#i've said this before but i have every intention of finishing this fic- its not abandoned! im just busy and fell out of the fandom

[nnayomaise]

wahh thank you so much to the submitter...im glad this fic gets as much attention as it does im really thankful to everyone whos followed it through the years 🫶🫶🫶🫶

Summary: Sinbad’s first coherent thought is one that he’s had far too often for someone still alive and breathing. Ja’far is going to kill him. ---- Ja'far cleans up after his former king, his best friend- the only person left in this miserable world who understood him. Waiting for Sinbad's eventual return provides ample time to think over every mistake, every conversation they never had, and all the words they needed to say. It also, leaves time to close all loose ends. In other words, Ja'far, after losing Sinbad and all that comes with.

Author: @nnayomaise

Note from submitter: This is genuinely one of my favourite fics ever, the characterisation is perfect. I really just want to thank the author for writing something so good, they have a really great writing style across all their fics :D

[everythingwasnormalhere]

i don't really wanna do much today so...

what about an analysis of I've Got You, Brother because i wanna rant about it >:3

(i've been thinking about all this a lot since I wrote it lol)

huge spoilers under the cut so please i beg you don't read it till you've finished the fic ;w;

probably the first scene of this fic i thought while knowing i wanted it to appear in it, was the scene after lucas' funeral. a while before that i already had the headcanon of kevin giving kenny that red scarf of his, but that scene, unlike this one, wasn't fully developed when i daydreamed it.

my kenny, slv kenny, has a lot of trauma as a kid, trauma that shapes his personality later on. yet, he's learned he needs to suck it up, not tell anyone - mainly because his uncle taught him so. lucas was gay indeed, stuart got that one right at least, but after he did what he did to kevin, he decided it was too dangerous. kevin would snitch, surely, he was old enough to know it was wrong, he had proven this. kenny was not.

"never tell anyone about this", he had promised, and so kenny never really specified it - loyalty, fear, who knew. but he couldn't help but take kevin's word that lucas was gone, and maybe that's why he slipped. kevin never asked any more questions, kenny never gave him any more answers.

(Brother by Kodaline - the song this fic took its title from - just started playing, and that is incredibly fitting XD)

"“You look like shit” Kenny pointed out. “You should see the other guy” Kevin smiled, sitting next to Kenny."

a fun fact about this scene, is that i thought of it before anything else in this fanfic, yet with a different theme. i was feeling pretty dysphoric, my parents were being transphobic assholes, nothing new, and i said "why not project this onto kenny?". in the original scenario, kenny would come out to his father, or maybe he'd be outed by some reason, and stuart would be no good about it, so kevin would jump in and defend his brother. then, everything would turn out as it does in the fic.

but slv kenny's agab is left ambiguous, and it will stay that way, which makes the original idea lose all its sense. yet, as i wanted to write it and add it to the story, i figured out another thing the fight could've stemmed from, and rolled with it. it being kenny's birthday was just something that came to me as i wrote, but it makes a sensing way for him to receive his parka so all good XD

next scene is probably the closest these two ever went to talking about their feelings. "He wanted me to go with his friends, he didn't want to hang out with me." was a typical occurence by the time they were twelve/thirteen, which is when that happens. kenny had gone to that type of hang outs a few times already, and always felt as if he wasn't welcome there, his presence and his exit equally unnoticed. butters had always the best intention, but are good intentions ever enough? the spot at the rooftop became kenny's favorite place since that night.

kevin isn't too talkative, or at least not slv kevin, but he knows his brother all too well, as shown in the next scene.

i needed it to be from kenny's pov, even if just to show the shock at "Kevin had never hit him sober." - because kevin had hit him drunk, not even just that, but typically kevin was at least a bit tipsy. him being violent yet sober showed the importance of the situation - and also showed how easily kenny would accept kevin becoming stuart 2.0.

it was short before butters ran away from home, and kenny was going through possibly the worst moments of his life till then. it was also the time in which he would kill himself every other day, trying to find a way that stuck. the broship had broken, kenny's home life was as shitty as always, what was the point? "But- Kenny, I can't let you waste your life like that. I'm probably gonna become a poor drunk guy like mom and dad, but you're smart dude. You have a future. Don't throw it away". those words likely saved kenny's life. kevin knows him, but he's too quiet to show it. yet, when he sees his brother in that state? he can't help but try and pull him out of it.

"This was the first time Kevin had seen his brother in weeks" says a lot about the mccormicks, actually. kenny, spending his days out with his friends or stuck in his room. kevin, not coming home until he has to. they had lost each other, grown up enough to stop needing the other as much. yet, kevin's always up to helping kenny out.

their conversation on the couch, just proves how much they really love each other. kenny doesn't really cuddle with anyone besides butters and his siblings, and kevin isn't much of the type to be physically affectionate with pretty much anyone. yet they enjoy being in each other's company, and they trust each other enough for it. "“Fucked him yet?” Kevin half joked." also shows how much kevin really knows his brother - even after they're not that in touch, he's noticed how close butters and kenny really are. he's also proving to kenny how he will not judge, allowing him to open up if he ever wants to, without fearing a reaction like the one their parents would likely have.

("“I love you”, is what Kevin would've said were he more vocal about his feelings. But he wasn't, so he took a sip of his beer and turned up the volume.". fun fact, they never said they love each other, and now you're forced to live with this information :3)

"“Showed up when I died, haven't left ever since” Kenny nonchalantly said, and Kevin shrugged it off". I don't have much to say about this scene, but fuck me if kenny isn't like this. he's sincere with kevin, yet aware he won't be believed, so he doesn't really press it. kevin, meanwhile, is used to his brother saying stuff like that. if kenny had ever told kevin about his curse? i like to believe kevin wouldn't have hesitated to believe everything about it.

aaand we're at the final arc of igyb!!

(after i took a tiny doomscrolling break bc fingers hurt smh)

i think i should first talk about why i did what i did. and that is, killing kevin off.

you see, in most stories and universes where kevin dies, he does it heroically. saving his siblings from their parents' wrath, getting in the way of a gunshot, taking part in a fight - he dies a hero. that's not how real life works. people just... die. without a warning. without a reason. one day they're there, the next they're gone forever.

kenny thought he understood death, mostly after having died so often, but he didn't. kevin's death, it made him realize people just leave forever, not giving any warning, not saying goodbye. human life is such a fragile thing, and he won't waste his stuck in the shithole of a town south park is. he's terrified of losing his friends the way he lost kevin, he's terrified of permanently dying with nobody to remember him.

he was lucky laura offered to take karen in, because otherwise, he probably would have stayed. but he knows, she'd be kept safe, and most importantly, away from their parents.

and, kenny?

he is going to live.

[valeriianz]

fic talk! yay! tagged by @beatnikfreakiswriting and @hardly-an-escape <3

How many wips do you have currently?

okay, let's be reasonable about this (lol). WIPs that im currently working on, only 4. don't- hey! don't look into my Google Docs! ignore all those files. sometimes i like to jot a sentence or idea down, that doesn't mean it's an active WIP! that also doesn't mean they are abandoned. they are just... marinating. snoozing. biding their time.

Which one are you finding the hardest to finish? Why do you think that is?

oh geez, probably Savory & Sweet. it's so silly because the first chapter of that flew out of me. it was so fun to write and its a verse i definitely revisit from time to time... and technically the first chapter works as a stand alone- i don't need to write a follow up. but after i had posted it, i really had every intention to write more. but for some reason the motivation to actually sit down and write it out is fleeting. but it's a year old at this point and i just want. it. FINISHED!

What does it usually look like when inspiration strikes for you?

it never strikes when i want it to, firstly. never when im sitting down and writing. it sometimes comes when i dont have access to a pen and paper or my phone- like riding my bike or in the shower, so whatever great idea/line of dialogue/scene that pops into my head in that moment, i repeat in my head over and over until i can finally scramble to get it hastily written down lmao. but it is very random... and usually strikes when im alone and in my own head, doing nothing in particular.

Do you curate playlists for each fic or is your process different?

no. and i write in absolute silence as well. lyrics distract me and music has never spoken to me that way- not enough to influence writing at least. of course the big exception is Bolt in the Blue lmao. but i think it makes sense that im making playlists for that fic. (oh and i made one for Let Me Down Easy as well... but these two fics have literally been the only times in my entire fanfic history that i've made playlists haha)

Do you go balls to the wall and write as you go or are you more organised?

for the moooost part i have a bit of organization, even if it's a few scattered notes. i learned my lesson quite late about making sure to at least have an ending in mind before i start writing and publishing (to be very real with y'all, the reason the dreamling Road Trip au hasn't gotten off the ground yet is because i can't think of a good ending for it). that being said though, once i do have an ending sorted out, my writing process is basically chaos. sometimes plot points or arcs will change entirely... which is a little scary, but as long as i can keep my ending the same, fuck it.

tagging, no obligation/tag me in existing posts: @issylra @delta-pavonis @valiantstarlights @tj-dragonblade

[solo-ojo-jojo]

Chenford Fanfic Teaser: Sequel to That's What Partners are For

The Rookie Fanfiction | Chenford | Rated E | Intentional Seduction | Undressing

Remember when I wrote a Chenford fic inspired by this moment from Bones?

📸 @romanticallyterrible [original post here]

Well, the sequel is inspired by this moment from Psych.

📸 @onscreenkisses [original post here]

I started writing the sequel right after I finished the first installment. It's been kicking around in my drafts, and I occasionally shake off the dust and work on it. I've made quite a bit of progress this time, and wanted to share a little bit of what I've been working on.

Here are a couple of short excerpts from the first half of the story.

Title TBA (Rated E) After the bomber is caught, Lucy and Tim give into their temptations. Tim decides it's his turn to undress Lucy.

... But every signal he had been getting from Lucy, combined with a gut feeling that grew stronger by the moment, told him—screamed at him—that she wanted him, too. 

Here goes nothing.

Tim leaned a hip on the bar, facing Lucy. Close, but just out of reach. While they waited for a bartender to notice them, Tim lowered his lips to Lucy’s ear so he could be heard over the music. “Do you trust me to order for you?” he asked. “I think I’ve got a good idea of what you like.”

She wouldn’t have expected for such simple words to have such an effect on her. But something about the way Tim said those words filled Lucy’s head with ideas that she had tried to abandon after she walked out of the men’s locker room yesterday afternoon, evidence bags in hand.

Tim had pulled away from her ear, but lingered nearby, not having returned to his full height. Lucy looked up at him slowly. “Yes,” she said. “I trust you.”

“Two glasses of San Matias Cristal, dressed, please,” Tim told the bartender as he handed over his credit card.

“Opening up a tab?” the bartender asked.

“No, I’ll close it out,” he told them. He didn’t plan to be at the bar for very long if things went the way he had hoped.

“Tequila?” Lucy asked him, surprised. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you drink tequila.”

The heat building inside of Lucy’s body felt like no match for the look in Tim’s eyes when he said, “I wanted to try something new tonight.”

...

“Cheers.”

Their glasses clinked together and Tim’s eyes followed Lucy’s movements as her tongue peeked out to swipe a taste of salt from the rim of her glass before she took a sip. She closed her eyes as she savored the smooth taste of the tequila Tim ordered for her before letting the icy liquor slide down her throat.

Tim took a drink from his own glass, all the while keeping his eyes on her as she lifted the lime garnish to her lips and sucked its juice.

He was overcome with his need to touch her.

His fingers reached for her face and his thumb skimmed across the tip of her nose.

Tim leaned in, his lips next to her ear. “Salt,” he explained, his voice rumbling.

“Oh,” she said breathlessly.

As his lips pulled away, Lucy could feel the warmth of Tim’s breath coasting over her cheek. But Lucy couldn’t tell if the movement bringing their faces closer together came solely from Tim, or if she herself was drifting closer. Their noses now brushing up against each other, Lucy could sense that their lips were just a hair’s breadth apart.

She looked up at him through her lashes. “What are you doing, Tim?”

“This? It’s just… very close talking.”

Lucy shifted in her seat to bring their conversation (and their lips) even… closer. “Mmm, I see,” she said, enjoying the vibration that was created between their bodies.

“And what do you feel like talking about?” she asked, briefly closing her eyes, then opening them to make sure it wasn’t all a dream.

Tim placed his fingers on top of her wrist so lightly, it felt like a whisper.

“You.”

Yes folks, Tim does indeed try something new that night. 😏

The sequel is rated E, so instead of posting a second chapter of the T-rated That's What Partners are For, it will be part of a series.

The series is tentatively titled Take It Off and can be found here on AO3 so you can subscribe for updates.

[etoilesombre]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks for the tag @hms-tardimpala <3

I have noooo idea who has done this already, so tagging @lichfucker @frau-kali @tiofrean @lupismaris @verdanthoney no pressure, also anybody else who wants to

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 18

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 257,419

3. What fandoms do you write for? 95% Black Sails. I have one story for Fetch Phillips Archives, one for the tv show of The Exorcist, and I've committed to one for A Charm of Magpies (book series)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? long as amber of ember glows, to pull me from myself again, The Salt and the Sea, Another Way, Such Terrible Hungers

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Absolutely! I love talking about these guys, my writing, fandom in general, anything, and if somebody takes the time to comment i want them to know its appreciated. that said i DO either miss some sometimes or just get overwhelmed with life but it is always my intention.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Uhhh for all the angst IN the stories i'm actually secretly a softie i usually leave things pretty good. but. ok if we're doing story not series, then its definitely A Composite Unity

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Princes of the New World, the end there is PURE wish fulfillment in a way I had never done before and likely never will again. Wanna see Silver be a pretty princess and then get fucked so good it breaks canon? Also Kittenfic if you want something that is actually not smut for once. Yes it has actual kittens. It is sad and sweet and i think reasonably plausible in canon, but. It was written for a ficfest prompt "betsy has kittens and silver adopts them on maroon island.'

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not yet.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? OH BOY DO I lol. I'm not gonna say this is what I'm here for, but, sex is definitely one of my main lenses for exploring character dynamics and psychology. 'What kind' has varied a lot.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Not yet, though I've done some concepting. I got pretty far into planning a Hannibal/Black Sails crossover with a friend (set in Black Sails canon era) and that concept still haunts me.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?  No

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? Lol. You mean, the whole reason I ever started writing at all? Yeah, Silverflint. I'm Still Processing.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Uhh ot3 swimming

16. What are your writing strengths? Making fic feel true to canon. Dialogue, character exploration through sex.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Showing things in summary rather than getting into every damn detail. Heavily plotted fic, fic that covers a long period of time. At least, these are things I don't do intuitively and have not yet pushed myself to do? Also imagery, my writing is pretty functional.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Absolutely fine, but do it well. Which to me means, if it is not a language you speak fluently, google translate is not enough, ask a native speaker to review it. Also, needs to be there for a reason. There's gonna be some Spanish in longfic once I finally get back to it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Black Sails.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written? Oh god I really don't know if I can pick. Honestly it might be By Faith of My Body, the one where pining!Flint and Madi have highly fraught conversations about books. But that's what I'm working on now and its possible 'favorite' is just 'whatever's in front of my face.'

[box-dwelling]

So I wanted to make a pinned post compiling every post I've made that I have any intent at all to do anything with as a fan work.

Most of these are just drafts currently but as stuff gets released I'll edit this post and reblog with the news.

This post is long so the info will be under the cut but as a contents:

Franmaya Narumitsu Kids Au

Turnabout Orca

Ace Attorney DnD

Narumitsu Enjoying Art

Trucy V Kristoph

PTA Narumitsu

No Children Krisnix

Narumitsu Who Wait Too Long

Full Breakdown of My Plan For a Fic EU:

-Untitled Disbarment -Untiled Turnabout Trump Missing scenesand Fallout -Untitled Hell -Turnabout PTA -A Stray Turnabout -Turnabout Orca -A Christmas Turnabout -Untitled DnD -Turnabout Date -A Family Turnabout -The Perfect Wedding Turnabout -2 Bonus Fics

FranMaya Narumitsu Kids Au

Original post - full AU breakdown. Warning it's long

Ask about the Richards relationship to his sisters

Plan:

I'd love to do some fun comics. Maybe a fic but it would be a bitch to format as such. May become a series of drabbles instead

Current status:

No words on the page for fics. Ideas planned for comic but I'm really not happy with my art style at the moment and struggling to get someone drawn that I don't instantly hate and want to restart. Happy to take ideas to expand on this AU with questions

Turnabout Orca

Original post - Concept Breakdown

Additional post - Additional discussion of concept

Fic link

Plan:

Fic. A part of my larger series I have planned that I don't talk about that much here but separate enough to be posted on its own before the rest

Current Status:

Chapter 1 published. Chapter 2 needs edits but could honestly be posted whenever. I just keep procrastinating. I had ideas for a chapter 3 when playing this case but don't remember what it was so I'd need to replay the case.

Ace Attorney DnD

Original post - Character role breakdown

Character sheets

Plan:

A spin off midquel of a fic within my extended fic universe

Current status:

Ugh. So. I have a Klapollo Christmas fic within the previously mentioned extended fic series. There are 4 fics I need to post first or else it will make no sense.

The fic itself has a good amount written but is not finished but I probably could write the remaining scenes pretty easily. I would love to post this at Christmas but erm. We'll see.

I could cut down the previous references and just have it all be out of order as I post.

The first fic is a good good way done.The second is short sweet and basically done. The forth is a short sweet fluff fic that's not got too much written yet but should be easy enough to bang out. The third one is a complete god damn shitshow that I'm really unhappy with at the moment. I want to rearrange a tone of stuff before I post it. There's some stuff in there I adore. Then there's other stuff I hate and want to cut out immediately but can't because the stuff I like its currently dependant on it. It's got no coherent structure. There's a million things I want to cover in it but not over riding theme. A lot of the later stuff hinges on events in this one so I can't just completely kill it. It's overstuffed and just a complete Trainwreck. I recognize that what I post doesn't have to be good and this is a fan space but I genuinely don't want to put this out there in this state. Like to explain what a state it's in its currently dealing with a mirror to FmT, sibling reveal, setting up Klapollo, Manfred's execution, Narumitsu proposal, another thing on this list, AJ fallout, and Edgeworth's promotion and very very little connective tissue between these concepts.

This is relevent because the DND fic is kind of a midquel to said Christmas fic so need to come out after it.

Idk guys Christmas sounds a little too optimistic. I may post the Christmas fic very very late.

Narumitsu Enjoying Art

Original post - concept breakdown

Plan

Included in a part of one of the fics in the extended fic universe

Current status

Hey so remember what I just said about the third fic having a planned segment for another point in this list. Suprise guess which one it was. This one. So yeah development hell. I've not even written that part yet because even opening that doc demoralises me. Will it be in the end product? I literally have no fucking clue. It's linked in with the FmT mirror segment which is the most likely to get the axe and also the hardest to fucking cut so just ugh.

Trucy V Kristoph

Original post - beginnings of concept

Extended post on this idea - concept breakdown

Plan:

Finally, its own thing. A multi chapter canon divergence fic

Current status:

Honestly doing pretty well. I've got like 3 chapters written but am struggling to know where to go from where I am. Kind of on hiatus but I could also just post what I have so far and then have it be a more public hiatus.

PTA Narumitsu

Original post - concept discussion

Plan

Fic. Similar to Turnabout Orca in that it fits within the canon of the extended fic universe and may get plonked in there as a series but works as a stand alone

Current status:

One scene written. I have ideas but it's a hard one to get motivated to write. I love the concept but it's just not the document I instinctively open up.

No Children Krisnix

Original post- lyric by lyric scene description

Link to homeforall's own version of said idea

Plan

Animatic

Current status

I have done a handful of scenes but I'm having the same issue I was with the Au comic. I just need my art to be a bit better to feel comfortable.

Narumitsu Who Wait Too Long

Proper concept breakdown

Related prior post

Plan:

It's own fic as its own thing but also a general feeling and concept I try to bring in whenever I write 7yg stuff

Current status:

A brief scene written as its own thing though I may change it to go a different way because I have being think about it more. Also a theme I have in the first of the extended fic universe stories

Aforementioned extended fic universe

Ok so this one is more complicated because I don't really have posts for it but I did want to break it down for me and for future reference.

1: Untitled: Disbarment

Concept:

Begins with some small stuff during the trilogy, Choosing death, forbbien hospital scene and what not but is primarily about Phoenix's disbarment. Narumitsu fic mainly but there's a good deal of Franmaya and also some deeply toxic Krisnix.

Status:

A lot written but missing a lot of connective tissue and I want to put in some fluff padding at points. Also there's probably a smut scene or two that I want to write but have been putting off.

2: Untitled- Turnabout Trump Missing Scenes and Fallout

Concept:

Kind of tieing some loose ends from the last fic with some headcaons I have about this case in particular. Short. Probably a one shot. Could be an epilogue to the previous but I think will be worth publishing as its own thing.

Status:

Basically done. Need to be published in order.

3: Untitled Hell

Concept:

After Turnabout succession Phoenix goes to Europe with Edgeworth and Trucy and Apollo stay behind to take a case. When Apollo is writing up his journal notes from the Misham Trial they look through Phoenix's paper work to clear up some loose ends and find out a lot they didn't know. Meanwhile stuff gets more and more out of hand in Europe

Status:

Already said. Absolute hell.

4: Turnabout PTA

Concept:

When Edgeworth gets promoted to Chief Procecutor, Phoenix takes him to the PTA to show off. Chaos ensues

Status:

Already said. This and turnabout Orca are the only ons before the Christmas Turnabout that doesn't have to be posted before it. This one could probably come out on its own but it's best after the 3rd fic

5: A Stray turnabout

Concept:

Short sweet fluff fic. Athena meets her Boss's fiance. Edgeworth worried about Trucy's grades. Phoenix adopts a stray puppy. Apollo gets to subject the agency to one of his special interests

Status:

Like half written and the other half is inmy brain. It's just not been a priority.

6: Turnabout Orca

Concept:

Turnabout reclaimed from Edgeworth's perspective

Status:

Already said. Will be posted when it's posted.

7: A Christmas Turnabout

Concept:

Just after the end of dual destinies, Apollo invites Klavier to the Wright-Edgeworth Christmas party given that his previous plus one is now dead. It's the obligatory Klavier joins the found family and gets "forgiven" (read: realised he was never blamed I'm the first place) for Phoenix's disbarment fic that I always eat up. Also dealing with the fallout of DD and Clays death and Klavier's fallout after AJ. Big ensemble cast. Angst and fluff.

Status:

Solid half way done

7.5 Untitled DnD

Concept:

Some for the cast are bored and unable to sleep on Christmas Eve so Trucy runs a Christmas one shot for their DnD party.

The idea for this was that all the family members have a DnD character but it's kind of expected that not everyone can always make it. So it's an induction for Klavier and Simon into the fold by making their characters and joining in. The players for this fic are Klavier, Apollo, Simon, Athena, Kay, Pearl and Sebastian. Maya, Phoenix, Ema and Edgeworth all also have characters but aren't present for the game for reasons that make sense in context.

Status:

Already said

8: Turnabout Date

Concept:

A direct sequel to A Christmas Turnabout taking place a day or so after that one leaves off. Klavier has asked Apollo on a dated to an intimidatingly fancy restaurant.

Meanwhile as the anniversary of DL6 draws closer Edgeworth ends up giving up and giving the prosecutors office a holiday break until the New Year. In turn Phoenix gives the WAA the time off too given the stress of the last week. Both offices decide to help their respective idiot in love prepare for the date. Though the weird girls of Maya and Kay end up on the opposite of their usual sides as Phoenix needs requests the aid of everyone's favourite great thief and Maya get caught up in the chaos after an attempt to seduce her girlfriend.

Status:

About a third written. I'm really really fond of this one though.

9: A Family Turnabout

Concept:

A pair of ghosts from Phoenix's past turn up on the agency door all related to Athena's most recent case. A poisoning in a tea shop that she herself witnessed.

Tensions are high as more than one Wright family member's life hang in the balance. As Phoenix's mental state grows slowly more unstable, his relationship with his daughter is put to the test.

While Athena and Apollo butt heads about how much their powers are to be trusted and ask they begin to learn more and more about the mysterious group the victim and defendant belong to, Phoenix's protegee are forced to ask serious questions about what justice really means and if the WAA's tactics in court are really moral and safe.

Status:

Hey idk if you can tell. This is my favourite. If I could just post this and focus on it I would. Unfortunately it needs a lot of fucking context. Stuff that's fine to just be explained to a reader who knows they can learn more in other available fics but will sound insane if not. How much is written. A whole lot. The stuff that's missing is the case fic stuff but I know exactly what I'm doing with that now so it just needs to be properly written out. There's probably a few posts I could have linked to put this bad boy on the mentioned works in progress section but that would probably spoil it a bit and I don't want to do that.

10: A Perfect wedding Turnabout

Concept:

Narumitsu wedding. Big old ensemble piece. Stuff will get crazy but I don't want to spoil anything. But those two could never have a normal wedding come on.

Status:

This was like the 3rd fic is started writing and well. It shows. I don't love how a lot of it reads. I want to rewrite a tone. But there is a lot already on the page. The other 2 I wrote this early were a very early draft of the first fic which has been revised enough to be fixed and then the 3rd fic which is the bane of my existence. I like the plot concept I have. But I worry about the prose. When I wrote this is had been a long ass while since I'd tried to write a big cast like this and it fucking shows. Also just the character voice is off. It's kind of expositiony. It's not as unsalvageable as 3 it's just not there yet.

2 Bonus fics

Status:

Completely unwritten

Concept:

I kind of want to do a narumitsu fluff fic of them buying a house together and putting up furniture after 3 and I wouldn't mind a reunion faraskye fic before 3. But the benefit of me having written nothing and having planned nothing is that they have no vital link to the others so they can just be punished whenever and I'll say where they are in the timeline.

[captain-apostrophe]

20 questions for fic writers

How many works do you have on AO3? 56!

What's your total AO3 word count? 866,338

What fandoms do you write for? Just MDZS/The Untamed, though in my misspent youth there was one multivolume handwritten Lord of the Rings fanfic.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 1. we both know better (maybe we don't) 2. the hand is a voice 3. not mad about it 4. hard to say (it's all for you) 5. alone at christmas?

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do, though occasionally it takes me a minute to find the juice to do so. I guess it feels nice to acknowledge that I've seen and appreciate the comments people leave!

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't think there's any contest that Confluence is the tearjerker, though does it count as angstiest if it's technically a positive/bittersweet ending and not actually a sad one? Maybe one of the prompt fics - perhaps Play, where Xue Yang re-enacts a grisly past life's fate.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? I'm not sure that's really quantifiable when almost everything I've written has more or less had a happy ending. If it's not cheating to choose a WIP, probably WBKB since the eventual epilogue is about everybody involved having their happily ever after.

Do you get hate on fics? Not generally. I did get some anon hate at one point that was stressful but I don't even remember what it was about. Shipping Jiang Cheng with Nie Huaisang when certain unhinged people wanted JC for themselves, possibly.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yep. The kind is anything I find hot, I guess. Does this mean is it het? Is it vanilla? Well once it was gay noncon between a guy and a very mean mermaid so... I'd say "all kinds".

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Nope! I've written a few short fics putting the characters into other media in the place of its characters (Howl's Moving Castle, GBBO, some Shakespeare) but I don't tend to see the appeal of merging two different casts together.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of, so... fingers crossed!

Have you ever had a fic translated? Someone did start a translation of Not Mad About It into Russian, but that's all I'm aware of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope, but I also haven't written much that wasn't heavily plotted, planned, polished and generally discussed to death with @megalodont

What's your all-time favorite ship? If we base this on who I've spent the most time writing about it'd be SangCheng, but I wouldn't say I really have one favourite. I like some and not others, and my preference varies.

What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I don't think I should answer this without my lawyer present (aka I would really love to finish every one of them, and a couple planned sequels too, but unless my mojo comes back from the war with a serious second wind I don't think it's realistic to hold my breath for any of it)

What are your writing strengths? Settings. I love to describe a place, to make it a character.

What are your writing weaknesses? Um lately? Getting words onto the page.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? For myself? I would have to rely on machine translation or have someone else do it, both of which have obvious downsides. For people doing it in general? It can be interesting when the intention is for the POV character (and therefore the audience) not to know what's being said, but otherwise it's distracting at best and pulls me completely out of the story.

First fandom you wrote for? Lord of the Rings. It was at the height of my Karl Urban phase so probably revolved around Eomer. I wonder if I still have it in a box somewhere.

Favorite fic you've written? I'm really fond of quite a few of them, and it's always hard to narrow anything down to a single favourite (seriously, people have to stop asking me to choose just one of anything!), but Run might be the one I'm saddest not to get through. The vibe was so fun, I loved the magic system, and I think adding that to the source material really elevated it into something quite special.

Thanks for the tag, @mulberrylotus! I know that nobody ever takes "if you're reading this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged" seriously but I'm pretty out of things at the moment so... if you're reading this and want to do it, consider yourself tagged? I love seeing people fill these out and hate the anxiety around tagging folks so.

[forabeatofadrum]

Okay for real this time: 6, 10, and 29

Hi Jenna. What do you mean "for real"? This is totally, definitely the first time I am seeing this combination of numbers!!!

6. Do you prefer writing shorter, standalone fics or longer, multi-chapter stories?

We actually talked about this in the Carry On Discord a while ago (shoutout to them) and there I said that it really depends on the ✨vibe✨of the fic. As in, what is the story I am trying to tell? Does it work as one overlapping arch, or is it better to tell it in episodes? I mentioned two Snowbaz fics that I wrote that have a similar word count. Time After Time is a multichapter fic because there is intentional build-up towards a later chapter and also the story itself calls for chapters, since there's a 20 year time jump between every chapter (it makes sense if you've read the books) (Jenna, have you read the books?). Meanwhile, make a fire out of this flame is one chapter since it shows how these two fuckers gradually get together.

I mean, sometimes I do wonder if I should cut it in pieces. I actually had that thought with the Quinn companion piece, since it's almost 10K as well, but I kept it as one chapter since it sort of rushes through all of Ljubim te, up until chapter 22, from Quinn's perspective and there are some additions, so if I were to break it up, then the chapters would be too short. Get it?

10. What's your favorite part about the fic writing process?

The bullshit. As in, the extra stuff that I don't really need to flesh out, but I do anyway. I tend to think about the world that I am creating, even when I am not writing and I like that. I like having something to think about.

And I also like putting my good ole blorbos in different situations. There's this post that says that Tumblr plays with JPEGs like dolls, but the original dolls were the blorbos.

29. Are there any characters, relationships, or general character dynamics you've never written about but would like to try?

Me, through gritted teeth: One day I will finish the story of Roderick and Kitty.

Also, I think I've mentioned it before, but I like to try writing well-known tropes while giving a spin to it. I already did it with amnesia (Myosotis) and secret identity (Mendacious) and I hope to give a spin to soulmate AUs, but my mind is still blanking on how to bend that. I feel like messing with that trope has already become a trope of its own, aka when the characters refuse to believe in soulmates because they want "true love", and sure I am an avid fan of the two cakes principle, but I hope to find another way to mess it up.

Merci, merci!

[katie-delaney]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks to @thepiper0fhameln for the tag.

1. How many works do you have on ao3? 68

2. What's your total ao3 word count? 666,406

3. What fandoms do you write for? At the moment just Captain America but also have done X men, Castlevania, Supernatural, Harry Potter, Witcher

4. Top five fics by kudos:

Obsessions Release (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy)

Game Changing (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy)

That Sinking Feeling (Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy)

The Vampire Sex Club (Trevor Belmont/Alucard)

He Ate My Heart (Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes

5. Do you respond to comments? Yeah I try and reply to all of them

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?God uhhh I don't usually do angsty endings but probably Betrayal which is a Drarry one but that's only really cos I never got round to finishing it, it was meant to end in a happier place

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? lol god idk I am a sucker for a happy ending so that's hard to pick, it's probably gonna be The Officers Tent just cos that's gonna have a sappy as hell ending

8. Do you get hate on fics? I don't think I ever had apart from the first post I ever did on ao3 where someone told me my formatting looked ugly but someone replied to that comment before I'd even read it telling the to shut the hell up :D

9. Do you write smut? all of it is smut

10. Craziest crossover: oh uhhh I wrote a Libertines/Harry Potter cross over once but its safe to say you won't find that shit anywhere :D the other one I wrote was throwing Hannibal into The Meat Grinder

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I don’t think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? no

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, but it was with one of my friends and a very long time ago

14. All time favorite ship? I mean Stucky at the moment but I may change my mind on that one day

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I WILL FINISH THEM ALL how dare you

16. What are your writing strengths? probably smut, conversations and I've been told I'm funny?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Long sentences with a million commas, repetitive sentence structure (according to every editor I've ever sent work to) over using the em dash, putting the word 'just' in about 5 million times to every fic...over exaggerating?

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language? idk like I get why people do it but I have to stop and either click and translate or scroll to the bottom and that's gonna interrupt the flow of the fic, unless your intention is that I'm not supposed to understand it. I'd probably more go for 'he said something in Russian Steve didn't understand' . That being said one of my favourite fics at the moment does it all the time so it clearly hasn't put me off that much as it :D

19. First fandom you wrote in? Harry Potter.

20. Favorite fic you've written? Probably He Ate My Heart but I don't know if that's just cos it's the one that got the most likes/interactions in this fandom and I'm a praise slut?

[mechanicalinertia]

Reblogging this to build on it slightly. No tags, just a sub-rant over the old rant: I think I don't like Cyberpunk 2077 / Edgerunners' lore anymore. I found CP2020's lore amusing to peruse while pirating the old RPG splatbooks, but I think in the end I'm somewhat Not Feeling It in terms of its continuation.

Why? Because it embodies this highly static preconception of cyberpunk that I at once enjoy and want to break free of in my own writing. The main villain, Arasaka, is the most generic Evil Japanese megacorp one could ask for, run by the kind of guy who would unironically say things like "Pearl Harbor didn't work, so we got you with tape decks", and despite fifty years having passed from the old books to this new game, he's still around. In fact, that's the weirdest goddamn thing about 2077: Everyone is still around, barely aged at all. Technology hasn't changed much, the Time of the Red changed next to nothing, you'd hardly know it was fifty years in the alternative future. And that... doesn't feel cyberpunk?

No, well, maybe it does, maybe it is cyberpunk of a kind. Walter Jon Williams' Hardwired is an old novel that is supposedly a foundational work of the subgenre, less so than Neuromancer but foundational all the same, and in it it's pretty clear that one can't beat the Orbital Megacorporations from down on the ground. And, y'know, Williams helped playtest CP2013 for Pondsmith back in the day, so... is that what said work is drawing from?

Meanwhile, The Sprawl and The Bridge trilogies of Billy Gibby actually seem to portray a much more unstable universe, one where the fortunes of megacorporations can be destabilized by black-swan events and new technology ripped away from their corpselike grip on the future, where liminal spaces still exist and exit from the nightmare is still possible. (I just finished rereading Virtual Light less than a month ago and, for all that it feels like a book written in the nineties, it does a great job of selling the reader on its weird impossible future.)

There's no such optimism, or rather dynamism, in CP2077. And I'm not sure if that's intentional or what. I could get over that in Edgerunners because that anime had such a strong tragic arc, but beyond that the lore of CP2077 feels like this mishmash of every old idea under the sun into a sun-baked end-of-history brick.

I bring this up now because I just read an Edgerunners fanfiction that I liked right up until the clear villainess of the piece went on one too many rants about how inevitable megacorporate power is in a sadistic tone, and how annoying the author didn't seem to realize she was being, and how David and Lucy working for this miserable human being for various promises and plots was a Clearly Bad Choice that both characters really should have known better than to get involved in. Why did that fanfiction feel like the last straw? I don't know, honestly. Maybe just because it makes me realize how flat of an environment Night City is for fiction, with every path and possibility in the city mapped out with machinelike precision. Some people enjoy that, discovering every lost piece of lore and creating a muck-mat of discarded ideas to make their own cohesive whole. So you get a lot of good fanfics that all share this common character, all go different places with the characters, but then it kind of... wears thin to a degree? There are just points, like with this one fanfic, where the feeling of 'oh, I've seen that before' kind of just makes me want to drop the whole thing flat.

It makes you think, though, doesn't it? Once I finish Anatomy of a Lovedoll - and I will fucking do that I swear - what's next? I still don't know, but one thing's for certain: If it's an Edgerunners-related fic I'll have to really make a decision about how much lore I want to subjugate to my own worldbuilding whims. Because I'm not writing it straight, that's for sure.

...You know what I need to do? Read more Cory Doctorow. He's famous for cyberpunk where there's a way out of dystopia. I read his blog incessantly. He's great, and I need to read more of his novels.

Against the Inevitable in Bubblegum Crisis: An STMPD-branded Screed Against Certain Concepts in Fanon That Might or Might Not Exist Anymore

Those of you who follow my reviews of Bubblegum Crisis fanfiction might have noted that I keep grappling with how to review Dartz's Yours Truly 2032, because I can't decide if I like it or not. It has so many highs, and so many lows, that it's impossible to just call it 'okay' - things like that don't cancel each other out. In between being a real college student who functions in the world, and writing my own fanfiction, I keep coming back to how to review this fanfic without sounding like I hate Dartz's work on some sort of personal level, or sounding like I love it unquestionably. I like it, but there's a problem.

Anyway, reading something the guy wrote on the old alt.fan.bgcrisis Google Group several years ago finally solidified what annoys me about this fanfic. And about Meat / Metal Jacket, and about Grand Mal, and about Neo No Armor Against Fate, and about Illusions, and about Tokyo Babylon, and various other fanfics I've reviewed or have struggled to review properly. I know that's that a lot of fanon (and one quasi-canon work), but dammit, I have an opinion here. And there is one sentiment that, in my opinion, is terrible.

It is, in a phrase, the words: The Knight Sabers Can Never Win.

Now, what do I mean by that? Well, this is the core of the argument, paraphrased:

"GENOM cannot be destroyed by the Knight Sabers. For one, the corporation is simply too big. Even a surgical strike against Quincy wouldn't cripple the corporation, they'd just get a new guy and keep going. For another, GENOM is too economically vital to be destroyed. Blowing it up would essentially crash the global economy. Therefore, the most the Knight Sabers can do is keep GENOM's worst excesses in check for a few years before they're unceremoniously wiped out, and the cyberpunk world grinds ever onward to the end of history."

You can read what Dartz wrote back in alt.fan at the link above the cut, but the essence of it is that destroying GENOM would ignite a financial crisis that would hollow out industry and ruin the world for a good long while. It feels cynical, not just cynical but proud of that cynicism, as though Dartz was glad that he figured out the terrible, inevitable truth of the universe.

Most of this argument, I suppose, comes from Sylia's monologue with Lisa in the middle of Scoop Chase, where she argues that yes, GENOM does good things and bad things in approximately equal measures, is essential to the functioning of the world. And the R. Tal RPG largely sticks to this theory, stating that GENOM could likely never be properly destroyed by the Sabers, and that's not Sylia's intent anyway.

This is what most people take away from the Vanette exchange, and it's interesting that they do. Sylia is... well, she's distant, but she's never cold per se in the original series, so maybe she isn't manipulating anyone, but hold on just for a second. What if she is playing Lisa, just a little? I mean, she knows this girl could very well expose the Sabers, but she doesn't want to kill the girl, otherwise questions will be asked courtesy of her ADP Chief uncle. She has to nudge the girl away from hunting the Sabers down, subtly, quietly. And she has to play to Lisa's preconcieved notions of the Sabers and GENOM. So, well, why not lie about what she believes? Why not, indeed. The point is that this particular scene isn't as much of a sure thing as people think it is, and so without it a lot of what ends up being written without the explicit support of the text is mostly the viewer's opinion, what they want out of the cyberpunk genre, and, well, probably their politics as well.

So. Opinion time. I am sick to death of immovable megacorporations in cyberpunk, of the status quo being an endless reach of chrome, neon, and LED's, of this being all there is, of the end of history.

Yeah. Remember that? Francis Fukuyama's theory that Free Market Liberal Democracy is as good a form of government as anyone can get? That after the defeat of the Soviet Union and the long nineties, things probably couldn't get any better? It's a very neoliberal idea, that as long as democracy doesn't interfere with the value creation of the 'free market' things will get better, better, best. It's an idea that cyberpunk's founding works never pushed back overmuch beyond making megacorporations the Big Bads in their stories, but also necessary for the continuing function of cyber-industrial society. It's why accusations of retrofuturism levelled against the subgenre as a whole feel weird to me: Cyberpunk came into being in the neoliberal era, as surely as Reagan and Thatcher inaugurated it, and cyberpunk will feel powerful as long as our current moment is neoliberal.

But here's the thing. It's one thing to describe a cyberpunk dystopia as 'all there is', as utterly inevitable and unstoppable. Maybe it's even properly neo-noir as surely as something like Chinatown is. But fuck it. I'm still sick of it.

Why? Well, because we've been living with the megacorps for forty years and we've all seen the world not just stumble away from the gauranteed future of the nineties but slouch into what feels like near apocalypse. Healthcare and rent are unaffordable; monarchism disguised as populist fascism seems to be the new default form of government, with all the sleazy corruption that inevitably leads to; we're in a Cold War with one tsarist hermit with too many nukes and a newfound superpower whose leader would like nothing more than to commit some ethnic cleansing against its neighbors (you really think the Taiwanese won't be rounded up and punished for dissidence against the motherland? Puh-leaze); and to top it all off those same megacorporate elites can't get off of fossil fuels fast enough to not fuck the rest of us over. In other words, 2022 is an age of perpetual, overlapping crises, not eternal megacorporate-guaranteed stability...

Hold up. Crisis? An inflection point where the old order breaks down? Where either something better or something more monstrous arises? Now where have we heard that word before, hm? It's almost as though the Sabers live in a moment of Crisis as well, where even the most indomitable megacorporations are vulnerable and could be destroyed!

Well, okay, fine, if the megacorporate order and the fascism it uses to advance its goals of zero taxes and zero regulation are to be defeated, it won't just be because superheroes came out of the night and brought us Peter Thiel's head on a pike. I don't know what it's gonna take, but the point is that it's not just doable, but it really ought to be done, otherwise we're going to look pretty Canticle For Leibowitz-y in a few decades.

And that's why the idea of GENOM being a necessary evil, or at least an invincible one, pisses me off so much, because, uh, GENOM's business model, while not seen in the anime, is probably replacing humanity with Boomers, right? Hey, even Lisa said it, the cities would be wall-to-wall Boomers if GENOM were to take over the world, and there'd be no place for humans. (So the idea of GENOM's destruction causing a loss of jobs makes no sense; how many humans does GENOM actually employ, anyway?) The stakes are literally saving humanity from being replaced, and Fred Herriot, Shawn Hagen, Dartz, they all operate under the principle that this just ain't the case. (Admittedly, Mark Latus seems to acknowledge this, but he never finished his Tokyo Babylon Trilogy, so we never got to see any sort of comeuppance for the omnipotent Super Cool GENOM Dude he created, and I get the sense Latus liked him too much to bother. And Meat Jacket is... well, it wants to marinate in the darkest parts of the genre ad infinitum. It is a piece which I don't think cares as much about the politics of this shit the way I do, which I may have to just acknowledge reluctantly.) Don't even get me started on Adam Warren.

And this, in turn, is why Hakluyt's Most of the Way to the Moon was so refreshing, because the Sabers got a concrete win against GENOM, a win against evil not unlike that of Jeffie Epstein and his ilk. It felt nice to see, at least in fiction, justice being served for oligarchic pedophilia. And I know that then people will say that these more nihilistic fics are more 'realistic' because they more accurately reflect our political moment, its failures of imagination and change, and they might even be right.

But do you want to see that inevitability reflected everywhere you look? Do you want to have to wake up in the morning convinced that extinction is a few generations off? Does that feel empowering to you, dear reader? If so...

...Well, you and I have very different Internet Opinions. And I, for one, happen to disagree.

And, uh, that's why my opinion on Yours Truly 2032 has soured a great deal. Because I can't stand that stance. Because I think it poisons what I want Crisis to be so, so badly.

[goldeneyedgirl]

Which Jalice fic, out of every single one you have ever wrote, would you consider The Slowest of Burns?

P.S. The photo you posted here, with the folders of your Jalice fics had me in CONVULSIONS. SO much goodness. And I have questions!!! What is Human Alice BFFs Vamp Jasper? What is Damaged Alice? What is Feral Alice? What is Dazzled Alice? Can I have samples or like, elaborate a little, please?

P.S. Also, Mad Girl’s Love Song SHOOK me. In a best way. I have no idea what is going on, but its WOW.

Ooof, slowest burn?

I think it has to be All These Broken Things, simply because of how much time passes in the fic, and how long it takes Jasper to realize that he's not only still in a bad place, but he's dragged Alice into his trauma and made it her problem too. And Alice takes her sweet time learning that she's allowed to advocate for herself, that she shouldn't be indebted to someone for loving her.

Mad Girl's Love Song is a really strange little fic and I'm really excited with the direction it's taking. I've left it to marinate and it's better for it. I'd love to have an ETA for it, but I don't because I know exactly how I want it to be when its done and I'd rather take my time.

As for the WIPs...

Human Alice BFFs Vamp Jasper: This is one where human Alice stumbles upon vampire Jasper brooding and through circumstances, become best friends. Alice is both critically ill and unlikely to live a long life, and is desperately in love with Jasper. Jasper is determined to keep Alice alive and protected.

I pulled out the old box from my closet - practically sagging, it was patterned with princess pictures and had been from one of my childhood birthdays, an old tutu on the very top. Perfect for disguising things I didn’t want to be seen by snooping mothers or sisters. The real contents of the box were two pairs of thoroughly worn-out jeans, a couple of ancient shirts, and a sweatshirt that had been hastily mended along with two well-thumbed philosophy books and a dented tin snuff box. Stuff that I had been stashing since I came home when I was thirteen. 

Stuff that belonged to the dashing figure currently climbing in my bedroom window. 

“Evening,” Jasper nodded at me, as he folded himself into my hanging chair.

I smiled at him, and put the box on the end of my bed, bouncing over to him; the bright red of his eyes revealed how he had occupied his day, and also indicated his mood - he was always a little withdrawn when he came over, but it was always the worst when he’d fed.

Luckily, we’d known each other for nearly four years, and I had gotten very good at improving his mood. 

“About time,” I said, climbing onto his lap and curling up. “Mom’s out with her drinking buddies, and Cynthia has no intention of coming home tonight, so I’ve been very lonely.”

Jasper was still holding himself very stiffly, but one arm wrapped around my shoulders, cradling me to him. “They left you by yourself?” His disapproving tone of voice made me roll my eyes. 

“I have been actively encouraging them to do so,” I looked up at him; he was avoiding my gaze. “I’m safe with you.”

He grunted at me and finally met my eyes. “They don’t know that. You don’t know that.”

I hoisted myself out of the chair and stared down at him. “I am fine. I have every alert device money can buy, and you are more than capable of calling 911 if it's bad.”

“Those devices do not pick up partial complex seizures,” he retorted, and I could see him start to relax.

“I knew you were reading up on it. And once again, it’s called a phone. Besides, is it wrong of me to want to spend an evening with you before our master plan goes into action?” 

Jasper sighed, and leaned back. “This is a recipe for disaster,” he informed my ceiling. 

“It’s my best idea in years,” I said cheerfully. “We both go to Forks. It’s genius. Lots of forest and wildlife, lots of stupid hunters and hikers. I finish high school, complete my year of college, get my trust fund, and boom, you and I skip off into the sunset. Preferably via Paris.”

"Texas?"

"France, Jasper. You promised."

Damaged Alice: This one is based in the idea that Alice had a lobotomy in the asylum, which lead to serious brain damage that is taking decades for the venom to heal. Combined with her visions and lack of human memories or interaction, Alice finds the Cullens before she finds Jasper.

Alice comes off as very neurodivergent and somewhat infantilized by the Cullens until she tracks down Jasper and essentially attaches herself to him. It's very much just a little love story about two people who are seen as very damaged and imperfect healing and finding happiness.

She sat curled at his side, glimpsing at the book opened in his lap, her fingers twisting the rings she wore methodically. 

“Bella and Edward are getting married,” she said out of nowhere.

“They are,” he agreed, pausing to smooth her hair back. 

“Why aren’t we married?” she asked, looking confused. 

Jasper froze and closed the book, sitting back. “Alice?”

“Bella and Edward are getting married because they love each other,” she said, her eyes glassy and out of focus. A bad episode, then – though, she was still talking. He’d been with her for sixty years, and her periods of lucidity had improved dramatically since he first met her. Carlisle had privately mentioned that he hoped she would only continue to improve as the venom undid the damage. That one day, she might be whole – that her periods of lucidity would overtake her confusion and ‘episodes’. These days, the worst episodes were days of complete silence and no eye contact. 

And despite what everyone thought, he didn’t mind either way. He adored, worshipped, loved Alice with a fierceness he couldn’t put into words, and nothing would ever change that. 

“I love you, so why aren’t we married?” Her golden eyes were so trusting, even as they struggled to focus, struggled to stay fixed on him. One of her rings was bending as she twisted it – the very reason that Esme had given them to her, to allow her to channel the manic movements that took her over. 

“Well,” Jasper began, briefly wondering if he should fetch Esme to try and explain – at least until her lucidity returned. During these episodes, they had all learned that it was best to keep discussions simple. 

Feral Alice: Oh, this is fun because it was three different fics that were so similar that I lumped them together until I figured out what to do with them. This version is the idea that Alice never settled playing human and preferred to live a nomadic lifestyle, whilst Jasper stayed with the Cullens.

“Jasper isn’t married?” Bella said, as she watched Edward’s siblings walk towards the car. 

“No.” He had a strange look on his face. “Jasper isn’t married. He has… someone who prefers not to live the way we do and visits from time to time.”

“Oh,” Bella frowned, considering Edward’s choice of phrasing. “Is he gay?”

Edward chuckled. “No. She’s a girl. Alice doesn’t remember ever being human – she woke up without any memories, and prefers to be nomadic. She finds it too difficult to blend in.”

When Bella pictured Jasper’s mate, she thought of someone very specific. Someone dark and sensual, mysterious and sinister. Long black hair, maybe curly. Skin the colour of coffee. Clothing that revealed just the right amount of skin. Someone who might make Rosalie uncomfortable, if not jealous. Someone wild and inhuman, yet impossibly sophisticated, who would have long, ridiculously academic discussions with Jasper with no time for petty human life, for high school. 

But the tiny girl standing at Jasper’s side was none of those things. 

She couldn’t have been more than five feet tall, with uneven black hair curling under her ears. Enormous red eyes made her look even paler, and her eyelashes so long and black, they looked like they had been painted on. She wore a pair of ancient denim pedal pushers, and a filthy white blouse. She came to the middle of Jasper’s chest and was, frankly, adorable. She seemed to be bouncing on the spot in happiness. She and Jasper only had eyes for each other, though they never touched. 

She whipped around to face Bella and Edward, and Bella saw that no matter how small she appeared, she was around the same age as the rest of the Cullen ‘children’. 

“You must be Bella,” she smiled, clasping her hands in front of her. “I’m Alice.”

Dazzled Alice: fic has evolved so many times that I'm not sure what to do with it - maybe a horror one-shot for Halloween one year. Kind of the OG, full story behind Small Mercies, but darker. Jasper finds human Alice and she's his singer. Thankfully, time with the Cullens means he has more control but that just makes him extremely territorial.

“What have you done, Jasper?”

That’s a new voice, but I can’t open my eyes. Suddenly Jasper is gone. 

There’s yelling and scuffling, and I miss him. I want him back.

“Don’t move, sweetheart. You’ve been hurt,” came a gentle voice. A woman’s voice 

“No, I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me,” I manage, my voice slurring. “Jasper? Jasper?”

“She’s in a bad way,” comes another voice. “Emmett’s got Jasper, what do we do about her?”

I am aching and my head is spinning and tears roll down my cheeks because Jasper is gone and I am broken without him.

[yostresswritinggirl]

Seers' Miscellany

Prologue: Origins of the first bloom

A circular fic for the Dainsleif mini-series I'll be working on. This will be the introduction; of the evanescent bough keeper of the new world. "Observers of the North do not usually wind up in personal business, but when they do, in their wake comes great shifting of the plates of the timelines." Logs of the stag and the delicate flower.

Pairings -> Dainsleif x Reader; Reader is NOT Traveler

Word Count -> 1579

Themes -> Pretty sad, but also fluffy

Chapters -> 1

Warnings -> Story progression takes a while, oh dear why am I doing this now, I'm so busy

"500 mora; and three answered questions."

He's not really sure what lead him to indulge the requests of a simple adventurer when he made his rounds around the city of freedom. Was it the simple need for currency? It couldn't be, he was better off with other commissions that Katheryne could offer.

Was it the desperation in your voice and eyes? You looked at him like a prophet, your only salvation, and perhaps in this context that may be true. You were but a lone adventurer and the way your weight leans heavier on one foot shows your struggle to those who have keen eyes like him, no other person wished to indulge your needs and you were getting desperate.

Or was it the three questions? Dainsleif have yet to hear such contractual obligations before, but it felt as tho it was the most important part of the agreement he took the moment you pleaded with that soft voice. Humble yet resolved, not letting him walk away without at least considering it once.

And so he found himself traversing the land of the wolves through a dangerous path, where you skip ahead with a gait of happiness, bubbly and energetic enough to surpass even his long legs. You hummed without consideration at the glee of finally having a companion, and he did not mind it at the slightest despite the attention it may bring upon your little party.

"First question," Dainsleif fleeted his gaze away from the horizon to turn to you whom slowed your pace to match his, head looking over your shoulder with a wide grin. "How are you?" So innocent.

He huffs in amusement, the most emotion you've seen of him. "You don't need to waste a contract question for such a simple question, you know," he stands behind you as you crouch down on a shrubbery filled with Wolfhooks. Your main objective for visiting Wolvendom in the first place.

You assured him that you meant your question in every way possible as your hands carefully pick at the herbs, wary of the thorns and the intrusive prickly leaves. Despite your attention turned away from him he knows you await his answer. Dainsleif hums to himself and stops—

How is he? What does he truly feel in this moment of his time?

A simple question yet risked for one of the three inquiries agreed upon definitely holds a deeper meaning. His train of spiraling thoughts halts upon the sound of otherwordly grunts and chants as he turns away from your still busy form (you seem very focused on your foraging) to find three Hilichurls approaching with ill intent.

Dainsleif squints at the impending threat before shooting a final glance to make sure you weren't looking. His arm glows blue as he raises it, power in the form of blue swirling mist surges around him - how are you? The feeling brings him back to vague memories of his past, of the energy rising through him at his expeditions with an old companion, of the thrill spent upon encountering the unexpected. Such thoughts are not vivid but the familiarity of what he is experiencing right now was enough for him.

Though he was sure that there were no camps before they went through this route.

"You asked me how I am," he spoke when you finally turned from the bush with an armful of Wolfhooks on your arsenal, confusion on your face at the sight of downed Hilichurls and the side profile of the bough keeper.

His cerulean eyes were fixated at his left hand that he repeatedly closes and opens for a few seconds, before he fully turns to you (your eyes did not miss the blue glow from underneath his cape, where his right arm should be) with a wisp of a smile, "I feel alive right now."

You reciprocated the gesture with a wide grin, "I'm glad to hear that!"

A majority of the wolfhooks gathered where given to the little Botanist Chloris, the seller of flowers, who looked relieved and ecstatic upon your arrival. Something Dainsleif took great notice of. Carefully handing over the berries and some which you had to pluck singularly from your companion's flowy cape, the little girl gave you her Valberries in exchange.

It was sweet and familiar, something Dainsleif took note as he accepted your offer of the fruit despite his none need for sustenance.

Your little chewing sounded through as you two settled on the humble camp you managed to setup with your supply for a single individual. There was a little hole in the middle for a campfire Dainsleif had made the effort to prepare knowing the coldness the night will bring soon enough, and your fragile form is not something he wishes to bargain now. Is that really the reason? Perhaps in the back of his mind, he was really just working on forgotten routines.

"Second question," his footstep at the edge of the camp halts as he turns once again, where you sat on the mat as tonight's bedding, hands flicking to remove the stray juices of the berries. He stood still in wait before he goes back to his mini mission of getting fire wood.

"Go on," he urged when you stood a minute longer in silence.

"Do you like traveling, Dain?" Easy enough, he simply said yes and left when you ended the conversation with a nod.

When he came back with the wood and tinder bundle for easy spreading, out of the corner of his eye he watched your hands work on the mortal and pestle as you grinded the remaining wolfhooks on your person. The fire started the moment he was done setting up the kindling and your face filled with admiration at the sudden and immediate spark, praising him for his quick work.

Dainsleif is both talkative and not, and at times he finds himself rambling to the wind. The moments of the night passed without much details until he found himself talking about his past adventures with his old companion, of the world they've seen together and the now estranged relationship between them.

His responses were sometimes cryptic unintentionally, and he apologizes when there are things about it that he couldn't answer simply because he could not remember. When silence struck after he finished his tales and meal, the beautiful spike in his eyes found yours gleaming despite the drowsiness pulling at your whole feature.

"I'm glad you're very fond of traveling. If not, I wouldn't have met you," and he wouldn't have taken the commission. Dainsleif's eyes flashed in recognition, finally understanding the meaning behind your second question. Somehow this little commission deal turned into a silent back and forth quip of him understanding past your simple inquiries.

Like a little game he muses on with his curious mind.

That night you rested with the extra comfort of his eccentric cape, something you needed more than him as he gazes over the clear night sky. His eyes silently traced the galaxy of stars while the sound of your whispered breathing accompanies his sleepless night.

The last question and that last of your very quick expedition came the next day at the cliffside overlooking the lair sealed by winds.

Your fingers were dusted by the violet paste of grinded wolfhooks long consumed the night prior, stained fingers gripping the thin and fragile stem of the yellow dandelion in its grasp. It was his great observation that let him realize the disaster that happened now but even his foresight could not prepare him for what has to come.

"Third question," his head snapped down to watch your ethereal face don a calm smile, the sun's setting light kissing your cheeks in the right angle that matched that of the clean clouds above. Your eyes silently questioned his unfocused gaze but he only shook his head.

Don't worry about it. "I know this last question would end the commission with you," your voice trembled in both fear and fatigue but Dainsleif didn't force you to preserve your strength like he should. "But I wanted to ask, maybe tomorrow again,

do you want to be my traveling companion?"

The hand that clutched the Dandelion found it way to the side of his mask, the petals brushing against his eyelids as he looks down at you with an eye. A ghost of a smile lingers on his lips as he leans on your hand.

"It would be my pleasure."

Life momentarily flashed over your orbs before you let out a sharp exhale and a breathless, joyous laughter. Relief overtook the tension that laid on your shoulders, and your hand would have dropped to the ground immediately if he had not gripped it on the last second.

"That sounds good. I've always wanted to travel the world," he pulls the cape closer around your form as your eyelids droop to a close. And he witness another breathe, "It was supposed to be today, but I feel really tired today, I'll rest early too if that's okay."

He rose from the ground with you in his arms, "I'll be here."

"Mmm thank you... good... night."

"Good night, little dandelion."

And perhaps that distant memory from faraway had urged him to invite and indulge, when he saw the same spark of intrigue and desperation, of the warmth of carefree days in front of him.

"But I will require advance payment,

500 Mora, and three answered questions."

Dainsleif SUPREMACY MWAHAHAHAHAH

@genshin-idiot : here's your Dainsleif content

@moaa @dandelion-dreams @witchsungie @lehra @zelos-simp @legionqueensav @snackgod @rxsalinee @cala-ran @wind-wheel @lilydewi22 @yellowflowre @traveler-lumine @nonniechan

[fireheartfaery]

As the year comes to a close (thank the gods) I have one group of people to thank for getting me through it: And that's fanfic authors! You guys have saved me every single day this year and I can never thank you enough for it❤️

I started this list in July sometime and it has been steadily growing since then, and I'm sure it will continue to, but I cannot close out this hell-year without thanking these blogs in particular because wow I would not have survived without y'all's works!

@stardustroses Bruna! I discovered your Headcanons first and I fell head over heels in love. I haven't read your gen 2 yet but I promise I will. Thank you for giving us that sweet sweet manorian content we are being so (rudely) denied! And thank you for all the warnette and dramione. Most importantly, thank you for your original WIP. I cannot tell you how much I love your beautiful characters and I hope with all my heart that one day I can hold your book in my hand and know that I read its contents all that time ago and loved it even then.

@ladywitchling Ams! You know I love your writing. You write raw and real and it makes me so sad but heals me so well. Thank you for becoming a friend. Your presence has been a light in the darkness of this year. I will possess your heart is one of the greatest pieces of writing I have ever had the pleasure to read and I cannot tell you how blown away I was! Also Zillah is everything. EVERYTHING

@noodlecatposts Jess! (I hope it's okay to call you that) Firstly I hope you're really really proud of yourself for all you've written and done this year because holy crab cakes you took on a lot of projects. I think I found you because of Noisy Neighbours but I think I only got a few chapters in before I had to call it quits because I cannot handle angst until I know I'm going to get fluff resolution and that did not come for a hot minute👀(I will catch up on NN that's a promise to myself) but obviously I stalked your account because I love your writing style and I found so many beautiful fics! Also I just need to tell you that this one particular ask (and your response to it) will pop into my head randomly and I will die laughing! It was around 20 chapters into NN and the asker said something along the lines of "In another 20 chapters will see rowaelin doing [cannot remember]" and your response was roughly "Oh God I don't think I can write 20 more chapters" and now I think NN is on 60 chapters? That interaction just makes me laugh all the time, and especially when I see a new chapter is up. When you started Kingsflame I knew it'd be my favourite by far. That fic has a special place in my heart and I think about it on the regular.

@sassyhobbits your One Night Standards fic is b r i l l i a n t. I haven't finished it yet but please know that Princess Aelin and Prince Rowan own all the parts of my heart and I loved their characterizations so much! That scene where they go out into the city all disguised and then they have greasy burgers at the diner is so soft and I think about it constantly! Also the one where they had to stage that picnic and the little girl came up to Aelin? Freaking adorable. I adore how badass and wonderful Lysandra is as well! THANK YOU!

@charincharge your Cruel Summer fic was!!! Mind blowing. I loved everything about it and when it ended all I wanted to do was dive back into the world and read about rowaelin having theme park adventures. Thank you thank you thank you for creating that beautiful AU!

@simping4bookboisngrls Cass! The minute you interacted with my crackships post I knew I'd adore you forever!! Your Everybody Talks fic lives rent free in my mind and I love love love every relationship (platonic and romantic) you've created! Also getting to interact with you has been one of the best things about my year so thank you for brightening my dash! (and my life)

Special Mentions:

@tacmc @snelbz Your "Swipe Left" one (two?) shot fic was SOOOOOO freaking cute!!! Everything about it! I love the collaborations you guys do.

@ourlovelybones your manorian fic hello princeling, hello witchling yea I love it and it's so cute and you providing us with the manorian content we deserve? QUEEN! thank you

@highqueenofelfhame I think I've read your writing in pieces here and there and I loved it all but my fave thing is "Sleight of Hand"! That fic gave me so much happy thank you

@rhysanoodle finding you quinlar one shot after reading the blue-balls that was CC was like finding water in the flipping desert!! You are a life saver thank you

@westofmoon your "12 17 days of Rowaelin" was *all the heart eyes* and I think I had like 6 strokes from the cuteness alone!

@darklesmylove your perspective fics where you write about things that could have happened are wonderful!! Specifically "intentions" and "the stars pale" I just loved them so much! I always need me some rowaelin

@starseternalnighttriumphant your kinktober obliterated me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED ALL OF IT SO MUCH. Thank you for spoiling us. Also your daddy!Rowan AU is g e n i u s

@dawninlatin Queen of Peace is one of my fave manorian AUs of all time and I love that they're just blushing idiots who don't know what going on and need to be pushed together in order to realize they're perfect for each other!! Also Manon rebelling against her grandmother is the greatest thing to ever happen. And Asterin continues to be iconic in any universe

@empress-ofbloodshed THANK YOU FOR THE ROWCAN! I didn't expect it to be such a big part of my year but it has made all the difference in the world! Your roommates AU is the cutest ever

@rhysand-vs-fenrys YOUR CAZRIEL???? Unreal. Unbelievable. Show stopping. You made my cazriel binge that much better and I love you for it!

@nalgenewhore thank you for the rowcan content!! Between you and @empress-ofbloodshed my 2020 has brought only the best crackship! Also I love Kohana!!!! Like I would die for him

@sacksvilles I will never ever be over the perfection that is Nezriel and I want to live in the universe where they're canon instead of nessian!! Thank you for creating the nezriel monster that is me. Also your fic "Illyrian Oral Lessons" is perfection and nothing less!

[mypersonmyg]

Hey Danii! How are youu? Hope you're well! And oo as for the drabble request, I'v never done this before, so I dunno if there's a protocol or not but how about a NamjoonxReader drabble, where the reader is their new makeup artist and just as clumsy as Joon and so ends up poking his eye a little when she was doing his makeup? Just some humor, fluff, good ol comfort fic. Anywhoo, I hope you have a good day ahead 💖

Pairing: Namjoon x reader

WC: 1.7k

Genre: Fluff

Rating: pg

Warnings: None.

A/N: Aditi! Thank you for the request and sorry I took abnormally long to write it. I’ve been better, but I could worse, how are you?? I hope this is okay I have...never put on makeup in my life so there are very little logistics there (oops) but I hope other than that you enjoy it and it is fluffy and clumsy enough for you :)

You frown, eyeing your colleagues who chatter animatedly in your peripheral. The drag of your icy hands over the back of smooth leather being your only source of calm without the mumblings of reassurance you’d offered yourself on your way in. You envy the way no one else in the room seems to bother with nerves or take the time to double and triple check their station.

��You felt thrust in a league where you didn’t belong, fresh faced and big eyed. It was a feeling only reserved for this moment, the time you’ve allotted to get your insecurities out of the way, because if you didn’t belong you wouldn't be here.

You raise your gaze from where it’d been situated against the expanse of white counter and glance to one side locking eyes with one of the other artists. She offers you a nod and an encouraging smile. You return the gesture, your eagerness nearly sending your freshly stocked case of brushes careening into the fragile mirror positioned against the outer edge of the counter. 

“Don’t be so nervous, they’re so kind you’ll feel like you’re working with a friend. Namjoon can be very amicable, but don’t take offense if he doesn’t speak much, he likes to take some time to himself before a shoot.” The kind words settle in your mind, your nerves sated for the moment. 

You shift the mirror inwards, your own clumsiness more than enough reason to save the object from falling to its demise. But you’ve bore witness to the clumsiness of the tall dimpled leader, his calming stature not nearly enough to assure you that you were safe from incident. Your ears pick up a commotion from the hall, your gut sending you to stand just to the right of your chair, a friendly smile naturally filling your cheeks. 

Through the opened door, the seven members waltz in, all with varying degrees of temperament. None of them miss the chance to politely greet their staff, some sporting boyish smiles and others impish grins as they come to settle in their stools. Your station is the farthest away, Namjoon’s eyes already more focused on his phone than the path ahead of him. It’s clockwork the way the staff dodges and weaves around the gentle giant, his eyes rarely drifting from his screen. 

A fraction of your mind is relieved that he seems to be preoccupied, the thought of having to hold any form of verbiage with him too daunting to consider. Namjoon lowers himself into the chair, his eyes scanning the groups schedule for the coming weeks. He paid little mind to what was happening around him, his lower half easily sliding into his usual stool at the far end of the room. He feels the cool hands of his stylist begin to prep his face, her skin much smoother than he remembered, the years of working in the industry leaving her with more calluses than Namjoon could count.

He lifts his head just as you move toward him, the edge of the brush you're grasping colliding with his cheek. Not only does the contents of the brush smudge against his skin, but the shock of his sudden movement sends you jolting back, the palate in your hand spilling to the ground.

"I'm so sorry!" Your mortification is evident in your tone and you duck down, aware of the eyes from the other stations around the room. 

"Love the new look, hyung." Jeongguk snickers a few chairs away, Namjoon sending him a look. 

You quickly gather up your mess, rising from the ground far more nervous than when you'd begun. You avoid the few eyes that remained, sneaking glances at your mortified state, and turn to Namjoon with a bow of your head. 

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching what I was doing."

"No no, it was my fault. Please don't worry," you bring a wipe to his face, sliding the wet cloth along his cheeks while simultaneously attempting not to stand too close. "I just realized you're not my usual artist."

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself," You're mentally scolding yourself for your lack of professionalism. But Namjoon is watching you with renewed intrigue. "I'm Y/n. If I don't get fired after today I'll be working with you from now on."

"So I'll be seeing a lot of you then, good." The words are spoken in finality and you smile, returning to the task at hand. Namjoon finds it hard to ignore the fragility with which you handle him and he frowns at the thought that he made you so nervous on your first day. He chooses to ignore the suggestive looks his members are sending him and glances at you in the mirror. “So you’re new here then?”

“Yes,” You answer politely, determined not to do anything to further your embarrassment. 

“That’s great!” Namjoon’s words hold an overenthusiastic tint, the sheer volume making it borderline sarcastic. Not his intention, but he can see that you shrink into yourself just a little more. “I mean, you seem great. I’m glad to get to work with you or let you work on me.”

Your only response is a hum, focusing on your work in the hopes that Namjoon will opt to take this time for himself. He doesn’t pick his phone up anymore and you feel the slightest of tremors in your hand as he watches you. You avoid letting your eyes fall on the mirror where he intently observes your every move. His hand is placed just below his jaw and his dimples are at their peak. You’d venture to call it adorable were it not for the way your heart beat like the dropping of an anvil. 

The space between the two of you decreases significantly when you move in to do the makeup around his eyes. You take a deep breath, not positive you’ll be able to take anymore when you’re that close to him. You try to ignore the way he continually tries to capture your gaze with his own, sure that he must just be toying with you at this point. 

Your hands are busy working with the contours of his features, making sure that you’re choosing the right shades and mixtures. Namjoon can’t help the way he gets lost in your concentration, the way one corner of your mouth shifts to the side when you’re thinking, and the way your eyes are rapidly shifting to all corners of his face. He chuckles at your thorough avoidance, admiring your unyielding stance.

You shift back momentarily, turning your attention back to the plethora of makeup settled before you. You note the laughter coming from the other artists and members around the room and despite your earlier relief you feel a tinge of jealousy at the ease with which they converse. 

“I’m sorry if I offended you with my comment.” You’re caught off guard by Namjoon’s deep timber and you turn to him with a tilt of your head. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I am genuinely glad to meet you.”

He wasn’t lying. A part of him was grateful that his previous stylist had been moved to a different position. His unprecedented interest in the woman before him reason enough for him to sit in makeup for what felt like hours.

“Well I did kind of smear makeup all over you, so no hard feelings.” You offer him a smile once more leaning in, brush placed before his eye.

“Also my fault, but thank you.” Namjoon slides his eyes over the station next to his to find the maknaes sending him nods of encouragement and thumbs of approval. He sighs, his attention returning to your thoughtful gaze. “I think we should talk after this.”

“What?” You lose pace, your hand jumping at the most inopportune of times and the tool in your hand jabs straight into Namjoon’s eye. “Oh my god.”

You back away, hands coming to cover your face. They drop almost immediately and you grab a hold of Namjoon’s plump cheeks and look into his eyes. When he said talk you were sure that he wanted to dismiss you in a more private setting, your actions thus far only cementing the idea that perhaps you didn’t belong here. You trace a thumb around the outer edge of his eye, catching a stray tear from the impact.

“God, I might as well just stop apologizing at this point. Are you okay?” You ignore the  pounding in your heart and the way your hands begin to clam up. Any attraction you have to the man before you is completely inappropriate given the current circumstance. “I’ll get someone else to finish up.”

“No, please.” His hands lightly grasp your wrists to hold you in place. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard, the question was very inappropriate if me”

“Inappropriate? You’re kind of my boss, you’re allowed to talk to me about my job performance. It hasn’t been all that great so far.”

“Job performance? Oh no, you misunderstood.” Namjoon becomes flustered, his dimples expanding ten fold as he pulls away lowering his head. You look around to see that the room has cleared since you last checked, and you inwardly groan, adding tardiness to your growing list of failures. 

“We should get you finished, everyone else is already gone. I don’t want to get either of us in any trouble.”

“Sure, but can I try this again?” You pause, brush poised between your fingers and no intent to cause anymore injuries. 

“Um...okay.”

“I know we literally just met, but I would love it if you would accompany me to dinner sometime.” You nearly lose all function, the words he had spoken being the last thing you expected to hear slip past his lips. Namjoon takes your pause as response enough, his hand swiping over the nape of his neck, irritated by the sudden heat of his nerves. 

“I would love to.” You smile at the wide eyed look on his face, your confidence raising an iota as you get back to finishing his face. Namjoon slides his stress dampened hands against his pants and sighs in relief. “But maybe we could go somewhere that neither of us run the risk of breaking anything...or anyone.”

“Aw, but what’s the fun in that?”

Maybe you’re not so bad at your job after all.

[badnovels]

Hey Jessa! I hope things are going well. Have you ever considered writing any fan fic for the hating game? I've just finished re-reading it and I need more but there's nothing out there 😭😩 I'm not brave enough to attempt it myself lol

I thought about it so many times but I was always too afraid to mess with the perfection of that book. But here’s a little drabble because I was feeling inspired! I hope you like it. 

—

The sound of the door opening made my whole body perk up in an absolutely Pavlovian response. After multiple toddler temper tantrums and zero adult contact all day, I was so ready to see my husband that it took everything in me not to rush him like a linebacker.

“Honey, I’m home,” Josh announced in a mocking voice straight out of a 1950’s sitcom. He’d laugh if he knew just how much I looked forward to this moment, and I had no intention of giving him the satisfaction.

“Help,” I said instead. “And quit taking your merry time with your primping ritual.”

I didn’t have to look in the hallway to know he was methodically peeling off his suit jacket and sliding off his immaculately shined shoes before lining them up just so. If there wasn’t a 16-month-old screaming straight into my ear, I’d have heard the tiny clink of cuff-links hitting the silver tray we’d picked up at an antique sale during one of our lazy Sunday drives.

A pre-baby Sunday drive. Not that I missed the days before we had our daughter, but I was really looking forward to the moment when she was old enough to appreciate road trips, because at this current stage, she was a crying machine during long car rides.

“What’d you do to Tilly?” Josh asked with raised eyebrows, rounding the corner in his trouser socked feet. 

If I weren’t so tired, I’d be offended that he only sounded halfway joking. Instead of arguing, I watched as he knelt in front of us and held out his arms. The small hellion in my arms promptly leaped from me to him.

“Other than feed her, play with her, and love her unconditionally?” I shook my head when the tiny traitor immediately quieted when Josh hugged her to his body. “Nothing, really. Our child is the devil, Josh.”

“Lucy…” He gave me a mildly alarmed look and held Tilly tighter, and if I wasn’t mistaken, discreetly checked her arms and legs for pinch marks.

“I was kidding,” I muttered, shamed by his expression.He sat Tilly on the edge of the couch next to me and ducked his head to peer into her tear-stained face. “What’s wrong, pumpkin?” Josh asked in a perfectly reasonable tone, low and logical.

She babbled something back just as seriously, and then it was as if they were in their own little Templeman world where I was merely a visitor. I took it as my cue to leave and stood on exhausted legs, knowing I was being dramatic but unable to contain the flare of emotion after such an especially long day.

Josh’s fingers tangled with mine, making me pause.

“Don’t take it personally, shortcake.” The sympathy in his eyes was enough to make me flee the scene. Then I tottered to the bathroom and sat down hard on the toilet, put my head into my hands, and cried.

When I emerged fifteen minutes later like a particularly haggard butterfly from its cocoon, Josh was coming out of the nursery. His eyes were bright, his hair perfectly coiffed, and the pushed-up sleeves of his starched white shirt revealed his tan forearms. He looked like an ad for a hot dad while I looked like a homeless woman with lanky hair and a shirt stained with toddler throw up.

I stopped in my tracks. “Is she asleep?” I whispered incredulously. “Already?”

He nodded and shut the nursery door very quietly before turning to scrutinize me. “You’re giving me crazy eyes. And your face is all blotchy.”

“Do you know hard I tried to make her go down for a nap today? I’ve begged, bribed, and done everything but a ritualistic sacrifice to do what you did with a few minutes of daddy magic.”

Josh quirked his lips. “You’re worrying me with all this talk of devils and sacrifice, Lucy.”

I turned away, the burst of frustration-infused energy seeping out of my body. “I need to do laundry.”

“Wait a minute,” he said, his voice changing. He reached out a hand but I evaded his grasp, walking quickly toward the laundry room. “Lucy, let’s talk.”

“About what?” I reached for the detergent, which of course was on the top shelf. Josh moved to help me, but I slapped his fingers away and jumped a few times before I grabbed the bottle.

He sighed. “About how miserable you are,” Josh said, matter of fact.

I dropped the detergent on my foot and cursed. “What?”

His arms boxed me against the washing machine, and he leaned down to peer at me much like he had Tilly. “I think…you need to go back to work.”  

I felt like the worst mother in the world when my heart jumped joyfully in my chest at the thought of his suggestion.

“But Tilly- we both agreed I’d stay home with her until she starts school,” I stammered.

“I agreed because you insisted. I’ve wanted to say something for a while now.” His big hands moved to my shoulders and he gave me an even, steady look. “Look me in the eye. Tell me you’re not ready to leave a tiny, Lucy-shaped hole in the wall while you run straight back to your old job.”

“It’s been that obvious?”

“Only because I love you and I’m obsessed with your every thought and feeling.”

“I married a bit of a psycho, huh?” I asked thoughtfully. I laid my head on his chest and felt the weight of the world lift from my body as I accepted the truth of what Josh said. “Does it make me a bad mother? Not wanting to spend every waking moment with Tilly?”

“Of course not.”

“Because I love our daughter, Josh. I’d die for her.”

“Of course you would. Not today though. And stop talking about death and demons and sacrifices.” He rubbed my back in comforting circles. “Your career has always been important to you. And you’re so…social.” The word is tinged with tender disdain. “I always knew it would be a challenge to stay at home all day without a million people to chat with. I’ve worried about you falling madly in love with the mailman in my absence.”

“Fred’s a million years old,” I mumbled into his chest. “And he never wants to talk to me.”

Josh laughed. “Point is, it’s time to make a change. We’ll put Tilly in daycare. Hire a nanny.”

“Daycare. I’m not letting you fall in love with a nanny.”

“Okay,” he agreed, stroking my hair. “We’ll hire Fred’s mom, then.”

“Don’t touch my hair.”

He held me away from him, his expression startled. “Why?”

“It’s greasy. I need to take a shower.”

“Oh.” The relief was palpable in just the one word. “I thought you didn’t want me to touch you.”

“I’m dying for you to touch me.”

Josh’s gaze grew heavy and deliberate as he looked me up and down, and though I was a nasty mess, I felt beautiful under his stare.

“Well c'mon then, sex eyes.”

And then the best husband in the world led me to the shower.

[flootzavut]

I'll say again, clearly, that as it applies to your own stories, you are the final arbiter. They're your stories, and while I would be saddened to see any author delete any story, they're not mine and I don't get to make that decision.

That said:

Frankly, what I'm mostly saying is that calling an abandoned fic 'dishonest' just doesn't make sense. If I start a story that has been marked as abandoned, that's my choice. If I reread such a story because even in its abandoned state, it gives me pleasure, that's my choice. If the writer takes the story down because it will remain unfinished, it doesn't benefit me, and it means I no longer have the chance to enjoy that story as it is.

(Hell, even if it's not marked as abandoned, starting to read any WIP is going to be a risk - life happens, and even the most well-intentioned writer might end up abandoning a story. That's why some people don't read WIPs at all, which is fine. And if one reads a WIP that was last updated five years ago? Well, that is a risk the reader chooses to take.

I intend to finish every last story on my WIP list. That doesn't mean I can't get struck down by a car or a terrible disease tomorrow. That's just reality.)

My point with the cancelled series is that people invest in unfinished stories all. the. time. If Firefly hadn't got lucky and ended up with a movie, it would have remained unresolved. My So Called Life, a show I loved as a teenager, was cancelled after one season with many unresolved threads. Lie to me, a show I write fanfic for, was unexpectedly cancelled after its third season, such that threads were left deliberately unresolved because they were under the impression they would have a fourth season. (Hell, it's not nearly as well known as her other works, but Jane Austen's Sanditon is frequently read by Austen lovers, and she died before she could finish it.) I dare say there are more examples. This short list is literally just what I could come up with off the top of my list without any research or much thought.

These are all stories which lack (or in the case of FF very nearly lacked) resolution of vital threads. People still read them. People still love them. People are still invested in them. Half of fanfic is built on figuring out what might have been! Clearly, unfinished stories aren't inherently lacking in potential enjoyment, you know? On the contrary, humans appear to have a drive to finish them, whether we write those endings down and show them to others or not.

No one (at least, not to my knowledge) says they should be deleted from the public sphere just because they aren't finished. Why on earth should this not apply to unfinished fanfic, if the story as it exists is good? (Or rather, if the story as it stands is being enjoyed, which is the usual standard by which fanfic is measured.)

As I've said repeatedly, at the end of the day it's the author's story, and if they choose to delete said story from the internet, then I wouldn't stop them even if I could. But the assumption that it's 'dishonest' to leave them up or that no one could possibly enjoy them in their unfinished state seems to me to be at least very shortsighted if not downright wrongheaded.

A terrible indictment of fanfic? Hardly. Sad? Yes.

If your having unfinished stories out there bothers you that much, then by all means take yours down. (But even so, there are other avenues available that remove you partially or entirely from any connection with that story without taking the chance of enjoying it away from a potential reader, and I would encourage you to consider them.)

Characterising not doing so as dishonest? Yep, I take issue with that, not only because many people clearly mark such stories as abandoned, but because Real Life™ can impinge on the most dedicated writer's ambitions - amateur and professional alike. If a reader takes on a WIP, they are taking that risk. I don't see an inherent benefit or good in taking that choice away from them, but most especially if the nature of the WIP is clear before they start, and when there are other avenues that are just as easy (adding a story to the anon collection or orphaning it is the work of moments) to use that don't remove the story from the internet.

I don't know what fandom(s) you post in. If you are competing with thousands or tens of thousands of stories, then sure, your story disappearing may not mean much to anyone. But FWIW, as a denizen of many small-to-tiny fandoms, trust me, a favourite story going missing is something that is noticed and something that will be missed, because when there are only a hundred or so stories, each one - even those that are unfinished - is a potential gem.

how do you feel about authors who abandon their WIP fics just because they don't like the fandom anymore ? I know a lot . Like there are people here who loves your fic crazily !

I have to admit, I’m one of them *hides*

When you leave a fandom, your passion for writing it sort of leaves too. At least it did for me. I feel guilty about that WIP, but at the same time, I have no idea how I’d ever go back and finish it.