#making my oc go through crisis of faith is not something i set out to do

[arendaes]

Everything's going fine for my Rise of the Runelords character Zuzanna. She definitely didn't learn any life-shattering secrets about her hometown and church in this dungeon, and it's definitely not anything that sleeping in the bed of a cultist the party defeated can't fix!

Art by @vape-goblin, who's character Viz is the sweetheart oblivious to Zuzu's inner anguish (because she didn't say anything lol)

[gummybugg]

Happy Blorbo Blorbosday, Bug! I have two questions today, answer one or both, whatever feels comfortable <3

1. Imagine your ocs in that awkward situation of having to introduce yourself to the new class. What would they say about themselves?

2. What religious and/or philosophical beliefs does your oc hold?

Happy Blorbo Blorbosday!

I'll answer the Second one, because my brain immediately went to Clementine, my fallen angel character! Probably because his title evokes a certain idea about the kind of person he is/was. You can find an excerpt of him here to kinda get a better idea of his personality.

I suppose Clementine believes/knows the gods exist because he's personally worked with them before, but does he have Faith in them? No, of course not.

Before he betrayed his superiors, he was a goody-two-shoes who pointed out those who were insufficient or slacked off. His role was a guardian angel of sorts, and he went on to protect/guide people through their dreams. Acting like a door-to-door salesman reciting the same stuff he's been told for thousands of years, just some shallow things he found himself believing less and less as he began questioning his purpose.

But that was the extent of his powers: he wasn't allowed to "tamper with mortal affairs," whether good or bad. All he could do was sit and watch while give his monologue.

He couldn't recruit enough angels, his power was dwindling, and he soon realized it was because he wasn't "doing things right." Where his colleagues used their powers to gaslight, gate-keep, and girlboss, Clementine was having none of that. He cared more about his influence/life purpose than numbers. So he amped things up: he started to pull an anti-hero stunt and scare bad people via dreams, which made him feel useful + gained him more subscribers recruits. I.e., if an angel tells you "Hold on, I'll take care of your bully for you," then there's a high chance both you and the bully would start having faith in the gods' powers.

But this was "Bad publicity" and not very "On-brand" for heaven, for those who found out his stunt. Clem became this "problem guy" who didn't fit into the same ideals the others had. He was outcasted and began noticing favoritism among the other angels. You know, stuff that makes your blood Boil in a corporate setting. But the scariest part of all: There is no HR in heaven! DUN DUN DUNN!

So where does that leave Clementine? Booted out of heaven and living out the rest of his days as a mortal. He could redeem himself and everything would be forgotten, but it's very unlikely Clem would want to forgive and forget the same people who went against their own beliefs and thought his ideas stupid.

So he roamed the mortal realms in search of a purpose and helped a few good people along the way. But then he asked himself if it was even worth his time saving people if the people he saved were just as corrupt as the rest. How was he to know who was "good" or "bad" by any standards, or even the standards he fled from? Yes, he was going through quite the mid-life crisis at the ripe age of 2000-something!

"The entire universe is made up of liars and hypocrites. What’s one more?" And so, our fallen angel decided to follow the path of hedonism until our story picks up.

[fyrapartnersearch]

looking for longterm novella-style partner

general hey guys i'm lauren, 26 years old and living in EST! i just got dumped and thought i'd fill the void in my life with some good, good writing so i'm looking for some people to plot and rp with. i'm usually bopping around on social media and love talking to my partners, whether it's getting to know them or just plotting future events for our characters.

i'm also very ditch-friendly! if you're tired of me or our rp, totally just ghost me, i'll get the hint. no need to get all anxious over breaking up with a partner. it's rping, it's all chill. if you're able to, giving me a head's up that you're not feeling the rp would be great though! i will absolutely return the courtesy if i'm not feeling it anymore either.

as a quick side note, i will only rp with people over the age of 21, and have a preference for partners over the age of 23! i just feel more comfortable when my partner is around the same age as me.

posts and characters i only write in third person past tense and would prefer for my partner to do the same. i'm very flexible with post lengths, but i tend to be on the wordy side. i'd love it if you could provide four or five paragraphs per post on average, though i absolutely value quality over quantity so post length isn't a huge concern of mine as long as there's something to reply to! longer posts are wonderful as well, and i have no issue waxing lengthy posts if that is your preference.

i generally reply at least once a day or once every other day, but even if i'm tied up with work and not able to reply consistently, i'll absolutely be available to chat. i'll let you know when i'm busy and love to shoot plot ideas back and forth even when i can't put aside a chunk of time to reply.

characters! i love playing multiple characters, but having a singular main character is great too. i prefer playing OCs but can also do canons, which i'll talk about more below. i have no preference about what sort of character you're playing, that's your decision! i like to develop new characters for each rp i do, but feel free to bring in old characters if that's what you want! i like characters that are complex and interesting and not ultra-powerful people -- or if they are, you're able to explore the emotional repercussions of it. if you're looking for a specific sort of character to play yours against, give me some guidelines before i whip up an OC and i'll be happy to make someone that fits your needs. i adore creating characters, and like making side or background characters that pass through or come in and out of the plot.

i like creating characters before the plot, rather than the other way around. i have a huge preference for character-driven plots -- putting our characters in a setting, and then letting their specific quirks and motivations lead where the rp goes next.

i also can provide rp samples if you'd like to see my writing before we rp!

genres; love and sex so first let me prattle off some original character genres that i love! i will list fandoms later.

• adventure; anything with a band of people coming together and forming a found family, traveling together on the way to a goal with obstacles thrown in their way • fantasy; i adore fantasy, whether it's magical realism or all out medieval fantasy. world-building is one of my favorite things. sci-fi is great too, but i'm not great when things get too tech-y haha • paranormal/mythical creatures; sort of goes with the fantasy, but i'm always down to rp different species in any sort of setting • fairy tales; i love taking old fairy tales or stories and giving them a unique twist, whether it's making them #gritty or just tossing them in a different sort of setting • superheroes; people with superpowers using it for good or evil and coming together yesss • romance; romance is great and i'll discuss that below, but i prefer this to be like a sub-genre • AUs; i love taking a fandom and making it an alternate timeline or AUing it completely. also once we have characters and a rp established, i love love love talking about AUs for our characters. i will AU everything, there is no AU too AUish for me

those are just my favorites so feel free to suggest others, but i will not do slice of life. i just find myself bogged down when there's not a defined plot, and it doesn't keep my interest. i also love these things if you'd be interested in tossing any of them in the rp:

• mages • shapeshifters • daemons [like from his dark materials] • people with horns or wings • pirates • dragons

pairings what up what up. i love rps with a dash of romance, whether our characters come in as an awesome couple battle duo, or two dorks realizing they're developing a crush on each other. either way, i don't like characters who are not in a relationship immediately getting together -- i'm all about the bonding and character development. i do not like rping cishet m/f pairings. bi girl and bi dude falling in love is great. trans man and trans woman falling in love is great. ace woman and a masculine nb person falling in love is great. any other type of lgbtqia+ pairing is great. if you have a general preference for m// or f// just let me know!

i also love anything unconventional, from happy polyamorous couples to obsessive unrequited pining. love triangles are great, conflict is great, anything to keep the relationship fresh and interesting without verging into the realm of over-dramatic. if you're looking for someone to rp a dark and unhealthy romance with, i am your person. also if you want to rp cute poly couples. i am also that person.

for fandoms, i'll do canon/canon and OC/OC but not canon/OC!

smut smut is totally rad, as long as it's not the sole focus of the rp. i like the smut to add something to the character, the characters' relationship, or the plot in addition to just being for porn's sake. cute smut is great. dark smut is great. getting to do both is even better. i do have a handful of smut-based limits including things like water sports, pedophilia, vore -- if you want a complete list just ask when you contact me. themes i would enjoy exploring typically depend on the character and what my partner's limits are.

limits i don't have any limits besides the aforementioned smut limits. besides that, i love violence, gore, and swearing. i like exploring dark themes when the rp calls for it. i do not like rping with people who treat trauma, abuse, and psychopathy as personal traits or try to make things obnoxiously dark and gritty. but otherwise everything's pretty much on the table! if you have any limits please let me know -- i have no problem not swearing or avoiding certain topics or fading to black if that is your preference.

fandoms stars denote preference.

dragon age [origins; da2; inquisition] ✩✩✩ dragon age is my favorite thing in the world and i would love someone to rp it with. i have a preference for OCs though would also be up to rping canon characters. rping an OC MC with OC companions is my jam, though i also like exploring what the rest of the world is up to while the main plot is going on. also any AU of dragon age is great -- inquisition in a modern setting, kirkwall with a sci-fi twist; universe diverging where the bad guy wins and stuff like that.

pokemon [any gen] ✩✩✩ i am always down for a pokemon rp you have no ideaaa. however i really like my pokemon rps more serious (i know how ridiculous that sounds). i like exploring aspects of the pokemon world outside of just being a trainer and getting badges. i like to rp pokemon like they're intelligent animals, meaning that wild pokemon aren't so easily tamed and pokemon can get hurt. i'm also so down for crossbreeds/fusions. i have some plot ideas in mind for pokemon and would love to hear yours!

final fantasy [IV, VII, VIII, crisis core, advent children, dissidia] ✩✩ i have this random love for IV, but honestly i am total VII trash and have been playing the remake a lot. i'm also a little familiar with XIV and have some OCs already created for a setting like that.

fallout [any game] ✩✩ would love to do OCs for this, and admittedly something in the commonwealth would be rad because i've played 4 most recently. brotherhood of steel is always great, anything with them is awesome. also stuff with synths that involves questioning what it means to be human and have faith in your own identity/memories w/e w/e would be cool. also just a general AU of a fallout-like setting maybe set in a city that hasn't been explored yet.

kingdom hearts [any game] ✩ i'd love something in the bbs era, but honestly anything is great. exploring nobodies successfully turned into ansem-heart-holders, the new keyblade warriors to defeat ansem (this guy gets around), or kh1&2 characters during the bbs time is all great. for canon characters sora, aqua, ventus, marluxia, and larxene are the ones i've played the most but i'm always looking to branch out.

medium i like to rp over discord, email, or google docs, with a separate discord channel or IM for separate chatting and plotting. i'm also open to making a joint tumblr blog that we both post our posts on, which i did not know was a thing until very recently!

contact if you're interested please shoot me a message on my tumblr or at Lauren#5244 on discord! :)

[maladaptive-ninja-returns]

The Siren & The Healer (6)

Natasha Romanoff arc

Chapter 6: The Flashes

Platonic Natasha x fem!Reader, Loki x fem!Reader (soulmates?)

Theme: With cracks between the most powerful superheroes of the earth, Natasha Romanoff does not find rest when she is assigned on a mission to find the missing pieces of a puzzling power that once nearly got into the hands- rather, tentacles- of Hydra. In order to unearth the pieces, she must dig through her own past and make a decision that might decide the fate of the earth in the coming wars.

Series: Will contain violence, death, destruction, softness, fluff, smut, friendship, and whatnot

Chapter warnings: Flashes. I have honestly forgotten what counts as warnings

A/N: This was written a few years ago with an OC in mind so reader has a name but it is a reader insert.

Word Count: I need to build up my resume and it kills me that I cannot put ‘part time fanfic writer on tumblr and AO3 with a decen following’ on it because some people are just cowards.

MASTERLIST in bio, love

Time: 1000 hours

Location: Vienna

The highest quality of teakwood, most expensive beige tiles and white paint that smelled like a walk in a pinewood forest- these were all the things you took in from the villa these group of buffed strangers took you to. Not to mention it being smack in the middle of a high-profile residential area where the personal property- along with your privacy- extended to nearly a kilometer. With two stories housing an open contemporary style house, the entirety of the villa's so-called four walls were just endless glass looking out at the green belt of shrubs and evergreen trees making up for the seclusion of the estate. Or, according to you, making up a hell of peeping entertainment window for all the nosy neighbours.

Safehouse, they said.

We'll all be safe here, away from prying eyes, they said.

Let’s stay here till we know what to do with the asset, they s-wait.

“Here,” the redhead called out, gesturing at the sofa while Brunn brought you a glass of water, “have a seat. You must be quite confused by all of this.”

You took the glass and barely planted your ass on the expensive-looking sofa before turning to look at Red. “Confusion would be an understatement but yes.”

“Keosha, right?”

You looked up from the glass after gulping it all down. “I...never told you my name.”

“No, you didn’t,” Red affirmed with a smile, “this is Keiko and Brunn. That’s Aneka. Nakia. And my name is-”

“Natalia Romanova,” you finished her introduction for her, making Natasha question whether it was fear or awe she was seeing in your eyes.

“I go by Natasha Romanoff in my close circle but you’re correct,” she stated, sitting down opposite you. “I apologise for the ruckus. We had to get you out of there. It wasn’t safe.”

“For whom?” you asked, recalling the cries of those men tux as two women ended their careers.

“For any of us,” Nakia called out from the farther end while examined her gear.

“Why? Was it because of the creepy guy who walked over to me in the parking lot yesterday? It was his office I was visiting today when all that...weird shit went down.”

It took a few seconds for you to realise how everyone seemed to be stirred into motion by your statement but before you could register and reason with them how you were in no way involved with that shady man, Keiko brought her tablet forward to show you a grainy picture caught by a security camera time-stamped for today right when you were in his office.

“Is this the guy?” Keiko asked.

“Yes! That’s him!” You were nearly shouting before the tablet was even in your hands.

Natasha and Nakia exchanged a look before turning back to face you.

“So, was last night the first time you saw him?” Natasha leaned over towards you with a look of curiosity, something you were not finding comfortable.

“Yeah,” you whispered, feeling a sudden rush of cold air run down your neck. “What’s going on?”

“Was someone else there when he met you?”

The cold seemed to run right along your spine, freezing it with the words coming out of Natasha’s mouth; your first thought just being the loud thumping echo of ‘ Harry ’. “What’s going on? Who is he?”

Natasha and Nakia could see your instincts kicking in, going through all the worst scenarios. So, there was someone else there.

“Keosha,” Nakia came closer to sit next to you, her accent heavy on her lips and in her voice, “we promise to explain everything. But you have to help us out so we can prioritise protecting the people we think might be in danger. Will you help us do that?”

.

“He’s fine. We have eyes on him. Our people will keep watch on anything unusual.”

Your heart finally let go of the strings of worry it’d been stretching for the last one hour. “Oh, thank God!” you whispered, rubbing your forehead before slumping into the bean bag. Natasha watched you pause in between the emotional crisis to look up at her and Nakia. “Oh, um, just tell your guys to not be shocked if he turns off the smoke alarm. He’s not a...good cook.”

And suddenly Natasha could see flashes of Tony making- or trying to make- frittatas for the gang before Steve had to run in with a fire extinguisher. 

“I’ll take care of it.” Brunn’s voice from the other side of the house- where he has set up a small security station of his own- broke Natasha out of some pleasant memories.

“Right,” she stated, wiping her hands off her thighs as she sat down in front of you in a bean bag.

A moment of silence floated between the two of you, your ears on alert yet your bodies taking in the rest after the morning you two had. It was a pleasant lull with a note of the unsaid assurance and affirmations. And unspoken fear of the unknown. Her insides were okay with the truce that had just happened between the two parties on the exchange of information but something inside her was afraid of still being in the dark. You were calm right now only because that man’s identity had been revealed and you were given the word of world’s deadliest assassin and spy that you will be protected. What was tingling under all of this was the presence of the Black Widow. She doesn’t just appear somewhere. If she’s there, it means there is blood. There will always be blood. All the reports you’d read after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. pointed to it. And what was your equation in all of this was still a mystery to be solved. That was what the Black Widow was thinking as well.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help,” you finally blurted, tired of keeping so much inside. “I wish I knew what this man was looking for. All he was interested in was the lame healing practices of my college committee.”

Natasha raised her brow, “Healing doesn’t sound lame,” she shrugged, “what kind of healing does your college group do?”

You forced out a chuckle. “Oh, it’s nothing. I mean, not something on the scale of what you and your friends do...did...”

Feeling the smack you got from your internal voice in the back of your head, you let your voice fade at the end of that sentence not sure of what the dynamic was between the heroes at this moment. But that did not stop Natasha from moving forward, letting her arms rest on her knees and one palm supporting her face, her eyes stuck on you, waiting in anticipation.

Oh, crap , you stated internally to her, don’t look at me like that.

Sighing, you raised your hands a little, making them move about with all that you explained to her. “We-um...they’re healers in the sense that they use the life force flowing through them to heal things. And by things I mean, healing people, situations, diseases, ailments, uhh future opportunities. I know it sounds like a bunch of bull-”

“What’s our life force?”

...did not see this coming.

“Uhh...it’s the energy. Inside us, around us. It’s present in everything.”

“Even in things that aren’t alive?”

“Yup. Like this sofa. Or my phone. Or your...that thing on your wrist.”

“When you say you can heal people-” Natasha’s eyes widened and her brows creased just enough to let you know she was calculating it all- “you mean you can heal anything about them?”

You opened your mouth to answer before stopping short and shutting it up. “What do you mean exactly?”

“Could you heal their addictions?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve done that once.”

“How about incurable diseases?”

“Yeah, don’t tell the pharma giants about these guys, okay.”

She smiles a perfect smile, making your heart flutter. No one should be allowed to have that perfect a smile.

“Could you heal past trauma as well?”

“I’ve never done that. But I’m sure it could be done.”

“And future outcomes?”

Your lips make a thin line barely resembling a smile before you lean in over to her. “Okay, here’s the thing. I have healed the future. Or at least I have tried to. But the thing us healers had to keep in mind always while doing any sort of healing was that this life force has a brain of its own. It takes your effort to the point that needs to be worked upon. And often you find that that point and your intended circle do not coincide. Not to be that guy but that’s where people start to lose faith and do not see the good that is brought because they’re too busy letting their vision be clouded by the one thing that didn't go right for them despite all they put into it.”

Natasha looked down at your hands resting on your thighs, trembling a little from the cold and a little from the conversation, unconsciously tearing the tiny lint balls from your warm leggings. “People are fickle with faith,” Natasha mentioned in her low voice, “not many realise its worth in the darkest of times.”

“Not much to lean on in the dark times when the hope goes away with that last ray, is there?” you call back softly.

“Is that what you tell the ones you heal?”

“Before healing others, we’re supposed to heal ourselves. Just like to protect others, you first need to protect yourself from the line of fire. But this all garbage now. I don’t do it anymore. I left the practice a long time ago.”

Now, Natasha was more curious than ever. “Why?”

You wet your lips and rub your hands on your thighs to warm them up. “Tell me what happens you try to defend a bunch of civilians like me from..say...huge scary aliens. One too many.”

Just as you posed the question, the creases on Natasha’s brows disappeared. “It takes a toll on you. You can’t keep up after a while.”

“Exactly.”

Both of you could smell the smokiness of the mac and cheese being cooked in the kitchen by Brunn, lighting up your previously scared and dormant hunger pangs.

“I was taught that if I fell, I should get up and dust away anything that says I cannot, even if that meant my death,” she enunciated, “but later on I found out that when fallen, you could have a pair of hands to help you get back up. To help you find the strengths you never thought you could have. Because it is difficult to find out your entirety by yourself, Keosha.”

You smiled and turned your head down. “I’m done with the whole healer business, Ms. Romanoff-”

“Natasha.”

“...okay. Natasha. It only seems appealing till it goes where you want it to go. And right now, I want to go devour that mac and cheese.”

Your words forced out a chuckle from Natasha. She got up to go to the kitchen with you only to watch you struggle to get out of the bean bag. “Looks like you do need a hand.”

“Okay, Black Widow, not everyone has an amazing flexible body like you. Now help me out of this cursed thing!”

.

It was hard to fall asleep. Harder to let his mind be still. Ironic, isn’t it? To be laying down in a spaceship that was floating in the vast nothingness and his mind was the one that was making the loudest sound. No matter how much he tried, the agitation did not stop.

Getting up on the makeshift bed in the back of the ship, he tried to take deep breaths to calm down his horribly fast heartbeat.

Come back , he told his insides, forcing his consciousness to walk away from the noise into the existing calm inside the ship, closing his eyes, letting his senses concentrate on all that was going on around him. The sound of controls, Drax’s snoring, Mantis’ flowy yet curious movements around him, the feeling of Nebula’s silent footsteps- his favourite- and sting of Quill’s glare.

Observe , he announced to his heart and head, calling them in to confer what it was that bothered them, slowly opening up the hatch to a path that led to all that had happened till now, making them retrace their steps back. Back to the gates of Hel, to those mysterious eyes, to the face of his mother, to the cold void, to the explosion, to...to the ship, to-

Blinding flashes of red, white and green played with his mind, bringing with them their theme- cries of tortured souls. But that wasn’t it. Images punched his aching consciousness between the blinding lights. There were too many. One of them was of someone falling down a cliff- a pale contrast to the purple hues of the sky in the back- once a picture of soothing green, once a painting of snow-like white; one of them crying for help while one smiled in satisfaction. Another image was a haze of orange surrounding him. Or that’s what he thought till he could hear heavy breaths echoing through his ears; breaths stifling the urge to cry or whimper. Once he even thought he heard a feminine voice cry out a name in despair before the orange haze was lit up by another flash and replaced with rusty darkness. Rusty. Coarse. Grained. Slowly replaced by smoke rising from torn up metal that once covered fingers. The tears and smoke went by the six gems resting in perfectly made slots, up the charred skin of the arm where itwere supposed to be protected by that red-painted metal. The image kept going up the totalled arm while a scream rose from a distance, breaking the gut-wrenching scene away to a figure in the dark shaking him while shouting with a piercing, broken voice, “SHE’S ALIVE!”

The runes stolen by Rocket from Knowhere fell with a loud clatter, disrupting all the activity in the ship to have all eyes on a breathless Loki sweating himself pale.

“Little God having nightmares?” Quill rolled his eyes before turning back to man the ship. Gamora, Nebula, and Mantis paused whatever they were doing to look at the raven-haired mess trying to breathe some life back in himself. Rocket and Groot tried to converse telepathically about the new guy so as not to catch Quill’s unwanted attention.

“What’s wrong?” Gamora asked, taking a careful step in Loki’s direction, who- by now- had dented the frame of the makeshift bed with his tensed hands.

Everything , he wanted to scream, his gut giving up on him, wanted to throw out anything that was inside. His head swirled. He tried to make the nausea stop by leaning against the wall of the ship, letting extra heat in his head be siphoned off by the cold plates.

“You,” he huffed weakly, his brows rising as he felt his insides turn once more, “you were suppos-hed to be de-ead.”

Nebula and Mantis turned to look at Gamora, their eyes trying to hide the shock in this sudden revelation.

“What are you talk-”

“How?!”

“Loki, you need to rest.”

“How are you alive right now?”

Mantis ran over to Loki- who was now clutching his torso for his dear life- and touched his forehead, feeling the burn sear through her skin.

“He’s burning up!” she cried.

“Put him to sleep!” Nebula ordered.

“What the heck is going on back there?” Quill shouted.

“Nebula,” Gamora forced her sister’s attention to herself, “what is he talking about?”

“Get away from me,” Loki hissed at Mantis.

“You need help,” Mantis announced, her resolute voice breaking towards the end at the piercing green eyes looking at her with nothing but threat.

“Mantis!” Nebula shouted.

“SLEEP!”

Within seconds, the agony-struck figure of Loki was limp on the mattress, deep in sleep.

“Now,” Gamora fumed, looking at the ladies, “tell me what he meant by that before I cut both of you open.”

Before anyone could say much, Gamora felt her shoulder jerked by Quill’s figure walking in the middle of the scene, looking around him in pure confusion.

“What’d I miss?”

[smolbeandrabbles]

Out of Nowhere Girl - Talos/Keller/OC (Captain Marvel)

Set In Canon MCU Captain Marvel / Guardian’s of the Galaxy Universe with a few out-of-canon ‘twists’...

Author’s Note:  Posting this a week after I see Captain Marvel (AS FOLLOWS CANON!) but still tagging with spoilers.

Oh my god. I was having an existential crisis after the movie and the fic that I posted that is not canon (Science & Faith. If you want to read you can click the thing) That I wrote this between acts at the C2C country music festival on 9th March... That makes this the quickest write and edit I have EVER done. It’s probably quite telling... (It’s 10/3/19 @ 8:26 PM GMT.) She is with Keller, Talos just simed him. I’m making that clear right now! It’ll make sense when you read!   This is an alternate version to ‘Science & Faith’ - so that characters there are the same. This one just follows actual movie canon.

Don’t worry it’s not the same story. It has a few similar elements... It will likely go back and forth between the two time periods. Please someone get what I did with his full name... 😂😭

NOT reader insert. Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC... I am slightly bending canon on Supernova; but I liked the concept. Maybe I've set it so there's more than one? Like a special forces part of the Nova Corp? (Tbh still figuring this out) So you can have it coming from another Saal... sorry not sorry Expositional conversation-narrative heavy... Sorry!

Simmed? Simed? Sim-ed? Which is it!?

Premise: When Keller gets sim-ed by Talos as a result of the Kree-Skrull war the aftermath is of no great consequence to his partner... However, when exploring on behalf of the Nova Corps Keller’s distress signature coming from a planet half way across the galaxy leads her to investigate...

Word Count: 4384

Warnings: Spoilers! Murder (I guess) Actually this might assume you know about her from Science & Faith...

My little out, out of nowhere girl Where you been all my life? Where you been trying to hide? It's like you’ve come Come from another world Fell right out of the sky And landed right here tonight...  

Keller had had a day. He’s had days before, as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent and sometime-Scientist he expected for days to be a part of his life.  But this had been something else entirely. When he opened the door to his apartment, he was at least glad to be greeted by an essence of normality. Well, as normal as it could get he supposed…

Maliyah was pouring over drawing after drawing and ship schematics. She still couldn’t get something on that ship of hers to work right. Or, maybe she knew she was just stalling for time… She looked up with a smile; “I can already tell you have a lot to tell me…” “Yeah…” He sighed, throwing his keys on the counter and allowing a pause. “It’s where to start…” He looked across to her, at the way her skin sparkled just at his presence… She’d crash landed to Earth nearly two years previously. Through studying her they had built a friendship – and now it was a lot more than that. The blue lights across her skin; because, all of his were blue or white, or purple… used to only light up when he touched her. Or, when he was feeling something at the extreme end of the spectrum. They turned red every time he got hurt, and that hurt her too… So he’d tried to make his life easier. Tried. Now the lights appeared just because he was in proximity… She said that showed they had a strong bond. Keller was only human, so he felt proud of that. He hadn’t ever expected to see anything else otherworldly – until today happened. “Maliyah… You know a lot about the other species out there… right?” She put her pen down and turned her full attention on him; “Yes. Enough. Why?” “Because you were the only other race I thought I’d ever see. But clearly, I was wrong. Because-” He faltered, squinted in remembering and then tried again “…Tell me about shapeshifters?” “Narrow that down. It isn’t an exclusive trait…” She tilted her head “…But now I’m worried.” “Okay, uh… Green… pointed ears… Like… linear markings or patterns…or…” “Skrulls!?” She was takenaback “Skrulls on Earth!?” Then she slammed her hands on the table, more in interest that anger; “WAIT! Did you get SIMED by a Skrull!?!??!” Clearly he had no idea what that meant by the look on his face, but she couldn’t hide her laugh; “…Wait. Skrulls are on Earth? Okay, I’ll roll with it… Did a Skrull shapeshift into YOU.” “…Yes.” She laughed again “Oh God!” Then she attempted to stop herself “Oh! Baby, that’s terrible!” “Doesn’t sound like you mean it.” She cleared her throat, “Whilst it’s funny it’s not exactly good news…” She rested her hands on her thighs and chewed her lip “…What did you think about..?” “Huh?” “Your last thoughts. Before they simed you.” “Probably something like: Oh GOD I hope I don’t die?!” “You didn’t think about me, at all?” He hesitated, it probably wasn’t the best idea to confess to his other half he hadn’t thought about her whilst waiting on the fate of his own life… “…Uh…No…?” “Good.” “Good?!” She was clearly as full of surprises. As any ‘alien’ should be, he guessed. “Yes. I’m an Auron, my race and my planet are dying… Sightings of us are rare even in our part of the galaxy… As an adult female I am worth a hell of a lot to my home planet – And a lot of my abilities will be worth something to a race like to Skrulls.” “…So you’re telling me that not talking about you – like you asked - and therefore obviously not consciously thinking of you is good?” She nodded; “I wonder if the Kree war has come all the way out here?” She almost laughed again “That’s no good for me either… Considering my affinity with Xandar… You’ve done very well if they don’t know a THING.” “…Have you seen me today!?” Her sentence sparked panic in him. “Right now and when you left. I haven’t been out of here even once. I’ve been working this algorithm…” she shook her head “You haven’t come back, I haven’t called you… Zip. I promise.” “…Okay…” “Don’t worry about me… I’m more worried about you… Getting Simed is not the experience you want to have… are you okay?” “Seeing someone change into me… That’s bad, getting tied up and left in a Blockbuster though… Ehhhhh….!” She shook her head “…You really went through it then, huh?” She beckoned him over, and he was all too glad to walk into her arms… She brushed some stray hairs out of his face, her touch gentle and welcoming… A different set of colours formed on her skin – these lights pale and milky… pastels… enveloping him in her arms the effect was instantly calming… “I’m sorry…” “…You don’t need to be sorry…” “I told you, nothing about another race coming to Earth is good…” He almost laughed; “That makes you an anomaly then… You must be the one good thing.” ** Nick Fury almost jumped at the next knock at his door. This time it was Keller that opened it. "Oh! SIR!!!" He looked more than a little weary and Keller knew why. "Nick, I swear it's actually me! And I can prove it, but to do so you have to come with me." "Yeah that sounds... Safe." "Unfortunately I'm not the one who needs to information in your head. Or I could just stand here." He winced as he realised it maybe wasn't the best choice of words "Urm. Look just... Come to my office..." He backed out with an attempt at a convincing smile and wandered down the corridor to his own work space.

As usual it was hard to get Maliyah to look inconspicuous. This time she put up a fair argument of she'd only be going car, to security door, and then to his office. Still, she was sitting in a top that cut across her shoulders AND exposed her stomach and a short, layered skirt that showed off her legs. The marks across her skin, and all his fault, were more than just visible. And the jacket she'd brought because he insisted she wore one, was of course emblazoned with her Nova Corp rank insignia. Geez... He almost thought about loosening his tie just looking at her. She was curled up in one of his chairs reading a file of his. He rolled his eyes, of course the first thing Maliyah would do was break into his cabinet. She had a stack in front of her too. Her shoes kicked off and left by the chair. "I've asked him. The rest is up to you." "Does he trust you?" She didn’t look up "Would you?!" "...Not entirely. Depends what Sim Keller did!!!" "Well it probably wasn't GOOD!!" He sat behind his desk and nodded to her files; "Careful with those." She turned a page towards him "Why do you have a Nova symbol?" "It’s a very complicated astrological algorithm..." Why she thought everything centred around the 8-point star of Xandar was beyond him. "... Did you do this..." she nodded to the algorithm itself "Yes" "You're a scientist!?" "Part time... I don't... Not all the time... I dabble..." "That's why you wanted my blood. Right?" "Your bloodwork is... Incredible." "You should have tried some Skrull blood if you think MINE is interesting." He was at least amused; "... Bit late for that advice!!" then tilted his head; "Does it… Change? Now we are... Now we have a...?" connection? Did her race give that a name? "Yes?" "We should do yours again." "Worry about your own." She noticed the way he furrowed his eyebrows in concern; "... What we did... It'll affect yours too." He stared at his hands with wide eyes "And I'm not entirely sure what being simed will do to you…" "Geez! I clearly just need to take you everywhere with me don't I!?" "I don’t wanna get Simed...!!!!" That was the wrong thing to say as his door opened.

Jonathan knew it, and Malyiah knew it by the way he put his head in his hands. She thought it was cute. She thought a lot of things humans did to display their emotions were cute. She hadn't known a race feel so acutely as this. She'd chosen well, she couldn't have ever expected to. He was the best surprise.   Nick looked across to the female voice that had spoken and almost had a heart attack; He wasn’t faced with a straight-laced, suited, female S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Instead her purple fading to pink hair, eyes so deep blue they were purple, the mish-mash of clothes she was wearing - that still strangely matched - and the foreign markings visible every so often on her skin, like someone had tattooed her with white ink, made him think she wasn’t human at all. "Who the hell are--!?!" Jonathan Keller jumped quickly to her rescue; "Nick there's a lot of classified stuff that's happened in the last two years..." "Two years!? WHAT!?" "Remember that crash we were called to in Utah?" "... Yeah. Highest level. You were there ages... No-one ever spoke about it." "Yeah... Uh..." he brought his hands together and pointed across to the girl in the chair. "...Hi!" she smiled "You must be Nick Fury." He turned to Keller "Sir!!! Don't start telling me there's more of them!!! What is she S.H.I.E.L.D intelligence!?!" "... The fact there IS more of them is exactly why we NEED to tell her everything. But I was tied up in a Blockbuster ok, so I'm no help! You are." She was looking down at herself; did she look like S.H.I.E.L.D intelligence? Nick wasn’t sure he was following; "He employed you... Right? That's why you're here and you know everything...?" "No I'm not employed. HEY! Jonathan there's a thought!" "I'm not paying you. That's got implications I'd rather not have...!" If Maliyah didn’t catch on, Keller's agent did; "Wait---!! Are you two!?" Nick quickly grasped the situation as he pointed between the two of them. Keller nodded in silent admittance "It wasn't meant to be like that. I had to study her... But they were... It was inhumane Nick. I moved her out here... She's trying to get her ship back in order."   Malyiah shrugged as if that wasn’t the explanation she would give; "I won't know what I'm gonna do until it's fixed. At the moment it's in a high security area back in Utah..." "Yeah, I've seen it. I didn't know there was anyone involved... So you know about the Kree? And Skrulls." Her jaw tightened at the mention of the Kree; "So they DID bring their war here." "I'm not sure it was intentional." she hummed, fingering the pages of the file she was reading for a second "And what happened? Where are they now?" "Gone. Why..." "Gone where!? Like gone, gone!?" Keller looked glad of that, juxtaposing Maliyah’s sudden panic. "She didn't say where she was taking them..." he narrowed his eyes "Whose side are you on!?" Fury wouldn’t risk Carol’s life. Never. "... I'm not really on anyone's side... BUT... I guess I align better with the Skrulls..." She gave a shrug. "... The war isn't my problem. Them siming Keller is my problem. The Kree out here with me here that's ALSO my problem. " " Maliyah..." It was Keller’s warning " I'm not trying to start anything!" she held her hands up and turned back to Nick; "You can't help me, but you know they’re all gone? " " We have a Flerken though... " "I can tell by your eye... " she tilted her head, reading Fury’s own emotions; "What are you afraid of?? Is it him or me?? I'm stronger than you Terrans are but I'm not dangerous... And he's him. But I can understand the wary feeling there... " Nick tried to make it look like he wouldn't be afraid of Keller and he didn't know what she was talking about... And it worked. For around half a second. He took a breath and pointed to his boss; "Prove he isn't one." "He's not. He reacts to me." "Prove you aren't one." "I doubt they can get my empathic abilities spot on... They can probably try, but I doubt that they can get their skin to react exactly the same... It’s a unique pattern... And it's triggered through a DNA reaction. A Skrull would need both, but it can only sim to one set of DNA... " "Hang on... What?! And - WHAT!?" Nick realised he hadn’t listened to her first explanation clearly. She took a breath; "Like this..."  She watched him carefully as she guided years of evolution through her race to latch onto Keller... The feel of him around her was intense enough to let the bright lights flicker over her skin in all his shades. Nick was at least staring at her in wonder.  "That's how you know I'm not one.” "... How does... That work?" She tilted her head "At first instance. For these unique patterns... Intimacy. Real physical intimacy. For anything more than that... For a real connection... Blood. His mixed with mine, mine with his." "That sounds... Painful…” His eyes flicked to Keller again, who was keeping his gaze locked on Maliyah; "Have you..." "No. I wouldn't ask that of him." She didn't like that Nick would insinuate that she would "It is by far a conversation for another time..." Nick at least noticed that Keller look uneasy, which settled him a little. He changed the flow of the conversation again; "Why are you so intent on knowing where they went?" She shook her head "I'm just trying to make sure they don't know about me. And the only way to do that is to check in on their simed memories." "I don't think they are much of a threat to you... Right?" "Huh." Maliyah folded her arms "I'd rather they didn't tie him up and sim him. Guess we'll let that one go too, huh?" He had to crack a smile, she wasn’t human. Obviously, but she was so human. He wondered if that was her upbringing or Keller’s influence; "Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D Agent.” She stood to shake his hand; "Maliyah Saal. Nova Corps. Ravager Captain... Auron by way of Xandar... Pleasure to meet you." She gave him a warm smile, and it was like he instantly got why Keller had been taken in. She seemed strong, she had a sass about her that clearly EVERY extra terrestrial had... But she had an instant warmth... She turned to Keller which made Nick do the same; " I think we could be in the clear... Guess we'll need to keep a check on everything. " "You'd make a good agent. Are you sure we can't hire her!? " "Absolutely not." Keller let him know he thought he must be joking. She laughed, with a wink; "It's okay, Nick. My duty is to the Nova Corps. I leave S.H.I.E.L.D in the capable hands of its Human workers... "

 **

 " I think I've figured it out. " "What? " "The problem with your ship...? " "... At 3am!?" "You’re clearly not sleeping either..." She rolled over to stare at him. He was looking at the ceiling. His glasses were pushed up into his hairline and he was squinting "... No, I really think I've cracked it." "At least I was awake for something that wasn't stupidly thinking about fixing my damn ship." "No... But... I looked at your notes. You've been working on them for two years... I wanted to help... And formulate some for myself. I think I've got it Maliyah. I think I can get you home..." He turned to face her, but the look she gave was one of fear. "Don't you dare say that like I want to leave!" "Maliyah... You know it is dangerous for you to stay here... " He was extraordinarily calm. Like he was already letting her go. It only caused her to shake her head. "NO!" She buried herself in him; digging her nails into the skin of his arms and her head on his chest her colours burst into life and illuminated his darkened room. "Maliyah..." He ran a hand through her hair "... Let me let you go... Earth is not where you belong." She shook her head again; "Look at this..." He took her hand in his free one and lifted her arm, the way the colours danced for him. "Jonathan. I don't belong out there either... I belong with you." "I cannot protect you from your planet..." "Do not ask me to leave. I will not leave you." He was pretty sure she was crying... He gathered her close in his arms. "I'm human.... Maliyah... My race is breakable. It's vulnerable... It’s clear to me we have NO idea what’s really out there... You don't want this..." "Stop telling me what I want. I HAVE what I want." "Anywhere else in the world and I would believe that." "... What about anywhere else in the universe?" "Huh?" She looked at him, sadness in those purple-blue eyes... But something else too. An idea sparking to life: "If you can really help me fix my ship... Come with me. Come back to Xandar with me..." "Mali... I can't just leave..." "WHY!? Everything in your head we could use on Xandar." "Maybe... Maybe one day..." He said it softly "But your planet... If it’s at war.... It needs YOU and until you win; and you will win it my supernova... Until Earth gets a good grip on things out there... You cannot stay. And I cannot go."

** …10 Years Later… Maliyah piloted the Milano very cautiously. She knew the sector of space; just not as well as she would have liked. Kree these days were still running havok. Maybe not too much around Xandar... But things were shaky at best, which is why she was piloting her tiny Milano though this, rather than her Nova Corps star ship. The planet that Keller’s "distress signal" was coming from looked small and harmless. But it was the other side of the galaxy. Keller, even on Earth’s best space day, was not reaching here any time soon.

It made her hesitate. She shouldn't trust it, but what choice did she have? It didn't mean that someone hadn't taken Jonathan here, although that was unlikely it was not impossible. And it wasn't like it was a signal to her ship... Or any communications device. Keller’s very DNA and feelings were sending a direct signal to her. And for nothing in this known universe would she ignore something like that. Entering the planet’s atmosphere she knew exactly why the feeling was of distress. It looked dead. Or at least incinerated. The earth was scorched and there wasn't a trace of greenery or life anywhere. Yet, the feeling persisted. Which meant whatever was giving off Keller’s signal was here. And was very much alive.

 She landed on about the clearest strip of land she could find that the Milano would fit into and took a deep breath. Whatever she was about to face would not be good. She was already suited up for Supernova... Hopefully she wouldn't have to use it. Exiting the Milano she kept her blaster holstered. She wouldn't fire unless fired upon and whoever did that would be making a big mistake.

Pillars of smoke rising from the debris made the perfect cover... She breathed in and out, closing her eyes she focused on what ‘Keller’ was feeling. It wasn't nice for her to feel it, either. She pinpointed a location in a matter of seconds and headed towards it. Only for her to start noticing the purple, everywhere. And it was blood.  She continued through the mess of debris, every so often a body or two would present itself. They're Skrulls. She realised. The bodies were Skrulls. She knitted her eyebrows together. Carol Danvers, who she had met a few times whilst traversing the galaxy, had told her nearly everything to help her piece together what had happened when they were on Earth. She had given them a home, and finished the war. Clearly someone was trying to start it up again... And if this was the planet that Carol had made their haven. The Skrulls were from Earth. Which meant one thing... From what Keller had confessed to her that could mean only one thing... And it was something she didn't even think possible.

 She sprinted to the signal on that notion alone; across the ground that kicked up with every step she took. What had the Kree done here!? Why was he still alive when so many others were not!?! She stopped. Suddenly tense. He was walking toward her. His stance was fighting and she could read those emotions a lot clearer now. Her race and its engineering had failed her. It was confusing Keller’s real DNA with simed DNA from years gone by. Hopefully that wasn't about to cost her her life. Upon recognising him, she took two steps back. She'd made a point of studying Skrulls as soon as Keller had mentioned them. Talos. And he was big news. Huge news. He was a General that ran a whole sector, he was a good leader. He'd simed her life partner. Maliyah held her hands up in an attempt to show she wasn't trouble, as far away from her weapon as possible... "I've come from Xandar. So... I'm not here to destroy you like everything else... Unless you don't care; in which case... You're much more of a threat to me..." He took a step forward, which made her concede another, he was studying her uniform carefully. The eight-point shining yellow star running from her chest down her abdomen, framed by a metallic light blue.  The three-point ‘V’ of the Nova Corps shimmering just behind it, glowing faintly every so often. The rest of the uniform navy. Except the gold stripes up her boots. She thought she should have worn her Nova Corps over-jacket; multicoloured rank ribbons and clearer Corp red star emblazoned sleeves. Too late now, though.

He straightened, seeming satisfied but tilted his head. “Who are you?” She tilted hers in turn; “You should know. The fact that you don’t means he did real good to keep me out of his thoughts…” Or any part of his life. Keller’s desk, his car, his pager, his wallet. If nothing held the slightest trace of her then she owed Jonathan her very life. God, she knew that already. He looked confused, as he rightly should. “My name is Maliyah. Quite a few years ago when you were on Earth you simed a Terran known as Jonathan Richard Keller. Unbeknownst to YOU at the time of doing so I had already formed a connection with his DNA. Now, apparently, because siming creates an exact DNA copy of his - I have got some kind of connection with you.” “…You’re Auron.” She was more than a little surprised that he knew that, it made her smile; “Correct.” “Keller… Fury’s boss? How is he and his beautiful blue eyes.” She raised an eyebrow to a phrase she didn’t expect; “…That’s the man. And he’s well… No thanks to you and his constant reoccurring nightmare…” Every so often Jonathan would still wake up in cold sweats with the word simed coming off his lips – Usually it was drink induced, but telling him to stop drinking was pointless. She smiled, but it faded as she looked around her “…So… About this distress that I felt from half way across the Galaxy and came to investigate because Jonathan should be nowhere NEAR this sector… Human’s still haven’t figured out their space travel, God bless ‘em…” “…Well. It’s pretty obvious isn’t it.” “Yeah… Your distress signal tells me one thing I am grateful for. You need help. It looks like a lot of it. And I am here to offer my services... First off, you need to tell me what happened.” “Why should I trust you.” “You have no reason to, and I have no reason to trust you either – In fact I have LESS reason to trust you considering Keller – But Fury trusts you, and so does Carol. So. Yeah, I trust you. Just put a little faith in me…” His eyes flicked back to the Star emblazoned on her uniform and he nodded to it; "If you are really from Xandar then you know what happened." She swept the landscape with her eyes again "Kree... WHY!? It's over, your wars are over..." "There are those in the outside that think they should just end it." "... Is this planet all that’s left!?" "No... Thank god. There are still some of us back home..." She turned again, not wanting to voice it but feeling like she should know everything; "Are you...?? Did they..." "Not everyone. A few, as a statement. An example. My family... They are..." He looked to the stars for a minute "I don't know where they will have taken them but for now they are alive..." She followed the trace of his eyes "I can track that... I'm sure I can track that." She turned back to him; "Obviously first things first. I can't leave you here." "Oh really." She tilted her head at the sarcasm he was displaying. It wasn’t unlike that of her older brother. She couldn’t help but smile, Perhaps she would have more affinity with him than just Keller… "One, you're alone. Two, whatever this connection to Keller you have is... It won't let me leave "Keller" here. So. You simed the right guy. I guess... " Maliyah half turned back to her ship; but kept her eyes on him. He knew the reason she was putting faith in him was the same reason she was still standing over there looking at him like any moment he might change. Or change form. It looked more like a stand off than a potential team-up. Because Jonathan Keller for him was just a Terran male that worked for S.H.I.E.L.D had all the access codes and clearances he needed and eventually got him to his family. For Maliyah, Talos had inadvertently intervened with something sacred. The very fabric of her race’s evolution. Her relationship with Keller now blurred into him. And without this travesty none of them would be any the wiser. "Does he know?" "Jonathan? No. Why would he? I'm the only one that feels anything... He knows all the intricacies of what I am. Whether he understands them...” She afforded explanation with a shrug "He’s human. After all. About the only race out there not involved in the rest of the universe. And integrating even one of them isn't easy... But you should know that." She gave a small, mysterious smile, “So, congratulations. Siming Keller had consequences that you and I are both stuck with.” Talos folded his arms; for all her talk of helping, he hadn’t seen anything that would actually help them out yet. He decided to test that one; “How do we even get out of here… They’ve destroyed all the technology we had. You are some kind of… Supernova. So…” “Supernova is just the name, Jonathan used it all the time it kinda stuck, And I didn’t get here via the Nova Force...” Yet again Talos surprised her with just how much he knew… She wondered if he’d ever been to Xandar… If he’d ever Simed someone from there. Now was not the time to ask the question. “Then how DID you get here?!” She looked back at her Milano, now at least partially visible through the dust clouds as the sun hit the shiny paintwork, then turned to him with a significant look; “…Are we going to save your family, or not?”

[demenior]

End of the Year Fic Review

Stats:

List of Fics Posted:

Castle of Glass (17823 words) [Gen, non-main character relationships]

Royally Screwed (44222 words) [NSFW, Shiro/Prince Rahjim]

Killer Queen (8994 words) [NSFW, Allura/Shiro/Coran]

Paint a Smile on and Colour Me In (13865 words) [NSFW, Shiro/Prince Rahjim]

The Dog Days (Have Just Begun) (14995 words) [Gen, Shiro/Ulaz]

In Need (2629 words) [NSFW, Shiro/Ulaz]

In Loving Memory (1680 words) [Gen, Shiro/Ulaz]

Endlessly (10128 words) [Gen, Shiro/Ulaz]

A Crisis in Your Eyes (6401 words) [Gen, Shiro/Ulaz]

I'll Find You (11583 words) [Gen, no pairings]

New Born (7084 words) [Gen, no pairings]

Lay To Waste (41303 words) [Gen, no pairings]

Keep Them Galra Rollin (Rawhide) (1377 words) [Gen, no pairings]

Dirty Talk (4596 words) [NSFW, Shiro/Prince Rahjim]

as the lion loves the lamb (3986 words) [Gen, no pairings]

Satisfied (6350 words) [NSFW, Shiro/Ulaz]

Sunset in Reverse (41544 words) [Gen, no pairings]

My Body's Got You Pleading (49007 words) [NSFW, Shiro/Ulaz, Shiro/the entire BoM]

Total number: 18 Total word count: 287567

Ship/character breakdown: Ship breakdown:

Uliro - 7 Fics Shiro/OC - 4 Fics No Ship - 7 Fics Rahjiro - 4 Fics (I’m counting KQ)

Gen vs NSFW Breakdown (for my own curiosity):

Gen - 11 fics NSFW - 7 fics

While I wrote a huge amount of NSFW this year... general/not NSFW won out!

Characters that had the main focus:

is this really a question we need to ask

SPECIFICS:

Best/worst title? Best title:  Lay to Waste or Sunset in Reverse.  L2W is from the Linkin Park song ‘In Pieces’. 

‘there’s truth in your lies / doubt in your faith / what you build you lay to waste’ 

and it’s just such a haunting, mournful and foreboding sentence that it gives me chills. It’s powerful and I love it. Plus, paired with the tagline that was added to Shiro’s character profile (’when you have skeletons in your closet, you hope they stay dead’) it fits the theme of the story, in that everything Shiro knows and believes about himself is beginning to crumble as his past catches up to him. SiR does exactly what the fic intends to do: take something dark and turn it around. It evokes hope. The title is the same as the song by Crash Parallel (a super unknown Canadian band), though the song and the fic aren’t quite thematically similar.

(Special shoutout to Royally Screwed because I was having the time of my life and it’s hilarious)

Worst title:  In Loving Memory or Dirty Talk. They’re boring.

Best/worst first line?

I’m not a big believer in ‘Incredible First Lines’ as I believe you should always start as close to the action as possible, so a lot of my beginnings feel abrupt. That being said, there’s this gem that no one noticed the HUGE joke.

Lay to Waste:  

Hidden away in the recesses of the Kaskada System, deep in the thick jungles of an unoccupied moon, is a glimmer of hope.

[Kaskada...... as in.... Cascada.... as in.... every time we touch]

Best/worst last line?

I’m a firm believer in wham lines to end stories, so I have a lot that were good contenders, but as the lion loves the lamb takes the cake:

The Black Lion calls at his heels, I love you.

Keith wonders how long it will be until it loves him enough to consume him.

I love you for being mine.

GENERAL QUESTIONS:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? Holy shit I’ve never written this much in my LIFE.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? Voltron. Uliro didn’t exist until this year, really. Not to mention the whole Shiro/OC thing. I’ve always purposefully avoided OC’s, and then I went and hooked them up with the main character!! For 100k!!!!!!!! What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. Lay to Waste is me finally continuing the Switch the Beat series, which is my favorite concept I’ve ever created for fandom. I got to expand the world of the series, I got to work with an AMAZING artist (shoutout to @gitwrecked ) and I got to set the series in motion. Lots of scenes in L2W are scenes I’ve been dreaming about writing for months leading up to actually putting them to paper.

as the lion loves the lamb was a WILD ride in playing with a completely different style. I like everything linear, sufficiently explained (almost to the point of beating the dead horse) and as the lion is the exact opposite of that. While most of my ‘horror’ writing is blatant, this fic was an experiment in creating a mood, and I think I did really well by that.

Okay, NOW your most popular story. By kudos: Royally Screwed By comments: My Body’s Got You Pleading Story most underappreciated by the universe? Crisis in Your Eyes for the content- the whole idea of Shiro realizing Ulaz is someone morally repulsive to him, but still being in love with him??? Ahhh, i love it.

or, Endlessly. It’s my only fic outside of the Switch series that features my Galra redesign, and so it’s really grossly self-indulgent. But the redesign is close to my heart, and I think it adds a really interesting angle to Shiro and Ulaz’s relationship to be such starkly different species.  Story that could have been better? New Born. I hammered it out so fast I barely thought, but I think I could have made things a little tighter to be more ambiguous for [the surviving] Shiro AND the reader. Sexiest story? it’s a toss-up between Royally Screwed and My Body’s Got You Pleading. 40k of Shiro getting wrecked by 1 alien with 4 arms, or 40k of Shiro getting wrecked by 15 different Galra?? It’s up to you. Saddest story? I think a lot of my fics are inherently tragic, even if they’re not sad sad. One tearjerker is In Loving Memory, so there’s that. 

I think New Born or A Crisis in Your Eyes are HUGE tragedies on the big scale. One is about a person losing all sense of their place in the world, the other is about being in love with someone you can’t accept, and the story leaves right as Shiro’s entering that moral debate with himself.

Sunset in Reverse isn’t finished yet, but it’s SUPER sad if only because we’re seeing the outcome of a Shiro who wasn’t saved and instead had to endure years of torture and pain. I think it’s empathetic-ly sad, because we feel sad based on how Shiro in this story cannot react to anything in a healthy, ‘normal’ kind of way, and we hurt just imagining how he got that way.

Most fun? ROYALLY SCREWED. Rahjim is such a delight, and the response and feedback were so much fun!!! I’ve never enjoyed writing a fic so much in my LIFE.

To be fair My Body is also a really fun story. Story with single sweetest moment? oh my gooodddd, um, there’s A Lot.

Royally Screwed - The intimate emotional moments between Rahjim and Shiro kill me. Especially at the end, the morning after, when they’re walking around holding hands and enjoying being physically close because it’s contrasted sharply with how just a few hours ago they were complete strangers. That moment when Shiro says ‘i love you’ back to Rahjim :’)

My Body’s Got You Pleading - Ulaz’s Proposal at the end of the fic.

Sunset in Reverse - Chapter 1 where Champion discovers his soft blanket and cries over seeing stars again. It’s kind of bittersweet because he was abused so long that this sort of thing brings him to tears, but he’s just so happily overwhelmed by how soft the blanket is that it’s an image that stays with me.

Dog Days (Have Just Begun) - This exchange:

“Khazav, then,” Ulaz says.

Shiro mumbles the name. It sounds nice.

“Is that a boy or girl name?” he asks, keeping his eyes closed.

“Why do humans gender everything?” Ulaz responds, and Shiro shrugs weakly.

“It’s neither,” Ulaz offers, after a moment.

“Then it’s a girl's name,” Shiro decides, and he’s practically asleep so he’s beyond incoherent when he mumbles, “looks like we have a baby girl.”

Hardest story to write? as the lion, is only because it was different. but it came out pretty smoothly. i keep hitting motivation blocks for Killer Queen. Sunset in Reverse is one I find difficult to write, only because it requires so many rewrites and edits to make sure each chapter is up to standard.

Easiest/most fun story to write? Royally Screwed. It flowed out of me. Rahjim and Shiro’s journey was a delight to the point it almost felt obsessive. I just loved having the two of them joking around, laughing and then feeling good too. It was absolute indulgence for me and I just wrote exactly what I wanted Shiro to go through in order to eventually open up and trust someone, and I got to have fun creating a guy like Rahjim who could encourage that openness in Shiro.

[My Body was fun for similar reasons. I love Shiro sleeping w Lorge Aliens, so it was all pure self indulgence]

Lay to Waste was incredibly easy too, as I had 80% of the fic outlined and written in my head by the time I started writing. L2W was written in just under 2 weeks. 

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? A Crisis In Your Eyes was really fun to explore Ulaz as a character.

I’ll Find You was the first time I’ve really gotten into Pidge’s head, which was an experience after spending so long writing Shiro. 

Most overdue story? Killer Queen.... it’s a smut story and they haven’t even had sex yet.....

Also Paint a Smile On, as it’s a prompt fic from when I hit 700. I’ve only filled one.... and I’m so embarrassed... 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I started writing NSFW fics this year!!! As in, nsfw for sex. As a reader, I’ve always enjoyed my smut fics, but never thought I’d write them cause I thought I had nothing to add to the collection of smut fics. Apparently I was wrong, haha.

Not to mention I wrote several OC-heavy stories this year. I came into fandom during the Mary Sue Witch Hunts, and defs internalized that main-character-OC’s Are Bad, and that you NEVER, EVER pair an OC w a main character. I broke both of those rules this year, and I’ve never had such amazing responses!

Rahjim is by and above a breakout character for my writing. He has fans, fanart, and may possibly start showing up in fics that I myself am not writing!!!

Stylistically: like I said before, as the lion loves the lamb was a big style experiment. Sunset in Reverse is also very different because it’s very much NOT action focused, as most of my stories are. It’s what’s happening after the action.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Less 50k monsters. More short fics. Catch up on all the prompts I said I’d do.

Overall I’d be happy writing the same amount, but I want to clip through my stories faster. I feel like I drag out a lot of my ideas, which is how I plan a 5k story and end up with 50k. I’m still working on finding the happy medium so I can tell all the stories I want to tell, with less strain on me. Half of my fics this year were over 10k, which has resulted in a LOT of wips on the go. I don’t like that.

I’ve got a few deadline events right off the bat at the end of february, and then I want to get another Switch series story out. Or maybe 2. 

Tagging:

@queenvallkyrie @krakendra @sassafrassrex uuuhhhhhh any other fic writers out there who wanna do this!!!!

[ranciddiva]

Oc bio for Thorn (She was made in 4th grade so somethings might be cringy)

Full name: Thorn Abyss Demonicus

Pronunciation: Dee mon I cuss

Meaning of Name: Thorn Abyss (Grandmother’s name) Demonicus

Hero/Villain Name: Lady Thorn

Aliases: Juliet Kingsworth

Nationality: French

Affiliation: ex criminal, now stay at home mom

Birthday and Astrology Sign: May 4th/ Taurus

Age: 13.9 billion years

How old do they look: 28-30

Mental Age: 47

Gender: Female

Orientation/Sexuality Preference: Lesbian

Birth date: May 4th 

Birth place: The Heavens

Death date: April 14 20XX

Death place: The Deminikai Manor

Appearance:

Eye color: Crimson Red

Eye shape: Deep set

Do they wear contacts or glasses?: n/a

Hair: Used to be long dark chocolate brown. Now shoulder length and dark chocolate brown

Height: 5’ 7

Weight: 115 labs

Body build: Lean

Body shape: Hourglass 

Complexion: Fair

Cup size: 32dd

Blood Type: o-

Handedness: Right

Hand type: Long fingers

Nails: Average length, usually painted red or black

Movement: Swift, elegant

How do they walk: Elegantly

Posture: Good

Flexibility: Very good

Voice: Professional, reassuring

Scars: Large thin battle scar on back

Birthmarks: small diamond on right shoulder  

Piercings: usually black studs

Tattoos: upper left thigh “Jusqu'à ce que la mort nous sépare” in cursive

General face structure:  Slim

Defining physical traits: piercing eyes

Statistics:

Power: ★★☆☆ C     

Speed: ★★★★★ B     

Technique: ★★★★★ B  

Intelligence: ★★★★★ A     

Cooperativeness: ★★★★☆ D

Extra Explanation: Trained for hundreds of years learning everything she could about...well...everything. Her explanation was to be prepared for anything so she could never get hurt again.

Clothing:

Casual outfit: Pink-grey blouse with mom jeans

Preferred outfit: Anything stylish sexy in black or something she can do chores in

Hero/Villain costume: semi shiny Peacoat, thigh high black boots, dagger attached to thigh

Equipment / Support Items: Long silver sword with ruby accents

Characteristics:

Personality: Nurturing, calm, a bit two faced, caring

Alignment:  Lawful neutral 

Big Five personality traits: Cool, clever, nurturing, intelligent

Enneagram: The reformer

Most prominent personality trait: Cleverness 

Best traits: Bravery, the ability to look death in the eyes and laugh

Worst traits: Committed treason on several occasions, cruel

Likes: Gowns, dancing on balconies, Paris at sunrise, running on buildings, car chases

Dislikes: Bland clothing, traffic laws

Quirks: Bird mom, protective

Fear: Losing everything again

Hobbies: Kitting, gardening, running 

Skills/Talents: master Sword Fighter, master driver, having amazing stamina, agility

Strengths: Slow opponents, fighting in open areas

Weaknesses: Her past, mention of her treason, her family

Reason to keep on living: Her new, accepting family

What is their self-image like: It can be summed up in one quote “I used to be one of France’s most feared criminals, now I’m in mom jeans, folding My little pony lingerie” 

Any religious or spiritual faith: Not religious but celebrates most holidays

How does this faith / lack of affect them: No

Coping mechanisms: Driving at night

Any life motto or quote they live by: “Don’t let your daddy issues hold you back babe”

Favorite things: Midnight slow dances, black roses

Health:

Physical: Very good!

Mental: Daddy issues, entire family issues, she’s messed UP

Emotional Stability: Flimsy

If faced with crisis, what is their go-to: Fight and Flee, depends

Nutrition: An apple a day keeps impending doom away

Habits: Pacing

Family History: In god form, her feathered wings are white instead of black. Thorn’s parents and sister had black wings.

History, Background, and Future:

0-400: Pouty, whiny child.

500-8,000: Shy, still pouty

9,000-110,000: Shy, a bit kinder

120,000-1400,00: Sweet, ambivert

15,000,000-Present: Two faced, cruel, uncaring, kind, considerate, nurturing

Did they like their upbringing: Yes

How has their upbringing shape them: Adulthood gave her more freedom so she could save her mother

What did they enjoy most about their childhood?: Playing in the rose garden, reading and learning

What did they hate most about their childhood?: Her mother’s imprisonment and her father’s betrayal/disappearance 

Current Dream: Raise her adopted children

Long-term goals for Future: Get married and live out her life peacefully

Home:

Home Life as a Kid: Slightly neglected 

Home Life Now: Supported by her girlfriend and her friends

Quick Family background:

Any Friends: LD, Evelyn, Iris, etc

Any Family: Sister: Genesis, Mother: Zia, Father: Endorr

Relationships:

Thorn X LD

  Status: Best friend, partner

  How well they get along: Very well

  What LD thinks of her: Would end the entire universe to be with Thorn

  What she thinks of LD: Would go through all the horrible things again just to be with LD

  What LD calls her: Thorny corny, baby, babe, significant other

  What she calls LD: Idiot, darling, dear, significant other, love

https://izukulove.tumblr.com/ thank you for making such a cool template!

[desperatelyseekingroleplay]

general hey all! i’m wren and i’m a 23 y/o grad student in the est time zone. i’ve been rping for over 10 years and am looking for some cool new people to plot and rp with. i’m usually bopping around on social media and love talking to my partners, whether it’s getting to know them or just plotting future events for our characters.

i’m also very ditch-friendly! if you’re tired of me or our rp, totally just ghost me, i’ll get the hint. no need to get all anxious over breaking up with a partner. it’s rping, it’s all chill. if you’re able to, giving me a head’s up that you’re not feeling the rp would be great though! i will absolutely return the courtesy if i’m not feeling it anymore either.

as a quick side note, i will only rp with people over the age of 18, and have a preference for partners over the age of 20! i just feel more comfortable when my partner is around the same age as me.

posts and characters i only write in third person past tense and would prefer for my partner to do the same. i’m very flexible with post lengths, but i tend to be on the wordy side. i’d love it if you could provide four or five paragraphs per post on average, though i absolutely value quality over quantity so post length isn’t a huge concern of mine as long as there’s something to reply to! longer posts are wonderful as well, and i have no issue waxing lengthy posts if that is your preference.

i generally reply at least once a day or once every other day, but even if i’m tied up with work and not able to reply consistently, i’ll absolutely be available to chat. i’ll let you know when i’m busy and love to shoot plot ideas back and forth even when i can’t put aside a chunk of time to reply.

characters! i love playing multiple characters, but having a singular main character is great too. i prefer playing OCs but can also do canons, which i’ll talk about more below. i have no preference about what sort of character you’re playing, that’s your decision! i like to develop new characters for each rp i do, but feel free to bring in old characters if that’s what you want! i like characters that are complex and interesting and not ultra-powerful people – or if they are, you’re able to explore the emotional repercussions of it. if you’re looking for a specific sort of character to play yours against, give me some guidelines before i whip up an OC and i’ll be happy to make someone that fits your needs. i adore creating characters, and like making side or background characters that pass through or come in and out of the plot.

i like creating characters before the plot, rather than the other way around. i have a huge preference for character-driven plots – putting our characters in a setting, and then letting their specific quirks and motivations lead where the rp goes next.

i also can provide rp samples if you’d like to see my writing before we rp!

genres; love and sex so first let me prattle off some original character genres that i love! i will list fandoms later.

• adventure; anything with a band of people coming together and forming a found family, traveling together on the way to a goal with obstacles thrown in their way • fantasy; i adore fantasy, whether it’s magical realism or all out medieval fantasy. world-building is one of my favorite things. sci-fi is great too, but i’m not great when things get too tech-y haha • paranormal/mythical creatures; sort of goes with the fantasy, but i’m always down to rp different species in any sort of setting • fairy tales; i love taking old fairy tales or stories and giving them a unique twist, whether it’s making them #gritty or just tossing them in a different sort of setting • superheroes; people with superpowers using it for good or evil and coming together yesss • romance; romance is great and i’ll discuss that below, but i prefer this to be like a sub-genre • AUs; i love taking a fandom and making it an alternate timeline or AUing it completely. also once we have characters and a rp established, i love love love talking about AUs for our characters. i will AU everything, there is no AU too AUish for me

those are just my favorites so feel free to suggest others, but i will not do slice of life. i just find myself bogged down when there’s not a defined plot, and it doesn’t keep my interest. i also love these things if you’d be interested in tossing any of them in the rp:

• mages • shapeshifters • daemons [like from his dark materials] • people with horns or wings • pirates • dragons

pairings what up what up. i love rps with a dash of romance, whether our characters come in as an awesome couple battle duo, or two dorks realizing they’re developing a crush on each other. either way, i don’t like characters who are not in a relationship immediately getting together – i’m all about the bonding and character development. i do not like rping cishet m/f pairings. bi girl and bi dude falling in love is great. trans man and trans woman falling in love is great. ace woman and a masculine nb person falling in love is great. any other type of lgbtqia+ pairing is great. if you have a general preference for m// or f// just let me know!

i also love anything unconventional, from happy polyamorous couples to obsessive unrequited pining. love triangles are great, conflict is great, anything to keep the relationship fresh and interesting without verging into the realm of over-dramatic. if you’re looking for someone to rp a dark and unhealthy romance with, i am your person. also if you want to rp cute poly couples, i am also that person.

i do not understand doubling. i thought it meant we just play multiple characters (which i love), not that we’re explicitly playing the other person’s LI. i’d rather us just play characters and then see who has chemistry.

for fandoms, i’ll do canon/canon and OC/OC but not canon/OC!

smut smut is totally rad, as long as it’s not the sole focus of the rp. i like the smut to add something to the character, the characters’ relationship, or the plot in addition to just being for porn’s sake. cute smut is great. dark smut is great. getting to do both is even better. i do have a handful of smut-based limits including things like water sports, pedophilia, vore – if you want a complete list just ask when you contact me. themes i would enjoy exploring typically depend on the character and what my partner’s limits are.

limits i don’t have any limits besides the aforementioned smut limits. besides that, i love violence, gore, and swearing. i like exploring dark themes when the rp calls for it. i do not like rping with people who treat trauma, abuse, and psychopathy as personal traits or try to make things obnoxiously dark and gritty. but otherwise everything’s pretty much on the table! if you have any limits please let me know – i have no problem not swearing or avoiding certain topics or fading to black if that is your preference.

fandoms i love many fandoms so if you’re itching for something just ask me about it. the only thing i don’t know squat about is pretty much all anime/manga. except naruto.

but here are the fandoms i do know stuff about and would love to rp! stars denote preference.

dragon age [origins; da2; inquisition] ✩✩✩ dragon age is my favorite thing in the world and i would love someone to rp it with. i have a preference for OCs though would also be up to rping canon characters. rping an OC MC with OC companions is my jam, though i also like exploring what the rest of the world is up to while the main plot is going on. also any AU of dragon age is great – inquisition in a modern setting, kirkwall with a sci-fi twist; universe diverging where the bad guy wins and stuff like that.

pokemon [any gen] ✩✩✩ i am always down for a pokemon rp you have no ideaaa. however i really like my pokemon rps more serious. i like exploring aspects of the pokemon world outside of just being a trainer and getting badges. i like to rp pokemon like they’re intelligent animals, meaning that wild pokemon aren’t so easily tamed and pokemon can get hurt. i’m also so down for crossbreeds/fusions. i have a wide variety plot ideas in mind for pokemon and would love to hear yours!

kingdom hearts [any game] ✩✩ i’ve been on this wild kh binge lately, to ease the ache in my heart that kh3 will probably come out in like 2020. i would love to play OCs or underdeveloped side characters, but i’m all up for canons too. i’ve played all of the games except DDD which i’m working on now. i’d love something in the bbs era, but honestly anything is great. exploring nobodies successfully turned into ansem-heart-holders, the new keyblade warriors to defeat ansem (this guy gets around), or kh1&2 characters during the bbs time is all great. for canon characters sora, aqua, ventus, marluxia, and larxene are the ones i’ve played the most but i’m always looking to branch out.

fallout [any game] ✩ would love to do OCs for this, and admittedly something in the commonwealth would be rad because i’ve played 4 most recently. brotherhood of steel is always great, anything with them is awesome. also stuff with synths that involves questioning what it means to be human and have faith in your own identity/memories w/e w/e would be cool.

final fantasy [IV, VII, VIII, crisis core, advent children, dissidia] ✩ i have this random love for IV, but honestly i am total VII trash. there’s a remake coming out so i’m going to pretend i’m justified.

harry potter [no cursed child] OCs would be great because who doesn’t love a harry potter AU. i honestly don’t have a huge interest in canon characters for this one, unless it’s set in the future.

once upon a time love the concept, hate the execution. would love something that just uses this plot, or we can do some universe diverging.

marvel cinematic universe the mcu is great but i don’t have a lot of ideas for this one – if you’ve got a plot idea you’re itching to do that doesn’t hinge on excessive knowledge of the comic material, lay it on me.

medium i have a super strong preference for rping over email or google docs, and reserving forms of IM for separate chatting and plotting. i can be flexible if you’re super gung-ho about rping over skype or something, but generally i like to keep my posts in a place where they’re all together and i can easily reference them. i have google hangouts and skype for chatting, and can get aim or msn for the dinosaurs who still use that (jk jk). i’m also open to making a joint tumblr blog that we both post our posts on, which i did not know was a thing until very recently!

contact if you’re interested please shoot me a mail at wingsofaren@gmail.com! from there we can talk about chatting else where and stuff.