#me scrolling through my playlists looking for songs to write little snippets too

[lonelym00n]

GUYS GUYS GUYS

sam x r (who’s younger and part of tara’s friend group) with the song fucking young/perfect by tyler the creator

—> there’s obvious tension between them from the day they meet

—> r is super flirty with sam who just like pretends to be unbothered by it

—> eventually things build up and BOOM, one thing leads to another and theyre having a heated makeout sesh in the kitchen

—> feelings get involved from there + they sneak around behind the group’s back

—> sam gets guilty after almost being caught so she breaks things off

—> says she’s too damaged and not the one for r, r deserves someone the same age who has their shit together

—> r tells sam its clear theyre meant to be and that sam’s just scared

—> they stop seeing each other even though they both want so badly to be together

—> r keeps showing sam how much she loves her (comes over and cooks meals when sam has a double shift + other cutesy stuff)

—> sam still holds herself back

—> eventually tara (who has known about the relationship the whole time) talks some sense into sam and tells her to go for it

—> yay!! happy ending <3

[dayseternal-blog]

If you ever finish answering all of yours awaiting asks...

45 questions for you 👀

https://myaekingheart.tumblr.com/post/650107314353897472/fic-writer-ask-game

Lolllll BADLUCKBREBIS, you are so funny.

Inspiration and Reading Asks:

1. How long ago did you start reading fanfiction? Writing fanfiction?

It looks like I started writing in 2017. I've been reflecting recently on how there are so many regularly active writers now compared to in 2017-2018. It was the tail-end of some of my fave writer's activity within fandom. Utsus was posting less and less. The Tumblr NaruHina fandom seemed to disappear, a whole community of writers left for other things (matchaball, nekomamoru, magmawrites, cherryjutsu, spyder-m, tenney-shoes, eliphya, among others). 2018 was a very quiet year, but! I avidly read katarinahime and bunnyhoodlum's works! In 2019, quirrrky restarted things with NaruHina Week!

2. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

Recently I’m primarily a reader!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because there's so many writers now!!!!!!!!

3. Are there any fics that inspired you to write what you do?

Yeah, let’s list them.  “A Special Friend” by agitosgirl inspired “Nightdreams.  “Medicine” by @grimmjowkurosakidrake​ inspired “White Lilies.  “Torch Song” by @mmmbuttery inspired “About You.”  The language in “Unless the World Were to End” by @bunny-hoodlum​ inspired the language in “That was the plan.”  “In Between Drinks” by @peppercornpress inspired “In Between Drinks NH.”

4. Link your three favorite fics right now.

“Operation: Bring Home Naruto” by Dragonwannabe - Rated T, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata's been assigned the mission of getting Naruto back home safely after his last dangerous assignment. But can she handle the undercover identity as his girlfriend that she’d been given without revealing her true feelings for him?

“The Mission” by Lunawraythe - Rated M, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. It wasn't that Hinata never expected to work with Naruto, just never on a mission quite like this.

“The Loving Type” by @peppercornpresses - Rated M, Canon-Divergent, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. A few years have passed since the Fourth Shinobi War, in which...Rookie Nine steadily advances in rank. Naruto gets engaged. Hinata leaves Konoha. And Kakashi schemes for days.

5. What are your fanfic pet peeves? Do they have a huge effect on whether or not you decide to read something?

ahhh.  I do have quite a few pet peeves.  If the fic is Canon-Compliant or Canon-Divergent, I expect Naruto and Hinata to behave like Japanese people.  Say what you want, but the Naruto Universe is definitely Japanese in my book.  So that means no shoes in the house.  Nothing rattles me more than reading Hinata taking her sandals off before climbing into bed.  Like, what?  she was wearing her outdoor shoes indoors this whole time??

mmm... another pet peeve is when the writer describes Hinata in a kimono, but it sounds like an American Halloween costume, like the slutty version, instead of an actual kimono.

mmm... and the other big pet peeve I have is when it’s Hinata’s first time eating ramen because Naruto is showing her the wonders of ramen.  lol.  why.  how.  in what world would a Japanese person make it to their teenage years without ever eating ramen.

I have a bunch of other little pet peeves regarding Japanese culture in fanfics.  But in general, it doesn’t stop me from reading the fic if I'm already in the middle of it.  I’ll continue reading it and will probably recommend it to other people anyway. If I can tell based on the summary, then it's not for me, and I don't read it. If this makes anyone feel nervous about writing fanfiction, that's not my intention! I would also be happy to be a sensitivity reader if necessary.

6. How do you find new fic to read? Where do you primarily read fanfiction?

I primarily read fanfics on AO3 and ffnet.  I find new ones by constantly checking the Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto tag on AO3 or looking into a writer’s favorites list on ffnet.

7. Do you prefer to read short fics or long fics?

Short fics.

8. How often do you reblog/comment on fics that you like?

I reblog pretty often. I don't comment as often as I used to😕 I used to comment on every fic I liked.

9. Tag 3 fic writers you think are underrated/unknown in the fandom/fanfiction community.

Uhh?? Idk. I think recently the writing group here is pretty tight, everyone seems to know everyone.

10. What’s your favorite fandom, pairing, or character to read fic for?

Naruto fandom and NaruHina.

Fanfiction Writing Asks:

11. How do you come up with your fic titles?

I usually take it from words used in the story or from the prompt.

12. Tell the author your favorite fic title of theirs (not the fic, strictly title). Author: what’s your favorite title you’ve come up with and why?

I think...maybe "Tell Me of Forevers" or "Nightdreams." I like those because they aren't taken word-for-word directly from the story, but touch on a theme in the story.

13. Do you outline your fics? How much of a headache would someone get if they just looked at an outline of yours without reading the fic?

Yes, I outline. They wouldn't get a headache, I think. It's usually just a summary.

14. Do you have a personal word minimum that you hold yourself too? Why or why not?

Nope. I didn't know people do that.

15. Tell the author your favorite fic of theirs. What’s your (the author’s) favorite fic you’ve written?

My favorite fic continues to be "It's No Secret."

16. Do you research for your fics? If so, how deep of a rabbit hole have you gone down by accident when researching?

Yes, I do. I've done historical and folktale research for "Little Samurai." I did area/location research for "Last Chance." I did historical research for "About You." I did fairy tale research for "Catskin." I did a ton of astronomy research for "The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl." And I did lighting research for "Inspo." I go pretty deep.

17. How obsessively do you sit and stare at your fic after you’ve just posted and wait for feedback?

I don't. I usually have something else I need to do or I go to bed.

18. Do you have a WIP that you keep telling yourself you’ll eventually get back to, but deep down you know that’s probably a lie?

I actually think I can finish all of mine if I just try.

19. Do you edit your fics after you write them, or do you prefer to just hit post and run (because it’s someone else’s problem now)?

I always edit before posting to AO3. Anything I post directly on Tumblr might not be edited.

20. What’s your favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Posting!

21. What’s your least favorite part about the fanfiction writing process?

Starting a new chapter.

22. Do you take fic requests? If so, for what characters and why?

On occasion. If someone sends me a request, I'll think about writing it. Sometimes I do write and post it, sometimes I leave them in my drafts for a better day.

23. What’s your absolute favorite trope to write?

From what I already have posted, probably friends-to-lovers, secret relationship/forbidden love, or high school au. I don't think I have an intentional favorite.

24. What’s a trope that you’d like to never hear about as long as you live, let alone write?

Public humiliation / public degradation.

25. Do you listen to music as you write? If possible, link your writing playlist.

No, not usually.

26. What’s your biggest distraction when writing?

Tumblr feed, all the pictures to scroll through mindlessly.

27. Do you like to give your readers some warning of what might be coming or just slap them in the face with content at random?

lol, whatever is fine.

28. How do you deal with writing pressure (ie: pressure to update, negative comments, deadlines, etc)?

Well, pressure to update is not a big deal to me. I do this for fun, so I don't think I unnecessarily pressure myself too much. With negative comments, I don't get too many of those, and I think I do my best to avoid situations where I might get negative feedback.

29. Have you ever written for an exchange or event of some kind? Which one(s)? Did you enjoy it?

Yeah, I like the events. My favorite was NH2020, the year-long one last year. I also enjoyed the Secret Santa last year since @badluckbrebis was my giftee.

30. Post a snippet from your current WIP without context - no more than 300 words.

haha😈

Ecstasy slides through his veins, blooming over his mind, cocooning him in pleasant sensations, cum shooting out in eager twitches against hot, milking flesh.

31. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

Naruto Uzumaki, always.

32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you’ve ever written. What fics do they come from?

Top 3 faves in order:

That was the plan: "She shifts in his arms, and cloth and cleavage come pillowing up to his face, and he’s certain that she’s scooped from the same puffy stuff his adolescent daydreams were made of."

Tell Me of Forevers: "What he wouldn’t do to inspire every blush, every smile of hers for an eternity when such moments already only speak “forever” to him."

White Lilies: "Whether at his feet, in his eyes, ears, mind, if not reaching his heart, she never landed anywhere. (It’s okay.)"

I consider "White Lilies" to have my technically best writing, so it was kind of hard to choose just one line from that fic! But I decided that one's my favorite line from the whole story.

33. What do you like writing better: one shots or multi-chapter stuff?

One-shots.

34. How much of yourself and your life experiences do you put into your writing? What do you think your readers’ image of you is?

A lot of my life experiences are in my writing. Hmm, I think readers probably think I'm...hmm...either empathetic or really perverted?

35. How much has writing fic changed your life?

I spend a lot less time on real-life social media than before.

36. Are there any fics or fandoms you’re embarrassed to have written or been part of?

I'm kind of embarrassed of "Honeymoon at the Hot Springs" lol. It's fine.

37. Give an update on your current WIP - if you don’t have one, give a sneak peek to a title or idea that you have and would like to write.

My current WIP is that A/B/O fic I started for February Smut Month Prompts: Sweet as Candy or Love Bites. I'm going to title it "Sweet As," and it'll be about how Naruto and Hinata become Alpha/Omega mates. It's really kinky, really smutty, and totally what I would want to read.

38. What does your writing process look like? How chaotic is it on a scale of 1 (very tame) to 10 (you can’t handle this kind of chaos)?

uhh???? a 1?? I've never once thought of my writing process as chaotic. Ahh, then I think of bunnyhoodlum's multiple drafts for the same chapter, and I realize that there exist types of writing processes that I would not be able to handle...

39. What’s something about your writing that you pride yourself on?

My smut.

40. How did you come up with the idea for [x fic]?

41. What’s your most popular fic (with the most notes on tumblr, most hits/kudos on ao3)?

Idk about Tumblr,,, maybe White Lilies got the most attention here. My most popular fic is Nightdreams on AO3.

42. Asker: pick three of the author’s works. Author: rank them 1 (the best) - 3 (the worst) based on whatever criteria you want - this could be something totally random that isn’t quality related (like simply ranking fics based on how many trains appear in them) - have fun!

43. Talk about a positive experience with fanfiction or the fanfiction community that you will always remember.

I will always remember how people congratulated me for finishing White Lilies😭 Also, when peppercornpresses made that FIRST art of my story, I just, I just stared at it all day.

44. Rant about something writing related.

hmmm, I don't feel like ranting about anything. I just recently ranted about my pet peeves above.

45. Fic specific questions - if you have any weird questions about specific works, here’s your shot to ask them!

I did them all! Nice questions.

[let-it-raines]

what about my favorite trope of person a saying “i never went to prom” and then person b dancing with them to make up for it??? thanks a million you’re the best ❤️

Been going through my prompts lately because I know I’m woefully behind on writing them for you guys, so I hope you enjoy this very little snippet. 

On ao3 | here | if that’s how you like to read!

-/-

She’s beautiful.

After so much time, Killian assumed he would grow used to the way his heart beats when he looks at her, his love. He assumed that seeing her smile, seeing her tuck her golden hair behind her ear, seeing her laugh, seeing her do all the little things he loves about her would grow old. They wouldn’t make his heart race or his chest ache. It would all grow normal and be just another day in his life.

Some days it’s like that. Killian won’t lie.

Some days he wakes up, and he’s too tired to do more than tell her good morning or to look at her and nod in acknowledgement. Some days she (or he) picks a fight over what to have for dinner or the color of the new couch. Some days he wants to sleep in another bed to keep from having to feel her moving when she’s restless and keeps them both up all night with her movement.

Most days, however, he takes the time to look at Emma, to talk to her, to be intimate with her in a myriad of ways, to simply be with her and appreciate how beautiful she is, body and soul.

They are not each other’s first loves, not the second either, and while they had good, wonderful, lovely moments in their past relationships, there is a reason they are not with those people anymore. There is a reason he gets to stand with his hand on Emma’s back as they watch Henry very awkwardly get into Killian’s car with Ava in the passenger’s seat.

“Are you worried he’s going to crash your car?” Emma asks him. She leans into his side until her head rests on his shoulder, and he wraps his arm further around her, pulling her closer and tucking his finger into the belt loop of her jeans. Killian leans over and gently presses his lips to her temple.

“He’s a responsible kid. I don’t think I should be worried.”

“He’s a seventeen-year-old boy going to prom with the girl he likes, and it looks like his arms can’t stop shaking. I’m not worried about him drinking tonight. I’m worried about how nervous he is and that he’s accidentally going to drive your car into a tree because Ava decides to hold his hand or something.”

“Bloody hell, love, why would you mention that?”

Emma pulls away from him and shrugs her shoulders, her eyes glistening in the sunlight. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen such a beautiful color green. “You’re a good man, Killian Jones. A stupid man, but a good man.”

“I’m obviously trying to win points with the lad.”

“You’ve known him since he was ten and have been living with him since he was fourteen. I think you’ve won enough points.”

“I’m still trying to make up for that time he came home from Avery’s early and saw us…”

“Okay,” Emma hums, patting Killian’s chest until he quiets. “Let’s go get dinner and go home. We have a night without a teenager, so, you know, we can get really spicy and go to bed early.”

“Scandalous, Swan,” he whispers, kissing her temple once more.

They get takeout from their favorite Italian place and eat it standing at the kitchen counter with the washing machine running and the timed vacuum running around them. He bloody hates that thing and the way it’ll get tangled up in lamp cords and phone charged, but if it keeps his cleaning time down, he guesses he’s okay with it.

…if it stops hitting against his ankle. Henry gave it to him for Christmas after Killian complained about their old, standing vacuum, and he tries to be appreciative even when he thinks it’d be more effective to get one of the new Dysons.

Killian moves away from the vacuum and looks to Emma, who is staring at her phone like she has been all night. “Love, stop refreshing your feed looking for pictures.”

“I am not doing that,” Emma lies even as she taps her phone that is very obviously on Instagram.

“You definitely are.”

“I’m checking to see if he’s crashed your car.”

Killian sighs and walks around the counter to Emma, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing his lips along her jaw and her neck, breathing in the flowers of Emma’s perfume and the taste of her skin. He glances over her shoulder and watches her feed scroll by. It’s full of cooking videos – Emma definitely does not cook, so that’s an interesting discovery – and pictures of their friends, but there are a few prom pictures sneaking in.

“These dresses are so different than when I was a teenager,” Emma tells him.

“What was that? Fifty years ago.”

“Shut up,” Emma scoffs, patting his hand against her stomach. “I’m only thirty-four, and you, mister, have no room to talk about me being old.”

Killian hums and tightens his grip on her stomach as the stupid vacuum whirs by, nearly hitting them. “What was your dress like, my love?”

“I didn’t go to prom.”

“No?”

“I mean, no. I got pregnant at sixteen, and had already dropped out of school to be with Neal. They don’t exactly have prom for pregnant teenagers in jail. I’m not sure if I would have gone had my life been different anyhow.”

Sometimes he forgets Emma’s past and how awful it was when he gets to listen to that beautiful laugh or see that beautiful smile, but just like with him, there’s darkness buried beneath the laughter. He likes to think it diminishes a little more every day as the past is left further behind.

Out of the bad came good, and though Killian knows Emma wouldn’t trade Henry for the world, he does know she wishes her childhood could have gone differently.

She wishes she could have gotten a childhood, for one.

Killian reaches over and grabs Emma’s phone, tapping out of Instagram and hitting her Spotify.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to remember what songs were popular seventeen years ago.”

“Why?”

“Don’t question it.” Killian chuckles when he finds an early 2000’s playlist and presses play on Shakira’s ‘Hips Don’t Lie.’ It’s the exact opposite of the song he was looking for, but he thinks it’ll work. “May I have this dance?”

Emma raises her brow. “You want to dance to this?”

He pulls back and pulls her off the kitchen stool, taking her hand in his and resting his prosthetic on her lower back as her free hand wraps around his neck. “This definitely would have been played at your prom, so yes.”

“I don’t think a soul would have been slow dancing to this.”

“No, I think not, but we make the rules here.”

“Oh?”

“Most definitely. This is our house.” He spins her around, Emma giggling and rolling her eyes all at once, and then continues to shuffle them around the room. He learned to dance in a rather unfortunate boarding school when he was a lad, and while he never had any kind of dance as a teenager, he did have Naval balls. They were not his taste, but they were nice before he’d lost his love for Her Majesty’s Navy and lost his hand. Milah had always loved them, though, so he holds onto their memories like he’ll hold onto this one. “I’m sorry you never got your prom, Emma.”

She settles a little closer to him, their movements completely contradicting the words blaring from Emma’s phone. “There are a lot of things I’d change about that time in my life, but for all of the shit, I got Henry. I couldn’t regret him for a second once I got to keep him with me, and now he gets everything I never could have had. I don’t know…I screwed up a lot, I was screwed over a lot, but I feel like I’m making the world a better place with him.”

“You are,” Killian promises, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. “If I may selfishly say, you and Henry have made my world infinitely better, so at the very least, there’s that.”

“You don’t need to win points with him, Killian. He loves you. He may not say it often, but he does. I love you, too”

“I know,” Killian sighs. “I know. And I the both of you.”

The song ends and another one begins, and while the music ebbs and flows to different tunes and paces, he and Emma keep dancing. Sometimes it’s slow, sometimes fast, but it’s a damn good time.

And he decides that his heart is never going to settle when he sees Emma, no matter how much time passes. There was never any guarantee that either of them would get to this place, but they’re here. He won’t take that for granted.

After a lifetime of searching, he’s found his home in her arms.

“Hey,” Emma says, tapping his cheek with her finger and breaking into a wide smile, “you want to finish prom night off by getting drunk and sleeping together? To make it a full cliché.”

“I definitely want to do one of those things,” Killian teases as his lips ghost over Emma’s. “I’ll let you guess which one.”

[clumsyclifford]

“pull over, let me drive for a while” w malum if it strikes u :))

omg malum!!! i have missed them!!!! also your love your friends die laughing fic inspired me to write young boys malum so here they are

read on ao3

-

The concert is worth it, Michael keeps saying. Worth a three-hour drive each way. Calum likes All Time Low, but three hours is a long way to drive.

“It’s not even that long,” Michael insists. “It’ll be over before you know it. We’ll just listen to music the whole way and you won’t even notice.”

“But you’ll notice,” Calum says. “You’ll be driving.”

“I love driving,” Michael says dismissively.

“Really? Driving three hours after being at a concert for probably three hours, after having driven for another three hours?”

“Calum, this is the only opportunity we’ll have to see them,” Michael says. “They’re only doing one date in Oz. So if you don’t want to see them, then fine, but I do. If you don’t want to come then I’ll just ask Luke.”

“No,” Calum says quickly. “I want to come. I’m just making sure you’ve thought this through.”

“I’ve already talked about with my mum and she said it’s fine as long as we come straight back. Please, Cal?” Michael pouts a little, as if he thinks he needs to keep persuading Calum. If Calum hadn’t been on board straight out the gate, he’d have been convinced from “All Time Low concert” onward. “I don’t want to take Luke.”

“You’re going to have to spend time alone with him eventually,” Calum informs him. He smiles. “But if you give my ticket to Luke I will kill you. Yeah, fine. We can go.”

“Yes!” Michael punches the air in triumph. “Fuck yeah! Mike and Calum road trip! This is gonna be so much fun. And! All Time Low concert!”

Calum grins, infected by Michael’s enthusiasm as always. His attitude always spreads like wildfire, which can be a good thing or a very bad thing depending on Michael’s mood. A bad day means everyone in the room is automatically on edge, but a good day just means smiles all around.

At least, that’s Calum’s experience. But Calum has always been a little more attuned to Michael than anyone else, so maybe he’s over-generalising.

“Road trip!” he enthuses, matching Michael’s grin. “I call being in charge of the music!”

“You twat, we’re going to listen to All Time Low the whole way.”

“I know, but I want to choose what All Time Low.”

Michael rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. Maybe Calum is slightly taking advantage of his giddy state. “Yes, fine, you can be in charge.”

“Fuck yeah!”

“But!” Michael suddenly sobers up and gives Calum a very serious look. “If you play ‘Come One, Come All,’ so help me I will stop the car and make you walk.”

“You have no taste, Mike, that’s one of their best songs!”

“I’m not hearing it!”

“You hate fun! You hate happiness and fun!”

“Maybe I do!”

Calum sticks his tongue out. Michael sticks his tongue out in return. Calum shoves his shoulder, so Michael slaps Calum’s other shoulder, and before long they’ve devolved into a slap-fight, mugs of tea growing cold on the coffee table.

~

Michael is right. The concert is worth the drive. 

It’s more than worth it. Calum’s seen his fair share of concerts, but nothing has ever topped the All Time Low spectacle, in his opinion. Looking at Michael’s face as Alex leads them into ‘Dear Maria,’ he suspects Michael feels the same.

They’re pumped on adrenaline as they spill out of the venue with the dispersing crowd, various snippets of songs arising from groups of twos and threes as everyone goes off in different directions. There will be a lot of traffic heading out of the venue, but Calum feels too alive to care. His limbs are full of electricity and he can’t stop smiling, and neither can Michael. One arm slung over Michael’s shoulders, they march to Michael’s (mum’s) car. 

Calum pulls the passenger door shut and sinks into his seat. The sounds from the other concert-goers become a muted hum, and as Michael turns the car on, Calum says, a little breathlessly, “That was awesome. I know I already said that, but. Fuck.”

“Yeah.” Michael also sounds a little breathless. This adrenaline will wear off soon, probably, so they should head out. Stop for a coffee somewhere, maybe. The last thing Calum wants is for Michael to fall asleep at the wheel.

“You sure you’re good to drive? I don’t mind.”

“I’m good,” Michael promises. He might very well be lying — Michael is known to take on more than he can handle and lie about how well he’s handling it — but Calum scans his face and determines that, at least for now, he’s telling the truth. The ghost of a smile is still hiding in the corners of Michael’s mouth, one Calum’s face is probably mirroring. 

“Okay,” he says. “We can stop to get some coffee if you want.”

“I’m okay for now,” Michael says. “Don’t worry.”

So Calum doesn’t worry. He leans back as Michael shifts into first and slowly, painstakingly, pulls out of the car park and into the streets.

The first hour of the drive goes without a hitch. Calum takes charge of the music, mostly because Michael can’t stop him, and puts on a playlist of pop punk classics. If Michael asks, he’ll call it a compromise (they have, after all, just spent a collective roughly five hours listening to All Time Low in various formats — enough is enough), but when ‘My Friends Over You’ comes on, Michael just smiles. Broadly.

Both their voices are hoarse and raspy from six hours of singing along, but that doesn’t stop them both bellowing, “I’m drunk off your kiss for another night in a row!” in unison. 

By the time they hit hour two, Michael has reached to turn the music down. It’s still playing, just softly, which Calum thinks is a crime against pop punk. Listening to ‘The Rock Show’ quietly is probably worse than not listening to it at all. Mark Hoppus would not be pleased if he knew.

“You doing okay?” he asks as they hit the halfway mark.

Michael glances over at him for a second. They’ve been on the highway for a while now, but Michael’s hand is still wrapped around the gear shift like they’re going to change from fifth anytime soon. Calum’s known Michael long enough to know this is a sign he’s tired. A fail-safe, so he doesn’t have to move as much if he does have to shift gears. Normally Calum doesn’t mind, but they have another hour and a half to drive. He’d prefer if Michael were more alert.

“Yeah,” Michael says, with a very poorly-timed yawn. Calum raises an eyebrow. “I’m fine,” Michael repeats when he recovers. 

“There’s still another hour and a half,” Calum says. “And that’s assuming we don’t hit more traffic.”

“I don’t mind,” Michael says. He jiggles the gear shift back and forth.

“Neither do I,” Calum says. “Pull over. Let me drive for a while. You drove the whole way here, and I’m not that tired.”

“Seriously, Calum, I’m doing fine.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to drive. And I know you’re tired, I can tell. Your hand is still on the gear shift.”

Michael immediately pulls his hand away, settling it on the steering wheel. “It’s not that much longer.”

“You’re tired, I’m not,” Calum says. “Let me drive. I promise not to crash your mum’s car. You can pick the music.”

Michael hesitates, then looks over at Calum. If he’s looking for insincerity, he must not find any, because he sighs. “Okay. Fine. Let me just find a good place to stop.”

Calum nods and leans back, satisfied.

As promised, Michael pulls over as soon as they have a long stretch of empty road. It’s late, too late for busy highways; Calum doesn’t drive at this hour very often because Michael is usually territorial to a fault when it comes to driving. The fact that he’s yielding now either means he’s growing as a person or he’s more tired than he’s letting on.

Definitely the latter.

As they cross paths walking around the front of the car, Calum brushes Michael’s shoulder. He slides into the driver seat, taking a moment to check the mirrors and adjust the seat. They’re the same height, but Michael insists on moving the seat up as close as he can. Calum needs room to stretch, thanks. 

When everything is sorted, he shifts into first and kicks the car to life. 

“Thanks for letting me drive,” he says as he merges back onto the road.

Michael snorts a laugh. “That’s a weird thing to thank me for. But you’re welcome, I guess?”

“I thought if I framed it as you doing me a favour then you would feel better about the decision.”

Again, Michael laughs. There’s a tired undercurrent to it. “You mean as opposed to you doing me a favour by driving so I wouldn’t get us into a crash?”

“Yeah, basically.”

“I can drive while tired, you know.”

“Yes, you often do,” Calum says, rolling his eyes and smiling. “Doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Besides, driving tired for ten minutes in a neighbourhood you know is way different from an hour and a half down an unfamiliar highway.”

“Alright, mum,” Michael mumbles, but when Calum glances over he’s smiling, too. 

“You want to put some music on?” 

It had stopped when they’d turned off the car, so Michael unlocks Calum’s phone and scrolls through his playlists. A moment later, ‘Feeling This’ comes on.

“Get ready for action,” Michael says in a comically deep voice. Calum giggles, and so does Michael. They both have a contractual obligation to sing the song, though by now Calum’s voice is more scratch than sound, but Calum is not one to back down. 

The car fills with mingling voices, indistinguishable from one another, and Calum thinks that if Mark Hoppus could see them now, he might actually smile.

(Even when Calum glances over during ‘Dammit’ and sees Michael fast asleep, head lolling against the headrest. But Mark Hoppus isn’t here, so Calum just smiles in his place and reaches to turn the volume down.)

[antiquechampagne]

Antique Champagne Answers for...

FanFic Ask Game

wornquillsandspilledink

A: How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]? It’s a bad play on her stage name, Champagne

B: Any of your stories inspired by personal experience? I am not a vampire, burlesque dancer, or bodyguard, but I am female and I enjoy music, singing and dancing.

C: What member do you identify with most? Wanting to find someplace you feel welcome with people who know you and love you for who you are.

D: Is there a song or a playlist to associate with Antique Champagne? Why yes! Yes there is! You can find it HERE

E: If you wrote a sequel to Antique Champagne, what would it be about? This story if the first in a planned trilogy... and I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s say Payne will be forced to face her more inhuman side.

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it. 

-Hancock unfolded the chair. Payne gingerly sat, her palms balled in her lap. A grumbling Amari pulled out a battered doctor’s bag, pulling equipment out on a nearby computer bank. She wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Payne’s upper arm. Hancock watched as Payne looked away, her eyes wide, darting around the room as she fought to stay in the chair. Her hands clenched, kneading her thighs.“Sit still, please,” ordered Amari.Hancock leaned against the boxy metal mainframe. “Hey!” Payne looked up into his mischievously sparkling eyes. “What did the necrophiliac say to his girlfriend?”Payne scrunched up her face. “What?”“What did the necrophiliac say to his girlfriend?” he said again.“How the fuck should I know?” Annoyed, Payne blinked as Amari took a light and looked in darting eyes.“I really dig ya!” Hancock snickered.It took a moment, but a weak smile broke Payne’s frigid features. A few scrawny laughs broke through her fear-heightened panic. “That’s a horrible joke.”-

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but this joke is a homage to my husband. He loves ‘dad’ jokes and this is one he would tell me repeatedly early in our relationship.

G: Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? I write chapter to chapter.

H: How would you describe your style? Chaotic, I suppose. I have a rough outline, and I just expand the chunks as I go.

I: Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic (reading or writing)? Oh yeah. For writing, I can think of a whole lot of smut, but it has hardly made it to the page. For reading - smutty stuff would be The Chain the Binds, for adult Rot Dust and Steel and for listening it would be Fallout: Equestira

J: Write or describe an alternative ending to Antique Champagne. Um, it hasn’t ended yet... but vaguely putting it “And they all lived happily ever after.”

K: What’s the angstiest idea you’ve ever come up with? I think it is going to be the bit have planned for the next few chapters (at least that I am willing to spill the beans about). Payne get’s to face her fear of doctors etc.

L: How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting? I try to revise it at least three times. 1 myself 2 my husband 3 my beta

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share? For this fic? No, I got everything outlined for the end of this arc, plus the next two ‘books’ in the series. I still need to work out the details, but the main points are all in place.

N: Is there a fic you wish someone else would write (or finish) for you? I have a fic on my ‘to do’ list that involves a symbiot (Venom franchise) and a suicidal woman. And another that is a mishmash of Fallout/Dragon Age/Elder Scrolls in the planning phase.

O: How do you begin a story–with the plot, or the characters? I normally latch on to characters first. Not always though.

P: Are you what George R. R. Martin would call an “architect” or a “gardener”? (How much do you plan in advance, versus letting the story unfold as you go?) I am a gooey architect.

Q: How do you feel about collaborations? Holy hell, that would be amazing!

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence? I read a LOT of Anne Rice when I was a kid, and Mary Roach has a lot of fun stuff.

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist? Angst. So much angst. Not letting love in.

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand? I can’t stand Thor/Loki or Stark/Parker ships.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much. I think I kinda did that up top with I. I love the first two because they treat their characters with such dimensionallity, it makes them really relatable. I love the mash up of MLP and FO, it is so well done... so gritty yet campy but still recognizable.

V: If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose? I would probably want to work on extending this little jewel: Real Life Has no Manager. It’s just so fun!

W: Do you like more general prompts, or more specific ones? I haven’t really written from a lot of prompts... so I don’t really feel I have a preference.

X: A character you enjoy making suffer. McDonough, Father, Strong, Anders and Solas (Dragon Age), 

Y: A character you want to protect. Hancock (duh), Kent, Curie

Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate? Nobody kills Dogmeat. Leave the puppers alone!