#now you get *some* context for the snippets i've been posting lol

[lala-the-rebel]

Finally came up with a summary for my gravity falls fic so I present it to you all

[metalmewtwo-kxb]

Pokemon story/art/ask-blog for Benta the Mewtwo

Set in an apocalyptic future where most humans have disappeared and only pokemon remain. And the world is not as it had once been.

Benta, a pokemon who has existed for a long time now, has wandered the crumbling cities and empty roads looking for others who might share his ideals of rebuilding what is left of the world. Perhaps even track down the humans, if there are any left. However, the pokemon all seem to be at odds, more focused on hoarding land and food for survival. Many more are feral and vicious.

As others may find out, he is no ordinary mewtwo, and he might very well be the only one of his kind in a world full of ghosts. But is he the only wanderer? Or are there others?

And is it possible to save this future?

⚠️ Under Construction ⚠️

⚠️ Comic Pages 9-12 In Progress ⚠️

⛔️ NO NSFW ⛔️

General Itinerary (in no particular order) :

🧩 rp reply (if/when I have any)

- Thinking I'm gonna limit myself to one a day with these (or as often as I can manage) since I'm a very tired goose with limited internal motivation lol. I love role-playing! It just takes some thinking and energy. If I ever have more than one thread at a time, I'll make a weekly schedule 📅

✏️🖍 asks and/or art responses

- the art side of these can take anywhere from a day to a few days, depending on what I do exactly style/complexity-wise. Obviously can't do art replies all the time, but sometimes I could get inspired to do something other than text replies! 💕

🎨 comic art

- For the main story! The style for this is different and more uniform than what I'll be using for asks, so it definitely takes longer. I don't typically post until I'm done with a illustration/page set, so it can take a long heckin time. If one part one is 8 pages, I'd say it would clock in at two or three months before it's posted (as long as I'm not sick or somethn). I'm okay with posting peridoic snippet updates from my favorite panels though!

Temp. Edit: I've lowered the number of pages in each part to 4 since I need an easier goal to reach at a time. There's still 24 total! I just need simpler intervals. :T 🖼

Beyond this I have work and need me time, but always thank you, and I appreciate the interest! Benta is one of my comfort OCs so I'm treating this blog about the same. I want it to be a fun and cozy space while I build the apocalypse story lol.

#️⃣ tags

This is a list of tags to search on my blog for my art and writing (which will update as they come up):

- ;mun - my general babble, updates, and so on

- ;poké art - all posts involving pokemon sketches and drawings

- ;pokedex - posts pertaining to the story's pokemon and their lore. These pokemon are usually "new" species, not those that are already well known. However, sometimes special pokemon characters will make an appearance

- ;rp - written replies to roleplays. Kind of recommended since some lore will likely only appear in these, and they can be a fun read for those that like to do so (the rp partner's name will also be included in the post's tags) 👍

- ;response - ask responses! Chances are they contain art and scribbles. And maybe not, depends on how I feel

- Benta - self-explanatory, posts containing content of my mewtwo OC Benta (this does/should include roleplay threads and asks, so it's more generalized and not very concise)

- ;UntilTheEnd - the comic and main story for Benta and other characters that we'll meet along the way! (Set in an alternate universe, so don't expect very much anime/game continuity lol)

- ;drabbles and chapters - more written content that can either have something to do with an established AU or with context of the main story. Typically smaller snippets, but potentially a longer chapter set. I'm a faster writer than a drawer, but I enjoy both- so this is just another means of keeping up fun content 🫶

💬 About the mun:

Age: 29

Pronouns: she/her/they/them

Occupation: A menace to modern society :V *cough* artist/writer/author *cough*

Hobby: Literally just bothering my sister and siblings like a sneaky little gremlin.

Pokémun-sona: Zoromun. Info post -> here

More is tba!

Thank you for the visit, and have a wonderful day!

(main -> @ draconic-hydra )

[marzipanilla]

Back at you for the writer asks! (*^^*) ♡♡♡ 12, 17, 19, and 7!

7 - Your preferred writing fonts

I'm pretty bad about this and honestly just tend to use whatever default is for whatever I'm writing in. I think I've divested myself of having a preference because I am instilling the habit in myself of writing when I have the idea instead of insisting I'll remember it later, which means with my garbage hand writing I actually write A LOT in the notes app on my phone. Not really a lot of font options there. I mentioned before that I used to write in 10 pt times new roman a lot, but I don't have much of a preference now. I think it comes down to font size and not too much style. I do not like writing with large letters. To the point that since I'm checking out how the new ellipsus program works and the fact that their (very useful) outline options makes a specific word MUCH LARGER than other words and it bothers me. If there is a way to change this I have not found it yet.

I guess I do have a fondness for Courier/New though I don't actually write in it all that much because I own typewriters and have done script writing in the past, and that is the standard font for that.

12 - A trope you're really into right now

Whump. Character studies. Hurt no comfort/little comfort. That category lol Look, the two most recent WIPs I've posted have been pretty lighthearted but what I've really been working on lately is not that vibe. I smashed out 3k of some very rough conversation between take-a-guess and I'm pretty excited for it, though I still need to get all the connecting tissue to that moment in.

17- talk about your writing and editing process

Chaotic mess. I write down snippets of dialogue and conversation mostly. Which depending on where I am when I get A Thought can mean it will be scattered across several docs. Or notes on my phone. And then I have to go digging for it later and hope I remember what story I meant it for if I didn't label it. I am trying to get so much better at labeling.

Which means I have the note 'leggy teeth out of prison' and know exactly what it means, but have the sentence 'He was an honest man, and he could be gentle, but I do not think I would ever call him kind.' and have no idea what I had originally intended with it and now I just scroll by it on my phone sometimes.

When it comes to new stories I tend to start either with A Very Specific Conversation, or just a specific description for an emotional moment a character is going to have in the story. A lot of times I am just working off of A Vibe because I write so many AUs. I generally don't outline, but I do write insanely out of order and will jump around between 'oh this should definitely make this happen!' or 'this scenario means THIS needs to be said but I don't know the context in which the characters are going to say it yet' or 'wouldn't it be fucked up if this happens?'. And sometimes that means I end up deleting a lot when I finally move on to that story moment because things have changed drastically, or I end up going back to the beginning and completely rewriting something in order to give that story beat better set up.

I mostly edit as I go, while I am writing I tend to re-read everything up to that point of the story to make sure it's fresh in my brain, and if I was smart and didn't post all of those chapters yet (I rarely am..) I'll do little tweaks along the way. I generally try to convince myself to at least get one sleep in before another edit before posting, but since I don't have someone around to wrap a blanket around me and force me to stop generally I'll do a typo pass and just post something if I feel it is good enough. Or if I'm mad enough at a story idea and just want it not stuck with me anymore.

19 - The most interesting topic you've researched for a fic

Okay hmm maybe the interesting physics rabbit hole I went down recently. Where I found out once you go fast enough your weight starts to not really matter. At least, there seems to reach a point where the pressure exerted on you doesn't make you any denser or something. I was trying to find if there were any layman discussions I could peak into about what would theoretically happen if two objects moving at the speed of light crashed into each other. Did not quite find what I was looking for. The scenario I am thinking of for the fic is just somehow worse and less worse than what I was hoping would happen? Anyway, Viltrumites are a fucking problem and I will never be over the 'mundane' things that have to be true about specific heroes in any media that is overlooked in favor of trying to fit them into a framework that makes it possible to fight them.

[rosesradio]

in the midst of ivory rain...

in the midst of ivory rain, i've been working on another fic. i've called it my "scrap fic" due to most of the chapters being relatively short and quick. it is also in an entirely different format than what i am used to writing--some of the chapters are in regular chapter format while others are "transcriptions" of audio files, official forms, and notes left by a variety of characters.

it is an au that entirely reshapes the pjo world, and is mostly told from the perspectives of percy, annabeth, leo, and nico. i don't want to give away too too much (though i'm about to anyway lol) , though i thought i would share some snippets to see if anyone is interested in seeing how the story would unfold.

This is the archive:

To whomever this may concern,

If you do not immediately understand the full context behind the archive, destroy it immediately for the gods' sake.

Actually, if you do understand the full context of the archive, you know you need to destroy it anyway.

---

Annabeth Chase: Hello, this is Annabeth Chase. I am a sixteen year old investigative researcher from San Francisco, and now I live in New York. I, uh...for years, I have been unraveling the larger story around isolated events. As my assistant—as my friend, Leo, said—we, like most, have been the victims of rampant monster attacks. Whenever anyone tries to take a picture of these monsters, it never turns out. It's...blurry, or dark, or comes across as something entirely different than what it is.

---

[The following is a torn newspaper clipping originating from The Manhattan Mirror.]

Amongst the conversation on the origins of these events, religious leaders have drawn a unique conclusion. They have stated these attacks and heroes are indicative of the second coming of Jesus Christ, among other religious implications. @��PeterTheDeciple received backlash for his post on Twirler last week stating: "If you have been the victim of a monster attack, sorry, but that is the price of your sins. I have never been attacked by a monster, but you know who has? My ex-girlfriend, who engaged in pre-marital sex (with someone who was not me). It's better to accept your fate, because God is coming soon, and He will only accept those who accept Him in their heart. I have a course for the low-low price of $99.99 that will show you the light...[Thread Continues]"

---

Just like that, someone like Riptide could take off the mask and blend in with the rest of New York City. Other kids like him, ones that could mess with other elements or fight off the monsters, could be at the grocery store or in Public School #831.

The kid was right. The attacks have been getting worse. Even before that kid's time, the world was a wasteland. But as long as they had heroes to protect them...maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

[wicked-jade]

Tagged by @vimesbootstheory, thank you, dear! 🥰

Rules: You will be given a word. Share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word. My word was FUEL.

F: From the next chapter of 'Karate DILF'. Anthony and Johnny finally get a moment.

“For the pizza, dipshit. If you have any left, you should fry it up and add it to the prosciutto pizza you’re making for dad. Don’t get me wrong, your first attempt was good, but it was missing something. And everything’s better with bacon.”

Dumbfounded by the boy’s sudden desire to be helpful, Johnny stared blankly at him for a few more beats before narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

“Thought you refused to be part of this farce. Why are you helping me now?”

“Whoever cooks doesn’t do the dishes,” Anthony explained slowly, like he was speaking to a five-year-old. “House rules.”

“Not what I meant.”

U: I had a lot of problems finding sentences that started with a 'U'. Could've sworn I used the word 'unfortunately' a lot more than this. 😂 Anyway, I had to dig deep into the ol' WIP pile. Here's a snippet from my long-forgotten vampire fic, 'I Ain't Evil (I'm Just Good Lookin').' In this scene, Daniel is have having trouble coming to terms with Johnny being a vampire.

Underneath those soft, threadbare flannels Johnny was all rough edges, not a cultured bone in his body. He wasn’t smooth or particularly stealthy. And he sure as hell didn’t live in a castle. It was hard to imagine him guzzling anything besides his beloved Coors Banquet, needless to say blood.

He couldn’t even get the man to eat raw fish.

And that was another thing. He’d seen Johnny eat and drink! Usually it was absolute garbage, but still… Vampires couldn’t do that, right? Daniel let his eyes roam over Johnny’s weathered skin and sun-kissed hair. It was graying at the temples, just like his own. Silver claimed it’d been two decades, but Johnny had aged. Every year and hardship was carved into his ruggedly handsome face.

“You can’t be a…” Daniel shook his head, lip caught between his teeth. He still couldn’t bring himself to say the word, even if he was thinking it. It was too preposterous. “You can’t! I’ve seen you in the sunlight! Both of you! We train outdoors, for god’s sake!” he pleaded, voice high-pitched, edged with hysteria.

E: 'E' is for Eli, lol. This snippet is from the long-delayed next chapter of 'Delinquent Valley High':

Eli flipped the book open to the flagged page. He stared blankly at it for a good 20 seconds before he finally realized just who and what he was seeing. His eyes widened in shock.

“Is that…”

“Uh huh,” Robby said, fighting back a smirk.

“No way!” Eli cackled. “That can’t seriously be Sensei Lawrence?”

“Why not?” Robby asked, innocently slurping at his milkshake.

“Because this kid’s… he’s, well, he’s a  –”

“Dork?” Robby helpfully supplied. “A dweeb? A total fucking nerd?”

“Actually, I was gonna say he’s a dead ringer for Bert,” Eli said, tilting his head as he squinted at the page. “A taller, blonder Bert.”

L: And this one's from 'Heroes in a Half Shell.' It's a Halloween fic I've been talking about since last year but haven't posted yet. For some context, it's an AU where Johnny is the one raising Robby.

"Like, there probably aren’t any Ninja Turtles left. And if there are, they probably won’t be your size. Maybe if we wait and go to next year’s carnival, I can get you a really badass costume so you can win that contest. How about that?”

Robby looked at him like he’d grown a second head. “But I don’t care about winning. I just wanna go.”

It took all of Johnny’s willpower to not roll his one good eye. Jesus. Didn’t care about winning? Sometimes he really wondered if this kid was even his. Sure, he had the DNA test results to prove it, but those things could be faked, right?

They did it all the time on Days of our Lives.

Thanks again for tagging me! I'm gonna tag @desolateice and @phoomwhoosh and @newlacesleeves and anybody else who wants to play! No pressure, though! Your word is FIRE.

[h0n3yk1tt3n]

4 17 22

4. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

I think for simplicity's sake I'm gonna say.. three. Tales From The Lagniappe, Pink Foam on Play Night, and the newly renamed freshman fic My Kingdom For a Whole Lotta Bullshit. TFTL is still pretty loose, MKFAWLB is still mostly comprised of old ass crumbs from 2018-2020, so here's a snippet for PFOPN

A simulated hand gave him a pat on the shoulder. “That’s your cue, slugger,” the SQUIP almost sang. Jeremy swallowed thickly, voice wavering. “She’ll do whatever I want.” “That’s what I promised.” It sounded so innocently proud of such a horrific feat, like a cat that'd brought a dying bird to the doorstep, the poor creature’s blood staining the concrete as it struggled to cling onto each weak breath it took. But the cat didn't know that its act of affection wouldn't translate the way it thought it would. Or it didn't care; you could never really tell what was going on in the cat's head. 

17. Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

Oh out of order as fuuuck. The Swamp Fever campaign (ch 14-17) of L2C was closer to being finished than Dead Center (ch 2-5) for a looong time before I finally focused more on finishing the chapters chronologically so they'd be done in time for posting.

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

Um. Funny story, that's like. Exactly what I'm doing with PFOPN and MKFAWLB lol. Pink Foam is a spiritual rewrite of The Play-centric chapters of my first fic and My Kingdom is going to completely overhaul what I was planning to do for this. (I was debating on whether to add onto this fic like it hasnt been 6yrs since ive touched or to just start over and rewrite the first couple of chapters. For archival purposes, im leaning toward the latter) So. Uh. Lemme see what I've got!

The SQUIP didn’t even need to actively fight Michael to make it difficult to give Jeremy the Red Dew, as his pained writhing was more than enough to make the task near impossible. It might’ve been easier to wrap him in a blanket burrito just to keep his limbs from flailing around, like he were a skittish cat that needed to be held still for a vet. But Michael didn’t have a blanket or some readily available equivalent, and straddling Jeremy wasn’t getting him very far, so the best he could do was try and restrain him from behind. This was more effective at keeping Jeremy still when it was a full body effort, but it didn’t give Michael the freedom to actually get the bottle open, so the victory was hollow.

A recently familiar clickity clack caught Jeremy’s ear, and thankfully Michael’s too, as he was waving a hand trying to flag down a certain popular kid on crutches. The context of Jeremy being locked between Michael’s legs on the ground was clearly lost on Jake, but they couldn’t really complain when he hobbled over to see what all the commotion was about.

“Jake! This is gonna sound weird, but if I hold down Jeremy, can you make him drink this Mountain Dew Red?” Michael tossed the bottle up to Jake, watching him catch it out of the air.

Jake looked between the bottle and the two of them for a moment, then flashed an annoyingly charming smile that anyone attracted to guys would swoon at. “Actually? That doesn’t sound weird at all.”

Thank fuck for chaotic theatre nonsense expanding Jake’s horizons on what constituted ‘weird.’

“Up, up, down, down, left, right, A.”

Jake hissed and winced at some internal pain - one that Jeremy immediately knew the cause of when he felt it too - bringing one hand up to his forehead. He grinned unnaturally wide and unscrewed the bottle's cap with just his thumb and index finger. Carbonation escaped with a fizzy hiss as the lid clicked against the ground and rolled under a prop dresser. Pastel soda foam poured over the lip of the bottle like a baking soda volcano before Jake turned the capsule upside down, letting all the Red Dew come down like a bloody waterfall with several glugs in rapid succession.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s12e11 regarding dean (w. meredith glynn)

feeling the futility of this but let's go anyway

like waking up in the field in 11x01 but fluffier.

SAM All right, Dean, you know, uh, you had a good run, but maybe let's pump the brakes a little bit. I mean, you're not 20 anymore. Dean just stares at Sam for a moment. DEAN Okay, one, the Rat Pack partied till the day they died. And B, I can still kick your ass.

did paul reiser do 1) b) or a) 2) on mad about you? trying to find that on the internet um, challenging. was just plain watching an episode hoping to stumble into it. i seem to recall him doing 2 with his hand though in the L shape so maybe that. or was it he did 2 with his hand and said b? lol. anyway i do that reference occasionally most likely around no one that would get it, and likely the wrong version now too! rolling my eyes at myself

SAM All right. Well, I'm gonna go scope out the body. If you wanna spend some more alone time with, uh, your waffles…all right. Have fun.

realizing i've seen a number of gifs from this episode recently. the ordering sam waffles, a snippet later where he's clearly under the whammy

DEAN Well, I guess it's true what they say. Mo' money, mo' problems. Right?

would be cute if this is actually a thing of making a bunch of 90s references because his memory is all jacked up

this reminds me a little of swap meat maybe? where i had a hard time swallowing that dean wouldn't notice how weird sam was behaving earlier.

lol what i said apparently about that in 5x12: not in any universe, especially when sam has been possessed before, do i believe that dean winchester is not going to notice sam behaving so differently. you don’t get every demon, monster and psychiatrist within a 50 mile radius calling out your codependent relationship with your brother and not notice some bumbling teenager is behind the wheel of his body.

so anyway, when you continue to brush off the behavior with, he's just really hungover/still kinda drunk - when working a case dean randomly disappears while getting food --- and apparently sam is just hanging out waiting for him to call/show up until the next morning????

but sam's gonna let him drive even though he can't remember what key to use. sure, fine, whatever

so he goes to pick up some food and picks up a girl and stays out and that's within normal enough parameters sam doesn't freak out. ok

i'm being a grump about this and i don't like it. saw this bit about the durable inner thighs (which was about the mechanical bull i gather) post recently so hey context

this memory loss is very specific. wiping out his knowledge of hunting? which is most of his life. what's he left with. being happy i guess

DEAN Mm, your hair, it's all so bouncy. ROWENA Why, thank you. DEAN Mm-hmm. ROWENA Do we have to fix him? SAM Rowena. ROWENA Samuel.

what's rowena doing with his hand behind his back? anyway i've seen this in gif form and with rowena cropped out :p

SAM We're gonna sit you down right here. And, uh, yeah, go ahead. DEAN This like live Skinemax or…

okay what's all the more amusing about that is like, what, live skinemax as in rowena (... and sam?) getting naked? also skinemax another old 90s-esque reference. the live skinemax thing isn't in the script that's linked to the wiki (but i don't know if that's the final draft etc)

SAM You know, I've seen my brother die, but watching him become… not him… This might actually be worse.

then we're taking the memory loss very seriously with sam admitting how awful it is and this rather miserable to watch sequence of dean slowly forgetting things talking in the mirror. gonna try to make you cry in the middle here for no reason but play most of it for laughs

ROWENA But me, I've done horrible things, and I told myself it was fine. It was the price of power. And power's what matters, right? ROWENA Then I met God and his sister. The two most powerful beings in the universe, wasting it on squabbling with each other. I thought, if—if they can't be happy, or at least satisfied, how can there be any hope for me?

blah blah can tell him because he won't remember - but i'm having a hard time taking that at anything resembling face value. she's very good at what she does with rowena, but she pretty much always has the faux honesty thing going on so i assume she's basically always lying.

sam going over to force these witches to translate the spell or whatever is some really dumb plot thing. witches can do shit at a distance and there's more than one of them. whyyyy. (so rowena and dean can save the day apparently)

SAM You know, I gotta be honest. I was actually, uh, a little jealous at first. DEAN Of what? The curse that nearly killed me? SAM No, just, you know… some of the things we've done, we've had this weight for… forever. And seeing it gone, uh, you looked happy. DEAN Huh. Well, look, was it nice to drop our baggage? Yeah, maybe. Hell, probably. But it wasn't just the crap that got lost. I mean, it was everything. It was us, it was what we do, you know? All of it. So… that's what being happy looks like? I think I'll pass.

definitely don't want to lose "us"

100% don't understand this montage of clips intercut with the mechanical bull riding. sort of conceptually yes i've seen things like that done in shows but i don't get them choosing to do it here. maybe the only excuse they could come up with to have jackles on the bull for an extended period of time

[babygirlthor]

1 + 17 for the writer asks — thot-son-of-odin

1. What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting?

usually it's Arial 11 point font. it's the default but i dont really like writing in other fonts. i like Verdana too but don't use it much! i usually only switch it from Arial if i'm bored but sometimes i change it before proofreading too. i've tried writing in other fonts or doing the 'comic sans trick' but i really prefer Arial

17. Talk to me about the minutiae of your current WIP. Tell me about the lore, the history, the detail, the things that won’t make it in the text.

currently i'm working on an excerpt for this insanely complicated AU idea. as in, this could easily be a long fic with several arcs, i however,, dont want to write it all so last week i started writing a little snippet of it instead. where it's at now i consider it "complete" but i'm adding some context so it's readable to everyone else that doesn't know the entire lore XD

fun fact, this AU has at least four different versions! i'm just a bit feral over this idea. the one i'm writing now is the third in this AU lol. i have a little document with notes/summaries for each of them because they're fun to think about even tho most of it wont get written. it's a fem thor AU and I think nearly every whump trope that could work for this AU has been considered-- poor thor has gotten whumped HARD.

it's not really mentioned in the fic (at least not this snippet), but thor is raised as a boy in early childhood. Odin changed his mind as thor develops what he considers feminine traits. in the first/original version, shortly after this decision loki is sent away to military camp and when he returns thor has completely changed and been taught by frigga how to behave as a "proper lady".

in another AU, loki stays/isnt sent off for some time. fun fact, i consider my most recent fic "my pillow holds the screams of me" a part of this AU ^^;

In AU #3, thor is the one that is sent away. she's sent off to a finishing school and comes back completely changed. yay bonus trauma for both of them :D

that is just some details that aren't mentioned in the WIP, but hopefully a bit more of the rest will actually make it into the snippet i'm writing XD and hopefully i will,, write more snippets for it. maybe. and i've also done a few whumpy drawings for this AU!! i might post them at some point lol

[astorythatwritesitself]

2) Anything that you'd like to write but feel like you're unable to? 10) Top three favourite fic tropes. 19) Share a snippet from a wip without giving any context for it.

2: Honestly? ... everything. The imposter syndrome is real and intense and permeates like. Everything, especially writing |D A good third of why I take forever to do much is it takes so long to get over the 'ah fuck I'm a fraud' hurdle to even try putting the words down. It's also why I'm so intense on wanting feedback like. Genuinely. Grade me tell me what I'm doing wrong or right so I know what actually works cause lord knows I can't judge this myself lol

But for a more specific answer: That vaporwave post-apocalyptic furry thing I've been kicking around in my head for a few weeks now.

10: Mutual pining, hurt/comfort or whump, straight on angst.

19:

[Adrian's] immediate instinct was to shrug off the question and leave, but something stopped her halfway out the door. What [Thane] had said about his health, what she'd been thinking about this whole mission- 

Neither of them would be alive, this time next year.

Adrian stood up a little straighter, hoping she didn't also look like she'd been sucker-punched upside the head; had she been that tense since- god, even that first time she'd awoken to Wilson and Miranda talking over her? She'd been clenching her teeth then and ever since waking up for real.

 Thane had no connection to her past. No specialized knowledge that might be withheld if he lost faith in her; no gulf of experience one way or the other that left her feeling she owed him more than basic competence. Their conversations so far made it apparent he wasn't the most social, not many - if any?- friends, and (unless she was wildly off, always possible), he didn't seem… spiteful, like he'd spread anything around for shits and giggles. 

And... in his own words. He'd abandoned people, before. A dying man who didn't care about anyone, and had no one to care about him when he was gone; what did he have to gain, knowing Commander Shepard was a wreck?

What did she have to lose, in talking openly to someone like that?

The door had barely closed- she wasn't even consciously aware of deciding to stay- when the words spilled forth: "Have you heard about Akuze?"

Shit shit shit no-

“A human colony lost to thresher maws,” Thane said. “An Alliance platoon was lost, with-” He paused. Adrian could only glance at him as she sat down across the small table, enough to see the rapid double-blink as the pieces fell into place. “Only one known survivor. ‘The Shepard Memorial-' " The last three words were clipped, an eerie echo of the soundbite that had been floating around news stations for the last couple of weeks.

“Yeah.” The word was half a sigh. Adrian clasped her hands together on the tabletop, focusing on them as she spoke. “Not- not the only survivor as it turns out though, found there was another one a couple months-” Her voice caught, and she gave herself a slight shake. “-years ago. But yes, I’m- I was involved.”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, squeezing her hands together, nails just biting into her skin. Good, kept her focused. “A colony had gone dark. It was- at the time it was the closest Alliance-funded colony to Terminus space, so they ordered a full platoon. Just in case. "Akuze was quiet, though, that was what bugged us. Ten years and there hadn’t been any reports of… violence. No slavers, no mercs or pirates - the most exciting news out of the place was that it was perfect for apple trees, for god's sake." She raked a hand through her hair, shaking her head. ". We figured it was a comms issue. Fifty men just in case it was dangerous, but it most likely wasn’t, so… good field test for a fresh officer.”

“You.” 

Adrian nodded. Thane’s voice sounded far away, nearly lost under the thunder of fifty marines drumming their fists on the table or tapping out on the floor, dozens of voices raised in some song whose lyrics she couldn’t remember - just the voices. The elation of responsibility, Shelly and Dreyfus' arms around her shoulders rocking her back and forth in time with the beat, heavy and warm and so real, even nearly ten years gone.

Her eyes snapped open, and she thought she saw something move. Thought she caught a glimpse of green - but Thane hadn’t moved much, only to lean forward, hands folded under his chin, looking something alarmingly close to concerned- 

“Me. Right.” She forced her eyes to meet his, or at least focus on some point close enough to fake it; forced her breath to remain even. “We had been on the ground for about… fifteen hours? Not too long, but enough to find the settlement was… gone. I mean, gone, gone- no houses. No sign of fields, no people or animals, not even bodies. Just-” For a second, the cramped room vanished, she was looking out over that flat, barren plain ringed by hills, trying to figure out what to do next.  “We were prepared for a lot of things, but not… not nothing. Not like that.”

[gerec]

Sorry for the excessive amount of questions, I hope I am not bothering you too.

How do you choose which fics to write? How many wips do you have? What fandoms/pairings are they for? What’s the last line you wrote? Post a snippet from a wip. Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip. Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest? How do you choose whose POV to write in? What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of? Do you use a beta reader/editor? Do you take fic requests? Why or why not? What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted? What fic are you proudest of? What fic has been the hardest for you to write? What is your most self-indulgent posted story? What’s your most self-indulgent wip? What is your favorite world that you’ve created for a fic? Who’s your favorite character you’ve written? Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet? What is your favorite genre to write? What genre/trope do you tend to write the most? If you could only write one type of AU for the rest of your life, what would it be? Is there a trope that you’ve written before but are now sick of? Who is your favorite character to write for? Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom? What’s the fandom/pairing distribution of your posted fics? In Legacy of Sin, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote? In Legacy of Sin, is there a deleted scene/idea you wish you could have included? Why did it get cut? Are there any fics that influenced you to write the way you do? What are your favorite fics at the moment? Are you subscribed to any writers on AO3? What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten? Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love? Is there a particular fic that readers gravitated towards that you didn’t expect?

You're not bothering me at all and sorry for the delay on these; I was away last weekend and it's been busy catching up both in RL and on tumblr lol.

How do you choose which fics to write?

For new fics, it's all about inspiration - usually a prompt that ignites an idea in my brain that I just have to get out. For WIPs it's all about mood i.e. what pairing I want to write/what story I want to advance.

How many wips do you have?

On Ao3 I have 20 WIPs (there are a few that are discontinued not counted in that number). These are stories I intend to finish. I have about 2 dozen snippets in my drafts I've never posted and might never see the light of day.

What fandoms/pairings are they for?

All for X-Men, with the majority being Cherik fics though there are some Xavierine, Kurt/Charles and Shaw/Erik ones too :D

What’s the last line you wrote? Post a snippet from a wip.

He grinned, the smile reminding Charles of the decades-younger Erik teasing him in the early days of their acquaintance. “Really? I recall being told repeatedly that I never give you enough credit, Charles, for the things you do. How strange you would forget with your eidetic memory.”

Post an out-of-context spoiler from a wip.

Charles gets unexpectedly knocked up dun dun dun!!!

Is writing the beginning, middle, or end of the story easiest? Hardest?

Beginning is always the easiest because that's when the idea is hot hot hot. Sustaining the story is the hardest for me; I usually know exactly how a story is going to end.

How do you choose whose POV to write in?

I don't really think about it consciously I just let the story dictate the POV. If I can't decide (or I want a broader view of the verse) than I tend to switch POV within the story.

What’s something about your writing that you’re proud of?

I'd like to think I'm decent with plot and pacing? And hopefully...with sexy sex scenes lol???

Do you use a beta reader/editor?

I don't, not because I don't believe in the value of an editor or beta but because I just want to write and get the instant gratification from posting it right way lol.

Do you take fic requests? Why or why not?

Usually no, though I sometimes ask for prompts. A lot of times I get asked to write things that just don't interest me, and also, if I don't get around to doing it/finishing it I don't want to disappoint.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

It used to be - unequivocally - We'll Always Have Paris but I'm also very fond of It's Been A Long Time and An End Comes to All Good Things

What fic are you proudest of?

It'll be Gods or Mortals if I ever finish the damn thing.

What fic has been the hardest for you to write?

Same answer as above.

What is your most self-indulgent posted story?

They're all kind of self-indulgent really? I write what I love to read so I suppose it applies to all my stories.

What’s your most self-indulgent wip?

Well, probably the wips in my Legacy of Sin series. They have a small audience but I do love that verse so much and can't stop writing for it ha!

What is your favorite world that you’ve created for a fic?

What Night Brings the Dawn with Paladin!Charles and Mage!Erik. I love that world - there's a 100k fic of story not written about these two soulmates and star-crossed lovers turned bitter enemies...

Who’s your favorite character you’ve written?

Charles, followed by Erik and Logan.

Is there a trope or idea that you’d really like to write but haven’t yet?

I don't know...I feel like I've written everything I've ever wanted to write? Maybe a horror or ghost story, though only if I can come up with a great idea.

What is your favorite genre to write?

Definitely alternate universe. All the aus I love aus.

What genre/trope do you tend to write the most?

Exes still in love, royalty aus, modern aus, historical aus, pwp.

If you could only write one type of AU for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oh that's a tough one. Maybe a tie between space aus and historical/fantasy aus.

Is there a trope that you’ve written before but are now sick of?

There is no trope I've written that I won't happily dust off and abuse again lol.

Who is your favorite character to write for? Has this changed since you’ve started writing for that fandom?

It's been Charles for ever and ever until the last couple of years when I started churning out all the bottom!Erik and Erik POV fics.

What’s the fandom/pairing distribution of your posted fics?

X-Men (144) Dragon Age 2 (5) Welcome to the Punch (1) The Hobbit (1)

Of the X-Men ones, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier (102), Logan (X-Men)/Charles Xavier (50), Erik Lehnsherr/Sebastian Shaw (21) are the top 3 pairings by # of fics.

In Legacy of Sin, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

In the first chapter of Little Girl Lost, Wanda sends her younger siblings off with Pietro to wash up and grab dinner and she goes back down to the bunker for Erik and Shinobi. That scene where she spies on them having sex, and her inner monologue (the resentment, jealousy, self-loathing) is my favorite :D

In Legacy of Sin, is there a deleted scene/idea you wish you could have included? Why did it get cut?

When I started writing the very first fic in the series I wanted to write a scene/scenes from earlier in Shaw and Erik's marriage, maybe showing how they got together but I couldn't make it fit with the story. Of course I've now gone and started a prequel, so all those deleted scenes/ideas will probably end up getting written after all!

Are there any fics that influenced you to write the way you do?

Not consciously, but I'm sure I have been influenced by all the amazing writing/writers in this fandom! What are your favorite fics at the moment?

I adore the Krakoa is for two very specific mutants series by Sotano for my comics Cherik fix. Travels with Charles, in Search of America by midrashic has incredible world-building and sort of reminds me a bit of Fallout. Absolutely on pins and needles waiting for the next update of invisible string by soetry. And adored these two recent fics: twenty four hours from tulsa by intentation and Heartbeat by druswriting

Are you subscribed to any writers on AO3? Yes though not very many (5). I'm on ao3 alot so I don't really miss new fics being posted so I don't feel the need to subscribe.

What’s your favorite writing compliment you’ve gotten? Wow I don't think I can think of just one! I think ones where people tell me I've made them cry or yell or feel x emotion intensely are my favourite :D

Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love? Same list as my personal favorite fics: We'll Always Have Paris, It's Been A Long Time and An End Comes to All Good Things

Is there a particular fic that readers gravitated towards that you didn’t expect?

The love that Do Not Answer Because The Sex Was Terrible gets relative to my other fics makes me laugh in that I whipped this baby off in no time at all, and mostly on a whim and it has many times more hits/kudos than the ones I worked hardest on (of course) :D

[darthnell]

6, 8, 14, 16, 23, 25, 39, 51, 56, 71

Ooh ty for the ask !! <3 This one is so fun, I'm excited :D Thank u for sending so many also !! Okay, I'm putting this one under a readmore because it's quite long lol.

6. Do you have your work beta'd? How important is this to your process?

Okay, I've actually only had one of my works beta'd and that was the recent one I posted, The Bridges We Burn. I wrote this one for an event in the THG server I'm in, and this story has... I'll just say, one of the gnarliest injuries I've ever written, so I really wanted some extra eyes on it to make sure it read as I wanted to and also tied in with the themes I was writing about. Oh, and making sense from a medical standpoint LOL (one of my betas for that fic has knowledge in that area hjvfh).

In general though, I'm my own beta. Maybe I'll look into getting one for my next fic, but we'll see !

8. Do you prefer the beginning, middle, or end of a story?

Oooh... Writing or reading..? Hm either way, I don't know.. I do love opening scenes though, both reading and writing. And also ending scenes... And the middle is.. well you could do anything there HBJDH. I do also love coming back to the start of a story after finishing writing or reading, it's refreshing almost. But. Yeah, I don't really have a good answer for this one. I just love stories ;-;

14. How do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

Mannn I looooove emotional scenes !!! I think... making myself feel what the characters are feeling is part of the process for me. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like writing so much...? I don't know ! Also re: personal experience, hm. That's a hard one.. I think I have like. Personal experiences that I can sometimes vaguely apply to scenes I'm writing, just as a reference for certain emotions, but it's never like. Explicitly copy-pasted from that. I've never watched a human being get brutally murdered in front of me, so I just have to get creative on that front LOL. (Uh context for anyone unfamiliar - I write hunger games fics bvdbfh)

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Oh lord.. So Many. I have a list in my personal discord server, it's... a Lot. Some of the main ones, I guess... I have some drafts for the events of what happened for both of Venatrix's parents' Games, since they're both Victors (different years). I also have a sequel to True Vengeance planned. I'm planning to rewrite the Victory Tour fic for 168th Games. And I'm also planning an SYOT for the 175th Games, where the Quell twist is Victors choose the tributes. :D

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

God, I say this so often but. Write for yourself !!! If you're not obsessed with what you're writing, then no one else is going to be ! And I'm not saying it's a sin to want feedback or praise or comments or kudos for your writing. I simply mean that, since You're the one writing, you damn well better love it. Gonna end this response with a quote from Mary Shelley about her novel Frankenstein (which I just read ahah) that really resonates with me:

"And now, once again, I bid my hideous progeny go forth and prosper." <3

25. What fic do you wish you got more of a response on?

Oooh.. Hm, well, I'll never say no to more responses for True Vengeance LOL. But I think for the moment, I'll have to plug The Bridges We Burn since it's my most recent project. I did just post it, and all at once, so it makes sense that it hasn't gotten much traction outside of the discord server yet!

39. Share a snippet from a WIP

Oh god a wip.. I haven't. Written anything for TrV in ages, but I do have one chapter in the backlog. ...Oh this one is fun (:

Growing up, there had only been one instance in which Venatrix truly felt terrified of her father.  Before any of them were permitted to start training, their parents decreed it necessary to watch the entirety of their respective Games. Eight years old, he’d taken her down to the basement of their home, alone, and turned on the screen. She’d been excited at first, to find out what exactly made her dad a hero. It melted away with the fire.

:D totally normal family events.

51. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Ahaha... Total: 467,503. For just THG: 448,413

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

Oooh.. I think I write fighting and action scenes well. I know that's something that people often have trouble with, but I've been told I do a good job with it. And I enjoy reading back what I write generally. I also think like... my writing is very visceral, and it has to be because that's how I feel the stories. Idk. If I feel it in my chest, that's generally a good thing. Does that make sense? No? Yes. Yes it does.

71. When it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

Oh god.. question of the century lmaoo.. The only real example I have of this is True Vengeance (the fic stands at 250k rn) and its. Honestly a horrible example HJBVHBVFH. "How do you keep track of outlines" well first off my outline for this fucking fic is 130 pages I am really not who you should be asking BHVDHBFV. It's literally unusable, but on the bright side, being 253k into the fic means I know the characters and story like the back of my hand pretty much so that's good.

The outline was basically my original dumping grounds for any thoughts about the story that I wanted to include. Yes, there is an outline within the outline. Yes, I had to go through and reorganize the entire outline at one point for anything to make sense.

But yeah, story wise, that's where I'd put all the little details and then major details that I wanted to include. Right now though.. In my current fic document, I have a few notes under the sections where the remaining chapters are gonna go. So when I go to write those chaps, I'll see my notes down there (that I migrated over from the outline) that I need to make sure I include as I write.

Timeline is pretty straightforward since the story is linear. But I did make like.. a concise outline of the timeline of what's happening in the Games themselves by day, which was very helpful. I also have notes for each character to track the injuries they get and when (the comments function in gdocs is v helpful for that, I use it Frequently).

The development I guess is just. Idk... that's the meat of the story. Being aware of like. Where Venatrix's mindset has been during each part of the story has been pretty important. Since I write very closely to her character, that's basically where I get like.. the tone, I guess? It's been especially important as we saw her, uh, mcfreaking lose it last chapter so. That was fun. Like, the characters are naturally gonna be in a v different place at the end of the story versus at the beginning, and being aware of the steps it took to get there is. Good.

Ven isn't the only pov char of the story, and even w the characters that don't get povs here (like Mariposa and Dagmara and Percy in the case of TrV), it's important to be aware of where they're at and make sure they have agency outside of the pov char's head. So... yeah my main recommendation is to write everything down. Just Everything. But.. also ideally in a manner that's organized enough where you can reliably use it as a reference. And if the story changes as you go despite your outline, that's fine too ! Good even - it often means the characters are developing wills of their own and wanting to take the reins, and most of the time, you should let them.

Thank you again anon for the questions !!! Hope you enjoyed my rambling LOL

[breadvidence]

@secretmellowblog !!!!!!I hope you eventually post the full thing because these snippets are really nice! also YAY I’m glad to see someone else on the ‘cosette would despise Javert’ train not enough fic writers let Cosette hate Javert XD also I’m not sure if this fic is going to be a valvert thing(though I know you’ve posted valvert stuff in the past)but I do think cosette hating Javert always makes valvert funnier because of like. the parallel of Valjean despising Marius vs Cosette despising Javert it’s just funny the two of them both unable to stand the weird creature their family member has latched onto although Cosette’s reasons for hating Javert are far more reasonable and justified what with him killing her mother and all …and Hugo rarely allows Cosette to be angry(partially for Hugo sexism reasons)and I think exploring what it looks like when cosette hates someone is a very fascinating idea! especially because she’s been raised by Jean ‘let’s avoid confrontation at all costs’ Valjean who isn’t really good at teaching healthy ways of coping with anger since his strategies are like. repression/passive agression/redirecting his anger towards himself and he might have passed a lot of that onto Cosette It’s fun when fics explore that

TY! You're such a treasure to interact with.

I've got about 2500 words of Javert being vile & the keen awareness my mediocre plot isn't substantial enough to hang all this banter from, lol. I'll try to shape it up.

Cosette's ability to advocate for herself seems to end where her ability to couch those things in sweetness does; she can express frustration, but only so long as it's still charming and humorous and loving, and where the emotion is deeper she goes silent. And Valjean! Lord, I don't need to describe it. Part of the premise of this fix-it is that the "fix" comes when these characters can advocate for themselves—Cosette gets to demand her history, and Valjean gets to raise his voice in an argument, lol. This is accomplished in part by running them against the most absolute bastard version of Javert I care to write (very Gorbeau ambush energy, at least once he recovers from the shock of derailment & being sloppy on opiate painkillers).

It's also—forgive me, I sin—in the setting of a Brick/Dallas 2014 lovechild. I don't control what presses the levers in my brain.

Anyway, most of what I've got is in this vein (for context, Valjean has brought up a misogynistic comment Javert made fifteen years prior):

Coolly, Cosette asks, “What did you say?”  “Something appropriate for an all-male office party in the Nineties but not a family dinner table in Twenty-Fifteen?” he hazards. It’s a surprising show of self-preservation instinct, or—she finds it difficult to believe—respect for her papa. “Listen, there’s context—the county commissioner, guy named Gilbert Adams, made a pass at me. Banter, you know—say something about a woman’s body, make a dirty comment about asses, make a second comment about asses, a little too strongly in favor of them. I gave him a suspicious look like I wasn’t quite sure what he meant and said—” He glances warily at Papa. “—well, something passably heterosexual, in any case, to scare him off. I knew he was gonna get outed some day and didn’t want to be by-catch. Man turns up fruity and suddenly there’s questions—oh, you were his fishing buddy, huh? Used to go over to his for cocktails and cigars, eh? You know.” He’s showing teeth, amused now. “That’s very sad,” Cosette says, “that neither of you could speak plainly.” Javert snorts.  “Gilbert Adams was gay?” Papa asks, almost forlorn. 

The smell of Betadine—Christ! He should’ve picked a higher bridge. But—was it predictable—? After a lifetime believing himself on an unassailable height, here he is: a poor judge of distances. 

What's it take to put words on a page? A $5 bottle of wine and Roger Allam's "Stars" on loop, apparently.

[the73rdpostscript]

I'm ignoring directions and looking at dontlookatme

LOL and I'm so glad you are!

That's my Priest!Nicky/Professor!Joe fic and I'm so excited about it. It's long, and it takes a lot of research to write so I'm not even 1/4 done with it yet. But I like what I have so far and the two people who are giving me feedback right now keep telling me they're excited for the rest.

There SHOULD be another snippet posted on my tumblr under the tppf tag. I would link to it here, but I've had some trouble with links in posts recently so instead I'm just gonna give you another snippet from the rough draft and let you all click the tag down there at the bottom if you want more <3

(This little snippet was the first thing I ever wrote for this fic and I think it works without context. I might come back later and post the two scenes that happen directly afterwards, but it's very hard to figure out what to share when a fic is so far from being ready. Please feel free to message me with advice if you've solved the problem of this balance.)

---

Nicky hasn’t felt himself tremble like this in a long time. The last time his body shook this hard he was holding in the fury of arguing with Bishop Atle about Thomas Fucking Aquinas of all people. And that adrenaline rush hadn't come with this complicated rush of emotions.

Nicky’s hand is on Joe's mouth and some part of him distantly worries about the optics. The way that he as a priest is physically holding a Muslim man silent in a cathedral is at the heart of everything they've been arguing about. But the footsteps that were coming nearer have paused, and if he lets go of Joe now, he’s terrified someone is going to ask why they were standing so close, or why Nicolo di Genova was yelling in his place of worship at a guest.

And then they might see the way Joe is looking at him now - eyes gone from wide and shocked to dark and unreadable as he scans Nicky's face.

Some distant part of Nicky's logical mind is screaming at him, but he's disconnected. The only things he's aware of are the pounding of his heart and the feeling of Joe's warm chest rising and falling against his arms. If he stays like this, maybe he can figure out why he’s still shaking.

Somewhere below him is the soft sound of material rustling. Joe is shifting a bit, presumably getting more comfortable, and Nicky wants to press in more - follow the easy dance of their bodies. He wants to give Joe the same rush he's feeling - light him up like the live-wire Nicky’s become.

Instead, Joe gently pulls his head away from Nicky's hands, looking a little relieved when Nicky releases him without fussing.

"I'm sorry," Nicky says suddenly. The distance between them is giving him space to process how horrifying his actions have been.

"Whoever it was, they left," Joe says. Mother Mary, Joe's voice is rough and low and Nicky takes two large steps back to distance himself.

"I’m sorry," he says again, and Jesus Christ is that his voice?

Joe nods, opens his mouth and then closes it, and walks away. Still stuck in the hall, Nicky looks up at St. [Whocares] and forces himself to breathe.

[theresthesnitch]

Been thinking about the last snippet from One Last Time (Never Enough) and...

I totally understand why she wouldn't tell everyone the truth right away. She's lived in hiding for who knows how long, and from what I've gathered, the war has just ended so she's still getting adjusted to this different life.

It must feel overwhelming to get back to 'normal', and on top of that I think she's very protective of Harry (and rightly so) and she's so used to him being a secret that she still doesn't trust other people with this information.

Gosh, I can only imagine her horror when she fully realised the consequences of Peter's betrayal. It proved that she was right in not telling James back then... And this further strengthens her belief that Harry was in danger, and it doesn't certainly make her more trusting of the world she's been shielded from for so long.

Yes, she probably wants to keep Harry away from the dangers of the real world but she's also not sure how Harry would react to all of this, and as much as she loves James, Harry is her priority now. She has to handle this carefully.

James, on the other hand, has waited for her all these years, his love has never waned. To see that she's moved on shook him to the core and probably feels like another betrayal from someone he loved: Peter's betrayal was very important in the context of the war, but there's nothing quite like the pain of a broken heart. While he was risking his life for her, she had left him in the past.

I can see why he refuses to confront her, because it's one thing to see she's moved on, but to hear those words coming from her mouth is infinitely worse, and he would never recover. It would be the final nail in the coffin.

That, and he's also incredibly stubborn and arrogant to the point of being stupid lol he believes that there's no other plausible explanation for Lily having a kid.

Sorry for my little rant, but the fic has been on my mind a lot these past few days and these thoughts needed to come out.

Thank you for sharing your writing with us, it's truly a gift ❤️

I hope life treats you well xx

I adore you so much. I can't tell you how excited it made me to receive this. You're spending this much time thinking about my little fic that I haven't even posted yet? Love SO much love.

You've hit James exactly. I couldn't have said it better. He's spent all this time fighting for her and wanting her and thinking about how coming back home to her when this is all over will be... and the first thing he hears is that she's got a kid, and he just... doesn't react well.

Lily though, you're very close, but I think there's another piece to it yet that no one has really hit on yet. Instead of me trying to explain, how about I let Lily tell you? This snippet is after Mary gets home from the pub. There's a bit more at the pub scene, when James comes back to the table, but this is pretty quick after.

***

Lily heard the door close, but she waited on the couch, sipping her glass of red wine. It was her second, both poured some time after Harry finally fell asleep. The first one she downed fairly quickly. The second she sipped slowly, trying to erase the unreadable look on James’s face that was glued to the back of her eyelids. Each time she blinked, the look changed to anger or to sadness or to hurt, but she couldn’t nail down a single theory. 

Mary walked into the room, grabbing the glass out of Lily’s hand and taking a sip. “You didn’t tell him.” 

Lily grabbed her glass back and drained it, then poured a third glass. “Nope.” 

“You should.” 

Lily let out a harsh laugh. “When? Should I have shouted it at his back as he ran away from me?”

Mary sat next to her on the couch, a hand on her knee. “He tried to ask me about him.”

“What did you say?” Lily didn’t look at her friend, but stared ahead into the blank darkness in front of them. 

“Nothing. It’s not my story to tell.” Mary grabbed the glass again, and took another long drink. “You should though. He has a right to know, and Harry has a right to know his father.” 

“I know. I’ll tell him eventually.” Lily grabbed the glass back. 

“Eventually? Why don’t I like the sound of that?”

Lily drank down half the glass again, pressing her fingers to her lips as she swallowed down the heady liquid and her own emotions. “Probably because you won’t.” 

Mary sighed, grabbing the glass again. “Lily, I know it won’t be easy—”

Lily scoffed. “Easy? You think this is about it being difficult to say? I mean, bloody hell, of course it’s going to be hard to say, but I’ve had 5 years to think about how to say it. It’s not that.” Lily reached up over her head, and pulled out the clip holding her hair up in the artful updo that she spent far too long working on just to have James avoid looking at her. “I meant what I said tonight. I have loved him every day since we parted, and I hoped he loved me too. Loved me for me rather than because I’m the mother of his son. I just—” the words came out at a choked gasp, and Lily covered her lips once more. “I just need to know that he would still choose me. I need him to love me.” 

The tears were flowing down her cheeks, and she couldn’t really say when exactly they started, but she could do nothing to stop them. Mary wrapped her arms around Lily as sobs started to shake her shoulders. Lily melted against her, once again taking comfort in her friend’s arms when James seemed so far away, by miles or by years.

“It’s okay, Lily.” Mary smoothed her hair down, a comforting gesture that she had used several times in their time alone. “It’s okay. We’ll figure this out together.” 

“I’ll tell him. I promise, I will.” 

Mary kissed her forehead, and settled back onto the couch with Lily in her arms. “I know you will. Just don’t wait too long.”

[aceghosts]

WIP Thursday

Hey Everybody! I've been tagged by @purplehairsecretlair, @poeti-kat, @clicheantagonist, @thomrainer, @natesofrellis, and @socially-awkward-skeleton to share what I've been working on. It's more Resident Evil stuff, but I promise I'm going to be working on the final edits of Chapter 6 of the Five Years Later AU soon.

Tagging: @sstewyhosseini, @hoesephseed, @marivenah, @allthearchetypes, @bluemojave, @nuclearstorms, @indorilnerevarine, @smithandrogers, @derelictheretic, and anyone else who has anything to share!

Stuff beneath the cut!

This first snippet comes from my RE Longfic, which I continue to chug away at the first draft of. Right now, this sits at chapter 12, which is going to be a lot of Hunter/Wesker hurt/comfort. However, this part of the chapter is more lighthearted:

Tiring of laying in bed, trying to fall asleep to no avail, Hunter climbs out, deciding to find Wesker. As they step out into the hallway, Hunter hears the soft sounds of piano music. They walk down the hallway silently, following the sound of the music. Drawing closer, Hunter recognizes the music: Moonlight Sonata. Jill once played for them at a party, showing off her rusty piano skills. This player is the opposite, quite skilled to Hunter’s untrained ear. Eventually, Hunter finds Wesker at the piano, fingers deftly moving over the keys. They lean against the entryway of the room, not wanting to disturb him. Wesker looks to be in peace as he plays, eyes closed behind his dark shades. Hunter notices he’s even changed his black turtleneck to a black sweater. They feel guilty and embarrassed, knowing they should have had their breakdown in private. Hunter spent so much time shoving those awful tears down that it angers them to know they had so little self-control at that moment. “Are you going to stand there, or would you like to join me?” Wesker asks, opening his eyes as he looks over at Hunter.

Swallowing guilty, Hunter joins him at the piano bench, sitting beside him at the edge of the bench. “Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you.”

“You didn’t,” He still continues to play, “And you don’t have to sit so far away either.” Heeding his command, Hunter scoots closer to him, close enough while still giving him room to play. The two sit in silence, Hunter watching Wesker’s fingers. They’re entranced by his movements, never having seen someone so skillful. “Do you know how to play?”

Hunter shakes their head. “No. I wasn’t really the musically inclined one.” It wasn’t the whole truth. Truth was that Hunter didn’t know if they were musically inclined. Their family was too poor to afford something like piano lessons, especially for Hunter, first in line. “My younger sister, Fiona, was the musically gifted one. She used to play the flute.” Another half-truth. Once they could get a job, Hunter’s money went to helping to provide for their siblings. Part of their money went towards Fiona’s flute, allowing her to join the school band. Fiona had been good at it too, but she decided playing professionally wasn’t for her and gave it up after college. “So, how did you learn to play?”

So yeah, just a soft moment between Hunter and Wesker. I swear this makes more sense in the context of the chapter. And, plus there is going to be a little discussion of Wesker's and Hunter's childhoods. (I'm gonna have to do some head canoning on Wesker's end, lol.)

Although, I’m kind of having an issue with this fic, where I can’t decide if I’m straight up gonna make this a canon divergent fic from RE 5. That’s a whole separate issue for a different post.

The second snippet comes from a Hunter/Wesker prompt, involving the BSAA Agent! Hunter AU. It’s going to be a follow-up to a prompt that I wrote here. Here is a small snippet:

Wesker is quiet, strangely somber. “If someone else made you an offer, would you consider it?”

Hunter smirks. “Depends on who’s making the offer. For you, it’s an automatic no,” They tease Wesker, who shakes his head.

“I provide good benefits as an employer.”

“Only if people live long enough to see them.”

Wesker chuckles, smirking at them. “Fair enough.”

I still haven’t finished the first draft of this one, so I don’t want to give away too much.

[caswellseyes]

fic writer asks: 3, 4, 19, & 30!

hii ty for these!!

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

hmm probably not any specific fics, but the fandom in general, definitely! just in terms of headcanons and stuff, i definitely like to combine canon things + fanon things + whatever i think of on my own. i'm terrible at remembering which things are canon and which are widely accepted headcanons though lol

4. Link your three favorite fics right now.

oh god i'm so far behind on fics but yes okay here we go

All my senses screaming at me (I'm not reading the signs wrong, am I?) by @michelangelinden - i'm only halfway through bc busy but i love love love this so far and i can't wait to finish it so i can scream about it properly

it's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes by @a-tomb-with-a-view and @chickwiththepurpleguitar - which is wonderful and i haven't stopped thinking about that scene at the end of chapter five since i first read it. still haven't fully processed it tbh but you know what so worth it

new instincts by halfwheeze (whose tumblr i don't know whoops) - i've been on a peterpatter kick recently and this one is just so cute. also, dragon!reggie my beloved

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)?

for oneshots, i don't edit at all till i'm in the ao3 post screen and my grammarly extension thingy pops up. i mostly just delete random spaces after italicised words, but sometimes i catch a typo or something so that's neat. for longer fics, i go through each chapter before posting just to make sure there aren't too many loose ends. generally, though, i don't edit much, as i find that just stresses me out and that's not fun. as long as it's (mostly) legible, it's done!

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

ohh okay this is from my christmas project (tm). it's from the first chapter of a boggie fic, from a scene set during reggie's first christmas in evergreen, where christmas is not so much a holiday as it is a state of mind:

While Reggie has gotten a good taste of Evergreen and its eternal holiday cheer at this point, he hasn’t actually celebrated Christmas here yet. Last year, he moved right after the holiday season. He’d been able to get a good room in the local B&B - which was named Blizten’s Bed & Breakfast, the first sign they took holidays seriously here - for his first few weeks, then moved into the small apartment he still calls home, but by the time he was settled, the Christmas trees had disappeared. Well. Some of the Christmas trees had disappeared. Evergreen still had a reputation to uphold, after all. There were plenty of trees and decorations scattered around year-round.

send me some asks from this fic writer ask game!