#like i’m so picky i barely read fanfiction

[conjectureand-gloom]

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ welcome! ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

important information ⬎

alex

they/he/xe/it

non binary 💛🤍💜🖤

lesbian ❤️🧡🤍🩷💜

youreverydaydemikid -> conjectureand-gloom (15/01/24)

minor (february 8th)

multifandom

fanfiction writer

GMT +10:30

INFP-T

2w1

lyn lapid fan blog @tlit21c

i stand with palestine 🇵🇸

my new main account is @holesofmy-sweater

links ⬎

my ao3

my spotify

my pinterest

my instagram (that i’m barely active on)

hamilton fanfic recommendations

2023 reflection post

fandom list, fanfiction request masterlist, written works, wips, asks, tags and mutuals under the cut

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ fandom list ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

hamilton (feel free to request for any hamilton ship, i love them all so much, alexander is the absolute DREAM for a multishipper. alexander is my main target for angst! this is my main fandom)

jesus christ superstar (jesus/judas or jesus/judas/mary mainly for jcs, but feel free to ask for any other ships and i’ll consider it!! and no, i am not religious. i have been raised christian, but just ended up with religious trauma)

a good girls guide to murder (pipravi fluff and angst :) but i’ll so gladly write fics about sal and andie, or becca. ravi is my comfort character, and i just torture pip relentlessly)

nevermoor (personally i’m more of a cadence/morrigan girly, but fics for nevermoor will mainly be gen! i love found family, so jupiter & mog fluff or angst is my favourite)

in the heights (canon ships mainly, but feel free to ask for other ships! i’m not in the ITH fandom much, so these are going to be much more inaccurate)

newsies (again, more gen fics, but i do ship dave/jack. also i love angsty crutchie fics. this is one of my smaller fandoms, so these will be super inaccurate)

keeper of the lost cities (preferably marella/linh or tam/keefe! but again, feel free to ask for any ship!!)

hunger games (gen, preferably. but i’m team peeta in case anyone was wondering. fuck gale.)

maze runner (okay i haven’t read or seen TMR in ages but newt/thomas)

divergent (canon ships only. and no, christina/tobias is not canon.)

six (gen all the way. found family. also i love katherine howard angst over any other queen)

the song of achilles (achilles/patroclus? literally what other ship is there????? this is my favourite book)

wednesday (wednesday/enid. i feel like this requires no explanation. also. angst fics. i almost exclusively write angsty wednesday fics, rather than enid. i love the whole of the addams family, and i love familial hurt/comfort)

marauders (i’m not in the marauders fandom much at all, like i really only know the actual hp canon marauders. so.)

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ fanfic request rules ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

i’ll write for any fandom listed above, i love them all! however i am much more active in hamilton, agggtm, jcs, nevermoor and kotlc, so those fics will be much better than the other fandoms’ would be

i’ll write any genre other than smut, and angst/whump is my absolute favourite. any AUs you could think of, literally anything, i’m not picky!

i won’t write romanticised abuse, non/con, or anything like that. that’s not to say that my fics can’t have dark aspects, but i won’t romanticise any of that.

on that, i’m not going to write any non/con, romanticised or not

also, i won’t write omegaverse, nor will i write y/n or self insert fics. nothing wrong with those genres, i just don’t write them!

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ written works ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

It’s Only A Matter Of Time - A Hamilton Watches Hamilton Fic

i wish i could say that was the last time

call me son one more time

when they surround our troops

then a hurricane came

take a break

and his right hand man…

she was holding me

the great war

we got traffic on the west side

steal into my affections

the fact that you’re alive is a miracle

fools who run their mouths off wind up dead

my father wasn’t around

philip, you would like it uptown

i may not live to see our glory…

an outrageous demand

stay alive

my dear, angelica

to convince you that i love you

but this situation’s helpless

like mother, like daughter (agggtm)

“but now this room is spinning…”

“i’ll call out your name but you won’t call back”

“like crying out in empty rooms, with no one there except the moon”

me in your sweater, you said it looked better on me than it did you (gifted to @holes-in-my-false-confidence)

baby it’s cold outside

the entire exposé (inspired entirely off of @jittyjames’ fanfiction series ‘the price of his war’)

my world is burning (yet another fic based off of jami’s series ‘the price of his war’)

i’m sorry if any of these links are incorrect, i spent over an hour on just this section

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ wips ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

achilles, come down (last two works in series still need to be written)

je m’appelle… lafayette? (one chapter to go)

lams (taylor’s version) (a few chapters to go, unsure if it will be finished)

you’re the one who disappears (agggtm, unsure if it will be finished, or when)

judas’ death (jcs angst fanfiction)

untitled (hamil-gang liminal spaces au longfic thing idk)

febuwhump drabbles (possibly)

be my valentine challenge

so big/so small (so big/so small from deh but hamilton and his ma)

bloom like rose thorns (a longfic that may or may not ever be finished)

rewrite of ‘i wish i could say that was the last time’ and ‘call me son one more time’

baby don’t cut (lams angst based off of a song with the same name)

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ collaborations ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

fem!hamilton au with @jittyjames and @firebalda

if anybody is interested in collabing at all, please hit me up!! i love writing with other people!!!!

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ asks ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

please send me any asks at all!!! and also please put fic requests in my ask box, i did say that i would have your request out in 6 months, but i have had one sitting in there for over a year (sorry jami.) but um. i promise im trying to get better at that

also, feel free to ask for fic recommendations!!!! i’ve linked a post earlier in this post with a huge list, but it’s not fully updated with some more recent fics :)

‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ tags ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

asks- all the asks ive answered, these are also tagged with the url of the blog, or with anon dearest if it was an anon ask

akeyla ml- posts about/with my incredible incredible partner @holes-in-my-false-confidence who i love so much ❤❤❤❤❤❤

tag games- self explanatory, tag games :)

sleep is overrated- me trying to fix my sleep schedule in 2024

personal- personal vent posts. please block this tag, i have had someone unfollow me before because of these posts :)

₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧ mooties ‎‧₊˚✩ 🪐✩˚₊‧

@jittyjames

@like-the-stars-i-shine (irl friend for 5 years now)

@holes-in-my-false-confidence (my partner, irl <33333)

@felizusnavidad

@weeping-in-the-willows

@swiftieannah

@the1laff

@anixknowsnothin

@purpleblobfrompluto

@starduckys

@now-thats-his-bride

@kwilooo

@evilteapot (irl friend)

@my-dear-gal

@idontwanttobeabuzzkill

@mynightsoutofsight

@cc-horan28

i have more mutuals, but this is everybody who i interact with more often and i actually consider to be my friend. if anybody wants to ever message me or actually become friends with me, please do!!!! i love talking to you guys, please message me, i promise im not scary <333

[shadowqnights]

hello there! i’m perpetually in awe of the scope of what you attempt w your mcd fics!!! i’m not sure if you’ve answered this already, but do you have any advice for writing Diaries fic? most writing advice is the same, but have you found anything particularly helpful to keep in mind when writing fanfic for MCD specifically???

hiii this has been sitting in my inbox for like a month and i could Not figure out how to answer this i am soo sorry. mostly because i get what you mean about most writing advice being the same and i've been struggling to think of how i would differentiate writing for mcd. sorry in advance since i know i yap a lot here and i'm not sure if this is specifically what you were looking for but ummm i'm just gonna list all of the things i keep in mind/like doing and if any of that resonates with you then its a win. i'm also really tired its like 2am but i felt like doing this Right Now for some reason.

[also i may be the wrong person to ask this because i'm a little bit insane and my mcd rewrite worldbuilding is about 10k in my notion now and i'm barely 1/4 of the way through so i don't really know when to Stop with my mcd scope HAHA. plus loverman alone being 500k. i tend to go all-in when it comes to the scope of my fics you mentioned haha so i'm wondering like. what specific parts of the scope you're interested in. if i answer this all wrong by all means please send another ask correcting me and i can try again!!!]

honestly i think my first thing does blend with generic writing advice I'M SORRYYYY. but truly it is just to read more. i was writing fantasy books before mcd fanfiction + i was reading a lot of fantasy books during my mcd fixation [yeah i know its lasted since 2016 shut up]. i really do think that reading and writing go hand in hand, whether fantasy novels or just browsing ao3, reading other people's work is an important part of my writing process. not only is reading a learning opportunity to get to know your own tastes and wants [and the things you might want to avoid in your own writing] but at least for me i get suuuper inspired reading other mcd fics. i may be picky with my tastes but also when i get inspired i get inspired HARD. too tired to link my fav mcd fics just pretend they're here and ask me later for them. when we're writing for mcd we already have to take a bunch of creative liberty and put the work in to fill in the gaps that minecraft can't offer, and the combination of mcd + fantasy world tends to have a lot of gaps. so reading more might give you some inspiration on how to fill those gaps.

-> by gaps, i personally like to think about things that couldn't be communicated as well in minecraft media but you now get to elaborate on in writing! your hands have this awesome gift of being able to fix the stuff you don't like about mcd and elaborate on the stuff you do like. you get to extend what mcd established in cool words and longer words! mcd fanfiction to me is a really [figuratively] sexy pitch of a show that you might struggle to otherwise recommend to someone in its original form, but trust me its good and the fic makes it sound good. so i guess this list is going to be things that i like to think about that make mcd sound good and appealing that flesh it out compared to writing something like mystreet. all of this depends on how far you are willing to stray from canon, whether you're diving into rewrite or just writing canon-adjacent fic, but in terms of fantasy worldbuilding to chuck into mcd, you can think about:

environment, how you would describe the landscape + even things as simple as weather patterns from region to region. get immersed in the world and use it to affect the characters. everyone's got different preferences when it comes to setting / environment description, and since i prefer character driven writing i do personally find it hard to talk about environment but that's definitely something that reading has helped. i'm also throwing generic worldbuilding in here ermmm fantasy novels love worldbuilding. you will love worldbuilding just like me [hypnotising you]. reading fantasy and getting immersed in Other worlds and taking note of the things you like about them might help you. we are going back to english class and we are going to figure out what the author is telling us here and maybe as a fellow author you like it and go hmmm i want to tell my readers something like that too. there are soooo many ways to get immersed into worldbuilding that like i would want to make an entire other post but errmmmm off the top of my head i like thinking about...

architecture! what does each town look like! whats its design and colour palette and how can you incorporate that into your descriptions [since colour will help you set a mood, establish time and just be a general vibe checker]. food! what are these guys eating in a fantasy world! and if you wanna go deeper every character is going to have a personal taste and even if that's not relevant for the fic you're writing right now the little things are still fun to think about because you can always bring it back around to character building. garroth's plain food tastes and total inability to cook for himself come from his upbringing in o'khasis vs laurance's love of food rich with spice and flavour because of joh's home cooking. dante spent a lot of time without a stable home and thus had to become opportunistic and abandon his previous pickiness. etc. etc. there are soo many ways to differentiate fantasy worldbuilding for a mcd fic to make it feel more well-rounded. also things like clothing choices, accessories/bags/inventory [think about if you could see every character's minecraft inventory - what are they carrying around?]. even just simply what the land looks like from place to place? what is the terrain? what minecraft biome are we in right now and how does that affect things like temperature/weather/appearance? is garroth ro'meave pissed because its hot as fuck climbing this mountain on the journey to find aph? you bet ur ass he is. make him suffer. umm you can also think about small-scale threats like minecraft monsters. you gotta have your small guys. highly recommend worldbuilding the nether too because like. the shadow knights are so cool. ermm. ok sorry i talk too much on with more stuff.

weapons, you're in a fantasy world and you can throw in some variety in weaponry that goes beyond basic sword and also bow and arrow if ur vylad. and also giant broadsword if ur aaron. also a good way to get into characterisation from character to character: thinking about how they fight. what kind of weapon do they have? what's their fighting style? you don't Have to give everyone just a plain old sword if you don't really want to. i'm guilty of not doing enough research on swordfighting before i write fight scenes but i also do looove to make fight scenes messy. some of these characters are trained to fight in a certain way and i hate writing their fancy feet but also some characters will not automatically know how to fight and if they get into a scuffle it might be a bit of a panicked mess! i think (hope) that my writing style tends to help with the frenzied kind of brawls that some characters might get into and how when some characters are threatened they might just blindly kick and claw and struggle. and others might just freeze up and some fights might just involve blind punching and clawing and rolling around because [i like it] i like the idea that even in mcd not everyone is cool and collected when confronted with physical altercation. even trained characters might panic a little and get a little bit sloppy and messy with their technique. others might lock tf in. i promise sometimes i just make things up and also i encourage making shit up sometimes when it comes to stuff like that. because there will be a point where you drive yourself insane trying to research a certain fighting style and if its draining your joy and whimsy and passion for the thing you want to write then take a step back. for things like that you can spare yourself some pain. on the opposite end of the spectrum some things Will require putting in the appropriate effort to research and learn about before you write & put your listening learning ears on if you're approached and told that you've written something harmful.

time, time passes a lot faster in minecraft but in fics you can afford to write time going slower and use it to your advantage. i'm trying to think of examples ummm making travelling seem more exhausting, injuries healing realistically, even mentioning things like seasons and weather and time of day to show the passage of time as a tangible thing rather than the fic being a tiny little character-driven bubble. mcd has a lot of stuff to do with time, eg. the irene dimension skip, but you can also think about character ages and how time passes through each season. minecraft logic has babies grow up in like 5 episodes and speeds things up for the sake of plot but when you're writing you can afford to be more grounded. if you want to apply exact logic levin would be at least around 3+ by the time aph and the gang enter the irene dimension. characters feel way more relatable when you think about mcd taking place over years + the 15 year time skip, even if you don't write that Directly into a fic, its a helpful gap to fill. i like to mention certain events happening over a matter of weeks or months to keep the reader aware of the passage of time and also put certain things into perspective.

injuries, things are gonna hurt. a lot. these guys are fighting insane style with insane weapons. obviously this one isn't for everyone, but i personally do like battering the mcd characters around a lot more because they're fighting with big boy weapons and, if its your thing, a fic can turn a minecraft slapfight real serious and mature real quick. i like writing gore and angst and that's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but if its yours you can definitely think about injuries. put some research into how those injuries actually occur and how they work in the body + healing times! research how scars look and how they heal as well as long-term injuries. my mcd fics tend to play with body horror and gore and those help add to stuff like shadow knight freakiness and up the stakes when it comes to fight scenes and weapons because it feels like there is a real threat. that's an entirely personal thing for me because that looming major character death tag is Right There and i do kind of enjoy keeping up a constant state of fear. its good to feel like the world has stakes and consequences. and also i like making mcd bloody and a leetle bit darker which does kind of come into play with my worldbuilding so i thought id mention it.

ummm and finally speech/dialogue i think is the biggest one i keep in mind and its a big difference between my mcd and mys fics. i tend to write a lot more flowery (i don't know the right word) for mcd . mcd leans more into the fantasy genre and so i write mcd with a greater focus on world rather than character [i know i said that i prefer character writing before so just hear me out here]. when writing mcd i am far more aware of the greater world that surrounds the characters and even when its not explicitly mentioned i am Thinking about that worldbuilding. whereas when i write mystreet i am in a very character-driven hole and the greater world is not quite as on my mind. even canon mcd assists with this because the world is far more expansive and involves the divine warriors + mystreet doesn't incorporate that world until far later in the seasons and only really vaguely refers to irene as a swear rather than the distinct religious practices present in mcd. comparatively irene has a very constant presence throughout the mcd narrative from season 1 even when her lore was being retconned all over the place. beyond that Awareness of the expansive mcd world, i mention environment far more in mcd fics compared to mys fics. i set scenes way more slowly and take the time to ground the characters in the world and talk about the landscapes/weather/sky a lot oops and it really is because mcd has more of the natural world involved as well as very different architecture. i always like having the environment in mind when i write mcd. and dialogue i write very specifically far more old fashioned and lately i've been trying to make my mcd dialogue feel a lot more traditional. characters obviously are going to speak a lot formally and less casually than their mys counterparts, but i play that up for characters like garroth and zane [zane hasn't been back in a hot minute but when he is back this will come into effect] who don't tend to use contractions as much as ones like laur, for example. i've started drawing out their sentences a bit more, and i also tend to read dialogue aloud to myself a lot to sound it out, see how it feels. even in a fantasy world, realistically characters are going to have vocal quirks, going to stammer on certain words or stumble over their sentences sometimes. i find it adds a sort of realism to their speech to sound out dialogue to yourself to feel how it sounds to say. that's something relevant for mystreet too but still. [and you might have noticed already that my casual typing style tries to mimic where i would usually stumble my words irl or pause for breath or to think HAHA i'm trying to stop it to make my sentences clearer and far more readable since not everyone reads the way that i interpret my own speech into text].

ok sorry i talked so much its 2am here and im literally about to crash so if something in here doesn't make sense its definitely because i'm tired as fuck and about to pass out. that last paragraph was nonsensical im so aware but i hoped at least a little bit of this answered your question. just yell in my asks if i didn't fully answer the question or if you want me to elaborate on anything okay thank youuuu yippeee yipeyipye sorry for yapping bai

[sevendeadlywhispers]

7Seals

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Chapter 13

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•Previous Chapter: Chapter Twelve

•Next Chapter: Chapter Fourteen

•Chapter List

•New chapters every Thursday

•Content: Levi Ackerman × OC female. Slow Burn! Canon verse!

•Word Count: 2.7k

•Warning: This content may not be suitable for all readers. If you've watched all of AOT then you will understand that the show handles heavy subjects such as abuse, racism, violence, and other heavy subjects. This fanfiction will also have the same heavy themes. Chapters with heavy themes will be marked with * at each chapter.

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A/N: Hey babes! I just want to say thank you all for the support. This is my first ever fanfiction & using Tumblr so thanks for the patience and positivity. I’ve read a lot of fanfics to the point I was running out. (I’m a picky bitch) I got to the point where I had an itch that wasn’t being scratched. I needed something so angsty and tension ridden that I decided to create my own story. I hope you guys enjoy this story because I have no plan of ending it anytime soon. Within the next month or so I plan on uploading this fic on Wattpad & ao3 as well. I understand it might be difficult to read on here, bare with me. I’m not tech savvy unfortunately. (2-24-24)

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The infirmary was a place where the scent of antiseptic hung heavier than Hange's lab. I don't know which one I'd rather be at. Hange would just talk my ear off, a lot better than being poked and prodded at. Who knows with Hange though, I could end up as their test subject at any moment. I guess the doctor is a safer option, one that I can hold accountable.

The doctor, with all the charm of a brick wall, attempted to order me around as she waltzed around the room. I didn't want to listen to her, there was no reason for me to be here anyway.

"Sit down, Iris," she demanded.

"I'm fine. I just need new wraps, that's all. I can handle the rest myself," I countered, my bravado masking the twinge of pain radiating from my battered body.

The doctor sighed, her expression a mix of 'Not again' and 'Why me.' She was over my shit and I was over hers as well. I avoid her just as much as she avoids me.

The door swung open without the courtesy of a knock, and in walked Levi, the epitome of perpetual grumpiness.

"When will you learn to knock?" I threw at him, but Mr. Manners over here didn't seem to care.

"Brat," he grumbled, his eyes quickly scanning the room. "Why am I here?"

"She won't sit," the doctor lamented like she was dealing with a toddler who refuses to eat their veggies.

Did she really call the Captain on me?

If Levi hadn't walked in maybe she would have accepted her fate and dealt with the defeat. Levi's eyes laser-focused on me, or maybe it was just his usual stare.

"Your ribs," he stated, a command more than a question. "Sit down."

In reluctant submission, I perched on the uncomfortable examination table, a sigh escaping my lips. The doctor prodded and pressed on every inch of my battered body. I winced, particularly as their fingers found the tender spots on my lower ribs, the pain shooting through me like a lightning bolt.

"I'm fine," I groaned through the discomfort, attempting to downplay the obvious.

"No, you're not," the doctor retorted, unyielding in her assessment. I shot her a scowl as she continued to deliver the unwelcome prognosis.

"Your ribs never healed properly. Maybe if you did as you were told we wouldn't be here. Rest for two weeks, and then we'll have another follow-up."

"Thrilling," I deadpanned, envisioning the excitement of two weeks staring at the ceiling. Levi's glower intensified, probably sensing the impending chaos of my forced downtime.

"She is not to engage in any training or expeditions until she is cleared, Captain," she declared, her stern gaze landing squarely on me.

Levi, arms crossed in that brooding way of his, shot a glare that could make even a Titan think twice.

"Oh, trust me. She won't be."

"I'll be fine. Stop overreacting," I mumbled, dismissing their concern with a wave of my hand. Death and I were like old pals—flirty but never too serious.

"No. You are not fine," the doctor asserted, her exasperation palpable. "You just love flirting with death, don't you?"

"Yeah, just a bit," I grinned, hopping off the examination table as if I hadn't just narrowly escaped becoming Titan chow.

"You're not done," the doctor stated firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Oh, I can just wrap it myself," I offered, trying to sidestep more medical attention.

"Wrong. You'll come to my office every day to get it wrapped,"

"That's okay. I got it," I insisted, attempting to regain control over my destiny.

"It's not an option. You have nothing else to do anyway," Levi chimed in, his annoyance practically a tangible force.

"Paperwork," I informed Levi, I can only envision the burdensome stacks scattered across his desk. "You have mounds of it."

"You can get that done after," he dismissed, a casual wave of his hand.

"Fine, whatever. Just wrap me already," I groaned, reluctantly surrendering to the inevitable visit to the infirmary.

And just like that, my grand plans for rebellion were crushed under the heel of duty and responsibility. No expeditions, no training, just the thrilling routine of daily bandaging sessions. Not even paperwork could get me out of this situation. The glamour of soldier life, they said.

Levi, ever the epitome of brevity, left the doctor's office, leaving me alone with her—a situation I deeply dreaded.

"So," she began, a faux pleasantness tainting her voice. I, on the other hand, contemplated escaping through the window.

"How've you been?"

"Great," I replied, my tone implying anything but.

She rolled her eyes, her hands deftly wrapping my protesting ribs. "Uh-huh," she continued, winding the bandages tighter.

"And sleep? How's that going for you?"

"Amazing. The full eight hours and occasional naps every day," I retorted, my sarcasm dripping like honey.

"Oh really?" she pressed on, unfazed.

"Oh yeah, best sleep I've had in years," I replied with a grin that didn't quite reach my eyes.

"Your eyes say otherwise," she observed, a touch too perceptive for comfort.

I opted for silence as she finished wrapping my ribs, hopping off the bed with an air of finality.

"Anything else, doc?"

"You need to rest," she insisted, stating the impossible.

"You know I can't do that," I shot back, walking out the door before she could further encroach on my stubborn resolve.

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Same old slop bean soup, the Scouts' daily culinary masterpiece – or disaster, depending on how you view things. Trash for us while the other military branches dined like royalty.

With an air of resigned acceptance, I served the lackluster fare into a container, the same repetitive soup that graced our tables day in and day out. Lars, the scouts' chef and bearer of both good and bad news, shattered any hope of something different.

"No bacon today, miss," he declared.

"Shocker," I mutter, unenthusiastically piling the obligatory veggies and bread into a basket.

"This is for the Captain," he grins pulling out a tin canister at his side from his apron.

"I'll make sure he knows. Might even crack a rare smile from humanity's stoic wall." I said taking the canister and quickly putting it in the basket before anyone else sees.

Lars beamed with pride. Everyone admired Captain Levi, and winning his favor in the food department was an achievement, especially for me. Often they would add small bags of sugar in my basket for the Captain or sometimes sweets from the ladies.

It worked in my favor most of the time. Captain didn't want the luxurious treats from his admirers but he did want all the sugar. It was a compromise I was content with. While the girls in the regiment splurged their savings on the Captain thinking it would work in their favor, I snacked on each item.

"To the office?" Eld inquired, strategically positioning himself to block my path.

I can never have a moment to myself.

"Yeah, the thrilling world of paperwork awaits," I replied, attempting to sidestep his social invitation. The mundane mess hall was the last place I wanted to linger.

"Stay, have dinner with us for once," he urged his hand landing on my arm in a well-intentioned but entirely unwelcome gesture.

"Let go,"

Eld complied, but the echoes of his touch lingered, reigniting a familiar anger as I left the mess hall, basket in hand, and a taste of frustration.

Eld doesn't know the details but knows enough to understand I don't like being touched. He's been around enough to know, he's seen enough to know. They all have.

I pushed open Levi's office door, an uninvited guest with a basket full of shit as an excuse for dinner. The room was suffused with the flickering glow of lanterns, and the warmth from the fireplace competed with Levi's ever-present scowl.

As expected, the man himself, sipping tea and drowning in a sea of paperwork, shot me a scowl as I strolled in unannounced.

"It's polite to knock," he scolded, his eyes narrowing.

"Pot calling the kettle black. When was the last time you knocked before barging in?"

Politeness and Levi were distant relatives, especially when it came to door-knocking etiquette. I couldn't help but wonder how many innocent souls fell victim to his uncanny ability to barge in unannounced, even in the men's restroom.

Ignoring his irritated huff, I set the basket on his side table and began unpacking our lovely dinner. Bread, potatoes, carrots, and the perpetually present bean soup – the Scouts' culinary masterpiece. The meat was a luxury reserved for those suicidal expeditions defending humanity.

"I brought you dinner," I declared, crafting a plate for him even though he would insist he was not hungry. The man needed sustenance beyond tea and stress, and someone had to remind him.

"I'm not hungry."

Shocker.

"Shut it. You're going to eat it or I'm going to shove it down your throat," I threatened, depositing the plate on his desk with a decisive thud.

His steel eyes, momentarily diverted from the paperwork, met mine. Levi's face remained an emotionless canvas, an unreadable mask only occasionally betraying a hint of anger. He took a begrudging bite of the bread, showcasing his usual efficiency in devouring it.

What a brat.

"Happy?" he deadpanned, pushing the plate away after a few bites.

"You burn more calories than you take in, Captain. Ever thought about a balanced diet? Y'know one that's not tea and stress?" I smirked at him.

"You are my stress." He said rubbing his temples.

"Oh really?" I challenged him, leaning on his desk. "Last time I checked, I'm the reason you've survived this long."

Levi's eyebrow quirked, his arms crossed, and he leaned in, eyeing me with that infuriatingly unreadable expression.

"Let's not forget I'm the reason you haven't bled out and died yet."

"Well, I'm the reason you have all these fancy teas," I snubbed him. "We both know without me by your side, your likability would be rock bottom."

"We both know I don't give a shit about status," he growled.

"You should," Hange's voice chimed in from the doorway.

I felt my body jolt back as Levi did the same, a rare moment of synchronized surprise.

"Oh, sorry," Hange giggled. "Do you think we interrupted something, Moblit?"

"What do you want, Hange?" Levi groaned, snapping us all back to reality.

They barged into Levi's office like they owned the place, plopping down on his couch with all the grace of a nosy neighbor. Moblit loyally stood by, an unwilling participant in Hange's grand entrance.

"Wow!" Hange gasped dramatically. "Can't I visit my very best friends I haven't seen in a while?"

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You just saw us four hours ago."

"Oh, so you guys can hang out together, but I can't join?" Hange played the victim, poking at invisible wounds.

"We aren't hanging out," Levi and I shouted in unison, our frustration evident.

My ears burned but my cheeks grew hotter at the accusation.

"Really? Then what was all that I saw a moment ago?" Hange prodded, determined to stir the pot.

"Me trying to get this mutt to eat," I groaned, gesturing towards Levi, who shot me a glare that could freeze hell over.

Levi's head snapped toward me, a warning in his eyes. "Watch it, brat," he growled.

I rolled my eyes, choosing to ignore his threat, my attention fixed on Hange. They leisurely got up, stretching their entire body with an exaggerated yawn.

"Well, I guess I'll get going. Be expecting me soon, though! We have some big things to go over," they declared, strolling out the door. Their head peeked back in, a mischievous smirk playing on their lips. "Bye, you two."

"Come on, Moblit. We have planning to do," Hange's voice echoed down the hallway, lingering even after the door closed, leaving Levi and me alone once again.

I flopped onto the couch, covering my eyes with my arms to block out the light.

"What was that about me being stressful again?" I teased Levi.

"Shut it," he groaned. "Be quiet or get out. I have work to do."

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

Gasping for air, I struggled to move, my limbs heavy as if the weight of the world pressed down on me. My feeble attempts to stay conscious were futile.

Coughs wracked my body relentlessly, and the metallic taste of blood coated my mouth, staining my clothes in macabre patterns.

The world spun around me, a disorienting blur that refused to make sense. Panic set in as I tried to grasp the reality of the situation. What was happening to me?

His fist collided with another's face, each blow accompanied by a sickening crunch. His eyes, devoid of any trace of remorse, blazed with an intensity that sent shivers down my spine.

Crimson droplets dripped from his knuckles, creating a grotesque mosaic on the ground. He was forcefully pulled away, his breaths resonating like those of a rabid beast.

His eyes admired the bloodshed.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

"Iris!" I felt a hand urgently shaking my arm and another gripping my shoulder.

My eyes snapped open, and my hands instinctively shot toward the perceived threat, aiming for the throat of the intruder. Before I could tighten my grip, my arms were captured, restrained by a force I couldn't overpower.

"Wake up," a voice commanded its tone firm yet oddly soothing, accompanied by a hand gently resting on my head.

Levi.

Though my eyes were open, I struggled to transition. Levi's presence began to anchor me to reality.

"Breath," he instructed, locking eyes with me while still holding my wrists in a firm, grounding grip.

We found ourselves on the floor of his office, the crackling fire providing a grip on reality. My back leaned against the couch, and the warmth from the flames seemed distant.

"It hurts," I mumbled, my voice a fragile whisper.

"What hurts?" Levi questioned, his concern evident.

"It hurts to breathe," I replied more audibly, a hint of irritation seeping into my voice.

"Lay down on the couch," he ordered, his grip easing on my wrists.

"I can't. I need to get back to Alexander," I insisted, urgency tainting my words.

"Please, let go. It hurts."

His face appeared paler than usual, a stark contrast against the flickering firelight. Levi's words reached me, but their meaning blurred in my disoriented state.

"You're not awake," he asserted, rising and placing a cup in my hands, ensuring I had a firm grip to prevent any accidental spills. The cold tea trickled down my lips as I stared at the dancing flames behind him. He knelt beside me, still his rough callous hands covering my small puny finger as he held the cup.

"Alexander is in custody," he informed me, a somber note underlying his words.

"Drink," he commanded, lifting the cup to my lips.

As I sipped the tea, I noticed how close and docile he was with me. The heat of his body seeped through his clothes and into mine. The smell of mint and black tea radiated off of him, wafting my way with every move he made.

"What happened?" my voice a hushed murmur.

"You had another night of terror," he responded, his gaze shifting away.

"I realize that," I groaned, embarrassment flooding me. "What happened while I was out?"

"You were screaming," he admitted, his eyes avoiding mine.

"How long?" I pressed.

"At least ten minutes," he sighed. "I couldn't wake you."

Defeat settled over me as I absorbed the impact of my nightmares still haunting me after all these years.

"You're still dreaming about it?" Levi asked softly, his concern evident.

I met his gaze, and concern clouded his eyes, but I ignored it, choosing silence over confirmation. Four years had passed, yet the ghosts of the past lingered.  I was still a prisoner to my dreams.

"No," I deflected, pushing myself off the ground and heading toward the door.

"Thanks for the tea, but I should probably get going. It's late. I didn't mean to fall asleep here. I'm sorry."

Without awaiting his response, I walked out the door, leaving the haunting shadows of the night terror behind.

Will I ever forget the devilish gaze in Levi's eyes that night?

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

[swiftzeldas]

Hm just got hit with a weird wave of anxiety about trying to start writing x files fanfiction in the year of our lord 2024 because this is a thirty year old fandom and people have been writing about these characters fucking and falling in love since i was barely old enough to walk let alone put word to paper and I know I personally am very picky about the fanfic I read so I certainly don’t expect my work to be to everyone’s taste but then I also worry that the particular brand of m/s/k I am interested in writing is too much het for mulder/krycek fans or too much slash or too little mulder for the msr fans or frankly not fucked up enough for the Krycek girlies but then again at the same time I don’t really know what I’m worried about because i NEVER worry about this type of thing when it comes to fanfic. I just wrote over 5k in two nights with no intention of slowing down and I’m having a ball in this bitch. Maybe I’m just like ok x files fans idk what you’ve been up to for the past 30 years but here I am with humble offerings I hope you like them

[daydreamsonacloudyday]

@mythalsfavour​

You can say that again. I’d much rather just blab here to the three people who are interested. I mean, it sucks not being able to have a big community to just go out and find people who like similar things as you, especially when all you want to do is blab about it and not feel like you’re screaming into the void... but I am waaaaay too picky about what I like and don’t like, and I am NOT getting into that shit again. I will keep my Mass Effect unpoisoned, thank you very much.

[commandsir]

                                               𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙣

— 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙨

(𝙋𝙀𝙉)𝙉𝘼𝙈𝙀: puck.  𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙎:  acknowledge i’m alive & occasionally conversational. i’m not picky.  𝙕𝙊𝘿𝙄𝘼𝘾: whatever capricorn means.  𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙂𝙇𝙀 / 𝙏𝘼𝙆𝙀𝙉: sleepy.

— 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙨

𝙞.  i collect notebooks. hard bound, soft bound, spiral bound, barely bound, composition, embossed, you name it. habit borne out of writing my own little stories from almost the moment i learned to read & constantly looking for something to scribble my thoughts on. there’s shelves in my room full of them lined them up largest to smallest. every blog has its own notebook. each of my novel ideas has its own, too. eventually, every single one ends up with a wackily specific purpose. they’re half the reason why i never wear a normal purse (the other half is books). what can i say, it’s impossible to be bored with a book or paper close by. 

𝙞𝙞.  no one in the world owns more grey t-shirts. both in number & in wardrobe percentage. seriously, it might be a problem? grey is my favorite color so it just HAPPENS.

𝙞𝙞𝙞.  i consider talking about myself to be deeply uncomfortable, but my first job out of college was not only a job in my field (art history) but a position that required me to have full command of the place i was in & the space i occupied in it. what a challenge! during my four years at this art museum, i could pretty easily launch into the most colorful descriptions of each exhibit/random art piece someone pointed while giving it relevance with a fair amount of ease. technically i was getting paid to be a nerd, so that wasn’t the problem. the aforementioned challenge came when people asked why i worked at the museum/how i got there. that’s where life had to get interesting. that job made me bolder & far more capable of keeping an engaging conversation going without anyone’s feet dragging for the door while teaching me how to make the most banal facts about my surroundings or myself something worth being interested in. the me before & after that job are two very different people. 

— 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

while i’ve been story scribbling since i was a bitty, i’ve been writing on tumblr since 2009. fanfiction preceded roleplaying, which began in middle school, but i’ve never had a hobby that stuck with me quite this long: 13 years & not stopping anytime soon. fandoms include chronicles of narnia, supernatural horror, percy jackson & the olympians, merlin, game of thrones, mcu & marvel comics, the 100, & star wars! 

— 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚

heroines/anti-heroines/anyone who firmly resists the status quo, though i’ve always had an immense affection for the fictional flashes in the pan. some of my favorite characters are the ones i’ve yoinked from 15 minutes or less of screen time or a character that doesn’t get mentioned in more than one chapter or one book in a series. building oc’s from scratch often feels like pressing luck i don’t have. still, i’ll say this about the minor characters: give me a name, any date, a lock of hair, a blurry memory, & a thread from the last shirt they wore & by golly i’ll turn it into something captivating.

— 𝙨𝙪𝙗-𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨

𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛: giggle inducing. heart racing. so sweet & so much fun. but how did the couple get this comfortable? there’s intense emotion shot through everything i write & even the more gentle aspects of a ship will need to have this for the fluff to fly. even something as simple as slice of life has little elements of emotion & history that trace back to deeper parts of the story. muses that go through the wringer certainly need a breather, although when it comes down to it i’m most interested in knowing what left them out of breath in the first place.

𝙨𝙢𝙪𝙩: not an expert. doesn’t scare me. i won’t smut for the sake of smut, but i won’t pretzel bend around an interaction to avoid it, i guess. that area of rp does come with a lot of personal caveats, both obvious and not so obvious. be over 18+/don’t be lying. don’t push it if i’m not ready because i won’t be pushing you if you aren’t. story is king. fade to black is always an option. above all, let it any smut be a reflection of the characters, their emotional, spiritual, and romantic journeys, not an excuse to post loony lemons. if i’m gonna write it, it’s gonna be an interaction that elevates or complicates a ship and their dynamic going forward. do it for the growth - and sometimes, like with fluff, because the characters we put through hell deserve something soft.

𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩: my rp nickname used to be the merry sadist so do with that what you will. my default, right here. for as long as i’ve been roleplaying i’ve planted myself firmly in angst & am willing to go the distance with it. to me, angst isn’t just simple sadness: it’s a kind of chemistry where i can take emotions apart chemical by chemical, element by element, whittling them down to the root. where irl hard times reveal the truest form of self, i think angst does that in roleplay. through it, canon becomes elevated and explored in ways that aren’t otherwise. the plumbing of emotional depths can lead to plenty of surprising potential story arcs, character fears to mess with, intense action & adventure and danger, plus leaning back & laughing at characters in awkward positions. turns out making yourself cry & watching muses stumble around an angst-filled plot maze are both equally entertaining. 

— 𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙫𝙨. 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙨

for first interactions, i flip flop between plotting first or winging it first based on whoever i’m talking to. if starter, sometimes it needs a little bit of linear establishment before i begin or i’ll want to clear an idea i have with the other mun first. if meme, they’re tantalizing little hints that could lead to a world of possibility for rad interactions. so whatever you’re comfortable with, odds are i will be happy to oblige.

𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙙: @honorhunt  ♡

𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜: @grcyrebcl @manaborn @withoutpeer @krxtaa @godblooded​ @webbfluid @toface @vsoatahn @rcdioactive @nabxrrie @sxperflxity @stillfocvsed​  @ecsile​ @outlawiism​ @asycuwish​​ @conzierge​​ @jedimessiah @adversitybloomed @createshope @asteritm​ @vuulpecula @jaigalorad @kyberled @praefurnium @aetcrnus @bastxrds​ @kalesera​ @krrsantcn​ @graunblida​ @acharnemcnt​ 

[landoncrris]

i’m so picky with what i read so i barely give new or other people a chance :’)

ouch

well i’m sorry, i can try to read more from now on but if i won’t like it that’s just the way it is, not everyone can like every sort of fanfiction but that’s why fics are so great imo :)

[deathvsthemaiden]

Tagged by @florrdemaga (thank you Iris! 💜🪄) to fill out this tag meme! These questions were really fun, I’m glad I was tagged 🏷🕊

1. Do you like answering tags?

LOVE answering tags!! Sometimes during dry spells where no one’s rlly doing any tag memes I’m like maybe I should start one... have no ideas tho alas ✊🏽😔💔

2. Do you prefer to write fanfiction, read fanfiction, create fanart, make video edits, or none of the above?

Create fanart!!! Oh god I have so many ideas for fan and original art I just barely draw anymore for various reasons. Sometimes I look at my old wips and make myself sad for no good reason, I don’t want to talk about it 😞🥀 (<- she’s being dramatic ignore her)

I dabble in reading fanfic but rarely, because I don’t have the patience to comb thru it all for quality stuff that suits my tastes AND. Most of the time the stuff I wanna read in terms of fanfic doesn’t exist bc I’m specific and picky and/or I most wanna read about my favorite side characters who get less spotlight in their respective canons... but because they’re obscure faves, I have fewer fics to choose from 😔 and I wouldn’t know where to start writing my own fanfiction, writing cohesive coherent stories in general trips me up an insane amount, so I just close my eyes and dream up vague scenarios from time to time 😴💭

3. Nails painted (include what color) or not?

I default to any bright or dark red, pale/shiny pink, plum purple, or copper. I usually paint my pointer fingers a different color because it makes the acts of pointing and gesturing more fun... I can’t explain it. Rarely do I remember to actually paint my nails tho!

4. What would your amortentia smell like? (For those who don’t know Harry Potter, amortentia is a love potion that smells different to each person based on what attracts them. Basically what are your favorite smells?)

Roses, jasmine, sage, oud, cooking or baking just like in general, can’t think of specific dishes rn, the sea, coffee, chai.... I can’t rlly choose, I don’t think about smells often 😳😳😳😳😳 I just like what I like in the moment and usually forget later GWUSBSNS

5. Would you prefer to live in an extremely hot or cold climate?

HOTTTT!!! Hot a thousand times over 🔥

6. Favorite flavor of chapstick or do you not wear any?

I acquired a tube of pomegranate burt’s bees recently and it wiped clean any and all prior chapstick flavors from my memory... am obsessed with it and the subtle red it leaves.

7. Enemies to lovers or friends to lovers?

GOD THE SECOND ONE... bores me most of the time, at least conceptually, so enemies to lovers. I much prefer drama and the idea of getting to meet new people instead of sticking to someone you’ve known forever, like for me personally friends to o lovers just feels too “expected” or “easy” (these are not the right words I can’t think of any better ones rn tho have mercy) unless it’s done in a veryyy specific way. And sometimes the obstacles in friends to lovers feel less compelling/convincing than the ones present in enemies to lovers. (I’m generalizing but it’s sort of impossible to avoid doing that when answering a q like this!)

I also love enemies to lovers or almost any complicated fictional relationship w/ some sort of animosity or tension involved because when handled effectively it’s more engaging to watch characters navigate emotions that feel almost like opposites. Also they validate my strong belief that love is never uncomplicated or effortlessly “pure,” and that the existence of it doesn’t cancel out the very real possibility of less savory and potentially valid feelings. In my experience most relationships are complicated by weird combinations of feelings and that makes the good parts of them more... idk... satisfying or precious. I’m messy basically.

8. Favorite type of weather?

Sunny sunny sunny sunny sunny 🥺🤲🏽☀️

9. Do you use :), :], or :D?

:) and :D !

Tagging: @pinkafropuffs @noblyphantasmic @chaliceandsword @chiiquitita @fithragaer @fatallist and... 6 is a nice number, I’ll stop here because I’m in a rush, but as always this is free and fair game for anyyyyyyone! Be bold be swift be unafraid 🕊

[peculiarmindset]

Are you okay with nsfw stories? Is there something you don't like in fanfics?🤔

NSFW fics? I enjoy reading them and I am able to write them, it just doesn’t come as easily to me like romance and comedy does- those are my main genres. It would take me a legit 2 days to write out one sex scene while half that time I could write a normal chapter 😅 I’m busy with irl stuff too, so that’s why I don’t write nsfw too often.

And the reason why I haven’t written much smut here is because I’m putting all my nsfw skills into my upcoming HP series (I feel like I’ve been building up a lot of hype for it, but I promise it will be worth it, specifically for my kink readers- particularly those for burping, farting and scat 😋).

Things I don’t like in fics? Hmmm…🤔

I don’t like overly dramatic situations. Like when the writer drags out the conflict or misunderstanding for so long when it could have been resolved quickly.

I hate overly awkward situations.

I’m not a fan of angst.

I don’t like stupid stories- pwp is fine, but I prefer a decent plot to what I read, even if it’s short.

I don’t like when the characters I like are written poorly and treated badly- hence why I hate humiliation, degradation and torture. I like hurt/comfort though.

BDSM isn’t my thing. I don’t hate it and it can be pretty interesting to read when it’s done right, but I don’t necessary go out of my way to read it, let alone write it

I’m not particularly fond of the use of sex toys neither- like BDSM, I don’t hate it but I don’t go out of my way to read/write it

I already said my thoughts about face farting before- I don’t hate it, but it’s awkward for me

I don’t like shit-eating. It takes a lot to gross me out and this is one of them. I won’t even consider writing this.

I HATE INFIDELITY. Threesomes are fine- never written one nor do I particularly want to though.

I am really uncomfortable with situations involving drugs and when characters get drunk/intoxicated- this is due to a personal trauma. I won’t go into detail, but I’ve experienced when people get very violent when they were drunk or drugged out. It brings back bad memories…so please never ask me of this. I can barely even handle drinking parties in stories. Many people find it fun- but I don’t.

No domestic violence- same as my reason for drugs and alcohol.

Bad spelling and grammar is NO. I myself have horrible spelling skills and it can take hours for me to revise a chapter. So if I can put in the time to produce something decent, then others can too.

I only do gay fics (kink and non-kink). I’ve written only BL fics for so long that I haven’t read or written any other sex pair (as the main focus) since I first started writing fanfiction over 10 years ago.

I have emetophobia. Nuff said.

I’m not an animal person, so no Furry/Beastiality neither (but I do like omegaverse).

I also don’t like gore, vore, macro, micro, cannibalism, rape, non-con, open relationships, orgies, gangbang, homophobia, racism, sexism, and darkfics.

I generally like a happy ending- although I sometimes get in moods where I’m craving for a good tragedy.

I apologize for being so picky. But basically anything that wasn’t brought up here is either something I like, I don’t care about either way or I haven’t discovered yet, lol 😆

[bigskydreaming]

what are your favorite and least favorite tropes in fanfiction regarding dick grayson?

Most of these I feel are probably a given with me given that I am apparently physically incapable of being subtle and am donating my body to science upon my demise so that this phenomenon may be studied. For Science.

(But also like, the funny thing about me is as much as I rant about a few specific topics its only so frequent because there’s actually only a few specific things I gripe about its just that they’re eeeeeeeeeeverywhere.)

Thus, in no particular order, my least favorite Dick Grayson tropes in fanon and in canon because I can’t read apparently OR AT LEAST I CHOOSE NOT TO FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS EXERCISE, JEEZ, LEAVE ME ALONE....

1) Police officer Dick Grayson

2) Dick hated Jason pre-death and/or judges and is incapable of understanding or empathizing with Jason post-his return

3) Police officer Dick Grayson

4) Dick’s loved ones and friends all making jokes and insults out of the nickname he keeps in memory of his parents and Dick being all like lol this is fine, this isn’t debilitating to my self-esteem at all hahaha oh man that was a good one, I AM a Dickface, you nailed it!

5) Police officer Dick Grayson

6) Dick’s loved ones and friends all punching Dick every time he puts a foot out of place and then everyone both in-universe and in-comments being like NO PROBLEMS DETECTED, and also WOW, CHILL OUT DG, TEMPER MUCH?

7) Police officer Dick Grayson

8) Dick fired Tim and callously kicked him out of his home and the city UMM METHINKS THE FUCK NOT

9) Police officer Dick Grayson

10) Only addressing conflicts between Bruce and Dick when using the framing device “when you think about it though isn’t it still like at least half Dick’s fault that Bruce fired him and kicked him out of his home and hit him and guilt-tripped him into doing what he wanted.”

11) Bonus round - sub Dick Grayson. Like, I barely ever read smut in this fandom because I’m like ‘mmm, no thx and also hard pass’ to rape and incest as fetish or porn, and its like....hard enough to find any mature content with Dick that doesn’t overlap with at least one of those so I just kinda stopped looking ages ago, but even just when glancing my eyes past tags while browsing, I just DON’T GET THIS. I tend to be a variety is the spice of life kinda guy and thus usually can make a case for any character going any which way in any number of things, but this is the one character where I’m like, I do not see any angle in which he has a submissive bone in his body. Yeah he has control freak tendencies and there’s that trope about people who spend most of their time in charge wanting to give up control and let go at times, buuuuuut that only actually works with people who don’t fully WANT to be in charge or control to begin with, not people like Dick whose control freak tendencies IMO are directly born of how rarely he gets to be in control of even his own personal life in the first place. Just doesn’t compute for me.

And in no particular order, top ten most favorite Dick Grayson takes in canon and fanon, with these weirdly just being the direct inverse of things I hate because I mentioned the Not Subtle thing and also the Not Actually As Picky As I Often Come Across As, right?

1) Anything other than police officer Dick Grayson

2) Dick and Jason being bros who get along and confide in each other about the stuff they can’t/won’t share with anyone else because they understand each other in ways most others never will, and also also them having Secret History as Brothers BECAUSE THEY ARE BROTHERS WITH HISTORY BUT I FUCKIN’ DIGRESS

3) A Tim who respects and appreciates Dick’s contributions to his life and happiness and the amount of time and effort Dick has put into being there for him often at his own personal expense, even if there have been like one or two times in the grand scheme of thirty years of comic book content when Dick wasn’t able to put Tim first because he felt he had to put someone with directly competing needs to Tim’s first in this particular time and place instead, just like he had so often before put Tim’s needs ahead of others who had competing needs at the time

4) A Bruce who acknowledges his fuck-ups with Dick and actually apologizes instead of just being like “I am going to look at you solemnly with my Apologetic Eyes but its on you to read the Apology clearly present in my Apologetic Eyes cuz that’s the only one you’ll ever get as I am a genius and a renowned playboy but I do not do the words good except for when I am being genius-y and renowedly playboy-y and not Apologetic.” And who also puts in actual work to actually fix things with Dick when he fucks up in that over-the-top-I GOTTA BE THE BEST THERE EVER WAS, POK-E-MON!! kinda over-achieving way in which he does everything in life.

5) An extended Batfamily and hero community who actually ACT like Dick is someone they respect and appreciate and are in awe of for his position and accomplishments in the hero community and the fact that he’s been out there risking his life day in and day out for people almost as long as any other hero out there, and who has in fact been doing this for a FAR greater percentage of his lifetime than any other hero, period. Rather than an extended Batfamily and hero community who just SAY that Dick is respected and appreciated by everyone and this is why actually they resent him and think he’s over-rated, with no actual sign or evidence of Respect, Appreciation and/or Awe on display anywhere at any time ever.

6) A Dick Grayson who is allowed by the narrative to be as hyper-competent and intelligent and multi-skilled as any member of the Batfamily, without feeling a need for qualifiers about him being second best or a good acrobat but not as good at the detective stuff as the others, etc, etc. Noooooope. Nerp. Nuh-uh. Someday I will rise from my death-bed amid my death-throes one last time just long enough to gasp out “The Batfamily’s entire high concept is that they are a family of literal Mary Sues and thus all of them are every bit as intelligent and hyper-competent as the plot demands and its stupid to try and rank them and telling when Dick somehow always ends up ranked bottom last despite being the kid whose very existence as a hyper-competent little genius troll boy is what jumpstarted the kid hero trend in universe in the first place, which is the kind of thing that could ONLY happen if he was impressing and making second-guessers of nay-sayers left and right BUT I FUCKING DIGRESS, GOOD NIGHT NEW YORK, AND SCENE!” At which point I will expire, my work here done.

7) A Dick Grayson who is allowed to get mad and yell when people DO FUCKED UP THINGS LIKE HIT HIM AND BLAME HIM FOR SHIT THAT ISN’T HIS FAULT without this being viewed as a “flaw” and him Being Dick Grayson Badly. Extra points for a Dick Grayson who is allowed to stay centered in his own traumas and tragedies without everyone else around him somehow making it out to be that they’re MORE victimized by the things he is most directly the victim of.

8) A Dick Grayson who eats more than just sugary cereal because he was literally raised from birth even pre-Bruce as a world class athlete and show me one single person that description matches who doesn’t know how to actually keep to a nutritious diet. Yes, by all means have him eat the occasional sugary snack as a treat, that’s fine, but when the take is that this is all he exists on or would be the only thing he exists on if not for the intercession of Actual Adults being like eat your veggies, Dickie, like.....mmmm, but whatcha doin’, fic?

9) A Dick Grayson who doesn’t actually even HAVE to get mad and lose his temper when people do fucked up things like hit him and blame him for shit that isn’t his fault or do nothing but mock and insult him and make him feel bad, because there’s actually other friends and family present who make a point to be like WHOA, HOW ABOUT I SHUT THIS SHIT DOWN LIKE AN INTELLECTUAL, BECAUSE THIS SHIT IS NOT OKAY? I’m just saying, how is it that every single fic and their grandma posits the existence of a swear jar because Alfred will not tolerate uncouth language in his domain, but it coooooooompletely flies over everyone’s head that Alfred of all people would be okay with people casually disrespecting his eldest grandson for the sake of a yawn-worthy punchline every single time someone opens their mouth to say “Dickhead” without even any kind of “Swear jar!” follow-up, let alone a “I don’t know who gave you the idea it was alright to disrespect Master Dick’s memories of his parents, young sirs, but I assure you most assuredly...‘TWAS NOT I.”

10) The existence of literally any other plot for Dick Grayson than one involving or relying on brainwashing. Like, just spitballing here but maybe people would have less trouble acknowledging and remembering the hyper-competence and skilled and genius qualities of the first Batkid if he was able to more often put those things on display instead of just running around 24/7 either brainwashed or brandishing pom-poms in enthusiastic commemoration of the hyper-competence and genius of everyone BUT him.

11) Bonus round - literally any other career choice besides being a cop.

[sugarcarnation]

What couples/ships do you read fics for?

currently most of the fics i read are klaine fanfictions. there are just so many good klaine fics out there and they are my favorite ship on glee so that works out pretty well

but other than that i have read some faberry and pezberry fics as well as like two rachel/mercedes fics (those were pretty much the only two fics i could find of this pairing)

i pretty much read fics with rachel/all the girls but for some of the pairings there really isn’t much to find (which is kinda sad because i’m usually way more invested in the pairings that are really unpopular)

and talking about pairings with barely no fics i would definitely love to read tincedes and marlique fics but they are hard to find

and i don’t think i have ever read a fic specifically for them but i love it when samcedes is a background pairing in a fic i’m reading. but i’m generally not very picky about what kind of background pairings there are

[bleak-nomads]

@xcenticyellowzebra replied to your post:

Oh. My. God. I barely use this blog and English is not my native language. But I can’t keep silent anymore! I’ve been obsessed with this book for over a year. Larsen/Van Weyden happened to be my first slash OTP ever, and I’m still not over it and can talk about them for hours. I mean, I’ve written 50k+ words fanfiction and meta (sorry, all in Russian), so this is pretty serious.

(more rad content continues under the cut :D )

OMG!!! I think I’ve seen your fics, they’re on Ao3, right? ( Citizen_Of_Matratzien ?) I hit up the tag when I shoved The Sea-Wolf into my yuletide nominations and I was like “heck yeah content” “oh no can’t read that”. Sadly I’m like. Barely 1.5lingual and Russian is not one of my languages, but damn, I’m so glad you’re writing for the ship!

(sorry, out of symbols) Anyway, thank you so much for your playlist and your wonderful commentary to it. It’s amazing how you adjusted it to the timeline of the book. I’m listening to it right now and will go check out the lyrics, but the first two songs already got me. I would also like to share a couple of songs, may I?

Ayyy you’re so welcome! I’m honestly delighted that anyone genuinely in the fandom found it, much less the ship writer in the tag! I hope you liked the rest of it! And heck yes song recs are always welcome!

IMHO, “Killer on the Mirror” by Set It Off captures character of Wolf Larsen perfectly (a, so to say, softer side). the line “And I’m sorry, but I don’t feel bad for you ‘Cause I know if you could switch this You’d be dishing out the same shit Saying sorry, but I don’t feel bad” is for me something he could could say to Hump. And “Me & the Devil” by Soap&Skin. It’s just… THAT feeling.

Oh, super enjoyed both of these. The first is a great character study but I’m pretty picky about instrumentation for matching songs to characters, so it felt like more of a modern/neo-noir AU to me. Definitely see the lyrics for Wolf Larsen though. And I slammed that second one onto an new playlist, absolutely love that. The violins scream “oceancore” to me, and I love the way the chorus evokes Wolf Larsen and his reluctant first mate. 

Anyway, I still have a few fanarts to share and a plenty of headcannons, but I’m shy and I’d better take a break for now.

Would LOVE to read and/or see those! I made one fan art which you can find here. It was actually supposed to be a canon illustration but I’m uhhh shy about drawing nudity so it’s not. quite canon. But yeah, like the way it turned out and would love to see some of your content too! Thanks for writing in!! 

[kuroosweakness]

Even more more facts about 🐾 anon bc you seem to like them so much:

Ayo the fact u think I’m a main character </3

I’m asexual but am also straight😔 yall prob don’t care tho I just wanted to say it

I am watching food wars😃😃 help me I want to go home but I’m doing it for the food so I can hopefully cook better😭😭

I’ll let you know if I can cook better from watching food wars or not

Ok idk if I can cook better but it’s not as bad as I originally thought and it has a good plot

I remember you asking why 🌝 is my first recent... LISTEN THAT FACE IS A MOOD ITS LIKE A LENNY FACE ON A MOON

If I was in AOT my two moods would be: “if I die I die, whether it’s bc of natural selection or I got killed by a Titan is debatable” and “it is what it is”

Team Eren all the way btw😎🥶🥶🥵💯💯💯💯💯❗️❗️❗️❗️

*war flashbacks of Assassination Classroom😭😭*

I read fanfiction of fictional characters but I could never do it with real people. I’m just saying it don’t feel right y’kno? That’s a real person with they own life outside of acting and whatever they do. It kinda upsets me but I don’t judge

I’m not a very judgmental person, I really just be minding my business

I’m so THICK in the head, like you can be like “well today was awesome” and I’d be like “cool! Tell me what happened!” AND ID BE GENUINELY EXCITED TO HEAR HOW YOUR DAY WENT AND I WOULDN’T GET YOU’RE BEING SARCASTIC (im not too dumb tho so I CAN pick it up from your voice or something, texts, not so much😭)

i’m lonely :(

Currently trying to find a crush in food wars bc all that’s keeping me going is the food🖐😔

On MyAnimeList it says I completed 140 anime so yea

I have only completely dropped one show and that’s yugioh arc v but seriously I watched the original and I don’t see a point in watching more

I apparently have like over 30 anime on hold BUT IN MY DEFENSE I’ve put a lot on hold so I can finish the new ones out like AOT s4, JJK, and TPN s2

I wonder what mood I give off🧐

Omg this is the only one where I didn’t talk about music

How do cooks fill food with food? Like let’s say you stuffed chicken with cheese, HOW DO YOU DO THAT?😣

:P

I’ll eat literally anything if it’s good.... unless it triggers my pickiness😬 which is easy to trigger if I see something stringy in my food or something. Like I’m really picky when it comes to onions bc they can leave a little bit of a stringy outer part bc of it and I HATE bean sprouts and I have no other reason to hate them other than the way they look. At least I like fruits and vegetables 😚 (except spinach if made wrong)

Idk what my favorite food is, the food I eat most frequently is rice and noodles but even then idk what my fav food is

I really love tea though ^^

I’m also into medicinal herbs and gardening. I even wanna go foraging!!^^ however ^^* I kinda don’t like being outside but I’m getting more used to it

I’m so used to subtitles, it’s like I don’t need to fully read them to know what’s going on. Whenever I’m watching sub the voice acting happens on its own y’know? But it’s still in japanese?? It’s hard to explain

I love how through my asks you can see some of my adventures of going through anime, like I do really love Haikyuu (it’s my fav after all) but you can also kinda watch as I enjoy other animes!

I love to play chess^^ but I’m a big wild card since I’m literally willing to sacrifice all my pieces to protect the king and queen, the queen even more so. (I also don’t do too much thinking when it comes to the game, it’s a wonder how I end all of my games in wins or ties ;-;)

Hugs and kithes!!🥰🥰

Well imma go back to watching food wars since I can’t think of anything else :P gn!

(Did you notice I organize the facts about me by color?👀) (that took way longer than necessary🖐😭)

oh okay okay, i don’t know much about sexual orientation but i’m trying to learn more! 

lmaoo i’ve also watched food wars! it was one of my first animes. other than the ... it’s a really good anime! i’ve learned a lot of new tips/tricks about cooking and i love the character dynamics :) tell me how it goes? 

(i have a crush on akira) 

i should start using the moon emoji more ... 

LMAO i haven’t watched aot much but ME TOO 

yeah yeah i can also understand the not being able to do that with real people! that’s so cute though, to be genuinely interested!  i’m sarcastic all the time lmao :) 

:( come talk to me! 

lmaoo soma’s hot though! and got a great personality!! also, takumi! KUGA REMINDS ME A LOT OF NISHINOYA!! 

you give off a really hyper and extroverted energy :) 

140 ??? oh wow, i genuinely impressed 

LMAO I HAVE NO IDEA. i can barely cook eggs. 

me too!! food is food :) i also eat rice and noodles the most often!! :)) tea too!!! 

ohh medicinal herbs! i’ve learned a bit about chinese medicinal herbs before ... doesn’t the assistant of erina (hisoka, pink haired girl from food wars) study medicinal herbs ?? 

ME TOO. I CAN’T understnad anything without captions now lmaoo 

omg you like playing chess? i kinda wanna play with you! :)) i’m not really goood at it but i’d love to try 

hugs and kisses 😼

enjoy watching food wars!! :))) talk to me about it, i haven’t watched in so long ahhh 

[backtothestart02]

Struck by Lightning - 1/? | westallen fanfiction

A/N: After much struggling with names and how auditions exactly work and I’m pretty positive I got a lot of it wrong, but whatever...the first chapter is finally here!

Remember, I’m using gossip from Grant & Candice’s real life during The Flash’s run as inspiration for this soapy fic. I’m not saying this is what happened. Not by a long shot. So, just enjoy! :D And if it’s not your cup of tea, I have plenty of other fics to read. :)

It should also be noted that Barry is with Patty at the beginning of this fic, so you will have to endure some spallen. ;)

*Many thanks to @valeriemperez for beta’ing.

...

Chapter 1 -

Twenty-five, half-dressed, and agitated as hell, Barry Allen came out of the bathroom and whined to his girlfriend sitting in the living room.

“Pattyyy.”

She lifted her head up, pushed her reading glasses up over her honey-colored strands and waited. She’d been prepared for the third outfit tried on for the day with him, but the loosely hanging purple and gold striped tie, blue and white unbuttoned collared shirt, and navy boxers with yellow ducks on them she could have never prepared for.

“Did you wear those boxers to bed?” she asked, setting her open book down on the couch and meeting him halfway across the room.

“No,” he said immediately. “I wore purple ones with green frogs on them and the word ‘Leap!’ a few different places.”

Patty bit her bottom lip and covered her mouth to restrain a giggle. She hadn’t been blind to the way his heels lifted and voice got squeaky when he said the word, ‘Leap’.

“What?” He frowned.

“Nothing.” She shook her head and tugged on his tie. “Come with me, Mr. Allen. I’ve made you some breakfast.”

He stopped suddenly, and she let go of him.

“Patty, I can’t eat now. I’m going to be late!”

A white, fluffy dog appeared at Barry’s feet and barked promptly up at her, wagging its tail. Then another almost identical dog appeared doing the same thing.

Patty looked down at them and then up at Barry, who seemed to be oblivious to the pair.

“Looks like the kids want to eat.”

He frowned. “Help me get dressed. Please?”

She sighed and shook her head at him.

“Just let me pour some dog food into the bowls, and then-”

“No!” He tugged on her arm in the direction of the bedroom.

“I don’t think we have time for that.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Won’t you be late?”

“PG version, Patty. Please.”

She dropped the suggestive demeanor and followed him into the bedroom where a pile of clothes lay on their bed and several strewn out hanging from the top of the closet door frame.

“Oh, boy.” She placed her hands on her hips.

“Well?” he asked hopefully, following her gaze.

“You can get rid of the tie,” she said. “Didn’t the casting director tell you that it wasn’t necessary to be so formal yesterday? Especially since the scene you’re reading from your character is in a more casual setting?”

“Yeah…” he trailed off, untying his tie and dropping it on the floor with the button-down shirt he’d been wearing. “But he also said a white t-shirt and sweats was too casual when I came in that way the day before.”

Patty nodded and cringed a bit.

“It kinda is.”

His shoulders slumped.

“So, what do I wear?”

She walked across the room and picked out a few items, one from the bed and another from the closet.

“Jeans,” she said, tossing a dark pair at him, which he just barely caught. “STAR WARS shirt.” She tossed the black tee at him.

“Wait, for real? Isn’t that too-?”

“Casual?” she filled in. “Your character’s a nerd.” She came to him and draped her arms around his neck. “Like you, like us.” She nuzzled his nose. “Put them on,” she whispered, then smiled. “If they disapprove again, just ask them.”

Barry blanched, as if the suggestion was completely intolerable.

“I can’t-”

“Or you can do the white tee with the red plaid button-down and vest. That’s nerdy too.”

She walked out into the living room and then the kitchen to feed the dogs.

Barry turned to look in the mirror with the clothes in his arms. He supposed Patty was right. Maybe he was overanalyzing this. He just needed to find the right ensemble and stick to it. But not wear it every day. He should definitely not wear it every day. That would mean a lot of laundry to do more than once a week. Though it would only be a few things to wash…

No. He was not going to wear the same thing every day.

“Hurry up, Babe,” came from the kitchen. “You still gotta eat and fix that bed head of yours.”

Barry paled. She was right. His hair was a mess, going in every direction. It was probably due to how little sleep he’d gotten the night before, tossing and turning, waking Patty up a few times. He couldn’t help it. This was the third day of chemistry tests, and he hadn’t felt certain about any of the women that had come in to do what should’ve been an easy, straightforward scene with him.

He’d already gotten his script for the pilot, and all the other actors had been hired for their respective characters. He was ready to get started! So, where was the mystery woman that was supposed to be perfect for him? Er- his character. Would they ever find her?

Shaking it off for the time being, Barry quickly got into the clothes thrust into his arms and power-walked to the bathroom to finish his morning routine, including fixing that hair of his. Then, he slid out into the kitchen and held out his arms, waiting for Patty’s approval.

She smiled, her perfect white teeth all showing.

“You look darling, Darling.”

He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as he came to sit at the stool near where she was standing.

“I made you a bagel.”

He scoffed. “That’s it?”

She looked at him, amused. “Aren’t we the picky one?”

He blushed. “Sorry, it’s just… You made it sound like-”

“I made the works for you? Eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausage, etcetera?”

“Well…” He looked down at his fidgeting fingers. “Yeah.”

She tilted his head up and kissed him on the lips.

“I did. You can eat it when you come home from your auditions.”

He blinked.

“You’re already five minutes late! Go!”

He turned to look at the clock on the wall and immediately panicked. He got up, slipped his shoes on and ran out the door.

“Barry!” She ran after him. “Your breakfast! Your break-”

But he was gone and wasn’t looking back. She sighed and came back into the apartment. One of the dogs looked up at her and licked his lips.

“Ha. I don’t think so,” she said, and took a bite of the bagel herself.

…

Iris West walked down the block from her apartment the same way she did every day. The only difference was that today she had an audition. Which meant she wouldn’t be working at Jitters today. She’d be stopping by to have coffee with Linda and then going to her audition.

“Hey!” she said, as she slid into the booth where her best friend sat opposite.

“Hi,” Linda said in return, glued to her phone.

“Is that all I get?” Iris asked, pulling the phone out of her friend’s grasp.

“Hey!” Linda tried to reach for it, but it was useless.

“What is more interesting than me, hmm?” Iris teased, holding the phone out of reach.

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! You are the supreme, goddess of all!”

Iris gave her a look. “Overkill, Lin.”

Linda snatched the phone back while she was distracted, and Iris didn’t make another reach for it. A waitress showed up with both their orders, and they each smiled and thanked her.

“You ordered for me?” Iris asked.

“Duh.” Linda rolled her eyes. “It’s a special day!” She put her phone down.

“Tell me about it. I’ve finally gotten to the chemistry test. You know how hard that is? To get past the initial audition to testing who you’re playing opposite?”

“Boy, do I ever.” Linda sighed.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Lin. I didn’t mean-” She reached across the table and covered her hand with her own.

“Don’t worry about it.” She shook it off. “One of these days will be my lucky day too. I’m sure of it.”

Iris forced a smile. “Will you tell me what you were reading?”

Linda rolled her eyes again. “You mean you didn’t see?” she blanched mockingly.

Iris laughed. “With all that reaching I had to do? Um, no.” She took a sip of her drink.

Linda sighed. “I was just looking up your co-star.”

“Mm, been there, done that.”

“Not impressed?”

She shrugged. “He’s only been in a few things, and it’s not like he matches his comic counterpart.”

“Well, neither do you.”

Iris scoffed. “Tell me about it. You know I went into a comic store and asked for comics for my character and they laughed at me, because they didn’t believe I was auditioning for that?”

“The way of the world, honey, I’m afraid.”

“Unfortunately.”

“So, back to your co-star…”

“Okay, he’s cute.”

Linda grinned.

“You afraid you’ll be tempted to date him?”

Iris laughed. “No way.”

“Then what?”

“Sometimes I get self-conscious around guys I’m physically attracted to. Especially when they turn out to be assholes after they figure it out.” She took a deep breath. “I just want to do my best, you know? If I don’t get this…I don’t know. I think I might move back home.”

Linda’s jaw dropped. “Quit acting? For real?”

Iris nodded, drawing her fingers around the rim of her mug.

“Did something happen?”

“No, nothing happened. I’m just…sick of not getting anywhere. Of only being a guest star for a couple episodes. That’s not going to put me on the map. It’s not going to get me anywhere. I’d be lucky if it got me in a Lifetime movie.”

“It’s a slow process, Iris. I mean, I should know. I haven’t gotten a role period in the past six months. I’m thiiiis close to making my dream job a barista at Jitters.”

Iris snorted.

“Seriously.”

“Yeah, I hear you. But I’ve been at this for years, Lin. Getting a lead role in a superhero show? Starring opposite a white guy? That could really take me places, or at least get my foot in the door. This couple is pretty epic in the comics. If they’re going to do anything like it on the show…I mean-”

“I thought you couldn’t find any comics, that people you shut me down.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “Since when has people shutting me down ever stopped me? A girl has to be her own hero every now and again.”

Linda smirked. “That’s a good line.”

“I’m thinking of selling it to the writers. Think they’d go for it?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Linda laughed. “Isn’t your character a badass reporter? No way she’d stand around to be saved by a superhero every time she was in danger.”

“And she’d be in danger a lot, becaaaause?”

“The superhero is in love with her.”

“Exactly.” Iris beamed, then sighed happily. “I really hope I get it.”

“I hope you do too. It’ll give me something new to watch on TV.”

Iris pushed her playfully.

“And seeing my best friend succeed will do wonders for my ego.”

“Your ego?”

“Well, yeah. I’ll be besties with a superstar.”

Iris snorted and took another sip of her drink.

“Do you know any of the competition?”

“Not personally. When I was waiting outside for the initial audition, a lot of pretty girls came and went. So, it’s definitely just about looks, probably not just about acting either. You gotta have something…some…gumption.”

Linda smiled at her admirably. “Another good word that should end up in the show.”

Iris laughed. “Maybe I should just make my own show.”

“And invite this Barry Allen to be a part of it?” She wiggled her eyebrows.

Iris shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her drink.

“If he’s lucky.”

Linda laughed.

“Okay, I’m gonna go get a pastry and then we should get out of here. Your time slot is in half an hour, right?”

Iris checked her phone.

“Oh, my God, yeah, it is.”

“Do you want anything? Crumpet? Scone? Cake pop?”

Iris bit her bottom lip, debating.

“I better not,” she finally said. “If I eat any more sugary things, I’m going to become one.”

Linda rolled her eyes. “If you insist.”

“I do.”

But when Linda came back five minutes later, she’d gotten one of each, and Iris took two. Linda shook her head as the two of them headed for the door and the beautiful day that lay before them.

“I know you too well,” Linda sang.

Iris shook her head and took another bite of her scone, her voice muffled when she responded.

“Shut up.”

Linda laughed.

…

After about 10 beautiful women had come and gone, Barry felt hunger and boredom start to consume him. Day 3 of countless attractive, talented women walking through the door for a chemistry test with him, and not even he had tried to convince the casting director to give any of them another shot.

From behind the glass, Barry saw movement, and immediately straightened in his seat as his waited for David Singh, the casting director, to walk through the door. Mr. Singh came and sat across from Barry in the seat the latest contestant had been in. He laced his fingers together over his knees and leaned forward.

“What are you thinking, Barry?”

Barry’s stomach growled.

“Besides that you’re hungry.”

A blush crept up Barry’s neck.

“Think you can do one more?”

He looked up a little too excitedly.

“Only one more?” he asked.

“Before break,” Mr. Singh clarified.

“Oh.” Barry looked away sheepishly. “Yeah, yeah, I think I can do that.”

“Good.” Mr. Singh stood up and made his way towards the door. “And hey, you never know. This one could be the one!”

Barry forced a smile. “Yeah, maybe.”

Mr. Singh disappeared behind the glass windows again, and in his place came another beautiful, black woman, as was the requirement on the auditioning ad. She was petite, even with her high heels on, and she had a smile that nearly blinded him, much like the others had. But when he stood up to shake her hand, he met her eyes, and something happened.

“Hi, I’m Iris.”

He stood there, leaving her hand untouched for what felt like a lifetime. He couldn’t figure out what was so different about her, but he just had a feeling – a really good one.

“Barry?”

He blinked and shook his head.

“Sorry, yes, I’m Barry.” He shook her hand. “And you’re Iris.”

“Iris West.”

She smiled brilliantly again, and he felt his knees go weak. He gestured to the chair and script behind her, and she snatched them up immediately, swinging one knee over the other after she sat down.

“Your lines are highlighted in yellow.”

She nodded. “I see that.”

“Right.”

He was starting to feel hot.

Was it possible to have a t-shirt feel too tight around one’s neck?

Barry turned to look through the glass windows again and saw Mr. Singh reach for his microphone.

“Hey, Iris,” came over the loudspeakers.

Iris was clearly startled, so Barry pointed to the wall next to them and the man waving through the sheet of glass.

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Hello.” She waved a bit awkwardly. Barry found it cute.

“My name is David Singh. I’m the casting director for the show you auditioned for, Struck By Lightning. Your character’s name is Lily Lake and Barry’s here is Chase Tyler. He’s been in love with you for as long as he can remember, but your character is oblivious. In your mind, the two of you are just best friends.”

Iris nodded. She obviously knew this already, but it was good to have a reminder before officially doing the chemistry test.

“As soon as you’re ready, you may begin,” Mr. Singh said, then sat back down and moved away from the microphone.

Barry and Iris’ eyes met again.

“Don’t be nervous,” Barry whispered. “You’re going to do great.” He smiled a little, and Iris felt reassured.

He looked down at his script and then back at her, beginning.

“Lily, hey! Fancy meeting you here.” He gave her the most impeccable heart eyes.

“Fancy?” Iris rolled her eyes, smiling a bit. “I live right down the block.”

The script then said for her to hit him playfully, but Iris had a better idea. She tickled him.

Barry squirmed a bit, genuinely ticklish where she’d touched him and had to get his bearings for a moment before returning to the script.

“I- I know that, Lily. I just wasn’t expecting you.”

“Well, start expecting me more, mister.”

“Yeah?” he asked, his breath caught in his throat.

“Don’t act so surprised.”

His brows furrowed, in character more than he’d ever been.

“You got the job!”

“I got the-?”

“You’re the new CSI!”

“Oh, my God, really?”

This time she did smack him playfully.

“Don’t make me tickle you again.” She giggled.

“Aaaand, cut!” came Mr. Singh’s voice over the loudspeakers again. “That was great, Iris. Thank you. We’ll give you a call if we’re interested.”

Iris smiled. “Thank you, David,” she said, pleasantly surprising him with the use of his first name. She turned back to Barry. “And you too, Barry.” She held her hand out for him to shake it, but he stood up and wrapped his arms lightly around her, giving her the gentlest, most appropriate hug he could under the circumstances.

“Thanks for coming in,” he said, with a smile, and nodded to her when she turned away, a bit flustered as she made her way out.

As soon as she was gone, Barry turned around in her seat and made his announcement before Mr. Singh could even open the door.

“She’s it! She’s the one!”

Mr. Singh grinned as he walked through the doorway.

“I think so, too. You two have really great chemistry. I haven’t seen anything like it with any of the other girls, and not for a while in the movies and shows I’ve casted either. She’s definitely got my vote.”

Barry couldn’t stop smiling.

“She’s it. She’s Lily Lake.”

“Want to go tell her? Or should we make her squirm for a bit?”

Barry could hardly sit still. Finally, he leapt up and headed for the door.

“I hope she’s still on the block!”

Once outside, Barry scanned the sea of people, some recognizing him and gushing or rolling their eyes. He smiled politely at all of them and then spotted who looked to be Iris on the other side of the crowd talking to someone on her phone with one finger in her other ear.

“Iris! Iris!”

He made his way through the crowd as fast as he could, saying her name over and over to get her attention.

“Iris! Iris West!”

“I’m sorry, Lin. I’m going to have to call you ba-”

He turned her around before she could hang up the call.

“Barry!” Her eyes widened. “What- What are you doing here?”

“You got the part!”

“What?!” She gasped, unbelievably excited, taking his hands and jumping a little with him.

Finally, they stopped and laughed a bit at their foolishness.

“You’re Lily Lake.”

Without stopping to think, Iris jumped into his arms and held him tight. When he set her down, she looked deep into his eyes and held his hands.

“I’m your Lily.”

And that was it. His stomach dropped. Butterflies.

...

*Also posted on AO3 and FFnet.

[hanibalistic]

hii i’m just stopping by and reading your asks bc i’m taking a break from hw! it’s almost midnight now and i decided to cram work in the last day of my spring break :<

but anyways, i read one of your asks where you said you’re kinda picky ab fantasy au’s and haven’t came across a good one? well honestly i agree with you. i’m not much of a fantasy reader myself bc i haven’t came across good ones ig?? they’re like kinda cringe and i like the real deal- where i can instantly imagine what i’m reading and just feel myself sucked into the story yk? so i guess that’s why i’m really in love with the whiskers red au. i really love alice in wonderland and hyunjin. when i’m reading the whiskers red au, i just feel so connected to the story and instant visuals from your words just fill my mind.

- 🤍

hello! i hope everything went well with your homework (๑꧆◡꧆๑) sorry for answering this so late, i did not feel like answering asks for a while. 

i am a big fantasy reader, actually! i love anything that takes me straight out of the normal world (i also like settings that are familiar, of course!). i have definitely come across some fanfiction that is just bad (#ﾟзﾟ#) it sounds bad when i say that but you cannot deny there is bad fanfiction out there, on every website (ﾟДﾟ#) however, most of the time, it is just because i cannot click with the piece itself. it is less the author’s fault and more mine. this happens with real books as well, except since i paid for the real book, i usually force myself to finish them (unless i really cannot read the book, like it’s that bad).

i barely gave out any information about the universe, i am surprised you are already connecting to it! suppose the mc this time around is rather... interesting? is that the word? i guess you can find the fact that mc can quite literally do everything but does not because they are not contracted to do so, something interesting? i am trying to make them a morally ambiguous person, with an obvious unhinged side? like i mentioned they planted bombs in flowers that has (canonically) killed someone before, and mc has felt no remorse for it aside from a “haha, my bad, i didn’t think it’d kill anyone.” yes, it was not their intention to kill people, but when it did, they don’t feel too upset about it.

ah, this is not an explanation of the character!!!

[apatheticallyromantic]

send me a ship: jesslake? :>

• When I started shipping them:

EPISODE TWO OF BOOK TWO. You know the scene where Jesse helps Lake get down from a branch by holding her waist and she does this weird smile of like embarrassment? Yeah RIGHT THERE that was the EXACT second I started shipping them.

• My thoughts:

If you have ever GLANCED at my blog you KNOW I would DIE for this ship. I am WEAK for the dynamic, the fact they complement each other so well and they make each other be better people??? I’m dead bye. It’s about the COMPLEMENT AND CONTRAST OKAY

I love Lake I love Jesse and I love the idea of them being together but it’s not just romantically. I can’t explain it but the bond and connection that they have that’s UNDENIABLE. A connection that trascends the laws of the mirror world, the laws of the Train, the laws of physics????? Like I want whatever they have.

•What makes me happy about them:

This might seem contradictory but I’m actually really glad they stayed just friends in the show. Like they’re friends, but there’s also this sort of ambiguity and vagueness in defining what they are at the end of the serious that I consider really special.

I won’t get too into it so that I don’t write a book, but essentially it’s the malleability of their relationship. It’s very easy to make it whatever you want, and the note that the season ends on is a perfect place to expand from there. What happens after the Train? You decide. What happens to their relationship afterward? You decide.

On a personal level though, I see so much of myself in both Jesse and Lake, and as such it becomes really easy for me to project and come to terms with things that have happened to me through them. I don’t post everything I think of of them, but a lot of the things that have happened to me in terms of romance can be easily applied to them.

It just.. feels really personal. It’s comforting. It just makes me happy.

• What makes me sad about them:

Obviously the fact that there’s only 10 FUCKING EPISODES FJSHFKSJFK AND WE’RE NEVER GONNA SEE THEM AGAIN SHDJSKFKS

also the fact that there’s BARELY ANY JESSLAKE CONTENT ????

• Things done in fanfic that annoys me:

There’s hardly any fanfiction so I can’t really complain but I suppose bad characterization? Idk how to explain it but it annoys me when they’re written very differently from how they are in the show.

Also this is a nitpick but when they don’t like include Jesse’s Apache background? Like by NO means am I an expert on Apache culture, but when I write fanfiction or headcannons I like to do at least a little google search so I can incorporate it a little at least.

• Things I look for in a fanfiction:

Again I can’t be too picky, I pretty much read everything I find. But mostly I try to look for slow burn or pretty lighthearted stuff with some angst, anything that takes place immediately after the season ends so like Jesse and Lake talking out wtf they gonna do now?? I EAT THAT SHIT UP

• My wishlist:

I would give up my hair for a SINGLE official art piece of them holding hands. LITERALLY. I will take ANYTHING AT THIS POINT I SWEAR. If Dennis Owen even likes a tweet that hints at jesslake I will go absolutely apeshit.

• Who I’d comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

Literally no one because there is nothing else to ship but even if there were literally no one HAHAH

• My happily ever after for them:

I’m fond of the idea of Lake living with Jesse while she gets her shit together, reconnecting with Tulip and coming to terms with everything and then moving away and her own life. A few years down the road, Jesse is getting a biochem degree in college, Lake is doing her own thing, they reconnect in person and they talk about their past and discuss everything that’s happened since then, Jesse confesses he actually used have a crush on her back in the Train, and then they sort of build from there 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺💕💕💕💕 (I have more ideas but I don’t want to make this longer than it already is lol)