#okay so i've been writing this one piece of fiction for a while now

[disdaidal]

Sometimes I really kind of envy you native English speakers who make writing and posting fics seem so fucking easy. With near perfect grammar and hardly any typos. Or those of you who are capable of writing & updating your fics whenever the muse hits you just right... and not like, once in six months. Actually, try two years lol.

Whereas me, a non-native speaker, who occasionally struggles even with basic English grammar:

I'm fine. Totally.

[mama2bears]

The Storm Of Life - Part 1

Warnings: mention of death (no main characters), tornado

Pairing: Tyler Owens/ F. Reader

Summary: You are a single mother, currently sleeping in your car and trapped in the path of a tornado when Tyler finds you. He will go above and beyond to help you put the broken pieces back together again.

A/N: I had this idea and so far it has been really easy to write. Please let me know what you think. I was thinking of just doing little chapters and maybe do a slow burn relationship? Let me know what you think and if you want to see more. I am still new at writing fan fiction, so I love your feedback! Thank you for reading.

Part 1

“THERE IT IS!” Boone pointed out the funnel, “Seems to be heading east.”

“I got it.” Tyler made a sharp right turn on the next road. The tornado was a big one and it was heading directly towards them.

“WOO!!!” Boone hanged out the window with the video rolling, “Are you guys seeing this!” he yelled for all of the YouTube followers.

“What the hell...” Tyler slammed on the brakes and Boone almost went flying.

“What the..” then Boone seen it.. A small car parked on the side of the road, hood up, smoke coming from under the hood and in the direct path of the oncoming tornado.

“HEY! You gotta get out of there! You okay?” Tyler yelled.

He saw you in the driver's seat and clearly you had been crying. You had your young son and daughter in the back.

In an instant Tyler was out of the truck, “Come on, get in my truck!” he yelled over the roaring winds. He ripped open the back door and grabbed your son while Boone ran to the other side of the car to get your daughter.

Tyler helped you in the the backseat of the truck and handed you the children, 'We gotta go!”

“LULU! My LULU!” your little girl cried.

“Honey we can't...” you say softly.

“What's LULU?” Tyler asked.

“Her stuffed bear.” you say

Tyler ran back to the car and grabbed the stuffed animal off the back seat.

“Here sweetie. We can't leave LULU behind.” he handed the animal back to your daughter and hit a button on the center console of his truck.

“What are you doing? The tornado is here!” you scream.

“I know...put those harnesses on and hold on. We don't have time to outrun it now. I've anchored the truck, we will be okay.” Tyler turned around in his seat to make sure everyone was getting seat belts and harnesses on before he slipped his own harness on.

The truck shook as the twister passed right though them. There was a loud bang outside the window and your son cried “Our car mommy! Our car is gone!”

“We're okay!” Tyler yelled in hopes of comforting them. “It's okay...tornado is passing...it's okay.”

As quick as it got started, the tornado was gone and blue skies began to appear.

Tyler turned around to speak to you and his heart broke, seeing you and your kids in tears, “Hey, hey....it's okay. I'll see if I can find your car. We'll take photos for the insurance. They'll help you get another one. In the meantime I'll give you a ride home.” he tried to comfort you.

“That car was our home. Now I really have nothing.” you cried.

Tyler sighed and his eyes meant Boone's. He knew he had to help you, but he wasn't sure how just yet.

“It's going to be okay.” Tyler opened his door. “You guys stay here. There's a lot of debris out there and I don't want anyone getting hurt. I'll go see how bad it is.”

“I am scared mommy.” Your daughter cried. Your son was looking out the window crying. Boone turned around and saw you trying your best to dry your tears and comfort the kids. He wasn't great with kids, he didn't really have any experience, but he had to try something. It was breaking his heart to see you all so scared.

“Hey...who want's some ice cream? There's a little shop right up the road.” he gave a soft smile.

The kids crying stopped. “ME! ME! ME!” came happy yells from the backseat. Boone grinned, satisfied that he had made the kids happy, at least for a moment.

Tyler returned, a heartbroken look on his face. He got in the truck and turns to the back to look at you, “Sorry miss...the car is totaled. It's wrapped around a tree back there. I grabbed some clothes and toys I found and I've put them in the back of my truck for you.

“ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM!” the children in the back were still chanting, despite you trying to calm them down and fighting back tears.

Tyler frowned, a bit confused on why the kids were cheering for ice cream.

“We gotta go get ice cream!” Boone grinned at Tyler, “And you're buying.”

“Who's idea was this?” Tyler asked the kids with a small smile.

“HIS!!!” Both kids pointed at Boone, who tried to put on an innocent face.

“Alright...Ice Cream it is.” he smiled, keying up the radio to let the rest of the team know, “We're making a emergency ice cream stop in town.”

“A what?” Lily asked.

“Just meet us at the ice cream parlor in town.” Tyler said before starting the truck and heading towards town.

“I'm Tyler by the way. This is my buddy Boone.” he said, “We're storm chasers. I am glad we came by when we did. What you doing out here?”

“I was heading into town to see about finding a new baby sitter. My old one just quite and and I can't afford to lose my job. But now I don't know what I am going to do.” you turned your head to look out the window so your kids couldn't see the tears run down your cheek.

“Hey hey now...it'll be okay...What's your name?” Tyler asked.

“I am Y/N. This is my son Billy and my daughter Harley.” you say.

“Hi Billy and Harley!” Tyler smiled, “How old are you guys?”

The kids were silent as they looked at Tyler and back to their mom, “Harley just turned 3 and Billy is 4.” you tell him.

“Four and a half.” Billy corrects. “I four and a half.”

“Four and a half.” Tyler nods and flashes you a grin, “Get it right Mom! He's four and a half.”

You give him a grateful smile as he pulls the truck into the local ice cream shop. Thankfully the twister had touched down outside of town and died out before reaching it.

Tyler opens the door for you and lifts both kids out. “This is a big truck! I love trucks!” Billy smiled.

“Really?” Boone said as Tyler opened the door for everyone, “You know T here shoots fireworks off the back of his truck.”

“REALLY!” Billy's eyes light up.

“Really,” Tyler said. “Hey, maybe later I'll let you hit the button that makes them go BOOM!”

“YAY!” Billy cheered.

“What about you, Harley?” Tyler looked at her, “You wanna shoot off fireworks too?”

She nodded, biting at her figure nails.

“She's really shy...until she gets to know you. Once she knows you, she'll be stuck to you like glue.” you say as your daughter wraps her little arms around your leg.

Tyler gives you both a smile just as the rest of the team arrived.

“Ah, here's my team! This is Lily, she operates our drone.”

“You got a DRONE too! Can we set fireworks off of THAT!”

Everyone laughs and Tyler shakes his head no, “Sorry little man. Can't set fireworks off the drone, but we can look on a screen and see some really cool videos. It will be almost like you're a bird flying.”

“COOL! I am a eagle!” Billy yells, pretending to fly around the ice cream shop.

“Billy, stop that and come here.” you scold, to which he comes over and stands next to you.

“This is Dexter. He's our scientist and weather watcher. He helps Dani with our merchandise sales.” Tyler points to Dani, “And that's Dani...she's scientist, sales, YouTube, photo taker, you name it, she does it.”

“Everyone, this is Y/N and her two little ones, Billy and Harley. Their car just got wrapped around a tree by the tornado so, we're helping them out.”

“Oh my God, are you guys okay?” Lily asked.

“Yes, Tyler got us into his truck just in time. Thank God he got there.” You were shaking, realizing just how close you and the kids came to losing your life.

“Hey, it's okay now. Don't worry.” Tyler gave you a small hug, “So, what is everyone having?”

“Chocolate.” Dani ordered, “Strawberry” came Dexter's order, “Rocky road” Lily chimed in.

“Banana Split” Boone said, “And T said he's paying for it!” he informed the team.

You and the kids are looking at the many different ice cream flavors when Tyler walks up behind you, “Know what you guys want?” he asks softly.

“Bent Socket Rip.” Harley smiles.

Tyler frowns for a moment, then catches on, “Mint Chocolate Chip, right?”

Harley nods with a smile.

“Mint chocolate chip for me too!” Billy adds.

“And what about for mom here?” he asks.

“Chocolate will be fine. “ you smile.

“Coming right up.”

Everyone gets their orders placed and takes a seat around one of the tables.

“So you're storm chasers...you do this for a living?” you ask.

“Yes..and because it's fun.” Tyler smiles. “We do this to collect data for varies weather teams and to try to approve the warning time for these storms. We go into towns and help out after a tornado. I enjoy my work, even if it's dangerous. I respect the storm, but I try to have fun with it too, that way other people will want to learn more about thunderstorms and tornadoes and maybe learn how to be safe in them.

“What do you do?” he asks.

“I am a waitress at the diner here in town. Or I should say used to be. If I don't find a sitter by tomorrow then I am fired. And now I don't even have a car...so. I don't know. If it's not one thing it's something else.” you shake your head and try to hold back the tears that want to fall.

“We'll figure something out.” Tyler promised. “I am not just going to leave you stranded.” he bite his bottom lip trying to think.

“Hey guys, once you all are done with your ice cream, why don't you take the kids out and show them all the cool stuff we've got.” Tyler told the team.

“Can I see the fireworks!” Billy asked.

Tyler laughed, “Not yet, buddy. No shooting off fireworks in the parking lot. But maybe we'll go off into a field later and fire some off.”

“YAY! BOOM BOOM!” Billy's eyes light up with excitement.

“Thank you.” You give a small smile to this guy who just happened to stop and pluck you and the kids out of a tornado's path, and now he was going out of his way to make the kids happy and try to keep their mind off of the serious of the situation.

Once the kids were done with their ice cream the team lead them out to explore all three of their vehicles and the equipment that made storm chasing possible.

“Do you have any place to go?” Tyler asked once the kids were outside.

“No...I don't even know anyone.” you turn your head away as tears rolled down your cheeks.

“Hey, it's okay.” Tyler's voice was kind and gentle, “you know me and the team..that's something.” he placed a hand on your shoulder to comfort. “How about the kid's father? Is he in the picture?”

“No. He was killed three years ago in a tornado. Him and my parents. He went to get my parents from their house because they didn't have a storm cellar and we did. They were killed on the way back to our farm. The tornado blew the truck off the road.” you broke down in tears remembering that awful day. “Harley had just be born...”

“I am sorry.” Tyler pulled you into a hug. “No family or anything around?”

You shook your head, “My parents were my only family. His family had passed away before we met.”

Tyler took a deep breath, “Okay, let me make a phone call. I think I might have an idea.”

He stood and walked to the back of the parlor.

“Hey, mom?” he said when she picked up the phone.

“Listen, I have a lady here with two little children. Their car just got destroyed in a tornado. They were living in the car. She has no family and no where to go. That's about all I know right now, but she's gonna need a place to stay and maybe someone to watch the kids. At least for a little while. She's working at a diner here in town.”

“Okay, great. Mom, thank you. I love you too. Bye Bye.”

Tyler was smiling when he returned to the table, “Okay, my mom and I have a ranch about half an hour from here. We have two spare bedrooms and you are welcomed to stay there as long as you need. She even volunteered to watch the kids when you go to work. It's just her and the animals when I am not around, so I am sure she would enjoy some company.”

You smile and hug Tyler, “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“Not a problem.” he smiled. “Wanna go shoot off fireworks on our way?”

You smile, drying your tears, “Actually, that does sound pretty awesome.”

“Hot dog, let's go do it then!” he stood and walked with you to the door, “Who's ready for fireworks!” He yelled as he pushed open the door.

The whole team screamed like kids, making you break out in laughter, for the first time in years. You didn't know what laid ahead, but at least now, you had hope that maybe you could get back on your feet again.

[shouyuus]

hi not a request but I want to know how you got to be such a good writer. Practice? Or maybe writing exercises? Did you fall inlove with writing? If so, when and how? Has it always been, i don’t know, a thing you like to do ever since you were a lil kid? Or were you inspired by other pieces and authors. (mind-boggling curiosity is driving me rn)

ASDLFKJSD thank you ?!?!?! so. this is a question that i sometimes got on my old blog as well, and i've always dithered on how to answer bc there's no like... magic potion, right. there's no secret sauce.

unfortunately (and super boringly), how you get "good" at writing is just... practice. just hours and hours and weeks and months and years of practice.

i've been writing almost every single day since i was about 10 years old. i'm 30 now so that's twenty years of practice -- neigh on SEVEN THOUSAND DAYS of practice. i also majored in comparative literature, so i paid like insane amounts of money to an higher education institution, for people who are objectively considered experts in this field, to teach me and help me and coach me. i can't discount at all how important that was in like getting my writing to the next level (i can name the specific professor and course in my freshman year that changed me as a writer like that's how deep of an impression it left on me)

that being said, you don't need to do all that to become a "good" writer. and i think that's the best thing about this craft is that anyone can decide to pick up a pen one day and #Nike Just Do It. (also, good is subjective and like blah blah blah all that stuff)

but if you want actual tangible things you can do to improve your writing, here's some things that have helped me:

read. read alot. read everything. think of your body like a car. you need to put oil in to run. you need energy in to put energy out. in the same way, you need to intake good writing to output good writing. ive always been a voracious reader, and for the longest time, even when i was actively writing fanfiction (both online and just for myself), i wouldn't read any other fanfics, i would only read published books, and published books either from authors that i know i like, OR published books that i've vetted (ie read the first few pages of and said okay, this is a style i like and a story that's interesting to me)

it's impossible not to be "inspired" when you take in a lot of good writing. so read. but don't limit yourself to just fiction or whatever. read narrative nonfiction -- some of the most moving stories and well-written things i've ever read are actually essays, or longform journalism stories -- try a bit of everything and see what you like, and make note of the things you like to read

then, dig a bit deeper. if there's a sentence you find particularly moving, take it apart, try to figure out why you like it. i rmbr in elementary school we did "sentence diagrams" and it seems strange but getting really technical with writing is a good thing! and i'm the kind of nerd that loves stuff like this so u__u. BUT BUT the point of this is -- once you figure out how a "good" sentence is structured, you can take that structure and plug your own words in! and voila! it's another good sentence!!!! kind of like a super nerdy advanced version of mad-libs LOL

i went thru a phase of my life where i thought it was super cool to memorize famous first sentences of novels LMFAO (yes. again. my parents should've KNOWN i had adhd as a child holy fuck) but i did that for a while and i think that also just... ingrained in me specific sentence structures and turns of phrase that have stuck with me to this day.

if you read a thing and you don't like it, try to pause and ask yourself why -- was it the pacing? the structure? the characterization? what about it was offputting? try to be a more active/critical reader.

COPYWRITING. okay OKAY so this is a thing that i discovered only.... a few years ago? i think? but its a writing exercise wherein writers will literally copy out word for word writing that they like from another author -- not to publish, mind you, but just for the FEEL of writing it themselves -- NOW. i know what ur thinking "what the fuck why" but think about it this way -- classical musicians spend their entire lives playing pieces written by other musicians. dancers learn dances from other choreographers -- even choreographers start by learning dances by other people right like. why should writing be any different?

this does a few things -- it makes you an "active" participant in the writing. don't knock it till you've tried it -- reading a sentence (even deeply) and having to write/type it out yourself are two totally and completely different things. the way you pay attention to pacing, cadence, punctuation, line breaks, shit that you don't even think about when you're reading, suddenly, you're paying attention to it bc you're the one typing each and every letter, every comma, every exclamation mark.

i have a whole separate folder in my notion just for copywork. for the days that i don't feel like actually writing anything, i'll pick one of my favorite books from my favorite authors, and pull it up on kindle, and just copy out a few paragraphs, sometimes an entire chapter. and you'd be surprised at how different you feel after!

read/listen to poetry. this is more of a personal thing for me but i love the cadence of poetry -- i love internal rhymes and spoken word, i love limerence and sibilance and alliteration. i love IAMBIC PENTAMETER GODDAMNIT. lmfao but like. alot of times, prose is more "forgiving" in a way -- you have more space, more words to do the thing. poetry is (i think) the essence -- especially metered poetry, or specific forms of poetry where you have to write within a super rigid set of rules -- and sometimes, i think that creativity flourishes the best under "stress" aka under a strict set of rules. the shit that people come up with in very strict poetry is INSANE and sometimes i copy those out too, over and over again, just to feel the words and the rhythm

read your favorites over and over again. i used to never re-read books, but as i got older and my tastes became pickier, i find myself going back to reread my favorite books over and over again -- and it's fascinating because every time i go back, i find something new to marvel at, a new aspect. and i think that's the lovely thing about media after it's been put out in the world -- you can consume it over and over and over again, and each time, because of the way your brain is wired, of your physical setting, your mindset, you'll notice sometime different.

if you want a list of my fav books/authors, i can def make one! or i'll just reblog the list i made on my prev blog but yeah! lemme know if that's of interest to you! and i think you'll find that if you read any of my fav authors, you'll see immediately how they've inspired me LOL

and FINALLY be kind to yourself! you do not have to be good at every hobby you choose. if writing is something that just gives you joy and you don't want to become 'better' at it??? then that's perfectly okay! also, there are TONS of different styles of writing -- and not all of them is for everyone! you might like super dialogue-heavy writing, some other ppl might prefer really rich prose! it varies by person, and you'll never please everyone. so the best you can do is just write the stuff that makes you happy and that makes you giggle (lord knows thats what i've been doing on this blog) and if you want to put it out into the world, then do! but if you wanna keep it just for yourself, then that's good too!

just because you don't put it out into the world, doesn't make you any less of a writer!

[bisexual-horror-fan]

Hi Bex! This is so exciting for me since this is my first time requesting something in the few years that I've been a follower! 😍TBABTO was a GAME-changer for me! So fucking good! 😭🫠 IDK how you are able to do it, honestly. As a slasher/horror fan, your blog is one of my all-time faves. On that note... For your Valentine's Day Ask Game I would like a snippet of Poly!Ghostface x AFAB! Reader. NSFW because let's be real, these freaks go 0 to 100 real quick 😘 The scenario: the boys are best friends with reader and she gets stood up by her boyfriend of two years on Valentine's Day for someone else! Reader is feeling humiliated and depressed...little does she know the boys aren't gunna take that sitting down (and are pretty grateful for the chance to show her just how much she means to them and to get rid of that tool she was dating) I trust you know what to do from there! No rush either! ❤️

Thanks for being awesome,

- T🌙

Okay, oh my God, T, hi! I love, adore, am obsessed with this ask and prompt! First off, thank you! TBABTO was really a huge deal, I still adore that fic and consider it one of my very best pieces of writing ever. The fact you have been around for years, and that fic is still getting love, warms my heart! I hope this meets your expectations and gives you exactly what you want. NFSW indeed, hope the gore is gory enough for you. I appreciate the patience, I took Sunday off and yesterday was the Canadian holiday of Family Day so I was busy, but I wrote this up at work today!

—

Rating. Explicit. Length. 1.8K. Poly!Ghostface X AFAB! Reader. She/Her Pronouns. Warnings: Hurt/Comfort. Upset Reader. Crying Reader. Blood. Gore. Murder. Death. Obviously They Are Gonna Scoop You Up While You Are In The Process Of Grieving. 

—

What Must We Do?

—

You feel like a complete idiot. Pouring hours into making and buying presents, into your appearance, Hell into the entire relationship for the love of fuck, for two years, and for what? A guy who is a totally pathetic coward.

Here is how it happened, you showed up to the agreed upon place, presents in tow, only to be left hanging for nearly an hour, a friend saw you waiting and told you that they saw your piece of shit, now obviously EX boyfriend, was on a very cozy and romantic looking date with someone else. He stood you up? Un-fucking-believable. 

What are you supposed to do with yourself now? The thought of renting a tape and dragging yourself home has appeal, get out of your nice date clothes, into something much more comfortable and concern yourself with snacks and losing yourself in the fictional events blaring from your TV screen until you are exhausted enough for sleep to claim you.

So you make your way, soon find yourself in the video rental store, trying to ignore anyone staring at you so dressed up. The romance section has been picked clean, not like you want that right now anyway, you beeline for the horror section which still has a surprising good few tapes left, you are debating on getting two or three when you hear a very familiar voice pipe up, “What are you doing dressed up like that in a dump like this?” 

Your head turns to see Stu Macher approaching you, a tape of his own in his left hand, he has that grin that is so classic him plastered on his face, you don’t answer him, but you do greet him, a heavy sigh, “Hey Stu.”

As soon as he was in front of you, he spots the bags by your feet. His smile falters, brow creases, and his original question is followed up with a different one, accompanied by a point to the items, “Wait. Aren’t you supposed to be on your Valentines date right now?”

Your head tips forward, shoulders slumping, “I was supposed to be yes.” 

The lack of explanation is all the explanation needed, he knew who was at fault, just didn’t have the information on what he did yet. You don’t need to see his face to know he is wearing a much harder expression, his voice further tells on how he must be looking, “What did he do?”

Raising your head you look sideways towards him and tell him, “Stood me up, took someone else out today instead of me, didn’t even have the balls to end it with me first.” 

“Oh so he is a cheating asshole now instead of just the garden verity kind, fantastic.” He leans against the shelves and asks, “Are you okay?” 

“Decidedly not. I just want to watch some movies, turn my brain off, you know?” 

“We can do that, pick what you want and meet me at the front.” Stu started digging into his pocket, and you ask, “Okay, but what do you mean by we?”

“Who do you think? I’m gonna go call him.” Stu had his phone in his hand now, he gives you a grin over his shoulder and starts walking away, typing in the number, and you think this is what you need, fuck being alone when you could be with your best friends instead. 

Billy picks up on the second ring, “Do you really need help deciding on what to watch? Thought you could handle that much on your own-” 

Stu cuts him off, “Shut up man, I’m calling for a different reason, you’ll never guess who I ran into at the video store, she just got stood up by her shithead boyfriend and is feeling lonely and vulnerable, AND she wants a movie night, do you understand?”

Billy had to bark out a laugh before responded, “Stop, really?! He fucked up THAT badly? God, she’s forgiven some shit, but no way is she gonna take him back after this.” 

“Exactly, she’s picking out some movies, meet at her place, it is up to us to cheer her up.” Stu unceremoniously hung up the phone now that Billy was on the same page and on board. 

After the movies had been rented, snacks bought, you went back to your place, finding Billy already waiting, comfortably seated on his usual chair on your front porch. He hopped up immediately on your approach, “Hey, Stu called me and I came over, he told me what happened, I’m sorry.” 

“I’m sorry too, honestly, sorry I wasted so much time on that fucking idiot.” You are pulling out your key, unlocking your door and letting you and them inside. There was much venting to be done, camp was going to be made in your bedroom for maximum comfort, bags hauled upstairs, the boys following behind and in agreement, Billy starting, “He is a fucking idiot, who the Hell would he rather be spending time with?”

Stu following with, “Seriously, dude screams brain-dead.” 

Once in your room, you drop your stuff and tell them, “Make yourselves at home, I am gonna pick out some more comfortable clothes and get changed.” 

You dig through your drawers and find what you were hoping for, leaving the boys behind on your bed, digging through bags and unpacking stuff. In your absence, the pair of them start talking quietly, “So how about that chucklefuck?”

“Jeeeeesus, right? We gotta do something about it.” Billy sighs and Stu responds, “I remember just where we stashed our stuff, wouldn’t be hard to get to it.”

A beat of silence before Billy asks, “So this is our chance, right? To get king clown is out of the picture.”

Stu looks over at his friend and confirms, “We gotta show some care with this, but I think so.”

By the time you were back in the room and the first movie was going, you felt a bit more comfortable, the extra amounts of blankets and pillows on the bed and floor making a really comfortable place to relax. You were doing your best to focus on the screen but it was hard, the sadness was creeping in, you felt rather pathetic, and so in a quieter moment you spoke up and asked, “Is there something wrong with me?”

That had Stu sitting up from his comfortably reclined position and Billy stopping the handful of popcorn that was midway to his mouth, “What?”

The course of that single word from the pair might have made you laugh if you weren’t seconds away from crying, “I know it’s fucking stupid, but I am just sitting here running over everything in my mind and all I can think is that it’s my fault, like the common denominator is me.”

“That is stupid.” Stu nods and Bill backs him up, “Very stupid, that you are doubting yourself for even a minute because of that jerk! You didn’t do shit, it is all him, he is an insecure bitch.”

Stu pipes up with, “He is the problem, and it isn’t YOUR loss, it’s his!”

You wipe under your eyes and sniff, “Whatever, you are both just saying that-”

Billy laughs and Stu says, “Yeah cuz in the entire time you have known us, we have been so sensitive to saving people’s feelings and lie about shit like that.”

“Mmhmm, that is us, alright. If it wasn’t true, we wouldn’t be saying it, we’d be honest, even if it was harsh and you? Are wayyyy out of his league.” Billy was leaning closer to you and Stu was getting up onto the bed, on the opposite side of you, he says, “You are funnier, smarter, seriously don’t cry over that piece of shit.”

Billy hands you a tissue, and you wipe your face, a sharp inhale, and you try to reign it in, trying to listen, joking, “You two ever think of becoming professional hype men?”

Stu snickers and Billy asks, “What do we have to do to get you to believe us?”

Strong hands rest on your shoulders, he starts to rub, and you immediately begin to melt into the touch, eyes falling closed as Stu speaks, “I think I know just what we should do, stop worrying about that asshole, something tells me he is gonna get what he deserves.”

Of course, you say yes to that. They stay with you, by the end of the three movies, the snacks all eaten, your mood is lifted, and you are asleep in bed. They turn off the TV and quietly let themselves out, both well aware of what needed to happen.

That night, they plan, excited and giddy to make this guys last night on Earth total Hell. He was going to die afraid and alone, in immense pain. 

The following night, they execute. 

They revel, do all they can to make it hurt, thankfully they had been planning this for a good long while.

Isolating him was frighteningly easy, and that is how they got into this current position, they had cut open his abdominal cavity and were making him hold his hands tight to hold his intestines in, a small cut to each Achilles tendon and an order to run. “If you make it far enough without spilling your guts or fully ripping your tendons, we might let you live.”

There was of course no intention of actually allowing him to survive, but watching him struggle was going to be fun.

The forest is cold, it’s dark as fuck, he has no sense of direction, the ground uneven and slick from the earlier rain on top of that. In their dark robes they can menuver around him easily, take swips and shallow stabs at him, disorienting him further.

He didn’t make it more than five minutes until he was on the ground, he started to slip, and one hand is thrown out to a tree to steady himself and the first few loops of intestines nearly shoot out, he can’t halt his forward momentum soon enough and well.

Have you ever stepped your full weight onto your own guts? He has, and it sends him careening to the ground, slick organs wrapped around his legs, his tendon tears audibly, right knee hitting a rock on the way down and the crunch and crack of bone is stomach turning.

He is collapsed, heaving and sobbing, the pair descend onto him, ready to finish the job. Stu steps on the blood and mud coated intestinal protrusion and your ex gags, another wave of pain making him cry out, he looks down at him and grins the heel of his boot down harder, “Fucking pathetic, am I right?”

“Beyond pathetic.” His masked compatriot agrees. 

There is a weak sound, a stupid as shit question, “Why?”

They share a look and a laugh, before an answer is given, “Cuz you don’t deserve to breathe, why else?”

The body can handle a lot before dying, they rip his blood soaked hands away and then tear from the inside out, once more of him was on the outside than in, a modicum of mercy is shown. His throat is slashed, and he is permitted to drown in his own blood. 

Your ex’s body is found in the woods a week later, and after a few more rains, when the news spread your two best friends simply tell you, one after the other, “Told you he’d get what was coming to him.”

“Yeah, clearly he just pissed off the wrong people.” 

You supposed he did.

[iamonlypartlymajestic]

Mark from SFTH's Clarissa's DIY Wedding is Aro/Ace and should be in a QPR with Clarissa x Amanda. In this essay, I will—

[Okay, it's not really an essay (wow it became much longer than I thought it would) but this is the first time I've actually written out a headcanon I've had. I wasn't expecting to go into detail, but I posted this idea casually in the SFTH discord, and then some people actually started to vibe with it and add on to it (thanks so much btw <3!!), so now I want to write out all the ideas in case I (or someone else) want to write fic for it lmao.]

Main Idea: Mark from Clarissa's DIY Wedding is Aromantic and/or Asexual but because of his mommy/daddy/religious issues thinks he needs to have a heterosexual romance to be fulfilled because he couldn't see that in his own parents/family life and was pressured to do so. And while Clarissa and Amanda (who are now in a romantic relationship) help him discover his identity, they form a queerplatonic poly relationship of aro/ace!Mark x sapphic!DIYWives

Read ahead for my surprisingly long headcanon for this sad AF fictional man from an improv *comedy* bit whom I've now adopted. (disclaimer: I'm aroace spec but unfortunately I'm not really a good writer and thus, not very good at explaining things)

Headcanon:

Mark could be a closeted aroace person who unfortunately has been in several shortlived "stereotypically het" romances: lost his virginity at a young age, has had one-night stands, and frequent girlfriends

Much like Clarissa x Amanda is a "Good Luck, Babe" dynamic, Mark not knowing he's aro and/or ace can have his own Good Luck, Babe (which honestly he deserves it because angst is delicious). As Clarissa wakes up next to him in the middle of the night with her head in her hands, thinking about Amanda, Mark is lying facing away from his wife wondering why he doesn't feel the satisfaction society has told him he will have after marriage. Unlike Clarissa however, he doesn't know what that missing piece is.

He's obviously never gotten familial love from his dad and his mom died when he was young (and idk if he has any other family) so his yearning for what should be unconditional familial love transferred over to a want for unconditional romantic love because that's what society has placed on a pedestal. But because he has no proper example of what a healthy couple relationship should look like and because he doesn't have that romantic attraction, he's just willing to take what he can get.

AND THE CHURCH!!! OMG THE CHURCH. The church also doesn't help, just promoting het marriage as the end all be all which is unfortunate since the church seems to be the only place he goes to for help in his life and even then, all he's given in answer is unwarranted guilt.

As suggested in the discord, Amanda somehow convinces Clarissa to convince Mark to go to therapy instead of the Church. For Amanda, it's at first a way to separate Mark and Clarissa because they'll realize they aren't actually compatible. After several therapy sessions (including couple's therapy for both of them), Mark and Clarissa realize that their current relationship is unhealthy. Clarissa realizes she's bisexual or pansexual and that those friendly feelings for Amanda weren't strictly friendly at all. Mark realizes that while he does love Clarissa, it's not the romantic love that is typical for a married couple but he's been treating the marriage more of a bandaid over his abandonment trauma and guilt. They get a divorce and Clarissa gets together with Amanda and Mark tries to find himself somehow (spoiler alert, he has no idea how to do so by himself).

Much to Amanda's dismay, Clarissa and Mark still miss each other and want to hang out on friendly terms (Amanda also has to go through her own issues of abandonment and thinking that Clarissa will leave her for a man). However, the more they hang out all together, Amanda starts to actually like Mark as a friend and she knows now that the way Mark and Clarissa love each other is not the same love as Clarissa and hers is, but it is still very strong in itself.

For example: Mark and Clarissa have cuddle sessions because they're used to that already. Amanda gets jealous because her insecurities are convinced that Mark and Clarissa will get back together romantically and leave her as the third wheel again. But as it continues, she realizes that the intimacy is soooo not romantic or sexual in nature and entirely just for comfort

At this point, it may be the start of a QPR but they don't know it yet shhh...

Since hanging out more with Clarissa and Amanda, Mark is very much introduced to the LGBTQIA+ community. Mark learns that he may not be straight after all.

*cue montage music*

• Mark gets invited to gay bars with DIYWives to experiment. He's introduced to Amanda's sapphic friends as Clarissa's ex-husband, but he's cool and part of the "girlies".

• Mark gets hit on by several gay men. He at first declines, but looking at Clarissa and Amanda dancing with each other and having fun in the middle of the club, he wants what they have. Clarissa found out she likes women, maybe he likes men too, and ends up hooking up with some of them. He learns that the way he feels about men is the same way he feels about women which he thinks makes him bisexual but that doesn't seem that correct to him.

• Finally, he meets other aro/ace people and something just *clicks*. While he very much loved (and tbh still does love) Clarissa and feels extreme fondness for her, he never actually felt romantic/sexual attraction towards her.

• Mark comes out to Clarissa and Amanda who obviously support him very much. Now, when they go to bars since Mark still gets hit on by all genders, he begins to wear shirts with several aro/ace puns on them (lmao). It isn't very long after that—maybe Amanda does the research actually—DIYWives end up having a queerplatonic relationship with Mark.

As a friendly joke, Clarissa or Amanda introduces Mark like this:

Clarissa/Amanda: "Yeah that's Mark, my/her ex-husband. She/I hated him, but we're all good and in a relationship now."

Mark's like, "Hi! 👋😎"

...

It is now 1:30am and I can't think of anything else right now lol, sooooo thanks for coming to my TED Talk! *drops microphone and walks off stage*

[kickingitwithkirk]

Paschal Moon 2.0 -1/2

Summary: Jensen finds love the second time around can be bumpier than an armadillo-laden roadway in Texas.

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Fiancé!Reader

WC: 2120

Warnings: fair amount of drinking and flangst, relationships are hard, insecurities, cursing, sexy teasing, arguments, family issues, reader still saying shit like me IRL

*Please read Paschal Moon first. This story is a continuation of it.

A/N: It's been a minute since I've been up to writing after Covid kicked my arse, but I had this sequel idea bouncing around and splitting into two parts.

A/N II: I based readers home on this property I’d love to live on in Utley, Tx

A/N III: This is a work of fiction, and no intentional disrespect to the real-life persons contained within.

Square Filled: @jacklesversebingo -“I’ll always take care of you as long as you need me” in bold @j3bingo -Foreplay

*Moldavite

*divider by @firefly-graphics

*no Beta-all mistakes are mine

*photos found online

The screen doors creaking made Jensen look up from the sheet music he was working on and saw his fiancée couldn't help but smile. Six months ago, he was so deep in divorce drama that it was providence meeting this nerd-hot astronomy professor who lives in the boonies.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, sitting his guitar on the couch, expecting her to reciprocate, but she just walked through the kitchen door. Okay, that’s not good, Jensen thought. Crossing the main room, he found Y/N’s messenger bag lying on the floor, her jacket carelessly tossed on top, and shoes kicked in opposite directions.

Jensen heard a cabinet door slam shut in the shoebox-sized kitchen as he gathered the items and placed them in their usual spots before entering the kitchen to find Y/N leaning against the old butcher block countertop with a finger crooked in a bottle of Fireball Whiskey's handle, chugging it like an old moonshiner made him remark, “Guess you've had a day.”

Pulling off she bitterly responds: “It’s been crapdamntastic. And how was yours, dear?” This shocks her fiancé. Y/N never called him that, once saying the endearment had a negative connotation from her childhood when she suddenly stomped off. When the hundred-year-old farmhouse’s pipes rattle, it snaps Jensen out of it, and, like the last time Y/N had guzzled that much alcohol too fast, he sees the trail of clothes left in her wake.

Now concerned, he gathered the articles and deposited them in the bath hamper. “Gonna tell me what set you off this time?”

A very unladylike snort came from behind the shower's glass door, “Check your phone.” He retrieved it from the charger in the bedroom and plopped on the large bed, thumbing through multiple missed text stops at the one from his manager marked urgent opens the included link. “Wha…Motherfucker!”

In an exclusive interview, OTH star Danneel Ackles reveals the real reason her ex-husband, Supernatural's Jensen Ackles, deserted his family.

A bath sheet-wrapped Y/N sat down cross-legged, facing Jensen as he continually tugged a hand through his long hair while reading the article full of falsehoods. Jensen suddenly dropped his phone and reached for the bottle copied her earlier chugging, “You know those paparazzi that've been harassing since Inks Lake?”

Jensen acknowledges, remembering the night a few weeks ago when Y/N’s astronomy class took a field trip, secretly arranging to take her camping instead (something he wouldn’t normally do on a dare) and proposed during the celestial event.

“Well, today, they got into the auditorium during my lecture and began shouting those derogatory accusations from that piece when several of my students took it upon themselves to intervene. Long story short, I’m on unpaid leave until the school finishes its inquiry.” His following words this is my fault made Y/N snap. “Oh, the hell you say! You’re absofuckinglutley not at fault here! Danneel acting like a snake in the grass!”

“Danneels pissed because,” but Jensen didn’t finish, instead guzzling on the last of the bottle.

“Because beg-a-bitch badly miscalculated you’d come crawling back and trying to save face! Peaches, I knew being together would have bumps, but this?” She points to his phone, “Face facts, Jensen. Your ex is a Regina George who’s gone too damn far covering her swamp ass!” Jensen sputtered on the cinnamon whiskey burning down the wrong pipe, “Swamp ass?”

“Urban Dictionary, page two, definition four.”

Jensen began to speak, but Y/N placed her fingers against his plump lips. “You’ve always been inclined to let a lotta crap slide to keep the peace because she’s the mother of your children. But Jensen, it’s time to redraw the boundaries of what is acceptable and what’s not ‘cause I don’t want your kids to grow up with resentments like I have towards mine.”

“Ohhh my god! Keep giving it to me just like this Peaches!” 

Y/N, sucking on her fingers, moaned in ecstasy, then pulled them out with an obscene pop before reaching for another slab of the ribs Jensen fixed in the outdoor smoker. “Good thing we’re not in public; otherwise, you’d get an obscenity charge.”

“It was one time, and I got off with a warning.” She cheekily remarks, “Besides, my meat man deserves props.” Jensen’s fair skin flushed; his tell when embarrassed but also when aroused makes Y/N grin and tease him by sucking the bones clean.

“Y/N, I wanted to talk about something, and don’t take this the wrong way.” Jensen takes a long swig of his beer before tackling the tricky subject. “Since we’re staying with my family for dad’s birthday, could you tone it down? Your personality can be a bit much.” Y/N got that expression, which he still wasn’t sure how to interpret.

“Calling me extra, that’s rich, considering your profession is full of fake people.” Jensen suppressed his automatic response. “Y/N, it’s just my parents; they’re very conservative.” She dropped her uneaten ribs and sat back.

“I might’ve grown up po-dunk,” her tone signals he’s close to stepping over the line. “But I know how to act around those types; otherwise, I wouldn’t have my position at UT Austin, let alone be headhunted by SpaceX for their new facility coming to Texas!” The flash of surprise crossing Jensen’s face didn’t slow Y/N down. “Would working for Elon Musk be acceptable to the high-fluttering Ackles clan? Or do they consider his personality a bit much?”

Hitting his limit, Jensen’s near-perfect features morphing into I’m done with your shit expression irked her more.

“You know what? We’re a couple of liquorlip loaded guns and better table this conversation till capable of being civil. Thank you for dinner, it was delicious.” Y/N gets up and grabs the rest of the six-pack. “I’m gonna polish these off in the guest house.”

“This is your house.”

“I know.“ Y/N says, twirling her engagement ring around her finger. “Kinda hoping sleeping alone in my bed will clarify whether you had a holy fuck, I’m over forty and single again moment and jumped the gun proposing or really ready for this life with me.” She laid the ring on the table before Jensen, and staggering slightly down the porch steps, disappeared into the moonless night.

Jensen was sitting on the kitchen banquette, watching the ancient oak leaves dance on the breeze through the window, when Y/N padded in barefoot, clad in one of his T-shirts, damp hair hanging loosely down her back, and no makeup.

God, he loved how she rocked the all-natural look, so different from Danneel, who always had to be camera-ready, watches Y/N sleepily fumble around, realizing the kettle was already heated, she added the tea diffuser, steeping it before pouring it into an oversized mug.

She shuffles and plops across from him, leaning on an elbow, waiting for Jensen to speak. “It wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction. You are the person I want to be with for the rest of my life.”

“Why?”

That one-word question hung in the air because Jensen knew what Y/N wanted.

It wasn’t the usual platitudes of I love you or can’t live without you. She wanted him to be open, raw, vulnerable, something he always had trouble with, exposing his innermost self.

“Figured after a decade in the industry, I had a grasp of how to tell fake people from real ones. I believed I knew Danneel because we’d been friends. Then she kissed me in Ten Inch Hero and we,” Y/N quirked an eyebrow as he ran a hand through his long hair, “I knew her boyfriend but did all my thinking with the wrong head. It wasn’t my finest moment.”

Jensen picked up the mug he’d already drunk and refilled it. “Looking back, I realized there were signs; our normal banter changed at some point. It was stupidly easier to ignore our issues in Vancouver or at cons.” Y/N remains quiet, so Jensen wouldn’t stop opening the hurt box and acknowledging the truth.

“I let Danneel manipulate me, thinking she supported my career by encouraging me to take on more roles. After getting pregnant with JJ, said she wanted to move back to Texas to be closer to family. Then pushing for more kids, ignoring what I wanted, to secure her position. And the other duplicity’s to get financial support for whatever project interested her.”

Jensen didn’t notice Y/N sliding across the seat beside him as he buried his face in his hands, “I've been her lifelong meal ticket. How could I have been so fucking stupid?!”

“Jensen, you aren’t stupid, you were in love. And some marriages work better with a bit of separation. What’s making me hella pissed is Grade A Cunt going around acting like butter wouldn’t melt and blaming you for her cheating!”

Y/N softens her approach, “Those weeks you didn’t call, figured you lost my number cause you’re another Hollyweird dickwad who didn’t wanna get caught with Ms. one-foot outta the trailer park.” Jensen shook his head, “I wouldn’t have taken you bar hopping to the ones I frequent if being seen together was the real problem. Why didn’t I call,” he shook his head again. “I didn’t know how to respond to you crashing through my insecurities like a…”

“Two by four in a tornado?”

“Pretty accurate and disturbing description.”

“Peaches, wanna know what I see when I look at you?” Jensen turned toward her, eyes loaded with apprehension. “A guy who feels too much, so he hides behind this reserved veneer and Da Vinci perfect face, kinda like his alter ego.”

Jensen pushes the mug over and takes her hand, placing the ring back on her finger. “I don’t know how to be without you anymore, so do me a favor. Don’t take this off again, okay?”

“Okay,” she reaches up, cupping his bearded cheek, "Peaches, I’ll always take care of you as long as you need me. So, we done with this emotional colonic?” Jensen laughs and kisses her. “That’s my girl.” He then licked his lips, “How about heading back to bed? We have a few hours before picking up the kids.” Y/N got up taken both mugs to the sink.

“I guess, since my propensity to get laid is about to greatly diminish staying with your parents, the con, then you heading off to finish up The Winchesters afterwards.”

“You have the weirdest technique for enticing a guy, sweetheart.” Jensen’s T-shirt smacks him in the face, and he's about to give her what for is gobsmacked at a completely naked Y/N standing in the doorway striking a seductive pose.

“This technique work for you, Peaches?”

Jensen glances in the SUV's rearview mirror to see which of his kids are acting up. But Clif, without looking, knows what’s happening and loudly asked, “Do the adult children need a timeout?” The noise abruptly stops as Jared and Y/N point at each other and simultaneously say, “He/She started it!”

****

The trip ended up taking a lot longer due to road work slowing traffic on the way to dropping Jared and Clif off at the hotel, and Jensen was relieved to pull into his parents' driveway. Getting out, twisted his torso to loosen up tense back muscles froze when the squeals of mommy rang out, and heard Danneel say she was also staying for the weekend.

Y/N grabs Zeps's backpack before stomping to the vehicle's rear, and when Jensen rounds the SUV, he is greeted with obscenities that would make a sailor blush and luggage hitting concrete. “Sweetheart, I have no idea why Danneel is here...”

“Because I invited her,” Donna Ackles says from not three feet away, and Jensen becomes frosty.

“Mom, we discussed this. You knew I was introducing Y/N to the family this weekend.” Donna comes back with, “Just because you abandoned your marital oath doesn’t change the fact that Danneel's family. And I had assumed your friend would be staying at that hotel, too.”

“Well, you know what they say about assumptions, Mrs. Ackles.” Donna’s eyes widened at Y/N's flippant remark, “You are a very impudent!”

“No, ma’am, inviting your son's lying whore ex to stay in the same house without his knowledge, that’s impudent," Y/N retorts. “I’d bet the farm your intentions are to demonstrate to everyone how dime in a dollar store I seem next to Danneel, hoping Jensen will be embarrassed enough to send me packing. Hate to disappoint you, but I don’t intimidate easily. So,” She stepped into Donna personal space and, with hands on hips says…“Bring it on, Grandma.”

SPNTAGS:  @donnaintx  @lyarr24  @flamencodiva @lassie-bird  @nancymcl  @spnbaby-67 @leigh70 @b3autyfuld1sast3r

Sam/Jared: @idreamofplaid

Dean/Jensen: @thoughts-and-funnies  @stoneyggirl2  @beabutterfly987   @smoothdogsgirl @deans-spinster-witch

[jisokai]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five of your other fave writers. Spread the self-love!

thank you for the tag @suguwu wahh i feel so honored <3

if a tree falls (does it bring you to tears?) (one piece, nami-ish)

Early in their journey, the Strawhats come across an unusual island, where a beast has been stranded—with you.

content: life of pi meets one piece, grief, displacement, loss of home/habitat destruction, found family

notes: even though this fic is super rough i always consider it one of my favorites! the idea haunted me for at least six months and eventually forced me to write again after several years of break from fiction/fanfic. i find it so interesting as a landmark because it pretty clearly encapsulates what i like to write about. i've experimented a lot with my style and storytelling since, but this one has a directness and charm that i sometimes wish i could rediscover.

if you cross the river (will the fighting end?) (haikyuu!!, kita)

Contrary to what granny once said, Kita thinks he won’t ever truly know who you are. You are the one who waits by the river, watching as he scrubs dirt from fresh carrots and dirty shovels. You are the one whose presence lingers like mist over his skin when you part. You are the one whose eyes he always feels, at every moment—the eyes granny reminds him of when they wipe the floor or prepare a meal together. You are the one who knows that it does not matter, that he would still perform his rituals and hold unwavering conviction even if you were not there. Because he is Kita; he is Shin-chan—repetition, perseverance, and diligence is how he lives…because it simply feels good. You are the same, committed to your duty to watch him from the moment you were pulled from the glory of a summit. And he is committed to being watched by you.

content: character study, spirit!reader, death and grief, disaster, i think it's a slow burn but tbh i don't know, childhood friends to lovers (sort of?), coming of age

notes: this was also a personal favorite for a while just because i felt like i was able to say so much that i had been needing to get out. it was my second time doing full character pov and i remember struggling SO MUCH to keep kita consistent. i felt like i pulled him apart in my brain until there was nothing left LOL. but regardless i tend to think of this fic as one of my best, and it was a turning point in my writing style.

At (y)our own pace (bnha, sero)

Sero wants to make sure you know that it’s okay to go about intimacy however you need, at your own pace. It’s your journey, not anyone else’s. Given your previous relationships, it takes some getting used to.

content: aged up characters, suggestive, references to past dub-con (not between pair), can be read as fwb, coworkers -> friends -> qpps, hurt/comfort

notes: this fic. oh this fic. i'm pretty sure this is the only one of mine that i've reread more than once or twice after posting. it's just that much of a comfort piece. i remember the process being difficult in the beginning (i had maybe 3 or 4 false starts) but then writing like a madman after that first hurdle. it was also my first fic i wrote out of order!

& we'll be brothers again (one piece, gen luffy & ace)

“Luffy?” The youngest boy grunts next to the eldest, cramped in their nest. He’s tired, on the verge of joining Sabo’s snores on the other end. “You ever think about what you wanna be in your next life?”

content: post time skip, marineford spoilers, reincarnation AU, brotherly love :(

notes: this fic hurts me if i think about it too long. i got the idea reading one of my now favorite novels and as soon as i thought of ace i went oughhhghg oww. i think it was my first proper gen fic and i found it so fun to write and focus on the pre existing relationships! i also came to realize that when i write for op i feel a sort of freedom of expression i don't have with other fandoms. i don't really know why, but it makes me want to write for op more <3

All these stars, (bnha, sero)

You always thought the circus was where you yearned to be. At least, until it finally let you in—and introduced you to Hanta Sero. [circus AU where seamstress!reader and acrobat!sero realize that their lives have been running parallel for a long time, and it’s up to you to weave them together]

content: circus AU, strangers to lovers (sort of), pining, yearning, grief, family drama, latino sero & latino reader, eventual emotional smut

notes: tbh i wasn't sure which last one to include but this one makes the most sense. it's my first proper long fic that i've ever finished! the process was kind of wild and was the first time i used extensive outlining. it was a huge project and is a huge point of growth for me. sero's chapter was a long needed character study (even in a different universe lol), and the last chapter i've reread a few times because of how emotional it makes me!

i'm scared to tag others but wahh okay... no pressure to play ofc! @shonengirlfriend @andypantsx3 @vonabel @staraxiaa & anyone else who wants to join!

[love-marimo]

okay, whew. lots of thoughts about how dark one piece can get…

so i've reached the part where hiyori publicly humiliated one of the corrupt individuals in flower city in front of all the people in the brothel for falling into the trap of greed and lust.

and wow

i just. it's so fucking dark. and it's like in your face and it gets under your skin kind of dark. the laughter of the courtesans, kyoshiro mocking and ordering his underlings to beat him up in front of everyone, and hiyori's "i spent it all" laced with no remorse at all… it's just so cruel. and rightfully so tbh, since it was displayed how the man caused so much trouble to innocent people just to fulfill his disgusting fantasy of objectifying hiyori and viewing her as a trophy he can have.

i know that hiyori's identity as komurasaki was for the agenda of bringing down orochi, but a royal ending up as an oiran makes me sick. im not saying this because sex workers disgust me (i dont. but im of the opinion that sex work can be very dangerous and it is such a difficult job. and also it caters to the objectification and commodification of their bodies, which i find to be extremely damaging.), but i find it to be really tragic.

but at the same time, there's no definite answer as to what really happened to hiyori growing up, nor if she slept with men as an oiran at all. it's kind of up in the air for us to decide. i think this is a smart decision on oda's end as a writer.

are we going to interpret it as close to reality, or are we going to use the bounds of fiction and say that hiyori was relatively safe growing up?

i mean, we can say that hiyori did sleep with men as an oiran in exchange for manipulating them to drain all of their money. but we can also say that hiyori just entertained them until they're not of use to her anymore.

idk but to me both scenarios make sense.

it's like with hancock and her sisters. we know that they were abused by celestial dragons, but to what extent? were they physically tortured or did something far more sinister happen to them? also the same with robin's life. she spent most of her life running away from powerful people, and most of them are men. we can never say for sure if she always got away unscathed.

i think oda puts these types of situations in the story to keep younger audiences from digging too much into it while teaching them to be aware of the dangers lurking in the society ー but for us who are older it will really make us think and it kind of serves as a reminder of how scary the world is.

anyway back to hiyori, im of the opinion that she didn't actually sleep with any men, but thinking about all the mind games that she played with them just makes me feel bad for her. i imagine she had to endure so much of that from a young age, all while dealing with the death of her parents and the fall of their empire. it's just too much for a little girl. and now she has to put up a front for the sake of rebellion. it's like all her life, up until the strawhats freeing wano, she never got to truly live as her own person.

it's pretty fucked up. i want to say that there are better ways to write hiyori's character but yeah, i can't really think of one that would have bigger impact than what she was in the story. that scene of her stating her name as a kozuki sends chills down my spine. i honestly don't get how people would just dismiss her as a 'whore' or an 'evil, manipulative cunt who doesn't care about the lives she'll ruin'. as if kaido and orochi weren't the root cause of it all.

i just love how deep the lore can get. there have been so many characters in the story of one piece and im just amazed at how oda can maximize their stories to the fullest potential of the specific arc that they belong to.

truly a work of a genius.

[hemi-demi]

Traffic Light Tag Game

Thank you for the tag @buried-in-the-archives!

rules: talk about something creative you're working on of any kind.🚦 green: what is it about, what excited you about it, what sparked the idea? orange: slow down and share something from it: a photo, a few words, some more background info etc. red: what is the roadblock currently? what is one thing that is a necessary evil in making it?

Green:

Took a bit of a break as I was working through JMart week, but I've been getting back into working on Oathbreaker, the introductory fic to my JMart Dragon AU.

It started from a little one shot where Martin was a knight that was sort of held captive by Dragon!Jon with very much an implied situationship going on, and just kinda bloomed and morphed into a full fledged AU from there. The story is different now – starting with more of a professional relationship that develops into companionship and inevitably devolves into demisexual/queer panic – with its own narrative, world building, yapping with friends and a bunch of dumb doodles with wildly varying levels of canon. You know, all the fun stuff.

I literally think about these two idiots every day, and I can't get enough of them. They've completely taken over my waking life.

Orange:

Don't have any art I haven't shared, so here's a snippet from (I believe) the next chapter for y'all ❤️

---

Jon can't quite reach the book they need without an inordinate amount of shuffling, and their arms are already getting stiff. They attempt to use their tail to grab the tome, but it throws off their counterbalance. Their foot slips just as the tip grazes the spine, and for a split second it feels as if they're flying again.

“Ah!”

Anticipating the sharp crack of hard wood against their ass, it's both a shock and relief when nothing comes except for the dull thud of flesh and a grunt beside their ear. The force of their fall nearly knocks Martin off his feet, falling back against the stacks, holding Jon up in his arms.

“Ow.” Martin mutters to himself, rising up from the shelf and rolling his shoulder. “Damn near took it out of socket.”

“Thought you said you weren't going to catch me.”

“Thought you said you weren't going to fall.”

“I said no such thing. I only said that I would be fine.”

“You weren't ‘fine’, you fell from the top of the damn thing!” If Martin wasn't holding Jon aloft, he would be throwing those hands up in frustration. “Nearly broke your arse on Sasha's floor.”

“And you caught me. So I was correct. I'm still fine.” 

---

Jon's such a little shit ❤️ I love them

Red:

Okay, so biggest roadblock: writing is hard.

This is my first whole cloth AU, and man does that change a lot. Trying to balance the world building, character motivations, the pacing, the plot, the smut, it's all very different for me coming off of more canon-divergent/compliant works before this. I have a lot I can do with this story, and the biggest hurdle is learning when to shut the hell up and tune my focus to the most important themes and moments.

While this is still paced slower than how I would probably pace original fiction, allowing myself some room to indulge in some things as fanfic often does (bonus content helps), it's still something I think about a lot with this story and honestly has been downright paralyzing at times. I've written so, so much stuff for this story that I've inevitably scrapped, as it's much more of a character driven, discovery writing piece than my previous works and that just changes the whole game.

I know where the characters are going – even beyond the scope of this fic – but the actual path to get there is still very open. I've wrestled with these two idiots a lot. I still very much think it's worth the effort, but I've had to take breaks from this project more than anything I've worked on before because of it.

Who knew writing an ace 4 ace/autistic 4 autistic fic about two particularly stubborn characters that are bad at communicating would make writing a smut fic about how they get together so complicated? No one could have ever foreseen this.

Thank you to everyone who's been reading and enjoying the AU so far, and to my friends for yapping with me about my special idiots ❤️ it really means the most!

No pressure tags for @mice-and-moonbeams @daemongal @the-awful-dread-that-leaves

[undertale-fic-librarby]

Hiya! I just read your pinned post, i actually didn't know librarby exist in tumblr and honestly- its really helpful for me as someone who often forgive what kinda plot but don't know what its name is. 👉👈 (Ack pardon grammars)

Also- If its still possible for asked this, do you have any completed fic for undertale sans x reader? :0 or deltarune sans is okay too! I've been wanting to read that has most fluff and slice of life with less angst xD i might found something that i haven't read yet, the long chapters the better, altho its actually not necessary, so its up to you!

Take your time and I hope you doing well!! Thank you for exist 💙

Howdy, thanks for asking! Here are some fics that might fit what you're looking for!

Save Point by JuniperJoy101 (Teen And Up, Complete)

Moving from a backwater town to a city bustling with human and monsterfolk alike, some things begin to change both for the better and the worse. What was left behind comes back to bite at you in the most unexpected times, current progress being put in danger as a result. It's hard to move on, though it's equally difficult trying to stay loyal to what you believe is right. With an adoptive seven-year-old son and the remnants of a recent divorce in your hands, your goal is to move on and adjust to life with monsters, these becoming an important part of your life -- one of them in particular reigniting the spark you thought gone with your ex spouse. • • • The following story is a re-write of the first UT fanfic I ever managed to publish on the Internet. Undertale belongs to Toby Fox. You belong to yourself.

A salting feelings by EvergreenEmerald (Teen And Up, Complete)

You cleared your throat loudly to get their attention; they jumped at the sound, turning to face you. You felt just as awkward as they did. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, though I do owe you for the nice trip you sent me on earlier.” You pointed to the disarrayed suitcase that had been tossed around by your stumbling feet. They giggled as you motioned for them to come inside. They pulled their suitcase into the house, but paused in front of you, turning their head up with an adorable smile. You started to wonder if you had seen this kid before, they look so familiar. Maybe they remind you of one of your parents? *You are a family court lawyer with a dark past that caused you to be separated from your sibling years ago. Now they are placed in your care out of the blue because the government didn't like the idea of a monster raising a human, you have to deal with speaking to your sibling about your shared past and lost parents, the courts who make life hard, new monster friends, and this skeleton that won't stop interrupting you and being a nosy jerk

Curious laughter by SpiffySiffy (Teen And Up, Complete)

Sans is just keeping an eye out on his brother's friends. You have a strange personality and he finds it interesting. Suddenly he finds he's getting more and more curious about you and your thoughts on certain topics.

My Princess by Kyra1416 (Teen And Up, Complete)

(Y/N) was always a shy child. She was slowly to trust others and was scared of almost anything. This made it hard for her to form bonds and keep those bonds intact. She lived on Mt.Ebbot with her family. The story of monsters kidnapping children and eating their souls made her to scared to ever leave the house. Her whole life changed forever the day her parents where murdered right before her very eyes. While running from the killer, she fell into the underground. It was there she descovered her stange powers, and meet a certain punny skeleton.

Winter In Your Bones by cryptid_jack (Mature, Complete)

You're a modestly successful fiction writer living in rural Alaska; just you, your dog, and your horse in a small cabin on a large piece of property in the shadow of a mighty mountain range. You're used the the quiet, enjoy it even, but when you start having recurring dreams of a strange skeleton visiting you in the night you wonder if the solitude might be starting to get to you…at least until you realize you're not dreaming at all because Sans is, in fact, a real, live monster. Friendship, romance, and shenanigans ensue.

[cpericardium]

This might be a little deranged to just drop in your askbox but you're one of the few people in academia I actually trust (especially to give an honest opinion) so here goes: (Also, enjoy a more formal form of English for once, as this feels more like an email to a professor than a tumblr ask to a mutual.)

So when I was in my creative fiction classes, I noticed a lot of my peers would focus on writing short stories that focused on self-contained narratives, trying to be witty and punchy. Which is completely fair, in my opinion. However, I always thought that, "Hey, we're not trying to write the next Metamorphosis here, right? Why wouldn't you use these flash fiction opportunities to, I don't know, flesh out dynamics between a set of characters you intend to write about for a while?" Obviously that's largely what I did with my assignments, beyond a few exceptions.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I always felt like everyone else was crazy for writing what boiled down to Chapter One of their derivative grimdark fantasy concept, instead of being like: "Okay this is how these characters meet and how their story ends. Now this next story is about them meeting and ending in a different way. Now this one changes their dynamics a little. Now this one changes it a lot." etc. I'm curious if you think instead that I was the crazy one, which wouldn't be unusual. Not sure! Let me know! Or don't, and delete this crazy ask from your inbox.

I don't think either approach is unusual! Both are typical, in fact. Been in plenty of workshops where people share flash fiction or short pieces from their short story cycles, exploring the dynamics of the same cast of characters and/or the same setting. It's also fun to see how having read the previous piece informs the way you read the latest one. And yeah... I've seen the boring fantasy dnd campaign chapter 1. I've seen the bad twilight OC fanfiction too (more than once). But there's nothing wrong with that. The beauty of the workshop is that you decide what you want to get out of it, whether it's possibilities, impressions, suggestions for what to revise or cut or polish.

IMO it's less frustrating to workshop self-contained pieces simply because with longform excerpts, your peers are gonna critique or ask about things that are already addressed later down the line. So they have to hedge like "well I don't know if you plan on doing this but..." The only reason I'd submit a novel excerpt is if I were blanking on ideas and needed generative feedback for how to continue, or if I wanted to gauge reactions to something fresh I'm trying out. Worse to submit a chapter from the middle of the novel because half your feedback will be "who's this guy" or "[thing that was explained in chapter 1] doesn't make sense to me."

[greenerteacups]

Hello GT! I almost never comment on anything online, but (after binge-reading Lionheart in about three days) I'm overcome with a desperate need to confess that I've developed an enormous intellectual crush on you as an author. I've never been particularly drawn to Dramione as a pairing before now - or even the HP universe in general as more than a very casual fan - but after reading nearly 600 thousand of your words, I'd be craving more even if that number was 600 million. Thank you very much for sharing Lionheart with the world.

It's a rare pleasure to read something where an immense thoughtfulness shines through so brightly not simply in bits and pieces here and there, but consistently throughout every line and every subplot you stitch together. There are other works of fiction out there that I love, but very, very few of them have been carefully crafted enough to allow me as a reader to sit back and have unshakeable confidence in the depth of the author's vision. Everything you write, from the smallest descriptive details to the grander puzzle pieces tying together each book, is delivered with such intentionality. Sometimes when reading other fiction I'll find myself impatiently wondering "okay, fantastic build-up, but when are we getting to the *really good* part"; with you, every part is the good part. The oft-cited slow-burn mantra of "it's not the destination, it's the journey" doesn't even ring true for me with Lionheart - because in your capable hands, you hurl us straight at that destination with every chapter. All of this to say that my starstruck inner writer is currently pinning a hypothetical pin-up poster of you to my hypothetical writer-ly bedroom wall as someone to look up to.

One of my favourite aspects of your work is how utterly hilarious you are both in your character dialogue and your prose. You've made me laugh more than you've made me cry - and you're guilty of making me cry a lot, especially in Book Four. You balance us between hysterical (funny) and hysterical (dirty, raw feelings) without a trace of whiplash, quite often imparting both simultaneously. Is interweaving humour with Everything Else something that comes naturally to you while writing or is it a process you're consciously juggling?

I've brooded and preened over this message for entirely far too long, and it's not fair to you. Suffice it to say you're kinder than I deserve and this made me want to cry. Any and all pin-up posters of me should render me looking like a deer in headlights, as is the appropriate reaction to this kind of honor.

I'm especially delighted by the hysteria (plural)! In general, it's easier for me to write humor than it is for me to write drama. Not that either one is easy as such, but I think drama requires more architecture. You don't have to explain if a joke is funny; it just is funny, and the audience knows why the characters are laughing/amused/happy. In drama, you have to achieve a certain level of technical character work to set up the punch of a moment; there's stakes, plotting, resonance, etc., and then you have to actually deliver it in a way that isn't either flippant, ironic, or Narm. Basically, there are more axes of failure. And the stakes of a joke failing are pretty low, too: worst case, your audience is like "eh, not that funny" and they move on. If a dramatic moment fails, it can take the legs out from under a whole arc.

One of my tests for whether a moment is ripe for comedy is the question of what the comedy is doing. Is it a realistic reflection of the character's voice in that situation? And, perhaps more importantly: why am I feeling the need to put comedy in this scene? Do I want it because it's natural and tone-appropriate, or am I trying to disguise my own insecurity about the dramatic content of the scene? If the latter, I tend to cut. You can't write from fear, you know?

[indigowriting]

5, 7, 10, and 15 for the writeblr ask? if it's not too much. (from you-are-my-neverland <3)

@you-are-my-neverland thanks for the ask star!!! putting this under the cut because it got long

5. what is your favourite book/story/poem you read this year?

oh, hands down she who became the sun by shelly parker-chan! it reinvigorated my passion for original writing, and it's just a banger all around (admittedly, i'm weak for the yuan/ming era and chinese historical fiction, but that's neither here nor there). the prose is dense and gorgeous and the themes that run throughout the novel are so well-executed. it's a heavy novel in some ways, but i would fully recommend it as long as you read a content warnings list so you know what you're getting in for.

7. what are three songs you put on your WIP-playlist this year?

i don't actually have wip playlists (i've been so so busy!!!!) but i definitely have songs that i listen to a lot while writing my wips! for birchlorn i've been listening to a lot of AlicebanD and a too sweet (hozier) fem cover by rainaeiry.

10. which character(s) turned out differently from what you had planned? how so?

oh god okay i don't want to spoil things but the pov character of birchlorn has changed SO MUCH. not in terms of goals, mind you, but there's a secret thing that her entire character is predicated on now that she absolutely was not before. it's the same story, but it's also a radically different story now, you feel me? (if you want full spoilers you can dm me and i'll tell you but i don't want to talk about it on my blog just yet)

15. time for shameless self-promotion! answer with a piece of writing you want others to see/read! (if you have nothing posted/published this year, any other year is fine too ^^)

hmmmmm i'll give an excerpt for all three of my wips!

from r&r:

When she arrives at the Peng manor, though, as the servant girl had predicted, no one is willing to let her enter. "I really only want to ask about the goat," Yu Xiyan promises, trying to ignore the heavy scent of goat stew she can smell wafting in from the kitchens. "I'm afraid that it might somehow have been taken from a friend—" The housekeeper glares at her. "How could our manor have your friend's goat?" he says. "No, no, you can't come in. The family is in mourning for Master Peng's death, the last thing they need to think about is a goat." With that, he closes the doors in her face, and Yu Xiyan is left, demoralised, standing outside.

-- the goat is important i promise :)

from birchlorn:

Then someone's rushing forward to reach out to her, calling out, "Guniang, are you alright?" and the horse's hooves are rising and it's stepping away, ears pinned back and nostrils flaring, and Bai Hua finds herself being helped up by a man in a richly-embroidered blue outfit and a fur-collared cloak. "Mm," Bai Hua murmurs, still somewhat dazed by the events of mere moments before. She blinks a couple times. "What's an immortal like guniang doing in this city?" the man asks, and reaches into his breast to pull out a handkerchief and offers it to her. It takes Bai Hua a moment to realise that he's offering it to her so she can brush away the dirt and snow in her hair and on her chest. "Perhaps this humble young master can offer his help?"

-- this has a secret meaning to it but you won't find that out until later :) or maybe never, who knows! but i know :)

from orioles:

Tally, who's moved to stand over her shoulder, says, "What sort of weird was this interference, exactly? You didn't mention." "You'll see," Bismah says, distractedly, and finally pulls the relevant frequency up. Suddenly, the terminal whirs, and the communications array's screen lights up, showing the searching symbol. Then, the readout information pops up, and, at the same moment, a breathy voice cries out, Orioles fluttering, cicada leaps! For a moment, Tally stares unblinkingly as her mind tries to parse the language—the accent is unfamiliar, and the wording is archaic, and she only recognises it because one of her mothers had had an amateur interest in the remaining scraps of the Old Texts. "Huh," she says. "I…have no idea what that means."

-- which means nothing, i'm sure! (lying)

[miss-oranje-disco-dancer]

PSA

In this post I will address the anti-ddne posts I've seen. I don’t want to get into the same argument every day, but i’m also not going to sit here and ignore these posts that needlessly shame people, push people out of the fandom space (sometimes going so far as to harass content creators), and most pertinent, in my opinion, take on a similar position to the puritanical censorship movement in the US right now that i will advocate against until the end of my days.

Also, this is all directed at people who are speaking in good faith, and I have no ill will towards these people. I would just like to share my perspective and I hope that people are willing to listen to me. But, I also know that some people make these posts to garner notes and I think that’s really shitty. One of the most popular posts in the leon kennedy x reader tag is just a complaint about ddne content. I’m there to read fanfic, not that.

You need to understand the distinction between fiction and reality. There are many acts that are illegal and immoral in reality, but that does not mean that it is illegal or immoral to write about them.

Depiction does not equal endorsement. Even if you personally consider the piece of fiction to be ‘romanticizing’ xyz, it still does not mean that the writer endorses the act. A work of fiction does not have to have a character who is morally upstanding say ‘hey, this is wrong’ for us to understand that it is wrong and that the writer most likely also believes that it is wrong.

Moreover, not all stories are happy or have lessons. A fanfiction writer is not responsible for teaching you right from wrong. If you are 18+, which you should be in order to be consuming this content, you should understand right from wrong. 

There are many reasons that someone might want to write about dark topics such as rape or incest. Some people want to explore taboo topics through the context of fiction - it’s kind of like how we enjoy horror movies, but we do not want to be involved in that situation in real life in any capacity. Some people write to cope with things that they’ve been through - and yes, some of the fics that you might consider ‘romanticizing’ certain content, are fics that are written to process and cope with trauma. That might not make sense to you, and that’s okay. 

You don’t have to read or enjoy any of this content. You are allowed to feel disgust – you have a right to your own feelings. However, they don’t dictate the objective morality or legality of the fics that you don’t like. 

Voicing your opinion is one thing, but harassing creators is another. It is annoying to see people yap about how they think dark content is gross, but that’s your right to do so, I suppose. However, when you go to someone’s blog and harass them for the content they write, that crosses a line. Harassment is not okay. Period. People have received death threats, racial slurs, etc. in their inbox due to the content of their writing. That’s not okay. I also find it particularly ironic that the people who argue for the censorship of dark content pose themselves as the moral arbiters and the ‘good people’ when many choose to do things that are objectively cruel. 

Reporting fics is also not cool. It is absolutely your prerogative to block people, tags and content. I have a post that explains how to block content - it makes it easier to avoid possibly triggering posts. Blocking curates your experience and it’s a good feature. Reporting content makes it so that others are restricted in curating their experience. 

Characters are not real and therefore cannot be defamed in any way. You do not need to ‘save’ a character. That ‘person’ does not exist. 

People are allowed to have different headcanons than you! You might see a character a certain way while someone else sees them completely differently, and that’s okay. Additionally, Putting a character in a situation does not mean that you necessarily think that character would behave that way at all. We have AUs, sometimes people write OOC, etc. It would defeat the point if we were essentially transcribing the source material. A non-ddne example would be: I write Chris x f!reader a lot but I personally think that Chris is gay. To me, that is OOC, but it’s fanfiction and I can explore different possibilities.

This does not have real life consequences. Writing and reading ddne content does not make one more likely to participate or want to participate in any of these activities. There is no correlation between people writing about illegal/immoral acts and committing them. This is the same argument that was used years ago in regards to video games causing violence - no link between playing video games and committing violent acts has been proven. 

Not all fiction is going to be fluff, happily-ever-after, etc. And that’s okay. This is especially true when we’re talking about a fandom surrounding a survival horror video game franchise. By the way, there is at the very least, implied rape and incest in the source material. If you cannot handle the idea that someone would write about horrific acts, then you should not be involved in a fandom that is about horror media.  

What it all comes down to is this: don’t like, don’t read! Write things that you enjoy and allow others to do the same. We don’t have to interact. I sometimes write ddne content, but often, I don’t. As long as you support others’ rights to write ddne content, feel free to interact with any of my non ddne content! I’m never going to force you to enjoy or consume dark content. If you’d like to see fluff, write fluff and engage with writers who write fluff. Writers thrive off of positive feedback, particularly reblogs and comments! Rather than complaining about what you don’t like, consider praising someone’s writing that you do like! Also, you are always free to write your own stories if no one else is writing the things you want to read. It might sound daunting at first, but it’s pretty fun. That’s what fandom and fanfiction is supposed to be: fun. But, if we keep having these arguments, it will no longer be fun for anyone. 

Other points of note:

Stop putting discourse in the x reader tags. Those tags are meant for fics. It’s just basic tagging etiquette. When someone follows that tag, they’re looking to see fics pop up on their dash. That’s how this site works. Genuinely, this is one of my biggest gripes here. People often tell me to stop arguing with people who complain, but I’m seeing those posts more often than I see fics on my dash from the x reader tag. 

Regarding ddlg, since that sometimes gets lumped in with other stuff, it’s a consensual relationship between two adults. It’s legal in real life, and that’s okay because again, it is two adults participating. This is more relevant to my blog because it’s something I write quite frequently. I’ve come to the realization that I write it out of trauma, but even if I didn’t, that’d be okay too. It’s not something that I participate in in real life, but if I did, that’d be okay too. 

No one mentions the fact that stepcest (even incest) porn is one of the most popular porn categories. People act as if this is a new thing. I have a complex opinion on pornography, but that would be a bigger discussion that I don’t know if I’m even fully ready to have. However, I think that smut writing, particularly fanfiction, if you consider it to be porn, is the least exploitative out of all forms of pornography. We are writers who can choose anonymity, we can write in safe spaces, we aren’t taken advantage of financially, we have full control over our own boundaries, etc. 

I saw at least one person try to say that because ‘leon is a cop’ he would never commit any of these terrible crimes, and to that person, I don’t know if you live in the US or not, but that’s the greatest argument for him being more likely to commit sex crimes. ACAB forever.  

Here is the post I made that explains how to block content which works better than blocking tags.

[psychopomp-namine]

Can I ask your top favorite fics that you've written (feel free how much that you want to list)? Why they're special to you? Is there a specific inspiration when you wrote them? Thanks 🌻

okay, finally answering this. this made me realize I have 39 fics on my AO3 already. how time flies...

gonna go with a 5+1 trope here. 5 favorite fics I've written + 1 that hasn't been posted

staccato (twewy) - sometimes there are themes, motifs, tropes, etc. that a writer will come back to over and over again. if you're lucky, you can pinpoint which piece of writing started all of this, and what every other piece of writing written since then is responding to or conversing with. this is that fic for me. this is old. it's from 2012. it's what got me started writing more experimentally. yeah I can write a straightforward story, but I also really like writing non-linear stories with unreliable narrators and ambiguous elements (either something to do with identity/memory/time messing up the narrative; for staccato's case, it's memory). it took me a while since writing this to actually understand that's what I like writing though, but this is definitely the seed from which my current writing style sprung from. for that reason, it's a very special fic to me. it's formative to my writing journey.

[h]eretic (nier automata) - (david lynch voice) "the film is the talking" but apply it to fic. it's 374 words. someone commented, "I like it when a work is short but gets to the point. This was powerful." so I accomplished what I wanted. this is my hemingway six-word story flash fiction moment 👍

time is a vinyl record (genshin impact) - I haven't continued this because it's a high effort fic to write and I just don't have the writing stamina for it right now. you can see how I'm very excited about it though. I like it because I get to play around with formatting a lot, to the point where I now maintain a separate workskin demo for formatting fics. so I enjoyed that process of it. it's also got time travel shenanigans, science is magic is science stuff. it's easier to show you pictures of why this fic is so high effort for me (see below). it's a "mixed media" fic, and requires three levels of research (travel research, because the characters travel the world. science research, because it's got spacetime shenanigans. and archival research, as in "what do archivists do and how do they archive"). so yeah. high concept, don't have the brain space for it yet to continue, but I'm very fond of it.

the gardener who only collects seeds (genshin impact) - another time travel fic. time loop one, to be precise. this is the fic where, as I was writing it, I realized, oh. this is staccato all over again. the plot is different, the fandom is different, but stylistically and thematically, it's staccato in a different font. or rather, the refinement of the je ne sais quois that staccato started. this will keep happening in other fics, such as in re:flect. re/fract. (which uses identity issues instead of time travel as the ambiguous narrative element). everything goes back to staccato. that said, a longer postscript of gardener can be found here if you want to know how it was written/conceptualized/etc.

AZAZEL (danganronpa V3) - I usually write for small fandoms or rare(ish) pairs (relatively speaking), so this is the first time I posted a fic where it got so many comments and kudos so fast (relative to my other fics). I didn't think people still regularly check the saiouma tag in 2024? so the response just blew me away. I enjoyed writing a casefic from my experience writing another fic that's not on this list, so that's what compels me about writing azazel. the mystery writing. but also! I am a huge fan of role reversal fics because it really pushes the envelope with character arcs, and this is kinda like that. I'm a slow writer, but I'm still writing the second chapter. additional thoughts on themes, etc can be found here. also, I guess this fic felt like a milestone for me, because I finally got over my word count worries. it's my fic, so I get to say it's totally okay to post 20k words for one chapter. and I'm currently of the mindset that each chapter of this fic will probably have around the same word count. if anyone reading this is a reader of azazel, uhhhhh. that's partially why I'm slow to update, but I'm also just slow in general.

+1: The Halting Problem (sgdlr): you said "written" and technically I have a WIP that's partially written (16k words and counting). it's just not posted. that counts, right? this is my favorite fic to write atm. the halting problem is a set of two fics (RE:cursion and async/await) that make up one whole story. they're being written in such a way that you need one to understand the other. I think I can't really post either of them until they're both finished/complete. moreover, I decided to use both fics as my testing ground to see if I can write interactive, choose-your-own-adventure stories. I just think those are neat! so I wanted to try them myself!! and I think lc is perfect for that kind of story. if you've played a cyoa game before, you know how this goes. and yes, you can do this on AO3 (with limitations)! it's been really fun seeing the many ways you can use "choices" as a storytelling device, aside from just making branching paths in a narrative. I feel like, in spirit, this belongs to this list, although yeah it's not posted yet. I cannot promise that it will be. I highly doubt that it will be finished, in all honesty. it's kinda ambitious lmao, and waaay above my skill level. but! in the moment, I am having so so so much fun with it. and that's what matters in the end. the conceptualization and writing process for this fic just feels really different from the others because of it's narrative structure, and I'm kinda learning a lot about my own writing process along the way.

[robynroost]

Okay so I've done some write-ups for various fandoms in the past, and having been in the Stardew Valley for a little while now (I'm soo LATE to the game but I'm glad I get to experience it!) I thought why not a Shane fiction seeing as he is my absolute favourite character! Really be addicted to this man istg ;-; anyway, I'm not sure what write ups are like here, but I wanna share! Hope y'all like it! It's short and sweet, not great either, but I enjoyed writing it all the same ^^

The Long Walk Home

(Fic based on Shane's 8 heart event during the storm)

Pairing - Shane x Farmer (Female Y/n!)

Warnings - Mentions of sui*ide, depression, anxiety etc. Hospitals, alcoholism...

Description - After spending your evening speaking with Emily about your previous encounter with Shane at Marnie's ranch (previous heart event) an early storm roles in as you leave, taking the long walk back to your little farmhouse. It isn't until your foot bumps into something odd that you realise not everything is as it seems in Cindersap Forest...

Thunder rolled overhead. What had previously been predicted for the end of the Summer season had come early: a torrential downpour of fat, heavy luke-warm raindrops and the whip-cracking sound of clouds crashing into eachother at such an outstanding velocity that the sky tore in two with the claws of lightning bolts.

You had been perched upon a stool inside the cozy Stardrop Saloon of Pelican Town, head buried into your muddied arms with your right hand clutching onto a half-empty glass of water after a long day in the fields. Work hadn't intended to be so difficult, albeit the thought of what had happened the day previously had you wracking your brains with guilt and worry for the past several hours - even as you attempted to sleep.

"I'm sure Shane will be fine." Emily sat opposite you, her hand working a cloth inside one of the Saloon glasses as she continued, her expression attempting to be cheerful with a splash of hope, "I've known him ever since he moved here with little Jas. He's always been to himself, always here drinking..."

Your head snapped upright with a frown, "That's the point. He's always drinking, and he's always to himself..." You wavered your hand in a gesture that could only explain your worry further, "I mean- who has actually spent the time to ask him how he's really feeling?"

Emily replied with a shrug and a frown, "Nobody really gets much else out of him than the snarky replies, so nobody really bothers." She buried her hand deeper into the glass as she spoke, your eyes watching closely as the squeaking became louder,  "I do tend to get more of a friendlier conversation mind you, but that's about it, poor guy..."

"Guess I'm just worried about him is all, he does seem like a lovely person. I've spent enough time with him at the dock to see that." You murmured with a shrug.

Another splitting crash of thunder had the walls of the Saloon shake. You narrowed your eyes upward towards the celling as if you expected the entire thing to collapse under the sheer malice of such a storm. Emily too shared your concerned expression and took a step back, tipping her head a few times towards the door, "You best be off if you want to get home in one piece."

"Yeah too right," you agreed whilst scooping yourself up and fixing your boots into place, "Thanks for the chat though. I'll go see how Shane's doing tomorrow. Gonna be passing that way back home actually, I fancy a walk."

With a wave and a bow of farewell you were on your way, arms crossed to shield yourself from the debris that the wind had managed to strip from the trees as you made your way back through Cindersap Forest. The rain had practically flooded you by the time you'd taken five steps out of the Saloon, but you welcomed it. Summer had been unusually hot this year, and you and your crops needed the much needed water to moisten your dry skin.

Now with such dark, thick clouds overhead, you struggled to see a good few feet ahead of you, and the jet stream of rain didn't seem to help either.

Of course I forgot my flashlight... how could I possibly-

Clank!

That wasn't thunder...?

There it was again. That same clanking noise that sounded awfully familiar to "Beer cans...?"

There now resting cold and wet in your hand was an empty beer can after you had bent down to investigate. It had to be the same brand of alcohol as the cans you had seen in Shane's room yesterday. That's when a heavy gust of wind disturbed the forest floor and with that the sound of various other cans echoed down the pathway leading towards the edge of the forest, close to the cliffside.

Curiosity always got the better of you, you'd admit, but this was a different sort. It was anxiety bubbling away in your stomach, a knot so tight and horrifying it urged you to just go and follow that ominous trail - it was fear gnawing away at your bones...

So you followed with a frown.

A can here, a can over there... until you saw it through the flash of lightning. A silhouette of a man face down, teetering on the edge of the cliffside, surrounded by empty cans.

You could barely feel your throat vibrate when your chest constricted, letting out a terribly frightened yelp. Your feet charged aimlessly towards the scene, your heart rampaging inside your chest. You collapsed next to him, hands gripping onto the drenched blue rugged jumper as you begged for him to show you any signs of life, "Shane- come on Shane wake up!"

There was a sudden shift, and you felt yourself flopping back onto your knees with wide eyes and a slack jaw, hands now buried into your lap.

"...Y/n?" Shane barely managed to wheeze out at you, jaw clenched and eyes shut firmly. He stifled a sob, "I...I'm sorry..."

You found yourself silent and unmoving, as if you had a complete understanding of the situation and knew what to do: let Shane speak his truth. Regardless, you couldn't make much noise from your voice box through the shock anyway.

The man let out a drunken hiccup and barely managed to take in another breath as he continued, "M...My life... it's a pathetic joke."

Your eyes, heavy with sadness, caught sight of the tears that escaped his ducts. Even with such heavy rain, you could just tell that those droplets sliding down his cheek grew more heavy than the downpour itself.

Shane continued, "Look at me... why do I even try?" Sobbing again, much harder this time, Shane recoiled into himself. He felt his hand slip over the edge of the cliffside and narrowly opened an eye to take a look out into the horizon, "I'm too small and stupid to... to take control of my own life. I'm just a p... piece of soiled garbage flittering in the wind..." He jerked, having almost thrown up the incredibly high amount of alcohol he had consumed prior, and felt himself nearing the edge some more, eyes now focusing on the border of the cliffside, "I've been coming here often lately... looking down... here's a chance to finally take control of my life... these cliffs..."

You could have sworn you felt your heart shatter. You knew Shane was struggling but not like this... it had you completely broken listening to the pain in his voice. Your hands shook uncontrollably as you continued to listen.

"B... but I'm too scared-" Shane jolted again, forcing his mouth shut, "... too anxious. Just like always..."

You felt Shane's attention focus on you this time, "Y/n... all I do is work, sleep and drink...t... to dull the feelings of self-hatred." He was now angling his head towards you, deep green eyes focused on your own as you silently gasped with a visible flinch, "Why should I even go on? Tell me... T... Tell me why I shouldn't roll off this cliff right now."

A moment of clarity finally hit. You knew this was your time to speak. Shane gazed at you expectantly, deep purple hair clinging to his drenched face.

You took a deep breath, barely holding back a sob of your own, before steadying yourself to speak with a broken expression,  "The decision is your own. Just know that I'm here for you."

Shane remained silent for a moment, and another roaring crash of thunder echoed overhead. The storm should surely pass soon.

Finally, he answered, a small glint of hope now shining through the dark shadow behind those eyes, "... Thanks. I appreciate that. I really do."

Your head tipped to the side, a sad frown formed upon your face as you attempted to place your hand upon Shane's, but ultimately pulled back. Shane let out a gurgled cough and groan before attempting to lift himself, though he barely managed a few centermeters before collapsing back down, "Y/n... I think you should take me to the hospital now."

Your eyes widened, and you barely had time to even think before you were on your feet and gently scooped Shane up, letting him wrap his arms around your shoulders to keep him upright, "It's gonna be a long walk... but I'll get you there. Just don't give up Shane. Stay awake. Let me know if you need to stop or anything, okay?"

Shane whined out in pain but stabled himself against you, wincing in pain as he barely managed to stand straight. He nodded, gripping onto you as if his life depended on it- which it did, of course.

You gave him a squeeze for comfort and began your perilous walk, "I'll get you there Shane. I promise..."

***

White hospital lights hummed overhead. You found yourself waking from a short nap, head against the pearl-coloured sheets of a bed, but not your own. As you rose to sit upright, your tired eyes caught sight of Shane. He was tucked neatly under the sheets, hair now mostly dry and fluffed up, sticking in all different angles but mainly falling over his closed eyes. His chest rose and fell softly in such a way that at long last showed relaxation for such a mentally exhausted individual.

A sigh of absolute relief escaped your lungs, finding yourself gazing at the man's face in awe of how peaceful he finally seemed.

"How are you Y/n?" The voice that jolted you upright was none other than Harvey, the town doctor and one you knew well. He came to stand bedside your chair, looking down.

You offered Harvey a reassuring smile, "I'm doing okay, thank you Harvey. Just a little cold."

A small nod from Harvey reaffirmed his content with your own wellbeing. You hadn't come down with a fever, nor a cough, so you were going to be fine. He then turned his attention to Shane, "I've pumped his stomach and re-hydrated his body. He's going to be okay."

You gave Harvey a slow nod, sighing in the process as you frowned softly, eyes locked onto Shane's face as he slept. You felt the warmth of Harvey's hand meet your shoulder to offer some comfort as he spoke, "It's good you brought him in, though."

A wave of concern washed over Harvey's face as he spoke, "Too much alcohol is terrible for the body, but I'm more worried about his mental health..."

Me too... you wanted to speak that out loud, but something stopped you. For now, you just wanted to remain silent.

"Once he comes to," Harvey continued, "I'll have a chat with him about his treatment options. I know an excellent councelor in Zuzu City."

Ha... something that concrete jungle is actually good for...

You felt yourself shudder. Shane seemed so peaceful now... so content. You could hardly believe that you could have lost him tonight. If you hadn't made your way back through Cindersap, who knows what would have happened... Harvey's hand squeezed your shoulder to bring you back round, and you gazed upward to meet his eye.

"Life can be painful, sometimes..." Harvey spoke with a spark of confidence, "But there's always hope for a better future. You've got to believe in that." With that, Harvey removed his hand and gave you a smile before exiting the room. You heard the audible click of the door as it shut and felt your gaze drift back over towards Shane.

Your head tipped to the side, and with a small smile, you placed your hand upon Shane's. He stirred slightly, fingers twitching, before he too began to smile ever so slightly. You felt a jolt within your chest, a warm fuzzy feeling that completely shrouded each nerve ending within you. Tonight's events... the way you felt yourself gazing so protectively over the man ahead of you, and the idea of almost losing him had your head spinning until finally you felt realisation dig its claws into you.

You'd fallen for him. You had fallen in love, and you'd almost lost that all in one night, but here you were with your hand against Shane's own.

Now you were just thankful you had taken the long walk home.