#like do convos are fun to read discussing the fic

[volvolts]

I can’t believe people sort ao3 by comments/kudos/bookmark/completion/word count I just raw dog it out there and whatever tags and summary gets me gets me

[venomous-qwille]

A NOTE REGARDING WIKIS AND LORE DOCS

I've mentioned this in Misutamojis before, but just realised there was nothing about it here so:

Please don't create public lore docs or wikis for GITM.

I totally understand that the story is already sprawling and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but here is my reasoning behind this request:

GITM is still in its very early stages, there is so little that you concretely know about any of the characters/story that it is likely that any character bios people write will be fundamentally incorrect. Same goes for lore about the worldbuilding and the Sight. It's much easier to spread misinfo than fact, and certain stuff in fic is kept deliberately misleading/vague for fun story purposes.

GITM is not a TV show and I am not a showrunner. I am just another DCA fan on the internet who wants to chat about their OCs, I should be allowed to do that without having my every word indexed. To be clear, as I have said many many many many times in the past: people quoting what I say in discord, analysing my casual art/magmas/drabbles, or screencapping casual convos and jokes to pull them apart to dissect details from it makes me really really uncomfortable. If people started screencapping what I say to stick it on a doc for proof of XYZ thing about a character you guys haven't even met yet... I would probably stop interacting on this server point blank. Please imagine how you would feel if people were screenshotting your desktop background to read your filenames so they could theorycraft. That has happened in this server. More than once. Please stop. Your FOMO is not more important than my boundaries.

The intended reading experience for GITM is... reading GITM. Yes sometimes I share my personal headcanons and tidbits for characters, but I promise that all of this stuff will be discovered in fic. I don't want people to learn about Fool's favourite songs from a google doc. I want you to learn about it from GITM. That is why I am writing GITM: to tell you about these characters.

I would like the opportunity to make a GITM wiki myself at some point in the future.

I understand this might be frustrating, I know the lore is overwhelming as it stands. As always, if you have questions about the characters, you are welcome to ask in one of the discussion channels- I don't mind people @ ing me for that- I love talking about GITM! I am always happy to answer new FAQs at length.

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: happy happy birthday to @youunravelme 🥳 thanks for being such a good friend and matching my crazy when we discuss how mat and squeaks are horny little freaks for each other 😂 had to write this fun little fic after our convos the past few days! hope you have the best birthday!

word count: 1k

tw: some innuendo, implied oral (f receiving)

summary: roping mat into another tik tok trend ends pretty much not how you expected it to go, but you’re not complaining

Mat’s sitting on the couch, watching ESPN game highlights when you walk into the room, phone in hand. He looks up at you and smiles lazily, exhausted after returning from a West Coast swing the night before and an early morning practice. He pats the couch cushion, “come join me.”

You smile at him, but don’t respond, instead turning back to your phone.

“Hey,” you speak into the camera, video recording already started, “can you guys watch my boyfriend for me while I do something really quick?”

You settle your phone on the coffee table, propped up against a few of the decorative books that Mat had fought you on buying but ends up reading when he’s bored and wander back out of the room. You stay within earshot though and manage to hide behind the wall so you can see him.

Mat looks between the phone on the table and the doorway where you disappeared a few times, frowning for a minute. His eyebrows are drawn together over his nose and you cover your mouth to muffle a little giggle. The Tik Tok trend is stupid but you’re curious to see what Mat does.

After a few seconds of confused staring, Mat starts speaking into the camera.

“Kitchen floor, couch, pool,” he starts ticking locations off on his fingers, a slow smile forming on his face. “Backseat of the car, front seat of the car, Bo’s bathroom, Leesy’s bathroom, our bathroom, golf cart. Um, where else?”

Now it’s your turn to frown, confused. What the hell is he making a list of?

“My childhood bedroom, Squeaks’ childhood bedroom,” he continues and your eyes widen a little, realizing what he’s doing. “Squeaks’ office -“

You dart back into the living room, cutting him off and saying, “oh my god, what are you listing off?”

His grin is wicked and he looks directly at the camera when he says, “all the places I’ve fucked you.”

“Aghhhh!” You squeal and tackle him onto the couch, his laughter vibrating through your chest. “Stop that!”

You dart your foot out to kick your phone off the coffee table, knowing it won’t stop the recording and hoping the clatter doesn’t mean you broke the screen. “Why are you like this?” You whine, trapped in the embrace of his arms. “That was supposed to be a wholesome video!”

Mat can’t stop laughing and it’s contagious, making you giggle a little even though you’re trying to stop. “Baby,” he presses a kiss to the top of your head, “nothing about us is wholesome. I could’ve kept going on that list for another ten minutes.”

“I hate you,” you grumble.

“No you don’t,” you can hear the grin in his voice and feel the twitch of his cock under your stomach.

“Yes I do,” you pout, warmth spreading through your body as Mat crushes you tighter against his chest.

“How about we go upstairs and I’ll prove that you don’t hate me?”

You know exactly what he’s getting at. “Why go that far?” You ask, shifting your body up and rolling your hips over his lap. The hard press of his erection makes your mouth go dry. “The couch can handle a little action.”

The couch can handle a lot of action, if your history is any indication.

Mat’s clearly thinking along the same lines because he laughs and says, “the couch has seen enough. The window seat in our room though? Haven’t eaten you out while you’re sitting pretty up there yet.”

“Oh!” You squeak, barely registering Mat sitting up with you in his lap, your legs locking around his waist when he stands up. The prominent ridge of his cock settles under your ass and your cunt instinctively tries to clench around nothing, the spread of your legs around his waist leaving you wide open for your arousal to drip out of you. He steps over your phone on the ground and heads for the stairs. “Mat, my phone…” you trail off, arms hooked around his neck. You can see it’s still recording the ceiling and has definitely captured your entire conversation. That video absolutely has to be deleted.

“We can record ourselves on mine,” he replies and your breath hiccups in your chest. “I need something new to watch when I’m away.”

“Perv,” you giggle, arousal flooding between your legs.

Mat pinches your ass, making you jolt in his arms. “Says the woman who slipped a couple of Polaroids into my carry-on. Thanks for that, by the way. Dobber’s traumatized again.”

“Oh my god,” you drop your forehead to Mat’s shoulder. After the condom under the coffee table incident, you’re surprised Noah even speaks to you at all.

“He only saw a little flash of boob,” Mat reassures you. “But he definitely got the gist.”

“I’m never doing that again,” you mutter.

Mat whines in the back of his throat. “Don’t punish me because he can’t keep his eyes on his screen,” he complains, setting you down on the cushioned window seat and dropping to his knees in front of you. His hands are warm on your knees when he pulls them apart, pressing a quick kiss to the inside of your right knee before gliding his fingers up your inner thighs.

Your legs tremble and your breathing hitches.

“No more pictures in the carry-on,” you repeat, Mat’s fingers dipping under the hem of your shorts.

“What if I give you a few pictures to put in your purse,” Mat says, “for your next work trip?”

His fingers trace against the crease of your thigh and you drop your head back, hitting it against the window pane with a dull thunk. “Mmm,” you hum, “maybe I could be con-convinced to change my stance.” Your voice shakes and Mat’s fingers dip under the elastic of your panties, his smile growing hungry when he feels how wet you are.

Mat shifts forward, closer to you, his shoulders spreading your legs even further apart, and smirks up at you. “Let me try and convince you then,” he laughs quietly and tugs at your shorts.

The window seat is christened twice and you both get new photos for your next out of town trips.

[cakesunflower]

lovelorn (and nobody knows) [rafe cameron au fic] chapter 5

Summary: Isla Carrera had planned for the summer before college to be focused on three things: helping out at her family’s restaurant (the helpful daughter), preparing for college (the good student), and having fun with the Pogues (the loyal friend). But one fateful night, where her car breaks down and her rescuer is none other than Rafe Cameron, seems to send her summer down a path she didn’t see coming–one teeming with a secret, illicit romance with the last person she expected. And if her friends and sister found out, Isla isn’t sure they’ll be so understanding, no matter what her feelings are.

Previous Chapters: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Author's Note: I tried a little something different with this, in which there's a convo that happens in Instagram DMs so I made like an edit and posted the screenshots as a way for you guys to read them! But I also put the conversation in the image description for each screenshot if it's easier to read that way! Let me know if you guys like it and I should continue doing that!

The brief nap and unexpected conversation with Rafe had sobered Isla up by the time she joins her friends in the backyard once again, all of whom are tipsy or beyond. As soon as he spots her, JJ shoves a cup of beer in Isla’s hand, which she accepts without a fight as she settles down at the base of a tree where her friends are sitting. The party around them rages on, people dancing and chatting and swimming and playing games, the music drifting through the air but nearly drowned out by the noise of everything else.

As she stretches her legs out, Pope sniffs the air and glances at her questioningly. “Were you smoking?��

Lips on the rim of her cup, her gaze darts to Pope’s, mildly surprised, while JJ pipes up, “Without me?”

“Not weed,” Pope tells him with a roll of his eyes.

Isla slowly lowers the cup. “Yeah. Bummed one off some guy,” she answers with a casual shrug.

Pope purses his lips at her. “Those things will kill you, you know.”

Widening her eyes, Isla gasps. “Really? I had no idea,” she exclaims, feigning shock and dissolving into laughter when Pope shoves her.

“Don’t come crying to me if you get lung cancer,” he says, leaning back on his hands resting on the grass, wincing when Cleo smacks him on the chest.

“Don’t joke,” she tells him pointedly, looking up at him with a half-hearted glare. He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead in apology, which seems to satisfy her. She lets out a long, content sigh. “This summer is going to be amazing, I can feel it,” Cleo  says from where she lays with her head on Pope’s lap. “The outdoor movies, boat rides, barbecues, concerts—I’m ready for it.”

Kie raises her cup of beer in cheers. “Back to OBX life, baby,” she grins.

Isla was of the same mindset, smiling into her next sip of beer as she thought of the coming months. It’s the last summer before college, and while in between all of the fun Isla and Kie will be working at their family’s restaurant, Isla is still looking forward to the summer.

They sat together, discussing their plans for the summer—most of them with each other—as the party continued on around them. Isla watches people jump into the pool, the group of them sitting far enough away from the splash zone, and she feels a smile tugging on her lips as she closes her eyes and leans her head up against the tree. The weather is perfect, warm with a cool breeze every now and then, and she lets out a long sigh of relief before taking another sip of beer.

“Midsummers is also coming up,” Sarah comments, prompting Isla to open her eyes while Kie groans.

“Don’t remind me,” her sister mutters, twirling a dandelion between her fingers, face scrunching in distaste. 

Isla gives a shrug. “I don’t mind it.”

Kie’s nose wrinkles. “You enjoy being surrounded by rich people who spend the night trying to one-up each other by flashing how much money they have?”

JJ snorts as he, Pope, and Cleo rearrange their sitting positions to engage in a game of cards. Isla rolls her eyes at Kie. “No. I just have fun dressing up and eating good food. Sue me.”

The food at Midsummers was always top tier, especially when Pope’s dad was running the oyster bar. “You’re such a girly girl,” Kie quips.

“Why is that a bad thing?” Isla retorts, arching an eyebrow. “Where else am I gonna get a chance to wear high heels and a dress? The Chateau?” She gets to her feet, feeling a little miffed at Kie’s comment. She and her sister share a lot of similarities, but they’re also plenty different; one of them being that Isla will never pass up an opportunity to dress up for an event. While she doesn’t particularly enjoy all of the events that they attend in Figure Eight, most of her joy comes from the process of getting ready, dressing up, doing her makeup. She’s always been that way, and no one has ever faulted her for it. Why should they?

But sometimes Kie’s distaste for all things Figure Eight gets the better of her, and she’ll get the tendency to make Isla feel bad for her not caring as deeply as Kie does. She’s a Pogue, just like her sister and friends, but is it so wrong to like some things about Figure Eight? Her friends don’t think so—of course, they don’t. If they did, John B wouldn’t be dating Sarah, who they all welcomed into their fold, nor would they be spending their Friday night at a party here, either. Kie can just take it too far sometimes.

“Where are you going?” she frowns up at Isla.

“I need some chips,” she says, which is only half true. She kind of doesn’t want to talk to Kie at the moment. It’s nothing serious, just some sisterly annoyance which she’ll get over in the next five minutes. She is kind of hungry, though.

John B pushes himself up, too. “I’ll come with.” Standing straight, he reaches down to brush some of Sarah’s blonde locks away from her face. “Want anything?”

She shakes her head, smiling. “I’m okay.”

“I’m good too,” JJ tells John B with a smirk.

“Same,” Pope and Cleo add, twin shit-eating grins on their faces. John B merely flips them all off and joins Isla on the trek towards the house, throwing his arm over her shoulders. 

“You good, buddy?” John B asks her as they walk by the pool.

Isla nods, chin lifting slightly. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” she responds, wincing only slightly as they pass by the speaker that’s blasting music. In a mumble, she adds, “Jesus, that’s loud.”

“Okay, grandma,” John B snickers, which results in Isla digging her elbow into his ribs while sipping the beer. “You looked a little ticked off at Kie.”

They walk into the house, weaving around party goers, his arm still around her shoulders in brotherly affection. Isla sighs, unsurprised that John B caught her expression or slight shift in demeanor. The guy is the Pogue-anointed leader of their group; he’s always had the ability to be in-tune with his friends. “You know her,” she says as they approach the kitchen. “She doesn’t mean anything by it, really, but she’ll make those subtle comments about me that almost make it seem like she’s judging me because some of my interests are different than hers.” With a roll of her eyes, she shoots him a look and adds, “Not Pogue enough, I guess.”

“Ah,” John B says with a sage nod of his head. “Whether she means anything by it or not, she loves you all the same, Isla. We all do,” he says with a smile, giving her arm a squeeze. “But if her comments bother you, just let her know. I doubt she’d ever want to hurt your feelings if she can help it.”

“You’re right,” she sighs again. He made the non-issue seem easily resolvable, which Isla’s sure it is. 

The kitchen counter is littered with snacks, a lot of which are opened already and have been dug through. There’s even a bag of marshmallows, and Isla pops one into her mouth as John B stands a few feet away, raising his eyebrows at her expectantly as he opens his mouth wide, silently signaling her. With a laugh as she chews the one in her mouth, Isla grabs another marshmallow and tosses it towards him, grinning widely when John B catches it in his mouth.

“Incredible,” she gushes exaggeratedly with a clap of her hands, John B taking a bow in response that only makes her laugh more. Turning to the several bags of chips on the counter, Isla asks him, “Which one should we steal for ourselves?”

John B hums thoughtfully, lifting his hat up to run his fingers through his hair before fitting the cap back down. “How about—”

“I was hoping to run into you here, Isla.” She freezes at the familiar voice, gaze flickering up to see Carlo standing on the other side of the counter, dark eyes fixed on her. Oh, fucking hell. “I wanted to—”

“Nope,” Isla cuts him off with a sharp shake of her head, lips pursing at the way he frowns at being interrupted. Screw him. “I have nothing to say to you, and I promise there’s nothing you can say that I’d wanna hear. So, no.”

Carlo’s forehead creases even more as his frown deepens. “Don’t you think you’re being childish?”

“Hey, buddy,” John B says from next to her, raising his eyebrows at Carlo. “She said she’s not interested. Take the hint and walk away.”

“Fuck off, Routledge, I wasn’t talking to you,” Carlo scowls and Isla’s stomach twists, dreading that getting him to leave her alone wouldn’t be easy. His eyes flicker back to Isla, and even the counter separating them isn’t creating enough distance. “Come on, Isla. We never got the chance to talk things out.”

She exchanges a look of disbelief with John B, who also looks pissed on her behalf as his narrow eyed stare goes back to Carlo. She half expects John B to walk around the counter and get physical with Carlo. “What the hell are you talking about?” she says to Carlo, exasperated. “What is there to talk about? You cheated. I broke up with you. End of story.”

Her pulse is quickening, wanting him gone, as John B crosses his arms and says to Carlo tightly, “Yeah. End of story. Now leave.”

Carlo’s jaw clenches. He’s around the same height as John B, their stare even as he glares. “This ain’t your damn house, John B.”

“No, but it is mine.”

Isla’s eyes widen, the air whooshing out of her lungs when she sees Rafe entering the kitchen. She’s pretty sure her pulse skitters when she sees the cold expression on Rafe’s features, his gaze on Carlo as he takes a few steps closer. No scowl, no glare, but a chilling look of indifference that contrasted to the hardness of his icy blue eyes. She can’t help but think this look on him is far more intimidating, in addition to how his six-foot-two height towers over Carlo, and even a little bit over John B—who tenses up next to her, like he doesn’t think Rafe’s arrival is a good thing.

When did Isla start thinking it is?

Because she finds herself relaxing upon Rafe’s entry, the tight knot loosening in her chest as he stands a few feet away from Carlo, who has the right mind to look a little frightened. It brings Isla more satisfaction than it should. 

Carlo finds his tongue. “I was just—”

“Leaving? Good choice,” Rafe cuts him off with a nod. When Carlo gapes at him, Rafe arches an eyebrow. He may look calm and collected, but Isla notices the muscle in his jaw jumping, like he’s grinding his teeth together. “She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you. Get the fuck out while your dignity is still intact.” He gives Carlo a slow once over, lips curling back into a sneer. “Whatever little of it there’s left.”

Isla claps her lips together, which had been parted in shock, in order to stifle back a gasping laugh. Her gaze darts to her left to John B, who is watching the whole interaction looking a helpless combination of bewildered, surprised, and wary. She can’t really blame him. Rafe Cameron, of all people, is coming to her defense, and while this isn’t the first time for Isla, it is for John B, and she can only imagine what’s going through his head right now. Probably a bit of the same of what was going through hers that first time.

Right now, though, she stands in the Cameron’s kitchen with her skin warming, watching as Carlo’s jaw works, looking as though he’s genuinely considering telling Rafe to fuck off or, worse, swing at him. She knows for a fact Carlo won’t win that fight. So when he looks at Isla, features tight and a contemptuous look hardening his eyes, she knows that he’s going to leave her alone for now.

He turns and stalks out of the kitchen, his departure making it easier for Isla to breathe as the tension eases out of her shoulders, which sink as she lets out a sigh of relief. Rafe finally turns to look at her, blue eyes meeting her brown, and she watches as the hardness in his gaze melts away, softening as he runs his eyes over like. Almost as if. . . He’s making sure she’s okay.

And then when he subtly arches an eyebrow, Isla knows he’s making sure. 

Heart fluttering erratically, Isla dips her chin in an almost imperceptible nod. Still, she finds herself saying, “Thank you for that.”

“Yeah, very decent of you.” Isla almost startles when John B speaks up, gaze snapping over to her friend. He’s watching Rafe with that same wary look, though there’s that familiar touch of patronization that her friends and Rafe always get when they’re talking to each other. Isla tenses up ever so slightly; she doesn’t think she can handle any sort of confrontation between them right now. Not when John B is her friend and Rafe has been so. . . Different with her. John B lifts his chin. “Very un-Kook-like.”

Rafe’s gaze slides over to John B and immediately his expression shifts, that smug smirk returning that’s always been so condescending. Isla knows she should only see it as that, and yet. . . She can’t help but find it attractive. Oh, God.

“It’s not like you were doing much to help,” Rafe says in return, arching an eyebrow.

John B scoffs while Isla takes a long sip of her beer. “I did the exact same thing as you did, which was just talk to him, by the way.”

Rafe cocks his head to the side, smug. “And who did he actually listen to?”

When Isla notes the narrowing of John B’s eyes, she steps in. “Alright, we’re not having a dick measuring contest, okay?” she says, cheeks flushing ever so slightly at the mere thought of Rafe’s dick. The heat only seems to intensify when his gaze touches her, something intense passing through his eyes in an instant. “Thank you both for your help. Let’s move on.”

She grabs the bag of barbecue flavored chips, grasping John B’s upper arm with her free hand to pull him out of the kitchen. He glares at Rafe until the second when Isla shoves him out of the kitchen, only pausing briefly enough to glance over her shoulder at Rafe. She doesn’t know why she does it until their gazes meet and she finds herself smiling as she mouths, thank you.

And then Isla sees his shoulders relax, the smirk turning into the smallest of smiles as he dips his chin in return, and the fluttering returns to her stomach once more.

“Well, that was fucking weird,” John B remarks as they walk through the back doors and step out into the backyard.

“A little,” Isla lies. She digs through the bag of chips and practically shoves a handful in  her mouth, hoping John B won’t linger on this topic of conversation.

Of course, that’s only wishful thinking, because the moment they arrive back where their friends are sitting, he announces, “Something weird just happened.”

Isla suppresses a sigh as she sits back down, back against the tree, while a chorus of “what?” sound from the others. As John B sits next to Sarah, he informs them, “Well, first, fucking Carlo was here.”

“Who the fuck invited that piece of shit?” JJ asks while Kie looks over at Isla. Whatever annoyance from before disappears as her sister silently, with her eyes, asks if Isla is okay. She just nods in response, giving a small smile.

“Don’t look at me,” Sarah says with a shake of her head, hands raising in defense. “He probably tagged along with someone.”

“Is he still here?” Pope asks, dark eyes darting around the yard, seeking out Isla’s ex.

“No, he left,” John B answers. “Which brings me to the actual weird thing.” Isla holds her breath as he briefly meets Sarah’s gaze before telling the group, “Rafe was the one who kicked Carlo out.”

“Rafe?” Cleo repeats, eyebrows shooting up. “Rafe Cameron?”

JJ shoots her a droll look. “How many Rafes do you know?” he asks, earning the middle finger from Cleo. “You’re telling me King Kook stepped in and helped you?” he adds, glancing at Isla in surprise.

Sarah tilts her head. “I thought my dad was King Kook?” she murmurs, almost to herself, unperturbed by the label. She shakes her head before saying, louder, “You guys, my brother isn’t some villain. He has his moments.”

“As rare as they might be,” Kie adds on with a pointed arch of her eyebrow as her gaze flicks back to Isla.

Their eyes meet and Isla tenses because she can see the clear question in her sister’s eyes, and can see where her thoughts wandered. And right now, Kie is thinking of when Isla had told her how Rafe had helped her out when her car broke down, which the rest of their friends still don’t know about. Adding what just happened now, her friends would have questions, suspicions, and Isla couldn’t honestly refute any of them because of her own changing opinion of Rafe. She couldn’t truthfully tell them it wasn’t a big deal, that it was just a one time thing—because neither of those things were true. At least, not for Isla.

So Isla gives a minute shake of her head, needing Kie to understand what she’s silently telling her. Kiara raises an eyebrow and Isla knows that though Kie remains silent, they will definitely be talking about this later. Isla isn’t looking forward to it.

*****

“So. Spill.”

Isla exhales sharply through her nose, bending down to spit out the toothpaste-tinted water in the sink. As she dries her face, she looks at Kie, who is leaning against the bathroom door frame, arms crossed. Trying not to be too rattled, Isla says nonchalantly, “There’s nothing to spill.”

“Fuck off,” Kie laughs, shaking her head. “You told me he gave you a ride the other week when your car broke down, and tonight he kicked out your ex? Those are nice things,” she emphasizes with a raise of her eyebrows. “And Rafe’s not that nice of a guy.”

Isla shrugs as she rubs and pats moisturizer on her face. “I don’t have an insight into his head, Kie,” she says with a slight chuckle, wanting to brush this conversation off. “I don’t know what he’s thinking. But—” She decides to be honest, meeting her sister’s gaze. “I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth, you know? He helped me both times when he didn’t have to, and I appreciate it. That’s all.”

Kie twists her lips to the side, not entirely looking convinced. “It’s still sus,” she says. “Like, at least tonight. Why step in at all? John B was there, it’s not like you were dealing with Carlo on your own.”

As Isla rubs lotion up and down her arms, gaze on the movement of her hands, a ghost of a smile tugs at her lips as she remarks, “Maybe it was his good deed of the month.”

“What?” Kie asks, puzzled.

Isla resists the urge to swallow, and instead chuckles. “Nothing.” She shoots her sister a smile. “Anyway, it’s whatever,” she says, moving past Kie to get out of the bathroom. “Who knows why Rafe does anything?”

Kie snorts, moving into the bathroom for her turn to get ready for the night. It’s a little after two in the morning, their parents fast asleep, and at this point, neither of them are too drunk. Isla hadn’t drank anything after the beer JJ had handed to her, and Kie knows her limits when it comes to drinking. “I guess so,” she muses, tying her hair up into a messy bun.

Isla goes to her own room, shutting the door behind her before climbing into bed, sighing as she slips under the cool sheets. The main room lights are off, but she keeps the colorful LED lights hanging in front of her curtains on, bathing her room in dim colors as she unlocks her phone.

The first thing she does is go on Instagram, scrolling through her notifications to see people liking and commenting on her posts and stories from the party tonight. But her thumb freezes when she notices the top notification, which came in just three minutes ago.

Rafe.Cameron1104 is now following you!

Her eyes widen, the breath stilling in her lungs, even as she tells herself this isn’t a big fucking deal. Because it’s not. Yet, she still clicks on his profile, and before she decides whether or not to follow him back—because she is damn sure her friends will notice—she does a little stalking, feeling heat pool into her cheeks as she does, like she’s doing something wrong.

Still, Isla can’t help but scroll through Rafe’s profile. He doesn’t post that much, but his posts are mostly what she expects them to be; on his family’s yacht, with his friends, some with his family. No selfies, which doesn’t surprise her, but Isla does find herself looking at the solo shots of him, biting the inside of her cheek when she stares a little too long at the shirtless photos that makes her blood heat up in her veins. He’s fit, which is known, with broad shoulders and lean muscles, his torso tight with prominent abs glinting against the sunlight. Enough to make her mouth grow dry.

God, what’s wrong with her?

Why did he follow her? More importantly, why is she freaking out like she’s a middle schooler with a crush? Despite her warring thoughts, Isla scrolls to the top of his profile, thumb hovering over the blue follow button. A bunch of people she knows follow him, though none are her friends—except for Sarah, of course. Isla hesitates before letting out a quiet huff, hoping her friends don’t weirdly check Instagram followings, and presses the follow button before exiting out of the app, locking her phone, and dropping it on her stomach, all in the matter of five seconds. 

She stares, wide eyed, at the ceiling while trying to slow down her foolishly racing pulse, chest rising and falling with every breath she takes. “What the fuck, Isla?” she whispers to herself in the dim lighting of her room, looking at the kaleidoscope of colors reflecting off the ceiling thanks to the LED lights. 

He’s literally just a guy. A guy that, admittedly, her friends don’t like and she shouldn’t, either. Too often have JJ, John B, and Pope gotten into fights, both verbal and physical, with Rafe and his friends. Granted, her friends sometimes instigate the fights just as much as Rafe and his friends do, but the animosity has existed for years now. Which should be reason enough why Isla shouldn’t be engaging with Rafe anymore than she already has. Hell, smoking with him in his room tonight could be considered crossing a line, where her friends are concerned. 

It feels like she’s playing a dangerous game—one where she has no idea what the rules even are.

Her phone suddenly buzzes and Isla’s throat dries as she lifts it, squinting against the bright screen. When she reads the notification, her stomach does a somersault, reading the message Rafe sent her on Instagram. God, why is he awake? Embarrassment floods her cheeks, knowing he received the notification of her follow back right away. Part of her wants to pretend she never got the notification of his message and just go to sleep, but intrigue wins out, and she opens Instagram and goes on her direct messages.

She rolls her lower lip into her mouth, reading those three words with a flutter in her belly, thumbs hovering over the keypad until she figures out how to respond.

Isla takes a deep breath, reading Rafe’s last message a few too many times before exiting out of the app, finding it a good place to let the conversation naturally end. The last thing she needs to keep doing is messaging Rafe Cameron in the middle of the night. So she plugs her phone into the charger and rests it on her bedside, turning away and burrowing herself deeper into her cocoon of blankets, needing sleep to take her away from the turbulent thoughts that surround Rafe.

[altsvu]

i love what you did with my last ask so i just knew i needed to do another. how about a aaron x black!reader she's 7 months pregnant and over the phone has a discussion with aaron about the baby's skin color telling him "what if when it gets older it gets killed" and even aaron has to take a breath but over all jack heard the convo and is confused because he's like 8 and doesn't understand race like that and you and aaron explain it

complexities of race

pairing: aaron hotchner x pregnant!black!fem!reader

wc: 1.3k

cw: underlying mentions of current climate (iykyk), brief mentions of race/racism, fluff, pregnancy

a/n: girlll your prompts are so amazing, i love that you give me a challenge 🫶🏽🫶🏽 this was so hard to write not gonna lie, but of course i enjoyed it nonetheless!!! also this is the first fic of 2024! :) also i’m sorry it took me so long to write this!

criminal minds masterlist! ✯ taglist!

✯✯✯✯

“Aaron... I have something to tell you.” you smiled, leaning against the frame of the living room walkway. You hoped that he would be just as excited as you were, all those nights making love paid off.

“Sweetheart... you’re smiling, grinning even. What is it?” He asked.

“I’m pregnant.” you gushed, revealing the pregnancy test that was hidden in your hand.

Aaron’s eyes lit up in excitement. He rushed over to you and pulled you into his arms. “Oh, Y/N, that’s amazing!”

You were crying tears of joy, you were super excited to finally have a baby with the love of your life.

Fast forward to 7 months, you were thriving through all the symptoms of pregnancy. All the motion sickness, waking up in the middle of the night to throw up, the kicking, just to name a few.

Aaron made sure to be there for you every step of the way, from the moment he found out you were pregnant up until now. He would rub your belly a lot, give you foot and shoulder massages, satisfy your weird food cravings, and even read to your unborn child when he could.

You had no worries about this pregnancy. Until the intrusive thoughts started coming. Being a soon to be mom, you didn’t know if it was mother’s intuition, or just the simple fact that you were a black woman living in America. You started thinking a lot about how your baby would be when they grew up. Facing racism almost everywhere you went was not fun, which was why learning how to handle a situation like that was extremely important. You didn’t want your child being made fun of for their skin color or the way they look and not being able to see their self worth, see how beautiful they are, and that comments like those are baseless and have no real meaning.

This was something that needed to be discussed with Aaron. He sees the world differently than you do so it was important to you that your significant other understand your feelings and experiences. It wasn’t going to be like any other conversation they have had about racism; this time it involved a child, an innocent child.

You were at your grandparents’ house for the weekend and you decided to call Aaron to talk while you had some downtime.

He answered the phone fast and the two of you got into conversation quick. He asked you if you were doing okay and that he missed you and couldn’t wait until you came back so he could take care of you. You expressed that you missed him as well and asked him how he and Jackson were doing.

Then you decided to let the cat out of the bag.

“Aaron?”

“Yes love?”

You exhaled out of your nose. “There’s something I’m worried about, uh, for this pregnancy. Or at least something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about for a while.”

“What is it?”

“Our baby is black. I just- I dunno, what if... our child gets killed when it goes out into the world on their own? This world is a sick place and it’s hard to raise a black child.“

Aaron paused for a bit. He knew what you were saying was the truth, and nothing but the truth. But he had no idea how to respond. Growing up, he never really knew what it was like to be made fun of because of the color of someone’s skin, let alone now in today’s world, where people get killed just because of it.

“Y/N, I want you to know that our baby will be protected to the fullest extent. Everything that you told me is all true, and I don’t want to dismiss any of your feelings.”

“I know, and I appreciate you for that.” you answered.

All of Aaron’s words were reassuring, but you still didn’t think he understood. It’s not that you were mad at him for that, you didn’t blame him for anything. You wanted to educate as much as possible.

You were the oldest daughter in your family, and seeing how your other siblings were raised, you wanted the best for your child.

You continued talking to Aaron about it in hopes that those intrusive thoughts would go away sometime soon.

✯✯✯✯

You were back from your grandparents’ house and you were now sitting on the couch at Aaron’s place, which became yours as well since you moved in with him.

He had something important to talk to you about, and a part of you thought it had to do with the phone conversation a few days ago.

“Is everything okay?” you asked.

“Yeah, um, it’s just Jack. He overheard our conversation the other day and he’s been asking questions and I think it would be best for the both of us to answer those questions.”

“I think that’s a good thing. He’s growing up and these are conversations that need to be held. I’m happy to help him understand as best as I can.”

Aaron took your hand and smiled. “I agree.”

A few hours later, after Jack came back home from school, the three of you sat at the dining table enjoying the meal Aaron cooked. Beforehand, you had told Aaron that you were gonna use the eggs in the fridge as an example since Jack was still so young to understand technical terms.

“So, Jack, we wanted to talk to you about something, and it’s very important, okay?” Aaron started.

“Okay.”

“So I know you’ve asked about what race is and things like that. I wanna show you something, okay? I think it will help you understand.”

You got up and got a white and a brown egg from the fridge as well as a spoon and placed them in front of Jack.

“Which egg do you want to break?”

“The white one!” Jack exclaimed, taking the spoon and breaking it.

You smiled softly. “Okay, good. Now how come you decided not to break the brown one instead?”

“I thought it would look different on the inside.”

“Well, do you wanna see something cool?” You asked. Jack nodded in response. You took the spoon and broke the brown one.

“They look the same on the inside.” Jack noted.

“You’re right, Jack. The eggs look different on the outside, but when you break them open, you see that they look the same.” Aaron started.

He explained to Jack that people have preferences for a lot of tangible things, and how it can apply to actual human beings. For only being 8 years old, Jack was very attentive to what you and Aaron had to say, and was asking all the right questions.

“Because the baby growing inside of me is going to look different than you, people may not like that. But my baby is a human too.”

“Is that why you were scared?”

You nodded. “I went through it too, and I just want to keep my baby safe.”

Jack went over to you and hugged your belly in response. It made you smile from ear to ear.

✯✯✯✯

“Hi beautiful.” Aaron said, kissing your cheek.

It had been evening time at this point and Aaron had just tucked Jack into bed, and you were lying down in the other room reading a book.

“Hi,” you responded back smiling.

Aaron got settled in with you in bed and cuddled. “Do you feel better about everything now?”

“Honestly, I know that deep down inside, those feelings are still there and will arise at some point but being able to talk about it freely is refreshing.” you admitted. “And that’s okay.”

He smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad Jack was able to take part of this conversation with us.”

“Me too. Surely we’ll have even more engaging conversations like this.”

✯✯✯✯

taglist: @averyhotchner @storiesofsvu @ssaic-jareau @blackbeautifulqueen @mstrinnyb @will-on-the-internet

[viperwhispered]

I just wanna take a moment to say thank you for always being around to chat since I don't have many to talk to about TWST. I also suck at characterization so I don't write many fics. But I was very happy when you used one of our discussions for Revel in You. I don't mind if you use our convos to write, just be sure to credit the source.

On that note: saw your smut posts. Here's an idea: Jamil celebrating his promotion to being a Housewarden.

It's Friday, there's an enormous party going on to celebrate Jamil and Kalim's new roles and the successes of the first month with this new dynamic. While Jamil is more accustomed to the spotlight, he still gets "tired out" and leaves it to Kalim to keep the party going and organize the clean up crew. After all, he's due for a more private celebration of his own.

Fun fact: for a good chunk of snake species, the male will bite the females neck to hold them down while mating.

Imagine Jamil relentlessly taking his beloved from behind, deciding they're wriggling a bit too much. Delighting in the sounds they make as he pulls them towards him by the hair, he just bites the back of their neck as his body pins them to the bed. They'll probably be annoyed by morning, but Jamil's already got some concealers beforehand.

Did I forget to mention it's a Friday, Jamil no longer has roomates, and pretty much the entire dorm is still partying to loud music several hallways away?

Also worth mentioning that, as a healthy mature couple, all of Jamil's jealousy and possessiveness is addressed in a healthy manner so the relationship never turns toxic. This statement does not apply to the bedroom.

Aww thank you, always happy to talk with you too 😊 Plus like, if you’d rather talk over messages sometime in addition to the asks, feel free. (And this applies to anyone else reading this post too.)

Yeah iirc I was thinking a bit if I should ask you about using that ask as a jumping off point for To Revel in You, but I figured I was using it more as inspiration rather than rewriting anything you wrote or anything like that. And that since you sent that ask in the first place, I did kinda assume it would be okay to build off it. But good to hear I wasn’t wrong in thinking so, and glad you liked it.

As for characterization & writing: it really is a matter of practice, I’d say. Plus, like, everyone is bound to interpret the characters in a different way, or focus on different aspects of them. Which can be freeing, in a way, knowing that you can bring to the table something that no one else can, certainly not in the same exact way you would.

Also I was actually thinking of asking for some writing prompts since the current wip seems to need a bit more time to marinate, and here you are with perfect timing.

So let’s see what I can do with this concept.

If it wasn’t obvious: smut ahead. Written with fem / afab reader in mind but I think this could be read gender neutral as well since the only specific body detail mentioned is that reader has hair long enough for Jamil to grab.

The day - and the week, and the month - had been such a whirlwind that even Jamil had had trouble keeping up with it all.

Tonight, Jamil had basked in the praises from his dormmates, their congratulations and glowing words - and noted the cautious looks of those who still had not forgotten the events of his overblot.

He had enjoyed food that was not made by him, watched others fuss over the preparations and the serving - well, as much as he had been able to keep himself from giving direction. Still, even he had not been able to oversee every single detail, as much as he wanted to.

After all, both you and Kalim had been quite insistent, in your own ways, that this celebration should be for him, not by him.

So Jamil had danced, eaten, drank, listened, talked, so much so that now when the night was beginning to turn towards morning, he had more than had his fill.

Besides, tired as he may be of the crowd, there was still something on his agenda that he was more than happy to indulge in.

You had been teasing him with promises of a more private celebration - starting from when the party was decided on all the way to when you had been dancing together earlier - and Jamil intended to finally collect his reward.

You were outside for a moment of fresh air and quiet when Jamil found you, wrapping his arms around you from behind and nipping your ear.

“I remember someone promising to be mine tonight,” he murmured, voice low and husky.

You shivered, feeling Jamil’s lips on your neck. You’d half expected him to be too tired to turn your teasing into action. Yet, you certainly welcomed this turn of events, your own tiredness washed away by Jamil’s eager touch and his tempting whispers.

“You know me. Always love - ahhh - spoiling you,” you said - your words turning into a gasp when Jamil licked the side of your neck.

In no time at all you found yourself in Jamil’s room - as easy as it was to be distracted by each other, you both still preferred the privacy over lingering in the common areas of the dorm.

Jamil’s mouth was hungry on yours, his hands working quickly to rid you of your clothes.

Sometimes you wondered just how much Jamil was holding back in the presence of others, for him to get so ravenous as soon as you two were alone.

Not that you were any different, pulling away that long belt from Jamil’s hips so that you could slip your hands under his shirt, your lips covering every available bit of his skin with kisses.

It was always delicious, your naked bodies tangled together. That heady feeling of each other, both of you grasping and kissing wherever you could, like you could never quite feel enough of the other.

“So what would mister housewarden ask of me tonight?” you asked with a playful grin, nuzzling your nose against Jamil’s.

There was undeniable hunger in the way Jamil looked at you, yet also the warmth and softness of your lover that always filled your heart to the brim.

“Just all of you, albi,” Jamil murmured, pushing you down onto the mattress.

You’d entertained ideas of a celebratory blowjob, of taking care of Jamil tonight. But if he’d rather help himself to you, you were certainly not going to say no.

A few orgasms later and Jamil was pounding into you, firmly holding onto your hips while your face was pressed onto the sheets. His cock was invading your insides so hard, so deep, leaving you nearly senseless. You jolted helplessly every time Jamil slammed his way all the way in, the pleasure bordering on pain as it shot through your nerves.

“Ahhh, Jamil…” you whimpered, barely aware of the spot of drool you’d left on the bed.

“Too much?” Jamil muttered, one of his hands leaving your side to instead trail a soothing path along your spine.

“...No.”

It was a lot, your senses nearly overtaken by the intensity of it all - yet you didn’t want anything less.

Still, you couldn’t help squirming, your body twitching with every thrust, yelps and moans pushed from your throat no matter how much you tried to hold them in.

“Hold still,” Jamil grunted. 

He gathered your hair in his hand, making you gasp when he tugged. You could feel the pull on your scalp, almost like Jamil wanted to rein you in - or pull your face away from the sheets so that he could hear your cries more clearly.

“You’re all mine tonight, aren’t you? Mine to have, mine to enjoy,” Jamil breathed to your ear.

“Yes, yes, yes…” you whined, aroused beyond belief.

Always his, just as he is yours - but you had no time to vocalize that thought before Jamil’s weight pushed you prone on the bed.

Your gasp was cut short, turned into a sharp cry when you felt moist pressure at the back of your neck - a bite, you realized, some instinct telling you to keep still.

Not that you had much of a choice in the matter. Jamil’s hand, still gripping your hair. His mouth, latched onto your skin. His body, holding you down.

The weight of him against your back was almost suffocating, yet in a delicious way. Like you could be closer to him like this, more connected than just skin to skin contact - or penetration - could provide.

You could feel the rolling of Jamil’s hips against your backside, the way his cock was dragging along your insides. Not as harshly as before, yet intense enough to keep you trembling and whining with the little breath you could take.

And Jamil’s mouth, his teeth, never letting go. His muffled groans such a delicious sound, making you clench around him.

Such sweet torture, and you never wanted it to end.

Taglist since this turned into fic: @colliope @crystallizsch @diodellet @jamilsimpno69 @jamilvapologist @perilous-pasta @twstgo @cannedpickledpeaches

[seeingteacupsindragons]

Commenting on Meta: Quick-Start Guide

Inspired by a convo with @hergan416, I realized that while meta writers (me, at least) do still like comments/feedback on their writing, a lot of people probably don’t know how to respond to it very well. Responding to fiction can be easier.

But here’s a cheat sheet for, “Things I Like to Hear About” on my meta writing. I can’t guarantee all meta writers will agree, but I think at least a fair amount of it also applies.

This is not meant to be an all-inclusive list, but to give you ideas of where to start if this is a thing you’d like to do more of this, and maybe some general guidance on how to approach it.

This is divided into three categories: General Comments, If You Agree With the Meta, and If You Disagree With the Meta.

General:

Meta writers typically use different writing techniques than fiction writers, but they do still use them. A lot of it will be in the persuasive or rhetorical category which people are less familiar with, but if you notice them: say it!

Any comments about writing style/voice. Personally, I mix a lot of creative techniques in mine, and there are jokes and asides in there. If they made you laugh: tell me, I wanna know! If a turn of phrase haunts you or really hit you well: let us know!

Things like tone: some meta writers are more clickbait-y or aggressive, some are more wishy-washy, some more authoritative, some more authoritarian—and all of that impacts how it’s received. They might be putting a lot of effort into it.

What is the meta writer’s general approach to meta/analysis/fiction—stuff about that!

Anything you notice that seems like it took a lot of time or effort. They will appreciate you noticed!

Agree:

"I never put those together!"

"I've never seen it that way before.”

“I've never been able to put my finger on this and now it makes sense"

“I’ve never been able to articulate it”

“This would be interesting to explore in fic.”

“I wonder if this could tie into XYZ, too…”

“I wonder where the series might go with this.”

"This also has XYZ implications, too!”

“This is a similar concept I saw somewhere else"

“I really like the way this part of the story was written because XYZ”

“This is well put together because…”

Disagree:

Not all meta writers are gonna want these comments, but personally, I’m okay with them…in some circumstances. If it feels like you’re writing your own meta post, then…a little weird. If you’re opposed to my approach in general, okay, that’s frustrating. But you know what I do like?

Questions about how I got there!

“I’ve always seen it as ABC because of XYZ.”

“How do you think XYZ factors into this?”

“Do you think XYZ changes this?”

“XYZ is what I made of that.”

Stuff like that. Usually I can comment back on that and have a discussion. It’s totally possible we both have valid and yet different takes and both readings are valid! There’s a conversation to be had here!

I'm totally happy to discuss other valid readings and talk about what different readings add and why we might prefer one or the other!

The Most Favorite Comments I get on writing meta tend to be:

Anything about how this changed how you read or write, or think about reading or think about writing/writers

Anything about taking the time to sit down with stuff I write—in this world of infinite scrolling and quick bites, knowing I can entice someone into stopping that for a few minutes is better than gold

Anything about how you got more excited about writing/reading

Anything about what it makes you think of me as a fiction author (I mean…hey, I’m a person and a writer, too)

Anything about how this made reading/writing different or more fun for you

Anything about sharing my meta to discuss with other people

Anything about it making you love the media more

In Conclusion:

There’s lots of ways to interact with your meta writers, and they probably want you to.

[delcakoo]

i’m sure most ppl expected this so i’m not gonna make a big deal out of it but!! yes i am going on hiatus for an unspecified amount of time.

it’s honestly quite simple, i’ve just been losing interest in most aspects of kpop aside from the music, which makes writing for it a lot harder than before. i also dealt with a lot of burn out for months and still forced myself to write which only made it worse. lastly, i’m an executive of two clubs at my school this year on top of all my classes, so finding time to write would be even worse than it was before :’) !

YEAh that’s kinda it! for now my works will stay up, moots can dm me for my disc/spotify!! even if we’ve barely spoken pspsps i wanna stalk ur music cmere 🤲 a special shout out to my emoji anons too, you’re all amazing people ilysm, especially those that have been stuck with me for so long <3 (u know who u are!!)

i’ll try and check in here every so often to chat, esp if a new comeback for enha/txt happens!! love u guys and stay safe <3 you may send an ask if u have any questions!

extra stuff i wanna say to moots below! (it’s all word vomits i’m sorry)

RAVEN. MY WIFEY. my BELOVED blr wont let me tag u but you already know i adore u sm playing roblox with u is so fun even if that one banana game was kinda ass!! 💖 thank u for being so so sweet when putting up with me all the time and raising our fav corgi daughter with sm love <3 i hope u get more confidence in ur writing because your fics are always so creative and well written, and in yourself too bc a certain mf thats name starts with J and ends with N is MISSING OUT. 🙄🙄 ok im still gna be annoying u all the time so. bye ig….. smooches

@seongclb katto u deserve an award for putting up with me in dms ilysm 😞 watching the promised neverland together brought me so much joy and i still have a ss of you calling gilda a tractor ok i love u!!!! i would read your fics all day any day u are so talented and ur photography skills are amazing, i hope we get to keep in touch WE SHOULD FIND ANOTHER SHOW TO WATCH TGTHER !!!!! i need to fix your lack of anime knowledge ‼️ PLS KEEP WRITING AS WELL ENHABLR NEEDS U!!!!

@soov reirei my gf i aspire to be as confident and funny as you, you’re literal sunshine and always make my day better even with just one interaction <3 thank u for being so welcoming my first days in walmart enha and raising sushiwon with me!! as well as entertaining me by dying in genshin every 3 seconds <3 (WE NEED TO PLAY AGAIN) oh and KEEP WRITING BB. i will rise from THE DEAD WHEN IT COMES OUT OK U CAN DO THIS ML!!

@haknom kangaroo karaoke keys we may have had only a few convos but they were all so fun like PLAYING BRAWL STARS WAS HILARIOUS we ate the house down in duo showdown idc. and beta reading ur fics was such a treat esp while watching u plan new smaus every other day 🫶 also your music taste is MUWAH gimme some more recs pspsps !!! KEEP WRITING OKKK?!

@kynrki kimmy kimmy kim one of my first ever moots <3 your writing is always such a joy to read and your energy is amazing, thank you for giving me a chance when i was too shy to ask anyone else to be moots LMAO 🫶 plsplss keep writing you’re so gifted and deserve the whole world LOVEE UU

@bitehee cavvy my big sibling :((( i love u sm kshsdknd its been a while but i really hope everything has been well since you moved and you’re still being as cool as ever <3 im gonna replay a pokemon game in ur honor perhaps mystery dungeon 👁️ ? anyway i look up to u and think u are so cool, one of my fav hee stans ever ever!!! remember u have my disc if u ever wanna chat 🫂 !!!

@sunoksunny sunny <3 my other gf. i remember our first vc u had this goofy pfp i cant remember what it was but like u are so easy to talk to and funny?! and PRETTY??? your fits are always stunning and your singing is beautiful ugh the whole package fr… and. we need. to play. genshin!!! I REDOWNLOADED IT FOR U OK WE WILL DISCUSS THIS SOON!! ILY

@slytherinshua ZANNY. u are so easy to talk to we match each others energy so perfectly?!? I HOPE U AND TUALHA CONTINUE BEING THE COOLEST EVER and ur writing is top tier so pls keep going‼️ thank u for being so sweet to me as another one of my very first moots i appreciate u sm <3333

@flwrshee riri !!! we haven’t even been moots for long but i had to add u in here because u need to know that ILYSM. you’re like an adorable energetic little sister that always makes me smile T-T thank you for taking time out of your day to reblog my fics with so much sweet feedback and i wish u the absolute best always!! if u ever need anything pls dm me on disc i would love to chat with u more, and make sure to keep writing bc u have SO much talent!!!!

@wonieleles sia SIA i genuinely miss talking to u sm i NEED to come back to walmart enha :(( we don’t talk much besides our little interactions in the server but each time you make me smile. you’re so so smart and admirable, i hope you keep up the hard work bc i know you’ll go so far and HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE!! you’re so beautiful okay ily 😞🫶

@sultrybaby kel 😭😭😭💖💖 you’ve literally been a day one THANK YOU for always checking in on me even during your ridiculous NONSTOP EXAMS. 💀 another one of my big siblings on here fr you are such a real one and i care for u sm!!! i hope everything has been well for u?! pls feel free to message me for anything okay <3 I LOVE U SM thank u for sticking with me all this time 🫂🫂

i have so many moots so i can’t write smthn for everyone but i love u all okay <3 AGAIN if u wanna keep in touch thru spotify or discord dm me muwah

[starrynightarchive]

hii i love your fics soso much sooo could i get any tips on improving?

anon that is so sweet. you just made my day <3 personally, i operate with the "fuck it we ball" mindset for everything, writing included. but just for you, my dear anon, I'll give some (hopefully useful) tips

write what you like, when you like. i know this sounds awfully simple, but it's very very important. at some point, you might start writing for the sake of writing/ creating content because you feel guilty for one reason or another. that will just make you unhappy with yourself and the quality of your work.

for example, i was once fretting over the fact that I hadn't posted something in my poetry account for a long while and forced myself to write something for a prompt. it came out awful. or maybe not. but looking at it made me feel so bad that I deleted it. later, when I was feeling better, I wrote another one and that came out good! your mood and willingness to write reflect on your work. keep that in mind.

2. read a lot! find your favourite writers and the kind of writing that inspires you. derive ideas from that spark and write to your heart's content.

i'm a person who gets a lot of inspiration from other people's work. for example, I've always loved @itowhotypes and @valleykey 's works and their way of viewing characters and writing has helped me hone my writing skills so much more.

3. don't be afraid to fuck around and find out. experiment with your writing as much as you want! you don't have to wonder if something is too clunky or too wordy or out of flow. write what you feel like writing. it's all about the trial and error method. eventually, you'll find out what your writing style is/what you love doing. if you figure that out, the quality of your work will improve drastically

4. if possible, find like-minded people to discuss your ideas and listen to their input. I've had SO many wonderful story ideas from my convos with @feralshadowdemon and @justadino-ig . also? it's insanely fun. company always makes things better

5. try not to think of "improving" your work quality as a final destination for your writing journey. because really, everyone has room to improve. hell, I have so much to improve on. and I look forward to that! it's all about the journey. have fun with it and you will soon be moving forward without even knowing it

[deviljho]

okay i’m not familiar with podcasts so maybe this already exists but i have thought for a long time that it would be kind of amazing to do an interview style, sociological type convo about specific fanfic and fan experiences & have ppl aka my beloved oomfs come on to talk about the best and worst fanfics they’ve read…like i just think that would be so fun because everybody has at least one if not more that they’re absolutely haunted by (positive or negative). i know i have like 20 off the top of my head that i could discuss at length lmao…it would be like nice to have more normal convos about specific issues and specific stories and trends idk it would be interesting! to me.

the only downside to this is that it would be cringe to talk about fanfiction seriously like that in some respects like i know that’s self deprecating don’t be cringe be free etc etc but. it is cringe.

and the other issue is that i wouldn’t necessarily want to invite hate or bad attention to fics that guests or i thought were terrible & some of the ones i personally think of could be easily searchable even if i didn’t explicitly call them out by name…? and omitting details or the media the fic is based off of totally detracts from the insanity of having a fic about like, cloud from ffvii being a catboy who was given up for adoption or whatever. like ethically is it something where you’d have to get permission before talking about it? no but also idk?

[technetiumai]

Hello there!

I have been writing, but I’m at work, and finding clips of writing is much more time consuming to do, so I thought I’d show some other stuff.

I drew this map:

It’s not really a whole lot more helpful than the ones on the endpapers, but drawing it was helpful to me. I don’t know if you can even read most of it 😆. I made some assumptions and also just made some stuff up. If there are direct contradictions to canon... I really want to say don’t tell me 😂 because I don’t own white out and I don’t want to redraw it... but, yeah, you should probably tell me. I... want to know...

This is just a zoom in of what we know so that I can draw maps more and less zoomed in of stuff I’ve made up for a fic that we don’t know in canon.

I also made some BINGO cards?  🤷‍♀️

Inspired by a convo on the discord where @boyinjeans posted a few bingo cards that he made, and people were showing what they had on them from the fics they’ve written, then @yeonjunenby said it would be fun to have bingo prompts. And I also thought that would be fun.

But because I’m a giant weirdo I had to do it like how actual bingo cards are, with 15 possible prompts for each column, using a random number generator ro tell me which cards to put each prompts on and where.

I didn’t put nearly as much thought into the actual prompts as I put time into making the cards in the probably unnecessarily difficult way that I did 😅 which in retrospect was probably a silly choice. I didn’t just use Carry On stuff, I used some fanfic/general fic tropes (bed sharing, time loop, fairytale au), maybe a couple things that aren’t common tropes but are things that I like, I can’t remember, and then... yeah, just random Carry On things (Lucy is alive, Simon is good with kids, “Because we match”), some of which were inspired by @boyinjeans ’s cards, although at this point I can’t remember what’s what... definitely cottage-core lesbians was on his though.

Like I said, each card has a unique arrangement (the colors don’t mean anything, it’s mostly just to help me keep track of things); I’ve only made 15 so far, but this is what I’ve been doing while I have a migraine or while I’m just generally too tired to do things that require thought, so I’ll probably make more, even if no one wants one.

I guess maybe I should put a sample one?

(Yeah, definitely several of these were on Basil’s bingo cards)

If anyone wants one, let me know! Obviously, you don’t actually have to use them or anything, they’re just... Here...

Ummmm. That’s all I got!

Thank you @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @cutestkilla, and @captain-aralias for tagging me!

I’ll maybe be a little bit more brave about tagging and also tag some people who were in the bingo discussion?

@onepintobean, @fatalfangirl, @raenestee, @bazzybelle, @martsonmars, @aristocratic-otter, @bloodiedpixie​, @wellbelesbian​, @forabeatofadrum​, @aroace-genderfluid-sheep​, @artsyunderstudy​

[spaceorphan18]

I was wondering how you felt about the centralization of fandom. I feel like now, I'm so used to hop on AO3 that as soon as I'm looking for something I might not find there, like meta, theories or simply fics for an older (related to AO3) fandom like Glee, I don't have a clue anymore where to look for them. I never used LiveJournal so I don't have the habit of checking it out. FFNET feels obsolete after spending so much time on AO3, and as for Tumblr... the search function is a mess (and I dislike the fact that so many people post fanfics directly in text posts, of course they do what they want but it's frustrating to search for like analysis or simple thoughts and only find docs).

Fanlore is often lacking (although I worked myself on filling some stuff a few times).

I was used to HP being my main fandom: it had its own very charming fan websites with tons of content that often still exist, but are different somehow.

So I guess my question is actually several questions:

- what do you think of fandom being generally more centralized nowadays

- where do you go if you seek stuff like writeups (AO3 allows them but doesn't feature so much of them, but I know the Glee fandom was THRIVING and full of stuff,I guess the waves of mass post deletions are part of the issue)?

- finally, how are you? 🤗 I'm always happy to see your posts on my dash even if my Glee hyperfixation has come and gone

Sorry, it may be a confusing post 😂 Too much stuff going on

Hmm - I guess I wonder what you mean by more centralized? Like that we find everything in one place? Do we find everything in one placed? I guess I'm a little confused (but I often am)

What do you mean by write ups? Do you mean things like meta and analysis? I just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly.

If I'm being honest, my relationship with media has changed and I'm not necessarily seeking out fandoms to engage with. (This is not a denouncement of fandom at all! Just that I'm busier and how I interact with things just is different now) I haven't hyperfixed on anything since Glee - and I'm okay with that.

I don't really know where people can go /now/ to dig into fandoms. I think Discord is one of the places - but you almost have to be engaged already and invited into one. I don't know where people are putting their thoughts and feelings these days.

For me - I listen to a lot of podcasts now (as well as YouTube) where I can hear people's takes on such things, but I can't necessarily engage with it (I mean, I suppose commenting is a thing but it's not my thing) and that seems to fulfill a lot of my desire to hear someone else's thoughts.

And, I mean, I've made a group of good friends on Tumblr that if I want a more personalized discussion on something I'll hit one of them up and spark a convo. (Of course I have people not on the internet with whom I do that, too.)

But I can see where it can be hard for someone who is just starting out on their fandom journey to find a place where they can really dig in with others. Tumblr would be nicer if it was more organized and if tagging did actually work.

And, you know, I kinda treat Tumblr like a journal - and just create my own content. I'm not necessarily writing for all of you, but to sort things out in my own mind. Having people read and enjoy my thoughts is just an added bonus. ;)

I'm not sure if I've answered or addressed all of your thoughts - but hopefully, some of that makes sense?

In the mean time, I am doing well. I'm in a better place personally, which is nice, because then I can get back to all the fun projects I enjoyed before the year of my mental health crisis. Hope you are well yourself! <3

[captainaikus]

hello love!

its not any fun if you push yourself to exhaustion, so don't worry about it! although, i wont stop you from making a 5th edition. just be careful if you do, okay? we dont want you overworking yourself!

back to convo: MY IN LAWS ARE OBSESSED WITH ME YESSSS <33 WHAT IS UP WITH LIKE ISEKAI AND REINCARNATION? LIKE ITS FUNNY BUT ITS INTERESTING EVEN THOUGH YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING DOWN? Oh. its the hot men. oops. well even though its predictable, theyre still fun to read even though theyre cliche.

KRJDJSB YOUR LEAST FAVORITES LMAOOO 😭 THEYRE EGOISTS BUT THEYRE HOT? THE ONLY EXCUSE TBH. but your last two, tbh theyre not that hot in my opinion... i totally get it 😭 nothing like being a camera/women whore to make us angry.

YES PINK <3 I SAY ITS THE BEST COLOR OUT THERE! i myself am more of a reddish-pink but like- really light yknow? pastel, but its really cute! painted my room a piglet pink for that :) the other pastels are cute too! even orange, which is the worst color. guys can hate on me but i hate orange. if you like orange youre WRONG 🤬 (ofc guys im just joking please dont get offended 😰)

THATS SO CUTE? EXCUSE ME? A LITTLE SAFE HAVEN MANSION PLEASE AND LIKE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? GOALS? <33

about me, huh? umm its a little long sorry

my favorite songs are bug, fragile, & airhead(vocaloid). my aesthetics are softcore, cottagecore, kawaii, & japanese school aesthetics! basically anything pastel, pink, beige, plant, or japanese! i looked up softcore to confirm my suspicions and um... i got p*rn. uh guys make sure when youre searching up softcore that you search up 'softcore aesthetic' instead because.. i mean unless you wanna get p*rn. that's fine ig?

my top favorites animes/manga are toilet bound hanako kun, bungo stray dogs, hunter x hunter, & blue lock :) mainly because they contain my favorite characters: aoi akane, ranpo, killua, & nagi :)

i love sweet food, as well as asian food (especially basic beef pho)! i cant handle spicy, but im fine with the burn. its the pain that comes with it. ouch. BUT IM ASSUMING YOU HAVE HIGHER TOLERANCE 👀 like jalapeños? you can eat them without dying, right? please tell me some good spicy foods for beginners! i can handle like... pepperoni and like... spicy barbecue sauce, and hot doritos? 😭

AND THE PANTIES DISCUSSION? THERES MORE. INTIMATE THINGS? NO. GET READY FOR:

loincloth

undies

underpants

underclothes/clothing

long johns

underthings (did u already list this? 😭)

skivvies

I KNOW THAT SOME ARE FOR GUYS BUT I CANT IMAGINE WRITING A SMUT FIC AND PUTTING: "take off your long johns babe, because it's gonna be a long night." LIKE PLEASE? WHAT? 😭😭 I CANT???

also im sorry im not calling you belle! im used to calling people love or lovely! if youd like me to instead call you belle just tell me! its ok if you dont like the nickname :)

DESPITE ALL OF THAT i hope today's a great day/night for you as well! byebye lovely! <3

- 🌸 anon

ty for understanding doll 🥹 so yeah there would be a 5th edition but I'm taking my time with it Don't even get me started on the hot men in webtoons (got a woman in there too) - I’ve read a lot of Manhwas too (some BL)

i started reading one today - the boxer (still on chapter 3 - but so far it’s going good) my moods in two panels

one of the comments really said “albino Bakugou” 🥹😭

they certainly are hot v.v adam disappointed me. There was so much potential in there the beard n aura but no. oliver is kinda a whore my whore pink is also said to have a calming effect compared to other colors. imo- yellow is the worst color out there, but I've gotten used to it haha yeah the Budapest hotel is my mansion :) ooh vocaloids! i listen to them as well (esp the wowaka's album) n deco! (i listen to a lot of genres tbh, phonk, classical n all - you name it but i think my writing gives lana del rey vibes cause it is tragic n ambiguous at times?) oh yeah there have been times when i have seen nsfw things on tumblr when just scrolling through for some blog aesthetics 0v0 i have one too many fav animes but here we go :

• jojo's bizarre adventure

• kamisama hajimemashita

• Hanayori no dango (its boys over flowers - the original one)

• tokyo ghoul (it was one of the first anime series i watched but after season 2 i wasn't a fan of it)

• death note

• devilman crybaby

• black butler

• slam dunk n knb

• haikyuu

• maid sama! (one of my personal favs)

• ouran high school host club (i watched it a few months ago n it was good)

• free!

• beastars

• jujutsu kaisen

• promised neverland - the first season was good the second.. we know happened to that

• bsd was one of my favs too! i have one too many favs from there

• yuri on ice (contemplating to watch it again)

• blue lock (manga wise - anime i don't keep up with the eps)

• vinland saga (yet to catch up on season 2)

• the ways of a househusband i was watching the time i got reincarnated as a slime (good watch imo), baki (v interesting too-) yeah there are a lot of animes to name

hentai too jalapeños... yeah i eat those. not spicy for me tbh, apart from that the real spicy stuff is the samyang noodles confused crying how do people even eat ghost peppers 🥹 i like enough spice in food to trigger my palette n brain but not spicy enough to burn my stomach or intestines i'm not the best person to ask spicy food for beginners cause some people can't handle spicy food well - depends on the kind of food you grew up eating n the kinda diet you have as it could trigger your body ; but i added chilli powder to bland foods - including Szechuan sauce or sriracha n now that's my go to for spicy food or making fried rice i feel like if uncle roger saw this he's gonna make sure my cooking career goes up in flames loincloth 💀 underthings? 💀 long johns 💀 how... where do you even get these words - i don't even want to know how do they invented these i read that sentence in the most victorian woman voice ever.

actually same here, i tend to call ppl doll, angel, pretty, lovely at times- cause it makes a person smile (i say girlie pop too, honey, gem, sweetness) but at times i hesitate cause idk if the person is comfortable with me calling them that and please! feel free to call me love or lovely! idm it at all 0^^0 i hope you have a great morning / afternoon / evening too doll ! <3

[norikuna]

MISS CURTINS AKA DAPH-Y BOO POOKIE SHMOOKIE i just read your jjk men in a cafe fic and let me tell you I've been loving that writing format. but ANYHOOO ON TOPIC OF THE REAL DEAL

choso's.....i feel like u are spying on me because literally all of those incidents have happened to me. i don't go to starbucks or other cafe's often (not like other boys) but when i do i don't even have the balls to try anything that isn't a cold coffee because WHY ARE THERE SM OPTIONS LOL?? like i had a matcha thing once when i went to delhi to meet a friend and she ordered it for me and that was nice but apart from that......

AND THE WOBBLY TABLE HAD ME SCREAMING BECAUSE GIRL ME TOO !!!! i genuinely have such shit luck with tables (academically and even in public settings can you IMAGINE) and i think they should dedicate tissue boxes to my name the way i hoard them and stuff them underneath the table leg/s..... no but the way you wrote choso's was so sweet he's deffo the type of man who 100000%%%% respects people who work in the service sector, i feel like he'd ask them "how's your day" back YKKKK HE'S JUST A SWEETIE PIE AND HE FEELS (and it is!!) THAT IT'S NORMAL TO ASK OTHER PEOPLE QUESTIONS LIKE THAT REGARDLESS OF THEIR OCCUPATION <333 i feel like he'd probably start convos out of curiosity with people on the bus as well....like can you imagine him chatting up a pregnant lady with such genuine curiosity and innocence. like what do you mean kids come from your stomach/from where you pee 😭😭😭😭????

the rest of the boys....all i'm gonna say is i need a man like nanami who's so put together but the minute table 15 is having a conversation with voices that are a tad bit too raised, we're leaning in, rubbing our hands together even, and discussing it. and geto's the type of dude you'd tell to stfu on your date because he's busy relating coffee to the political economical state of the world rn. h's lucky he's pretty so i can just stare at him and not listen to a word of what he's saying.

deffo feel like sukuna would eye my tea and the minute i offer a sip to him he finishes the whole thing. but you know what, that is fine. because that man is my husband. i need a whole analysis on this man in a cafe because i feel like even though he's probably commanded a court during his time (ok oldie) he has ZERO SOCIAL DECORUM IN PUBLIC LOL.

and toji and me.......😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈 I'm about to push bro into that wall rq (I AM NOT I AM A GOD FEARING CHILD OF GOD)

thank u for indulging in my brain worms slash ramble slash whatever this is....i hope ur exam went well bby 😢💕

THIS ASKKKKK i went and sat down again to read it properly i love receiving it, its like a letter

but we are literally the same because i show up to cafes with one (1) standard order and then i chicken out each time anyway and i panic when i get to the front and motormouth some shit that i didn't even want 😭 i tried like matcha but it's just not meant to be for me. but u are sooooo right in how choso is literally 100% just nice and normal and sweet to people (mind you, in jjk the bar is on the floor bc we have some real demons)

also loser!geto is so special to me. like he's my favourite character in the entire series but he's just soo fun to imagine as kind of...annoying. if a man is gorgeous and powerful and a tad villainous, there has to be something silly and wrong with him just a bit

i'm sooo a coffee person > tea but i just know sukuna's old ass loves a good selection of grean teas...i will def make more sukuna headcanons of him doing regular stuff in every day life 😭

also!! i lovedddd writing toji's bc we know he's a bit of a loser and a bit of a villain but its soo fun to give him some nuance and grace because i know he has good traits (like trust, i know him personally) and he's probably the type who pretends to hate kids but secretly tries to make them laugh and gets mad when he's caught

[scummy-writes]

(I'm reblogging this to specifically reply to the convo me and Fang have been having in the replies of this post, but if other folks are reading this, I strongly encourage yall to look at the other reblogs discussing more about this! Drew has made some gouda pointa and so has Fang.)

I keep getting so wordy HAHA i'm typing my stuff here. I am just gonna be clear that I am cis, so there is gonna be an inherent skew in the way I think and there are likely things I am not considering and/or still learnin about.

Re: gendered love.

It's true that for a majority of themes and topics, love is not really gendered. But in the cases of games like these, there are suitors who i feel like have some more gendered issues with love than others. My primary example is with Silvio, given how a lot of the hurdles with Mc in it are given the fact that Mc is a woman and Silvio has a Lot of issues with women.

So if you were trying to write a reader insert and referencing some issues he has strictly from canon, well, some gender issues may apply to that. If you're writing an au, or stuff that does not relate to canon in that context, then its easier to disregard that. Just unfortunately some of his characterization with his route is based around the fact that cybird wrote the mc to be cis fem, and thats primarily what I was referencing.

Hopefully that makes sense? Love =/= gendered, but Certain Issues with Love = Tied to Gender at times. It's more nuanced than what I've written, obviously, but hopefully that makes it a bit more clear with that I was referring to.

Re: writing/tagging

I do think this stuff can be difficult to tag. I don't typically tag a lot of my own fanfics with gnc or similar because I am constantly stumped on what constitutes that. Reading conversations on this post helps me more, and so does just talking to those who arent cis and in the fandom helps me a lot more. And then of course, when you're of the nature of writing for yourself and just Sharing what you're writing, its difficult to tag as outside the gender you were envisioning when writing. As in, a lot of the time the readers I write are unfortunately going to have a female bias unless I am randomly writing specifically with a male/other reader in mind, or suitor pov, since that is usually where my mental pov gears towards.

If I DO tag it, its after me reviewing the fanfic for posting and going "oh, there isnt a lot of gendered terminology here. Could I redact some and tag is as such? Is that tasteless since the effort is skewed?"

And its true there is not one specific tagging type that could help with including everyone under the sun, but I do think its nice to try if the shoe fits, yaknow? It was pointed out to me recently that sometimes writing 'fembodied reader' does not sit well with folks as opposed to 'reader has vagina', so I think outside of smut, the same type of idea can be applied by just applying personality markers as tags for the reader (in conjunction with a lack of gendered reference to the reader) for other fanfics genres.

I think this conversation is fun and enlightening, and also a smidge difficult because gender is not a binary topic, i feel like there is not a firm set answer to a lot of questions posed by questions like this. But its fun seeing the opinions of others and seeing what seems to work for a majority of people.

Oh, also for tagging in general, I try to keep in mind what may make me click or turn away from a fanfic. Do I want to read an au fanfic with angst/hurt, fluff, miscommunication tropes, overcoming problems, and similar indepth tags, or do I want to read- a fluff fic.

Tagging is sort of like just telling what type of content is in there. I stick to the major stuff, but also if I think any smaller themes could either be triggering or a hook to draw in readers, I also mark that as a 'tag' for the fanfic.

I'm not aure if this makes sense, but I'm trying to figure out how to classify certain fics to better tag them, so I appreciate any thoughts you have on this

[acanvasofabillionsuns]

quick list bc i want to go do my little sudokus and listen to my little podcast <3

one of my teachers just?? gave me cake?? i'm not complaining though it was good cake

also i had ~half of my milkshake and that was sooooo good <3 i'm going to have the other half tomorrow i can't wait 👀

i also had left over ziti from olive garden with the milkshake and a) YUM b) i felt?? full?? i don't think i've ever/can't remember the last time i felt full just eating my after school snacks but it was neat!! i had such good food <3

had more tea! i just got back from drinking that and chilling with my dad, it was nice :]]

had a fun conversation with one of my friends!

also her bday's coming up and i asked another friend for help deciding what to make her and she came in at the end of the discussion and the other friend was like 'oh we're talking about a kids' show' and then it bothered both of them that they couldn't remember the name of the show LKSJDF:KJE

read some VERY good fics today <3

i took a shower and i was like WHOA i feel so much better and motivated to do things so here's ur reminder to self care folks <3

had a cool convo with max!! they are so cool and smart and full of good ideas and also lovely <3

i made a little mouse!!! i still have to braid the tail but mouse :]