#idk very loose thoughts would love to discuss more with anyone

[pussyhoundspock]

having seen it now, i think the mixed review for the new york transfer of the 2024 frecknall cabaret make a lot of sense -- it's easy to see both sides. on one hand, it's an incredibly well produced, choreographed show with great aesthetics; the performances, especially the older b-couple are fantastic (i'll talk more specifically about cliff/the emcee and sally in a minute); cabaret itself is phenomenal. so it's a great show with great costumes stages effects and great performances. of course its getting praise!

but on the other hand, there isn't much the revival is doing that's very revolutionary. it's really just doing the sam mendes production but "more". cabaret has a really interesting history -- the original stage show, then the movie (all different songs), then the new stage show in 1987 (combo of songs), then the sam mendes/alan cummings revival which was so impactful that's the song list and book that was used in the frecknall revival. it set the tone for the aesthetic, as well as the themes, and even did its own attempt at making audience members feel like attendees of the kit kat club. however, of course, the frecknell version does more to do that. more to immerse the audience, more frenzy to sally, more demonic energy to the emcee -- though i would say the frecknell emcee is much closer to joel grey then alan cummings -- i.e., sexless, vauderal-ian figure/jester, puppet master/architect, etc, but i won't get too into that. anyway that is to say i understand the frustration or negative reviews because i dont really think the frecknell revival is doing or saying anything different than the mendes one, which was a lot more recent in america than london, though arguably the frecknell version takes things further for better or worse. and some stuff really works -- like i think one of the strongest scenes in the whole show is the brick through the window scene GENUINELY incredibly

the frecknell cabaret did have its flops for me, though. for example, while i liked what they were doing with this version of the emcee -- especially the clown suit! the costuming was great! i didn't really like redmaynes version. it felt like he was working way too hard and trying way too hard -- whereas with joel grey and alan cummings i truly felt that character come alive and it was creepy and compelling and fun and many other adjectives with redmayne it was just like. a version of the emcee that was sexless and also had negative rizz and also was visibly like Trying. i don't know. what they were doing with the emcee really worked for me; redmayne's performance didn't. but that's very like my personal taste. i also didn't really love the performance of 'cabaret' at the end which is unfortunate because that's one of my favorite musical theater moments in like. well. the whole damn thing. i did generally like the portrayal of sally, even dialed up as it was, because it did feel resonate with our time -- i think cabaret revivals really reflect the time they're in.

THAT SAID. speaking of time periods. an aside but. this production felt like the dialogue equivalent of tiktok face. the acting/actors just felt too modern at times. also. while i'm doing minor asides. i didn't really feel like they leaned as into the immersive thing as they could've but that could've been because i was rear mezz. anyway.

[yandere-daze]

Love your yandere academy AU!! I have a few Thoughts on it if you don't mind...

First of all the inherent loneliness and otherness you'd feel as the only darling at school? Mwah 🤌 The constant fear of being found out? Delicious. In a way it almost reminds me of Furina in 4.2, having to put on a never-ending show, never letting anyone see your true colors. Her stakes might have been a little higher, sure, but the general vibe is the same.

Next I could imagine darling using the classes as a way to get a leg up on their classmates. They know everything the yanderes do, which helps to even out the playing field, even if just a little. It's easier to avoid being manipulated when you're taking the same psychology classes as the people trying to manipulate you.

Finally I've been thinking about how the yanderes would feel when falling for diet before their identity is discovered. Yanderes falling for other yanderes is rare, and when not reciprocated, it rarely ends well. Especially if darling is a straight A student, they'll know they have to work twice as hard to get them in their grasp, either willingly or not. And with so many people starting to take an interest in them? Even more work. Normally it'd be fine to deal with one or two rivals, but multiple classes of them? Not so simple.

Idk it's just a really neat idea and I'd love to see more of it sometime

First of all, thank you for sending in an ask! I´m very happy that feedback has been pretty positive so far because I was actually a bit hesitant on posting my idea at first. So this is really uplifting! ☺️

And yes, absolutely do share your thoughts with me if you have any, I love discussing ideas with other people, it´s one of the greatest things regarding fanfiction in my opinion 💕

So let´s discuss all of these concepts you brought up for a bit!

Introduction

1k words

gn reader

tw yandere, discussion of normalized toxic relationships, implied stalking, mention of murder

Yandere! Normalized Genshin Academy AU

First of all, yes, you´re totally right! I´m really happy that the inherent feeling of loneliness came through in my writing because it´s one of the first thoughts I had when envisioning this AU. Just imagine how truly alone you must feel, living in a world where all these toxic relationships are viewed as normal and even desirable. All your life, you´ve been terrified of the future, of when the day a yandere desires you would come. You´ve been having nightmares about the day you would feel eyes cling to you way too long for comfort.

And now, you find yourself in this gigantic mess. Not only will you have to stress over your new academy life, but also the people you have to cross paths with in the hallway every day. You have to keep your guard up and play along with the insanity going on around you all day long, you can´t rest or relax for even a second. Because one second might be enough to expose you as who you really are: a helpless darling within a sea of predators just waiting to sink their claws into you.

No matter what, while you´re here you can´t be your true self, you can´t speak your true thoughts because you would be putting yourself in danger. You try your best to stay away from your fellow students but isolating yourself like that feels just as lonely.

And sometimes, you catch yourself almost slipping up when you inevitably have to talk to another student. People like Thoma, Amber, or Kaveh have easy-going and friendly demeanors, they talk to you so eagerly that you can´t help but feel yourself let loose for a bit, only to realize with a start that even these people who seem nice and approachable have to hide dark feelings and thoughts if they´re going to this school. Maybe in another life, you might have loved to have them as close friends but you know how twisted they must be deep down. You cannot allow yourself to trust anyone here and it´s so mentally taxing.

Oh, absolutely! Darling might be terrified by what they´re being taught as if it was the most normal thing in the world but they´re certainly glad to know some of the tricks a yandere might use. They obviously don´t plan on ever using those tips themselves but it´s useful when it comes to keeping their guard up. Thanks to these classes, they know better than to readily accept gifts from any of their "friends" without thoroughly checking them for cameras beforehand.

It´s both a blessing and a curse, really. Darling has a harder time keeping up the facade when confronted with all these new wicked ways to ensnare a darling during classes but they also serve well as a safety precaution. Can´t be tricked if you know all the tricks yourself, right? Though their anxiety would probably skyrocket, questioning every little gesture, gift, or phrase directed at them.

And your last point is also a very interesting point that I would like to elaborate on a bit more! I indeed also think that yanderes dating yanderes would be a very rare thing and I´d even go so far as to say it might be discouraged by society at large. And it´s not for the logical reason one might think of. The fact that two yanderes together would probably cause a spike in murders or similar catastrophes is not the real problem here.

It´s the fact that two yanderes dating each other means that two poor darlings will now have to go without a yandere </3

Even though yanderes are very normalized, I would still say that they´re probably still a minority ( at least I sure hope for the good of the world that half the population isn´t some sort of crazed lovesick fool). This of course comes with the conseqence that there are many more darlings than there are yanderes. Factor in the fact that a darling x yandere relationship is seen as the ideal relationship, something to strive for, and very soon you will see why yanderes dating other yanderes is kind of frowned upon.

Now even fewer darlings will get to have a loving yandere partner!

To you, it´s sick and twisted that this is the consensus, that yanderes and all the horrible things that they do are so romanticized. But at the same time, you´re really glad for this being a thing now because it greatly reduces the risk of one of your fellow students pursuing you for as long as you can still pose as a yandere.

But just because it´s frowned upon doesn´t mean that it´s illegal or that it never happens. There isn´t really any reasoning with a yandere in love so when they have their sights set on someone, there´s pretty much no stopping them. And who would want to be the one to tell them that they shouldn´t be in love with another yandere? That they should give up on you? That wouldn´t go very well.

So sadly enough, once your fellow students grow really interested in you, even you being perceived as another yandere would be enough to deter them. Of course, they´ll have to be more careful when approaching this than if you were a darling. As mentioned, you know all about the different ways to "win someone´s heart" and so they´ll have to adapt their approaches in some way.

Of course, having multiple rivals for your love isn´t making things any easier. Trying to get close to you when you know all their tricks is hard enough, they don´t need any distractions trying to steal your affection. It will certainly turn into a very fierce competition soon and it only gets worse the more people grow infatuated with you.

Your only hope is that they´ll just spend all of their time trying to get rid of the others so that they leave you alone. You´ll certainly have to be very careful about how you interact with your classmates from now on. One compliment and they´ll latch onto the possibility of you secretly loving them as well and then they´ll certainly never let go of you.

Tag list: @charming-mage @blueventss @tonightwrites @lady-of-the-sith-leia-skywalker @kio-may @heartsforseo

[hermit-frog]

I love how those lestat fans anons are so angered by Louis lmao LDPDL the power that you have! He makes them loose their mind over his beautiful existence. They cannot comprehend how enthralling and compelling he is as a character. And why their fave is at his feet and will always be.

I'm always laughing when lestat fans complain about Louis being whiny when he has legit reasons to be sad and complain about his life. But if we have to point out fingers at whiny people, Lestat is right there. Like this man is the definition of whiny and pathetic. His fans have to brass themselves because we're going to see more of this side of him in s3.

But like Jacob said "fuck Lestat". This abusive asshole of a man was never worthy of Louis and I'm glad Louis choose himself. Had their reunion in that shack and he said "it was nice seeing you but that's about it. I love my life as it is right now and I wouldn't change it for anyone. Adieu!✌️"

that was blatant bait, just wanted to share

Louis is such a complex and deeply layered character, idk how people can find him uninteresting. He is kind of silently gloomy, he likes to ponder, soak in his sadness and grief. He expresses it with anger (at others and himself). A very depressed vampire, love that closure he got for himself, growth✨ (ignoring the implication of that ending).

Lestat is a narcissistic drama queen. I find both characters interesting, but Louis is my fav while Lestat is on the bottom, he's (unintentionally) hilarious, but i just simply don't think about him (if i do, i either laugh or get mad), while i could discuss Louis for hours. I am biased, ik, but idc, i love him unconditionally. It's hard to hate bookStat because he's so stupid it's funny, showStat is also stupid af, but he pisses me off more, i will never get over how he treated both Louis and Claudia, what he did to them. I'm happy for Louis tho 💖

it's silly to have a one-sided beef with a fictional character, i appreciate what Lestat's character is portraying in the show, he's simply a tool to share a certain idea/message/story after all. my problem centers on the reception he gets. the double standards when it comes to Louis and Claudia, insane.

it would be so funny when we get to s3, and the “real” Lestat, from his own pov, is even worse lmao, he's such a clown. i mean, i was reading the books and i just, i can't even be mad because of the ridiculousness? 😂

oh hey Niki, why u crying lol anyway, i'm leaving today, going to trave. oh, about that, do you remember that fucked up scary ass vamp who had kidnapped and tortured you? yeah, the one who had released you literally just this morning ha ha... so, i'm leaving you with him and his minions, yeah those guys, i think it will be a nice experience for you. oh, no, don't cry! i know that you already miss me but i can't take you with me, i'll write you tho. oh, please stop the hysterics, it's not that serious, you will see me soon. very cute of you to cry because you love me so much btw :/ anyway, have fun, make new friends, i'm sure you'll have lots of great experiences ;) x

lestat had really listened to armand's backstory, and was like, hm, this marius guy, would love to meet and be friends with him. lmao 😭 and then rubs it in armand's face? i can't. there was a similar post, but i can't find it, i'll try to do something similar. so all this time you though marius was dead, crying yourself to sleep, wishing he'd save you, grieving him? yeah, so he's actually... doing great? yep, this whole time lol oh, and he came to me, like, immediately ha ha ha. we had so much fun. remember his secret he refused to share with you? no, no, he hadn't just told me, he took me to them! can you believe it, lmaaaao. and then i drank our mother's blood, mmm😏.... just made realize, since i am my mother's maker, it makes me her father and master😏...i will return to these thoughts later today, once i'm alone))) oh, yeah, so marius was like, if you tell anyone i'm going to kill everyone you love and then you. but then he was like, jk lol he even game a loving nickname, so silly. are you sure it's the same guy who had beat the living shit out of you over nothing? the one from whom you had to hide under some chick's bed? naaah, can't be him. he says i'm his favorite, which is ridiculous because we knew each other for days, ha ha ha

and with the body thief, jesus christ (talking about jesus christ😏yep), lestat. oh, so this random guy, who has been stalking me, who steals bodies (he said so himself, and even tried to steal mine without my consent lol), that everyone had warned me about, suggested to swap bodies for like a week, and he promised to give mine back, so nice of him. obviously i had accepted lol, but i think he might have tricked me??? like, he left me with nothing? but that wasn't sus tho. but he haven't shoved up to switch our bodies back, so weird, really didn't expect this :/ anyway, pissing sucks, and i really want to fuck that old man david, oh and for some reason my brain has connected him to claudia??? yea, but i wanna hit real bad (to be fair lestat wants to bang everyone)

i have a new daughter now, she's married to my clone btw ;)

the core of all the vamps, the spirit Amel: *looks and acts just like Lestat* Lestat: i want you so bad🥵

normal person: Hello, my name is -. lestat: I’m the vampire Lestat. I’m six feet tall, have blue-gray eyes that sometimes appear violet, and a lean athletic build. My hair is blond and thick and hangs to my shoulders, and over the years it has become lighter so that at times it seems pure white. My face is square, my mouth full and sensual, my nose insignificant, and I am perhaps one of the most conventional looking of the Undead you’ll ever see. Almost all vampires are beautiful. They are picked for their beauty. But I have the boring appeal of a Matinee Idol-

you can't make this shit up, those books were a trip

[svankmajerbaby]

✨️🎀🎈💞💝🕯🎙🤲💌

!! thank u so much for the ask. i love talking about writing......

✨ What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

-hmm theres a point in which i have to tell myself not to worry about likes or comments bc what really matters is me getting the practise and exercising my writing muscles and having fun with it... But. i do wish i could get more ppl into my toy story fic. its got a whole bunch of wonderful comments and kudos and stuff, i just feel so proud of it and writing it came so easy and i poured so much of my love into it, i really really wish anyone who loves these characters would read it too.

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

-english is not my first language so grammar isnt often The Best, but i take a lot of care with using words and expressions as correctly as possible, and I try to always spell words right (i dont think ive ever confused loose and lose, for example, which ive seen confused a few times). some descriptions of spaces are particularly well done, at least to my own criteria, and the song choices are fun (or at least fun to write and picture in my head).

🎈 describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

- honestly, ive no idea. i think i get verbose, and i write long dialogue scenes. i overuse the — to lead into another thought, because thats kind of like how my mind works. i try to be "cinematic" in my writing and always start a scene with a description of a place, its lighting and its sounds, like im used to when writing scripts. and i got the sense that usually the characters often ramble and go on long discussions about stuff that maybe normal people wouldnt just start out discussing so strongly. but honestly id much rather someone else outside my own perspective told me what my writing is like, i would trust them more than my own opinion.

💞 what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

-the characters!! everything is important, and stuff like grammar often jumps out first for me... but i need to enjoy how the characters are written, and feel like theyre real people with genuine motivations and interactions. i dont mind too much if theyre not super alike to canon, as long as they feel true to the core of their personality and values.

💝 what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

-i was surprised to even get comments on my barbie frankenstein one. i loved writing it and it came through so easily and comfortably, but even though i had used that moderately popular meme of reimagining barbie as a gothic protagonist as inspiration i didnt really think it would be anything but something i liked to picture existing. i was so happy to see people enjoyed it too.

🕯️(there are two questions with this candle emoji symbol? i chose the first one, idk why theres two) was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

-the tiff fic :'^) ive always liked writing sorta dark stuff, ever since i was little, but this was on another level. sometimes i felt (and still do) feel a bit awkward bc i really do push myself to write stuff i feel a bit embarrassed or shocked by, but i do think that if i want to be a better writer it does me good to make an effort to depict stuff that makes me uncomfortable and seek to write it in a sense of finding a way to both make if effective and relatively tasteful (or at the very least in-character).

🎙️which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

- i have never heard about pod-fic before, but i guess i can imagine what it is (wonder if its like an audiobook, or if it has sound effects and the like??). i would love to listen to an audiobook of the barbie frankenstein fic mostly bc i would love so so much to hear the dramatic literary dialogue ive written in kelly sheridans barbie voice. also now that i think about it i have no idea what the creature would even sound like... that would be an interesting challenge.

🤲 what do YOU get out of writing?

-practise writing in english, a sense of accomplishment (when i get to finish something!!) and every once in a while some strong validation in the form of ppl liking what i write... all of it is super valuable to me, especially practise and the push and drive to finish stuff to upload, but the validation in particular just really hits that dopamine in my brain i guess

💌 share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

-its from the glen and glenda fic im halfway planning! i got a few dialogues written and some scenes sketched out, but its still a long way to go. im very excited about it tho! ive grown to really love the versions of the twins ive made in my head. hopefully theyre faithful to their screen depictions while also adding a bit more depth and character building ive wanted to take them through.

[scummy-writes]

[CHAPTER 4 + PREM]

It's 1am. Ginna stay up til 3am max if my eyes can take it, doing the notes rhing makes it harder to read. Tomorrow im likely just gonna type as I go and then filter thoughts later, handwriting is causing issues.

-> more writing down his vocab uses

-> he wants you to be interested in him, damnit. Okay, okay, joking, if I was in her shoes I would be insanely fucking confused also. I do enjoy the tidbit of him seeming to have trouble controlling how much force he uses with people. Which is....odd....considering how gentle he was with the kids just moments before, but maybe he is just not used to being gentle with anyone taller than a child.

Speaking of, enjoy him sincerely upset about the children being hurt. He was able to tell what was happening so quickly just due to all the warning signs from the cases he's personally dealt with.

I enjoy this a lot. It also sounds very fake, which chev points out later.

To me, this is gilbert testing her, and also donning his villain mask again. Dont get me wrong, he's trigger happy even for the right reasons, but its. Hm. A mask to don his heart. I've discussed this with mimi before, but I feel as though through the layers, the soft heart he has is still there, but he's buried it so deep so it won't hurt anymore when he does the things his kid self never wanted to do. Delusional of me, idc.

"You dont see people, do you" and he agrees...but he treats her with a certain level of kindness through the tests he does, to see if shes just as bad as everyone else or easily changed. He recognizes that of the nobility, clavis, silvio, keith(?), and luke (?) Are different, treats them differently. As chev says-

I like his shocked expression. V cute.

Chapter tidbits:

-> who the fuck is julius. Why did gilbert call him a pet. Huh? Is this leon route stuff and i just never got it?

-> hehe count - 2

[PREM]

God help me the normal skirt is more my taste but ill buy the damned prem, fuckin.... i'm gonna type as I read.

-> I wonder if gilbert hates the rose soap.

-> i bet he likely takes baths often to keep warm.

-> this damned book. I wish we got a title, idk if we ever do. I'm so curious about it too. Immediately comparing herself to the protag (a normal thing to do), and i feel bad she thinks so little of herself.

-> gil immediately letting her borrow it. What a fuckin simp.

-> love that he hates having servants

-> too alwepy to parse a chunk of this, but understand she realizes shes basically following his "i hate people" type of mindset loosely and caught herself doing so. Bless.

-> i havent played with aound in in months. The music here is so calm and im falling asleep while cuddling vic

-> ah,,,,, he caught our face,,,, doki doki,,,, ah,,,,,

-> oh no all of it is cute...the humanization of gil.... the way he calmly asks if shes less scared now. God the way hes trying to peel the thin layers of himself off just so that she'll apend more time with him. Im suffering jesus christ this man yearns.

-> '0 1 day(s) since last bitten'

-> blah blah gil puts up his villain stuff again

-> THATS where it ends? Fucka u.

-> bedtime. Im nodding off. More tomorrow. Wanna finish route. Might end up making bulk updates later on.

GILBERT ROUTE SPOILERS POST

When Gilbert's route drops, I'll be reblogging this post each chapter or so with thoughts and general screaming under a cut. I'll be having it in a format with the chapter numbered, and then a cut directly after where I'll be yelling.

I'll be using the tags 'Scum Simps' and 'scum plays gil route' for those of you who want to filter it out. Thank u!

[rollercoasterwords]

about those prank thoughts... well i’d love to hear them sooo if you needed an excuse to write another essay here it is

kissing u on the mouth anon ok here we go here's the prank rant (warning it got super long):

ok so this is limited in scope because as i've said before, i've only been in this fandom for like ~1.5 years, so idk anything about how the prank was talked about/handled before this. BUT. what i personally have seen. is essentially:

atyd gets super popular via tiktok -> it becomes sort of "canon" (at least, amongst newer marauders fans) that The Prank was like...this really devastating event that tore apart the marauders friend group, because that's how it was characterized in atyd--despite the fact that in the actual canon, it honestly doesn't seem like as big of a deal -> since it becomes the New Canon that The Prank was Such A Horrible Thing, suddenly people begin talking (mostly on tiktok) about how awful and unforgivable it was for sirius to do something like that. this devolves into this big discussion of people saying either

it's completely out of character for sirius to do The Prank and he never "really" would have done it; we should just ignore that part of canon

The Prank is so unforgivable that it makes sirius a completely irredeemable character

The Prank is so awful that anyone writing it in a canon compliant fic should be showing every single marauder turning against sirius and everyone hating him/telling him what he did was so awful and wrong, and it should take a really long time and a lot of apologizing/changed behavior before remus ever forgives sirius

and this then got extended into debates about james' characterization; I saw sooooo many people talking about "james would NEVER just forgive sirius for something like that" "james would side with remus" etc etc etc

and the end result of all these conversations was that i saw tons and tons of people saying that the way The Prank was written in atyd was Bad. not just--oh, i didn't like it, though there was plenty of that too, but people acting as though the way it was written was a moral failing, as though mkb had failed to convey how Horrible and Awful of a thing the prank was, and in doing so she had allowed people to Sympathize with sirius's character, when he should have been Punished. suddenly everyone was climbing on their high horses about The Prank, talking about how unrealistic or out of character or "problematic" it was to write it the way it was done in atyd--which was ironic to me, because from where i was sitting, it seemed like it was atyd that had solidified this fanon idea that The Prank was Such A Bad Thing in the first place (again, at least amongst fans brought in by tiktok).

SO. my problem with this. setting aside the conversation of whether The Prank was actually That Bad in the first place (because i think it can be written as a more or less serious event, depending on how you interpret canon--but personally, i tend to interpret it as something Very Bad, so let's start with that premise) and operating under the assumption that it was, in fact, a really horrible thing that put not only snape + james in danger but also remus, since he could have been exposed as a werewolf--the thing that drives me up the fucking WALL about The Prank discourse is that it is, to me, just one example of this obsession with Morality and Punishment when it comes to "literary critique" (using that term loosely, because i'd argue that a lot of what these people are doing actually isn't literary critique) in the marauders fandom (post-tiktokifcation, at least).

like. specifically, it's this idea that something like The Prank would make sirius, as a character, irredeemable, and that it would be unrealistic for his friends to forgive him. that, to me, is just....such a strange interpretation!!! because if you are friends--close friends, childhood friends--with someone for long enough, they will hurt you. you will hurt each other. it is an inevitable part of being human that getting close to each other and staying close to each other often means hurting each other. and the closer you are with someone, the more they can hurt you. i have a childhood friend who is essentially like family to me, and i was cruel to her when i was fourteen. i was dealing with a lot of shit, and i was young, and i was mean. and we've both been cruel to each other in the nearly two decades we've known each other, and we've had explosive fights, but we have always found our way back to each other and forgiven each other, because that's the kind of friendship we have. i have another childhood friend who hurt me so deeply when we grew older that despite having my literal handwriting tattooed on her arm, we haven't spoken in five years, and will probably never speak again. that kind of hurt is a risk you take when you let people in.

so to me, the idea that a teenage boy raised in an abusive environment who has just run away a few months earlier, who is dealing with all that shit as well as the regular shit of just being a fucking teenager, would thoughtlessly and deeply hurt his friend--that isn't out of character! in fact, i think it's entirely in character, and i think it's a crucial part of sirius's relationship with remus and the other marauders. because the fact that remus is able to forgive sirius says something important about their relationship. what exactly it says will vary, to a certain extent, depending on the details of how you write the prank and characterize the characters, but overall--it's important because it's showing that their relationship is strong enough and close enough and important enough to both of them that they are able to move past this deeply hurtful event. and that, to me, is a WAY more interesting and impactful relationship to read about than a relationship where two people are always good and never hurt each other.

and regarding james--personally, i love the characterization that james forgives sirius "too quickly" or "too easily" after the prank, because i think it's an opportunity to explore one of his most important character flaws, which is that he cannot imagine that his friends would ever purposefully do something bad/harmful. like--this loyalty and belief in his friends is literally what gets him killed. what amazing foreshadowing to show that even when his best friend does something blatantly wrong, james still thinks--well, he didn't mean it. his intentions weren't bad. and obviously he's sorry--and he's a still a good person, because he's my friend, and my friends are good people. like THAT is how you write a character flaw!

and speaking of character flaws--this is also one of the best opportunities, if you're following canon, to really explore some of sirius's character flaws! and again, it's gonna change depending on how you're writing certain details, but in some way shape or form this is a very important mistake for sirius to make in order for his character to grow--obviously, something has to change afterwards, because otherwise how could remus forgive him? but what has to change? how does it have to change? good characters aren't meant to be static!!

it's just. !!!! The Prank is truly, genuinely, one of the BEST opportunities from canon that you can use you really explore these characters and their flaws and their relationships with one another. so it is genuinely BAFFLING to me to see sooooo many people condemn it and act like it's this atrocious thing, because i feel like it demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of what literature is meant to do. like--i've talked about this before on my blog, and i'll keep saying it til the cows come home, but fictional characters do not exist as moral blueprints. good literature should engage your critical thought, and "character does Bad Thing -> character is Bad" is not critical thought!!! like!! fiction isn't telling you how to live, it's asking you to think about the human condition--and part of the human condition is that people make mistakes, and they hurt each other, and they have to figure out how to keep living in the wake of that hurt!! The Prank is this plot point where you can bring up really tough questions, like--how does closeness with others leave us vulnerable to them? is that vulnerability worth the closeness? what role does intent play in measuring harm? what can we forgive? what can we not forgive?

i get that sometimes with fanfiction you just want fluffy happy brain-off fun, but you can find that if that's what you want, y'know? like--it's just so so strange and honestly concerning for me to see people act as though something like The Prank shouldn't be written just because it means giving characters flaws and exploring them.

in conclusion, The Prank is one of my favorite parts of canon, and i truly think it is so worthwhile to explore when writing and thinking about these characters, especially sirius. also--it is important to understand, both within and outside of literature, that having flaws and causing harm does not automatically make a person irredeemable. if we are going to live with each other we need to learn how to respond to people fucking up in ways that are not just: You Are Bad And Must Be Punished.

[spitdrunken]

Ngl I feel so wrong for having read so much on your blog in the span of an hour or so 😭😭 I'm a kink baby (not like littles, I'm into freaky stuff but I don't know the term for those newly/inexperienced with the stuff) and seeing the blankshipping makes me feel both so wrong yet so turned on??? Like???

I can't help but to fantasize over the submas twins corrupting their younger sister as they start to show interest in her. Like I read the Volo innocence post you wrote and I started thinking of something similar to those lines but for the submas twins. Maybe the younger sister was always their little princess that they spoiled and doted on and she repays the kindness by being super clingy and loving towards them? Like she's the pinnacle of what the twins want to protect so what better way than to become her lovers? They would hate to see their younger sister be taken and used by some random man so why not just show her everything she can gain with them? I imagine that they start slowly corrupting them and turning her into their little sub and fucking her senseless because that's what their sister deserves <3

Idk if that's weird or not but I really like your blog :)

notes: incest, grooming (all characters are 18+ during nsfw sections, but their dynamic as children is discussed)

hi anon!! i’m sorry for taking a while to get to this, but you’re so valid okay <33 i know when you’re first getting into ‘darker’ / more ‘’’gross’’’ (not my opinion but what it likely feels like to you at the moment) stuff you can feel guilty sometimes, but there’s nothing to feel bad about! enjoying this kind of stuff is super common. (just look at prnhub, anime / visual novels, the amount of fics in the ‘1ncest’ tag on ao3, etc etc.) i hope that made you feel a little better!! onto the actual content though <3

first off, that’s not weird at all-!! i have a very similar, expanded au with my girlfriend where ‘you’ are basically the submas’ little sister, so your idea is more than welcome here <3

Ingo is someone with an inherently caring nature. He enjoys looking after people, guiding them to their destinations and, in personal matters, he is much the same. While growing up, he was often fussier than your mother, but also praised you more than anyone else. Both of the twins insist on you following the rules laid out by your parents, but Ingo is more strict. (Who would sometimes sneak you an extra piece of candy!) From a young age, he’s had a fascination with dressing you up. The cuter, the better! His choices would really make you feel like a princess. He’s more passive than his brother, and would feel a little sad watching you have fun without him, but he’s more likely to try and let it go. 

Emmet just thinks you are the cutest! Your smile is the absolute best one ever, and he would do anything to keep you happy. This is the primary reasons he lets you a little loose sometimes, but only under his direct supervision. Emmet is already notably jealous as a kid, and doesn’t like you or Ingo spending time around anyone else. He’s the main reason you grow up somewhat secluded, actively interfering in your friendships with others. Kids are often a little selfish, however, Emmet never entirely grows out of it. He wants what’s best for you, but on his terms, because he knows best.

Everyone thought it was adorable how little you fought while growing up, and how inseparable you were. Now that you’re adults, though... It’s a bit more weird. 

You’ve never stopped being sweet and adorable to them, they never stopped wanting the best for you and wanting to protect you! Through their work as Subway Bosses, they’ve gotten to meet so many people, and realised that... Tons of people are terrible. Horribly rude and completely dismissive of any and all safety regulations! Sure, not everyone sucks, but when imagining you dating some stranger... They can’t imagine it going well. It’s a common subject between the two of them. They are actively concerned about you getting a crush on someone. Thankfully, you always tell them you still love your big brothers the most ♡!

(At the same time, I love the idea of you essentially having a bit of a puppy crush on your big brothers... Since their job has made them decently famous, there’s a lot of content featuring them online! When you read romantic self insert fanfiction about your brothers, that’s definitely just to laugh at how they’re written! Nothing else!!)

After one more conversation about ‘the state of humanity in regards to our little sister’s dating options’, Emmet asks: Why shouldn’t we date her? There are a million arguments against it. First off all, you’re related. But Emmet plays on Ingo’s emotions, he knows how worried he is about you, and how guilty he feels about is poorly hidden feelings for you. Emmet is the one who will end up taking the lead. You trust and love your brothers the most, so it only makes sense they’d take your most important firsts too... (Emmet will end up jerking Ingo off while whispering fantasies about you into his ear. How tight you would be about your big brother’s cock, how cutely you’d moan, how nice you’d look in a cute set of underwear... He cums embarrassingly fast.)

You’re already so clingy, that it’s easy to ease you into a bit more affection! Holding your hand, kissing your cheek, pulling you on to his lap... All of that is easy for Emmet. You happily soak up all of the extra attention. When you complain eventually about being permanently single, Emmet will ‘jokingly’ ask about preparing for the future ahead of you... He’ll offer. to teach you how to kiss! You get so embarrassed you can’t get a word out, but when he softly pecks you on the lips you can’t find it in yourself to protest too much. By the end of it, you’re making out with him on the couch, sitting flush against him on his lap.

Emmet has been hiding his feelings for you for so long, and is so intent on ruining you for anyone else, that there’s a decent chance he’ll fuck you open on that couch right then and there, for Ingo to walk in on you two. 

[kuaille]

that's the continuation of this post

idk exactly how many parts it will be, i have all the script defined until the end of moa. i think writing here maybe help me to actually write the fanfic too

after everything, will decides to keep the secret and he notices that drew also didn't said anything (despite how upset will knew she was)

in december (before jason, piper and leo arrive at chb), will gets permission to spend a week with his mom at his grandparents' house (and here's what i thought for will's family dynamics)

before dinner, will and his grandma go to the market to buy some ingredients

will separates from her for two minutes, comes back and sees his grandma catching a child's attention, saying that "he's not dressed up enough" and "he's too thin"

would have been fun if it was anyone other than nico di angelo

nico tries to argue, but he obviously doesn't stand a chance against a worried indian grandmother

only the situation gets more serious when will's grandma says she's taking nico to spend the night with them, and doesn't accept opposition

"ammamma, you can't force someone to go somewhere, that's kidnap-" will gets The Look from her and gives up "so nico is coming with us"

when will blurts out nico's name, he realizes he won't be able to hide the truth from his grandma, so he said that nico's another demigod, which makes the lady even more impassive to leave nico alone (again, read this)

in the end, will's grandma wraps nico's entire neck and head with a scarf and drags him with them

when they arrive at his grandparents' place and his grandma explains the situation to his grandpa and naomi, she asks will to guide nico to the bathroom and borrow clean clothes while she finishes the food

when they're alone, nico stares at him silently and will feels like he's being watched by a macabre demon child from a horror movie (inspired by this)

nico finally opens his mouth and asks how much will and drew told chb about bob and hazel, looking like he's about to have a breakdown

will just says he didn't say anything and notices how nico gets visibly more relaxed

will leaves him in the bathroom and it doesn't take long for dinner to be ready and everyone to gather at the table

when nico comes back, he's wearing one of will's sweatpants, a loose, faded master yoda shirt, and his hair smells like will's favorite linseed shampoo

will definitely doesn't think about how the sight of nico with his family makes him feel warm with joy in his chest, and how different nico was from when he showed up riding a hellhound in manhattan and was so cool to challenge chronos in his face— will don't think about none of that

dinner follows as usual: naomi talking about her tours, his grandpa talking about some neighborhood football or basketball game, and will making brief comments

(he preferred not to talk about the demigod world during such peaceful moments)

will saw nico choke on his food and thought maybe the underworld didn't have great varieties of hot peppers, so he passed a big glass of water to the poor white boy

nico seemed determined not to participate in the conversation; will's grandma, on the other hand, had the opposite goal, and asked him a lot of simple and not very intimate questions most of the time

nico, however, only really started talking when will's grandma commented something about her history classes

it was the most will ever see of nico's excitement, the way he straightened his spine and didn't look away as he discussed whatever historical fact of the time was that will didn't pay enough attention to know

by the end of dinner, will had learned three things about nico: he loved history, he was terrible at putting up with spicy food, and he gestured a lot when he was excited

that night, will slept on the couch (not that he cared; it was closer to the kitchen) and nico took his room

will spent soms good thirty minutes trying to assimilate the strangeness of everything that happened that day, but when his eyes were closing, he could only think about how it was the first time a cute boy that his grandma loved slept in his bed while wearing his clothes

part 1 | part 2 | will's backstory

[sukirichi]

I have a question and i dont mean it in an offensive way, y do u like naoya?

i am so glad you asked bcos this is my fav topic!

beautiful character design - like...come on, he is very beautiful, everything about his appearance is extremely handsome. from the moment i saw his design i was like 😳 plus his smirk and big mouth aaaaa

piercings - need i say more? you would expect he’s a traditionalist in a sense he wouldn’t like those but my man has spunk and edge like pleaseeee his piercings are so beautiful and the fact he accesorizes himself makes me purr 🤤

TWO TONED HAIR - so idk if he dyed his hair blond or he grew out his natural dark hair then became blond, but either way, i love his highlighter hair. his design is just drop dead gorgeous, even from the way his hair is so like...carelessly styled like that but at the same time he looks insanely gorgeous and well put

feline eyes - i thought he wore eyeliner but no he was born with such beatiful sharp eyes and i just wanna kith kith his eyelids and tell him he’s doing a great job (is he tho? 😂) but yeah i really love his eyes, they are so good in looking down on me that one look and i’m already put in place

his traditional style - LISTEN IK HE WEARS A SEXY UNDERSHIRT ; either a black fitted long sleeved shirt or a white turtleneck and i just LOVEEEE how he wears loose, comfortable clothing and under them he hides a fine set of broad shoulders, mommy milkers, and a really sexy back 🤤

his iconic lines - “women should stay three steps behind or they’ll be stabbed in the back” now THAT is how you make a dramatic entrance 💀 he does not hold back in being shitty and at the same teasing

SPEED BOI - IDK BUT HIM BEING A SPEED BOI JUST GETS ME GOING

he’s 27 - the age gap between us makes me insane

chief of hei - HELLOOOO I had this one ask explaining it before that he was the chief of the strongest soldiers and that he had a special technique + CHIEF NAOYA?! he would’ve already been clan leader and that is sexy itself but CHIEF NAOYA 🥵

special grade 1 sorcerer - i don’t want anyone telling me he’s a first grader 💀 but yeah his high rank shows he’s powerful so idk why gege always claps naoya’s ass ans didn’t even give him fights where he won like where is the justice for my husband 😭

he thinks so much himself as a man - listen okay so naoya thinks that as long as you do your duty as a woman, then he’ll take care of you as a man and if that isn’t hot? like give and take sure, let’s establish the functionality of our relationship. i keep my head down and remain three steps behind and you’ll protect me and give me a comfortable luxurious life. also being mrs. zen’in is just 🤤🤤🤤 but anyway naoya is like so “masculine” in a sense that he brings out my femininity and i go soft and weak for him so yeah he can manhandle me as he pleases

he’s awful - i like my men evil. end of discussion.

the fandom hates him - there are very few people that genuinely like him so more for me 💕 sometimes the fact he is so hated makes me laugh and enjoy being a naoya simp more bcos it feels like i’m on a diff world + it feels good to love a character everyone hates like yea i’m that demon’s queen okay

he’s rich - need i say more?

he has high status - i have a clan leader kink. naoya, noritoshi, clan leader gojo, you name it.

it’s obvious he wants a male heir so yeah breeding kink go brr - i don’t mind carrying his children if it means an evil man will become soft and dote on me

he has very beautiful fists - THAT PANEL WHERE HE HAD CURSED ENERGY ON HIS FIST AND HE LOOKED SO COCKY PLS I PASSED OUT like sir what those hands do?!?!?

HIS TONGUE - 😛 his tongue game good if he cared enough about your pleasure LOL

“daddy” - no i will not explain but let’s just say that panel made my panties drop. naoya probably has a daddy kink

he is greedy - like yes king! burn the world and get what you want, love me a man that has his own goals and would do anything to achieve em

he admires toji - 😭🥺

he perfectly represents the toxicity of the zen’in clan’s sexist traditions - naoya is a great example that you are not born with beliefs, you are either taught them, realized them, or exposed to them. honestly if the zen’in clan was not as awful, i don’t think naoya would turn out like that either. but overall his character is interesting to me because he embodies the clan’s flaws as himself and he is so infuriating but if you think about it...is it really naoya or the clan itself?

HIS SNEAK ATTACK - HE IS SO FUCKING HOT FOR THAT 🔪

naoya in a black shirt. - anon, just...just look at him in a black shirt and you will understand

he takes care of himself very well - i LOVE when people have good hygiene and it’s so obvious naoya grooms himself to the best state bcos he cares a lot about his appearance. his arrogance and confidence really gives off massive dom vibes and i am s h a k i n g

[whomst-art-thou-whomst-whomst]

Texts from the Lost Tomb part 6.1

🎶 Back on the bullshit I never got off🎶

Is this another unnecessary story arc?? With three sections??

Yes.

Wushanju Crew Chat

Wang Meng: You know, I’m someone who appreciates consistency in my day. My life is pleasant, very few issues indeed if you ignore the big ones. And yet. Yet here we are. With unresolved messes at the end of a day.

Wang Pangzi: SOMETHIN YOU NEED TO SAY MARY POPPINS

Wang Meng: We need to talk about Huo Daofu and the glittery bead curtain.

Wang Pangzi: MY FAVE TEEN WIZARD SERIES

Wu Xie: did you turn on that suggested word thingy lol

What glittery bead curtain

Wang Meng: I closed the shop at 6:00pm this evening on the dot. I locked all of the doors in and out of the shop very carefully, especially in light of recent events. The hall leading to the back office was empty. I filed the day’s paperwork, updated and sent emails, and then spent an extra hour organizing receipts and dusting. When I came back out, there were glittery iridescent bead curtains over the front entrance to the shop.

What could this mean?

Wu Xie: uh that you need to spend less time at work?

Wang Pangzi: LOOKS LIKE WE GOT ONE FOR THE DETECTIVES. THE MYSTERY OF THE BEDAZZLED THRESHOLD COMMENCES

Wu Xie: I think we can be relatively secure in thinking a glittery bead curtain isn’t a hostile threat

Wang Pangzi: SAYS YOU

I REMEMBER YE OLDE EXPLORATION TIMES HOW FAST THINGS GOT FURIOUS

BEANBAG CHAIRS SET AFLAME AND LEFT ON DOORSTEPS AS A WARNING

GLITTERBOMBS FOR DAYS

PANIC AT THE DISCO

Wang Meng: Ugh, forget it. I should have just taken them down, regardless of who they belong to.

Zhang Qiling: They are not mine.

Wang Pangzi: A BOLD STATEMENT COMING FROM OUR PRIME SUSPECT

SOMEONE QUICK GO DRAW CHALK AROUND THE DOORWAY TO MARK THE SCENE OF THE CRIME

Wang Meng: Do we know anyone who *would* sneak in and put those up? For whatever reason, legal or not? Even as a joke?

Wang Pangzi: ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING WHETHER WE KNOW ANYONE WHO IS CHAOTIC, AN OUTLAW, A PRANKSTER AND/OR SNEAKS INTO PLACES

BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN OUR SUSPECT LIST IS LITERALLY EVERYONE WE KNOW EXCEPT FOR YOU.

Wu Xie: okay let’s think about this; for starters, I didn’t break into my own shop

Wang Meng: You would be in danger of doing some work in the process, that’s true.

Wang Pangzi: LOL

Wu Xie: ANYWAY let’s keep going. For example, Xiao Ge would only break in somewhere for a good reason. Xiao Ge, did you do this?

Zhang Qiling: No.

Wu Xie: okay who’s next

Wang Pangzi: YOU REALLY MISSED YOUR CALLING IN INTERROGATION TIANZHEN

REALLY PUT THE SCREWS TO HIM

IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE;)

Zhang Qiling: How can we be certain *you* didn’t do it?

Wang Meng: Admittedly that was my guess, too.

Wang Pangzi: WOW I SEE HOW IT IS

BLAME PANGZI AS USUAL

ANYWAY HOW DOES HUO DAOFU FIT INTO THIS

Wu Xie: Oh yeah him! Oops I got distracted

Wang Pangzi: UR ENTIRE HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL

Wu Xie: Ugh fuck off

Wang Meng what abt Huo Daofu??

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wu Xie: oh sorry xiaoge I didn’t realize you wouldn’t have spent much time around him last year

He and I go way back

Zhang Qiling: Way back where?

Babysitters Club Chat

Wang Pangzi: I CANNOT BELIEVE HE IS BUYING YOUR INNOCENT ACT

IF YOU EVER TURN TO EVIL WE ARE FUCKED

Zhang Qiling: ?

Wang Pangzi: YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO HUO DAOFU IS

YOU WERE EXTREMELY POLITE AND BORDERLINE FRIENDLY TOWARDS HIM

Zhang Qiling: I wanted him to feel welcome. I wanted to be sure he understands he has a place here. A specific place.

Wang Pangzi: FOR A SILENT GUY YOU ARE A MASTER AT SUBTLE POWER PLAYS IM ALL TINGLY

LMAO THE IDEA OF WU XIE LEAVING YOU FOR HUO DAOFU IS HILARIOUS AND ALSO NOPE

Zhang Qiling: Rationally, I understand that.

Main Chat

Wang Meng: Huo Daofu is coming for the weekend—didn’t Wu Xie tell you? Wu Xie asked me to check in a week ahead so we could start getting ready for his arrival

Wu Xie: oh yeah I did do that

Wang Meng: Fortunately I know you and so I already went ahead and took care of everything.

Re: the trip

He made a deal with Wu Xie’s doctor that he would do periodic checkups on him here at Wushanju

Bc Wu Xie hates being in the hospital

And frankly the hospital hates him too

Wang Pangzi: FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT LOL

I FORGOT HUO DAOFU WAS DOING THAT

A VERY CHIVALROUS GESTURE

WOULDNT YOU SAY

XIOAGE

Zhang Qiling: Is it safe for him to be here with a criminal loose on the premises?

Wu Xie: Right, back to the curtain! Let’s focus on the curtain, hmm?

Wang Pangzi: I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEKEND.

ALSO WE CAN RULE OUT XIAO BAI FOR THE CURTAIN SHE JUST SENT A SELFIE FROM NORWAY COVERED IN GREEN SLIME WITH ZERO CONTEXT, UR PROTEGE INDEED

Wu Xie: okay but who else would do something so oddly charming yet illegal and—wait.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: hey, Glasses hasn’t been in touch lately right?

Li Cu: uh nope

Unless u count the outdated memes

Why, is money or Xie Yuchen missing

Or is this curtain related, I saw Wang Meng’s tweet

Wu Xie: haha no nothing to worry about really

(I mean maybe? but who knows)

Wang Meng is probably just getting a little paranoid in his old age

Li Cu: better than getting reckless and stupid as hell in ur old age

Wu Xie: …hey:(

Unknown Number: Li Cu, we discussed this.

Wu Xie: ????????

Li Cu: *sigh* fine, reckless and stupid as heck

Unknown Number: …close enough.

Wu Xie: EXCUSE who is that

Madame, Sir, Non-Binary Tree Spirit, etc—whomst the fuck

Are you

Li Cu is underage FYI

So Im staying on this chat

Li Cu: okay first of all, it’s not like that

Second of all I’m literally not underage I s2g

u threw the embarrassing surprise bday party, okay so u should remember

And C, that’s my counselor and I invited her. She wanted to meet u and I knew u wouldn’t agree to a visit so I added her to our chat

we have been discussing u

Wu Xie: Oh wow!!!!!!!

What a surprise:)

hi so nice to meet you:)

Main Chat:

Wu Xie: RED FUCKING ALERT

FUCK THE CURTAIN FUCK THE VISIT

IVE BEEN TRICKED INTO FAMILY THERAPY BY A SMUG TEENAGER WHO TEXTS UNKNOWN NUMBERS

Wang Meng: I assume that means something to someone here?

Not my problem? Good.

Wang Pangzi: AHAHAHA GOD I LOVE LI CU

HES LIKE ADORABLE KARMA FOR ALL THE SHIT YOUVE PUT ME THROUGH

IM RAISING HIS ALLOWANCE

Wu Xie: wait i give him an allowance

has he been collecting on two allowances??

Zhang Qiling: Three. I knew about both of yours.

Snake Eyes Chat

Wu Xie: so uh may I ask your name?

Unknown Number: you can call me Ms. Lee.

Now, if you’re comfortable talking in this format, why don’t you tell me how things have been going?

Wu Xie: oh everything is normal and fine and safe as usual, why do you ask:)

Li Cu: I heard about ur necklace thing. nice of you to NOT mention it.

another dangerous adventure. again. prick.

Ur lucky your cool boyfriend cares about you so much or you’d have already died like ten years ago

Wu Xie: lol try twenty years ago

Li Cu: That isn’t funny.

Unknown Number: …What?

Wu Xie: shit ur right, okay that was a bit glib, my apologies.

…I use humor as a coping mechanism?

Unknown Number: and Li Cu, how do you feel about that?

Li Cu: he doesn’t even know what that phrase means

He doesn’t cope, like ever

In fact

It’s kind of why we met

Which is a funny story in retrospect tbh

Wu Xie: haha what are you talking about sweetie hahaha need I remind you of certain anecdotes that could idk send me to jail maybe lmao

Unknown Number: …You know, perhaps an in-person meeting might be more effective?

Wu Xie: haha such a nice idea but why

Main Chat

Wu Xie: If I go to jail, I’ll have to create alliances for protection, right, that’s how it works on tv

Who do we know who spends time in jail

Other than Hei Yangjing, he’s only ever there for like 12 hours and i suspect he just gets himself arrested bc he enjoys the breaking out process

Also how’s the curtain case coming along

Zhang Qiling: Has someone threatened you?

Wu Xie: well not yet but soon I’m sure

Wang Pangzi: WHERE WAS THIS PARANOIA WHEN WE GOT TAKEN TO THE TEA HOUSE HUH

Snake Eyes Minus Your Fucking Therapist Chat

Li Cu: okay how tf did u pull off spy and undercover shit

u are sus as hell

Wu Xie: damn son is it pick on Wu Xie night

I missed the flyers or I would’ve invited my uncles

Also re: the curtain it’s been mostly solved

Li Cu: I’m not your son, idiot.

Wu Xie: …oh. Sorry, sorry, you’re right, bad choice of words, haha

Forget i said anything

Delete this chat even

Li Cu: shit I meant

Legally, biologically, I meant—

shit

…I turn into an asshole as a coping mechanism?

Wu Xie: oh that’s all okay! I have to go do something else now let me know if you need anything okay kid thanks!

Li Cu: goddamn it calm down who’s the kid here

lemme organize my thoughts so I can articulate my emotions fuckin healthily or w/e

Ugh maybe for like one afternoon we could go to Ms. Lee together? She knows how to word stuff

Wu Xie: uh…okay.

Li Cu: Anyway you don’t need to worry abt jail

As if you would survive prison for one day you’d piss off half the place in like an hour or less

I gave Ms. Lee the heavily edited version of the desert highway to hell roadtrip and i discussed it more in terms of like “nightmarish but still wouldn’t take any of it back”

Well maybe the sand

that shit was everywhere

Wu Xie: oh kiddo. It’s fine, really…You don’t have to explain yourself to me.

Li Cu: no, no it’s just

I do technically have a dad

who is an asshole. Being a son doesn’t really mean shit to me bc it sucked.

So you need to stop backing down just cuz ur guilty abt stuff. I’m really really glad ur not my dad in a good way. Do u get what I mean there

Where’s the mafia widower I followed into hell, huh

Wu Xie: Ur a good kid, despite my influence. I’m really glad you have someone to talk to after everything I…after everything. Wow this talking through feelings thing is kind of weird but nice ur right

Jfc no wonder it took me and xiaoge so long to—you know what, we won’t get into that

Li Cu: ew tmi

Also re: this week’s recent necklace fuckery

I moved my stuff here, I live here now

So you can’t die anymore

Or else…Idk I don’t have a threat planned

anyways abt the curtain

Wu Xie: oh my god, kid…kid you have no idea

I am in tears.

Li Cu: see this is why I can’t be nice to you I can sense the hallmark channel from here

Ugh don’t be sad in ur room that’s dumb

Go hug Pangzi or something

Maybe delete this chat

Or the curtain thing

Focus on the curtain thing

Just stfu and go away

Wu Xie: <3 screenshotting this <3

Li Cu: I take back everything I said. This is why Xiao Ge sleeps on the roof. I hope the ghosts of the Wangs put up that curtain to strangle you somehow. Go die in a stupid way, it’ll suit you.

Wu Xie: lol don’t worry I’m not gonna embarrass you with it or anything

Main Chat

Wu Xie: omg guys look how cute my kid is *sending screenshot*

Wang Pangzi: I MEAN

HE IS WISHING YOU DEATH

BUT SURE

CUTE I GUESS

Wu Xie: no but read the whole thing:):):)

Zhang Qiling: It is indeed very hard to remain angry with you. And you are welcome to join me on the roof.

Wang Pangzi: UH NOPE

NOT WHENI HAD TO BLEACH THE COUNTER IN THE KITCHEN

DONT TRAUMATIZE THE EARLY BIRDS THEYRE ALREADY FREAKED OUT BY U YA HOODIE CRYPTID

Wu Xie: ok true but babe ur like a sexy cryptid

Wang Meng: so, are we just accepting that there is a glittery curtain of unknown origin, and Huo Daofu is going to have to see it while he’s waiting for you at Wushanju bc you’re going to family therapy?

Wu Xie: right

Wang Pangzi: SHOULDA TAKEN EARLY RETIREMENT HUH

Wang Meng: I’m going to go dust something.

Unnamed Chat:

Unknown number: so the curtain…

Unknown number 2: yep, not my best work but I kinda panicked last minute u know

Unknown number: what is in the water at Wushanju that makes everyone dumb and attractive

Unknown number 2: relax they’ll figure it out

[angelguk]

→ lessons in love — a jeongguk scenario

member: jeon jeongguk

word count: 5.4k

genre: smut + that’s it there’s barely a plot i just ramble for 5k words + besties!au + virgin au

warnings: virgin!oc / jeongguk keeps laughing at her / hey can i touch your dick for experience purposes / except jk is kinda into oc but let’s not discuss that yeah / um descriptions of dick / a handjob that takes forever to be a handjob / oc is babie but like she could be soft dom if she tried / basically jk is a leo moon and oc is taurus idk why she just is / somewhat sub!guk if u want it 2 be / over-stimulation kinda / they r not in highschool they just graduated it’s summer and oc would like to understand how dicks work / there’s a lot of hesitation in this but everyone has consented jk just has to do a lot of manhandling for oc to even touch him

soundtracks: dwbyf + bother, lil halima

a/n: happy birthday aleah! :3 💕💖

This is weird. Jeongguk knows this is super weird. He can feel it in the rigidness of his shoulders, stiff with a pressure that makes his skin crawl. There’s a weight wavering over his head and heart pounds erratically in his chest, driven by nerves he’s struggling to adjust too. Because, in what world is it normal for him to be sitting pretty at the edge of his bed, stripped to nothing but a loose t-shirt and his boxer-briefs, waiting to instruct his best-friend of twelve years on how to give a handjob? Jeongguk’s already came to the realisation that his life was an utter tragic comedy. But this? This was an incredibly new low for him. And when you meander into his room, the bathroom door adjacent to his room falling shut behind you, Jeongguk has the overwhelming urge to call this off. He really could; just slip his pants back on and kindly ask you to leave. But when you glance at him, gaze unexpectedly steady, it throws him off. He’s already somewhat lost, navigating through the anxiety and excitement that mingle in his system with difficulty and the indifference in your features isn’t helping. It’s what makes him swallow the apprehension that clogs his throat, forcing out a sentence that sounds meek even to his ears.

He says it at you descend onto the bed beside him, the tension between your bodies tangible.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

You pause, staring at him closely before you give a quick nod of your head. “Yes. Are you not sure?”

Jeongguk doesn’t know where he stands at right now. He really wants this. There’s already a tingle of heat sparking in his gut and you haven’t even touched him. But he’s also acutely aware of how this could change things. Maybe not for you because you were so painfully oblivious it hurt. But for Jeongguk? He knows his entire world could shift. Turn upside down on its head leaving him disoriented and lost in a complex ocean of emotions he’d never dared to dive into. But he still wants to, so bad that he thinks he might never forgive himself if he lets you leave him like this right now. Especially when you were offering to give him something Jeongguk had thought about more times than he’d like to admit.

He still remembers the night you asked him about this, the pretty innocent look on your face as you’d bunched your hands into the hem of his shirt and murmured your question. He’d forgotten how to breathe, for a moment, when those words glided out of your mouth.

“Can I give you a handjob?” No hidden objectives, just your body huddled into his one night, pressed so tightly together that Jeongguk could feel you. Every inch of you. He’d spluttered on air, his own hands falling to clasp yours and gently push you away because Jeongguk needed space if he didn’t want to do anything he’d immediately regret. But your face had fallen so quickly at that subtle rejection. And before he could tug you closer, reassure you that his reaction wasn’t negative, you were wilting into yourself, suddenly so far from him that Jeongguk couldn’t help but recoil, yearning for the warmth of you against.

“Why?” He tried instead - which was the wrong question. Who inquires the intention of a blowjob? Jeongguk, that’s who.

You’d frowned at him, the scowl on your pretty lips making his heart pound. “Never mind.”

“No – tell me, why?” Jeongguk’s pushed it because he still couldn’t process it the sentence that had left your mouth. It had not settled in his head yet, what that offer meant for him. For your friendship.

“Just because,” you’d retorted, shifting away. “But forget it. You don’t want to anyway.”

“I never said that.”

And that was all it took. You were looking at him again, the glean of hope in your gaze making Jeongguk want to do very dangerous things that he normally would never have conjured up in his head if your eyes weren’t settling on him like that.

“I want to learn,” you replied.

“How to give a handjob?” Jeongguk responded, the disbelief in his voice obvious.

You’d pouted, but your face betrayed the hesitation that gripped your heart. “I’m about to go to college and I’ve never even kissed someone Jeongguk. Or done anything with anyone – I think I should at least learn something before... You know.”

Jeongguk did not know. At all. But he withheld that comment, still bewildered that you were asking for this. “So, why start with a handjob? Not kissing?” The furrow in his eyebrows was instinctive.

“Why would I want to kiss you?” You’d snapped back, clearly irritated by the contents of this conversation even though you were the one that had initiated it.

Jeongguk had just glared, perturbing by this sudden side of you. “Yeah, but you’re willing to touch my dick.”

“All dicks are the same,” you replied.

“No, they’re not. Some have foreskin, some are short as hell, some are –”

“I don’t want a fucking descriptive piece, Jeongguk. Just tell me whether it’s yes or no.”

He’d faltered, taken the moment to read the gaze in your eyes. “You’ve still not told me why you want to do this. And why me?”

“Because you’re the only boy I can stand,” you said, slow with your words.

“Why not just…. learn from porn?”

“It’s not the same thing and you know it,” you’d replied. For once he can agree with you; there’s a difference between watching people fuck and doing the act itself. And it’s a lot more overwhelming and intimate when it’s your first time doing anything like that. “Besides, I don’t like watching that stuff.” That’s when you started twiddling with your hands in your lap, lithe pretty fingers fumbling over themselves. He doesn’t know if that was on purpose but it made Jeongguk’s brain start working, gears in his mind turning as a visual suddenly sprang before his eyes. The feeling of your hands around him, smaller this his own, working yourself along his length, touching him in ways he never imagined could be a reality.

That’s partially why he’s here now, half-naked on his bed. The other reason is that the idea of you doing this with anyone else kindled a fire of possessiveness in his gut that Jeongguk was very foreign too.

You nudge your foot against his, retrieving Jeongguk from the well of his thoughts with the abrupt reminder of your presence. It’s oddly silent in the room – something unacquainted to the both of you because you could never be quiet around Jeongguk. Not since the day you met him, when you were that little but loud rambunctious child that somehow befriended Jeongguk one late afternoon.

But you’re no longer children. Jeongguk’s painfully aware of that fact. Because he’s about to teach you how to give handjobs.

“Are you hard?” You suddenly say, breaking through the silence that cloaks you with an innocence that makes Jeongguk nervous. He is adamant not to give in to it, feeling somewhat irritated that he’s so weak for you that he’s allowing this. Your eyes aren’t even looking at him, focused on the band poster plastered onto his bedroom wall. The corner of it is ripped, and you’re trying to recall the name of the band when Jeongguk scoffs rather loudly, demanding your attention back on him. When your eyes meet, something tightens in your chest. It’s fast and has claws that sink deep, gripping your heart with intent. He’s staring at your closely, gaze unwavering and you’re struggling to decipher the hidden words in his eyes.

“Do I look like I’m hard?” He says it plainly, but there’s a challenge in his tone that you refuse to fall bait to.

“Well… Get hard then.”

Jeongguk laughs. He actually laughs. And you can’t help but be annoyed as your eyes falter to your lap, your palms warm because this shouldn’t be as awkward as it was. Yes, you were about to give your best friend a hand job but shouldn’t there be instinctive sexual tension? Electricity in the air or whatever. Not this – this mortification you feel so deep in your bones because Jeongguk knows you’re inexperienced and he’s just laughing at you.

The punch you land on his shoulder is involuntary, but all you do is hit hard firm muscles and he barely flinches, his fingers slipping into the mess of brown curls that sit atop his head like a halo.

“You’re making it hard to get hard with that attitude,” he comments. Which is true. Jeongguk is incredibly soft right now. Maybe it’s his uneasiness getting in the way but there’s also the wide gap of space between your bodies that is not aiding to the situation in his pants right now. And he’s the only one almost naked. You’re fully dressed beside him, which is strange but not as strange as the fact that you’re in his room to give him a handjob. And still, you won’t even look at him. He’s noted it, the way you’re sitting at the very edge of his bed, ass perched so precariously he’s surprised you haven’t fallen off yet, with your eyes glued to his walls or your lap. Never on his crotch. Not even on him for longer than a brief moment. It’s off-putting. How were you meant to touch his dick with your hands when you blatantly didn’t even want to look at it.

“Well… What can I do to help then?” You murmur. It would be nice if Jeongguk could just hurry up and get hard on his own because you were only here for one thing and that was a lesson you suddenly wished you’d looked for elsewhere. But it was too late to pretend like this never happened – it would be easier to just get it over and done with before swiftly erasing it from your memory.

Jeongguk clears his throat, and you immediately regret offering any help because he seems like he doesn’t want it. Not from someone with your naivety. But in reality, the simple question has a torrent of thoughts flooding Jeongguk’s mind and he has to physically stop himself from drowning further in that hole in his head because he might never be able to reach the surface if he lets himself get that deep. It’s enough for something to spur in his gut, a quick flash of heat that wanes out faster than he wants it too. But it’s a start. And that’s all Jeongguk needs to pretend like this isn’t as weird as it is.

“We could lie down instead,” Jeongguk offers, glancing at you as he awaits your approval. When you nod the tension in his body fades for a bit. Because it would have been ten times weirder if you gave him a handjob sitting on the edge of his bed with ten inches of space between your bodies.

It takes you a moment to get comfortable, rearranging the various pillows that scatter Jeongguk’s mattress until you’re both settled. Jeongguk’s flat on his back and your resting on your elbow, your bodies lined against each other. The intimacy makes your stomach swoop, a fast flash of longing that spreads through your system when Jeongguk tugs his shirt upwards, revealing his firm abdomen. He’s all taut muscles and brute strength and even though Jeongguk is your best friend you can’t lie that that doesn’t do something to you. He’s attractive in a conventional way; tall, handsome and so charming that it makes you sick. But at this moment Jeongguk looks so vulnerable, baring himself to you in a way that makes your heart thump hard.

Your stillness makes him diffident.  

“You’re going to have to touch me, you know,” Jeongguk says, gaze flickering to the way your shirt stretches across your chest. He shouldn’t be staring but it’s tight, revealing the silhouette of your chest easily. He’s noticed them before, but never like this. Something in him hates the way his dick stirs awake in his pants.

“I know,” you retort. And then your hand is skipping down his chest with no hesitation, fingertips warm as the journey along his happy trail. It’s the suddenness that takes his breath away, how bold you are as you touch him, the feeling of your hand tracing ginger patterns just across his navel sending heat right to his gut.

“I – uh – thought you said you were new to this,” Jeongguk can’t help but mumble. There’s already a stiffness forming beneath his underwear and normally he would be embarrassed but Jeongguk can’t seem to muster up a reason to care in this already bizarre situation.

“I am,” you reply. And he can still you’re still tentative from the way your palm hovers above his growing bulge.

“Go ahead,” Jeongguk says, giving you a pointed look that you return with vehemence. But before he can get out another jib at you, your fingers are cupping his cock, pressing hard into the fabric covering his length and Jeongguk short circuits.

You’re not even doing much, but the feeling of your warm palm against his has his brain struggling to string together a sentence, the heat consuming his body steadfast now. He bucks up into it, relishing the tiny gasp of awe that leaves your mouth. Because Jeongguk is rock hard now, heavy and thick under the press of your fingertips, straining against the material of his underwear. It’s then the air shifts – a subtle difference you wouldn’t have noticed if your ears didn’t discern the breathless moan that Jeongguk chokes out when you gingerly squeeze his length.

“That’s – oh,” he sighs when your drag the edge of your nails over his length, cock twitching because of the unexpected gentle pressure. But then you halt, looking at him for further direction and Jeongguk abruptly remembers the reason for this whole situation. He had lost himself, for a moment, in the feeling of your hands touching him like that. But there’s no place for that here.

“I don’t like it dry,” Jeongguk says, gesturing towards his drawers. “There’s lube there, third drawer.”

You’re up fast, digging through his stuff until your hands clasp around a bottle. “Strawberry?” you deride, drifting back to the bed where Jeongguk waits.

He blushes, abhorring the tingle in his gut. “What? It smells good,” Jeongguk justifies. But then you’re dipping back into his bed and he nearly bites his tongue. A part of him wants to ask you to take your top off, make him feel less exposed than the does right now. But that’s overstepping your argument. It was just meant to be him – this was educational after all.

You’re kneeling beside him all of a sudden, a delicate motion that makes his chest bloom dangerously. The bottle is twiddling in your fingertips, the confidence you’d exhibited moments ago diminishing rather quickly and Jeongguk realises you won’t touch him again unless he pushes for it.

“Leave that,” he says, taking your hand. The bottle hits the sheets with a soft thud. “Touch me again.”

Your fingers itch to do so but you’re still so unsure of yourself so you don’t move. Jeongguk exhales, so low that you wouldn’t hear it if it wasn’t for the silence in his room.

“Can I do something?” he mumbles. You nod because you know if he didn’t, nothing would happen and the both of you would have to wallow in this awkward mess you’d initiated.

His hand is gentle as he tugs your own downwards, resting your palm against his straining bulge once more. You slip in some pressure because you know he likes that, and from the subtle twitch of his cock underneath your palm, you think your observation was correct.

“I’m… I’m gonna take it out now.” He only says it not to startle you, because you feel so skittish beside him that Jeongguk has to hold every reaction you draw from him back. He waits for you to nod before he shifts your fingertips the band of his underwear, wordlessly encouraging you to help him out of the last bit of fabric that supports the boundaries of your friendship. You just dig your fingers into the elastic, throat tight as you force it down with the assist of Jeongguk shifting out of the material. His cock hits the cool air a second later, bouncing along the firm lines of his abdomen. The first thing you register is his size. He’s large. Not like you have anything to compare it too, but you’re not that foolish. You know he’s big. That’s what makes you pause, quiet because you’re actually about to touch your best friend's dick.

Jeongguk doesn’t notice it until underwear is somewhere on the floor, cock patiently waiting for a touch that never comes. He tries to give you time to adjust, but you’re just staring at his dick and it’s unsettling.

“Why are you just looking at it,” he asks. You blush in response, face bright with your bashfulness. Jeongguk feels a little embarrassed too. It’s one thing having your best-friend give you a handjob, it’s another to watch her just stare at your cock like it’s a bug.

“I don’t know,” you respond. But you do. Porn wasn’t your favourite thing in the world although you have seen penises before, mainly out of natural curiosity. However, seeing one up close with your own eyes and having the imminent knowledge that you were about to touch it was something else entirely. You don’t know where to put your hands so they stay put in your lap and you consider, for a brief moment, asking Jeongguk to forget about this entirely. That would be incredibly difficult to do though. You’ve seen his dick now – it’s scored in your memory for eternity. Every detail of it, from the veins that run along his length to how it sits heavy against his abdomen, head red with expectancy.

“You’re going to make me soft,” Jeongguk abruptly says, cutting through your apprehension.

“Sorry.”

There’s a long pause. He sighs again. You feel stupid.

“Do you… want to try to touch it? We can stop here if you’re not comfortable.” Jeongguk says it so gently and you feel even worse immediately.

You want to scoff at that because the person who should be uncomfortable here is Jeongguk. You’re the one who put him in this situation and now you’re just staring at his dick like it’s the ugliest thing you’ve seen on the planet. For the record, it’s rather nice. A decent length and thickness that makes your thighs clamp together involuntarily. The fact that you now know what Jeongguk's dick looks like is jarring in itself.

“Show me?” you say. “I mean like… how to touch it.”

Jeongguk bites back a soft laugh. “Just touch it. I’ll like anything you do.” When you reach for the bottle of lube he halts you. “Try without that first, though. If you want to.”

You nod your head, taking in a deep breath because your hands are shaking. And then you reach forward before you can overthink this any further, your fingers wrapping around his length. The first thing you register is how soft he feels in your hands. Warm too. Your gut twists suddenly at the weight of you against your skin, a sharp heady feeling that coaxes your fingers around him tighter.

“Oh – oh fuck,” Jeongguk shudders for a second, the sudden feeling of your bare palm against his length making his head spin. You’re not even moving your hand but he spine tingles, the promise of his high sitting thick in his bones.

“So…what now?” You ask, holding his dick like it’s a fucking joystick.

He can’t help it, the laugh the drifts from his lips. It’s innocent but your blush so hard that Jeongguk partially regrets it. So he stifles it and reaches out for the discarded bottle of lube in his sheets.

“It’s literally so simple, like so simple.” His flicks the cap up. “Open your hand.”

The lube is cold in your palm and you can’t help the tiny flinch that flickers over your face. You hadn’t expected it to feel like that, but you adjust quickly. When Jeongguk’s satisfied with the wetness coating both your hand and his cock, dumps the bottle to the side. His hand settles around yours a second later, gingerly guiding your fingers around his once more.

It warms up quick, the moment your hands begin to create a steady rhythm of up and down strokes along his length. It’s oddly lewd, the sound of your hands working around his cock, his fingers directing your motions. Jeongguk swallows the small sounds that threaten to leak from his throat, afraid he’ll make you uncomfortable. But he notes one thing right away. You’re too gentle. He likes his handjobs hard and fast and demanding. But you touch him like he’ll crumble in your hands.

“It’s not going to break,” Jeongguk mumbles a second later, unable to keep that remark to himself.

“Well,” you retort, exasperated because Jeongguk is so silent beneath you. Not even a gasp to let you know how well you’re doing. “What am I supposed to do?” You ask because you want this to be good for him. Need it to actually. There’s a heat pooling between your legs that you refuse to acknowledge but you’re acutely aware of the how tight your chest feels.

“You could just –” And then his hand squeezes down on yours, subsequently tightening the grip you have on the base of his cock. His body reacts instantly, just a shallow shift of his hip upwards but it’s enough to let you know what to do. “Holy –” Jeongguk stops thinking, brain turning mellow because you squeeze around him again and when your hands twist upwards your grip is tight, dragging at the edge of his head when you pull down. It’s so different from the stoic way you were touching him just moments before. You move with finesse, stumbling sometimes but you read his body well enough to know that Jeongguk reacts when you touch him like this, rather rough even though your fingers glide along his cock. You’d never thought he’d prefer it like this but the way he shivers whenever your palm settles tight around his head is enough to make you stomach flip. Whether it’s with yearning or surprise you discern just yet. Or rather you refuse to decipher that feeling at all. Instead, you keep your hand moving, swiftly along his length until Jeongguk’s mouth finally drops own, the groan that leaves his lips breathless enough to render your own lungs empty.

“Fuck – that’s so –  Nngh,” Jeongguk’s mumbling into the air, hips shifting up to meet the twist of your hands around his length. His fingers fall away, but you keep your fist tight just as he instructed, snapping up and down in quick motions that make the air charge with a heat you’ve never felt before. It’s weird to look but you can’t look away even if you wanted to. Jeongguk is gorgeous, the head of his cock red and needy, slick slipping from the tip with every graze of your palm along him. It gets swept up in the motions of your hand, which is already beginning to ache with the constant friction but the feeling of Jeongguk writhing underneath you spurs you forward, a sudden determination blooming in your chest. He’s not even hiding his moans, the air coloured with the cadences of his pleasure, so carefree with how he lets you know you’re being good to him. It’s intoxicating, observing the haggard rise and fall of his chest as Jeongguk whines into the sheets, your hands still wrapped tightly around him, coaxing out an orgasm that builds so deep inside of him. He should have jerked off beforehand but the prospect of you touching him like that had halted him. And now he was, thighs trembling every time your hand settles tight on his tip, with a load in his balls that he really wants to give you. He couldn’t stop it even if he wanted too. In fact, he desperately chases after it, his brain loose with the pleasure that courses through his body.

Maybe it’s the feeling of your small hand dragging down his cock or the little gasp that drifts from your lips when Jeongguk unknowingly twitches in the palm of your hand. But it happens before he wants it to. A fast cave of his stomach, breathe caught in his throat and then he snaps, spilling all over your hand as your name glides from his lips. A small chant, a prayer to ground him back to Earth because Jeongguk is levitating. Nothing has ever felt this good. And the fact that you don’t stop, hand still working him even when he’s so sensitive, the cum that leaks from his tip aiding the glide of your palm, nearly makes his brain melt into nothingness.

He chalks it up to your inexperience. You don’t know when to stop and give him a breather. But Jeongguk doesn’t mind because he likes it like this. Likes being pushed past what his body can give, enjoys the sting of pain that lies beneath the pleasure. He’d done it to himself multiple times before but it feels so different when it’s your hand working his cock like this. Like you want him to give you everything he has. Everything and more.

Jeongguk knows he’s in trouble the moment the forces his eyes to crack open, the shudder that slips down his spine when he finds you looking at his cock as you wring him dry making the bones in his body fuse together. He’s tingling, bursting with heat and electricity that threatens to devour him whole. But then his eyes shift to your lips and your tongue sneaks out, skipping over your bottom lip, pink and wet. Jeongguk can’t help the thought that forms in his mind. How your mouth would feel around his length, your tongue on his cock, the feeling of you choking on him as he fucked your mouth open. It’s hitting too fast for him to cope, a terrifying burst of warmth that runs from his head to his toe and Jeongguk nearly cries. It’s then that he paws your hands of him, let’s his still hard sensitive dick drop to his chest, desperately searching for air because he’s about to combust.

You only pause then, the stickiness that coats your palm making your chest feel funny. But then you glance at Jeongguk. His golden skin is glistening with sweat the rouge blush that scatters across his bare body, oddly beautiful.

“You’re still hard,” you murmur, involuntarily reaching out for him.

Jeongguk swats your hand away and something in you crumbles.

“Give me a moment,” Jeongguk gasps into the silence, too afraid to move because his dick hurts but it’s still so hard. He can still feel that edge, sharp and dangerous with how makes its presence known in his gut.

“Was I bad at this? You didn’t like it did you?”

Jeongguk wants to laugh again because anyone with eyes could see the mess you’d just wringed out from him. He can feel the streaks of his release on his chest and the fact that you don’t realise this makes him feel things he can’t understand. But he reads the unsureness in your tone and bites back the laugh in his throat.

“I did,” Jeongguk says instead, voice gentle despite the tension in the air. “You were about to make me come again.”

“Oh.”

And that’s all you can say because you see it now, how much the sheets beneath you are ruined not by the bottle of lube you’d all but dumped on his dick but by the mess of Jeongguk that now coats your hands too. You’d never expected it to be this much but there’s something about seeing him now, wrecked on his bed because of the way you touched him that makes your brain go fuzzy for a second. When you shift on your knees, you feel it. The weight in your gut, the heat between your thighs and the wetness that clings to your underwear.

Jeongguk must see it too because he meets your eyes with his heated gaze, cock still painfully hard against the perfect line of his abdomen. He feels himself sink deeper into that hole when your tongue skips over your lips again. There’s trouble in his. He knows it. He knows it so bad and yet he can’t help himself. Not when your eyes settle on him like that.

“Oh,” you say it again, fingertips settling on Jeongguk’s thigh. He tenses because it wouldn’t take much for you to drift your hands upwards, touch him again until he was whining into the sheets helplessly.

He hopes you read it in his eyes, the silent plea for this to not end just yet. He’s not ready to let this opportunity slip from his fingers right now. And then you say it. Jeongguk kind of wants to kiss you right away.

“Do you want me to make you come again?”

You shouldn’t have asked but your brain isn’t currently attached to your mouth right now and the wanton desire leaves your lips before you can swallow it down. There’s a moment of silence in the room and you don’t dare to look at Jeongguk, because you know he’s looking at you.

It’s the lilt in your voice that renders him helpless, plaint to any of the whims you wish to subject him too. You’re bolder than you pretend to be and Jeongguk wants to see more of that. More of this. Even that thought is wrong in itself because this is just a onetime thing. A blunder in your lives that both of you were immediately meant to forget. He sighs hard, back moulding into the sheets of his bed because Jeongguk feels heavy. The weight of his realisation sits on his heart, accompanied by the warning that bubbles in his chest. He should address it, but it’s so easy in this moment to ignore it. Because he wants that as much as you do. Maybe even more. So he lets himself have this, doesn’t question the way his heart flips when you glance at him, still waiting for his answer to your sudden offer. One mistake can’t hurt, can it?

He takes your hand into his, abhorring the way his gut tightens when your whimper. A tiny helpless noise that makes his thoughts run. Would you sound like that with his dick buried deep in you? Would you even be able to take him at first? No one had ever touched you like that. A part of Jeongguk wants him to be the only one to see you like that. But that’s not his to have. You’re just his best friend. That’s it. Yet as he guides your hand back to his length, feels the weight of your fingertips as they wrap around him, Jeongguk can’t help but imagine having more with you.

“You okay?” You suddenly ask, the sudden twitch against your palm drenching your underwear. But Jeongguk looks so distant, spaced out in the solace of his mind. You want him here, want him present. You give his length a sudden squeeze, the soft moan that glides from his mouth soothing the sudden need for reassurance that lingers in your heart. “Is this fine?”

No this is not fine, Jeongguk thinks. He’s not okay – at all. And that’s because he’s thinking thoughts about you and him and together. The both of you. Waking up with you, limbs tangled in his sheets. Going to bed with you in his arms. Being able to kiss you, touch you, without it being strange. Making you feel good underneath him (or on top of him – whichever you preferred). Being there for you forever. Not just as a friend. As more. He can’t help but long for that.

He hums instead, drives his hips up hard. “Yeah,” he says, even though his heart is beating painfully as he lies. “This is fine.”

[bookwyrminspiration]

Do you think that anyone is going to die in Book 9? We haven't had a death in a while from the "good guys." (I believe the last one was Forkle 1) The only people I can think of could die would be Dex, Linh, (Maybe that explains the short POV), or maybe Amy. idk, I feel like Sophie is gonna have a hard time in the next book, with the way that the last book left off. But, Shannon might not have time, so I have no idea.

[Image: Screenshot of an anonymous ask. In all caps, it reads: "Sandor will most definitely die at the end of the series I don't want him too but ive been going thru the books and there is so much evidence it will happen." End description.]

I hope you two don't mind me combining these asks, they're just so similar and my thoughts cover both of them!! Because Sandor dying is one of the one's I feel is most plausible in the coming books, rather than talking about it in two different places it's easier to mesh both your asks!

The last death we had was, you're right, Mr. Forkle in Lodestar, but that was in book five and we're coming up on nine, so it's been a considerable length of time. It doesn't feel like we can keep going at this rate and have everyone consistently come out alive at the end of the day. You know all those kids games like Pie Face and Don't Break the Ice? it's like that. the longer things go on, the more the anxiety build because with each passing turn, the game gets more risky and you have a lower chance of escaping unharmed. In the same way, we've been moving along without incident through the series and we're just waiting for everything to blow up in our faces.

First, I'll discuss a few of the characters the first ask brought up! Dex is an interesting one; I could see there being an aspect of "he could only cheat death once" in reference to the time he was presumed dead. I think his death, based on how he's incorporated into the story right now, would serve as a way to make Sophie feel guilty and responsible because she wasn't paying enough attention to him. I don't think it would be a satisfying conclusion to his story, though. There's an element in writing when a character dies, generally you want it to be because it's an appropriate ending to that characters journey and story, a culmination of their triumphs and losses and their past. We had this in a sense with the first Forkle because all his accomplishments had led to a meeting with the leaders of the world alongside Sophie, and he had gone down protecting someone else and the future, and while part of that was for its impact on Sophie is does make enough sense with his character to be satisfying. I don't think we're quite there with Dex yet, so maybe it would take more of an approach of those sudden deaths that are meant to show that life isn't a story, that sometimes people die for no reason and you can't do anything about it. But enough about Dex, onto Linh!

Same as Sandor, who I'll talk about later, I think Linh might be more plausible as far as going down protecting her friends. We've seen in Neverseen and Nightfall that she has no problem going past some of her physical limits to ensure the safety of others, so I could see a scene where things are getting intense but she just keeps pushing herself further and further past the edge, just promising herself she'll hold on a little longer, just a little longer for her friends because they're counting on her. I think it'd be the kind of death where no one realizes what's happening to her until it's too late and she's given all she can give. Everyone would be so caught up in the fighting and just trying to survive that they wouldn't realize until a few moments later that no one can find Linh, that she hasn't said a word. I don't think she'd give any sort of final words goodbye, she'd just show her love for the people she surrounded herself with through her actions.

Amy I'm personally a little iffy on, just because we've already had so much drama with Sophie's human family that it might feel like "seriously?? you can't give them a break?" Sophie had to loose her human family, endure them being taken and tortured, then loose them again. Adding Amy's death on top of all that seems a little too close to older events to have the dramatic effect Shannon would want. There's also the matter of her being very disconnected from the elven world and all the drama, so there'd need to be a lot more connection back to her in the next book for this to be something more plausible. But! not completely off the table!

that's not to say all of these are completely improbably and can't happen at all, just that I think there might be some better options for deaths that would have a better effect on the story! But I do like all your suggestions and there's a lot I could talk about for each of them individually!!

So now, onto Sandor. Personally, he's one of the characters I can see dying the most believably. and the reason the second ask found "so much evidence it will happen" is likely because Shannon has literally admitted to planning to kill him off in every book since he's been introduced! I don't remember where exactly she said this, but I do know she shared this lovely bit of information a year or two ago. So not only have there been plans to kill him, there have been hints of those plans throughout the series.

some of my reasoning: he's a bodyguard; his line of work is literally in physical combat and protection, opening him up to a lot more opportunity for injury and disaster. I mean, he's already fallen off a cliff, and that was when he wasn't as emotionally invested in Sophie as he is now. On top of that, both Sophie and the fandom have gotten attached to him--he's been here even longer than Tam and Linh. So it would have that emotional impact and guilt from Sophie that Shannon would want to show us, same as it would have with Dex. The difference here for me, though, is that Sandor's death would be a better ending to his story than Dex's would (not that it was a bad suggestion! there's just a lot to it). In the same way I suggest Linh die protecting her friends, I think Sandor would die protecting Sophie. I simply have trouble imagining there's a more believable way for him to die.

He's been protecting her and getting hurt in her place for so long, I think it would be fitting for him to be doing the same thing he always does, but this time it's just...a little too much. A little too late. A little too bad. I think he'd be the kind to have a few final words instead of Linh, to thank Sophie for his time with her and to remind her that it isn't her fault. The little things like that.

and then jumping back to the first ask to round this out: I think we've had enough time and build up throughout the past eight and a half books that even if number nine is the last one in the series, Sandor could be killed and there would be enough time to figure all that out. he doesn't have a bunch of weird background stuff going on like Kenric or Forkle did that would draw out his death over several books, so I personally think Sandor specifically could be killed in the next book and it would make sense timing wise. All the others feel a little different though, so depending on who Shannon wants to kill, whether or not it would work out would change.

Those are just a few of my thoughts on death in the keeper universe! I don't know if it's possible to keep going and have everyone survive, but the tension has been mounting and we know Shannon is okay killing characters so there's a lot to take into consideration!

[tenyacore]

the princess of the sea

-> royalty!au iida tenya x fem!reader

this is the literal bane of my existence. here you go, part 1 of my iida royalty au fic. very loosely inspired by raya and the last dragon and genshin impact, but you can barely tell.

IF THE KEEP READING THINGIE DOESNT WORK PLS TELL ME!! ++ there is a paragraph that gets repeated. im sorry, but every time i fix it, it happens somewhere else. idk what to do at this point. sobbing.

warnings: language. also its long and ends on a cliff hanger oops

word count: 4.8k words

check out my masterlist for more of my works!!

the sound of your heels hitting the shiny floors bounced off of the walls nonstop as you ran. you were a princess, one that was late to the ball being held to celebrate the alliance of four nations that had fought against one another for over a century. as you round the corner towards the banquet hall’s doors, you make eye contact with a tall, blue haired, handsome man- and then fall flat on your face.

it wasn’t often countries came together to make amends after hundreds of years of wars, attacks, and disagreements- yet here you are, making a fool of yourself in front of the prince of lupusvine, the northernmost nation. you rush to pick yourself up, muttering a quick “damn it, y/n,” whilst fluffing your dress back up to its once cloud-like form.

“are you alright? it’s y/n, no?” the man you had seen before now much closer, offering his hand out to greet you.

“are you alright? it’s y/n, no?” the man you had seen before now much closer, offering his hand out to greet you.

quick history lesson- the planet was named xenos centuries ago, by four gods. what their names were is hard to decipher; by the time humans were capable of writing and recording history, the gods had many names. there were more countries on the planet, but the most important (to you) were the four nations that were named and ruled by the four main gods, all sharing borders. ruritania, ruled by the goddess of nature, has the perfect climate for farming, raising livestock, and taking trips from the other nations. it was considered a utopia for those who liked peaceful, cottage living.

lupusvine, ruled by the god of wind, was cold. the citizens tend to be either extremely wealthy, or dead, really, as being homeless in the brutal cold would be a slow and painful death. they tend to be strict and uptight, and worship their god’s every word. ambrosia, ruled by the god of fire, on the other hand, was scorching hot most of the time. it was mostly desert, and ambrosians tend to be strong, rough, aggressive towards outsiders, yet loving towards their families.

lastly, oceania, ruled by the goddess of water. oceania, being the nation you were soon to rule, was perfect, like ruritania, hot in the summers and cold in the winters, but not unbearably so. it was the wealthiest nation, not because the rich keep getting richer, but because the nation helps and nurtures those who are struggling. it was seen as a sort of idyllic place, and because of that, the other countries often envied oceania.

one last, probably important bit, before you remember the prince of lupusvine is waiting for you to give him your hand- hybrids are common in xenos. which is why, as you stare at the prince, flustered, you barely notice the wolf ears on his head.

“it…it is y/n, correct?” he hesitates.

“oh, yes! i'm very sorry!” you put your hand in his, greeting him. “you must be tenya, prince of lupusvine!” you attempt to compose yourself while the wolf man before you reaches up to adjust your small crown as he breathes out a soft “yes.”

you blush due to how close he is and he apologizes. “sorry, but i'm sure that with the rush you were in, you wouldn’t have had the time to notice your crown was barely hanging onto your head for dear life.” he chuckles and as your eyes meet once again you freeze- you never knew why people were so wrapped up in rumors and gossip, but you had heard one a while back… that the prince of lupisvine’s eyes were as cold as ice, like the land he came from.

while whispers of his frightening gaze and sharp features may be based in truth, his eyes soaking in yours made you feel as if you were melting- the warm, relaxing smile he had contrasting his straight posture and tense shoulders.

“if you’d like, we could enter the ball together” his voice pulled you out of your trance, and as he awaited your answer you thought of all of the consequences entering together would have. your mother and sister’s worry turning into squealing, eager to have you marry the poor man was one. your father upset that you had never mentioned someone was courting you (which the prince was not doing) while he was searching for suitors was another consequence.

oh, and most importantly of all- what you two walking in together, arms linked, would do to the political state of the four nations. you were the precious princess of the sea! you were oceania’s lovely, pure heir to the throne; if anyone were to lay a hand on you they’d be dead before they could take another breath! little did they know that you had a tendency to be anything but elegant, with a foul mouth and two left feet.

and prince of lupusvine- well he… he was perfect. a respectable gentleman who gives his all to his nation, who works to make their nation a better place. the other three countries may whisper and mock; thinking him a serious, scary soon-to-be king with a devotion to law and order, but he was a far more gentle and loving prince than that. everyone in lupusvine was aware of the truth, and you, placing your hand on his arm, now also knew the truth.

“yes, i would, in fact, like that very much.” you flash him your charming smile that everyone in oceania was in love with and enter the hall together.

the consequences you had thought up in your mind paled in comparison to the reactions of everyone as you two enter. shocked expressions, gasps, and even what sounded like a glass shattering filled the room as you make your entrance and walk down the stairs. hushed tones greet you at the bottom, and as you and tenya part ways, you are greeted by the royal family of oceania- your mother, father, and sister.

“you do realize what that looks like, right?” your sister, isla, barked at you. she had a knack for showing her care and love in the worst ways possible, but you knew her words weren’t meant to instigate some sort of argument.

“no, i don't, actually.” you shrug, before your father gently grabs you by the arms

“the prince of lupusvine is no husband for my daughter, i will not allow it until i know more about that boy and what he might be scheming”

“scheming? oh for the love of our goddess, dad, i'm not going to marry him! we simply entered together” you shake his hands off of you.

your mother cut in with a huff, worsening your family’s freak out. “with how late the both of you were it looked like some sort of… surprise marriage announcement!” often, when your mother becomes flustered, or worried, her extensive, fancy vocabulary is thrown out the window.

“its like you were telling all of xenos ‘hey, look at me put my hand on this big strong rich prince oh also remember how we’re both looking for other royal families to marry into, mostly for political reasons?’” your sister rambles on, mocking your manner of speaking.

“oh, whatever, it’s not really like it matters. the four nations are allies now anyways, what’s the issue, even if i were to be seeing him?” all three of your overprotective family members scoff and walk away, clearly getting the message that their worries wont get through to you. spotting the prince again, you make your way over to him before frantically attempting to walk away as the crowd parts for you only to reveal his very serious and scary family having a discussion with him. instead of walking away towards your sister, you turn and smash face first into- actually, you don’t even realize you just walked into the prince of ambrosia, todoroki shoto, until you look up at him.

“oh my goddess, i'm so sorry” you bow at him deeply, and his father tells you not to worry about it as they continue walking towards the royal family of lupusvine. while the four nations all had their issues with each other, lupusvine and ambrosia have made deals with one another before, and oceania and ruritania were on decent terms. as king enji spoke with the king of lupusvine, shoto gave you a quick wave, before standing next to tenya rather than his father.

you’ve already just about had enough with the party when you decide it’s better for everyone if you were to just leave. you leave the ball and head to lucerne’s garden, a small garden and pond built right into the center of the castle, named after a dragon (which have all since vanished from xenos) the goddess kept as a companion. sitting at the edge of the pond, you’re lost in thought as a hand touches your shoulder.

“it’s nice to see you again, princess.” tenya’s voice just barely over a whisper as he sits next to you.

“no, you’ll get your suit dirty-” you start, before he shakes his head.

“perhaps, but the servants in your castle seem to be extraordinary at their job- i don't think i saw even a drop of water on the ground as i sat down.” he laughs, continuing to look around at the spotless scenery, none of the plants having even a speck of brown, and not one part of the ground dusty or dirty.

“well well well, and here i thought mr. prince of lupusvine was supposed to be a stickler for rules! i’d expect a ‘no sitting on the ground with your gown on!’ from you.” you smirk, messing with decorations sewn onto your dress.

“I may be a little uptight, but i don’t quite think there's a rule for sitting on the ground with a dress on..” you laugh as he trails off in thought. “is that lucerne? companion of kirai?” he asks, pointing at the statue of a dragon looming over the pond.

citizens of lupusvine tend to refer to the goddess of water as “kirai”, due to their god calling her that every time he mentioned her, as recorded on slabs from ancient times. that, along with other reasons, is why many researchers and history professors believe that the goddess of water and the god of wind were in a romantic relationship, whether permanently or just for a certain period of time. you nod and face him as he continues “i wish dragons still existed. i learned, when i was younger, that dragons went extinct due to humans.”

your eyes widen, flickering towards the statue of lucerne. “because of us?”

“yes.” he whispers, before the two of you fall into comfortable silence. soon, footsteps can be heard behind the two of you. turning around to see who is coming, you see todoroki shoto, prince of ambrosia, as well as the princess of ruritania, uraraka ochako.

“thank goodness we saw you out here! our parents are so professional and uptight at these things, it's almost suffocating.” ochako gasps the fresh air in, sitting next to you as shoto sits at a nearby bench.

“i dont get why they hate each other so much.” shoto muttered under his breath and everyone let out sighs and nods. while all of you knew the history behind the nations’ feuds and didn’t quite know each other, you four could easily bond over your general disdain for the grudges your families had towards each other.

suddenly, you picked yourself up from the ground and stared at the other three determinedly. “we should find out what happened to lucerne and the dragons! it would be so fu-”

“we already know what happened to the dragons.” shoto cuts you off

“well then what is it?” you huff, annoyed that you were cut off.

as shoto shrugged, tenya started telling the story. “the four gods gave a box each to the inhabitants of xenos and told them to not open them, even if they’re curious about what’s inside.”

“oh no, they opened the boxes” you gasp, shaking your head.

“yes, they opened the boxes. the first three boxes they opened had beautiful things we couldn't even begin to imagine the world without, so, without thinking, they opened the last box. a puff of smoke came out the box upon opening it, and then every dragon on xenos turned to stone. there’s no cure, no answers, no reason as to why the gods would do that, especially when the dragons were so loved by the humans and gods alike.”

“how cliche” shoto sighs.

“do you think the dragons can hear us?” ochako gets up, trying to get closer to touch lucerne. “lucerne, do you think i should marry izuku midoriya, from ylvern, or bakugo katsuki from angria?”

todoroki scoffs, and you note the jealous glint in his eyes. “lucerne’s not gonna come back to life to answer which royal family you should marry into” he gets up, ready to head back inside.

“speaking of marriage…. tenya, y/n, what was that entrance~?” ochako skips back to your side, crouching down.

“nothing, we just met before walking inside and decided to enter together; it's simply none of your concern” you ramble on, refusing to face either tenya or ochako, opting to stare at a lily pad floating on the water.

“oh really?” ochako squints, before getting up. “if you say so, y/n”

“yes i do say so” you nod violently, ochako humming as she walks towards shoto to walk back inside together. exchanging quiet ‘see you later’s, they leave you and tenya alone again.

“would it really be a bad idea for us to get married?” his words making you choke on air. “not like that! it was just a question!!” he flails his arms around, the two of you so very flustered.

you both collect yourself and you think for a bit before answering “i think our parents are probably just suspicious of each other, still. i mean if you think about it, you could say we’re already fated to be” you half joke, expecting more arm flailing, only to receive a hum.

“ah, you mean the theory that kirai and the god of wind were lovers?” he tilts his head.

“some even say they were married, not just lovers, tenya. what, are you suggesting we be lovers?” you joke.

another round of arm flailing passes as you laugh, before he clarifies “you know what i meant, don't act a fool. i personally believe it too, there’s plenty of evidence for it.”

you nod, agreeing with him “that, and because citizens of oceania often think i look like our goddess, and your citizens say your personality matches your god. wouldn’t you say we’re- a- match?” with each pause in between your last words you get just a bit closer before pulling away, laughing once more at his flailing arms and beet red cheeks, finding your new favorite hobby.

one last moment of silence passes as you both stare at the clock in the garden, waiting until it hit 10 to join the others back inside for a speech from the nations’ kings and queens. you stole peeks at his face, your eyes quick to flicker elsewhere when they make contact with his. a minute before it was time for the speeches you two got up and walked together, checking each other for any specks of dirt (there weren’t any, head maid marina would never allow such a thing).

you stop right before the doors, facing him with a smile on your face. “after you, mr. prince, we can't go in together after the entrance we made before.” you motion towards the door and he steps closer to you, waiting. “wha- oh” you realize what he was waiting for and nod, expecting a kiss on the cheek. what he really did, was give you a light peck on the lips, before turning away and returning to the ball.

“your majesty, if i may, i don't believe that’s an appropriate way to say goodbye to someone.” head maid marina places a hand on her hip, a clipboard tucked in between her arm and the side of her waist. she tapped her foot expectantly, brows raised as you stutter, attempting to find the right words.

“please dont tell my mom!!” you blurt, and run into the banquet hall.

“you kissed prince tenya!?” the servants in the dining room all come to a halt, turning to your family, that was supposed to be having dinner.

“ugh maid marina told you!” you put your face into your hands as your sister stifles a laugh and shrinks in her chair.

your father looks like he might explode as he yells “you WHAT?”

“to be fair!! he kissed meee~” you gushed at the thought.

“how is that supposed to make me feel at ease?!” your father stands up.

“dad sit down and eat your unseasoned roasted potatoes-” you pause to raise your voice loud enough for those in the kitchen to hear, “if head maid marina wasn’t busy gossiping about my love life maybe the potatoes would’ve come out properly seasoned!” your words earned you a light whack with a handful of napkins from said maid. “and what if i choose to marry tenya? i assure you he is up to nothing but good.”

your father shook his head. “how can i be sure of that, darling?”

“cause i really like him!! pleaaaaaaase?” you beg, putting your hands together as you give him your best puppy dog eyes. your father was visibly crushed by your strategy before he straightened up and cleared his throat.

“well, if you insist, i suppose i could send the iida family an invitation to a dinner, where we can discuss this matter more in detail.”

“this is becoming more and more like an arranged marriage by the second-” you whine.

the following days were rather uneventful; helping out maid marina as an apology for offending her potatoes, polishing the statue of lucerne (which you’ve found out is essentially lucerne’s corpse) for maid veronica since you let ochako get close to it, and reading up more on xenos’ history. eventually, the day to have dinner with the iida family came and you dreaded it, as your mother told maid marina to find and dress you in a ‘lovely, light blue dress with intricate detailing’ days beforehand.

“and just why do you like prince tenya, of all princes? why not prince shoto?” with every ‘why’ that left marina’s mouth, she pulled on your corset, tightening it.

“for the love of our holy goddess please maid marina please show me mercy” you plead.

“i did show you mercy, when i made extra of your favorite side dish because the main dish of this evening is the royal jade carp, which i know you hate with every fiber of your being” you whine at her rebuttal (and another tug at the corset) before she finally ties it off at the end.

“done. let maid veronica finish getting you ready while i finish the preparations. your future husband should be here soon.” she smooths out her uniform before leaving the room.

“this feels like an arranged marriage, y/n.” veronica sighs, readjusting your hair.

“it wasn’t supposed to be” you groan and attempt to slouch, the corset compressing your insides not allowing you to.

“well, you both seem to like each other, so at least you’ll be marrying someone you might actually grow to love” veronica shrugged, tying a bow on your dress.

“you know, you’re right, vero! it isn’t all that bad, considering some people don't have that luxury.” you smile at your new found confidence.

“oh goddess, like that poor queen of ambrosia. i heard her marriage to king enji turned sour such a long time ago yet they stayed together for political reasons, you know?”

you gasped at veronica’s words “is veronica gossiping on the job?”

veronica smacks her lips annoyed. “its small talk, young lady, not gossiping.”

you quickly made your way down the stairs and towards the dining hall before tenya and his family arrived. your sister, isla, stood at the doors, surprised to see you so dressed up. “this is a dinner to possibly discuss a marriage, not the wedding day itself” she chuckles, leading you to your seat and sitting down in front of you. “i, myself have found someone to talk to as well.”

“oh really?” you raise your eyebrows, amused.

she nods, smiling “a prince named mirio to-” the doors open and the two of you stand up to greet the iida family, led to the dining room by your parents.

“its nice to see you again” tenya greeted you with a kiss to your hand as the rest of your families mingled. you all ate, discussed feelings over the nations becoming allies and you and tenya’s plans for the future.

“wanna see something?” you grab tenya’s hand after the dinner ended, the rest of your family deciding to continue to chat away as you showed tenya around the castle.

you lead him to your room, and as he starts to stutter, telling you “perhaps this step can wait? a bit?” you shake your head.

“that’s not why i’m bringing you in here, but i like the way you’re thinkin” you tease, before stopping in front of a tank.

“is that an axolotl?” tenya gasps, his free hand gently pressing against the glass.

“yes, that’s pudding.” you nod, before leading him over to another tank. “and this is noodle, she’s an oceanian black kingsnake.”

“you like snakes?” he questioned you.

“not really, but when i found her in lucerne’s garden she was in pretty bad condition. she took a liking to me so i just toughed it out and took her in.” you shrug, before leading him to your bed.

once again objecting to any dirty things you’d try to do to him, you stop him. “first of all, i wouldn't do anything you aren't comfortable with, and second, that's not why i brought you here, okay? now this little man right here is nugget!” you lift one of the many blankets on your bed to reveal a tiny, black poodle with long legs. “and thiiiiis,” you move to another side of your bed “is pepper!” a white cat’s face peeks out of the blankets it's piled under, reaching a paw out to greet the prince before returning to its sleep hole.

“i didn't expect you to be such an animal lover.” he says on your walk back to the dining hall.

“it isn’t really that i'm an animal lover, the axolotl was a gift from an organization that keeps endangered animals safe after i made a large donation. the other three were strays that the maids found in lucerne’s garden. something about the lucerne draws animals to her.” you shrug, pondering what might be the reason animals were often found in the garden. Something that you had noticed before but never fully paid attention to was the way tenya’s tail wagged when you two were alone. during both the ball and dinner his tail was stiff and straight, as if he was making an active effort to not draw attention to it. it was nice to know that he didn’t care much about little things like that alone with you.

it was still a bit frustrating how quickly your families wanted you two to get to know each other and get married. while dating for civilians can last many years before even mentioning marriage, sometimes royals have all their wedding preparations read before their first meeting.

“at least we enjoy each others’ presence.” tenya’s words cut through your cluttered mind.

“what?” you blurt, and he laughs softly.

“at least we like each other, you know? we could’ve been forced to marry snooty, arrogant people. instead we get to be somewhat forcefully married to each other.”

“it’s almost like you can read my mind” you suggest jokingly, before leading him to sit down for more quiet time together. “it sucks that we’re being rushed into things, but we can go at our own pace, even if we may be wife and husband while we’re still just going on our first few dates.” he nods at your words with a smile, sighing before getting up, with his hand in yours, to head back inside the dining room.

“you’re getting married to the prince of angria? oh poor thing” various princesses reacted to ochako’s words, wishing her luck on her marriage to bakugo katsuki, another prince.

“it's not all that bad!” she reasoned with them, only for them to disagree.

“not all that bad? the boy’s got anger issues and will probably be a terrible ruler! oh sweet girl he’s going to ruin you, and not in the good way.” some random princess teases. you were currently at a tea party being held in ruritania, by the princess, ochako. you noticed the way her shoulders lowered at their words, each time they insulted him only making her more upset.

“you never know, perhaps he’s actually nice if you get to know him. besides, it isn't our place to judge, seeing as most of us have rather terrible fiancées as well.” you comment, drinking your tea. you notice the smile growing on ochako’s face, a small, silent thank you for sticking up for her.

“of course you’d know about terrible fiancées, soon-to-be mrs. tenya iida” the fiancée of prince sero (oh, poor poor sero) laughs out.

“and i'm sure prince sero knows a lot about terrible fiancées as well.” you insult back.

“did you see the face she made after you said that?!” ochako giggled as you two were walking to her room. the tea party finished rather quickly after your response to princess ophelia’s insult had her running out in rage.

“that’s what she gets. i mean come on, she’s one to talk about me having a terrible fiancée when she is a terrible fiancée” you shrug, the grin on your face slowly forming as you hold in a laugh. “i can’t believe you and bakugo are getting married though! i thought that your parents would surely choose midoriya of ylvern!”

“well, ylvern’s nice n all, and i'm sure midoriya’s absolutely wonderful-” there was the tiniest bit of yearning in her voice when speaking of the prince. “-but angria has more resources. its a better choice in almost every aspect except for the fact that it’s bakugo katsuki that i'm marrying.” she realized what she said and shook her head quickly “no, i'm going to be optimistic! i know everything will turn out fine, and my marriage to him will end up being a better idea.”

“you sound like you’re trying to convince yourself, ‘chako.” you sit on her bed and watch as her cheeks grow redder and redder

“no! i’m! not! don’t do that y/n!” she pouts “i was one hundred percent supportive when you announced you’d marry tenya!”

“and i'm thankful for that-” you raise your hands up in your defense.

“so don't tease me about my marriage!” you laugh, patting her shoulder

“okay, okay, relax!” huffing, you and ochako continue to talk the night away; about marriage, wedding preparations, and anything else you two could think of.

as the days go by, you see more of tenya, each time falling in love with him more and more. you also see ochako more, meeting her fiancée bakugo, and more of todoroki, who’s been spending much of his time rejecting princesses and enjoying the presence of the prince of ylvern, midoriya. one of the worst days was the day your mothers dress was modified to your size and changed to be more modern, head maid marina threatening to poke you as she sewed if you didn't stop slouching. the worst day, however, was the day maid veronica, maid marina, and maid yalani sat with you and talked about what would happen on your wedding night (goddess have mercy on your soul, they thought you didn’t know a thing about sex).

but, as preparations went on, and as you spent time with tenya, you couldn’t be happier. he caught you whenever you fell, which happened many times while learning dances, and he laughed with you whenever everyone else found you unladylike, like when you spit out food while trying to figure out what would be served to the guests, not realizing what you had tasted was made with your least favorite food, royal jade carp. he was traditional, strict, yet had a soft side to him that took you step by step through everything, never failing to whisper compliments in your ear or reassure you that you’re doing great.

everything was perfect, every effort made filled with love and pure intentions, every moment nothing less than a beautiful experience, until the night before the wedding, when everything took a sharp turn for the worst.

[ye-olde-norrington-stan]

I would like to hear about your OCs?? If you would like to share??? (no pressure of course haha)

Ahhh omg yes of course!! Thank you so much for asking! It might not be the most indepth coherent description but I'll try!! I'm super focused on my Star Wars OC right now, I feel like I can talk about her pretty well so I'll tell you about her. I've had her the longest, created her when I was 12 and she has a super special place in my heart 🥺🥺.

Her name is Doctor Xirea Nath, she's a human that lives on Tatooine. She's a doctor based out of Mos Espa but she has a small office in Mos Eisley as well because even a hive of scum and villainy deserves access to compassionate medical care! She travels a lot too, that's just the nature of being a medical professional in a place like that. She passes through the remote tiny settlements as often as she's able to make sure they have what they need.

She has a medical droid nurse named Fritz, that her dad bought broken from some Jawas and fixed up, thought it took a lot of tinkering and Xirea's mom joked that the droid was always on the fritz. The name stuck and Fritz hasn't been on the fritz since Xirea's dad got them in tip top shape. Fritz always offers patients lollipops and stickers no matter their age.

Xirea's mother Tili Nath was a doctor and Xirea grew up assisting in her mother's practice while her father, Zias Nath ran his mechanic shop. Small family, Xirea doesn't have siblings, no aunts or uncles and Zias' folks died before she was born. Her maternal grandparents were still in the picture when she was young, they were moisture farmers and Tili grew the herbs she used for certain remedies in the small hydroponic garden her parent's had from the surplus water gathered by their vaporators.

Tili Nath died in a speeder accident when Xirea was 17 and the loss sent Zias spiraling down in grief, he went from occasionally enjoying a drink socially to drinking heavily every day while a gambling habit he'd beaten as a youth came back in full force, all in an effort to try to distract himself from the pain of loosing the love of his life. Xirea went to assist in Doctor Mandible's practice while continuing her medical education in the hopes that someday she would be able to reopen her mother's practice. She took care of her father as best she could, trying to guide him from the self destructive path he was walking down and help him cope with the pain, but the only help he'd accept was hangover remedies, telling her not to worry about him.

A few years after Xirea lost her mom, her father was killed in a bar fight. She thought it had to be over gambling, debts her father couldn't pay but she learned that it was a hot shot hot headed pod racer that killed her dad merely because he stumbled into him and made him spill his drink. It's the first time she felt a very strong desire to do harm and also the first and last time she ever enlisted the services of a bounty hunter. She hired Boba Fett to kill the guy that murdered her father.

She's known Boba since he first showed up on Tatooine trying to make a name for himself. They're the same age and she was one of the first locals Boba befriended. Boba sometimes was severe about Xirea's kind and nurturing ways Boba but secretly appreciated them. They might have been more than friends if Xirea didn't only have eyes for her childhood sweetheart, Brentil Motto, neighbor that ended up becoming a mechanic in her dad's shop and took over running the shop when Zias' drinking really got out of control.

Boba took the job, remembering a time when Zias hadn't been consumed by grief. He'd liked him well enough, appreciated his skills as a mechanic and had felt a twinge of anger and disappointment upon learning of Zias' demise. Boba didn't take the job for free but he certainly relished the hunt more than usual, and maybe channeled his need to avenge his own father a bit in helping Xirea avenge her own.

Xirea went on to reopen her mother's practice, though she continued to work closely with Doctor Mandible and to this day they have monthly medical symposiums. Xirea and Brentil married in their mid twenties in a small ceremony attended by their nearest and dearest. There were good times and bad, Xirea's grandfather passed from a stroke shortly after the wedding, her grandmother selling the farm and moving to a small home in the city, becoming a bar tender in one of the cantinas. Xirea and Brentil often played sabacc in that cantina with Brentil's sister Peli and Doctor Mandible, though Xirea also spent her spare time making sculptures out of scrap metal.

Xirea looks back on those years with a mixture of tears and smiles, lots of grief but lots of happiness too. She cherished every moment she had with Brentil and when she lost him to cancer just six years after getting married, she was bitter and closed off for a long time, threw herself into work and her sculptures, hardly socialized outside of work, but her grandmother, Peli and Doctor Mandible wouldn't stand for it, slowly but surely helping her navigate through the grief in a way she wished she could have helped her father figure out. Even Boba helped, the two of them discussing loss at length, the way the pain of it is ever changing, never really leaving and the ways to cope with that.

Loss still hurts, but she far more accepting of it now. Life on Tatooine is going to be harsh and hard but there's beauty and joy to be found there too. Even at her lowest she never lost her compassion when treating patients and has become one of Tatooine's best doctors. Her sculptures haven't really caught on and some of her friends give her a hard time about them but Xirea loves creating so she'll keep at it.

Ahhhh this was a big info dumb, I really hope it's interesting to you and anyone else that happens to read!!

When I was a kiddo I did write a silly fanfic where Xirea parched up Boba's hurt after he escaped the Sarlaac pit and they fell in luuuuv but it's lost to time and was very ridiculous so I'm not sure I'd share it even if I did still have a copy lolololol. I may revisit the idea, idk! More likely I'll just watch The Book of Boba Fett and maybe see if I can work Xirea into things.

[atmo-spherique]

Kaminoan: Phonetic Inventory and Counting System

While discussing clone things with @daitoshi​, they offhandedly mentioned the weirdness of the number of clones in a batch (and incidentally the general structure of the GAR). Apparently this was all the inspiration I needed to decide I was going to create base-4 counting system for the Kaminoans. 32 clones per batch seems pretty random, but it is just 2 x 16 (2 x 4^2), so in a base-4 system, it’s no more random than say 200 (2 x 10^2) is in base-10. Base-4 also ties in thematically with DNA irl, so that’s fun for a bunch of cloners!

I’ve put together a guide to my process and rules for the enjoyment of all. And by enjoyment, I mean frustration because this counting systems it incredibly upsetting.

We normally assume most human counting systems are base-10 due to our (standard) number of fingers. How the heck to do count to four with three fingers, then?? Well, this is how Imma say the Kaminoans count on their fingers:

Does it make sense? I guess. Does it seem probable? Not really. But the joy of conlanging and worldbuilding for aliens is you can always just be like, “Whatever, their alien brains are built differently.”

Anyways, we’re gonna want some names for these numbers, so we gotta come up with some mouth sounds to represent them.

We do not have a lot of canon (or legends) words for Kaminoan stuff, and what we do have is of course plagued by the same issue that every collection of made up words in SW suffers from: absolutely no internal consistency. Okay, well maybe there is some internal consistency, so let’s look at what we got:

PEOPLE

Taun We Lama Su Kina Ha Ko Sai Nala Se Erla Halle Burtoni

PLACES

Tipoca Timira Derem Baran Wu Su Des Slici Tal An Glascretia Razoral

STUFF

aiwha nahra

AIWHA POD STORY

Protas Melkorr Kikla Thalina iiaa oii sso uded

DAITOSHI

Sre Len

Taun We, Lama Su, Nala Se: these are iconic of the vibe I want the phonetic system to embody. So, what features from this data set should I keep for the phonetic inventory?

I dismiss Glascretia and Razoral outright since they have a very “fake English vibe.” Same with Protas and Melkorr, since they just seem to be plays on Proteas (Greek myth) and Melkor (Tolkien) respectively. Also, I throw Halle Burtoni right out the window because every other Kaminoan we meet sounds like their name came from the same language. What the heck happened here?? Whatever language she’s named in, it’s not the one I’m building.

Get rid of thalina, too; I don’t like the <th> just because. Additionally, I’m not sure what the <h> in nahra represents (is it silent? pronounced? part of a digraph with <r>????), so we’re gonna ignore it for now. Finally, the terminal <d> in uded doesn’t fit the vibe I want to go for. I consider keeping the terminal <s> in Su Des but eventually decide against it.

From Tal An and Erla, I decide that approximants can occur finally.

I take <c> and <k> to represent the same phoneme.

For absolutely no good reason, I have always assumed the <wh> in aiwha was inspired by Maori, so I’ll count that as one phoneme. However, I decide to have all approximants have a voiced and voiceless form. So, I end up not using the Maori rendering anyways.

Great, overall we’ve got what looks like it could be a very CV syllable structure. In order to match the vibe I’m going for, I won’t complicate that too much.

We have several C<l> consonant clusters, so we’ll say that it can occur initially. And since we said all approximants can occur finally, we’ll just say all approximants can occur in this position, too. Plus, since I’m mostly just doing this project to amuse Daitoshi, this also allows for their OC’s name to be permissible in the system.

Now, what is going on with these words from the Aiwha Pod short story?? Suddenly double letters. Okay. We’ll say <a> and <i> have long forms, and then we’ll say <u> does as well for a more balanced system. Same with <s> and then <h>, again for balance. Do these words represent diphthongs? Meh. I’ll say no, they’re bisyllabic because I want them to be.

After all that, we’re left with :

m /m/ n /n/

p /p/ b /b/ t /t/ d /d/ k/c /k/

s /s/ ss /sː/ h /h/ hh /hː/

lh /l̥/ l /l/ rh /ɻ̊/ r /ɻ/ wh /ʍ/ w /w/

i /i/ ii /iː/ u /u/ uu /uː/ e /e/ o /o/ a /ä/ aa /äː/

ai /äɪ̯/ au /äʊ̯/

(C1)(C2)V(C3)

C1 = -approximant if occuring in cluster

C2 = +voiced approximant

C3 = +nasal or +voiced approximant

Yay! Let’s work on naming some numbers now.

We’ll obviously want unique names for 0-4. Additionally, the number 9 is very significant in the GAR; squads consist of nine troopers, so every other division ends up divisible by nine. Cool, let’s give 9 a unique name and let it play a role in counting. I also give 36 and 144 unique names, thinking of things like “dozen” and “gross” and “score” in English. Aside from these, we’ll want the various powers of 4 to be something simple.

Futz around with the phonemic inventory, maybe drop it into a word generator, and here are the unique number name around which all other numbers will be based:

And there you have it! The basics, at least. I’ve worked out the names of number 0-64 with which, as long as you know the powers of four, you can work out any number you’d like up to 206 billion~!

Additionally, I decided to create a numeral system (I mean, it’s only four characters, so why the heck not?) very loosely inspired by the structure of the DNA nucelobases (adenine, guanine, thymine cytosine), so here’s that:

And here is a list of the names of all of the numbers through 64! The general rule is simply that if the smaller integer appears first, it is multiplied by the following. If the larger integer appears first, it is added to the following. Aside from a few of the earlier numbers, it’s pretty regular! 9 lends its name to its multiples, and of course 36 (and 144) have unique names, as mentioned above. After hitting 64, the numbers repeat (the same way that they do in English after 100).

*both rai hhel and kwado lho are used, though the latter is rarer

Aaaand for examples in this system, I thought I’d convert some clone designations into it :3

Rex 7567 → 1312033

each digit: lho hhel lho kwa abo hhel hhel

full number: rai hhelto lho whenau kwaiil hhelte hhel

abbreviated: tehhel tekwa abo hhelte hhel

wooooow you can immediately see why they wouldn’t go with base-4 designations haha

Fives 5555 → 1112303

each digit: lho lho lho kwa hhel abo hhel

full number: rai te lho whenau kwaiil hhelrai hhel

abbreviated: telho tekwa hhel abo hhel

maybe we will just call him “Telhon” in Kaminoan :)

Cody 2224 → 202300

each digit: kwa abo kwa hhel abo abo

full number: kwate whenau kwaiil hhelrai

abbreviated: kwate dokwa abo abo (or perhaps “abora” for “double zero”)

I accidentally made his name start with “Kwate” which sounds enough like his nickname I suppose :)

And that’s it! If you read this far, um, thanks (unless you’re Daitoshi: curse you for inspiring me to create this). idk why you would, but anyone is welcome to use this for whatever purpose. Would love to see what you come up with if you do, though, so hmu~! ;)

[galacticlamps]

Tagged by @the--highlanders​ ! Thanks!

How many works do you have on AO3?

13

What’s your total AO3 word count?

76,200

(oh what a nice even number - I should try to mess that up as soon as possible, shouldn’t I?)

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Aw man is this intentionally worded to be really hard to answer? I get that it says ‘written’ and not ‘posted’ but then what constitutes a ‘fandom?’ I definitely wrote fics for stuff I was interested in long before I even knew the word ‘fic’ - I did it throughout my childhood, and then in high school, and while I didn’t do it as much in college, it still happened from time to time. So a lot of the books/movies/tv shows/plays/musicals I wrote things for aren’t really fandoms, and frankly, I had to check my old folder just now to even remember some of them existed. I’ll just list the ones that I know for sure had fandoms, since that’s more fun (and embarrassing), right?

Obviously Doctor Who, classic and modern, Torchwood, Sherlock Holmes (ironically more of these seem to be about the books, but yes, I will admit, some for that tv show too), Les Mis, a couple different Marvel comics & movies, Good Omens, hell, I even found a Night Vale fic in there just now.

And I know there are other older things not even in that folder, some of which never made it to a computer at all, so if I had to ballpark a number I’d probably say around 25ish but really, who knows?

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Across the Gap

On the Spot

Expectations

Shards of Memories & Fragments of Glass

Itemized

(this was fun, I’d never noticed Ao3 even had a stats page until now lol)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to! Sometimes I take a long time to do so but for the most part, I usually get around to it. The rare exception would be if I first saw the comment when I was super busy/distracted and then felt like way too much time passed before I noticed it again, that it might be awkward if I said something at that point.

I do genuinely enjoy hearing what people think, but I’m also weirdly terrified of making anyone feel like they have to reply to my comments. I know that’s probably a little strange, but it’s actually a large part of why I made this Ao3 account in the first place - my original one, from high school, is followed by some long-time friends of mine who aren’t interested in this fandom, some of whom are involved in art & writing professionally. The thought of anyone like that reading something I wrote out of friendliness or even just curiosity and potentially having to pretend they liked it for the same reasons stressed me tf out, so I like having this virtually anonymous one because I can relax knowing that anyone who reads or interacts with something I wrote has probably done so only because they wanted to, rather than feeling obligated, and there’s no pressure on them to be nice to me about it if anything I write or post annoys them - so I really hope nobody who does just know me as an anonymous blog has ever worried about offending me by not replying to something, trust me, I’m perfectly happy with it!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t think I’ve really written any angsty endings? I guess the answer would have to be Reckless just because it involves the characters arguing about sad/weighty things and there isn’t really any solution to those issues - but even then I think I ended it with a kind of acceptance that stops it from really qualifying as angst? I also set it in the the same universe as other fics, so maybe that doesn’t even count as an ending? Am I that bad at ending things on angst? Lol

Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Obviously none of the fics I’ve posted are crossovers but I’m trying to think now if any of my WIP’s are - I’ve definitely poached setting/premise ideas from other media, but in terms of actual crossovers . . . I’ve got a few cross-era or cross-Doctor, a few involving Torchwood, but that’s already the same universe, so the only thing that’d qualify as a true crossover would be some vague pieces of a fic where Jamie, Zoe, and Two end up on the Enterprise, since I think the 60s series of Star Trek and Dr Who feel kind of compatible, don’t they? In fact, aren’t there like officially licensed crossover comics or something? Or did I make that up? Idk, and the ideas are very loose, so it’s not much of a WIP either

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Nope, never

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I’ve never written smut, but I’m wondering if it’s possible that could change soon. There’s a longish multi-chapter fic I’ve been working on for a frankly embarrassing amount of time, and the plot does call for a sex scene at one point towards the end, but I can’t seem to make up my mind on how - uh, I guess the word is explicit? - it should get. I know I could easily do a fade to black/implication thing, but it’s kind of a source of contention and anxiety for the characters, so to skip over writing the actual scene and just revisit them afterwards rings of “and they slept together and now everything’s fine!” which feels kinda cheap to me - in this context, anyway - and not the right payoff for a long fic that’s otherwise more of an interpersonal drama/slightly a period piece, if I had to place it in a genre. I feel like my aversion to actually writing the scene might just be prudishness I should get over, or maybe just self-doubt, because I know I’d rather have a well-written, funny, character-development-supporting sex scene than nothing at all, but since I’ve never had any interest in writing a scene like that before, I don’t know if I can do it well, and I also don’t want to ruin a fic I’m otherwise proud of by doing it badly... ugh I have to figure this out

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I seriously doubt it

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

What’s your all time favorite ship?

I mean, it’s gotta be Two & Jamie. I’ve shipped things before with varying levels of investment, but I’ve never been able to use the term ‘otp’ in a literal sense until I came across them, and now it’s already basically gone out of fashion, go figure!

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I’m not sure if I have one? My WIP doc is huge, but I don’t actually intend to get around to finishing everything in it, so I’d like to think that anything I’ve currently singled out to complete can actually get done.

That said, I do have a few AU’s that I don’t really plan to finish, but it might be cool if I could. Two of them are for all the main + some supporting characters of the Second Doctor’s era - one’s a modern day school teachers AU, and the other is a typical fantasy/fairy tale AU. Another is just Two/Jamie, based on Doctor Faustus (specifically the Marlowe play version) but right now there are two different versions of the ending coexisting in my head. I’ve written parts of scenes & some gen. backstory for all of those ideas, but I don’t know if I’ll ever try to finish them, or what form a finished product would even take - a series of one-shots set in the same universe? one long multi-chapter fic with some kind of overarching plot? And the amount of context/worldbuilding a big AU like these would require might not make them very appealing fics for people to read, so maybe it is better if I just keep them to myself, since in my head I already know what’s going on in those worlds lol.

What are your writing strengths?

I honestly don’t know. I haven’t had a creative writing class since middle school, and since then I’ve only ever shown creative writing to others in a fandom context, so it’s been a while since I’ve discussed it or gotten critical feedback. I suppose when I work in other arts or even academic writing contexts, people usually say I’m kind of insightful or at least detail oriented, which might just be another way of saying I overthink things, but I like to imagine I’m decent at finding little points of interest to expand upon.

What are your writing weaknesses?

If you’ve read this far I feel like you must know what I’m about to say: I do not know how to be concise.

Usually when I’m writing a fic, I put down the dialogue first on its own, leaving out the action of the scene and whatever plot/context led there, even if I’ve already figured all of that out. But then when I go to add those things in, they’re always longer than I wanted them to be. I don’t mind writing something long, but I don’t want my fics to be a slog to get through either, and there can be a point at which the stuff I’ve added for context overwhelms the stuff that I wanted the fic to be about in the first place, so it becomes a structural/proportion issue too. I haven’t completely given up on any fics because of this yet, but there’s one I’ve been struggling with for a couple months now - probably because I’m even second-guessing myself on which scenes need to be written out and which can just be referenced like a recap. Hopefully I figure that one out soon.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

((this is karma isn’t it? i posted a fic last week with two words of gaelic in it and was worried about that and now this is karma))

In general, I don’t want to do it. I feel like you’ve gotta have a really good grasp of a language to write dialogue & speech patterns for someone who’s a native speaker, and since I’m far from fluent in any language the characters I write for are, I wouldn’t feel confident writing any significant amount of dialogue in, say, Gaelic.

As a sidenote, though, I kinda love it when other people do it, particularly for Jamie. Irish (Gaeilge) and Scottish (Gàidhlig) are both languages I’ve wanted to learn for a long time, because my family’s fresh out of living speakers of either & I think that’s a shame, but I started with Irish and at the moment I’m still very much learning it. As different as they are, it still helps me understand parts of lyrics or texts that I come across in Gàidhlig fairly frequently, so when it comes up in a fic I get to feel like I’m being responsible and practicing, and it’s great when I can actually understand what’s being said.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I’m gonna go with Harry Potter even though that’s probably not a perfectly accurate answer - it’s almost certainly the first thing that has a fandom that I ever wrote for, but it was in a notebook when I was a kid and never something that I even typed on a computer, much less posted online or shared with other members of a fandom. But even then, I’m sure it wasn’t the first pre-existing fictional universe I ever set an original story in, because I did that a lot when I was a kid, it’s just hard to remember those clearly or on any kind of timeline.

What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I’m very partial to Across the Gap, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that ranked first on the kudos thing above - but I’ve also got a soft spot for So Merrily We’ll Sing. It’s so self-indulgent it feels silly saying ‘it was so easy to write!’ but I guess having a fic that’s already just 100% headcaonons and fluff tied together by a song you really love does prevent it from being much of a labor (I also managed to refrain from making that one unnecessarily long, so that’s another win there)

tagging @terryfphanatics and anyone else who wants to do it - sorry I’m bad at remembering whose tumblr goes with whose Ao3 account, but I really would be interested to read this if anyone else feels like answering them!