#jotting this one down i might come back to turn it into a full wip later

[leslieseveride]

idk if i've ever voiced this on here, but i think it'd be pretty neat to get a parallel of the elements and have bailey save lucy from a fire, like how lucy saved bailey after she drowned in 5x04.

[paperstorm]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by so many nice people ohmygoodness - @meditating-honey-badger @bonheur-cafe @chaotictarlos @maybe-theres-hope @tailoredshirt

All I have to offer is from the next Missing Moment, for 2x13:

In between kisses to his bare shoulders, TK says, “We might be here for a while, you know. Until we can find a place.”

“I know.” They haven’t even begun to search. Carlos brought up a real estate website on his phone the other day and the sight of it made his stomach churn so he closed it just as quickly.

“You’re gonna have to get used to having sex with my dad under the same roof. I promise he won’t be weird about it.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Carlos doesn’t answer.

“Alright that’s not true, he probably will be weird,” TK corrects, “but the uncomfortably sex positive kind of weird. He won’t have a problem with it.”

“I know,” Carlos repeats. TK’s lips find his neck again, breath warm on Carlos’s skin, mouth soft along his hairline. His stomach swoops, body responding like it was made to, and Carlos needs to shut that down.

“Come to bed,” TK says again, in a murmur this time. “I know this has been hard on you. Let me lay you out and make you feel good.”

“You’re not gonna undo the fact that my house burned down by sucking my dick, TK,” Carlos says, the words up and out of his mouth before he means to say them.

TK stills against him, forehead pressing into Carlos’s shoulder. In a small voice, he says, “I know I can’t undo it.”

“Just go to bed, okay?”

“Okay,” TK whispers.

His warmth is gone, and the absence of it makes Carlos shiver, his back so much colder than it was before TK was touching him.

He turns, and catches a glimpse of TK’s face in the light from the hall as he retreats. His eyes are shining and he’s wiping at his cheek. Carlos turns back around and leans over onto the granite countertop, burying his face in his own hands, disgust at himself coiling in his gut, hot and furious. He can’t even protect TK’s heart. He can’t protect TK from himself.

Methodically, Carlos makes his nightly rounds. He checks and double checks all the locks, on the doors and the windows. He scans the street for parked cars that he doesn’t recognize, jotting down the license plate number of a white Civic that wasn't there yesterday. He checks the alarm by the front door. He makes sure the oven isn’t on. He stares up at the smoke detector on the ceiling in the hall until the light blinks, indicating it’s functioning properly.

Finally, when he’s as satisfied as he can be that they’re safe, he shuts off the remaining lights and makes his way upstairs. The door to the guest room is ajar. Carlos pushes it open and closes it behind himself, finding TK on his side facing the wall in bed. The room is dark, but he isn’t asleep yet. It’s only been a few minutes, and Carlos can tell by the sound of his breathing.

There’s an ache in his chest but that’s nothing new. It’s been there for two weeks already. Carlos undresses and folds his clothes, putting them neatly away and placing his socks on the top of the nearly full laundry bin.

TK sniffs as Carlos lifts the quilt and climbs into bed beside him, and Carlos presses his molars together to keep himself from dissolving into tears.

“I’m sorry,” he says after a long moment of pointed silence.

“For what?”

“Making you sad.”

TK rolls over onto his back and lets his head tilt in Carlos’s direction. His eyes are still shining, but Carlos can’t see much else of his normally expressive face in the low light.

“Why don’t you want to have sex with me?” TK asks.

The question cuts like a knife, and Carlos doesn’t have a good answer. When he says nothing, TK moves in closer. He pushes up onto one elbow, the line of his body fitting along Carlos’s side, and kisses him. Carlos responds automatically, lips parting to let TK lick into his mouth, hand coming up to cup the back of TK’s head.

For just a moment, Carlos melts into it. For a moment he floats on the feeling of TK against him, kissing him back in a way that feels more desperate than it should. Then he breaks it, leaving their foreheads resting together and breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

��Please talk to me,” TK whispers back. “I don’t know why you’re trying to do this all by yourself when I’m right here.”

“Maybe tomorrow, okay?”

“Maybe tomorrow we’ll have sex or maybe tomorrow you’ll talk to me?”

Neither, is the correct answer, because Carlos is lying about tomorrow.

“I just … can’t. And I can’t explain why. I’m just sorry. If you need to …”

He trails off when TK inhales sharply. “Need to what?”

Carlos shakes his head. His forehead rubs TK’s, and he squeezes his hand around the back of TK’s neck. He wants so badly for TK to just put his head down on Carlos’s chest and let Carlos hold onto him as they fall asleep. He can’t answer TK’s question anyway, because he doesn’t know what he was going to say. He’s spoken the words before his brain worked out their direction.

“Need to what, Carlos?” TK pushes.

“I don’t know,” Carlos answers, truthfully this time.

“Get it somewhere else?” TK suggests. “From someone else? Is that what you think?”

“No,” Carlos breathes, barely keeping it together and glad TK can’t see him because if he had to look into the hurt in those seaglass eyes he would fall apart.

“You think this is me just needing to get bent over? You think it would fix everything if you gave me permission to let someone else do it?”

“No,” Carlos repeats, louder this time. He pushes TK backwards, so they’re on their sides facing each other and he can hold TK’s cheek in his hand and drape one leg over TK’s knees. “No, I don’t want that. It’s not what I was going to say. I love you.”

“I love you, too. I need you to come back to me.”

“I’m here.”

“No, you aren’t. Physically you are but the rest of you keeps floating away somewhere and I can’t seem to follow you.”

“I’m sorry,” Carlos says once again. It’s all he seems to be able to offer, and it’s so deafeningly inadequate.

[lostinfantasyworlds]

Get to know your fic writer!

# 1, 4, and 16 😊

Hi Liz!! Thank you so much for the asks ❤️🥰

1. Do you prefer writing one-shots or multi-chaptered fics?

I enjoy writing both, and so far 8/9 of my published works are one shots, but I think I prefer writing multi-chapter. It’s fun to build a world and plot out a whole story with arcs and foreshadowing and plot twists etc. I love taking the reader on a journey and having people follow along with each chapter waiting to see what happens next.

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Almost always through music or photographs😊. Occasionally real life.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

It’s funny because I see most fic writers talk about having tons and tons of WIPs/ideas, but I get overwhelmed SO easily, especially when it comes to writing, that I actually try to actively limit ideas until I’ve fully finished my current project 😅.

As in…unless an idea bursts into my brain and starts writing itself, I won’t do anything more than maybe jot down a quick note to come back to later. If I’m actively working on a multi-chapter fic, I engross myself so fully into that world that I can’t handle jumping around too much. And it stresses me out to have too many full-on WIPs that I’ve actually started writing scenes for and plan to finish.

Anyways, to go back to the main question, I have 2 main WIPs that I’m aiming to get published this year. If It Kills Me is where my current focus is, and then The First and Last I’m hoping to publish this summer.

I have 5 total multi-chapter "official" WIPs (meaning I’ve actually written full scenes and have done plotting work), which includes the 2 I just mentioned, and 2 that are kind of “on hold”, meaning I’m not sure when/if I’ll get back to them because I haven’t had any inspiration to work on them for a long time.

Then I have 3 other one shot WIPs that I actually intend to post at some point (hopefully this year but we’ll see). And a handful that I’ve jotted down some paragraphs for but am not overly passionate about ever publishing so I don't really count them.

TL;DR (sorry for the rambling🤣): 5 multi-chapter (2 active, 1 to dive into later this year, and 2 on hold) and 3 one shots.

--

I think I already shared info on all of my main WIPS a few months ago, so I’ll share one of my vague ideas that I jotted down but I don’t consider an “official” WIP yet:

InuKag AU based loosely around Aragorn and Arwen’s backstory in Lord of the Rings (the appendix story from the books but I'd also draw from the movies). I’m still debating switching the roles so that Inuyasha is the one in Arwen’s position (immortal, demons are planning to leave earth behind and he has to decide whether to go with them or not…it could definitely fit better in some ways). BUT I think I pretty much settled on having Kagome in Arwen’s position and having it be that since she is a priestess who protects the shikon jewel, it grants her immortality. So there would be the whole "choosing a mortal life" conflict, along with some kind of epic adventure where InuKag have to save the world together.

I've been wanting to write some kind of feudal AU, and am hoping to use that setting for this story, but it might turn more into an abstract fantasy world like Middle Earth. We'll see!

Thank you so much again for the asks @liz8080 !! ❤️

Get to know your fic writer asks

[joaquinwhorres]

2, 8, 11, 12, 27, 56 and 79 for the fanfiction writing asks :) x

sorry this took so long to get out! I took my time with the answers, wrote it all, and then Tumblr closed the window and deleted it for reasons unknown to man. The emotional toll of being disappointed by Tumblr's editor made me ignore this for too long.

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

I tend to get struck by ideas of characters, relationship dynamics, or "what ifs" that I want to explore. Sometimes it's prompted by having an incredibly compelling or hot actor in a role. Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere as a gift/curse from God.

8. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a WIP.

Caro choked on a sob as she cradled the phone to her ear. "She does." 

"Caro," Mickey appealed again. 

It happened quickly. One minute her mother was arguing with her father about overreacting and the next the phone was plucked out of Caro's grasp.

"Ma'am, this is Lieutenant Jake Seresin. Caro and Mickey have to speak with the doctor, but I'm here to convey any questions you might have." His eyebrows shot up as her mother's voice could be heard from the speaker. "I understand, but she's talking to the doctor, so I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

He dismissed the two with a wave of his hand and Mickey took Caro lightly by the arm and moved her to sit in one of the nearby chairs.

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around? & 12. Do you outline your fics? If yes, how detailed are your outlines? How far do you stray from them?

My writing process goes like this:

I get ideas for a handful of scenes that I'm super excited about, so I write them to make the most of the inspiration and get them out. After that, I see if it's possible to turn them into a fic or if it'd be better as disconnected one-shots.

If it's better as a fic, I start to outline it out. My plot-driven stories tend to have more detailed outlines than my character-driven stories because it's more important to make sure that one scene leads to the next and is important to furthering along the plot. It's also a way for me to plot out foreshadowing and other hints and ideas that will come full circle.

 In character-driven pieces I tend to outline the progression of the relationship or growth arc, and then give different ideas for events that will happen in order for the character to reach that beat. So like, if I want a character to start to fall in love at a certain point, I'll plan that out with the idea like: X surprises Y with insightfulness. Then I may jot down a few ways that could happen and see which scene makes the most sense of that I like the most when I get to writing it. 

I don't outline by chapter anymore because I find that's just too arbitrary for me, and it almost always ends up leading me to have to go back to the drawing board. Instead, I tend to make my outlines on a calendar. This helps make sure time passage makes sense.

I only outline the chapter right before I write it. Even then when it comes time to write it, sometimes I have to change plans or directions because of where my characters are at. (My biggest example is from The Fool where Wren breaks up with Simon a chapter early and in a way she wasn't supposed to and around people who weren't supposed to see. I lost a whole major reveal over this.)

While I outline, I tend to come up with ideas I'm excited about, so I'll write them before finally going chronologically to publish. 

27. What area of writing do you feel strongest in?

Characterization, for sure. I am such a stickler on characterization, maybe moreso than dialogue. I'm really confident in my ability to characterize though because:

I constantly return to the source material and spend a lot of time with it. I don't just use what a character says or does to characterize them, but I also pay attention to their body language and facial expressions and what they do when they're not the focus on screen.

I'm not attached to the idea of fanon.

As a teacher, I get to know a lot of different people really well. I spend time in their life and hearing their perspectives and as a result, it's easier for me to pick up on patterns of behavior more easily. I also can relate characters to a wider array of different people I know.

56. Are there any fics that you would change or rewrite if given the chance?

Like mine or others? ;) (Please tell me I'm not the only one who reads a fic and is either disappointed by the quality or is like "I like this idea and want to steal it and go in a different direction, but it's too specific for me to do that and it not be plagiarism)

I'm currently in the process of re-writing the first and only fic I've ever finished called Parting Shot. It's a Clint Barton x OC fic, and while I really like what I did with the plot, I think that I want to allow the characters more room to breathe and be themselves and not just make the next event happen.

There are also a lot of unpublished WIPs that I'm constantly changing and re-writing because I'm not happy with where they're at, so I don't feel ready to publish them.

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

Don't compare numbers with other writers. It's a losing game. For one, it's so random what makes it big on Tumblr. For two, I have read fics that make me want to claw my eyes out and have thousands of notes and hundreds of reblogs. Conversely, some of my favorite fics are just barely past 100 and it's been years since it was published. Comparing numbers is a surefire way to land in a writing slump.  

Also, be true to the characters. There's a reason you fell in love with them, so make sure you're honest with yourself about what they'd actually do in a situation or if it's really an AU.   

[tossawary]

Do you have one of those wips that's really elablrate but you'll never ever write itbecause it's like your personal day dream fuel? Or are you straight pen to paper when you have ideas that make your brain feel good?

I have lots of elaborate WIPs that I'll never write. (1) Some of them I won't write because I don't have the time. (2) Others I won't write also because I don't have the time, but also because they're for pieces of media and fandoms that... (I don't have the right words for this) wouldn't be rewarding to write for?

Like, yeah, some things are fun to daydream about for a while for me, but they don't always have a lot of substance. The ones without substance move on in time or I move past them, outgrowing the idea or the piece of media. I know they'd be too much work. I know that the story isn't enough to support the amount of work involved. Sometimes it's best to carve the daydream up into bits and use the good parts for something else.

If I get an idea that feels strong, with enough substance to support a story, I'll usually jot down the concept and whatever snippets of scenes came to mind. (I label all my fanfiction docs by fandom, then by pairing and concept/trope, and then also by title if one comes to mind.) Writing it down immediately means I won't forget it. If the idea continues to grow, I'll keep coming back and adding stuff. Eventually, this might turn into a ficlet or a fully fledged fic. Otherwise, I'll gut this notes doc for parts for something else. Or I'll just let it sit there, exorcised into the document, and move on.

Sometimes, I'll post the idea to Tumblr as well, to see if it grows into anything later, and to let people enjoy the concept in the meantime, whether it has serious substance or started as a joke.

I personally find it easier to write fanfiction with the acceptance that I won't be able to write everything. In the meantime, it's fine to just scribble down what comes to mind. It's also fine to post snippets of scenes to AO3 and write their context in the Author's Notes. I have a lot of random SVSSS stuff at this point. At some point, I may clean up some of my Tumblr posts into ficlet shape and move them to AO3. At some point, I may post some of my snippets to AO3 and slap the appropriate tags on to warn people it's not a full fic, will probably never be a full fic, and is up for adoption if anyone wants it.

[ourstarscollided]

jatp fanworks appreciation - day 3 (wips)

wip wednesday - I didn’t think I wanted to join in on this day for my own stuff considering I’ve never posted anything original for this fandom, but I think this might just be the little boost I need from myself to actually finish the wips that I have sitting around. I am peer pressuring myself and holding myself accountable by posting this - or at least that’s what I’m telling myself. Most of the past 6 mths has just been me screaming to no one in a Google Doc, so here are some things I’ve been ruminating about over the last 6 months (and if my secret agenda is to get other people to write about it so I don’t have to? Then that’s between you and me).

Everything’s under a read more because I like giving context and that usually spirals out of control!?!?

If you would like to see more from any of the below, feel free to shoot me an ask/message and I can definitely share some more! (Or you can just come yell at me about JATP in general.)

Strangers Fake Dating AU // Julie x Luke

I’m a simple person. I see a prompt, I latch onto it, and then I completely miss the entire point of the prompt as my imagination goes wild for no real reason. This really was supposed to be a super short drabble, but it manifested into a 3k+ thing that isn’t even finished.

Julie’s not really sure what she’s supposed to do now. Nothing has ever prepared her for a situation in which she’s supposed to pretend to be a stranger’s girlfriend, especially if that situation involves parents. Does she continue this ruse? Can she come up with a quick enough excuse to tell this Luke character that she actually can’t stay? What if this is just all an elaborate plan to kidnap her? Has she been listening to too many true crime podcasts? Why does Luke smell so good? Does he know how to cook? Why does his shirt not have sleeves? What-

“I can hear you thinking from here.” Her head whips up at the sound of Luke’s voice, which is now at a whisper and kind of frantic. “I just- I just really needed to get my mom off my back, so I kinda need you to pretend to be my girlfriend. Just for the night. I swear I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Julie studies Luke’s face and it’s nearly impossible to not cave under his gaze, which can only be simply described as ‘puppy dog eyes’. She finds herself smiling back, letting out a huff, “I hope you like lasagna.” And the grin that spreads across the boy’s face is enough for her to know that he’s incredibly relieved that she agreed.

“I’m Luke by the way. Luke Patterson.”

(Okay, he’s kinda cute. And no one this cute is a serial killer. Right?)

She gives a small smile back, “I’m Julie.”

//

5+1 alive!Juke AU // Julie x Luke

Inspired by paper - LANY

This is one of the first things I ever felt the urge to write down back in September because I love exploring the idea of how two people can appear to be the perfect relationship on the outside, but are actually fighting their own demons. Especially when it comes to celebrities and people who are in the spotlight. It’s basically a 5+1 fic about the moments from other people’s perspectives who happen to orbit around Julie/Luke that all revolve around paper. My outline for this is so long because I can’t manage to narrow it down, and there’s zero cohesiveness but I do have little things jotted down.

“Hey little man,” Luke’s knelt down to match his 5 year-old height, and a hand extends out to him for a high five, “What are you doing here?”

His eyes flicker to the left, towards his own apartment door, where his mom is giving him an encouraging nod. “ I- I just wanted to-” he stutters and finds himself looking at his feet as he shuffles back and forth on the spot. “I- I drew you guys something!”

He shoves the paper out towards the older boy in front of him, but doesn’t look up.

//

Reincarnation AU // Julie x Luke

I had a random thought in December about how magical it is that Julie and Luke are so tied to one another that their love transcends time and space, which will always lead them back to one another. I remember reading a book a long time ago about how the main character is fated to die at a certain age, and that kind of sparked this little idea. I can’t bring myself to actually plot out every single timeline right now, but I did manage to write a little bit.

It will never be as complex as Rosie’s idea and all the wonderful additions in the link here, and I don’t really plan on it being anything more than a small idea. But I really do still think someone should write some sort of reincarnation AU cause I’d hop on that so fast!!

“Okay- that’s not- Luke. You seriously just ran away?”

“What was I supposed to do Alex? We all know how this ends.”

His friend looks at him, face painted in understanding and he sighs, “Yeah. Yeah, we do.”

Because it’s true, Alex does know, so does Reggie and Bobby. Most importantly, so does Luke. It’s the exact same tragic love story every time.

Call it a curse or fate or destiny. Maybe it’s because Mercury is in retrograde. Whatever. It always ends the same way - with a heartbreaking goodbye, a whisper of the promise that they’ll find each other again, and the possibility of a happy ending. He’s said the same goodbye at least 734 times, but it’s not like he’s counting or anything. Fuck the universe and its mystical ways.

//

Competitive Alex // Alex x Willie

No real thoughts or reasons for this other than I just think I self-projected my need to play board games with people in real life into a fic. And maybe a little bit of my competitiveness onto Alex and then threw in Willie because I think he would be able to handle it while also finding it endearing. I also have written nothing about the actual competitiveness, it’s just 2k words of Alex crushing on Willie.

“Wait,” his eyes dart between the three boys, “You both know Willie? How come I’ve never met him?”

His roommates look at each other, and there’s a smirk on Luke’s face when he says, “Actually Alex, I think you have. Remember that time you got really drunk after one of our shows?”

Oh no. He really hopes that it’s not the time he’s thinking of, so he tries to sound nonchalant. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Luke.”

“The night we played at that tiny bar at the edge of the campus! We got paid in those tiny colourful shots?” He doesn’t really know where Luke is going with this, so he’s slowly nodding along. “And you were super upset that the hot dog vendor at the end of the street was closed?”

//

Dear Julie, Love Mom series

I made myself sad with this thought when I first watched the show and was talking to my friend about how I think that Rose would’ve left messages for the Molina family, especially when we found out that Wake Up was actually from her mom. I wrote a bigger explanation for it here.

Anyways, I started with the one for Julie’s wedding and it kind of became an 8k monster with three different POVs?!? As much as I love how I wrote this, I feel too unsure about my writing to share it in full, so you will get carefully selected looks alkfe. (I’m also kind of stuck on some of the more emotional scenes and I may or may not have procrastinated by photoshopping a moodboard for it.)

Excerpt 1 (Julie POV): A look into where I’m going with this whole letters from Rose thing.

The key clicks into place, and with a turn, the latch falls open. She’s not sure what she wants to find in the box, and she’s too scared to think about it really. All she knows is that this was the sign from her mom that she was waiting for all week, and in true Rose fashion, her mom had managed to give it to her, even if at the last second. Her dad turns the box to face Julie, and gestures to her to open up the lid.

Tucked inside is a VHS tape, the words ‘For Julie, on your wedding day’ written in her mom’s cursive on the cover. Some loose glitter and confetti fall back into the box as she reaches in to pick up the tape and turn it over in her hands. There’s a little purple butterfly etched on the back, the same one that’s been drawn on all the other messages that her mom had left her. Her finger automatically finds its way, tracing the shape of the small doodle.

“Do you want me to leave you alone, mija?”

Excerpt 2 (Julie POV): This part has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot of the story, but it self-inserted itself into this fic after @tangledstarlight and I talked about You’re Still the One by Shania Twain being their first dance. This whole scene came to me at 4am one night and might be the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever written.

They knew that when they had asked Reggie to be in charge of the first dance performance, that they (and Alex) weren’t allowed to veto any of his ideas. Luke had warned Julie that that would be a mistake, but the giddiness that radiated off of Reggie when she had told him he could have free reign was worth it. She just hadn’t thought that he would actually take it to heart and run with it.

Sure, they had chosen You’re Still the One by Shania Twain as their first dance song, and sure it was more or less a country song, but she didn’t really imagine that she’d be staring at her adoptive brother, Carlos and her Dad wearing cowboy hats and boots at her wedding. They had somehow managed to ditch their Flynn-approved suit jackets and were sporting a taupe-coloured suede-textured vest over their dress shirts. If she looked closely, she could see that they had somehow also found some gaudy looking bolo ties with a matching set of ornamental clasps to wear. When she envisioned her wedding, she really didn’t expect that her first (public) dance as a married couple would be a full-on Western themed occasion. The only exception was Alex, who had settled on his cajon in the back, still in his pink suit, eyes rolling when she met his gaze. But even she knew how there was no real annoyance in the blonde’s reaction or else he wouldn’t also be wearing one of the tacky ties around his neck as well.

“I’m gonna seriously kill him.” She hears Luke grumble under his breath, only low enough for her to hear. But she’s still too busy giggling to actually be mad, and she knows that Luke isn’t really going to kill Reggie. At least she doesn’t think so.

Excerpt 3 (Luke POV): Idk man. My mind went “What about Luke?” and I said “You’re right!! What about him?!?”

He doesn’t realize that he’s just been silently staring at the woman in front of him, until a gentle voice breaks him out of his thoughts. “Why are you looking at me like that?” Julie’s peering at him from under her eyelashes, a curious look on her face.

“You just-” he gives a little shake of his head, trying to come up with the right words. He wants to tell her she’s beautiful. Stunning. A wicked beauty. But she’s more than that - she’s almost angelic. “I can’t believe you’re my wife.”

“Luke, we’ve been legally married for like, a whole year.” Her lips are quirked up in a grin, amusement in her voice. “You’ve only just realized that now?”

“That’s different.”

“Yeah? Different how?”

This feels a little strange to post and a little like my inner self seeking validation but let’s not talk about that.

Kskssj anyways present me @ future me: finish one of these because writing has been really cathartic for you and you didn’t think it would bring you so much joy!!!

[mybiasisexo]

🍃Unfinished Fics🍃

Here is a masterlist of stories ive started but haven't finished. Some are WIPs, some I’ve deserted completely, and some are mere ideas I jotted down so I wouldn't forget. Regardless of the reasons, the potential is there, which is why I’m posting them *bbh voice* heh heh. And who knows, maybe if the feedback is good lol I'll continue them *shrugs* Remade cause we need those summaries baby~

EXO 💪

Blood & Bond

Kai and his little pack of werewolf cubs’ lives get a lot more interesting when a pretty foreign girl with special abilities decides to befriend them.

Target

A year after her last mission, Dragen has a lot to prove to both her company and herself, but when she begins to grow closer to her next target, she realizes she might be a little too soft for her current career....

Vessel

Rayna disappeared out of nowhere on her 16th birthday, and just as quickly as she vanished, she reappeared, but is obviously different.

Xiumin/Minseok 👁

Blindside

Minseok, the chronic workaholic, is forced to take a vacation with his family and friends. He now has to deal with trying not to work as well as having to see his ex girlfriend who is just as beautiful as the day she left him.

Suho/Junmyeon 😁

Return

After years, a mission group has finally returned to your village, but the outside world has changed them. One man in particular, your good friend Kim Junmyeon, comes back a complete stranger, and you can’t help but to find this darker version of him both frightening and intriguing.... 

Reverent

Suho’s dull life takes quite the turn when he stumbles across a beautiful demon

Lay/Yixing 👄

Bet

Having a roommate isn’t a strange concept, but when that roommate is your ex? Things can get a bit complicated, especially if said roommate isn’t completely over you….

Extraordinary

A girl who is deemed ordinary in a not so ordinary world, may not be as normal as she believes….

Ring the Alarm

Nobody said marriage was easy--and your marriage with Zhang Yixing is proving that. When you find out about his indiscretions, you have two options--leaving him is easy, but can you leave the life you both made together? Based off the song Ring the Alarm by Beyoncé

Baekhyun 🍰

Memory Lane

You meet up with an old friend from your old town and go for a late night walk.

What Happens in the Dark

You were just trying to survive, but that get’s difficult after running into the wrong guys on your way home from work. Luckily, your knight in shining armor came to rescue you, but as the saying goes ‘never trust a man in leather pants and a particularly pointy-toothed smirk’. Wait, that’s not the lyrics to Poison??? Hmm....

Chen/Jongdae 🎙

I’m so sorry, Chennie. I’ll treat you better in the future….

Chanyeol 🏀

Roommates (Oh My God, They Were Roommates)

You decide to move in with your best friend, Park Chanyeol, for school.... What’s the worst that could happen???

The Wedding

Your good friend, Kim Junmyeon, is getting married, and with that news comes a lot of old history with a certain ex that will be present at said wedding--yike

D.O./Kyungsoo 😐

Tough

Kyungsoo’s going to the military and it sucks

Trust 

Kyungsoo keeps to himself, but that all might change when the most popular girl in school, who just so happens to be his neighbor, decides to set her sights on him.

Kai/Jongin 🧥

Business

You bump into your client, Jongin, in the elevator on your way up to speak to your husband and share a couple words.

Oh, Brother

You’ve finally started college and are getting the full freshman year teen romcom experience and it’s not as great as you though it would be, but a certain ballerina (ballerino? I googled it and its ballerino in Italian [quote unquote] but in French they are a danseur and im rambling) might be the calmness you’ve been needing...that is until you meet his brother....

Sehun 🍸

Different

Sehun doesn’t really know how he feels about you, his best friend, anymore and it’s been taking a toll on both of you to the point you had to confront him.

Desperado 

Your high school sweetheart left you… while still in high school. Cradling a heartache like this is difficult, but you are able to confide in an unlikely student who is just, if not more, broken than you are. Based on the song Desperado by Rihanna. 

Grinch

Sehun can’t really get in the Christmas spirit when he can hear his upstairs neighbor having a mental breakdown

Other 👀

Ditched: Taeyong (NCT)

Your friend drags you to a college party only to ditch you. Luckily, you might’ve found someone to kill the time with

Heartbeat: Kris (Exo)

Something suspicious is going on behind some random bar.

Scenario Masterlist ✨ | Drabble masterlist 🌺

[chyrstis]

WIP Monday?

I was tagged by @shallow-gravy @returnofthepd3 and @ja-crispea over the couple of days, and thank you all, by the way! So, I think I’ll do three snippets, just for fun. :D

Tagging: @finefeatheredgamer @amistrio @sharky-broshaw @ma-sulevin @guileandgall @painterofhorizons @jenchwuq @hawkfurze @naromoreau @smithandrogers @narcis-the-monk and @sneaky-apostate!

The first is part of the fic that decided it needed to exist on Saturday between reports, which is a moment between Ch. 3 and 4 from I won’t ask for much, that I thought would be amusing to jot down. Just be glad I’m saving the Flashdance reference for later. ;)

--------

“Wait, hold up.” He made a move to clear his ear out, because John didn’t just throw out what he thought he did. “You wanna repeat that, ‘cause it kinda sounded like you said I know what I’m doing.”

“Well, I thought you did.” John tilted his head to the side, aiming his stare at him long enough for Sharky to want to fidget in place. “You do, don’t you?"

Standing up straighter, he almost sneered at him. “Psh, yeah!”  

“Good,” John said, relaxing. “I’ve been counting on that. But truthfully, I was thinking that I may have been overly harsh, and pushed you harder than necessary. You almost broke your neck the last time you were out here due to overworking yourself, so I was thinking you could join me.”

“…Join you?”

Patting the seat next to him, John nodded. “Right here. To relax and have some water even.”

Sharky’s eyes darted from the spot to John, and back again. “You’re fucking with me.”

John rolled his eyes. “Please. If I actually wanted to fuck with you, I could do so much better than this.” Leaning back, he inclined his head towards the seat. “Rest. Take five, take ten even, and understand that there’s no catch to this. Just…a friendly suggestion.”

--------

And this second one’s from another fic that I’m actually going to tackle before Hana’s larger WIP of doom. Just some harmless flirting. For now.

--------

Sharky’s delight made it all worth it, though, earning her one hell of a smile when she started juggling in earnest. “Shit, you’re a regular wizard with your hands, Dep. Thought you’d toss it right back at me.”

Given that the compliment was on her juggling random shit without smacking herself, she had no reason to do so, but she might’ve blushed. Just a little.

“Yeah, I know I’m awesome,” Hana said, giving him a wink. “Just full of hidden unknown talents, but I’d still watch your head if I were you. …Might end up tossing one of these your way if I slip up.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry much about me. I’ve got a set myself.”

“Of magic hands?” She waggled her eyebrows at him. “Ooh, just how magical are we talking here?”

“I could get a few testimonials. I might be well known for things other than the ol’ Boshaw Special.“

Boshaw Spec-? Oh. That.

Her attention locked right onto his mouth before darting back to his hands, and she kicked herself for it. “Is that right?”

“Trick of the wrist, and, uh…” Sharky made a motion with a few of his fingers as he clucked his tongue, and she didn’t need to think hard to get the visual. “Well, you do that, you’ll get more than a few calls back.”

“Uh huh,” Hana replied, biting at the corner of her lip. Then nearly missed her catch when she failed to shake the mental image he’d conjured up. “So, definitely good with them then. But are you quick?”

“Quick?”

“Think fast!”

He yelped when the ball flew right past his head, his own face going red, and she might’ve felt a little bad for surprising him like that. But it was his fault for starting this conversation to begin with, and also for giving her way too much to think about when it came to-

“..puty? Hey, kid, you there?”

--------

...And one final Sharky/John idea, set shortly after I won’t ask for much, because I’ve seriously been jotting down notes about these two left and right since late February/early March, and the ideas just keep on coming.

--------

Sharky slung an arm around John’s shoulders. That got him a raised eyebrow as John turned towards him, and he knew his face was well and beyond red at this point. But with that came another look. Something softer, and Sharky swallowed down the dry feeling in his throat it brought on as John turned away to continue speaking to Hurk.

“I’ve been meaning to speak to you, actually. Now seems as fine a time as any, but I’d like to extend an offer.”

Hurk was eyeing John skeptically still, but eventually settled for something friendlier. “Uh, sure. For what exactly?”

“You and Charlemagne are known for taking on any and all kinds of jobs in the county. I know this doesn’t always lead to stable work, but due to this you’ve managed to cobble together a variety of valuable skills between the two of you. And that’s not counting what you’ve done overseas.”

“Oh, amigo, I’ve done things with coconuts a scientist would absolutely shit themselves over.”

[quincywillows]

how do you plan out your books/wips bc I have a solid idea and pretty much a billeted list of what I want the plot to be and how my book goes but I’m lost at outlining everything in a coherent and organized way it’s highkey frustrating

okay i’m going to do my best to try and give some helpful tips here for how you can organize your thoughts, and i’ll take it from the perspective of both fics, novels, and just general story ideas! a lot of the principles i follow overlap, and obviously it differs by project (and by writer, for example me and my roommates have completely different outlining styles), this is just what has worked for me so far. hopefully it’ll give ya some things to chew on!

firstly, to make sure i’m orienting myself correctly -- from what i understand, it sounds like you’ve already got a sense of what your beginning, middle, and end is. not beat-by-beat, but the general gist of it. this is already a lot of progress, so kudos!! it can be hard to get from just that general warm and fuzzy and exciting idea phase to an actual concrete sense of what you want to plot to be, so feel good about that. it’s not easy work.

i think what you’re now trying to do is get your ideas down into a tangible format that you can follow to start actually working on it, yes? if so, here are some of my thoughts.

method #1: phase-by-phase, beat-by-beat method

i’m starting with the sort of straightforward outlining method here just because that’s what i’ve employed with quincy willows, so it’s most fresh in my mind. when it came to outlining quincy willows so i could start actually writing it down in concrete scenes, i decided to visualize my story by beat rather than by chapter or major plot points. “beat” is a sort of loose storytelling term that means different things to different people -- for me, it’s not a set “scene” (some beats include 2 - 3 scene changes), but more so an important emotional or context moment. this could be a reveal of information, it could be a relationship building scene, it just in some way drives the story forward even if its just the tiniest step.

how this ended up panning out was that i actually divided my full story into “phases.” these are sort of like the stereotypical “acts” in classic storytelling structure, but less strict on how they’re interpreted. so i can have 7 “phases” to quincy willows, for example:

for me, each of those reflects a distinct SECTION of the story where a major development is occurring plot wise, and sort of roughly reflects story structure. (new kid in school is through the “inciting incident”, unlikely partnership & secrets unravel is up to the midpoint, inevitable decay & halloween are the rising action, and the final gamut is the climax).

within each of those phases, there could be anywhere from 6 - 12 beats. by sort of outlining what the general progression of things would be and what beats i THOUGHT would be included where, i was able to create a good enough skeleton of an outline that i felt comfortable starting to actually write. but one thing i think is important to note is that the phases and beats are totally flexible. i’ve deleted beats entirely, i’ve moved beats between phases, i’ve added beats where i felt like something was missing. it’s a malleable outline, and i think you should never feel tethered to an outline. it’s a roadmap, but it’s not the only way to get to your destination. sometimes, your story will change on you, and that’s okay. hear it out! you can make the decision to stick to your original plan or adjust accordingly.

then, i’ll also say, once i have my general idea of my beats down i will go in and almost... like basically, every beat gets about three synopses. there is the “title,” which is the most basic, often quippy take on what is happening in the story. then i have the “logline,” which is the essence of the beat boiled down to one or two encompassing sentences. then, i have a greater description of what is happening in that scene emotional turning point by emotional turning point. so, to use qw again as an example:

this is the title (up top) and then the logline. when i go into the actual scene on scrivener, i have my notes about all the things that happen in the actual scene which i worked off of to write the scene. but even then, i don’t always follow the original idea of my notes explicitly. sometimes i don’t think an idea works all that great anymore by the time i’m actually writing it, and that’s okay. it’s flexible!

one thing i have loved about this outline structure is it allows me to write out of order. i can jump in and work on whichever beat feels fresh and exciting to my brain, which is so helpful for working on a long project that needs a complete draft from the get-go like quincy willows. however, on projects like fanfic where i can take my time, want to write and post in order, etc...

method #2: bare bones outline

full disclosure -- i have written all the lonely people with a bare bones outline since its inception. sure, i have a whole little doc where i wrote down all the major themes, plotlines, and emotional beats i wanted to cover, but as far as structuring it and deciding what would go into each chapter (especially the early chapters), i mostly winged it.

this is where a looser outline can be a nice approach. you sort of outline how long you want the project to be (i.e., atlp is 16 chapters), and you have a vague IDEA of the Major thing that will happen in each chapter (“11 and 12 are the back story chapters,��� “10 is where the romantic tension will finally snap but also they’ll have their fallout that they have to come back,” “4 will be the first kiss”). but then you just start working on the beginning, and as ideas come to you you can toss them in the general realm of each chapter without explicitly outlining when each and every beat will happen. that allows you to start walking around in the world of your project and playing with the characters rather than waiting until you have a Perfectly Perfect outline. you know?

then, usually, when i prepare to write a new chapter (atlp... i’m coming for u in december baybee), i will examine the little beat ideas i had and try to construct a more concrete mini-outline of that chapter alone before diving in. sometimes i do, sometimes i don’t -- but it goes to show that depending on the story, you don’t need a super strict outline to follow.

but even then, if you’re still feeling lost, i feel like the most tried and true method is honestly...

method #3: let it marinate

it might very well be you’re just not yet ready to jump into actually digging the narrative yet. and that’s totally chill. i came up with the initial nugget of an idea for quincy willows in sept of last year, let it exist as a fic for about 4 months, and then took it down in like dec to start working on it as an original work (bc that’s really what it was). i then thought about it for 6 months until the outline jumped out of me basically fully formed over 2 days in early june. so that’s... 9 - 10 months of ruminating and thinking about character and worldbuilding and jotting down notes and making playlists and talking to friends -- that’s almost a whole year of just wiggling in the idea until i stretched it out enough to start seeing the writing on the wall.

i hope all of this is a help in some way, or at least gives you things to think about that guide you in the right direction for you! let me know if there’s any other way i can help or things you’d like advice on. i will try my best to articulate well and offer some insight haha. you got this, writer friend!!

[maple-writes]

This chapter felt like it took a very long time, but here we are. Also had to contend with the temptation to turn this whole story into one of those (probably) horribly inaccurate hospital dramas.

WIP page (Including links to previous posted chapters)

Chapter One

Wattpad

“Asher Sang? Can you hear me?”

I opened my eyes to a doctor’s face hovering over mine. Sometime beeped nearby, but I couldn’t gather my thoughts enough to investigate.

The doctor leaned in again. “Asher my name is Dr. Verden. Can you hear me?”

I nodded, blinking against the bright light. I opened my mouth to respond, but all that came out was a weak groan.

“Good to hear, Asher,” she continued. “Do you know what day it is?”

Again, I only nodded. My thoughts melded together like the wax dripping from a hot candle, flowing slow and muddied.

“Do you remember what happened earlier tonight?” The doctor stepped to the side, and my eyes followed lazily.

A hospital bed. I was in the hospital wasn’t I? How did I get here? I scrunched my face and squinted; eyebrows furrowed. Right, I’d called an ambulance. But why was I in the bed? It wasn’t me who was injured, that was Cirrus.

I gasped and my heart monitor beeped faster in time with the pounding in my ribs. “I,” my arm gave out when I tried to prop myself up. “Cirrus?” The room spun and I collapsed back down.

The doctor raised a calming hand. “He’s being treated as we speak. He filled in the paramedics on what happened.”

I nodded, the monitor and my heart gradually starting to slow. Then guilt settled heavy I it’s place. He shouldn’t have had to do that. I should have taken care of him, not the other way around.

“So,” Dr. Verden continued. “How are you feeling now?”

Awful. My head was full of fog and my every fiber felt leaded and slow. Cold too, like I’d spent too long beneath icy water. But I swallowed and nodded. It wasn’t anything unusual, given the circumstance.

“I’m…” My tongue fell heavy in my mouth, my words long and slow. “I’ll be okay.”

The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Mmhmm,” I grit my teeth and propped myself far enough to sit up, this time successfully. “This, it’s not the first time.” Though I’ve never woken up in the hospital before…

She thought for a heartbeat, then picked up a clipboard hanging from the side of my bed. “Well, your bloodwork came back normal.” I’d been out long enough for bloodwork? “And according to Cirrus your condition was brought on by a demonic encounter.” She looked up at me. “We haven’t got any reason to suspect any underlying condition, and the supernatural is far from my area of expertise.” She jotted something down on the paper. “There’s not a whole lot we can do in that area here, so if I were you I would consult an exorcist. But don’t hesitate to come back if you feel something’s still not right.”

Cirrus must not have told them I was a cambion. Relief settled over my shoulders like a warm blanket on a chilly day. Thank goodness he had the sense to keep that to himself.

“Do you have someone you can call to pick you up.” Dr. Verden replaced the clipboard. “You’re free to go, but I suggest waiting until someone can come get you, or at least calling a cab.”

Good call.

 As it turned out, this was Striker’s hospital. Guilt gnawed at my stomach as I stared down at my phone as I sunk into one of the plastic waiting room chairs. This was the hospital he worked in, but he still had hours left on his shift. It wasn’t easy for him to just take off early, even if it were to take me home. I leaned back, shutting my eyes against the light and resting the back of my head against the wall.

           The muted sounds of the main desk mixed with soft conversations drifted through the three AM lobby. I bit my lip, my chest cinching tight around my lungs. This was the same hospital that Striker almost died in back when we were kids. The same waiting room I sat in with mom, falling asleep against her side. Did he ever think back to that when he had a moment to breathe between patients? If he did he’d never mentioned anything about it to me, but he wasn’t the type to tell me his worries anyway.

           I shook out my head and forced myself to focus back at my phone. Pay attention. I flinched against the screen’s light as the screen blinked to life. Striker was out, I couldn’t bring myself to bother Ginger, and Kyra would be a wolf at least until dawn. I guess I could call a taxi, but what if I passed out again? Maybe I could just wait. Wait for Striker to get off work, and wait for updates on Cirrus. So far they hadn’t been able to tell me anything except he was alive.

           My eyes slid closed as the room shifted and spun again. Why hadn’t I thought to bring that tea with me? Damn it. I leaned back again to stop myself from slumping forward or sliding off of the chair.

           Gasps from the end of the room drew my attention as a familiar dark-and-silver wolf trotted in through the automatic doors, a teenaged girl in tow. She walked straight towards me, dropping a familiar jar in my lap and sitting down in front of my chair. I squinted down at the tea, then slowly met Kyra’s amber eyes.

           “How?” I turned over the jar, trying to make the words come. “I’m…”

           The teenager cleared her throat. “Asher, right?” She paused as I nodded. “Your brother called, said to bring you this.” She pointed at the tea jar. “Need help making it?” Again, she waited as I nodded. “I think there’s a coffee shop nearby, I’ll see if they can give us some hot water. Wait here.”

           She took the jar and headed off around a corner and all I could do was watch and try to figure out if I knew her. As much as I tried to rack my slow memory, I couldn’t remember ever meeting her. I sighed and hunched forward. Maybe they had non-werewolves in their family after all.

           A soft weight landed in my lap and Kyra sighed. Her head rested heavy on my thighs and her honey eyes peered at me, soft and gentle. I stroked her fur with shaking hands and her tail thumped against the linoleum floor. Muted worry seeped from her coat through my skin, but at least it replaced the guilt and sharp concern writhing in my own chest. It was the kind of worry where, as nervous as you are, you know it’ll all end up alright.

           She yawned, sharp white teeth flashing in the stark waiting room light. I couldn’t help but let my eyes slide closed as I worked my fingers through Kyra’s coarse fur. Exhaustion tugged at my limbs. It was all I could do to not collapse from my chain on the spot. I was almost sure others in the waiting room had to be staring, or at least, stealing glances and pretending to not stare.

           Something hot pushed against the back of my hand. The girl was back, nudging a paper cup my way and Kyra shifted her head back to let me take it. It was wonderfully warm in my palms, and with the first sip I could start to feel the fog lifting from my head as the warmth returned to my body.

           “Thanks.” My voice came thinner than I’d hoped. I could only hope she heard me.

           “Don’t mention it.” She sunk into the chair next to mine. “Wolves take care of their own.” She raised her own cup and drank.

           I cocked my head, swallowing another small sip of tea.

           “Family friends count.” The girl continued. “Don’t worry about it.”

           Kyra lay out on the floor, stretching her massive paws out in front of my chair. By now most others in the lobby seemed to have grown accustomed to her presence and paid her no mind.

           “So,” the teenager turned. “You ready to go home?”

           Right, home. I thumbed the side of my cup. Now that my thoughts were returning, I couldn’t shake the knot of worry growing in my gut. I couldn’t just leave Cirrus here alone.

           I shook my head. “I don’t want to leave my friend.”

           Kyra’s ears swivelled and she raised her head.

           “Right…” The teenager sighed, glancing down at Kyra as the wolf seemed to nod. “If it’s alright with then, I might just leave the two of you here.” She turned back up to me. “School night, you know?”

           I nodded. “Of course, thank you.”

           “No problem.” She stood from her chair, stretching her arms above her head with a pop of her joints. Then she dug into her bag and set a smaller purse on the chair next to me. “I’ll just leave your stuff here Kyra.”

           Kyra’s jaws parted in a doggy smile and her tail thumped twice against the floor. The girl gave her head a gentle pat before heading back out the sliding doors into the night. For a moment, worry tugged at the back of my mind. It was late, and she was alone… But when I glanced back down at Kyra the worry stared to fade. It was a full moon tonight; the city streets were probably crawling with wolves. If she really were one of their own, she had nothing to fear.

           Quiet fell so quickly over the waiting lobby. My shoulders sagged as I told my hands to raise the drink once again, finishing it sip by small sip. Even with Ginger’s tea, exhaustion tugged at my limbs and weighed down my eyelids. Maybe that was to be expected though. It was late, wasn’t it?

           A nudge at my leg made me open my eyes again, (when had I closed them?). Kyra gave my pant leg a gentle tug, turning towards an another, empty chair in the corner of the room. She glanced back over her shoulder with a pointed huff. Did she want me to follow?

I carefully stood started towards the corner seat. The vertigo had faded, even as I remembered to reach down to take Kyra’s purse with us. This chair was a carbon copy of the one I’d just left, but this one let me lean against the side wall as I closed my burning eyes.

 “Hey, Ash.”

           Striker’s voice woke me as dawn light streamed through the waiting room windows. I blinked, rubbed at my eyes and finally I brought my eyes to meet his. He stood hunched in front of me, his hands deep in the pocket of his hoodie.

           I squinted as I drew myself to sit up. “Striker? What,” My back cracked and I groaned. “What time is it?”

           Striker leaned his shoulder against the wall. “Around seven thirty.” He yawned, covering his mouth at the last minute. “The Hell are you doing here still? You stayed all night?”

           I couldn’t help but copy Striker’s yawn. When had I fallen asleep?

           “Asher…” Striker sighed, dropping his head and shaking it at the ground. At this angle, I could see the tired circles forming under his eyes, probably more or less matching mine. “What happened to you? You look awful.”

           Did I? I glanced down at my hands. The skin was pale, ashen, and when I held them up they shook just enough to be noticeable.

           I shrugged. “It was a rough night.”

           “What happened?”

           How much should I tell him? If he knew the truth he would only worry, not only for me but for Ember. Even if he didn’t know how close to town she really was, he’d put two and two together and figure out Vena would probably be looking for her too. I sighed and leaned back, resting my head against the wall to peer up at him again. I took a breath to speak but froze when Striker’s eyes widened.

He reached down and gently moved my jaw to the side, eyes locked on my neck. Fear and anxiety pulsed fast through his skin, charging down my spine from my skull and tightening around my chest. Ohgodwhodidthiswhodidthiswhodidthis! My heart rattled against my ribs, matching his accelerating pulse. I’llkillthemI’llkillthemI’llfuckingkillthem.

           “Ash,” Striker dropped his voice and his hand. “Who hurt you?”

           I hung my head, replacing his hand with my own over my neck. It must have bruised, the spots tender under my fingers. “Vena.” I massaged the back of my shoulder, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor. “He found me at the beach last night.”

           Striker didn’t respond, his face paling and his posture stiffening. As far as I knew, he’d only met Vena once before when he’d tried to steal me and Ember from our mother one night. I was too young to remember much, but Striker had been older.

           “Don’t worry though,” I filled the silence between us. “I think I’ll be okay. I already feel a lot better. Cirrus managed to scare him away.”

           “Good.” Striker ran an unsteady hand through his hair. “What did he want?”

           Me. I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I couldn’t tell him that the only thing my father wanted from me was my being. He would never sleep again. “But Cirrus got hurt and I didn’t want to leave him here.”

           Striker nodded. “I know.”

           “Is he okay?” I swallowed against the nerves rising in my throat.

           “I wasn’t working with him,” Striker slid his hands back into his pockets. “But if he’s awake I’m sure we can see him.”

           I nodded and got to my feet, swaying as dizziness tugged at my balance.

           “Steady there!” Kyra rounded the corner, a tray of coffee shop cups in her hands. She smiled and handed a cup first to Striker. “I thought you might be about as tired as me,” she laughed, “So here.”

           “Oh, Kyra,” Striker hesitated. “You didn’t have to do this for us.”

           Kyra shrugged. “Well it’s too late now to return them.” She offered again, holding the drink until Striker took it, grinning and giggling. “We’re out here keeping you up, the least I could do is give you a coffee.”

           “Thanks.” Striker smiled and leaned back against the side of the wall.

           She offered me one, and I took it with my own soft thank you, gladly accepting the little cream cups and sugar packets she’d brought from the shop. Out of the corner of my eye, Striker did the same with awkward hands.

           Kyra slipped the left-over sugar packets into her purse pocket and dumped the cardboard tray. “Are you going to see Cirrus?”

           I nodded, my face half hidden behind the cup’s plastic lid. “You?”

           “I’m here, aren’t I?” She stepped alongside me as Striker led the way out of the waiting room. “I want to see how he’s doing.”

           “Me too.” I sighed and rested my chin against the top of my drink, letting the warmth seep across my cheeks.

           It was my fault that he got hurt after all… I lowered my eyes, staring at my feet as I shuffled over the floor. If it weren’t for me none of this would have happened. Vena might not have found me if I’d stayed in bed, and he wouldn’t have any reason to track down Cirrus out of the blue.

           I just hoped he would forgive me.

[jancys-blue-bayou]

WIP game

Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

This was making its way ‘round so wth, doing it though I’ve reduced my WIP list (in the productive way!) recently.

TRS finale - the final chapter of The Real Shit, which is what I’m currently trying to finish. Will hopefully be done soon-ish.

It’s been a whirlwind - further parts of It’s been a whirlwind which will have a few more chapters, got the next part halfway done sort of but the plotting is getting tricky and I sort of lost myself lol, trying to figure it out again.

Baby ideas - This is just a doc where I quickly jot down random ideas for We’ll figure it out that comes to me (or that comes to @iamthethumperanon) and are waiting to be used. (Also, to you who recently sent in a prompt for this fic: I love the idea and that’ll be the next chapter, going to start on it soon as I finish TRS).

This isn’t you - AU/Rewrite that I sort of abandoned but may pick up again but change around my original concept a bit. It started out as “Steve AU” because the idea came from picturing s1 if they hadn’t changed Steve’s original characterization once Joe Keery charmed the Duffers (so he would remain an antagonist and not have the poorly written heel face turn in s1). Now their original characterization of Steve is him being super horrendous and raping Nancy, I won’t go there (because we don’t need more of the rape as tragic backstory for powerful woman trope I think, and I’m not comfortable writing it) but he’ll be the jerk he is for the most part of s1 (probably a bit more than he is in s1) and he won’t have the sudden change meaning Jancy will get to be badass monster hunters on their own without the deus ex machina device Steve is in the s1 finale. Their almost kiss moment will then be uninterrupted so that’ll happen... but they won’t get together right away, Nancy will be single at the end of s1 (will give him the camera and cheek kiss but then sit down alone on the couch). I haven’t fully worked out how to time it with s2 but I’m now thinking of picking this up again because of some ideas for a rewrite of s2 I have (basically giving Jonathan a voice and motivations which he didn’t get and also get Jancy more involved with the main plot earlier) but I have to figure out what will have happened in the time between s1 and s2, and ofc Nancy will be single in early s2.

S3 fic notes - what it says on the tin, just a doc I’ve come back to continuously to jot down small notes for a possible s3 prediction fic, building off of where s2 left us and what we know about s3 filming (confirmed, I don’t give a time of day to what certain twitter accounts who claim to be in the know say, this is just off of what we’ve gotten hints about in interviews/character descriptions and what we know from bts photos etc). Will be Jancy-centric ofc but take on the whole of what I think s3 might be. Might sit down and think harder on it when they’ve soon wrapped, I have several different plot ideas/subplot ideas that needs ironing out.

[redacted] AU - (it’s not called that but the real file name gives it away and it’s a secretttt). A big AU I’m working on that me and @iamthethumperanon have been plotting for months (when I say plotting I mean shouting at each other in DM’s and me sometimes remembering to write down the ideas). It will be uh... loooong, I don’t know how many chapters but MANY (and I’ve just written one and a half so far lol but have like 15 pages of basic notes for the rest now). All I’ll say right now is it’s set in a different time than canon and it doesn’t feature supernatural stuff, and it’s Jancy-centric but will feature pretty much all the characters and it’s drama/angst/fluff mixed with a bit of... I guess action and mystery/thriller in a way.

Open the curtain - semi-abandoned, this is just notes for an old fic idea which I haven’t gotten further with. It’s Jancy in college and sort of an investigative thriller with supernatural stuff. Basically continuing the trajectory that was set up in s2, title comes from Murray’s speech before they come up with the idea of watering down the story to get out to the public, “They’re not wired like you and me, they don’t spend their lives peeking behind the curtain.” so it’s Jancy continuing to investigate, discover, peek behind the curtain, asking questions like how high did the conspiracy go? Was Hawkins Lab the only lab? How big was the project? Is it the only project of its kind? If Jane is number eleven, does that mean numbers one through ten exist? etc etc), and setting out to find the answers to these questions themselves. It would focus in on the last question and would get to Jancy teaming up with El and through El meeting Kali and them setting about finding the other numbers. Would eventually work to them with the help of El, Kali and the others take on a large governmental enemy to get justice for El and the others and to fully expose the government conspiracy (what they did in s2 didn’t expose the whole full thing) but I haven’t worked out that part, or the other characters (who the other numbers are, what happened to them etc).

[goldfaultlines]

Light {two}

Pairing: Bucky x reader Summary: Laundry day, once again. Warnings: n/a Tags: Slow burn, multichapter, WIP A/N: This is also going to be available to read on AO3! I’ll post a link as soon as it’s processed!

Y/N flicks her gaze between the book she held in her hand and the machine before her.  She was waiting (albeit a little impatiently) for the last spin cycle to begin so she could switch loads over.

She scans the page before her, trying to remember where she had left off and finds her thoughts wandering to yesterday morning. She sighs, dogearing her page and setting down her book.

Her whites still tumble around in the small window and she picks up the notebook beside her to start a journal entry about her encounter with her upstairs neighbor. Bucky.  His name is flourished between her script and she feels her cheeks heat. She had seen him before, sure, but never close enough to actually look.

They had locked eyes briefly, blue glass etched with dark fragments of fear and an underlying tenderness that made her heart stutter in her chest. Not out of fear, but out of something softer. Something that had made her chest bloom with... what? She hadn’t been sure. All Y/N knew was that when he had looked at her through his lashes, hair falling askew from where he had haphazardly pulled it up, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, she had to say something.

She flips the page and scrawls:

Bucky Barnes: a list

Buck groans softly. He readjusts his clothes basket under his arm and curses.

To whom it may concern:

The laundry facilities are currently closed for maintenance, we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you for your understanding.

“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.”

There was a laundry mat a couple blocks over, he knew. But that made him nervous. The only other clean shirt he had was much too heavy for the warm spring air. Would he risk exposing himself for the simple pleasure of clean, breathable clothes?

He probably should. Dirty clothes did nothing but make him take steps backwards. To Europe and the army and—

Laundry mat it is. He shoves away the thoughts that threatened to debilitate his outing, decides to come back to them later. When he didn’t smell like sweat and tobacco.

The afternoon sun blinds him when he steps outside, mesh bag slung over his shoulder as he made his way east. He could sort of make out the top of the sign from outside his complex, but it was at least a five minute jog. And today was his rest day. So a fifteen minute walk would have to suffice. Silently curses whatever god thought it was amusing to mess with him.

Bucky tries to ignore the eyes boring into the back of his head as he walked, head down, hands shoved deeply into his pockets.

Almost wishes now that he had grabbed the thermal.

Thinks it might be a small blessing when the arching windows of the RAINBOW LAUNDRY SERVICE come into view. The sign is old— he thinks dryly that he might be as old as this building. Which makes him laugh, just a little.

The bell above the door twinkles upon his entrance, and he finds no one else to be around. The smell of burnt coffee and floral soap overwhelm his senses. A red leather bound notebook sits on the end table closest to him, atop withered and sun faded tabloids dated 2009. A book rests in a plastic chair and he finds himself fidgeting when he realizes that someone else is here. Hopefully they wouldn’t know him, or pay enough mind to even look at him. He’s got his back turned, bag near his feet and feeding dollars into the machine that spat out faded quarters when he hears a voice he knows.

“Hi, Bucky.”

He turns his head to find Y/N occupying the seat he had previously been observing. One leg crossed over the other, tapping her dangling foot. The sunlight of the mid afternoon makes her hair blow out around her head like a soft halo, and he smiles at her. “Hey, Y/N.”

Her eyes light up when he says her name, and he almost wants to do it again, just to keep that expression on her face. He was lucky enough to know it, let alone say it but he digresses. Pops a few quarters into the machine and begins to load in his clothes.

“Bucky,” She measures, amusement lacing her tone.

“Hm?” He glances up to find her looking at him like he’d grown another head. But she’s smiling in a soft way and it makes his chest tighten.

“Are you not sorting your laundry?”

His brows crease, and he reassess the clothes in his bag. The only light colored things he owned were socks. So he cocks a brow at her and responds “...no?”

“You separate things by color,” Y/N explains, getting up from her chair and pulling the clothes from his hands.

(He tries not to think too hard about it. He’s embarrassed himself enough as it is.)

She dutifully sorts them into reds, blues, greens and denim and then tosses the rest of the black and grey articles into the machine. “When I was a kid, I loved helping my mom on laundry day.”

“Oh?” He realizes with flushed cheeks that this is the most she’s talked to him ever, and he tries to still the flutter in his chest. (It doesn’t work but dammit he tried.)

“Yeah. Made me feel like I was helping. We were old school, hung everything up on a line strung from the house to the garage.”

“When I was a kid that was all we had.” Could almost smell fresh cut grass, hearing his mother singing under her breath as she pinned up the sheets. Playing tag with Rebecca and Steve between the swaying fabric.

“That’s one of the things I don’t like about the city,” Y/N admits. “Nowhere to hang my clothes.” She smiles wistfully, like she’s lost in a memory.

The hum of the machines is a calming backdrop to her musing.

“We had these huge lilac bushes outside, and afterwards everything would smell like them.”

Bucky smiles at her and is about to share a fragmented story of his own when a loud buzz cuts through the air. Y/N scurries over to the machine, throwing open the top door and practically climbing in it to access her clothes. Buck chuckles, and wanders over, leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. “Need a hand, doll?” The nickname makes him flinch, but she doesn’t seem to mind, poking her head out and setting her feet back on the ground. “‘S the least I could do.”

She fumbles the wad of clothes in her hands into the bottom tumbler and laughs. “My hero.”

“I wouldn’t go that far...” Bucky mumbles.

He spends the rest of the day listening -intently, didn’t wanna miss a word even though he’d never admit to it- to her tell stories from her childhood. He shares what he can, jots down what’s new. He excuses himself to the bathroom, and when he returns he finds Y/N smiling to herself as she repeatedly bullet points thoughts into her notebook. Can just barely see the top margin, where his name lies in bold cursive, decorated around the perimeter with dots and other indiscernible scribbles. Before he can ask about it, she gathers her things and says “Would you like some company on the walk home?”

“Of course,” Bucky fights the urge to break into a full grin. He had enjoyed her company. Today hadn’t been the total bust he had anticipated.

She chatters idly beside him, about her job, and her projects and her everything and Bucky soaks it in. She feels like a ray of pure white light beside him and his smudged grey soul. And his heart leaps when she waves him off with an ear to ear grin and “Have a good night, Buck.”

For the first time in what he guessed was seventy years, he feels what he thinks could very well be the inklings of a crush permeating his chest. And he doesn’t much mind the nervous tilt to his voice when he says “You too, Y/N.”

[jadelotusflower]

tagged by @threadsketchier

List all of the things you’re currently working on in as much or as little detail as you like.  Then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gifsets, whatever.

Hooboy *cracks knuckles*

Red Five - it’s almost finished! I am:

Speaking of, A Life Less Ordinary:

I WILL FINISH THIS FIC I STARTED ALMOST TEN YEARS AGO AGGHHHH.

Against the Dying of the Light.  Another wip that’s been sadly neglected, but Angel Coulby is a faceclaim for a character in something else I’m working on (see below) and so I’ve been thinking more about this fic.  I have Plans, and the next segment has been half written for a while, I just need to work in it.  It’s post series series of vignettes with a Guinevere focus, the concept is basically that the prophecy was misread and that it is Gwen’s son who is the Arthur of legend, allowing Merlin to take on the classic role of mentor and the Golden Age to truly begin (with Gwen’s guiding hand of course.)

And this might not get written, but I’ve jotted down a few scenes and have an overall plan:  Untitled modern Merlin fic: Arthur wakes up in preset day Glastonbury to find Merlin waiting - the world’s a mess, and it’s time for him to return.  Arthur, however, is distracted by personal concerns when he discovers reincarnated Gwen, engaged to reincarnated Lancelot, neither of whom have any memory of their past lives.  Arthur makes bad decisions and Merlin is exasperated, so maybe things haven’t changed that much after all.

My main original fiction project: The Faerie Ring (working title, will probably change once I think of something better).  

Ella is nineteen, struggling to come to terms with her father’s death and no idea what she wants from life.  In the forest one day she gets sucked through a portal in a mushroom ring and finds herself in a world full of magic, witches, brigands, curses and other fantastical things she’s loved in storybooks.  Accompanying her is Sana:

a witch who has been stuck on Earth for ten years looking for the last component to break a curse cast on her lover, encasing her in ice for all eternity.  Also along for the ride is Sana’s familiar Archie the owl, and later a prince’s manservant-turned-thief (think a young Riz Ahmed) whose master has been turned into a bear and he’s searching for the way to free him.  Ella’s used to stories where the stranger in a strange land discovers some unknown power/destiny or fulfills some prophesy, but all she has is pop culture knowledge and genre-savvy - how does an ordinary person manage in a world of magic?   

But let’s not talk about the other two books I want to write set in this universe, In Search of Faerie and The Changeling Child. 

Inspired by my recent trip to the UK, this trilogy will start off as fanfic but will probably eventually be adapted to original fiction.

Robin Hood and King John

Robin Hood and the Magna Carta

Robin Hood and the Battle of Lincoln

Not the actual titles obviously, just to give you an idea of the overall concept, and I say Robin Hood but let’s face it most of it will probably be from Marian’s pov.  Expect marital bliss tempered with marital strife, Hoodlings with just as much defiance and stubborness as their parents, Marian’s bff and personal hero Nicolaa de la Haye, medieval politics, and the reality of life after Sherwood.  

Back on the fanfic front, the as yet untitled but planned sequel to The Shadow of Fate (and depending how TLJ comes out, it might become my own personal canon).  

The remaining four parts of A Year in the Life - I know exactly how it’s going to end but need to figure out how to get there (or rather what myths I want to invoke).

Poor old Quadrilateral, which should be easy to finish since there’s only two more parts, but has somehow been difficult. 

Turn your Face to the Sun, which is as forgotten and sad as Obi-Wan himself.

Cry, Havoc.  Luke Skywalker dies, and Mara Jade hunts down those responsible.  Partially written, not sure if it will ever be finished and I’ve promised myself not to post anything else unfinished until I finish some wips.

*sigh* I have so much writing to do.

[bardic-inspo]

Author Interview

Tagged by the lovely @pchberrytea!

Name: Meg(hatron)

Fandoms: Fallout 4 & Dragon Age (at least, these are the ones I write for)

Where You Post: AO3 or Tumblr

Most Popular One-Shot: I’ve only actually ever posted one: This little drabble between F!Hawke and Commander Cullen. 

Most Popular Multi-Chapter Story: Never posted one. I’m 26 chapters /  80k words into a yet-untitled F!SoSu and MacCready story that I’m very excited to share. I started it during NaNoWriMo this year, and it’s turned out to be quite a bit longer than I initially planned. I’m determined to finish draft one and do some serious editing before it even gets posted. 

I’ve gotten super invested in multi-chapter fics before where the author lost steam or had life stuff come up (totally understandable), but it was a big bummer as a reader. That’s part of why it was really important for me to have my story finished before I posted ~any~ of it. Also, strangely, I feel less motivated to continue writing when I post stuff as I go vs. posting it once it’s finished?

Favorite Story You Wrote: I actually wrote this bizarre short horror story about a girl getting trapped in a mirror by her undead twin a few years back. That’s probably my favorite.

Story You Were Nervous to Post: Since I haven’t really posted much of my writing at all, posting any of it is a bit intimidating. I’ve never really written smut before, and that will be included in my MacCready/F!SoSu WIP, so I guess that might be the part I’m most nervous about.

How You Choose Your Titles: I haven’t titled my WIP or my chapters yet, but usually something thematic or relevant springs to mind in the editing process. Maybe a line from a song will trigger something.

Complete: One oneshot, and a handful of short stories/original fiction.

Incomplete: Just one....at least, that I’m currently working on. Nevermind the bajillion other ideas bouncing around my head that I haven’t actually written anything for.

Do You Outline: Sort of. I tried this new thing with my current WIP where I jot down scene ideas in an Excel file. I revisit this when I’m writing to make sure I’m working in all the major moments I wanted to hit. I also just have some blobs of running text at the end of the current chapter I’m working on that I keep copying/pasting over to the next chapter until I hit those plot points. Not the neatest way to outline, but it’s something.

Coming Soon / Not Yet Started: I really don’t have a timeline at this point when I’ll actually post my current WIP. Thinking I’ll be done with the first draft sometime in mid/late spring, probably take my sweet time editing. Hoping to start posting a couple chapters a week by fall, but we’ll see where the year takes me.

At some point, I’d like to actually commit some time/energy to an original work, but I’m pretty content in my cozy fanfic world at the moment.

Do You Accept Prompts: I would totally be down if people send me prompts for SoSu/MacCready. Probably would do Dragon Age ships as well. I don’t think I’m the best for a full cast react request as I haven’t spent a ton of time with some of the companions, but I’d take a stab at it if someone sent something my way :)

Upcoming Story You Are Most Excited to Write: I’m honestly super pumped about my MacCready/SoSu WIP because I’ve FINALLY gotten to the point in the story where they’re about to confess feelings. It’s been a wild ride to get here, I’m glad to finally get to some of the moments I had in mind when I first imagined how this story would go.

Tag ur it! @tea-petty if you want!