frowning across the battle ground. “Especially not for me. I don't want it or need it.” Vincent managed a small, bloody smile, half hidden behind his hair, “As you wish.” He said and turned on his heel. He paused when he was some distance away, looking back at Veld's figure, silhouetted against the setting sun. “Are you coming? We have to find Felicia.”

[lady-of-imladris]

Writer Asks

Thank you so much for tagging me @coraleethroughthelookingglass and @pursuitseternal <3

Answers under the cut!

1) How many works on AO3?

I only have 2 on ao3 because it's so much easier to post on tumblr? The tagging system still scares me lol. I have 17+ fics total (but apparently I forgot to tag at least two of them in my masterlist. oops)

2) what’s your AO3 word count?

ao3 word count: 2994

total word count: over 36k

3) What fandoms do you write for?

mostly Tolkien related: lotr/the hobbit/the silm/rings of power

4) what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Gonna go by notes on tumblr instead because I have more fics here! 1. Thranduil braiding Legolas' hair drabbles

2. Gain a Son (Theoden survives and meets Faramir AU)

3. Chapter 3 of The Great War (In case you're wondering why specifically this chapter; it is the smuttiest)

4. Chapter 1 of The Great War (ah yes, people had great expectations in my writing. back then. 6 months ago. sorry)

5. Chapter 5 of The Great War (The second smuttiest)

5) Do you respond to comments?

I try! I love interacting with people who read my fics and even take the time to comment <3

6) What fic did you write with the angstiest ending?

There's probably a few chapters of The Great War that have an angsty ending (brace yourselves, I'm gonna make Thranduil SUFFER) but I don't think I have an angsty standalone... (time to change that lol)

7) What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Probably Arda University, my cute little LOTR college AU!! (read to find out why it's happy lmao)

8) do you get hate on fics?

Luckily not! I'm pretty sure one single hate comment would make me stop writing altogether. People who leave hate on fics are evil!!!!

9) do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes I do! Most notably I've done praise kink and breeding kink. I still have a bit of an explicit smut writing block? idk what's going on there

10) crossovers?

Best I can do is college AU! I have not done a crossover (yet?)

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No

12) have you had a fic translated?

No

13) have you ever co-written a fic?

No

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Can't say I have an all time favourite, but Eowyn X Faramir is up there!!!

15) what’s a Wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh god. Really exposing myself here. The Thranduil/Feanor/Reader threesome will probably never be finished, but I wish I would.

16) what are your writing strengths?

I think I'm good at darkness, despair, heartbreak and foreshadowing that is so blatantly obvious that I prolong everyone's suffering :)

17) what are your writing weaknesses?

I am rather new to writing so I probably have quite a few! I am not good at planning my chapters so the word count remains consistent (At least not in my current longfic). I take super long to write things??? And I don't think I'm very good at writing smut 🙃

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

I throw in some Elvish or Black Speech every once in a while to mix things up! I'm not opposed to any language that makes sense and that I speak a reasonable amount of (like German or French)

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Rogue One. Was it Krennic Smut. Yes.

20) Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Once again, Arda University. It was super fun to write!!!! And I think it is a cute and fun little read :)

No pressure tagging: @thesolarangel @wordbunch @sotwk (hello new friend!) @niennawept and open tags of course!! <3 <3

[dinuxia-bhm]

Hi, it's me again... Back from the dead...

Listen I know Christmas is over, and we're halfway into the first month of the New Year, but I still want to finish this Christmas fic. Better late than never I guess... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm really sorry about the delay. I've been suffering from a serious writer's block. That's when I realized I suck at writing romance. I've done my best thoughts. Hope you'll like it And thank to @sharksinflowercrowns again for inspiring this fic and everything else...

Deck the Halls of Wittebane Manor...

CHAPTER FIVE…

"LUZ!" A purple haired girl came running towards Luz as soon as she entered the market with her brother, on the next day.

"Sweet potato!" Luz immediately held out her arms as her girlfriend practically launched herself into them. "Oh I'm so happy to see you!"

Hunter stood there nearby, watching the romantic reunion of the two girlfriends. Luz and her girlfriend, Amity, were always like this. It was a little too romantic for his liking. He rolled his eyes seeing them being so mushy but a hint of an affectionate smile remained on his face.

"Alright girls, this is where I take your leave." He cleared his throat, partly to remind them that he was still standing there. "You can go wherever you want and do whatever you like as long as you don't cause any trouble. I'm heading off to get some supplies for the renovation. Good bye." He waved slightly and started walking away in the opposite direction.

Amity sighed, rolling her eyes. "Good to see you too, Hunter." She said sarcastically, still holding onto her girlfriend.

"Don't mind him… You know how he is." Luz shrugged watching her brother disappear into the crowd. "Now come on, we have so much to do!" She dragged a giggling Amity into the Bonesborough marketplace.

Hunter continued to walk ahead with his hands in his pockets. He casually looked around to see if he could find anything for the house. The entire marketplace was quite overwhelming.

Today the market was even more crowded than the last time he was here. Shopkeepers trying to sell their special Christmas merchandise, people rushing to buy last minute Christmas presents, a choir singing in the corner of the street, together with the endless chattering of people gave him a bit of a headache. The sooner he finishes today's work the better. He didn't want to be here for too long.

Once again he happened to walk past the town Christmas tree. This time he didn't stop to get a peek of the top. Instead, he stopped to look around in hopes of finding an adorable little bespectacled figure carrying a small Christmas tree. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. He had no idea why he felt kinda sad or even why he thought she would be here another day. But most of all, he was confused why he wanted to see her again.

Of course she offered her help to decorate the house. But the house wouldn't be ready for decorating for at least two more days. He kept telling himself that it was only because his sense of gratitude encouraged him to return her favor. Yes, even before she actually did him a favor. Yes, that was definitely it. Everyone does that. Right?

He shook his head to clear thoughts and proceeded on his quest for seasonal decorations. Admittedly, Hunter had never ever done this before, but how hard can it be? He was there when his mom and sisters decorated the house back in Gravesfield, and he also helped a bit. Now he just had to do the same thing but without guidance. That's not a big deal at all. He huffed in determination.

'Ok, let's see. What do we need for Christmas?' He questioned himself in his mind. As if the universe heard his thoughts, he came across a huge Christmas tree sale, before he finished his thought. "Yup. A Christmas tree."

He checked out the trees for a couple of moments before heading inside the store which seemed to have put up the sale. Sure enough, it was a flower shop. He heard the bells chiming as he opened the door and came to stand near the front desk.

"Just a minute!” An all too familiar voice came from the inside of the shop and for some reason, a stupid grin spread across Hunter's face as he recognized it.

"Seasonal greetings! Welcome to Parks' Gardens. How may I help y- Oh my gosh, Hunter!" It was Willow who came to the front desk from the back of the shop. She seemed so excited to see him. That just made him smile even more.

"I can't believe you're here. I mean, of course you're here. You're staying here for Christmas after all." She chuckled lightheartedly. "But you're here. In my shop. I certainly wasn't expecting… Hunter, are you ok?" Her happy and bubbly tone changed into a concerned one when she noticed that Hunter wasn't responding to anything. He seemed to have frozen on the spot. And it was certainly not because of the cold weather outside.

"Oh, uhhh- yeah! Yeah…" Hunter broke out of his trance when he recognized the concern in her voice. He saw that her head was tilted in confusion. That's when he remembered he had been wordlessly staring at her. "I wasn't expecting to see you either." He nervously added. Why on earth was he feeling nervous?

She giggled softly covering her mouth with her hand. Her laugh sounded like music to his ears. She was so freaking adorable. He was very proud of the fact that he had been the one to cause such a reaction in her. He wished nothing more in his life than to hear her laugh again.

"Ok…" She said between giggles. "So as I was saying… What brings you here?"

"Oh yeah…" Hunter remembered why he actually came there in the first place. "I was looking for Christmas decorations… you know, for my house. Yeah… for the house."

"Oh right… You saw the Christmas trees, of course." She shook her head as if she was expecting something else as an answer, but she had to be satisfied with this one. "So, did you pick one?"

"Wait. We're supposed to pick one?" Hunter was genuinely confused. To him, all the trees looked the same. Why would he have to pick one?

"Well yeah… Of course you pick a tree." Willow shrugged as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean you don't necessarily have to do that… If you don't have things like height or space to consider. But selecting a Christmas tree can also be like selecting a pet, you know." She walked ahead, opening the door, heading outside to the Christmas tree sale. "Well, at least to me." She shrugged standing in front of a huge tree.

Hunter did not understand a word she said. Partly because she wasn't quite making sense and partly because he was distracted looking at her inspect her Christmas trees.

She continued to explain as Hunter came closer to her. "A Christmas tree symbolizes life and immortality. When you put up a Christmas tree in your house, it brings joy and a sort of lively vibe to your house. It's a very important duty for the tree to make sure it brings that feel to wherever it's kept. So it's sort of like you're bestowing it the responsibility of bringing the Christmas spirit to your house. You should trust the tree for that."

"Are you saying that Christmas trees are like people? Like a soldier with a duty to fulfill?" Hunter looked up at a tree and a weirdly graphic image of a walking talking tree crossed his mind.

"No silly…” Willow giggled. "It's not exactly like that. But I do like to think that all plants are like people. I've always felt this weird connection with plants. Like, I would talk to them. I would take care of them and they're kinda like my friends." She said looking around and absentmindedly twirling in the middle of the field full of Christmas trees.

Hunter was flabbergasted at the sight in front of him. The falling snow, the green trees, the faint glow of Christmas lights and in the middle of all this, Willow. She looked so at peace within the trees. Truly in her element. Heat rose to his face and his ears and cheeks became red. Yet, he couldn't help but smile looking at the beauty in front of him.

"So…" Willow approached him again, making him realize what he was doing. "Have you picked a tree yet?" She asked eagerly.

"Oh yeah… Of course, I was picking trees. Normal Christmas shopping stuff." He smiled a bit before pointing at a random tree. "That one right there."

Willow looked over to where he was pointing and to his surprise, she giggled again. Goodness she had to stop doing that around him. At this pace he was pretty sure he's gonna die of cardiac arrest or something. "Are you sure? Because that's not a Christmas tree."

"What! Really?” He turned around a bit to look at the tree he chose. Sure enough, it was not a tree at all. He pointed at the cut out sign shaped like a tree which was kept outside the shop in order to advertise the sale. Hunter mentally facepalmed. He definitely looked so stupid right now. He didn't know why it was happening. But when he's with Willow, he can't really seem to pay attention to anything else but her and only her.

"Is this your first time getting a tree?" She asked, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Yeah… I've never really done this before." He scratched the back of his neck nervously. It was not entirely untrue, but something told him that even if he had done Christmas shopping before, with Willow around he wouldn't have been able to choose a tree.

"Alright then, can I pick a tree for you?” She asked, looking up at him with a gentle smile.

Hunter nodded and she proceeded to look around to find the perfect tree for him. He watched her fondly, as if she was the most precious thing in the world, not understanding why he was feeling that way. After a couple of minutes she waved at Hunter to come over to where she was standing.

"So, what do you think?” She asked, pointing at a tree she picked out for him.

"I think it's perfect." He automatically replied, even before looking at it. "I mean, you're the expert. So if you think it's good, then it's perfect." He added thoughtfully.

"Ok then… Can you take it with you or should I deliver it to your place later today?"

"Oh yeah, I didn't drive here today. I just came for a walk with my sister who wanted to meet her girlfriend." He rolled his eyes at himself for not bringing his car today. "Sorry… if it trouble-"

"You apologize too much." She shook her head and she giggled again. She was in a roll. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled much around someone. "You don't have to worry. It's standard procedure. We deliver it to your doorstep." She said playfully in a generic advertising tone.

"Oh that's great. Thank you so much." He said pulling out his wallet and taking out his business card. Before handing it over to her he took out a pen from inside his jacket and scribbled something in the back of it. "So uhhh, here's my card. It has my number if you want to contact me." He gave her his card and she silently pocketed it. "It also has my address written in the back of it. And also my personal phone number, in case the one in the front was busy." He added sheepishly and as if on cue his phone started ringing. "That's the one ringing right now. Excuse me for a minute." He answered the call as she waited for him to finish it.

After a while he put his phone back in his pocket and turned to face her. "Sorry, that was my sister. She said she was going home after shopping and she wanted my help to carry bags." He rolled his eyes. "I wish I could stick around but I kinda have to go now." He said apologetically.

"That's alright. I'll make sure to have this tree delivered in no time." She reassured him walking back to the entrance of the shop with him. "By the way, are you still up for decorating the town?"

"Of course!" He answered immediately, regretting how loud his voice sounded. "Sorry, I mean, yes… Yes I am." He cleared his throat to seem nonchalant. "Just give me a call when you need me." He said walking to the streets into the market. "See you soon. Byeeeee" He waved as he disappeared into the crowded marketplace.

Willow smiled as she walked into her shop, closing the door behind her. She reached into her pocket and took out the card he gave her. Her smile disappeared as her jaw dropped in shock as she recognized the name on the card.

[dreamingdixon]

Hello, I know this is a bit of a weird ask and you absolutely don’t need to answer under any means but I’ve been really struggling with some writers block, so I thought I’d send an ask just for the sake of it! I really adore your writing and you’re so so creative so I thought you’d be one of the best people to ask.

I’m basically doing a fic/book (only for myself at the moment but I might consider posting it) which follows the TWD episodes/seasons somewhat as they are, but with an added OC who becomes a romantic but turbulent “thing” with Daryl in late season 2/early season 3. I have been really struggling with the infamous Daryl and Beth scenes when they're on their on the run, and I could just use some unbiased advice! I don't know whether to rewrite it to have it be a time for OC and Daryl to bond by themselves, maybe become official, whether it should be Daryl, Beth and OC somehow or whether it should just be Daryl and Beth still? I still want Beth's death to impact Daryl in some way, but l'm trying to figure out how to do that without those scenes being there, so that I can instead use them to solidify Daryl and OCs relationship situation. You absolutely don't have to answer, but I've been suffering from such heavy writers block due to this, so I thought I'd ask considering you have an amazing talent for writing and I love your blog. xx

Hey anon!

Thank you sm for thinking of me and bringing your question to me, that's literally such a compliment that you think I'd be able to help - I'm grateful!!

You have so many options here it's insane, so here are my thoughts:

I'd personally probably write Beth out of it for that time, have her escape w some of the others for OC to have time with Daryl like you suggested, it's such a good time for them to get to know each other, form a connection and you could really bring some deep conversations to light by a blazing fire, maybe even some healing depending on what their relationship is like. Maybe they fight because of the stress and the loss they're both feeling. Maybe Daryl's worried about Beth (she's young and he's not sure if she got out, or who with) or another character, and OC and Daryl only take shelter for a night or two before heading out again to search for lost friends, and during this time they get to understand each other better and take care of one another. Maybe your OC loses someone close during the fall, and Daryl's as caring as he can be during this time, despite still being fairly rough around the edges during S2/S3.

There's also so many options to keep Beth there - maybe Beth gets hurt as the three of you escape, and you and Daryl take it in turns to look after her, and it's so hard because it's a reminder of how dangerous this world is and how unpredictable everything is, that you find comfort in each other in between shifts of taking care of a sick Beth. You're so exhausted from running around, looking for supplies that one night you end up in his arms by the fire because you're so tired and you can't do it anymore, but he reminds you that you can, that you're keeping Beth alive and he admires you for it. Maybe OC got hurt, and it's how Daryl realises there's some affection growing for you, but he doesn't quite realize it yet, he doesn't understand why seeing you hurting makes him ache.

I realize I probably haven't helped you actually narrow down an idea here, and I'm so sorry! Hopefully there's some sort of plot here that stands out, or gets an idea into your mind. The fun thing about what you're doing, is that you can truly do whatever you want with it! Stretch out the timeline if you need to, add a character, add a death, re-write it so someone doesn't die, add a whole new character to the group etc! You could add extra content to their prison or farm era, showing some additional time spent between them to add depth to their relationship, to add to the impact it has on Daryl when she does die.

You're literally so welcome to message me off-anon and I'd help you brainstorm a bit more too if you'd like, or just narrow something down. Writers block is such a pain and I completely understand, I've been staring at the same page of my current story for two weeks just waiting for it to write itself, big yikes

[dumblydork]

Summer

Hello! I am SO sorry for having gone MIA all of a sudden on Tumblr and Ao3, but life caught up once exams ended and I was in a deep, dark place for sometime. But not to worry, because I'm definitely better now, and finally got over my writer's block/unmotivation (if that's a word) and what better way to start off writing again if not with a Hinny fic?

As usual, I hope you enjoy this sort of non-magic alternate universe, maybe a modern meet-cute of sorts? From the one and only Ginny Weasley's perspective, of course.

Again, you can find my Ao3 right here where I post quite fluffy Wolfstar one shots!

----

The summer was harsh in Cornwall, which was where Ginny's family home was situated. She went up to university in London, just having recently finished her second year in Drama. Last summer, she was on a long trip with her best friend Luna, and hadn't been able to make it down to be with her family. But this year, she fully intended to spend as much time as possible with them, even if her older twin brothers were being annoying arses.

"Fred, George, just wipe the bloody tables already!" She screamed, exasperated, even though the twins were not even 20 feet away. The only unique cafe-by-day/restaurant-by-night was owned by Ginny's family. It was a quaint place, serving the best coffee to tourists and locals alike, along with not such a sharply contrasted cosy restaurant theme the place adopted when the sun went down.

And currently, the cafe was a few hours away from opening as a restaurant, and was left in the care of Ginny and her older twin brothers. She had another older brother after the twins, but he was off with his university friends (being an year older) and had even MORE older brothers ranked above the twins. Her oldest brother Bill, worked as a vet in New York, also where the second brother Charlie worked as an art curator. The third brother Percy was currently obtaining his PhD in some sort of Math which Ginny was too 'humanities' to understand (in Percy's own words, that subject bigot). The brothers after Percy, twins Fred and George were as stated, being annoying prats but worked in some sort of prank shop, much to their mother and Percy's chagrin (Between us and her, Ginny never understood why Percy felt a need to voice this opinion, because if Ginny also opened her mouth to provide an opinion on every single thing under the sun, working in a prank shop was perfectly acceptable).

Finally the last brother Ron went to university in Devon, having recently finished his degree in Astronomy combined with Philosophy, and that was it. Growing up with 6 older brothers, Ginny was significantly hot tempered, a trait often made fun of because of her (and her whole family's) flaming red hair.

"Oh for God's sake the two of you, just shut up if you don't want to do any work!" She finally snapped, causing two identical pairs of brownish eyes to look at her.

"Okay!" They smirked, before actually rushing away to the back of the cafe. Ginny sighed, wondering for the tenth time that afternoon why she bothered to come down here in summer. The twins, despite being her favourite, were useless gits-

"Ginny! Where are Fred and George?" Her mother's voice flew out from the front of the store, removing Ginny from her trail of thoughts, where Molly stood with hands laden with grocery bags. Her father, Arthur, she saw outside from the huge floor to ceiling windows, was unloading the boot of their car of more paper bags.

"They ran away after being absolutely useless gits." She muttered angrily, almost aggressively wiping a glass and placing it on the shelves behind her.

Her mother let out a long suffering sigh, but nevertheless joined Ginny in tidying up the cafe. "They're quite irresponsible." Molly sighed, wiping down tables at a superhuman speed.

"Mum if it's okay, can I join Ron and his friends at the party happening down at the beach?" Ginny asked apprehensively. The question had been burning at the back of her mind since the morning when Ron actually invited her to the beach party being thrown by one of the local boys. He had brought his uni friends and girlfriend down from Devon, and Ginny had already met Hermione, Ron's soulmate, if their behaviour was anything to go by.

Being in an all girls school, Ginny practically grew up with her girlfriends gushing about boys and celebrities, often almost swooning like some Victorian women when boys from the neighbouring school passed by their grounds.

However, Ginny was smart- if having six brothers had taught her anything, it was that boys were annoying, and only a few handful of them were actually decent. But now, looking at how close Ron and Hermione were, Ginny was starting to long for her own sort of romance. It had been over a year since she broke up with her first and only boyfriend Dean. She was convinced the breakup had solidified her stance on relationships, which was that relationships were okay but there was no need to actively look for one. Ron and Hermione's lovey dovey-ness was revolting, but uncharacteristically had Ginny pining away for her love story as well. Not that she'd ever admit it, of course.

"Well there's nothing really to do, and if it's busy there's a lot of pairs of hands to help. So sure, go on." Molly finally said and Ginny could almost fist pump, if it wasn't for the wet rag she was holding.

The evening rolled around quicker than Ginny anticipated, and before she knew it, her and Hermione stood in Ginny's small attic bedroom, getting ready for the party. "So, tell me, how was Dean?" Hermione asked, looking behind at Ginny through the mirror, where the younger girl stood blinking away extra mascara.

"Oh well, he was alright. Nothing like fireworks or sparkle." Ginny flushed slightly as she processed her own words. Oh, how she sounded like a lovestruck 12 year old.

However, Hermione didn't seem to mind. She simply grinned. "I'm sure with the right person it's more than just sparkles and fireworks." Hermione winked, and Ginny wondered if there was more to the statement than she understood. However, Hermione was already done with the topic, now going on about her course and what plans Ginny had for after university.

They walked downstairs, finding Ron standing at the door, his eyes glued to Hermione as she walked down the stairs. To be fair, Hermione definitely looked stunning- even if it was for a casual beach party. Ginny noted slightly bitterly to herself how the simplest pair of jeans and top could make one gorgeous to the right eyes. She breathed deeply as Ron wrapped an arm around his girlfriend, the girlfriend in question smirking back at Ginny as she followed them. Okay, very confusing.

The walk to the beach from the cafe was short, and there was already a bonfire going in the distance, with some upbeat song playing from someone's phone. "So, where is Harry and everyone else?" Hermione asked, looking around. Ron still had a hand in Hermione's as the two of them looked around for who had to be Ron's friends. "Neville!" Ron suddenly yelled good naturedly, as a tall guy walked towards the three of them with a big grin on his face.

"Ron! Hermione!" Neville hugged each of them in turn, smiling broadly at Ginny.

"Neville, this is my younger sister Ginny. Ginny, that's one of our friends from uni, Neville." Ron introduced. Ginny waved, which was returned by Neville.

"Is your girlfriend here as well?" Hermione asked, to which Ron added, "Oh, do we finally get to meet the elusive To-Be-Mrs. Longbottom?"

Perhaps having noticed Ginny's confusion, Neville clarified. "These two here haven't had the chance to meet my girlfriend- well, fiance as of a week, yet. In answer to your question Ron, no, she unfortunately couldn't make it. But she's been inviting the two of you over for dinner since ages." He turned to Ron.

"Actually yeah, we should definitely go. Anybody seen Harry?" Ron asked, looking around the small crowd of people. Ginny moved away from the couple to sit next to the fire, and grab a cold beer in the process.

She had just made herself comfortable slightly away from the warm fire when a figure sat down next to her, causing shivers to go up her left side. "Hi, you must be Ginny." The figure spoke and Ginny looked to the source of the voice, to be met by the unruliest mop of black hair she had ever seen on a human, and twinkling green eyes. In the soft light from the fire, they glowed slightly amber.

"I am. But I don't think I've met you?"

Ginny didn't get an answer because Ron's voice interrupted them. "Harry, you came!" He shouted, the figure (Harry) getting up to tackle Ron in a hug.

"Of course I did, getting sloshed at your best mate's beach party is always infinitely better than home." Harry grinned, and Ginny started to feel her heart race.

"I see you've met Ginny." Ron said, sitting down in between her and Harry.

"I just did, yeah." Harry smiled mischievously. They had moved closer to the fire, and in the brighter light, Harry's face was more distinct. And boy was he fit. The hair, even though messy, was not unattractive (quite the opposite), and his face was slightly round, made rounder by the permanent grin which seemed to reside there. And his eyes were covered by round glasses, reflecting off the orange from the fire.

"Well anyway, Gin, this is Harry, my best mate from university. He just made it down here to Cornwall." Ron said, and suddenly got up to fetch more drinks, but Ginny didn't miss the glares Hermione was shooting Ron from across the fire.

"Do you reckon we go a bit further away?" Ginny, being so busy interpreting the look Hermione was giving Ron, hadn't noticed the boy had shifted closer to her.

"Uh, sure." She found herself slightly tongue tied, staring into green amber.

"Brilliant, Let's go?" Harry got up, and lent Ginny a hand. She took it, and a slight warmth, probably not from the fire, ran down her spine when their hands remained connected.

They walked away from the party, not too far that a search team would be required, but just far enough to hold a conversation in peace. The music slightly played in the background, a slower guitar theme, and Ginny turned around to see Ron and Hermione swaying around the fire, the brightest smile settled on both their faces. Ginny simply let out a happy sigh, attention darting down to entwined hands.

"So, Ron tells me you're in drama?" He asked, as they sat down near the water with their legs bent, just that the waves touched their toes and washed back.

"Yes, I am, final year now. Although I haven't heard a lot about you?" Ginny teased. Harry simply chuckled, a sound she realised she found much more attractive than she should have.

"Well it's a shame since I am his best mate but, Harry Potter, third year medic, at your service." He lightly bowed his head, eliciting a giggle out of the girl.

"Medicine huh, that definitely sounds hectic." She commented, as her fingers drew an absent minded pattern in the sand separating their sitting figures.

"I also captain the football team." He replied, eyes shining with humor. Ginny looked up, wondering if it was a coincidence that the man she found extremely fit also checked off all her criterion of 'boyfriend'.

"Oh- well I don't know how you found the time to be here, what with studying and football." Ginny smiled. Harry looked back at her, eyes boring into her brown ones. "Only because I was told someone stunning was going to be here." He said in a lower voice. Ginny flushed under the stare.

"I'm sure having those feelings for your best mate's girlfriend is not a good idea." She teased, feeling some confidence seeping into her. Harry scooted closer, placing a hand on Ginny's.

"And what if I said they weren't for the girlfriend, but for the sister?" His eyes darted down to her lips, her own pulse quickening. Then continuing with her sudden confidence, she unconsciously leaned in, her lips just millimeters away from Harry's. "The sister would definitely like that because she thinks you're extremely fit too." Ginny whispered, her lips just brushing against Harry's before he closed the distance completely.

The two of them sat there, away from the party, lips moving in slow sync as if they were doing the communicating. Getting to know each other in silent movements, a dance of attraction and dominance. Thee music faded in the background, as behind her closed eyes Ginny saw stars, and faintly made out the sound of fireworks exploding behind them. Not that she'd admit it to anyone, of course.

But in that moment, it was just her, Harry and the cool water playing with their feet. And when they finally pulled apart, Ginny secretly swore that she saw her reflection in green pools glow and sparkle.

Not that she'd ever admit it, obviously.

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TAGLIST: @amy-herondale-chase // @purplepygmypuffskein // @ginnypxtter // @alwaysmagica1 // @norakelly // @her-blazing-look //

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Okay, I hope you guys enjoyed that! I wrote that when I was half asleep, so I'm not even sure if most of it makes sense haha.

As usual, if you want to join the taglist and be notified whenever I write a new Hinny story (which will be much more frequently now), please interact with the pinned TAGLIST post on my account!

Thank you for reading, and please interact with the post! Reblogs are always appreciated but likes and comments are just as amazing! Loads of virtual hugs xxx

[mizmahlia]

1-8, 13-22, 25-27, and 29 ^^ (It's a lot, and I apologize for that! Answer as many as you feel comfortable answering! Sorry it's such a long list and I'm so nosy 😂😅)

Author Asks!

No apologies necessary, Sep! I love talking writing with you!! 😊

I’m answering these with fanfiction in mind, first and foremost, but I mention original fiction every now and again. Just an FYI.

1. Where do youtypically get your ideas?

I’m usually inspired by material I’ve recently watched orread. Sometimes it happens right away and I get the urge to start writing andplotting things out ASAP. Other times it’s days or weeks later and I’m tryingto sleep, in a meeting, on a run, etc and the story starts taking shape.

Rarely do I get an idea that pops up out of nowhere. Whenthat happens, though, I can usually write until the idea is complete and get asolid 4-5k words out of it. (A First Timefor Everything began that way.)

2. When you’re writing anew story, what is the one thing you need to know before you can start?

I need to have a rough idea of how the story begins. I tendto write in reverse, as in I know how I want things to end and I start writingat the beginning.

3. How do you know whena scene is “done”?

When I reach a point where I start putting filler in, likedialog that isn’t necessary, changing details I didn’t intend to change, etc, Iknow I need to move on. But it’s much easier for me to remove anything thatdoesn’t contribute, so I let myself ramble as long as I need to in order to getthe scene out of my head.

4. How do you know whena chapter is “done”?

While I almost always know how the story ends (even in avague sense), my gut tells me when a chapter is finished. I write until itfeels natural to stop and then I go back and edit, either trimming content backor adding a bit more detail if I’ve glossed over something. I never look at word count to gauge whenI’m “done”.

5. How do you know whena story is “done”?

It’s kind of an unsatisfying and decidedly not awesome answer- when it feels done. When I’ve explored the stuffI intended to when I started, when conflict is resolved in the way I wanted itto be, I’m done.

6. Where do your titlescome from?

I wish I had something deep and meaningful to answer thisquestion, but they’re mostly random. I try to use something from the storyitself to tie into the title, but I try not to be too obvious about it.

7. How do you feel aboutprologues?

I don’t care to use them. Not necessarily because I’magainst them, but more because they simply aren’t a tool in my toolbox.  And so often writers use them as a shortenedopening chapter instead of giving actual background information about thestory/characters that advances the plot. TL;DR I don’t care for them, but it’s fine that others do!

8. How do you feel aboutepilogues?

Again, I don’t care to use them. Most often my work ends ina place where an epilogue isn’t necessary. But I would use an epilogue before aprologue, definitely. If there were a smaller plot point I wanted to include thatdidn’t fit into the last chapter, but is still relatively important? I’d add anepilogue.

13. What grammar tends tocause problems when you’re writing?

There’s nothing specific that causes problems for me, but Itend to focus most on things like passive voice, making sure I don’t useadverbs too much, verb tense and the like. I actually struggle most withwaiting to edit. I physically can’t waituntil I’m finished writing and edit afterward. It makes me reallyuncomfortable.

14. What’s the one wordyou can never spell/use properly, no matter how hard you try?

I always trip up on Victor Szasz and his ridiculous lastname.

15. How do you write areally good metaphor?

I refuse to spend time trying to write metaphors. Activelytrying to add metaphors crashes and burns for me. If you find one in my writing,it was likely an accident that I definitely didn’t plan for. I think they runthis risk of being an over-used device and I tend to avoid including many in myown writing.

16. What is your bestpiece of advice for writing angst scenes?

Ask yourself this question: am I writing this scene/chapterjust for the sake of making it sad, or does what I’m putting the character(s)through actually affect them or the plot somehow?

17. What is your bestpie/ce of advice for writing hurt/comfort scenes?

Uhh… just.. go for it? No, that’s crappy advice. I writewhat comes naturally for me and that’s taking care of people. I think aboutwhat means a lot to people when something bad has happened- holding someone’shand when they’re in pain, a kind smile when they’re feeling down, or makingsomeone laugh when they’re nervous. Physically comforting someone is just asimportant, if not more so, than just talking to someone.

What can help is thinking about your characters and whatthey would respond to or want from someone, but would never ask for, when they’re suffering. That can have a huge impacton your story. The same can be said for the reverse- someone being so in painthat nothing helps, no matter who is doing it.

18. What is your bestpiece of advice for writing comedy scenes?

Don’t spend too much time thinking about trying to make itfunny. Write is as you want to, then focus on whether or not it comes acrossthe way you intended.

19. What is your bestpiece of advice for writing action scenes?

Try to picture in your head what you want happening. Standup and act it out, or find a YouTube clip of a fight you like and then try andwrite that scene. I practiced with the Steve versus the Winter Soldier fight atthe end of CA:TWS to develop myaction-writing skills.  When I read whatI wrote and felt like it “matched” with what I saw on screen, I knew I was onthe right path.

20. What is your bestpiece of advice for writing smut scenes?

Be comfortable writing smut scenes, I guess. If you don’tfeel comfortable writing them, it can come across in your writing and readersfeel that awkwardness instead of what you intended them to. There’s nothingwrong with writing or not writing smut- you do you and you’ll be just fine.

21. What is your bestpiece of advice for writing romance scenes?

I rarely, if ever, write romance. But when I do, I’mshameless with it- I basically write what I would want to happen to me,tailoring it to fit the personalities of the characters in the story.

22. What is your bestpiece of advice for writing fluff scenes?

I never set out to write fluff/angst/smut/hurt-comfort/etc. Emotionsjust sort of… happen. While writing I’m more focused on the plot than what Iwant readers to feel, so I’m not sure what else to say. I wouldn’t call fluffone of my strong suits, anyway.

25. How do you create anoriginal character?

By using the least amount of effort possible…

And by that, Imean I don’t create a character with a ton of personality traits/habits/etc andthen try to cram him/her into the story I’m writing. That approach doesn’t workfor me. I haven’t written original fiction in a long time, so my skills arerusty. But I do know that I tend tofocus on plot first, creating a character second. The character fits into theplot, not the other way around. It grants me more flexibility in story-tellingthat way.

The only characters I’ve created in the last few years aren’tcharacters who are going to have their own stories/original fiction. They werecreated for a purpose in several fics of mine centered around Dick Grayson andJason Todd. (Nora, who appears a few times, and Dr. Matthews, who appears inonly one fic so far.) They just sort of… happened.

26. How do you go aboutworld building?

I don’t; I rarely think about it. It’s not something I’veever really focused on, the world around my characters. I don’t write a lot oforiginal fiction at the moment, so I don’t have to really create much ofanything. But even in the original fiction I do write, I don’t spend a lot of time creating and building thingsbecause I get overwhelmed. I just write my story, plan/edit/create along theway, and that’s it.

Planning and creating is definitely an enemy of mine. Ifanything will cause writer’s block, trying to create too much before I need towill definitely do it.

27. Do you try to do mostof your research ahead of writing (when research is necessary) or do you do itas things come up?

Usually I research as things come up in the story. If Ispend too much time researching something before I’m writing, I’ll neveractually get to writing it. (Except for all the medical stuff in my current ficwith Jason; I knew quite a bit about chemo/cancer treatment, but I needed morespecific information. That way the information I researched in advance fit intomy story more naturally.)

29. How do you plot yourstories?

At the most inconvenient times possible.

Actually, I don’t spend a lot of time planning and plotting.I tend to write linearly, so even though I may know how I want the whole thingto end, I still write it from the beginning and plan as I go. Nothing is set instone and it makes it easier to adapt that way.