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girasollake · 1 year ago

Note

Hello

Would you be able to write for Theodore Nott with the trope fake dating and the prompt 50?

Thank youu <3

✧ theodore nott x fem!reader x fake dating x "my love language is bullying people." "you bully me. a lot." "..."✧

( this request is a part of my writing event, here is the link to the masterlist of the fics i'll be publishing from said event:) )

❁ i hope this turned out well, happy reading:)

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Pacing around your dorm and chewing on your thumb, you tried to figure out how to get out of the situation you got yourself into. You didn’t mean to answer the question with his name, it just happened. It’s like you weren’t even thinking and your mind made that quick decision for you.

For the last month your ex boyfriend had been harrasing you to get back together. You dumped him after catching him in the act with a girl from a year below yours. You felt anger, sadness and loath, not because of the relationship he decided to end, but because it hurt to see someone you started to trust - pick someone over you.

Over the time he was stalking you and trying various ways to get back, you had found yourself being more and more drawn towards your best friend’s mate.

“ ‘We’re done Patrick! I don’t know what I have to say for it to get through your fucking skull.’ You hissed at your ex.

‘We’re not done.’ He took a step closer. ‘Do you really think someone else will want you besides me?’ A chuckle escaped his lips.

You stood there frozen, the insult burning itself into your mind.

‘My boyfriend.’ You finally replied after a moment of silence.

‘You don’t have one, love.’ He placed his finger under your chin and made you look up at him. ‘But you can have me again.’

‘No.’ You spat and took a step back. ‘I am seeing someone else.’

That’s the moment where you should have stopped talking.

‘Oh, really?’ He cocked his brow, a mocking expression on his face. ‘Who?’

Don’t say it.

‘Theo Nott.’ “

You sat down on your bed, the finger slightly covered in your blood from the biting. You had only two options, either admit to your ex that you lied to him and still get harrassed by him, or ask Nott out.

You rubbed your temples slowly, sighed and decided to go to the library to clear your mind, hoping that Patrick won’t be able to talk to Theo until tomorrow.

At this time of the day there was barely anyone inside the library. You were slowly walking between the shelfes, looking at each book and reading the title. After a few minutes of strolling you reached the Romance Novels section, very few books there, but it lured you in. Especially one of them, which you have read a long time ago.

‘Of course.’ You chuckled, holding the book in your hands and tracing the cover with your fingers.

The story was about a woman who was a spy and had to make a deal with a member of an organisation they were infiltrating. She promised to get him the safety he needed to escape his boss and he promised her to give her all the information she needed. They started fake dating.

You should’ve thought of this idea earlier, but you were too stressed to even sit in one spot, let alone think of this good of a plan. You put the book back in it’s place and rushed out of the library. While you were running through the halls, you spotted a familiar figure talking with her friends.

‘Hi, can I borrow Pansy for a moment? Thanks!’

You snatched her by the arm and led her to an empty classroom.

‘This better be an emergency.’ She playfully rolled her eyes.

‘Long story short - Patrick thinks I’m dating Theo and I have to prove him that I am.’

She looked at you dumbfounded and then a loud laugh escaped her lips.

‘Is this a joke?’ She asked, laughter still present in her voice.

It slowly faded as she realised how stoic and serious was the expression on your face.

‘Shut up!’ She exclaimed. ‘Merlin, what have you done?’

She put her palm on her forehead and exhaled all the air she had.

‘You know Theo does NOT date.’

‘I know! I don’t even know why I said his name! It just… It just came out, okay?’ You sighed and closed your eyes while throwing your head back. “But I do have an idea…’ you mumbled and slowly opened your eyes to look at Pansy.

‘Good Lord.. I don’t know if I even want to hear it.’ She sighed. ‘Go on.’ She showed a motion with her hand to tell you to proceed.

‘Fake dating.’

She bursted out in laughter.

‘What?’ She finally managed to get out. ‘How on earth do you want to persuade him into that?’

‘I’ll just… I’ll offer him something if he says no.’

‘Like what?’

‘I don’t know yet, whatever he says he’d like.’

‘So like, you’d give him a b-‘

‘Bloody hell Pans!’ You whisper-yelled. ‘I’ll do anything that does not involve sexual exchange.’

‘Alright, just askin’’ She raised her hands in defence.

‘Where can I find him?’

It was Saturday, so you couldn’t catch him in class. Pansy looked at her watch and made a thinking face.

‘Ummm… If I’m correct…’ She sighed. ‘They should finish their quidditch practice in a few minutes.’

You jumped up and gave her a quick hug before running out.

‘Thanks P, you’re the best!’ You shouted just before disappearing behind the door.

‘Course I am.’ She whispered and smirked to herself.

She looked around the room where she was now alone and shook her head.

‘Fingers crossed’ She muttered and headed outside.

You on the other hand, had reached the quidditch pitch in the right moment. Standing outside the boys locker room, you couldn’t help but listen to their faint voices. Unfortunately it was too quiet for you to make out any words. The door swung open unexpectedly and your head shot up to meet Draco’s eyes.

‘Can I talk to Nott?’ You asked and lifted up your chin higher.

Draco looked you up and down and then turned his head towards the boys.

‘Nott, come and say hi to one of your girls.’ He said and everyone started snickering at Theo.

‘Shut up, Malfoy.’ He glared at him and then your eyes met his.

He came over to you and you almost forgot about why you came here because, well, he was shirtless and his bottom was wrapped in a towel, leaving very little to your imagination. You gulped and quickly straightened up to not get caught checking him out.

‘I really need your help with something. Can we talk after you…’ You motioned towards his outfit, or better - the lack of it.

He cleared his throat and nodded, ‘Wait for me on the pitch?’

‘Sure.’ You gave him a soft smile and headed outside.

Thankfully there was a few benches on the sides of the pitch, they were there during practice, but hidden when there was a match. You sat down and buried your face in your hands.

‘What the fuck am I doing?’ You mumbled.

You started playing with your rings and thinking about what to say when you felt him sit down next to you.

‘So, what do you need?’ He asked while lighting up his cigarette.

‘Just don’t laugh at me, ‘kay?’ You said while closing your eyes.

He furrowed his brows in confusion, ‘Okay?’ He replied.

‘I need you to be my fake boyfriend.’ You quickly stated.

He looked at you dumbfounded and then proceeded to laugh.

‘You said you wouldn’t laugh, you bastard!’ You exclaimed and playfully hit his arm.

‘ ‘M sorry’ He met your eyes. ‘That punch hurt’ he held the place where you hit him.

‘Good.’ You replied. ‘So, will you help me or not?’

‘Why? Is it to make your ex jealous?’ He exhaled the smoke. ‘Never liked him, if I’m bein’ honest.’

‘Actually, the opposite.’ You took the cigarrete from him, took a drag and then placed it between his lips again. ‘He cheated on me and now he keeps stalking me to get back together. I’m so sick of him and I just don’t know what to do.. I just want him to fuck off.’ You looked at Theo for a response.

‘Fine.’

‘Wait, really?’ You asked excitedly.

‘Yeah, fuck that guy.’ He finished his cigarette and threw it on the ground. ‘We need some rules though.’

‘Alright.’ You paused to think about some. ‘How about we often hold hands, you kiss me on the cheek sometimes for the effect, and we can sometimes hang out in each others rooms, so no one would get suspicious. Of course we’d like study or some shit, but..’ You started rambling. ‘You get the idea.’ You added quietly.

‘You forgot about the most important one.’ He stated. ‘Don’t fall in love with me.’

‘Yeah, I think that’ll be easy considering your stupid face.’ You chuckled, but inside of you something twisted.

Don’t fall in love with me? Does he mean that, he knows he would never love you? Maybe that’s why he agreed? Cause he knows he won’t fall for you?

Am I this unlovable?

The next morning you were slowly making your way to the Great Hall for breakfast. On the outside you looked calm, but the inside was burning. With questions you couldn’t answer, with plans for what to do, with your hopes for finding someone good to love you back, with your growing attraction to Theo. You knew it was a bad idea, you knew you had a crush on him, but you’d rather hide that somewhere deep than admit it to yourself. You knew you were going to fall for him doing this, but if that’s what it takes for Patrick to leave you alone - then so be it. You can take the pain of Theo not reciprocating your feelings.

‘Hello, love.’ The voice from your nightmares spoke up next to you.

‘Fuck off, Patrick.’ You replied without even looking at the boy.

‘Oh, come on, can you finally stop playing this game and-‘

‘She told you to fuck off.’ You heard Theo’s voice on your other side and then his hand grabbed your waist to pull you closer.

Patrick’s face in that moment was going to be in your memory forever, he was so shocked, so defeated, so small. He looked between the two of you and scoffed.

‘We’ll see about that.’ He mumbled and walked away.

‘Thank you’ You looked up at Theo.

‘For what? I think that’s what boyfriend’s are supposed to do’ He winked at you and intertwined your hands.

‘You read a book or something to prepare for that role? Didn’t think of you as an academic type.’ You snickered.

‘I beg you pardon?’ He chuckled. ‘Am I that stupid to you?’

You waved your head from side to side and smirked at him.

‘Mm, yeah.’ You whispered to which he shook his head with a smile.

‘Come on, darlin’, we’re gon’ be late for breakfast.’

Darling.

For the next month you and Theo had gotten closer than you anticipated, but he was still too far for your liking. You wanted him closer, you wanted this to be a real relationship, but he wouldn’t want that.

“Theo does NOT date.”

Pansy’s words echoed in your ears every time you caught yourself staring at his messy hair. Or thinking about the way his fingers caressed the pages of a book, or the way his beauty spots were perfectly placed on his face, or the way he always knew what to say to you, or the way he cheerfully reacted to your insults and playful smacks on his arms.

‘When do you want to end this?’ He asked one night when you were studying for potions in his dorm.

The question caught you off guard and the air got stuck in your throat for a second.

‘I actually didn’t think about that part yet.’ You admitted, not taking your eyes off of your notes. ‘There is only a month of school left until holidays, so maybe until then? I’ll have those months for myself without Patrick bothering me and next year we’ll make up some excuse why it didn’t work out between us. Sounds good?’ The lack of emotion in your voice was weird for him.

‘Yeah.’ He whispered, his eyes lingering on your form. ‘Sounds good.’

He didn’t want to admit to himself that he started falling for you either. That’s why he asked about this, he didn’t think he could hold himself back much longer. Hold his feelings back.

‘Earth to Nott!!’ You smacked his arm with your notebook. ‘Do the bloody homework or I’ll feed you to my cat.’

‘Yes ma’am.’

There were moments where you thought he might feel the same. Like when he held your hand tighter than usual, when Patrick was passing by. Or when he kissed your forehead to calm you down when you were stressed before classes. Or the subtle smirks and glances between the two of you, when you weren’t next to each other. At first you thought no one would believe in your ‘relationship’, but surprisingly everyone didn’t have a clue it was fake. Were you both this good at pretending or did they just think you look nice together?

‘Probably the first one.’ You thought.

Soon there was only a week of school left and you didn’t want to think about what the end brings. You felt sadness, but you couldn’t show him that, you knew he didn’t feel the same. This was just temporary, he did what you asked for and now you owe him a favor. So now you had to let him go.

You met up near the Black Lake the day before going home. You were playing with your rings again and he was smoking a cigarette, just like in the beggining.

‘We’re still going to be friends?’ You asked.

‘If that’s what you want, darlin’ ‘ He replied, but deep inside he wanted to say no, to protect himself from whatever it was he felt towards you, it was too strong now.

‘Hmm.. No, not really.’ You muttered and then added, ‘I can’t stand looking at your hideous face much longer, but other than that, you’re fine to be around.’

He chuckled at your response.

‘Why are you always like this?’

‘What do you mean?’ You raised one of your eyebrows.

‘You know exactly what I mean.’

You chuckled to yourself, ‘My love language is bullying people.’

He processed your answer carefully and saw the way you stiffened. You didn’t realise you said that out loud.

‘Well…’ He took a deep breath. ‘You bully me. A lot.’

You didn’t want to meet his eyes so you shrugged and turned away, ‘Yeah, I guess I do.’ You whispered.

You heard Theo toss the cigarette on the ground and press his shoe on top of it. But what he did next, even Professor Trelawney couldn’t predict.

He turned you around and pressed his lips into yours, the taste of smoke and blueberry gum made its way into your mouth. His hands were holding your face on both sides, he didn’t want to take them off, scared you’d disappear if he did.

‘I thought you don’t date.’ You whispered with a smirk when you broke the kiss and pressed your foreheads together.

‘I don’t.’ He smiled. ‘I’m already taken.’

He pressed his lips to yours again and you felt like this moment could last forever.

‘By the way, you broke the rule.’ He mumbled.

‘Fuck your rule and fuck you, Nott.’ You replied making him smile to himself.

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#🤍 - girasollake writing event ☾ ⋆*#theo nott #theodore nott #theo nott x reader #imagine #x reader #harry potter imagine #theodore nott x reader #theo nott x you #fake dating

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rafesbabyg1rl · 9 days ago

Text

The Watcher ~ Part Two

Part One, Part Three

Summary: Rafe Cameron x Reader, Stalker!Rafe x Pogue!Reader Your parents work late on Friday nights, which you spend alone. Except you haven't been alone in a long time, not that you know of at least. Rafe has watched for years, he's very good at it. His idea of staying an anonymous stalker is ruined when you catch him in your bedroom one Friday night. Rafe has to figure out how to fix his mistake before he loses the only thing that makes his life worth living. After you find the surprise he had left for you, you choose to believe that his threats were empty and try to turn him in. But, your plans are interrupted and you take an unexpected visit to Tannyhill.

Warnings: Rafe stalks reader...that's literally the plot. Strong & descriptive language, suggestive themes, death threat(?), manipulation, kidnapping (?). If I missed anything from this part that I should include in the warnings, please let me know!

Word Count: 3.5k

Author Note: Part Two is here!! I know this chapter is shorter than the previous, but I figured it's better to get what I had out. Also...I'm not sure if I like where this is going, so please share your thoughts about this part and ideas for future parts. Thank you all for the support on the first part of this story. Especially with this being my first work I've published on tumblr, I am very pleasantly surprised with how everyone has reacted to it. So, please enjoy and feel free to leave feedback! I love you all, thank you so much!!

CREDITS: The foundation of this fic was heavily inspired by/ based off of one of @faiszt 's bots on character ai. So, if you like this and you like character ai, I greatly suggest that you check out the bot!

The blinding morning light shines into your room through your curtains. You sit up and rub your eyes. You glance at the digital clock on your nightstand which currently reads: 10:34 am. Those sleeping pills really worked, you think. Your parents are already at the restaurant, probably just getting over with the morning rush.

Your eyes begin to focus, your brows furrow as your eyes land on one of the posts of your footboard. You lean forward to grab the pair of panties you had just worn yesterday which are hanging from your bedpost. You’re pretty sure you had put these in your hamper last night and wait, why are they sticky…? You wonder, you examine them and come to the realization of what it is. Immediately you toss them away, that was not from you. It was your stalker, it had to be. Of course, the first night you spend alone since four weeks ago and he already breaks in. And he does this? You think about his words, “tell anyone and I’ll come back and fuckin’ kill you”, shivers roll down your spine.

You hadn’t even had time to realize how horny you had been when you had woken up; and now that you have you feel so wrong. But your dream…oh god your dream. You can still remember it vividly, even more so the longer you think about it; you can see the face of the man who fucked you stupid in your dream. You know who it was, who your subconscious mind let you fuck while you slept. It was your stalker.

Without another thought, you’re in the shower scrubbing the shame and disgust from your skin—or at least attempting to. When you feel somewhat satisfied, which also happens to be when the water begins to run cold, you finally get out. Wrapping a plush towel around your freshly clean body, you lean over the bathroom sink and wipe the condensation from the mirror leaving just enough space to see yourself. Before the glass fogs back up you’re able to see a small part of what appears to be a bruise poking out from underneath the towel wrapped around your chest. You lean in closer using one hand to re-wipe the mirror and using the other to pull your towel down past your boobs. Looking back at the bruised area on your chest, you can see that the closer you look at it, the more it looks like a hickey. You just about stumble backwards at the realization.

You’ve had enough. After you quickly toss on some clothes, you grab your keys off your dresser with a shaky hand. You rush out towards your car and get inside, pulling out of your driveway carelessly and speeding off. When you arrive at your destination, you take a few moments to rethink this plan. You have to do this. You can’t keep living with some creep sneaking in your bedroom and touching you as you sleep. You twist the keys in the ignition and pull them out, you confidently strut towards the entrance of the building. When you feel the vibration of your phone in your pocket you pause, sighing as you reach back to take it out. When you read the random number, with the same Outer Banks area code as you, your brows furrow. Typically you wouldn’t answer a call from an unknown number, but something in you is telling you to answer. As you press the green button and bring your phone to your ear, you glance up at the building you were about to enter which reads, ‘Kildare County Sheriff’s Office’.

“Hello?” You ask warily.

After a few long seconds, the person on the other side of the line answers you. “Stop.” The man’s voice sends familiar chills down your spine.

“Excuse me?” You respond, your voice audibly shaky. “Who…who is this?”

“C’mon pup, you already forgot what I sound like? It’s already been that long?” Your eyes widen at the realization of who this voice belongs to. You’ve heard it one other time, well one time that you remember.

As your head darts around the parking lot looking for your stalker, your voice comes out in a tone that easily betrays you, revealing your fear, “No…no…what the hell do you want?”

Rafe smirks from his truck as he watches you from afar. “I want you to turn around and get back in your car, m’kay princess? And I highly suggest you do what I want.”

“Or what? What’s stopping me from walking in? Or from yelling for help?” You take a step closer to the building’s entrance.

“Stubborn, stubborn girl…” the man chuckles, “If you don’t get back into your fucking car right now, you’re gonna really fuckin’ wish you had just listened to me. I’m gonna get what I want no matter what, baby. You’re mine.” And with that, Rafe hangs up the phone, still watching you from a distance.

As much as you want to just run into the building and beg for help, you know that unfortunately since you’re a pogue, the cops aren’t going to believe a single word that comes from your mouth. In their minds, all pogues are liars and thieves. And since you don’t have the slightest clue on who the man you saw in your bedroom is, you figure there’s not much they’d be able to do even if they did believe you. So you reluctantly turn back to your car and get inside. The moment your door shuts you inside, your phone buzzes yet again with another call. It’s coming from the same number, but this time you don’t answer. This was your second mistake.

Rafe’s already pissed off. You went against his rules, you didn’t listen to him, none of this will work if you don’t listen. He thought he had been threatening enough that you’d behave, but clearly you need another scare. You need to be taught that disobeying him does nothing but hurt you more. When you don’t answer the phone when you definitely know it’s him calling, this is just the cherry on top; the icing on the cake. Rafe is fuming.

You drive out of the parking lot, breath heavy as you stay on high alert–searching for him. A truck suddenly pulls behind you, tailing right on your ass. You can’t see through the truck's front windshield due to the dark tint. You being paranoid, step on the gas and speed up a bit, well exceeding the speed limit. A few quick seconds pass by and you jump at the sound of sirens. It doesn’t take long for you to check your rearview mirror and realize that the sirens are coming from the truck behind you, which is flashing its red and blue lights. You let out a breath of relief. You’re being pulled over yet you’re relieved because it means you aren’t being trailed by your stalker. The feeling is short lived as you flick your signal on and pull off to the side of the road. You roll your window down and shut off the engine.

The officer approaches you and goes through the typical routine and you try to calm your nerves. All sound is drowned out as you get lost in your thoughts.

“Ma’am?”, the officer repeats. “Do you know why I’ve pulled you over today?”

The sharp and unintentionally threatening voice of the deputy snaps you out of wherever the hell it was that your mind had taken you to. “Yes, sorry sir, I…I was going over the speed limit.” You submit, wanting to get this over with. You can’t help but worry what your stalker would think if he saw this, he’d probably think you’re turning him in. But, you’re not. Really this whole thing was a misunderstanding, but you can’t explain that to the cop.

“And why is that?” He questions you ever further, his gaze staring at you intensely. You get nervous and want to look away, but you worry that might make you look guilty of something. You’ve been pulled over before, it’s not usually a big deal for you. However you’re just so goddamn nervous and need this moment to be over. You feel like you’ve done something wrong; like you’re hiding something. But you aren’t.

“I–I thought…I just got distracted sir, wasn't thinking about speed. I apologize for the inconvenience.” You catch yourself, technically you aren’t lying; you just aren’t explaining why you were distracted. The threatening words of your stalker still echo around your head. The deputy gives a small lecture as he writes up a ticket for you. Once he gets back into his truck and drives off, you rest your head back against the seat and let out the breath you’ve been holding. When you start your car back up and finally open your eyes, you look straight out across the road. You can see a tall man leaning against a truck parked across the road, staring right at you. The familiar grin on his face has you sick to your stomach.

After making direct eye contact with him, you pull off the side of the road and do an illegal U-turn so that you’re heading in the opposite direction, leaving the man behind. You know that he’s following you, so you drive around aimlessly until you get another call from the same unknown number. You want to decline, but you’re too afraid to face the consequences that might follow.

“What do you want?” You ask, voice full of faux confidence. The only thing you hear on the other side of the line is a heavy breath that causes your skin to become full of goosebumps.

After you’ve had a few moments to panic, he finally speaks, “Keep driving”. His words are not said lightly. This is undoubtedly a command, not an option.

“Keep driving to where?” You stammer with nervousness.

“Tannyhill.” He replies strictly.

“Tannyhill?” You question before being able to stop yourself. You can’t help the attitude that slips into your voice. When a few more moments of silence pass, you get more and more anxious for his response. “Hello…?” You ask quietly, wondering if you lost connection. Still nothing. “Hello?” You ask again with more volume. After another minute or two, you hear the phone beep; the call disconnects.

Why the hell does he want you to go to Tannyhill? It doesn’t make any sense. But you don’t exactly have a choice. He’s following you either way and it’s not like he doesn’t know where you live…and just about everything about your life. So, it’s probably best to just play along and obey his commands.

When you get close to the general destination, your phone rings with yet another call. You answer, already knowing who it's from. This time you don’t speak first, you wait to hear what he has to say. It takes a few moments, almost like he’s trying to wait long enough that you’ll talk. The silence starts to get unbearably awkward, but your mind is set on waiting for him to speak and Rafe doesn’t have the time to wait; having to give you directions and all. When he finally talks he doesn’t greet you. His voice breaking the silence startles you as he instructs you with the directions to get wherever it was he was forcing you to go.

“Wait…turn left h-here?” You ask, confused at his directions. You had missed the beginning of what he said since you had to collect yourself after being frightened.

He sighs in impatience, “No dammit, the next one. Were you not listening?”

“I…no I-I was listening–” you stumble over your words as you turn onto the street he wanted you to.

“Bullshit. You need to learn how to fucking listen to me, don’t you?” When you don’t respond, trying to focus on remembering the directions he gave you, it only serves to piss him off even further. “Huh?! Don’t you?!” He shouts into the phone as he follows behind you.

You whine in fear, “No..I can listen. I promise I can listen to you.” You practically beg. “J-just tell me where to go?”

Rafe directs you to his house, which you of course recognize as the Cameron’s mansion. You’ve heard about the Cameron’s, but you wouldn’t be able to point them out in a crowd or anything. Besides from the father, Ward Cameron, whom you’ve seen on the news several times. Is he a Cameron? As you park in the large driveway, you rack your brain trying to recall the name of the Cameron son.

His truck parks behind you, blocking your car in. He quickly kills the engine and exits his vehicle. You don’t notice him walking up to you until he’s yanking your car door open and pulling you out by the arm.

“R-rafe?” You mumble insecurely. He pauses to look at you, chuckling at your words. He mutters a quick ‘smart girl’ before retightening his grip on your arm and continuing to pull you into the large mansion. You start to cry, getting overwhelmed as you imagine the many possible scenarios that may occur. “P-please,” you manage to choke out. “What do you want?”

Unlike the last time you cried to him, this time he doesn’t stop. He drags you up one level of the large, spiral staircase; pulling you into his bedroom. As soon as you see the bed, you’re already feeling it beneath your back when he shoves you down just a few seconds later. As if you hadn’t already embarrassed yourself enough, you can’t help the tears that begin to stream down your flushed cheeks at a flooding rate.

“Wait…no, please, please!” The way you keep shouting and choking back sobs causes you to gag from how worked up you’ve gotten yourself. All the Cameron son does in response is lean back to get a full view of you as a smug grin spreads across his face. “Please, I—oh god, I’m gonna be sick…” You mumble, which is quickly followed by another gag that interrupts your constant sobs.

Rafe snakes his hand up from your arm to your hair, wrapping his first tightly around a large section of it. He tugs on your hair to force your head to look up at him, causing a small whine to escape your lips. “Shhh…baby, shhh…” He mumbles, his ‘worried’ tone working to oppose his previous amused expression. “Calm down, alright? Calm down. Ain’t gonna do nothin’ you don’t want, m’kay pretty girl?” The way he says that last part…you’ve never heard his voice sound like that before. You didn’t even think he was capable of talking in that tone. He sounds like he might actually truly care about you. You’re relieved; maybe even a bit…comforted by the fact that he might be telling the truth about not doing anything you don’t want. Well, besides having you basically held captive in his home.

“What…what are you gonna do?” You manage to choke out between sobs, trying to catch your breath so you can calm down.

“I just wanna talk to you baby. Alright?” Rafe mumbles your name into your ear, allowing you to feel his hot breath against the side of your face. Immediately you’re taken back to the first time you had met him, in your bedroom a few weeks back. You try to push that aside and bring yourself back to the present; the memory only brings back the feelings of complete and utter fear you experienced at that time. Not that the present was any better, hell, it was worse.

Hesitantly, you nod. He waits a few minutes to speak; waiting for you to catch your breath. Once you’re calmer, at least on the outside, he finally starts to talk. “I wanted to talk about my proposition…” He looks down at you, bringing his hand up to cautiously run through your hair. “Last time I got cut short…remember that?”

You nod. “I…I tried to warn you my parents would come home. I-I swear I didn’t tell them anything.” You say frantically, trying to prove your innocence.

“Hey, shh…it’s okay babe. I know. I know.” Rafe speaks slowly, his eyes never leaving your lips. He pauses to momentarily dart his tongue out to wet his parted lips. “I know. You haven’t told…you’ve been a good girl and listened to me, hm? Haven’t you baby? Haven't you been a good girl?”

You nod frantically. “I…I’d never turn you in…” The false seductiveness in your voice turns him off, if that’s even possible.

He pulls back from you and sighs, “Shut up.” He runs a rough hand over his buzzed head and begins to quickly pace across his bedroom.

“B-but you wanted to talk…” You remind him. The way his attitude was constantly shifting in great amounts had you furrowing your brows as you tried to figure him out.

“Yeah, I do. But not to a goddamn filthy, lying whore.” He retorts, a large grin appearing on his face while he watches your beautiful features move on your face, displaying your thoughts as you take in his words. “Just be yourself alright? I can always tell when you’re not you.” He says almost sincerely. “I want…I need you to want this. Don’t try to pull that fake crap on me ever again, yeah?”

Immediately you nod. “I…yes-”, you stammer, instantly regretting even trying to talk in the first place. Rafe chuckles, making your cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He stops pacing and lets out a long sigh, turning to face you again. His steps pause when he’s standing just before you.

He leans down to whisper in your ear. “I really need this to work, okay…? This is good, this can be good for the both of us. I can help you; we can help each other, baby.” A silent tear rolls down your cheek from the fear of what’s to come. “I know…I know I messed up, alright? I know. But, you don’t have to be scared, baby. It’s all gonna be okay.” He brushes a stray strand of hair behind your ear.

“Please…I just wanna go home, let me go home!” Your cries are ugly, and very, very real. The fear in your voice only worries him. Worries him that you may never get past this. But you have to. You don’t have another option. And he really, really doesn’t want to have to hurt you. That was never his intention.

“But you are home, baby. You are home.” He mutters as his fingers brush over your cheeks, smearing your tears. Your breath hitches at his words and your eyes slowly move up to meet his. This cannot be happening. Why is this happening? You think.

“No…please I…just let me go home. I won’t tell. I promise I won’t. I’ll…I’ll never tell anyone about any of this okay, I’ll never say anything about you.”

“I can’t do that, baby…you know I can’t do that.”

“Why not? I swear, I’ll never ever breathe a word of this to anyone.” You say enticingly.

Rafe sits down besides you, causing the mattress to dip and make you lean towards him. He puts an arm around you and his hand lands on the back of your head, pulling it into his chest.

He leans down to speak into your ear while his hand pets over your hair as you cry into his chest. “Because I need you baby, I need you. And I need you to let me take care of you, yeah? I know…I know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be. Just trust me okay…we’re gonna be so good together baby.” He tugs at your hair, gently guiding your face to look up at him. “Just listen to me and nothing will happen, I don’t wanna have to…do anything. I just need to know that you’ll listen to what I say.” Immediately you nod, going along with what he says. He tugs on your hair harder, eliciting a gasp to fall from your lips. “Ah ah, I know you can talk. You’re a big girl, now fucking act like it.” He says forcefully.

“I-I’m gonna listen, I’ll listen to you, just please, please don’t hurt me.”

He smiles softly as his eyes dart across your face, unable to pick a feature to focus on, everything about you is just too damn perfect. “Don’t worry I won’t hurt you, not as long as you listen.” His grip loosens on your hair again. “But you’ll be begging for it soon enough.” Rafe’s whispers are enough to make your sobs start again; in which he pulls your head back into his chest. Your tears soak into his shirt as you have no choice but to cry into him.

To be continued...

Thank you for reading! I hope this was enjoyable. This part took quite a bit for me to finish, since life has been a bit busy and I haven't had much time to plan or write. I apologize for the short chapter, I'll try my best to make up for it with the next part! I never really feel done with anything and as I said before I'm not sure if I'm a fan of this part or not. So, if you have literally ANY feedback, questions, or suggestions, PLEASE feel free to let me know! I don't really have any solid plans for this fic so if you have any ideas I just might include them in future parts. And there's not much I won't write!

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plasticfangtastic · 1 year ago

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american royalty. ch. 2

A Homelander x F!reader fanfic.

a/n: will post ch. 3 this week but sadly my other fic will be posted next week, enjoy this slow burn dadlander fic, and thx u to all the readers. prev. chapter:

Sypnosis: Homelander never wanted to remember you, but after welcoming Ryan into his life, he thought of you & the lie that tore you two apart. Now... thinking back, thinking of your betrayal-- was he perhaps wrong about who the father of your unborn child was? Did you perhaps told the truth all those years ago?

Tags: mild gore, angst, lots of angst, slow burn, fluff, OC characther, child neglect, dadlander, romance.

Chapter Two

Red

It had been a very long day, business was booming nowadays and since that influencer had made a couple videos on your pizzeria, you had been more than just busy, you began to run out of ingredients.

In the last four years, the restaurant had grown, it had been there since 2002 ran by your boss’s father and his brother, who had ran their own pizza shop since the 80’s but as the economy and other events hit, they had decided to relocate and re-brand, now managed by their son– a man you owed so much, had his heart not been filled with kindness you would most likely be in the streets. So you made sure his restaurant was the best, you had accolades, you’ve worked in some of the best restaurants, you were once a very prominent fast rising figure of the New York culinary scene– until Homelander came along.

Your talent revamped the restaurant and now your food was once again on the spotlight, for the first time since you left Vought, you were happy with yourself, even if it was pizza. Cooking made you happy, and this job needed you, you didn’t live in fear of sleeping in your car anymore, you didn’t need to worry that your daughter would sleep on somebody’s couch again, you were able to quit your third job and go casual on your second thanks to this place, right now you didn’t live in the best of places but you were saving up and in a couple months you’d have enough money saved up to move, and send your daughter to a better school, somewhere were her talents wouldn’t be wasted.

So here you were ten minutes before closing, another extra couple hours of overtime for your dream two bedroom apartment, where it would be safe for her, where you could finally feel like your life had moved on from him, that the door opened up and your cashier squealed.

It was a quaint looking restaurant, the wood seating was new and the wall decor had been changed trying to look less cluttered, with Art Deco lighting fixtures as the stand out feature. The place had been remodeled recently it seems, the kitchen and its big brick oven looked clean but ancient to Homelander, he stared at the menu board and metal boxes of accouterments by the counters, taking in that this was in fact a pizza place, that you of all people did in fact work at a pizza place. You who could whip up amazing fare, now made greasy cheap slices, but he had seen people come in and leave endlessly these past few days, people taking selfies, and recording themselves with your food, nothing he understood.

He looked back at the teenager on the counter offering his signature smile as she blubbered her script, then as you took a step closer knowing you couldn’t hide in this open kitchen you finally looked at each other for the first time in seven years.

Your throat collapsed and your whole body became prickly and tight, your heart was beating so fast you thought you might be having a heart attack, you looked at the clock cursing that it wasn’t over, you were almost done packing the kitchen and readying for tomorrow, having a customer at this hour was awful but having him here was about to take you to an early grave.

“What’s your best seller?” Homelander muttered looking straight at you with an aloof stare, then back at the cashier– is pizza night at my house, sorry for coming so late hope that’s not a problem?” he said exceedingly politely.

The teenager blushed and looked back at you as if asking you to pinch her.

“That would be our pepperoni queen– is two types of cheese, extra pepperoni, with our signature house made marinara, with a dash of vodka sauce in our sourdough thin crust… chili oil is optional” You had managed to say trying to ignore those piercing blue eyes, you moved back to your place staring at the few remaining trays of dough balls left– our second best seller is our chicken florentine pie.”

Homelander admittedly detested pizza, it was greasy, gooey and heavy, it was fattening and gross, but there was a familiar aroma in the room, something that was making his mouth water lightly. Looking back at the girl, he ordered both in their smallest size offered, he sat by one of the wooden booths for the ten minutes he was told to wait, and not once did he made a comment, maybe that’s why your heart stung so much, why it felt as if you were about to collapse– that after seven years, he had completely forgotten about you, while only now did you began to feel as if you could heal from all the suffering he’d cause you, how insignificant had you been all along, how you love never registered.

You both had talked of moving in together and buying a home, he wanted to buy you a restaurant, and you wanted to give him your life, you had never loved somebody as much as he made you love him, and now you were just some bum wearing a graphic t-shirt making him dinner.

You packed his food, your boss Kaleem had given him extras on the house, practically begging for Homelander to give them a photo for their socials and you simply stare as he did his superhero thing, you took one of the delivery bags knowing he would lose the food if he flew with them in hand.

After the photoshoot, Kaleem and your cashier had run to the back to show the picture to the only other staffer left at this hour.

You both looked at each other as he took the bag off your hands, you wanted to cry, your eyes welling up but you looked down afraid of him, no doubt he could hear your heartbeat tickling his ear.

“It's been a while hasn’t it?”

You could’ve collapsed into tears right then and there, it was worse to be remembered.

Growing angry at the sound of his soft voice, and that concerned expression in his face.

“Yes…”

“How you been? Didn’t think I'd ever see you again.”

“Should’ve killed me back then… got fucking close to it tho.” You dropped all pleasantries, hearing him talk and not hearing the word sorry 5 seconds in, had infuriated you. His stupid face, those stupid eyes, and that clown suit was too much for you, maybe it was the poor diet and lack of sleep but right now you wanted to ban him from Lucci’s– hope you enjoy the food.”

You pushed the bag jumping from the kitchen to the front as you headed for the door, holding it open for him.

“I’m doing alright. Now leave!”

“You don’t even want to know why I'm here?” he was taken aback by your brashness, you had always been sweet to him, tender, barely ever angry before, so why now?

“You got a little kid now, I gather like any other kid, he likes pizza… and good for him because mine is the best!”

“Not really… I actually wanted to see you. I… I just wanted to ask you something–

“Mother!!”

Your daughter emerged from the depths of the kitchen, she carried a kindle in one hand and a giftcard in the other.

“Is it okay if I use my present now? They got some books on sale and you said not to buy more books until I finished… oh…”

In the light and in front of him, your daughter truly looked like your mirror image, copy and pasted into a miniature. Her hair just past her chin, and her bangs indeed covered her eyes, peeking behind those curtains were the prettiest blue eyes he’d ever seen, there was no unnatural shine to them– just blue. Her lips so thin and her complexion just a tad paler than your own now that he gave it a proper look, she was so small-- too small for her age.

“Is okay honey, is your birthday you can get any books you want” Your tone shifted entirely lowering yourself to take her face and plant a quick peck on her cheek– now go back with uncle Kaleem and let mommy close shop, okay? We’ll go home in a minute.”

“Is it your birthday young lady? Congratulations.”

Homelander threw his best smile, giving the kid a cautious pet, catching the rage in your eyes as his gloved fingers touched your daughter.

“Thanks. Is not a milestone birthday so it is not worthy of congratulations… seems inane to celebrate it” she looked at her mother with a jaded expression– " I'll go get my bag, have a good night, sir.”

Homelander pressed his lip as the most deadpan voice came out of this little girl. Her oversized black sweater and the black tights made her look oddly unhappy, but the kid just stared at him with boredom, no surprise or interest when she stood next to America's favorite son.

He wondered if that was an adult or a seven year old for a second.

He worried if the kid had told his mother about that other night, but looking back at you he went with 'maybe'.

“What’s your name?” he asked, still forcing a smile– "my… you seem like a smart girl getting books for your birthday.”

“Helena.”

The kid couldn’t muster the energy to give him anything but her dead ass voice, she began to walk away not caring for manners, nor Homelander.

“She’s… cute.” he said watching that tiny figure walk away and surviving after her second nsult– great pronunciation for her age, does she even know what she’s saying?”

“Helena is not like other kids.”

“How so?”

You looked at him more tired than anything, rubbing your temples as you made yourself waste spit to talk to him.

“She’s a Supe… by the time she was two she could speak in full sentences, by three she could read at a first and second grade level, and by five she was teaching herself calculus and piano… she’s a genius; I thought she was a normal genius until… her other powers manifested– none of this matters! Just go!” You shook your head in frustration.

“You gave her V?” He said while staring at Helena.

“... I didn’t know what V was until the news broke out, I thought Helena was chosen by God! That the world blessed her with those powers, but when that story came out I’ve been wanting to ask you– did you give her V? but… if you didn’t… who… are you lying to me, John?”

Homelander looked past the concrete walls looking back at that little girl, he didn’t know what to say or do, before you could utter another word he left.

Ryan nose picked the meal quickly, glad that it was friday and his dad would let him stay up ‘til late, Homelander just dropped the meal on their new table and the kid was quick on his feet, the food was still warm, only now did Homelander noticed the extras, couple of small containers holding chili oil and freshly made ranch, garlic knots and a lemon meringue pie, it was too much but Ryan hadn’t hesitated to dig in, before Homelander could ask him to wash his hands he had ripped a slice of pepperoni.

“This is so good!” He said so cheerfully– gosh I was starving, dad.”

“I sure hope so, bud… let’s leave the pie for tomorrow…” he looked grossed out, Ryan sat opening up the garlic knot’s containers– not gonna eat?”

Homelander sat down to join him, the thought of touching all those greasy surfaces was making his stomach hurl, but he relented, taking a slice.

He was young again, and you were there coming back with some drinks as he ate your chicken florentine, this was the same recipe, the chicken was so juicy and the cheese wasn’t greasy. Ryan was shocked to see his father sound so happy as he took another bite.

It was the first time they both ate together where they felt completely comfortable with each other, maybe it was seeing Ryan not pick at his food that made Homelander able to just talk, Ryan told him all about his homework, and the videogame he was playing, he really liked Fifa at the moment even if he himself cared not for the sport.

Helena watched as her mother stood silently hovering above the sink, you hadn’t moved much for a couple of minutes, your daughter more annoyed than anything else regarding this display.

“How do you know Homelander?” she asked with a yawn.

“Huh?” you woke up from your trance– you should be in bed, darling.”

“You too. So… How do you know the clown?”

“Honey, don't say that!”

“He walks around wearing a onesie all day… like a clown… like the rest of those super clowns”

Your daughter always spoke with a creepy maturity, her voice didn’t belong to a kid.

“... He used to be my boss… he was a really bad boss…”

“You used to work for Vought?” She softened her stand.

“Honey… I don’t really want to talk about this… it's late and we are going to the museum tomorrow so you should get some sleep, mommy is just tired… hope you had a good birthday.”

“You should rest too, mother.”

Your daughter's eyes glowed momentarily turning th blinkers off before she made her way to bed, you stared at her door, thinking if she could see you.

No mother should think their child was creepy, Helena was just difficult and abrasive, to be a small kid with her brain must be unbearable. You could recall the moment she asked you about V so vividly, she looked angry, but you had no honest answer to give her, you had to lie, god knows if you got the details right about how these people committed these crimes. Helena simply had no ability to relate to people, and without the funds you couldn’t help her meet her potential, not while you were both stuck living in public housing, not while scraping every penny.

Her few friends forced her to dumb down and even they found her uneasy, only the old people seemed to handle her best, she loved to listen, and her teachers always thought of her as a delight, yet she knew no other Supe beside herself, those pageants were expensive, and networking meetings were hard to get in, talent agencies were costly– having a super-abled kid and trying to make them into a Supe was locked behind a massive paywall, all you could hope was that her genius would let her enter a university early on scholarships.

There was always Godolkin, but god knows if they would let her enter at a young age.

It would be easy if her father was involved, if John was there in her life, she would have the world but he didn’t want her, he had made that clear years ago.

So why did he lie about the V?

It had been two weeks since you seen Homelander, but he saw you a lot, he'd come back and forth-- watching you and the child with ardent curiosity, seeing you made him reminisce, of those many nights and afternoons, of the way no matter how tired you were, you always made sure to look happy when he showed up, the way you looked so at peace while cooking, of the feel of your skin against his and the taste of your precious lips as you kissed him good morning.

He followed you, on your only day off as you took Helena around the city, watching you share a slice of overprice cake while taking notes, and ate cheap chinese for lunch, you waited for two hours as Helena played chess and checkers with some oldies at a chess shop, some russian man gave her lessons-- some of these people dressed nicely perhaps pros. Some won over her and some lost but the games were quick, your daughter seemed happier when she loss than when winning.

Something about that didn’t sit well with Homelander.

Somehow he found himself in your apartment, cracking open the window to sneak in while you headed back home– the tiny apartment felt more like a closet than a habitable space, the ceilign was run down, and the appliances ancient but well kept, your bedroom was simple, cooking books and boxes sat on top of your dressers, a single’s bed with plush comforters and pillows stuck against the wall, with a wardrobe in front of it, and a cheap fan tucked in the corner. He left for your daughter’s room just a few feet away divided by the bathroom were most of the clutter and laundry lived, her bedroom was just as plain, but the books didn’t seem fit for a small child, her desk tidy and organized, he picked up a notebook from the pile, seeing math equations that hurt his eyes within seconds. All her stuff were nice and new, she had a decent computer on top of her bed, an old dresser, but there was an absence of toys– compared to Ryan’s bedroom that was filled with anything he wanted and decorated expertly. A clock adorned her walls but not much else, the few things that looked messy was a tiny plastic chess set, the kind with magnets on the bottom, and some DIY stem kits.

He took to the bathroom, it was old and falling apart, mold was growing in the corner much to Homelander’s disgust, trolley held dozens of beauty stuff and shampoos and detergents, a shelf on the wall held towels and toilet rolls. Homelander looked at a sparkly hairbrush, picking a couple strands of lost hair knowing by their lengths and color that they weren’t yours, and cursing himself for doing this as he place them on small plastic bag he had hid in his glove.

#homelander #homelander fanfiction #homelander x you #homelander x reader #the boys fanfiction #personal #my fic tag #not proofread sorry #american royalty #already got 2 more chapters done for this hope yall like it #I really like slow burn stories #my natural enemy is the short story it seems #homelader x f!reader #dadlander #the boys oc

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moongazeonastarfillednight · 8 months ago

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The Terror: When, How, Where... (PART 1)

See part 2 for the end of my sanity (ep 6 through 9. Wasn't enough characters left on the post for ep 10)

See part 3 (and episode 10)

As I am writing the fic, I was getting frustrated at trying to figure out the timeline of the expedition. More specifically, what happens after they dropped the Victory Point Note.

Therefore, in order to organize my ideas, and also because it might be of interests to some of you, I will document here what I got.

Episode 1 through 5 for now.

Methodology

If we agree that the showrunners (and Dan Simmons to an extent) made their research, we should be able to match some of the event of the story with notable point of interests where artefacts and/or remains were found over the numerous searches made to ascertain the fate of the Franklin Expedition

I also tried to take note of all indications of time passing so that I might document their speed travel and the dates when they are not mentioned.

... And the death count. (Departing Beechey Island with 24 officers and 102 men)

Finally, I also used the following website to keep track of sunrises and sunsets: https://www.timeanddate.com/

1927 Admiralty Map

I may be an amateur in this kind of research but I find myself frustrated that the most complete map I've been able to find showing all that was found between 1850 and 1926 is shown on this map from 1927

To be noted, we now know that the Skeleton of H. Peglar was more probably W. Gibson or T. Armitage

The Skeleton of Lt. Le Vesconte has also been reevaluated and is now believed to be that of Harry Goodsir ( :( )

Also, as it happens, if we compare to 2024 maps, we can say that this is not the actual shape of KWI (close enough!).

Therefore, for my own sanity, I recreated with modern maps. Is it accurate? Well, I wouldn't publish it but I think it gives a good enough view of where they went and where they were going:

Where the Ships had drifted to in June 1847 (According to G. Gore's coordinates left on the Victory point note)

Where the Ships had drifted with the Pack by April 1848 (Victory Point Note)

Victory Point

McClintock's Boat Place (proposed to be same location as NgLJ-1)

Camp with Many skeletons

From D. Simmons' The Terror - The Hospital Camp

Peglar Skeleton

Starvation Cove

A Bunch of cairns in the area

Harry Goodsir

Gjoa Haven (Netsilik Settlement)

Fort Resolution (Dear God... look at how far they wanted to walk/Canoe/make portage...)

Matching the Show

Episode 1 - Go for Broke

Location 1 - David Young's grave (71.22, -96.60)

Date: September 5th 1846

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 14h 57 min

Twilight - 9h 03 min

Sunset: 7:51 PM - Sunrise: 4:55 AM

David Young was buried 7 days before they were beset in the ice (see point 3 on the map below).

During the dinner in which we were regaled by the tale of Mr. Fitzjames' Holes, Franklin discuss that they were approaching a bigger channel, which is now know as the McClintock Channel (see point 1 on the map below), meaning that at the time, they were still in the Franklin Strait.

On the day after his death, Franklin discuss their next course and assure that they must be 'nearly in sight of KW Land'. Crozier suggests it might take them weeks to actually make it to KWI. This would confirm what was infer above.

As we can see the two ships fitting in a cozy little cove while the grave is being dug, I would like to propose Point 4 on the map below as Ficitonal David Young's final resting place, on Tasmania Islands

Location 2 - Ships September 1846 (70.25, -98.00)

Date: September 12th 1846

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 13h 45 min

Twilight - 10h 15 min

Sunset: 7:19 PM - Sunrise: 5:34 AM

Well, for this one, we need to use the extrapolation provided by the 1927's Admiralty map by tracing the line from where the ships were known to be in 1847 and 1848 (Point 5 and 6). (see point 3)

For Future Reference:

Travel Time between Loc 1 and Loc 2 - 7 days

Distance between Loc 1 and Loc 2 :70 NM / 80 Miles / 130 km

Average Travel Speed - 11.4 miles a day

Travel Condition - Ice breaking

DEATH COUNT: 2 + 3 (Total 5)

24 Officers and 100 Men remaining

Episode 2 - Gore

Location 3 - The Ships in 1847 (70.15, -98.30)

Date: May 24th 1847

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 24h min

Twilight - None

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

Coordinates and Date From the Victory Point Note (see Point 1)

Location 4 - The Cairn (69.66, -98.27)

Date: May 28th 1847

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 24h min

Twilight - None

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

From the ships, Gore lead his party to James Clark Ross' Cairn.

Now, in the Show, they found JCR's Cairn without an issue. In reality, while Gore had found the Cairn just fine, Crozier and Fitzjames did not. One of the reason for it is that JCR had, apparently, made a miscalculation in reporting where he had erected the Cairn by several miles. Honestly, the way that Fitzjames had written the words was so confusing, I appreciate that the show made the whole thing so much simpler, ahah. So let's say that it matches what we know now as Victory Point. Easy Peasy! (see Point 2)

To be Noted, we know the dates of departure from ships and arrival at cairn from the Victory Point Note.

Location 5 - The Ice Camp (69.665, -98.32)

Date: May 28th 1847

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 24h min

Twilight - None

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

The Camp was raised just beyond the ice ridge that blocked the way form the shore and the Cairn was only a mile or so away. (see Point 3... hidden between point 2)

Of Note: That hail storm's cloud coverage was intense to say the least... So dark :')

Back to Loc 3 (70.15, -98.30)

Date: June 2nd 1847

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 24h min

Twilight - None

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

Wednesday is a good day to drink with the Captain :D which makes it the Wednesday following May 28th 1847! So it's June 2nd!

For Future Reference:

Loc 2 to Loc 3

Travel time - 8 months, 12 days or 254 days

Travel Distance: 8.6 NM / 10 miles / 16 km

Average Travel Speed - 0.04 miles a day

Travel Condition - Pack drifting

Loc 3 to Loc 4/5

Travel time - 5 days

Travel Distance: 29 NM / 33.5 miles / 54 km

Average Travel Speed - 6.7 miles a day

Travel Condition - 6 Men hauling Sledge on Ice

Loc 4/5 Back to Loc 3

Travel time - 4 days

Travel Distance: 29 NM / 33.5 miles / 54 km

Average Travel Speed - 8.4 miles a day

Travel Condition - 6 Men hauling ASS and Sledge on Ice

DEATH COUNT: 1 (Total: 6)

23 Officers and 100 Men remaining

Episode 3 - The Ladder

This one is fun because, well... they're not moving! I could point out where Silna ends up but it looks like she remain close enough to the ships that it doesn't matter all that much. So, let's just make note of the date and events:

Location 3 - Ships in June 1847 (70.15, -98.30)

For the duration of the episode:

Nighttime - None

Daylight - 24h min

Twilight - None

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

Date: between June 2nd and June 10th 1847

- Silna makes her igloo a few miles away from the Ships

Date: June 11th 1847

- Franklin Dies

- Crozier drafts his resignation letter

Date: June 12th 1847

- Franklin's leg is buried :')

- Lieutenant Fairholme is sent to KWI.

DEATH COUNT: 2 (Total: 8)

22 Officers and 99 Men remaining

Episode 4 - Punished, As a Boy

Another fun bottle Episode!

Location 3 - Ships in same approx position as June 1847 (70.15, -98.30)

Date: November 23rd 1847

Nighttime - 12h 35 min

Daylight - None

Twilight - 11h 25min

Sunset: 11:47 am - Sunrise: 10:51 am

- William Strong's birthday :)

- We know because it's the last sunrise of the year!

- Evans and Strong die :(

They searched for a long time if it was just before 4 pm when they got the alarm and then they came back in time for last sunrise at 11 am...

Date: November 24th 1847 to November 25th 1847

Nighttime - 12h 35 min

Daylight - None

Twilight - 11h 25min

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

- Hickey has a communion with Tuunbaq (supposedly next day or so)

- Then Hickey gets evily booped.

DEATH COUNT: 2 + Hickey's postern (Total: 10)

22 Officers and 97 Men remaining

Episode 5 - First Shot the Winner, Lads

More fun in a bottle. These boys are not going far...

Honestly, for this one, the trouble was figuring out how much time had passed. For one, we know it's not yet Christmas because Christmas is, in fact, mentioned in Episode 6 (And Lady Jane's Christmas Pudding, hear hear) as part of the meeting between the officer and there was not yet a cooperation between the Terror Lts and Fitzjames for counting the supplies.

ALSO! That scene where Mr. Wentzell got killed dead over his nail... well, it gave me the feeling that either the review of the crew is not daily or that they've been on Erebus for a short time because 1) Fitzjames doesn't know their names and 2) He has to repeat the instructions about cleanliness... Perhaps they sent the Terrors in waves and not all 50 of them at once.

Other details to be mentionned:

Hickey is not recovered yet and Goodsir suspects he might reopen his wounds from working.

Goodsir has had time to be quite good at speaking inuktitut. Now, he could have had a continuous learning experience from Dr. McDonald since June 47 and before but considering that Dr. McDonald is stationed in Terror and Goodsir in Erebus, I suspect they did not have much time to have a class together...

Finally. Crozier suggests that he would be 2, perhaps, perhaps more... sick from sobering up. He got up just in time for First sunrise (Jan 17th).

So! We can infer that the episode might have spanned over 1 or 2 days (what's with the movement between the ships and the whole Rat Wedding).

My best guess is that the dates for this whole episode would be:

Date: December 14th 1847 to December 18th 1847

Nighttime - 13h 32 min

Daylight - None

Twilight - 11h 28min

Sunset: N/A - Sunrise: N/A

Why December 14th? Because it would be Edward Little's Birthday and I feel like it is appropriate for his character to have his boss send him back to the killing cold for more booze :') (December 16th to December 20th seems more likely but...)

This would give Crozier a full month to recover from sobering up and 22 days for Goodsir to learn inuktitut (impressive!), for Hickey backside to feel better and for Fitzjames to NOT learn the name of his new Terrors.

DEATH COUNT: 3 + Blanky's leg (Total: 13)

22 Officers and 94 Men remaining

That's it for now. I'll do the last 5 episodes soonish...

Conclusion to the first sets of episode: Sunsets and Sunrises were whacky in June 1847 but, so far, distance and travel times make good sense. If the accuracy holds up until episode 10, we might be able to have a pretty good idea of what, when and where everything happened in episodes 6 through 10.

#The Terror #The Terror AMC #Reference #The Terror Timeline #19th century dead sailors #At least now it's written somewhere that is not 120301923 word files...#Might need later editing #Super duper long post

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fandomsandflyingstingrays · 6 months ago

Text

Reposting yesterday's fic because I accidentally published the first, highly unedited draft... it's Fine

Also, it's now on AO3!

Raine had been counting down to the Day of Unity all year, had burned the number of days and hours remaining into their mind, but somehow, it still felt like they should have had more time. Headquarters was in chaos, people calling out over each other, the air a mess of requests and worries. A blessed, momentary silence occurred when Katya dropped her tambourine— only for the panic to double as she realized it left her without an instrument.

“Can you play the bell cittern?” Raine asked. At her nod, they wove their way through the crowd to the back of the room where the beds lay, the only truly peaceful corner, where Eda was sitting with Luz.

“Eda, I was wondering if I could borrow— why do you have a box of toenails?”

Luz gave a muted laugh. “She was using it to hide this,” she said, holding up a log of blue wood.

“And the mystery of who depleted the Bonesborough Garden Club’s precious stash is answered,” Raine said, casting an amused glance at Eda. She winked, and they quickly turned their gaze back to Luz. “What are you going to carve?”

“I… don’t know. Eda taught me the basics, but…”

She was quiet for almost a minute before Raine realized she wasn’t going to finish the sentence.

“So,” Eda said finally, “what was it you needed?”

“Oh— I was wondering if Katya could borrow your bell cittern. Her tambourine was a… casualty of rushed preparations.”

“I’d love to say yes, but I don’t have it on me. I was so busy grabbing my fabulous toenails from the Emperor’s stash of all my stuff that I didn’t have time to look for anything else, and obviously I can’t just summon it anymore.”

Raine drew a circle in the air, and the bell cittern fell into their arms. It was Eda’s turn to look away.

“Right. I forgot that you still remember its magical signature.”

“Of course I do.”

I never forgot you, they wanted to say. I’m sorry for making you believe that I did. I’m so glad you never really believed it.

But the Day of Unity was in two days. There was no time for distractions or regret, only what needed to be done.

“Could you give it to Katya and make sure she knows what she’s doing?” they asked instead. “She’s a talented musician, but any bard worth their bile sack would still benefit from your expertise.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Eda’s lips. “You got it.” To Luz, she added, “Give me a shout if you need me, all right?”

The young human nodded, not looking up from her wood. Raine had a million other things to do, a million questions to answer, but for reasons they couldn’t quite explain, they found themself perching beside her, taking the spot Eda had vacated.

“You know, Eda taught me how to carve my palisman, too. Her dad taught her a few months before our class was supposed to learn, and she couldn’t resist passing on the forbidden knowledge.” They said the words in a low, dramatic tone, and were rewarded with a faint smile. “It still took me a while to figure out what I wanted, though.”

“That’s my problem, too,” she sighed. “Your palisman is supposed to represent your future, but for the last month, I haven’t been able to think about anything beyond the Day of Unity. I have no idea what my future is supposed to look like… or my palisman.”

“I get that,” Raine said, the words coming out a little more bitterly than they intended. To soften them, they added quickly, “but Eda told me that you both know about the portal the emperor has in the skull. As soon as we defeat him, we’ll take control of it. We’ll be able to get you home.”

Tears welled in Luz’s eyes, but they didn’t look grateful or hopeful. Just sad.

“Luz?”

She wiped her eyes. “I want to go home. I do. I miss my mom so bad, but… she made me promise, the last time I saw her, that when I went back, I would stay there for good.”

“What? But… you have a family here. It sounds like you two love each other a lot. Why would she want to take that from you?”

“That’s not how she sees it,” Luz said quickly. “It’s just… things are different in the Human Realm. You can’t do magic, or tell anyone about magic, and if you disappear or get injured by like… detention monsters or plants with fangs, that’s not normal. That’s not something you can explain.” She shrugged. “I want to be with my mom. I know she loves me, and I love living with her. But… that would also mean I couldn’t be a witch. There are no human witches.” She laughed quietly. “Besides the one who’s trying to kill everyone, I guess. What I’m trying to say is, the Demon Realm and the Human Realm… they’re what my teachers would call mutually exclusive. I have to choose.”

“That sounds a lot like Belos’s thinking, you know.”

Luz flinched, and Raine tried to make their next words as gentle as possible. “I’m not trying to compare you to him. I’m just saying, this whole business of needing to choose sounds a lot like what he’s been telling us all these years. That we can only take one path. That works for some people. But there are lots of people who can never fit into it, and they shouldn’t be ignored.”

Luz’s expression didn’t change, and they tried again.

“When I was born, I was given a set of words to identify me that didn’t feel right. For a while, I thought that meant I should go the opposite route, but that didn’t feel good either. What finally made me feel settled was choosing not to choose. To just exist, without any expectations or labels that would make people feel like they knew who I was before I got the chance to tell them.”

That made Luz let out a long breath, and something seemed to loosen in her when she looked up at them. “I get that,” she said quietly. “In the Human Realm, they have a lot of rules. A lot of people think you should stick with the identity you were born with. Follow the role they lay out for you. Love the people they want you to love. And like you said, that works for some people, but it never really worked for me. Getting to come here, getting to be away from that, it was nice, but… I never fully belonged here, either.”

“But you made your own way,” Raine told her. “Eda explained about your talent with glyphs. You found your own magic. I’d bet the Human Realm could use some of that, too.” “Glyphs don’t work in the Human Realm.”

“They wouldn’t work without you either. You are the magic I was talking about, Luz. You’ve done so many impossible things during your time here. What’s one more?”

Finally, she gave them a real smile. “You know, I think you’re the first person I’ve met here who’s just as sappy as me.”

They winked. “I can tell we’re going to be good friends. But only if you come visit from time to time.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“That’s good enough for me.”

Luz released a shaky breath and turned back to the wood in her hands. “Could you… show me how to round the top? Eda went over it, but I want to make sure I get it right.”

“Of course. Round, huh? Are you carving a chicken?”

Luz laughed. “You know, that’s sort of close. I’m going to cave an egg.”

“An egg?”

“Yeah. I still don’t know what I want my future to look like… or theirs. But I want us both to be able to choose.” She waved a hand at the maps on the tables and the banners on the walls, at the assembled revolution. “That’s what this is all about, right?”

A sigh of their own escaped Raine, the words snapping a tension they’d carried for so long they’d almost forgotten it was there. “Right.”

Years of subversion and sacrifice had led up to this. Raine had lost things, people, and parts of themself that they could never get back, all in the hopes of winning a single battle. And now that that battle was finally approaching, they worried they’d done too much, or not enough, that they wouldn’t win, or that winning wouldn’t be worth the cost. But beyond all those regrets, all those fears, was the simple truth that in two days’ time, the people of the Isles would be able to choose a future for the first time in half a century. It was enough. It had to be.

Raine placed their hand over Luz’s, guiding her knife to the top of the log. “Shave the wood away from you,” they instructed, “until you get a gentle sort of slope.”

Luz clenched the wood and the knife so hard that her knuckles turned white, but she made the first cut. “Like this?”

It was wobbly, uneven, less a the start of a smooth egg and more the top of a swirling orb. It wasn’t the way Raine would have done it.

“That’s perfect.”

#the owl house #toh #raine whispers #luz noceda #eda clawthorne #emperor belos #camila noceda #toh katya #raeda #ray rambles #ray writes

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ddarker-dreams · 1 year ago

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Hi Lock~ I wanted to ask you abt how you got into literature, and how you’d maybe recommend someone else to start? I want to expand on my reading (and also you’ve hyped up Dostoevsky sooo much I’m hooked but I KNOW I’m not at that lvl yet haha) but there’s so many different sources and stuff idrk where to start. I have seen your list of recommendations and other people’s lists as well but Im never sure if they’re a good place if someone is just starting into literature; I’ve been really interested in Picture of Dorian Gray, Jane Eyre and Frankenstein right now, do you think they’d be okay? Did you look at books you knew you’d be into? Or did you try out smth new entirely? Also did you look at any sources online that you could recommend? I know I’ve asked a lot so you of course don’t have to answer them, but please let me know what you think!!

I also wanted to ask, as someone who’s read many classics in literature, in your opinion, how would you define literature? And what do you think makes a book a classic?

From a very clueless anon, hope you and bun bun have a great day and stay hydrated!!!!

hello anon!!! there are so many interesting questions here, i'll try answering them to the best of my abilities!!!!

(how i got into literature)

i'd been neglecting published works for most of my life because i just preferred fanfic way more. it wasn't until a bit into 2021 that i saw this Discourse Causing Post that 'you can't grow as an author if you don't read published works,' or something among those lines. i thought this was really interesting because i'd never given it much thought. around that point, even though writing was a hobby, i felt really motivated to improve. i normally spent no more than a day or two on a story before moving onto the next. which is fine, because fanfic writing is a hobby, but i felt i'd be capable of more if i put in the extra time and effort.

so basically i got into it because i wanted to write my silly little yandere fics better jdfklgjsdg

(recommendations for getting into literature)

i focused on the genre i thought i'd be the most interested in: horror. then i branched out from there. i looked up what people considered must-reads for the genre because i figured that'd be a good place to start. if you know what sort of genres you like, doing some research into its most prevalent/foundational works isn't a bad idea. that's the approach i took. authors throughout the centuries influence and inspire one another, i wanted to be able to map those connections out. this also helps give some context to older books with references that'd be loss on a modern audience.

(how i went about looking into books to see if i wanted to read them)

i research everything like my life's on the line, so i do look into books before i read them. i go for a synopsis that doesn't include spoilers and consider if that's a story i'd get invested in. if not, i'll read some reviews for fresh perspectives. if i'm still kinda meh by then, the book gets passed on.

(defining literature/classics)

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH literary theory is not my field of expertise ... i'd personally define literature as any written work such as fiction and nonfiction. it can encompass so many things that defining it feels tricky. as for how i'd define a classic, all art is subjective or whatever, but there are stories that just have the It factor. whether that is their cultural impact, or works that are pillars to the genre(s) they were written in. you can see the ripples that it made after its publication.

finally, as for the books you listed (jane eyre, the picture of dorian gray, and frankenstein), i'd highly recommend them!!! all of them are apart of the gothic genre, which is one of my favorites. they've all stood the test of time for good reason.

#lock lore #answered #Anonymous

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bropunzeling · 1 year ago

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as someone who also hates (!!!) the editing process do you perhaps have any tips to share? 😿

you 🤝 me

im not sure how helpful these tips will be to you, but here's my two cents:

so you finished your first draft. yay you have a draft! a messy, incomplete one? aren't they all! feel free to coast on finishing for at least twenty-four hours. you want to vibe in the still writing, not editing phase. otherwise i (at least) start feeling discouraged and overwhelmed, instead of pleased that at least i have a starting point.

try to think about the goals of the editing process before you even open the doc. for some fic, it can just be a general spelling & grammar & removing repetition & fixing weird errors check (what's a weird error? one time in a first draft a character finished her beer three times in six paragraphs. that's a weird error). for others, you may need to check that the vibes feel right, or the pacing seems appropriate, or the world building is internally consistent. write down your goals in a notes app note or a comment! that way when you go in, you aren't overwhelmed; you know what you're trying to do

as you do a first pass, don't be afraid to leave shit for later. i constantly highlight sentences or paragraphs or half a scene and leave a comment like, "fix somehow" and then move on. often the way to make it better will strike me ten or twenty or fifty pages later. it's better to have momentum than get stuck on one frustrating sentence.

at some point, you have to stop word smithing. not because every sentence is perfect, but because you're going to annoy yourself if you keep trying to figure out why something doesn't flow right. done is better than good, and if you are planning on using a beta, they might be able to pinpoint the issue

don't be afraid to cut things. put them in a comment and keep it to the side if you don't want to lose the words. half the time you don't need them!

you've finished a first pass! this is generally when i call in a beta for anything over 5k. tell them what you're looking for when they read it over! this time, im probably going to ask things about pacing, relationship development, world building, if there are any moments where something comes across weird and not in a way i intended. sometimes, it's just line editing. you'll know what you need.

you've addressed their edits! my last and final process is something my pal ohtemporas suggested: use ctrl f and look for "filler words" - words that make your sentences less direct and immediate. things like "just," "a little," "still," "feels like". it's going to be mortifying. you don't have to cut them all, either!!!! but you'll be amazed what it does to make you really think about what you're trying to convey

at some point, you just gotta be done. this is fic. it will never be perfect. it doesn't have to be! go forth and hit publish

i hope this is at all helpful!!!! and you don't have to do all of it!!!!! at the heart of it, this is fic, and community, and stuff we do for love (and comments). it's nice to check for spelling and grammar errors (or at least i think so!), but anything else is gravy.

#ask #editing is the worst so i hope this makes you feel better about the process!!

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lucky-clover-gazette · 2 months ago

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Variations on Corruption

Unreleased and unused content from Corruption Loves Company. Includes the original first ending, two deleted scenes (including a look into the Corruption But it's Chill gang post-fic), and various notes from development.

An Overly Sentimental and Personal Note:

On October 1st, 2022 I picked up The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords manga at an indie bookstore where I used to work. I knew very little about the story, but I had previously enjoyed Akira Himekawa's Twilight Princess manga. On October 4th, 2022, I actually read the manga. I got to the forest scene with Vio and Shadow, did a quick sanity check on Tumblr ("uhhhh is it just me or are they...?") and almost immediately fell in love with the pairing. The rest, to use a very contrived phrase, was history.

In the past two years I have written a lot about this story and these characters. I am very fond of my entire body of work, but my two corruption AUs have a special place in my heart. So on the two-year anniversary of discovering the manga, I thought it would be nice to share some insight and unreleased content related to them both, and explain a bit more about what they and this fandom mean to me.

In the latter half of 2023 and for the first few months of 2024, Corruption Loves Company—a fic that had been originally intended as an edgy grimdark experiment with a poignant resolution—became a very large part of my life. I had written the entire thing (yes, the entire thing) in August/September of 2023, but had hesitated to publish the final three chapters. My desire to find a different resolution snowballed, and what had started with simple intentions became a meditation on serious things I was figuring out how to cope with in my actual life. The story ended up transformed in the final two chapters, finally completed in March of 2024. And while I do think that everything was surprisingly (and accidentally) well-foreshadowed and I'm very proud of the final product, there remains a fully written and edited original ending that never saw the light of day. Most notably, this original ending did not include Hylia. Take from that what you will.

While active in this fandom, I had the privilege of finding numerous creative collaborators and making a few good friends. I also became deeply invested in the characters and story we all enjoyed. I poured my passion and love into this pairing, and my writing about them, for the better part of two years. I dedicated so much time to Four Swords fanworks because of this community, my own creative fulfillment, and the ideas that Vio and Shadow as a pairing represented to me.

Corruption Loves Company, perhaps more than any other fic, really emphasizes what exactly those ideas are. I think that is a major reason why I put so much effort and care into meticulously constructing it. Even though it became somewhat convoluted with triforce hijinks and heavy-handed religious allegory, I still know what it was always meant to say: There is no higher power than people caring about other people. That message is present in all of my Four Swords fic, really. And it matters.

Attentive readers might have noticed that I've taken a long break from writing in this fandom. The truth is, I'm not sure if I ever will again. I ended up taking a massive step away from Four Swords in the spring of 2024, for personal reasons related to the fandom experience. I haven't been able to bring myself back since.

All that is to say, this very well might be my last Four Swords update for a while, if not forever. I genuinely hope that someday I will be able to write Vio and Shadow without feeling sad, because even just reading this old writing made me feel so happy.

The original conclusion of Corruption Loves Company is a preservation of a relationship with this piece of media that I'm not sure I'll ever have again. It isn't as "deep" or meticulously written as the final version, but in a way, I think it actually portrays the themes of the story very well in the absence of everything I ended up adding. I don't know if that will make sense to anyone else, but it does to me.

I've also included some random funny/interesting development notes and snippets, because holy shit I worked so hard on this fucking fic, you have no idea, oh my god. And two deleted scenes, the latter of which shows us a day in the life of characters from It's Dangerous To Go Alone, the significantly more chill predecessor to Corruption Loves Company. Tingle is unfortunately not present.

Discovering the Four Swords manga on October 4th 2022 helped me heal my relationship with writing and creation, after years of struggling to get out a single earnest word. I am deeply proud of my silly, heartfelt fanfiction and I appreciate every friendly presence I've encountered throughout my time in the fandom.

Thank you for your company.

It mattered.

#my writing #fs #four swords #four swords manga #vidow #vio link #shadow link

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thewordworrier · 2 months ago

Text

Current WIPs - September 2024

It has been an actual year since I did one of these and considering the fact that I literally just finished (and posted) a fic last night/in the early hours of this morning, I figured that it might be an idea to look at what I've got in the GoogleDocs.

Let's see. First I should probably note that anything I call any document here will be a working title. I very very very rarely share final titles until I hit the publish/post button. I like to keep some secrets. Uh... Normally I'd talk about the Big Files first and then touch on the smaller ones. Although there isn't that many smaller files nowadays. But I think today we'll just go by things as I remember them. Most of the time, my Big Files are only that way because I cannot end fics for love nor money. I create these worlds and then don't want to leave them.

Okay then! On we go! This might be a long one.

I have three, maybe four Vampire based fics. I'm an MCR writer, of course I do.

~ Vampire AU the First

In which Lux, Mikey and Gerard are vampires. Mikey has moved with the times and Gerard’s a little stuck in the past. Lux was a modern day Human until she was recently turned and Shelly is a Human.

This file is one of my long ones; about 40k. This is the AU in which my OTPtober 2022 - Insecurity piece is set. I haven't dipped into this one for a little while, but I enjoy this world. ~ Reverse!Vampire AU

In which Shelly is our Vampire, Mercy is her Human familiar and Gerard is a struggling artist.

About 37k. Again, not one I've touched for a little while but, again, one I enjoy. Gerard being the not-vampire isn't as common in ths fandom, in my opinion. That might be why I enjoy this one when I'm in it. ~ VAU4 (because 3 got published)

Gerard is vampire royalty, and Shelly appears to be a regular Human who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This one is less than 15k and a little bit fragmented, which is probably why it's not that long. Slightly different relationship dynamics here too, a less friendly start between the girls. So that's fun. For the final vampire based fic, I'm gonna copy the paragraph from the last post because it amuses me and is stll true:

I ALSO have something labelled as Vampires&Werewolves AU, which… Seems very Twilight, putting the two creatures against each other with a Human in the middle, but… Also, not Twilight because there’s no fucking sparkling.

This fic a baby - it's only like 10k.

What's next? Let's stick with the paranormal. ~ The Succubus Fic

In which Shelly is a succubus and Gerard is her… Victim?

This one is labelled as a “fic” instead of an AU because I do not want it to get as long as some of my other files. This one is about 15k and could maybe end where it is and have parts added later on but... I'm not sure. I haven't touched it for a little while. ~ the Supernatural Beings AU Vampires, werewolves, witches and wizards, oh my! This one is about 30k so that's how much fun I'm having there. ~ the Normal AU That is, the regular, run of the mill, there is a band, this is their career, fics. This is spread across like, 5 different GoogleDocs (at least) so I can't really give you a wordcount, though it is my biggest project. I'm working on all those milestones (like the engagement and the wedding, because, hello?!) but they take time. Even if I do have like 80% of Shelly and Gerard's story all written in my head. There are so, so many words here. So many little situations and... So. Much. There's a smut scene in one of these files that... Lord above. Like... SiR! (I wrote that one in a hospital walk in waiting room too.) ~ The Danger Days fic aka The Sandbox Fic Another AU spread across several files, but I think it's all about... 30k? so far? Then again, about 10k of that is a smutty chapter... Lead up, the action, wrapping up the scene. It's all... Can you call it a spin off? of my Wife’s Danger Days fic, picking up a little after where that left off so I could throw Shelly into that world. ~ The Tamarin Inspired Situation 20k ish. An excuse to write more threesome-ish stuff after dabbling in the next listing. If you look up Tamarin breeding stuations, you'll learn more about the scenario I was going for. ~ The CollegeAU - also known as the PolyCollegeAU This started out as me attempting to write a threesome, BEFORE the Birthday Fic happened. It ended up in timeout for a long time because Frank wouldn’t behave, thus making the inevitable choice between the two really hard! And then, along comes my wonderful wife and is all OKAY BUT WHAT IF and boom, it came out of time out and gained… A lot of words. And turned into a poly-relationship situation. I thinkkkkk I had the intention/s of throwing a little light dom/sub play in there too. And I think there's a scene or two where Shelly and Frank talk about pegging. So that's fun! It's about 32k currently. ~ The Nameless Fic. Another 15k ish file, and this one is definitely a bit more out of left field for me. It's a bit more angsty despite what the subtitle/working title suggests. I know where I'm going with this one I just have to tweak some stuff to write it the way I want it. ~ The Half Baked Idea About 10k and has more of a series of plot points. It’s a little ✨mystical✨ and supernatural but because there's not much more to it than a few chapters and some notes, I don't know where I'm going with it. ~ It’s A Compliment I Swear I wrote the ending for this in July 2022. It’s… 😬 Yeah. I might get in trouble for that ending. I'm very close to just creating a bulletpoint list of what I wanted to cover in between where I ended it and how we get to the last few chapters I ended up writing and just posting that.

Other, smaller files ~ The Sugar Baby AU ~ PopStar!Shelly ~ The Stripper!Gerard fic ~ a HighSchool AU or two. ~ my first VampireAU that I'm probably not gonna go back to, but I stole my own lore from it for the others I write. ~ Taylor Swift fic drabbles.

I thinkkkkkk that's it. I might be missing one or two things, but you can only scroll through GoogleDocs so many times before your eyes glaze over, you know? I might've mentioned something in the older post that I didn't mention here. Anything else is probably just a file of maybe a page of notes and not actual writing.

#She Speaks #She Talks Writing #September 2024 #Welcome to the WIP Parade

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rapid-artwork · 10 months ago

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Are you planning to continue your ‘red lotus korra’ au?

Actually yes! I had to step away from my online art projects for a while due to my job obligations, but I've switched to a new job and have way more free to finish all the stuff I've been putting off.

My current schedule for finishing projects looks like this:

Mother's Favorite: I've written most of the script for the full game and I'm working on the assets and sprites

The Homunculus: I've actually been writing a full length fantasy novel that I'm in the process of publishing! Since it was started as writing practice, it's still very rough and I am polishing it up.

Red Lotus AU: Obviously I'm on a writing kick and I literally just re-read my fic and I'm already working on new ideas for the plot.

More Paper craft robots: I literally cannot stop making these little guys. They are actually for a homebrew table top I've been working on based on Armored Core 6 and after some play-testing I was thinking about publishing a PDF of the rules for free. Plus once I've edited the paper craft files enough I was planning on selling those online for like, a dollar or two for people who want to try making their own at home, and even opening commissions to build custom robots for people and shipping them through the mail.

Patreon Card game: I'm in the process of shutting down my old Patreon since I no longer feel comfortable asking for money since art is not my full time job. But I want to deliver on the card game I promised. I recently got into the Pokemon TCG and Magic the gather again, and I have a whole slew of ideas on how to fix the game and streamline it.

Rapid Pixel Art and Tara and Kevin: My children... I have abandoned my children... I intend to bring these guys back and actually tell their story. I have both of their plots fully written I just actually gotta... Do it ya know?

Mother's Favorite Sequel: Yeah the sequel is already in the works since I am insane. It's a murder mystery aboard a space ship where you have to interview the crew and figure out what happened. It follows a new protagonist but it slowly reveals how the two games intersect in horrifying ways. Imagine that episode of Firefly where they find the ship attacked by Reavers crossed with John Carpenter's The Thing and you've got a good idea of what I'm going for.

Various other WIPs that have been rattling around in my brain.

I've been dealing with ADHD my whole life but finally got an official diagnosis and new medication. It literally feels like an anime where I take of my limiters and I can suddenly use my full power.

I have all the same manic energy but finally enough focus to actually follow through on projects I started. I used to just start stuff cuz it interested me until I got bored and moved on.

No longer says I! I am gonna out in the work and finish what I started. I am going for the platinum medal and 100% completion this time.

#asks #future plans #personal #Rapids Artwork #Rey Rapids

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duhragonball · 3 months ago

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I'm in the middle of reading Luffa's fight with Goku, and this question occurred to me. If you were asked how strong, fast, durable Luffa is, or how many planets she could destroy, what would you say? I know most authors don't think too much about that sorta thing, but I like hearing what they have to say about it nevertheless.

I wouldn't exactly call this a hypothetical situation, as people have asked me about Luffa's power level before. I've always been somewhat vague about it, because I was trying to save my answers for the Luffa/Goku fight that you're currently reading. (Thanks for reading it, by the way.)

My short answer is to reefer to this handy profile sheet I commissioned from the ever-talented Fraulein Pflaume some years ago. Let's just take a quick look and:

I don't know if you can read that text on the right, but it says "Power Level: Maximum". It's a glib answer, but I created the character as a response to Broly hype, so it seems appropriate.

Now that the Luffa/Goku fight chapters are finally published, if someone asked me about it, I'd direct them to that part of the fic. Because that's the first time you really see Luffa fighting at full power against a canon DBZ character in an even match. And maybe it shouldn't have taken 200+ chapters to get to that point, but look at where we've been...

The first 141 chapters are all set centuries before the events of Dragon Ball. There's no frame of reference because everyone is just a character I made up.

Chapters 142-187 feature a Luffa weakened by some unexplained trauma. Maybe it's "jet lag" from being pulled into the future, or the strain of using the Golden Oozaru form, but she's not at 100%, which is why she's struggling against Nappa one day and then holding her own against Buu the next.

Chapters 188-211 feature Luffa more or less back at her full strength, but it doesn't matter because her opponents' powers aren't well-defined. Beerus clears everybody. Demigra and Xeno Trunks are official characters in the franchise, but they've had so few battles that they're in the same boat as all of my own OCs.

In all of this, the only useful point of reference is Goku, who joins the fight against Demigra in Xenoverse 1. He's from a period of time between Battle of Gods and Res F, so we have a decent idea what we're dealing with here. And my goal from the beginning was to set up that Luffa/Goku fight and have them be evenly matched, so that's where Luffa tops out.

That's how I interpret power levels in the Dragon Ball universe. If I make up a new guy, and I want to figure out how powerful they are, I would try to figure out which arc or movie they could be in and stay relevant. I think everyone is accustomed to this idea. I feel like we all agree that Z-Broly vs. Bojack would be a pretty even match because Bojack's movie is sandwiched between two Z-Broly films. And they both lost to Cell-Games-Era Z-Fighters, so it's reasonable to say Perfect Cell is somewhere in that ballpark too.

Shoot, I forgot that Goku even did this himself when he took stock of Dabura's powers in the Buu Saga. The Supreme Kai was terrified at the prospect of fighting Dabura, but Goku explained that he was about the same as Cell, whom they fought against seven years earlier.

This is a much more natural way of addressing power scaling. Later, when Buu shows up, he sweeps Dabura, Gohan, and Vegeta like they're nothing, and that pretty much tells you exactly how high the stakes are. We don't need a scouter to understand Buu's strength and speed. Vegeta hit him with a lot of big power moves and Buu either shrugged it off, regenerated his injuries, or said that it hurt... a little.

I don't understand "How many planets?" as a measure of power. I mean, superficially, it's a cool question. "How many planets can your OC blow up?" That sounds badass, but what are we talking about, exactly? Like Frieza only destroyed two planets in canon. Three if you want to count Earth in Res F. But I'm pretty sure he could destroy a lot more if he had reason to. I don't think destroying more planets than someone else is a measure of power. It just means one of you had more planets you were mad at.

Unless we're talking like... in a row? I'm imagining Luffa lining up a shot like billiard balls. I guess that would be a greater feat of power, but it seems pretty wasteful. I know Cell threatened that his big Kamehameha at the end of the Cell Games could take out the entire solar system, but he never actually got to prove it, so I don't take that very seriously. It's kind of pointless to have characters slinging around that kind of power when they need planets to stand on for their fights.

I guess what I'm saying here is that I do think about this sort of thing a lot, but mainly because this particular character requires it. Luffa's role here is to be analogous to Goku, Vegeta, or Broly, so I have to constantly compare her to those kinds of characters. It's one thing to just have a Saiyan OC who happens to be able to go Super Saiyan. You can make them ridiculously OP, or just have them be kind of low-tier. I have a Time Patroller in the fic named Laddis, and he's a Super Saiyan, but he's just some jerk, which is kind of refreshing. I can do whatever I want with him, and it doesn't matter. Trunks is a big deal, but he's a practical guy, so no matter how strong he is I can just write him as a responsible leader and it works.

But Luffa has to be legendary, so there's this constant need to have her be inspiring or memorable, at least within her own fictional world. So I often look to Goku as a model of how to pull that off without overdoing it.

I don't know why it suddenly popped into my head just now, but a good example of what I'm going for is when Aragorn first appears in Lord of the Rings. The hobbits see him staring at them from the corner of the tavern, and there's this palpable aura of danger around the guy. The innkeeper says he's a Ranger named "Strider", and speaks of him in hushed tones. And over the course of the book you find out all of his backstory, but that first scene is enough to tell you he's no ordinary dude. Once they find out he's an ally they become pals, but in that moment of uncertainty there's no telling what he might do.

That's the sort of aura I want for Luffa, where she's just another Time Patroller on the team, but she's also got this aura about her that makes her seem unapproachable. That's what I'm striving for, and since it's a Dragon Ball fic, I need to give the character certain powers and abilities to make that work. But at the same time, no one ever asks how many planets Aragorn can destroy.

#ask duhragonball #luffstuff

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weaveandwood · 4 days ago

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Hiiiii Steph!

For the fanfic writer ask thing: 17, 34 and 40!

eee thank you friend!

17. What trope is your favorite to write?

Hands down, a slow burn. Give me a story where two people feel an instant connection, but warm up to each other slowly over time? And then they think they're the only one who feels that way, but wow do they feel so strongly for the other person? And then they FINALLY connect? It's beautiful. Kicking my feet when I write it.

34. What title do you want to use, but can't figure out a story to fit?

I actually don't have a bank of titles! Titles are the hardest thing to come up with for me - chapter titles tend to come easier, I'll just pull something out of what I write, but overall fanfic titles? I have a new longfic that I've been working on off and on since September and figuring out a title is the only thing holding me back from publishing it!

40. Pick one of your fics and share a quote to go with it (not a quote from your fic, but an outside quote that fits).

Ooooo this one was hard, i don't really look at quotes anymore (i was all about finding and keeping quotes in my 20s!) This is a quote that I've had in my screenshots that fits my unpublished fic. I'm hoping to start posting it soon!

Come love, make me better than I was. Come teach me a kinder way to say my own name.

More questions can be found here if anyone else would like to send me some!

#asked and answered #ask game #writing #ask me!

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writerpyre · 11 months ago

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Hello!!

It’s been a LONG time but if you’re inclined to read please have a bonus chapter to an older fic: first time in just over four years that I’ve posted anything for any fandom!

I found it in my files today and being as it’s been so long, I figured why the heck not, as I reckon it’s about time I came back with something. It’s not technically new writing, but I’m pretty gosh darn happy with myself either way. I’m finally at a place in my life where maybe things are going to be ok? I mean, I’m 31.

I’ll see what else the fates bring (my bestie is pretty unwell — not sure what’s with this people closest to me getting horribly sick thing), but I think I’m in a place where if I go back to using my writing to cope I’ll be fine. I can at least hope.

(For those who have by this point probably given up anticipating an update for Fulcrum (or anything related to it) never fear, for that one is next on my agenda! I’m ‘Bound’ and ‘Determined’ to get John through his decade-long predicament. Haha.)

Either way, have a chapter. :)

(For those who are unaware, Kent is my OC, Virgil’s identical twin who died of complications from a heart condition, three days after their birth. Technically part of my AIE “AU”, I originally wasn’t intending to ever post this part, as it’s a practice piece I used to look at who Kent Tracy may have been had he survived past infancy.)

Midnight

The soft sounds of Virgil’s snores rumble through the room from the top bunk, but Kent lays in the bottom bed, wide awake with his pen in one hand, the flashlight in another; scrawling furiously across the pages of his notebook.

It’s past eleven again, and the fourteen-year-old boy can’t sleep; the insomnia from sleeping all day has kicked in again, and all he can do is while away the hours until his father and older brothers roll out of bed. He doesn’t fear waking up his twin brother; Virgil doesn’t wake up unless someone holds the alarm clock right next to his ear; volume up on full, so it’s highly unlikely that he’s going to be disturbed from the light.

He doesn’t mind overly much though, these quiet hours before the dawn. Being one of six children often means that aside from the two hours of study that their father enforces every day, it’s very rare for any of the Tracy children to have any time to themselves without another sibling interrupting it somehow.

It’s nice to have this time to write, and consider and dream without his two youngest brothers asking ‘What are you doing, KT? Can I see? Lemme look!’ he finds it bliss to not have his father wanting him to help with chores or his grandmother wanting him to watch Alan while she takes Virgil and Gordon out, because their father is busy in the office again.

It’s peaceful, and as much as he likes a bit of chaos and excitement, Kent also likes to have some quiet now and again. He loves the way the moon streams through the curtains in the bedroom, how he can listen to Virgil dreaming and feel his brother’s happiness and quiet soul soar through their twin bond.

He feels the pressures of being the sickly child; the one who everyone has to be careful of and look out for too much, and for Kent, these moments when he doesn’t have them looking over him in concern and hovering when he’s ‘too pale’ or ‘overtired’, it just makes him feel more whole somehow. At fourteen, he just wants them to stop seeing him as the ill one and allow him to grow without them worrying that he’s going to overtax his weakened heart.

In these moments, he can remember his mother, and how like him; she was a writer, although with six children before she died, she never got to achieve her dream of getting a novel published. Sure, she wrote for the local newspaper, along with the kindergarten teaching and the music lessons she taught in order to help their father with the monthly bills, but it’s something that Kent knew she always wanted to do. Now she’s gone, he’s more determined than ever to achieve that dream, and make his mom as proud of him as she was as his other brothers.

That’s not to say that he didn’t think she was, but he just wants to do something that his three older brothers haven’t yet.

Kent loves his family, but he just wants to get out of this little box, pre-packaged, made just for him, the one that labels him as the sickly child, the one who is to be worried over and assisted.

It’s not that his father, Grandpa and Grandma don’t expect him to amount to anything, just that somehow, Kent has this invisible label on him that instantly informs people that he’s ill and that he is given just that little bit more leeway to get to places a little easier. There’s nothing more Kent hates more than to be told that he needs to take it easy, or that he can’t do something, just because he’s sick.

That’s why he uses this time, past the hour he should’ve been in dreamland to work harder on anything he ever has in his life, because he wants to make them proud, to break out of the accidental constraints that his condition has placed upon him. He’ll rise above and beyond those automatic assumptions, and prove to everyone that he can do just as much as his brothers. Even if it takes him a little bit longer, even if he has to work a little bit harder, he will achieve his goals.

As he packs up his book and caps the pen an hour later, still not sleepy but content that he’s worked with what he can for tonight, Kent is determined that he’s going to become a published author before he hits his eighteenth birthday, because he’s a Tracy, and for a Tracy, failure isn’t an option.

He’ll lie awake for the rest of the night, and yes, he’ll be completely exhausted and will spend the day in bed tomorrow, but he’ll keep with him through his grandmother’s fussing and John and Scott’s smothering, the peace and tranquillity that this time has given him.

He’s happy, and he knows that if his mother is watching, she’ll be proud.

#pyre talks #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go #fandom #my writing #pyre writing tag #The Bound Universe #Kent Tracy #Kent Slayton Tracy #with any luck I *will* update Fulcrum soon so I’m not lying in my author’s notes #personal #long time: no writing

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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months ago

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Announcement

(+ sneak peek of chapter 3 of the Vee fic)

I mentioned it in the tags of the incorrect quote meme thing I made yesterday, but in case anyone missed it: My liveblog of Watching and Dreaming, the finale of The Owl House will be published this upcoming Friday.

The plan is to publish it in three parts over the weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The time will be… whenever I get to it. Turn on notifications if you wanna be there in time. Or just read it afterwards, nothing wrong with that.

In other news… I’ve been staying up too late writing fanfiction again (especially considering I’ve got work tomorrow…). So below the cut is a little sneak peek of chapter three of the Vee fic, Yesterday’s Lie, Today’s Truth, Tomorrow’s Resolve.

(the chapter title is a placeholder, I'm probaably gonna change it... provided i think of something better)

Lamp Entertainment presents…

With the threat of Jacob still on their minds, Vee and Masha agreed that it was probably for the best if Vee didn’t spend the night alone in an empty house. It took some pleading, but Masha was eventually able to convince their parents to let ’Luz’ stay over for the night, even though next day was a school day.

It probably helped that ’Luz’ was such a well-mannered and well-kept girl; Vee showed up looking closer to her old disguise, with the addition of a scar across her eyebrow. It was strange to see her slip so effortlessly and fluidly back into that role. She really was every bit the same girl from camp. Masha’s parents certainly never suspected a thing. They bought her every lie like it was on discount.

Thus Vee ended up sleeping on an air mattress on the floor in Masha’s room. Exhausted after everything that had happened during the day and the night before, the two friends both drifted off to sleep quickly.

Some hours later, Masha woke up, sitting straight up in their bed, blinking in the darkness. Something was wrong, but being disoriented and groggy, it took them a few seconds to figure out what it was. Vee was crying.

In the dark, Masha couldn’t see what was going on, but they heard Vee tossing and turning, her whimpers and incoherent mumbles.

”Vee?” Masha said, trying to speak soft enough to not scare her, but loud enough to wake her up. They fumbled in the shadows, trying to reach her. ”Vee, wake up.” They found Vee, grabbing her shoulder. They felt her scales against their palm; she had transformed back in her sleep. ”Vee, you have to wake up,” Masha said, louder this time while gently shaking her.

Vee groaned and mumbled something. Masha could just barely make out her movements a she turned over and sat up, making the air mattress squeak.

”Wha-where?” Vee mumbled, clearly disoriented.

”You’re here with me, remember?” Masha said. ”I think you had a nightmare.” They fumbled around their bedside table, grabbing a box of matches and lighting a candle. Because of course they had a candle on their bedside table.

In the flickering light of the candle, Masha could just make out Vee, tangled in her borrowed blanket. Her eyes were wet and blank. She breathed heavily.

”Yeah…” she said finally. ”I had a nightmare. I-I dreamt I was back in the Demon Realm with Luz and mom and…” She paused for a few seconds, taking deep breaths. When she started talking again, the words all came at once. ”Something happened and they got hurt and I couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t help them.”

”It was just a nightmare,” Masha said, trying to come up with something to say that to comfort Vee. ”It’s only natural, you’re worried about Luz and Camila.” Keeping one hand on the bedside table, they leaned forward to keep the other hand on Vee’s shoulder. Even if their words weren’t good enough, at least they could be there physically for her. ”But you said it yourself, they’re both tough, I’m-I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Masha was nowhere near as good a liar as Vee. How could they say that when they had no idea?

”I know,” Vee said, her gaze lowering towards a dark shadow on the floor. ”But… I keep thinking I should have gone with them. What if they need my help? What if-?”

Vee was interrupted when Masha cursed violently. The candle fell over, right onto the deck of Hexas Hold’em cards, setting one of them on fire. Vee reacted quickly, snatching the card and smothering the flames with her bare hands. Masha blew on the candle, extinguishing it and plunging the room back to darkness.

”I’m so sorry, i must’ve knocked it over,” Masha said. Foregoing the aesthetics of the candle for the practicality of their phone, Masha turned on the flashlight. ”You didn’t burn yourself, did you?”

”No,” Vee said, showing her unharmed palms. ”Those were just small flames, it’s fine. The card looks a bit worse for wear though.” She handed Masha the burned card. It was The Light, almost entirely burnt. ”I’ll get you a knew one, I’ve got a few decks back at home.” She blinked and rubbed her eyes in the light. ”Could you turn that off?”

”Sure,” Masha said and turned the flashlight off. They heard Vee moving around, trying to untangle herself from the blanket and lying back down. Masha also laid back down.

A couple of minutes went by where Masha wondered if they should say something more. They didn’t need to.

”I couldn’t go back,” Vee said quietly, almost whispering. ”I just couldn’t go back yet. Not with him there.”

Him. Philip Wittebane. Emperor Belos. Once human, now something else. The shambling, rotting corpse of a tyrant and bigot, a genocidal maniac, a murderer.

”I don’t like to talk about it,” Vee said, her voice just barely audible. She took a deep, unsteady, shaking breath. ”But he hurt me. He hurt all of us. He and his guards with their knives and needles. They’d force us to eat and steal magic from defenseless creatures. It was all we knew. When I was little, Number One was still kind, but over the years… I watched them turn her into the monster they thought we were.”

Vee sniffled and Masha heard rustling as she dried tears from her eyes.

”The cages were always cold,” she continued. ”They kept us in cold cages so we’d be docile and not try to escape. I remember when I was little, the happiest day of my life before I came here, was when they moved us to a new place. It was the first time I saw the sun. And I remember it like it was yesterday because… that was the first time I felt alive.” Vee sighed and Masha heard more rustling. In the dark they could just barely make out her big, bright yellow eyes. ”I’m sorry you had to hear this,” Vee said.

”It’s okay,” Masha said, even though they were struggling to hold back their own tears. Every word Vee said was like a knife to their heart. These poor creatures, locked up and experimented on, not even given proper names, only numbers. How could anyone be so cruel? ”I just wish there was something I could say to make it better.”

Vee reached out, taking their hand in hers. She ran her thumb over the back of Masha’s hand. The scales on the palm of her hand were softer, almost indistinguishable from human skin. Just a little colder.

”It’s enough that you’re here,” Vee said.”I couldn’t ask for more.”

They held hands for some time, how long they didn’t know. In another room, a big grandfather clock chimed, but neither of them bothered to count the chimes.

”Masha?” Vee said after a long silence.

”Hm?” they hummed in response.

”Can I… sleep next to you?” Vee asked, hesitating. ”It’s cold on the floor…”

Without a word they let go of Vee’s hand and moved over to make room for her.

Vee slithered into the bed with Masha.

”Thank you,” she whispered.

Chapter 3: Clara’s Tide

Morning came too soon, its arrival announced by the blaring ringing of an alarm clock. Masha’s eyes snapped open and they tried to sit up to quiet horrible cacophony the little noisemaker was making. However, they found themselves unable to move much at all. There was a moment of panic, though it faded away quickly as they realized the predicament they were in.

In the morning grogginess, they had somehow managed to forget they were not alone in their bed. Now, that bed was not meant for two people, but Vee had maybe taken things a bit too far.

Facing each other, Vee’s arms were tightly locked around Masha’s body and her tail tangled in their legs. Their back was against the wall while Vee’s was out towards the room, almost like she was shielding them. Her face was nuzzled against Masha’s shoulder and she was beginning to slowly sir, groaning as the alarm’s incessant yowls invaded her dreams.

”Foul screaming demon,” she muttered.

”No, that’s just the alarm clock, ” Masha said.

This got Vee’s attention. She opened her eyes, sky blue and sunshine yellow meeting Masha’s earthy brown.

”Good morning,” Masha said, a smile playing on their lips as they watched Vee’s face turn a deeper color.

”Uh…” Vee quickly let go of Masha and did her best to untangle her tail from their legs. Finally able to move properly, Masha sat up and turned off the infernal alarm.

”S-sorry about that,” Vee mumbled, avoiding eye contact. ”I, um… constrictor instinct?”

Masha narrowed their eyes.

”I’m beginning to think you’re making that up.

”Maybe~” Vee said with a sly smile.

There was a moment of silence before they both burst out laughing, instantly dispelling the awkward tension between them.

The mood shifted from jovial to sheer panic when their laughing fit was interrupted by a knock on the door.

”Masha, Luz?” Mom’s voice sounded through the door. ”You two awake?” She asked, as if she hadn’t heard them laughing.

”Eep!” In what must have been a record, Vee managed to, in under two seconds, roll off the bed, transform mid-air, and land on the cold hard floor with a ”thud.”

Masha’s mom opened the door to find Masha sitting in their bed, looking confused, and Luz sitting on the floor, eyes wide and with a distinctively panicked expression.

”G-good morning mrs. Smith!” ’Luz’ said with a nervous smile.

”Morning Luz, you sleep well?” mom asked, though she was looking at Masha, looking suspicious. ”And you can call me Lena.”

”Yup, uh… nothing but sweet dreams for me,” ’Luz’ laughed. ”And, um… thanks for letting me stay here. I know it was on very short notice and all that…”

”Don’t mention it,” mom said. ”There’s breakfast downstairs. You go ahead, I need to talk a bit with Masha.”

”Okay…” ’Luz’ said and quietly hurried out of the room. Something about her invoked the feeling of a guilty puppy.

The silence she left behind was deafening.

”She is strange, that Luz,” Lena said after making sure that ’Luz’ was out of earshot. She leaned down (something that put visible strain on her, more than usual, Masha noticed) and placed a hand on the cold air mattress. ”Sleeps on the floor, does she?”

She walked over and sat down next to them.

Masha wanted to roll their eyes, but that involved a risk of meeting their mother’s eyes, and that was not happening right now. They were far too busy examining a seam on the duvet. Had that always been there? Fascinating stuff.

”Luz had a nightmare,” Masha said once they realized their mom was waiting for them to say something. ”She asked if she could sleep next to me. That’s it.”

It’s been said an proven by history that the best lies often have a bit of truth in them, and this was more than just a bit. It was almost the entirety of the truth. Really, there was only one word on untruth. One name a lie.

”Hmm…” Lena hummed. ”Do I believe that?”

”Luz has a girlfriend,” Masha said, starting to get a bit desperate for this conversation to end.

”Luz can have two… partners,” Lena said matter-of-factly. ”It’s called a polycule, don’t you know?” She could barely finish the sentence before cracking a big smile.

This time, Masha did roll their eyes.

”I know, mom,” they sighed. ”But it really isn’t like that.”

”I’m just messing with you,” Lena said with a mischievous smile, ruffling her kids hair, making it even more of a mess than it already was. ”I think I’ll believe you. You make people feel safe, I think. You get that from your dad.”

She glanced over at the clock and stood back up with a groan.

”You should get going too if you wanna catch the bus,” she said. ”And…” A brief moment of consideration. She placed one hand on her stomach, unaware she even did it. ”We do have something to tell you when you get home. It is, ah… something of a surprise.”

”Oh yeah, I can’t imagine what it is,” Masha muttered just low enough that their mom couldn’t make it out. Taking it as confirmation, she left.

Masha buried their face in their hands and groaned loudly. That was… that sure was something that just happened. The universe, it seemed, had decided that all the things were going to happen to Masha during the course of this week.

They grabbed the deck of Hexas Hold’em cards, shuffled them, and drew the first three cards.

The Raven. The Red String. The Two-Headed Snake.

…yeah, they were not gonna acknowledge that one.

”I feel like I keep getting the same cards over and over again,” Masha muttered and shuffled the deck again. ”What does today have in store for me?” This time they did get something different.

The Numbers, a card filled with equations. The Runner, a four legged creature galloping across the card. The Books, an uneven stack of thick tomes written in runes foreign to the human world.

At that point, Masha was starting to suspect a pattern.

”Number, running, and books…,” they said to themselves. ”In other words, math, PE, and English.” Accurate, but very helpful. Then again, maybe it was for the better. A normal, boring, uneventful day at school would do them good after the last few days.

xxXXxx

A normal, boring, uneventful day at school, that was all Vee was asking for. It would have done her some good after the last few days, but no, that was not to be.

Vee and Masha had just barely managed to catch the bus, and if that was the most exciting thing that happened that day, then that would have been perfectly fine by Vee, she’d welcome it. The little mundane problems, the things human teenagers are supposed to worry about, like school, homework, and asking their crush out. One of those weighed heavy on Vee’s mind.

All of them being older than Luz, none of the Cabin 7 crew shared a class with Vee, which was a bit sad. They’d have to make due meeting up at lunch, where Masha was sure to be bursting with excitement to tell the boys what they and Vee had discovered. They were not the only one with news to tell though.

She was first to the classroom and first sat at her desk, watching as the rest of the students walked to their seats. As people filled the room, so did the various smells Vee was used to by now. Mostly sweat, hormones, and cheap deodorant. It was a room full of teenagers after all. It was all rather normal… until Clara passed by Vee.

Instinctively, Vee took a deep breath, her body realizing before her brain that something was off. Unaware, Clara, who looked rather glum, sat down at her usual place, the desk right in front of Vee.

Clara Lambretta, how would one describe her? Who’s she?

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kazoo-world · 8 months ago

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I’ve been in this fandom since March 2022. If you’re like me, you’ve read a good chunk of the fanfic that’s been published, and you have a hard time finding new stuff that’s to your taste. In honour of this, here is my rec list of the fics you definitely want to read but may not have come across!

✨My Gentlebeard/Blackbonnet Fic Rec List✨

Smutty (E)

Short (<4k)

The Good Plan by TheMewsAtTen: Stede treats Ed to some devoted stress relief, including hair brushing. A good cozy read. (4k)

Only You by gayasstheythem: Stede plunders a fancy blindfold in a raid and the sex is kinky but also really wholesome. Lots of tears and laughter and healing. (3.9k)

Mid length (4-8k)

Are You Lonesome Tonight? by RoughWinds: Ed and Stede have some kinky married roleplay sex where Stede plays a neglected housewife and Ed plays the next door neighbor that stepped up. They are achingly in love. (6.5k)

Smoke Signals by Spicy_Soldiers: Ed seduces Stede with some sensual cigar smoking. The imagery is so sexy and vivid that it’s almost dreamlike. (4.7k)

Won’t Rush It Along by camerasparring: Ed and Stede have marathon sex to figure out just how many times Stede’s magic dick can go. Very hot and silly. (6.9k (nice))

Of Oils & Jealousy by @kipli: Stede starts a line of scented olive oils (as he would) and the two of them go to the Republic of Pirates in search of a seller. They meet a pirate that’s a little too happy to meet Stede; Stede is blissfully ignorant of the man’s advances. Insanity ensues—including wild possessive sex. (4.7k)

Friendly Competition (Blackbeard Always Wins) by @cufeilidh: Stede and Ed disagree on who’s turn it is to service top and make the decision with a sex game. This fic makes me laugh every time because it’s so on brand. (4.9k)

sunflowers in the kitchen by dardreamcrash: Ed and Stede pretend to bicker like a married couple in a home goods store and then they go home and fuck nasty about it. Totally absurd and extremely cute, classic over the top in character insanity. (7k)

Long (>8k)

It Was Yellow and Pink by Bazzle: Ed confides that he misses when things were easier and simpler between them, so Stede stages a roleplay to fulfill his desire. Sweetest most healing sex ever (warning tho: undernegotiated kink). (14.9k)

A Sunday Kind of Love by WellSussed: Stede keeps trying to propose but Ed’s busy work schedule gets in the way; when their time tables finally align, Stede spoils Ed with a New Year’s to remember. Another one that makes my heart explode. (8.8k)

Spicy and Swearful

The Kissing Game by veeagainst: Set after s2ep5, Ed comes up with a kissing game as a way to take things slow with Stede. It works until it doesn’t, complete with lots of pining. (8k, M)

Other Delicacies and Delights by reddiegays: Stede and Ed spice up their married life by flirting across the bar they co-own. (1.3k, T)

Continue to Continue to Pretend by skeletonsandroundabouts: reunion fic written pre s2, but in tune with s2 tone. Stede stumbles upon a sulking Ed in a bar and they pretend not to know each other. Stede is a bombastic menace who thinks the ruse is working, but Ed is also a dumbass. Makes me laugh out loud every time I read it, and the character voices are perfect. (4.8k, T)

Fluff

Permanent Ink by insidethevoid: Ed is the cool distinctly tattooed step dad. Hijinks ensure when Alma wants to be cool like him. (5.2k, G)

Thy, Sweet, Love Remembered by @kazoo-world: Ed and Stede promise to always go to sleep together. It’s always the perfect remedy for the day’s frustrations. Look, yes, I wrote this and I’m biased, but every time I read it I can’t stop thinking about how mind blowingly cute it is. (1.1k, T)

Modern AU Meetcutes

Our Tesco Means Death by shipmates: Stede gets a job at Tesco after leaving his old life and notices and is noticed by his kind and smoking manager, Ed. Reading about Stede trying very hard to impress Ed by shoplifting makes me laugh rambunctiously. (21k, G)

the happiest place on earth is here (with you) by @medievill: Stede and Ed strike up a whirlwind romance at Disney World with Ed showing Stede around his usual haunts. Equal parts heart-wrenching and heartwarming. (33k, M)

Unlocked by @festiveferret: Newly divorced Stede accidentally breaks into rockstar Ed’s apartment thinking it’s his own. They fall in love as they hang out together. Ed has two beautiful and perfect guard cats and Stede is perfectly in character levels of insane. (15.5k, T)

#ofmd #our flag means death #gentlebeard #blackbonnet #ofmd s2 #our flag means fanfic

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