#on future chapters. so i gotta just sit down and WRITE and then… i really really wanna AHHSHGHHHH talk about the mystery character

[whumpy-wyrms]

SNOW DAY TOMORROW YESSSYESYES YESYESSSSSSS AHHHHHH

[eternalxvenus]

⇢ ˗ˏˋ broken promises pt. 2 ࿐ྂ

summary: Rafe promised to take you out and spend your birthday with you, but you don’t hear from him all day and then suddenly he shows up at your door trying to explain. (this is part 2 to the birthday girl angst blurb! i changed the title for the series so it was more appealing)

cw: mentions of drug use, angst, nothing crazy (yet lmao)

wc: 1.2k

notes: i'm excited to write this since its my first series! lmk if there's anything you guys would wanna see in future chapters :)

previous chapters: part 1

You wake up to your alarm droning on annoyingly and feel around aimlessly with your eyes closed to turn it off. Once you had finally woken up on your own accord, you realized you should talk to Rafe. You hadn't spoken to him or left your house the last few days. Obviously, you missed him, but you just felt so hurt and angry with him.

After getting ready and using makeup to look a little more alive and less blotchy from crying so much, you decided you'd go up to Tannyhill to try and talk to Rafe. You left your house, hopped on your bike, and started towards the estate. The whole ride there, you just kept going over what you wanted to say but nothing seemed right. Before you knew it, you were at the front entrance.

You walked inside and heard voices in the distance coming from upstairs. Once you made your way upstairs, you heard the voices more clearly coming from Rafe's room. It was Rafe and another person whose voice you couldn't pinpoint.

"Come on, man you gotta understand where I'm comin' from. I've just been stressed out. Nothing a good time won't fix."

You looked into the room and saw Rafe sitting with some guy you've never seen. There was a table in between them that had some rolled-up bills and coke sitting on it.

You walked inside the room, still unnoticed until you spoke. "Hey, Rafe."

Both of their heads snapped in your direction, and Rafe immediately shot up, walking towards you.

"Shit... I uh- I didn't know you were coming over." He looked back at the man who just sat there unbothered. "Barry, can you uh give us a minute..."

"So let me get this straight, you went to a party and got high, missed my entire birthday, and after I tell you I'm pissed off your next line of action is to get high again with your drug dealer, right?"

Before Rafe could speak, Barry grabbed his stuff and started walking out. "A'ight man hit me up when y'all are done dealing with this shit."

Rafe waited until he thought Barry was far enough before closing the door and speaking, "Can you blame me? I don't hear from you for days so I assumed you didn't wanna be with me anymore! I tried to talk to you and you straight up ignored me."

"I was angry Rafe! I just needed some time to myself. That doesn't mean I'm breaking up with you and it doesn't mean you should start doing drugs again when that is quite literally what we fought about." 

This definitely wasn't how you imagined this conversation going. You didn't want to argue with him but your pride wasn't going to let you just back down.

"If you wanted space you could've told me," he sighed. "And I am sorry that I got high at that party and I'm sorry I missed your birthday okay? I want to make it up to you."

You walked over to the bed and sat down for a moment with your head in your hands. You loved Rafe, you really did. But you didn't want him falling into his old habits and lying to you about it.

You both sat there in silence as you thought about what you should do and what you should say.

"Rafe I... I think we should just take some time apart. Get our heads straight and figure out what we want-"

He walked over and sat next to you his eyes wide. "Baby I want you, I want to be with you."

"I wanna be with you too, Rafe, but I have conditions. I don't want you doing coke anymore. I don't like the person you are when you get like that. I know you get stressed and feel like it's your only option but you have me. Or maybe try weed and see how that works for you. I also don't want you hanging with Barry anymore. Non-negotiables."

He nods "I swear I'll work on it and I'll talk to Barry. I swear."

You stand up from the bed getting ready to go out the door. "Rafe... I'm gonna go stay with my parents on the mainland for a few days. I'll be in contact but please try your best to just leave me be. Get clean, for good, and I'll let you know when I'm back and we can figure everything out. Okay?"

He shakes his head. You can see that he's angry and confused, your heart just aches. "The mainland? What- why? Just stay here, I don't understand-"

"Please, Rafe. This is what we have to do okay?"

He took a few deep breaths and ran his hands through his hair. "Okay... okay. When you get back, I'll have made it up to you. Just promise me we aren't over." 

You could see the tears that formed in his eyes and had to fight back your own. "We aren't over just yet." You gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving his room and heading home.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

You were finally off the ferry and on the mainland to stay with your parents. You really wanted to talk to your best friend to get advice so you asked her to pick you up. By the time you reached your house, she was all caught up. Your parents weren't home so you both went straight up to your childhood bedroom.

"Damn... I didn't think he got down like that." Niki looked at you slightly surprised. "Honestly though, it sounds like does care about you, even if he did fuck up."

"Yeah, I know he cares I just... I don't wanna have to worry about shit like this. Whenever he's all coked up he makes irrational and bad decisions. I'm just worried he'll do something and end up in jail or worse."

"You just have to let him know that. Make sure he knows your anger comes from a place of care. If he feels like you're just judging him, it'll probably piss him off."

You sigh and groan into your pillow. "You're right, thanks Niki."

"Don't mention it. Now, let me catch you up on the mainland gossip!" she squealed.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Niki had gone home and you were getting into bed, ready to sleep after what felt like an exceptionally long day, when your phone chimed. You looked and saw you had a text from Rafe.

Rafe: hey I just wanted to make sure you made it to the mainland safely.

You: yes I did, i'm at my parent's house, thanks for asking.

Rafe: of course, goodnight

You: goodnight

Placing your phone on the dresser, you're thankful he doesn't push the conversation further. You decide you'll only stay here for three days before going back to the island to figure things out with Rafe. You just hope he can work on staying clean and that you can go back to being together like normal. 

As you closed your eyes, ready for sleep, you heard another chime from your phone. You groaned before picking it up to check.

Topper: hey we need to talk, it's about Rafe.

part 3

likes, comments, and blogs are greatly appreciated!

taglist: @readingsmuts @1aarii1 @bingbongbum @stargirlsturniololover @babygirl229 @poisonedsultana @rafescamshoe

[callsign-rogueone]

study season

fourth wing characters (Aaric, Bodhi, Brennan, Dain, Garrick, Imogen, Liam, Mira, Rhiannon, Ridoc, Sawyer, Sloane, Violet, and Xaden) x reader the ways our faves help you study for exams. words: ~900 🏷: no book spoilers, no triggers. gender neutral. and I included the girls this time!! some of these can be read as platonic and others mention kisses / cuddles, implying you’re a couple. idk, I just work here. I’m really liking this format lately, and it’s (fairly) quick and easy so you can expect more of these in the future while I procrastinate all the girlfriendverse chapters and smut I have to write lol

First, the more studious of the bunch:

Brennan is all-in, no hesitation, pulling up a chair next to you and learning this with you for moral support, but also for fun (can you believe this guy?) though you suppose it’s easier to enjoy this if it doesn’t count for a grade. Either way, he’s a very nice study partner, and he encourages you to take breaks every hour / chapter / etc. Brings snacks, too.

Violet somehow already knows all of the material, and explains it better than the textbook or the professor. Walks things back if you don’t get it and gets into the why and how, which so many teachers skip over, even though it helps explain the what (pet peeve of mine showing here lol). 

Aaric’s study skills are unmatched -- years of the best private tutors money can buy really paid off. Teaches you new strategies that you’ve never heard of in your life, and when you ask, he admits a bit shyly that he came up with it himself, but it works, and you get it done in half the time you would have before. (work smarter, not harder, baby)

Rhiannon gives you the pep talk of your life (we all need a Rhiannon in our lives) and convinces you that you’ve got this. Packs you a little snack for the day of your exam with a little note reminding you that you know this, just breathe and think. 

Xaden sees you struggling and forces you to take a break. During said break, he’s reading the book himself and figuring out what exactly has you so stressed and exhausted. Breaks down the tasks into smaller, more manageable steps and guides you through it -- “find three reasons why XYZ happened.” done with that? “Now make them into paragraphs.” etc etc, and an hour later, you have a passable essay. 

Dain is taking this more seriously than you are, and his discipline is like no other; you’re not stopping until the work is done, or until midnight, whichever comes first (because sleep is important for the brain, or whatever. Definitely not just because he misses you and wants to cuddle). 

Garrick may have no idea what you’re talking about, but he suffers through it with you, offering to let you explain things to him, because teaching is a good way to test if you understand something. Though you get what you pay for -- he’s a total smartass about it, asking questions about the littlest details even if they’re common knowledge -- he’s gotta be thorough, right? 

Ridoc may be the class clown type, but he’s smarter than a lot of people think. He comes up with a bunch of jokes that actually help you remember things. Somehow manages to relate the most complex topic in your book to a sandwich, and it actually works. He’s incredibly smug about this for the rest of the week, especially when you get the highest score in the class (he’ll take payment in kisses, thank you.)

Bodhi makes flashcards with you, quizzing you and giving you a kiss if you get it right (this definitely is not a distraction, and things definitely don’t escalate from here, nope.) He’s also really good at proofreading essays, and gives excellent feedback regarding the structure and the order of the information.

Liam sits there with you all the while, completely silent, working on one of his wood carvings at the other end of the table, but you know he’s there and he’s watching -- and that provides a healthy amount of peer pressure and keeps you on task. He’s an incredibly observant person, and he can see the stress building; he knows when to intervene and suggest that you take a break.

Sloane is the best person to commiserate with. She doesn’t want to be doing this either, but she’s also incredibly stubborn, and she doesn’t give up; after a healthy amount of complaining, she’s forcing you both to keep trying until it works / until it’s done, and then you’re treating yourselves to something for getting it over with, because you deserve it.

Sawyer is gentle and supportive, having a heart-to-heart conversation with you and reminding you that yes, this is important, but the world will not stop turning if you fail one exam. He knows how it feels to be compared to his peers, especially in how long it takes you to accomplish something (poor bb) and doesn’t want you stressing yourself out about that, either. 

Imogen is the opposite, all tough love, giving you gentle but firm reminders: “you didn’t make it this far just to give up,”, “I know you can do this, so do it,” but she balances it out with tender affirmation when you’re done. She’ll even let you skip out on training for the day since you’ve been studying so hard (and she takes training seriously, so this is more of a reward than it seems). 

Mira’s default approach is similar to Imogen’s, but she can see that you’re reaching your limit and dials it back, being more gentle with you and doing whatever you need -- encouragement? someone to just sit there? help / explanation / etc? she’s got you covered. herds you into bed at a reasonable hour so you’ll be well rested for the classes and exams.

And all of them are incredibly proud of you for working so hard and getting good grades 🤍

[covenha]

Synopsis: Seonghwa watches Hongjoong crash and burn and decides to revisit a good ole tactic to help his buddy out. This is a two-part spin off of the simp!verse. Pairings: nerd!hongjoong x fem!reader; guest appearances from Soobin and Yeonjun from TXT Genre: crack, my piss attempt at humor, hongjoong my poor guy is such a simp god bless his heart Warnings: swear words, witchcraft technically WC: 2.4k (I got carried away, oops) a/n: This monster of a chapter was birthed by my sleep-deprive brain from travelling for the holidays. I'm glad I put it out before christmas though because I wanna write something christmas themed before christmas day. This fic is purely fiction and does not portray what the characters are like irl. Feedbacks, reblogs, and comments are also deeply appreciated and highly encouraged! and as always please enjoy :)) Read part 1 here ; Read simp!hwa here

Seonghwa didn’t like getting involved in other people’s lives (he’s lying to himself, really. The aries in him loves making people his puppets). But seeing his best friend and dorm mate, Hongjoong, pouting on his bed whining about his sim’s wife not reciprocating his feelings, he just knew he had to intervene. If he hears Backburner by Niki playing one more time on Hongjoong’s speaker, he’s going to go clinically insane himself. 

“Okay, Hongjoong you gotta stop this! C’mon get up!” Hongjoong is currently face down on his mattress, mumbling along to the song for the nth time this week. 

The Goo Goo Dolls are dead to me the way you should be too

“Joong, I swear-”

But you bring them up along with how much I fucking miss you!

Hongjoong continues to mumble along the words to the song, almost like he’s drunk. And after this, Seonghwa swears he needs a drink too.

“Look, maybe you’re a bit of a fixer upper. I was too! But now look at me, I’m in a loving relationship and I couldn’t be happier.” he still doesn’t seem convinced at whatever peptalk Seonghwa is trying to feed him. But he does stop his singing so it’s a win in Seonghwa’s eyes. 

“I’m gonna let you in on a little trade secret of mine. As much as I look like the total rizzler that I am. I didn’t exactly get the girl on my looks and charm alone.” Hongjoong furrows his brows at this. Ignoring the fact that his friend just used the word “rizzler” unironically, he was desperate at this point. 

“An Etsy witch?!” he looks at Seonghwa, unimpressed at the boba-eyed boy. 

“Look, you just gotta trust me on this one okay?” Hongjoong sighs, I mean he was desperate. His conjured up future of you with his poodle and 2 goldfish was hanging in the balance right now. So he decided to humor Seonghwa. 

“We just gotta use a little bit of manifestation. Alexa play Take a Chance with Me by Niki!” 

With a newfound determination in his step, Hongjoong walks to class that day with one goal in his head. He had to figure out what your name was. 

“I have to find out her name?” Hongjoong furrows his eyebrows at the instructions. 

“Well, yeah. Seulgi needs to know her name for the ritual to be done correctly.” He replies in a matter-of-fact kind of tone. 

“Why can’t I just use that pink stone thingy you used?” 

“Because she has to wear it for 3 days. And, no offense, but I doubt that she would accept anything from you, Romeo.” Seonghwa pats him on the back. “But this will work, trust!” 

“You better be right, Hwa.” 

When he walks into the amphitheater, you are sitting in your usual spot typing away at something on your laptop. You were wearing a green beanie this time, seeing as the weather was getting colder. Hongjoong couldn’t help but swoon a little on the inside at you. You looked like a cute brussel sprout and he just wanted to bite you (but of course in a loving and sweet kind of way.) 

“Hi!” Hongjoong starts. “We talked for a little bit last week… I don’t know if you remember.” He shyly smiles at you. 

Oh, you remembered. He was the same guy who just randomly shouted at you before the class started. He was cute, you’ll admit that. He had a sort of nerdy vibe to him that you usually found cute in a guy. If only it weren’t for the piss poor first impression he pulled. You notice he still had that jittery look in his eyes, the same one he had last week. You didn’t like where this was going. 

“Oh, I remember.” You give him a tight smile. 

“Oh!” he manages to blurt out, albeit very loudly. This startles you and makes you jump a little in your seat. And this also causes a ruckus in the amphitheater causing eyes to look at the interaction between the both of you again. Great, you think. So much for keeping a low profile. 

“My name is Kim Hongjoong. Can I ask you what your name is?” He looks down at you with a hopeful look in his eyes. He really was cute, you think. But you hated all the eyes on you. You wanted this to end as quickly as possible and return to your peace and quiet. But you also didn’t want to embarrass this guy in front of the whole class. So, you do the next best thing. 

“My name is Wendy Lu.” You give him a fake name. 

I mean, what he won’t know won’t kill him right? You get him off your back. He gets to search up some finance major that frequents the cafe that you work at. And in your defense, she was totally cute! She also had a caffeine addiction but you digress. 

“Nice to meet you, Wendy!” Hongjoong rushes off to find his seat at the back of the room with a beaming smile on his face. This Etsy witch Seulgi sure did have her work cut out for her. But I mean, if she could get Seonghwa a girlfriend, she could totally get me one, right? 

“So, her name is Wendy Lu. I came up to her this morning and asked for her name, and she totally smiled at me! I got this one in the bag.” Hongjoong is beaming with glee at Seonghwa. 

They’re walking down a part of town that is a bit of a ways away from their usual path to their dorm but they had to make a detour to go to Seulgi’s physical store to get some supplies. She wrote down some instructions for Hongjoong to follow in his ritual for love spell casting and then they were off on their merry way back to their dorms. Unfortunately, Seonghwa had a 10-page essay he had due that very night to which he was very sorely behind on. 

“Can we go grab some coffee first? Either I’m going to finish this essay or it will finish me.” Seonghwa sighs, a stressed look on his face as he turns to the closest cafe that was on their route. 

That’s when they are greeted with you manning the cash register of the cafe. There’s a line at the cash register because this is usually when the cafe is at its busiest and you don’t even notice them coming in. Hongjoong is trying to contain himself and keep his chill. But he can’t help it if you look so effortlessly beautiful with your hair tied up and in your cute barista apron. The man is basically shooting heart eyes your way but you’re too busy taking orders. 

“My usual, please. To go.” Wendy Lu tries to give you the best smile she can, but it just ends up looking like a twitch on her face. Midterms must be coming up, you concluded. Sucks to be a finance major. One iced americano with 4 espresso shots, coming right up. You finish ringing in her order and give the ticket away for your co-worker to start on her drink. 

“Hello, what can I get for you today?” You bring your head up from the cash register and feel a dread settle into your stomach. It was the guy from earlier. Hongjoong, if you recall correctly. 

“I’ll have a Vanilla latte, and a pistachio bagel please.” Seonghwa replies. 

“Oh, and uhm. I’ll have a Caramel Macchiato with a tuna melt.” Hongjoong adds. 

“Will you have this for dine-in or take-out?” 

“We’ll have it for take-out, please.” 

And as you finish ringing up their orders, you forget one crucial detail that just managed to slip your mind. Wendy Lu. 

“Iced americano for Wendy Lu!” your co-worker, Soobin, shouts. 

Both boys look at you with confused eyes as Wendy Lu grabs her drink from Soobin and rushes off. You try to ignore the tension in the room but Hongjoong blurts out, “I thought you were Wendy Lu?” 

“Well, Wendy is a pretty common name.” You just nervously giggle off and hope he doesn’t press further. 

“Hey, Y/n. Yeonjun needs help rolling out the croissant dough in the kitchen.” Soobin interrupts the awkward conversation. “I’ll finish that up for you, go help him.” 

“Right.” You give them one last glance before walking over to the kitchen. 

And we are back to square one with Hongjoong. Well, not necessarily square one, more like square one and a half. Seonghwa likes to look on the brighter side of things. 

“Hey, at least you know her name! And besides, this ritual thing will still work, so what if she gave you a fake name at first.” Seonghwa tries to console his distraught dorm mate. 

“When you become best man at my wedding, can you leave this part out of your speech please?” Hongjoong just lies on the floor and pouts at him. 

“Oh, the part where you crashed and burned the first time you met your future wife? Sure.” Seonghwa deadpans at his friend. 

“Now, just do the ritual, my guy. I have an essay to write and you have a girl to wife up.” Seonghwa motions for him to get up. 

“Fine.” Hongjoong gets up and goes to get his supplies for the ritual but notices that the instructions for the ritual are gone. He furrows his eyebrows and digs through his things trying to find them but they don’t seem to be anywhere. He asks Seonghwa if he’s seen them anywhere but he claims to not even have held the paper. This confirms a theory he’s had in his head that sends a storm of unease to his stomach. 

He remembers putting his stuff out while waiting for his tuna melt to be heated up. The last time he remembers seeing that pink sheet of paper was at the cafe table. He had to go back to that cafe. He checks the time and it’s around the time that it closes, if he remembers correctly from the door. If he rushes now, he could get to the cafe right before it closes. 

So he rushes out the door yelling out that he was going to the cafe, leaving a very confused Seonghwa to attempt to finish his essay. 

Hongjoong arrives at the cafe on a mission to find that pink-ruled piece of paper that holds the key to his happiness. The cafe is deserted at this point, the door sign says “closed” but he can still see you and your two other co-workers cleaning up the establishment. He gulps.

Here goes nothing. 

He knocks on the door to the shop and points to the locked door. 

You and Soobin shoot each other a look and Soobin walks up to the door.

“So that was lover boy, I assume?” Soobin glances down at you as you wipe down the counters behind the cash register.

“Oh scarf guy?” Yeonjun pipes up. 

“Yeah. Kim Hongjoong.” You tell them. “Guy seems sweet and all but he brings so much attention during class. Made me want to disappear into my seat.” 

“Well, seems like lover boy’s got it bad. He was going to cast a spell on you.” Soobin says trying to imitate a dracula accent. 

“What? No way.” Yeonjun dismisses him. 

“Look. He left it at the table they were at. Even went to that trinket shop down at the corner next to the deli. Poor guy was going to get Wendy Lu to fall head over heels in love with him.” He waves a pink piece of paper around. 

You grab it and look at what’s written down and stare in utter disbelief. Was he really willing to go this far? 

“Man’s a simp if I’ve ever seen one.” Soobin concludes. 

“He just doesn’t know when to give up. I mean, you were pretty straightforward the first time around. Take the L, my guy.” Yeonjun shakes his head. 

“Hmmm, well I thought it was a bit harsh. But he is persistent. I'll give him that.” Soobin shrugs. 

“Ugh, I was too harsh, wasn’t I?” You ask, to no one in particular. But you didn’t mean to be harsh. Being the center of attention was never your favorite thing and it brought out a side of you that had no filter. 

“Are you forgetting the fact that he hired an Etsy witch to make him fall in love with you?” Yeonjun reminds you. 

“Well, I don’t really believe in that kind of stuff. Pink rocks and weird drawings? Be fucking for real.” 

And as luck would have it, a knock on the door stops your discourse. It was Hongjoong. You and Soobin share a look and he goes to tell him that the place is closed but then you stop him. 

“Wait, Soob. I need to talk to him.” You stop Soobin as he reaches for the door knob. 

Hongjoong panics when you see him walk over to the door knob. Oh God, she knows. She’s gonna think I’m some creep! I mean, on paper it does seem creepy that some guy who she’s talked to like thrice has some instructions from some dodgy Etsy witch on how to make her fall in love with him but he swears he means no harm. 

You go over to open the door. 

“Hey, Hongjoong.” You start. You wipe your sweaty hands off using your apron. Confrontation was never your best feat, but it seems like the universe had different plans for the both of you that evening. 

“I think we got off on the wrong foot. I apologize for being kinda harsh to you the first time we talked. You seem like a sweet guy, but you kinda put me on the spot and I was pretty uncomfortable back then….” You explain yourself. 

“O-oh! Well, I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I never meant to do that I swear! I just, you’re…. Pretty.” He shyly smiles at you. 

This is the first time you are actually able to take a good look at him and you start to notice little details you never did. The slope of his nose, the glasses that frame his face, the dimples that decorate his cheeks, and the one finger he has painted with nail polish. He was kinda cute, you concluded. And as he calls you pretty, you can’t help the heat that rises up your cheeks at his confession. 

“Well, if you wanna, we could do it the old fashioned way. You know, the one where there’s no Etsy witch involved.” You shoot a small smile his way when he starts floundering and trying to come up with a way to explain himself. 

“Yeah, I’d love that.”

Hongjoong walks back to the dorm with a dumb smile on his face. Seonghwa was so totally gonna be his best-man at his wedding. 

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Don't Speak 20

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as dubcon/noncon, obsession, stalking, manipulation, reclusive behaviour, disordered eating, dissociation, and other possible triggers. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Reader is a reclusive loner who ventures down to the library on a simple mission. Her task is complicated by the man she meets there. (f!short!reader)

Character: librarian!Andy Barber

Note: Andrew is back.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me <3

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)

Love you all. Take care. 💖

“I want you to take this,” Dr. Kemp turns back to you, holding a spiral notebook with black and white cover, “and I want you to use it.”

You stare, uncertain as he crosses the room. Use it? How?

“You can write down your feelings, you can make lists for yourself, you can track the days…” he explains, “but I want you to put something in it every day. Can you do that for me?”

You look at the notebook as he holds it out. You slowly take it with both hands, lowering it to your lap as you run your thumbs up and down the cover. It’s brand new. You can smell the freshness of the paper.

“Can I draw in it?” You ask.

“Sure, if that’s what works for you,” he affirms, “that’s for you. You can bring it with you to our next appointment, but you don’t need to show me anything. It’s just there so you can record your moods and anything that might be a trigger for you.

“Oh,” you look up at him shyly, meeting his bold blue eyes for only a second before dropping your head.

“This is a safe place, alright? I want you to think of it like that. Everything within these walls stays between us. Our little secret.”

“Okay,” you hug the notebook to your chest.

“And I want you to set yourself a little goal every day. Nothing big, alright? It could be a shower, it could be reading a chapter of a book, it could be as simple as walking around the house,” he continues, “but you can’t stay in bed all the time. You gotta take care of yourself. You have to give yourself love and those things are the best sort of love.”

You nod and rock slightly, “yes, doctor. Are we… done now?”

“Are we?” He bends and crosses his arms over the back of the empty chair, “that’s up to you.”

“I… I think. I don’t wanna waste any more of your time.”

“Waste? No. See? Don’t talk about yourself like that. You didn’t waste my time, you enriched it,” he smiles, you see only a glimpse of how it brightens his features. “I think you should go home and get some rest. You came all the way here and you did a really good job.”

He pushes himself straight, “I’ll have my receptionist schedule a follow-up.”

“Thank you, doctor,” you stand and pick at the corner of the notebook.

“You let Andy take care of you too, huh? He’s worried,” he extends his arm, directing you to the door, “he’s a good friend of mine.”

“Uh, alright,” you murmur as he walks with you to the door. He rests his hand on the handle and you smell his cologne, rich but overwhelming. 

“It was really nice meeting you,” he turns the handle slowly.

“You too,” you squeak.

“See ya around,” he opens the door, “and remember, take care of you.”

“Thanks,” you keep your chin down as you exit.

Andy sits in the waiting room at the edge of his seat. He grips his knees and stands swiftly as he sees you. He must’ve been waiting a very long time. That felt like it lasted forever. The tension in his forehead slackens as you approach.

“How was it, honey? You okay?” He asks, his tone slightly addled.

“Yes, er, maybe,” you answer, “I don’t know.”

“What’s that?” He taps the top of the notebook.

“Um, a journal.”

“Steve gave that to you?”

You nod.

“That’s very nice of him. Well, how about we stop and buy you some nice pens to write in it?”

“You don’t have to…”

“I have to grab a few things,” he interjects, “I kind of… fell behind. I haven’t been out of the house, you know? I couldn’t leave you, I was so worried.”

“Oh? What about work?” You wonder tremulously.

“I had some time banked, it’s really not a big deal, but I gotta grab some groceries and we can look at some cute pens…”

“Can’t… can’t you do it later?”

He doesn’t answer right away. He rubs his beard and exhales. “Well, I’d have to drop you off and then come all the way back–”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you blurt out as you hear his disappointment, “I’m sorry, no, we can go, I just… I’m tired, is all.”

“It’s okay, honey. We’ll try to be fast, how about that?”

You nod and hide behind your lashes. Your guilt flows over and chokes you tightly. He brought you all the way here and missed work and it’s all your fault. Because you’re broken and useless.

“I’ll… I’ll try to make dinner,” you suggest, “Dr. Kemp says I should set goals.”

“Alright, sounds good,” Andy softens, “we should get going before it’s too busy.”

🕊️

You sit in the car, fluttering through the blank pages as Andy drives. You should write about your appointment. Put down everything that Dr. Kemp said before you forget. That’s a good plan. He’s right, it’s easy to set small goals.

“Hey, uh, I uh, can I talk to you?” Andy turns down the music.

“Er sure,” you shrug.

“Right, um, I wasn’t sure when to– or how to– I don’t wanna upset you, you know that, right? That I wouldn’t hurt you?” He begins, fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

You blink and stare at the dashboard, “I know, Andy. You’ve… done a lot for me.”

“I wouldn’t put it like that. It’s not… I don’t consider it a task, but er, the other day, I wanted to say sorry,” he clears his throat, squirming in his seat, “I should’ve knocked.”

Your throat tightens and you sit back stiffly. Your whole body locks up as the memory enshrines you. The damp air, the hot water, him staring at you, at your naked body.

“No,” you utter, “no, I don’t want to talk about it.”

He’s quiet as he turns the wheel, “sorry, sweetie, like I said, I don’t want to upset you. I just want… I’m just sorry for bursting in like that. I never want you to feel unsafe. Especially with me.”

“I… don’t,” you sniff, “it was just… a mistake. Can we forget it?”

“Sure,” he accepts, “yeah, let’s just forget it.”

“Thanks,” you lean into the door, watching the traffic through the window. 

Your body is covered in goosebumps. You feel like he’s seeing it all again. Just talking about it makes you feel exposed. What he must have thought about you. Hideous and gross.

“Here we are,” Andy says as the blinker clicks loudly.

He steers into a large lot and you peer up at the mall marquee. What are you doing here? You thought he was going to the grocery store?

“I got coupons for the place in here,” he explains as if reading your mind, “they just opened it, put it where the Target was.”

“Oh… I… never come here…”

“I think you’ll like it. They have everything– damn, not a lot of spots left. We’ll have to walk a bit.” He rolls into a space, “might be good for you to stretch your legs. We can always sit if you need to.”

You don’t argue. You feel bad enough. You won’t get in his way again.

“Sure.”

You get out and leave the notebook on the seat. Andy waits for you by the bumper and you follow him up the row of cars. You stop and wait to cross to the nearest entrance. The place is vast and makes your heart pound. There’s so many people coming and going through the many doors.

Inside, you feel a greater sense of doom. Shoppers brushing too close, teens speaking loudly in large groups, children screaming and mothers with strollers. Unthinkingly you grab onto Andy’s arm, keeping close to him.

“Hey,” he looks down at you as he leads you through the wide walkway.

“Just… don’t wanna get lost,” you cling to him tighter at the thought.

“That’s alright,” he smiles and looks around, “oh, hey…” He pulls you over to a shop window, “look at that.”

He points to the dress on the mannequin. It’s a nice shade of blue with the silhouette of birds patterned across it. Very pretty but you don’t wear dresses.

“Cute, huh?”

“Yeah.”

He stares, unmoving. You glance around. Where is the grocery store? You just want to leave this place.

“Come on,” he tugs you towards the entrance of the shop, “we can see if they have it in your size.”

“What? No. Andy. That’s okay. I don’t… I don’t need a dress.”

He stops just inside, “maybe, but do you want it?”

You chew your cheek, “I don’t know…”

“Look, you really don’t have that many clothes. I didn’t want to embarrass you but I spoke with Steve and he said… maybe it would be good to get you some new things. Like a refresh. Start new–”

“You said. You said we came to get groceries.”

“We did, honey, but I left this out. I was trying to surprise you. I thought– I thought it was a nice surprise.”

You see his expression fall. Oh no. You feel awful. You’re not trying to complain or be ungrateful, you just hate crowds and all these strangers.

“I… okay, it is nice. Andy,” you let go of him, “really, it’s so nice. No one ever… Amber always got me handmedowns, but I never…” you put your hands behind you and bounce on your toes, “I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, I know it’s all very new. I wasn’t trying to upset you or scare you,” he says, “maybe we could just look online.”

It’s clear he’s disappointed, if not agitated. You feel rotten. You remind yourself of all that he’s done and every time, you just whine like a baby.

“No, we can look around…” you try to smile.

He gives you a thoughtful look then peeks around the shop, “alright… well, you wanna try the dress on?”

You wince. You typically didn’t try things on at the thrift shop. You just picked things that looked like they would fit. The idea of getting undressed here, even in a private stall, is scary. Don’t be a baby.

“Okay,” you acquiesce, “I could do that.”

“Great,” he says and claps his hands.

He spins on his heel and you trail him as he confidently weaves between the tables and other shoppers. He stops before the dresses hung behind the window and sifts through the hangers. He slips one of the blue ones off the rod and holds it up.

“I think this is your size? I’m not sure.”

“Looks like,” you mutter, “um, I’ll… try it.”

“We can look at a few other things,” he offers.

“Maybe after?”

“Alright,” he searches around and flags down one of the employees, “excuse me, she wants to try this one.”

“Wonderful,” the woman chimes and takes the hanger from him, “just the one?”

“For now,” Andy smiles.

“This way, sweetheart,” the woman says as she beckons you with her long acrylic nails.

You follow her and Andy brings up the rear. She takes you around the counter and through a doorway. A row of stalls line the wall and she unlocks one with a key, hanging the dress inside. She steps back and leaves the door open for you.

“It’s all yours. Let me know if I can get you anything else. My name’s Isa.”

“Thanks,” you murmur mousily and she grins before strutting off.

“I’ll be out here,” Andy says as he sits on the bench.

You enter the changing room and close the door, certain to slide the bar through the loop. You turn and see yourself in the mirror. You flinch. You look down at your feet, refusing to acknowledge your reflection.

You undress then grab the dress. You pull down the zipper and shimmy it on. You strain to pull the zipper back up and fix the skirt so it hangs down properly. The skirt ends above your knees.

“Everything okay?” Andy calls from outside.

“Good,” you squeak and turn to face the door. You grab the side of the skirt, holding it firmly as you slide open the lock. You open the door reluctantly and reveal yourself. You clutch the other seam, “I think it’s a bit short.”

Andy looks at you. His cheek twitches as he sits up and smiles, “really? Looks fine to me…” he stares, making you squirm, “looks really nice on you, dove.”

“I don’t know…”

He nods and bites his lower lip, “it’s whatever you want.”

There it is again. Disappointed. You look down. It’s not that short and it is pretty. You could put a sweater over it and maybe some leggings underneath.

“I’ll get it,” you raise your head, “thanks, Andy.”

“Of course,” he says brightly.

You retreat into the dressing room and change back into your own clothes. You slip the dress back onto the hanger and bring it out with you. He takes it from you and guides you back into the shop. He stops you at a rack of jewelry.

“Look,” he grabs a silver necklace with a bird charm, “it’ll go with the dress.”

“Oh, sure,” you agree. Whatever he wants, you’ll get. You’d hate to overstep and you don’t exactly have a good sense of style. “Very pretty.”

“Let’s just have a look around, you never know… maybe find some nice shoes too?”

You nod and let him lead the way. As you progress through the shop, he picks out more things; some skirts, a sweater, some shirts, more jewelry, even some belts. He has an armful by the time you approach the checkout. You wring your hands. That’s a whole lot of stuff.

“Someone’s birthday?” Isa asks as she greets you at the counter.

“Uh, no, just… shopping,” Andy answers, “she needed a few things.”

“A few?” Isa scoffs, “I wish I had a husband who would spoil me with just a few things.”

“Husband?” You blanch.

Andy chuckles, “she deserves it.”

You notice how he doesn’t correct her. Maybe he feels too awkward. Like you.

“Sir, would you like to buy one of our membership cards? It’ll get you twenty percent off today’s purchase.”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” he pulls out his wallet, “how much?”

“It’s twenty dollars annually, gets you ten percent off every purchase.”

“Not bad, sure, why not? We might be back.”

“Andy,” you say softly.

He ignores you as he gets his card free. You watch the total mount as Isa scans each item. Somehow, this doesn’t feel like a favour. It’s just another number to add to the tally of what you owe him.

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: Wormdebut! Wormdebut has published 18 fics on AO3 all in the steddie tag!

@thefreakandthehair recommends the following works by @wormdebut:

Tell Eddie He Looks Sexy With His Hair Pushed Back

Kiss Your Knuckles (Before You Punch Me In The Face)

Hell Bent For Leather

All You Have Is Your Fire

It Feels Like Fourteen Carats But No Clarity (When I Look At The Man Who Would Be King)

Worm is incredible! For a humble worm, they sure know how to write fanfiction. ;) But seriously, Worm has a way of exploring different dynamics in such depth with an immense amount of care that's so obvious in the finish products! -- @thefreakandthehair

Below the cut, Wormdebut answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

These two idiots inspire me. I mean look at them. I think the thing I love about Steve and Eddie is that to me they are destined to be together. Post-Canon, Alternate Universe. It doesn’t matter. They are meant to be together in any scenario. I could and will write about these two forever.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Rockstar Eddie, baby. I love some good sex, drugs and rock and roll.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Is safe (mostly)sane and consensual BDSM a trope? I like to write that. 😂

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

Tuesday’s Gone With The Wind - Thisapplepielife there is nothing quite like reading this for the first time. I truly thought I was going to explode as it was being updated.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Omegaverse! I have a fic in the worm vault that will come out eventually. Wormegaverse. It’s coming. I’m fucking stoked for it.

What is your writing process like?

Hoooboy. It’s a mess. I cannot write an outline to save my life. (I’m looking at you King of Hell Eddie fic. I know you need an outline okay?) I tend to write in order, but if I get stuck I will skip a scene or two ahead so I can figure out how to squish two pieces of a story together OR I will write little notes about my intentions and skip it and come back. (My favorite note of all time is when I wrote “spit kink shit.” So I could remember my very pure intentions)

Do you have any writing quirks?

Boy do I! I tend to go into like writing fugue states where I will just bust out thousands of words in a sitting and if I am not doing that I am thinking and over thinking about when im gonna fugue out again. I also get really stressed when it actually comes time to write a sex scene? Weird, I know. But every single one is super important to me and I want to make sure they read well. My friends can attest that I am an absolute basket case when it comes to me writing Steve and Eddie getting down and dirty.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

God when I’m done. I am NOT great at posting chaptered fics but I am trying to get better with it? I prefer writing larger pieces though. I am an over-thinker to a fault and for some reason I stress less with one-shots.

Which fic are you most proud of?

It’s gotta be Kiss Your Knuckles. That fic is everything to me. But my Boys Who Kiss series is also so fucking important to me. Those two have so much more to tell y’all and I can’t wait to share their lives with you. I’m a musician so any of my fics that are heavily laced with performance and song are very special.

How did you get the idea for Kiss Your Knuckles (Before You Punch Me In The Face)?

I remember listening to Twin Size Mattress one day and I was like—Holy Shit, this is so Steddie-Coded it hurts. And it’s post-canon AND Rockstar Eddie? Incredible. The words just screamed Eddie Behavior and I knew Steve had to write a one-hit wonder about how he felt.

When writing Kiss Your Knuckles (Before You Punch Me In The Face), what was something you didn’t expect?

Oh I sobbed when I finished it. I couldn’t believe that I had actually finished it. It truly means the world to me and I wanted to share it with you all so badly. I cried for like an hour.

What inspired It Feels Like Fourteen Carats But No Clarity (When I Look At The Man Who Would Be King)?

Honestly? Tumblr user @ghosttotheparty had made a post about the scenario that Fourteen Carats is about and I messaged them and was like hey listen I want to take a shot at this, if that’s okay. Fourteen Carats is the first fully formed fic that I have ever posted aside from tumblr Drabbles and while I personally don’t love it I keep it up just in case someone somewhere does. 😂

What was your favorite part to write from All You Have Is Your Fire?

OH. Absolutely just eluding to Tattoo Legend and Icon, Jim Hopper. God he so fucking hot neat.

How do/did you feel writing Tell Eddie He Looks Sexy With His Hair Pushed Back?

I felt some type of a way, clearly. I think this is my favorite Eddie that I have ever written (My favorite Steve is Kiss Your Knuckles Steve) and he just kept getting more and more interesting. Like who the hell fucks you and speaks French while they do it? Tell Eddie Eddie does. And thank god for that guy.

What was the most difficult part of writing Hellbent For Leather?

Writing sub/bottom Eddie! I did this fic as a gift for tumblr user @gorgeousgreymatter-x (love you bitch) and it was hard because I don’t often write that dynamic, but god damn I loved these two Steddies.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Ah�� “It is, and I do.” Something about French chef Eddie, really—yeah. I am proud of everything I have written but if I can be honest with you I rarely remember what I have done. I often joke that it’s simply Steve and Eddie in my brain just writing what they want, because people will quote my work or talk to me about a scene and I’m like—‘I wrote that?? Nice.’

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

WELL. Once I can break myself out of this accidental hiatus I am so excited to share more of For Your Entertainment with yall. I am also so fucking excited to share King Of Hell Eddie with the world. I can’t fucking wait. I am working on a ‘Came Back Wrong’ fic that is less scary and more comedic and I am stoked for that. I have quite a few things that are happening and I am just so fucking excited to share them all with you. 

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Just thank you. Thank you for reading and thanks for letting me be a part of all of this. I have not felt this inspired and loved in a long fucking time and I’m not going anywhere so I hope yall will stick around for the wild ride. Fucking love you.

Thank you to our author, Wormdebut, and our nominator, @thefreakandthehair! See more of Wormdebut's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[amorest-viesse]

[A Touch of Magic for the Model] - Chloe SSR Card Story Translation

Ft. Faust and Akira

For Future Reference - Chapter 1

[Dressing Room]

Akira: (It was a tough journey to get here, but I’m glad everything turned out fine for Chloe in the end…)

As I made my way to the dressing room, I reflected on our experience with “The Amoire’s Diadem,” the premier fashion contest in the West. It was the stage all designers strived for...

Faust & Chloe: …

Faust and Chloe were already inside when I got there, sitting in front of a mountain of papers with worried looks on their faces.

Akira: Faust, Chloe, is something the matter?

Chloe: Master Sage! Apparently winning first prize comes with a ton of paperwork to complete.

Chloe: We’ve got a whole pile to knock out.

Much like the fashion competition itself, the documents Chloe showed me were decorated with stylish patterns and accents.

Faust: From what I can tell, these papers address things like legal rights and storage instructions for your design.

Akira: Winners still have it rough after the competition huh…

Chloe: Right? But we’re at the final stretch, so we gotta pull through!

Chloe grabbed a document from off the pile.

Chloe: (W- What does any of this mean? There’s so many complicated terms that I can’t make heads or tails of it…!)

Akira: …Are you alright, Chloe…?

Chloe: T- Totally! Umm, I think this one is saying my outfit is gonna be displayed at some grand hall in the West!

Chloe: If that’s fine with me then I just need to sign here…

Faust: …Hold on a second. There’s some more information here.

Faust: The exhibition will only be open from evening hours until morning in accordance with the theme of the competition… Will this cause any issues?

Chloe: Wow, I can’t believe I almost missed that! Since the text was in cursive along the border, I totally thought it was part of the design!

Akira: It really does blend right into its surroundings… Good catch, Faust.

Faust: It's nothing special. I have to deal with this regularly in the East, so I’m used to it.

Faust: …Would you like some help with the rest of those papers?

Chloe: Huh?

Faust: Judging by your reaction, I assume you’re new to this.

Faust: While it’s good to want to tackle things on your own, it doesn’t hurt to ask for some help either.

Chloe: Faust… Thanks so much for the offer.

Chloe: If you’re willing to help out then… Could I ask you to teach me how to do paperwork too?

Akira: What do you mean?

Chloe: It won’t do me any good in the long run if Faust just does the work for me.

Chloe: I want to learn how to do it myself in case I ever win another competition like this again in the future…

Chloe: Ahaha, I’ve only won this one though, so I’ll stop here before I jinx myself…

Chloe: Anyways, I’m sorry for the hassle! If you don’t want to do it, you definitely don’t have to!

Faust: …It’s not a problem whatsoever.

Faust: If that’s what you want, then I’ll teach you what I know.

For Future Reference - Chapter 2

Faust: First off, I’ll explain how to break down and read a document.

Chloe & Akira: We’re all ears, Master Faust!

Faust: …It’s funny hearing that from the two of you.

As Faust was lecturing, Chloe took down notes with rapt attention. Beside him, I listened in for any useful information.

Faust: …And those should be the basics. Next we’ll try applying them for real.

Faust: The easiest way to learn is by practicing over and over again while familiarizing yourself with the formula. If there’s anything you’re unsure about, please ask.

Chloe: Understood! Now where should I start…

Chloe: “From the Armoire to You: A Ray of Light For the Residents of Fashion Nation Consent Form”?

Akira & Faust: (That’s one heck of a title…)

Chloe: First off, I need to replace difficult words with simpler phrases…

Despite the unfamiliar terminology and Western flair of the documents, Chloe continued to write away.

Sitting beside him, Faust would check over Chloe’s work and give advice while I sorted the papers as they were completed.

Chloe: Sign my name here and… Done! Could you hand me the next one, Master Sage?

Akira: Of course! And with this one, we’re halfway done.

Chloe: Already!? I’m taking so long to read these that I was sure we had more to go.

Akira: Aw, don’t say that! You’re getting faster and faster with every document. It’s genuinely impressive.

Chloe: …Now that you mention it, I’m recognizing more of those stock phrases, so it’s getting easier to read things.

Chloe: This must be what Faust meant by “formula” earlier.

Faust: That’s exactly it.

Faust: However, don’t rush things either. You’ve overlooked a few things here... and here, so take your time and be careful.

Chloe: Really!? I totally wasn’t paying attention there… Thanks for catching that!

Akira: It’s natural for your mind to wander once you’ve been doing the same task long enough.

Akira: At times like these, it’s good to get a little change of pace. For example, you could raise your arms and stretch as high as you can.

Chloe: Ahaha, I do that while working on an outfit too! Taking a break can do wonders.

Chloe & Akira: Stre—tch!

Faust: …The two of you remind me of cats.

And so, we made our way through the pile.

Akira: The next one is the final document!

Faust: This one ought to wrap things up nicely.

Akira: What does it say?

Faust: It concerns the first place prize money. Messing up here could mean not getting paid.

Faust: There are several things to fill out, and it’s the most complex form yet. However, if you apply everything I taught you today, I’m sure you’ll do just fine.

Chloe: Wow, this one’s a wringer…

Chloe: Still, I can’t let everyone’s efforts go to waste! I’ll make sure to get that prize money!

Filled with more motivation than ever, Chloe began to read through the final document with a determined look on his face.

For Future Reference - Chapter 3

As Faust watched over him from behind, Chloe scanned through the document with his class notes in hand.

Chloe: Umm, first, I need to read over the whole thing and make sure I have everything I need to fill it out.

Akira: Is there anything?

Chloe: Um, let me see… Ah! Yes!

Casting his spell, Chloe conjured his sketchbook and flipped to a page filled with neat, round handwriting.

Akira: What’s this?

Chloe: A record of how much I spent to make the outfit.

Chloe: Thankfully, Heath said he’d write that down for me.

Akira: Oh! Nice going, Heath!

Chloe: Next… I need to check if there are any terms or conditions that would disadvantage me.

Akira: Make sure to look for any hidden ones like on that first document.

Chloe: Absolutely… Hmm… This looks fine… This too…

Chloe: Alright! Everything looks good to me!

As Chloe went along, he carefully filled in all the required information. Finally, all that was left to do was sign.

Chloe: We finished!!

Chloe: Wait no, I can’t forget! We gotta check one last time for any errors or oversights!

As Chloe looked over the paperwork, I made my way to him and Faust.

Chloe: Master Faust! Please check over it one more time too!

Faust: Good work, Chloe. I’ll take it from here.

Faust: …

Chloe & Akira: …

Chloe: Ohh, I can’t look! What if I did something wrong…

Akira: …I’m sure it’ll be fine Chloe. You got this.

Chloe: Master Sage…

Akira: After seeing how hard you’ve been working today, there’s no way you could fail now…

Chloe: …Ehehe, thank you. Hearing that makes me feel more confident too.

Faust: …Chloe.

Chloe: Y- yes sir!

Handing back the paperwork, Faust looked up at Chloe and smiled.

Faust: Everything looks perfect. Well done.

Chloe: R- Really!?

Akira: Congratulations, Chloe!

Chloe: Thank goodness… I really appreciate both of you for helping me out today!

Chloe: Thank you for taking a break with me Master Sage, and thank you Faust for teaching me how to navigate all this paperwork…

Chloe: Because of you guys, I had a lot of fun learning something new!

Faust: I’m glad it worked out in the end.

Faust: I’m sure you’ll do great the next time you win a competition.

Chloe: …! Thank you!

Chloe: Alright! I’ll make sure to work even harder from now on to make sure I don’t let these skills go to waste!

Looking at Chloe’s bright smile, I could only imagine where he would go from here.

The thought of it filled me with excitement as he took yet another step towards the future.

Start Where You Can - Card Episode

Akira: You did a great job with all that paperwork, Chloe.

Chloe: Thank you! It was super overwhelming at first since I’d never done anything like it before, but I’m glad everything turned out fine in the end.

Chloe: Eastern Country paperwork must be a completely different beast to tackle though. Have you ever dealt with it?

Akira: I received some from Sir Cock Robin before. They were completely crammed with print from top to bottom.

Chloe: Right!? I was helping Faust carry some Eastern paperwork earlier too, and he showed me a couple pages…

Chloe: Every single one I flipped to looked exactly like that. It was insane.

Akira: If anyone could handle that, it’d be Faust.

Chloe: Right, right? If it were me, I’d probably be knocked out before I knew it!

Akira: Ahaha… It was the same back home.

Akira: Whenever I read something I didn’t understand, I’d just end up spacing out.

Chloe: I totally get that. That’s why I think people who can do that kind of work are incredible.

Chloe: Since Faust took the time to teach me, I’ll definitely do my best to get there… Although, maybe I’ll start with Western style paperwork first!

Home Screen Voice Line

“There are times when Heath comes off as cool and capable, and other times when he’s more reserved, like a cute, younger brother. Either way, isn’t he just the best? Even though Heath tends to hold back, he can be quick to make decisions and show how he really feels when it comes down to it. Wait, is this what you call ‘gap moe’?”

[jujumin-translates]

★ Main Story | Act 13 - Budding Spring | Chapter 17 - Family Meeting

Tsuzuru: Chikage-san didn’t run away today.

Itaru: He was rushing to get his futon ready before I was.

Chikage: That’s because you kept just mindlessly playing your game.

Masumi: It’s annoying having to drag all our futons in here every time we do this.

Citron: I will put down my sheeping rag now!

Tsuzuru: Please just say sleeping bag.

Itaru: Well, sleeping here can only mean one thing.

Sakuya: Yeah. I wanted to get to try and get to know the stage a little better again.

Tsuzuru: …I’ve been trying to be careful and not get too worked up about it, but I can’t help but keep thinking about the Fleur Award.

Itaru: I always thought that if we all just did theater the way we always do, we’d one day be recognized and win the Fleur Award, but…

Itaru: Then the rankings came along and reminded me that things aren’t that easy IRL.

Chikage: The Fleur Award system has changed, so that’s understandable, but even if they hadn’t changed, we probably would’ve run into the same wall.

Masumi: If we want to stop worrying about rushing things, doesn’t that mean we should just stop thinking about the Fleur Award?

Tsuzuru: God, I wish…

Sakuya: Yuzo-san said that this isn’t the end of the Fleur Award, so there’s no need to rush things, but if we miss out on this one, it’ll be another two years until the next one happens…

Citron: In two years… I wonder what we will all be doing then~?

Tsuzuru: Hmm… I’d have graduated from college by then…

Masumi: I’d be on my fourth year.

Sakuya: Aside from you two, the rest of us are already done with school, so there might not be that much that’s different for us.

Chikage: Conversely, could any of you have imagined being here two or three years ago?

Itaru: Hell no. I would’ve been like, “Theater, what’s that?”.

Masumi: I never thought I’d end up doing theater.

Citron: I had never imagined doing it either, because I was planning to travel all over the world~.

Tsuzuru: If someone told me I’d get to be writing scripts as an in-house writer like this, I would’ve called them delusional.

Sakuya: And I would’ve been really surprised if someone told me I’d be making a living as an actor with the people I love!

Tsuzuru: Putting it like that, it’s like we’re all living in a future we only could’ve dreamed of back then.

Sakuya: Yeah. Being able to gather a group of trusted friends and continue to perform with them in a stable theater company…

Itaru: But there’s no guarantee that we’ll still be doing this two years from now.

Chikage: Maybe that’s just because our current selves are changing in ways we can’t even imagine.

Citron: If that is the case, I absolutely want to change for the better~.

Sakuya: Two years from now, I want to be standing in the future we’re dreaming of now.

Masumi: If we keep that in mind, what should we do for the upcoming Spring Troupe performance…

Tsuzuru: Obviously, we want to have fun with it ourselves, but our desire to entertain the audience has gotta be unwavering, too.

Itaru: On top of that, we wanna improve our rank and snag ourselves a spot among the nominees.

Chikage: That’s the goal of the entire company.

Sakuya: Aside from that, I knew I wanted more people to be aware of how much fun theater can be after doing the workshop.

Sakuya: And of course, that goes for MANKAI too.

Chikage: That’s why it’s important to boost our popularity and broaden our reach. It’d be even better if we could earn some more streaming votes too.

Itaru: To some extent, if we wanna take on the role of top batter, it’ll be our job to get those results and make a breakthrough.

Masumi: But it’s because we’re too busy feeling like that that we’re sitting here accomplishing nothing.

Tsuzuru: Can’t deny that.

Sakuya: …

Masumi: …We’re right back where we started.

Citron: We are merry-ing the go-round~.

Tsuzuru: I wish we were doing whatever that is, but unfortunately, we’re just going in circles.

Sakuya: I’ve… actually been thinking about that.

Sakuya: The other day, I got a request to play a role that’s bigger than the ones I usually do.

Sakuya: But it’s a regional performance, so I’d have to leave the dorms for a while…

Sakuya: I was gonna turn it down because it’s such an important time with focusing on the Fleur Award and all, and I was worried about my ability to handle both things.

Sakuya: --Until now, that is.

Sakuya: After talking to Towa-kun and Tenma-kun, I remembered how I was back during our debut.

Sakuya: Back then, I had just opened the door to the new world of theater, and there was a lot that I didn’t understand.

Sakuya: I was surprised by everything I saw, everything I felt. I was frantic and all over the place.

Sakuya: But I think I had more courage and bravery to try new things back then than I do now.

Sakuya: I’ve come to understand lots of things. Like how to tell what’s necessary and what isn’t for theater, what’s important to me and what isn’t…

Sakuya: But I think because I’m being made to make choices, I feel like I’m not able to open new doors that I would’ve challenged myself to open back then.

Tsuzuru: I get what you mean, being completely absorbed in seizing the chances you’re given, never thinking about the consequences of your actions… I guess I used to kinda be like that.

Tsuzuru: Not like there were that many chances to begin with.

Citron: It is because you have nothing that you feel like you can do anything, correct?

Chikage: Like a first performance, huh…

Itaru: For us, it’s our debut performance, but for you, it’s Oz, right, Senpai?

Chikage: Exactly. Being able to have something to devote myself to other than work certainly felt like having a new door opened for me.

Sakuya: The place where I belong will forever be MANKAI Company. And I’ll always have my Spring Troupe family to support me no matter what.

Sakuya: It’s because I have a place to belong like this that I’m able to set out on my own and step out into new worlds, and I think that makes taking the leap worth it.

Sakuya: I feel like there are parts of me that always end up being spoiled when I’m with you guys, so I want to set out from the troupe for a bit and try to do my best in a whole new place on my own.

Sakuya: And I want to grow as an actor as much as possible and bring something back home with me.

Sakuya: I don’t want to lose to my past self when it comes to that reckless urge to take on new challenges.

Sakuya: …Do you guys think I’m aiming for the wrong thing?

Tsuzuru: --Nah, I think you’re doing great.

Tsuzuru: I think I’m gonna try and participate in that scriptwriting training camp that I was gonna give up on for the sake of the performance…

Tsuzuru: Maybe I’ll even get some kinda hint on what I’ve been struggling with on the script. And it’s not good to forget about the desire to try new things, y’know?

Masumi: …Then I’m going to try and do that internship. I want to learn more about promotion so I can be useful to the Director.

Citron: Then… I shall participate in the arts festival I have been on the fence about.

Citron: If you are hesitating about something, that means there is a part of you that wants to do it. It is important to be honest with yourself about your feelings!

Chikage: Your own feelings, huh…

Itaru: …What are you going to do, Senpai?

Chikage: Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Weren’t you approached about something important at work?

Itaru: Compared to the rest of you guys, mine’s like the furthest away from actual theater.

Sakuya: Still, if it’s something you care about and are excited about, I think you should do it, Itaru-san.

Masumi: You initially joined the troupe for something entirely unrelated.

Tsuzuru: That something being two free meals made it easier for you to spend money on games.

Itaru: I mean, you’re right, but damn…

Itaru: Actually, y’know what, I don’t like being called out like that, so I’m gonna outperform all of you out of spite.

Itaru: You should follow your heart too, Senpai.

Chikage: …Well, I suppose I’ll try and see if I can come up with a challenge of my own to take on.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Citron: And that is why we are running away from home!

Tsuzuru: Yeah, no, that’s not what this is.

Sakuya: We thought that each of us could leave the dorms and try to take on each of our challenges on our own.

Izumi: I see… It’s a little surprising to hear, but I appreciate that you made the decision after talking it over with everyone.

Izumi: Let’s do rehearsals remotely while you’re away and then really focus in on them when you all get back.

Banri: Aight, we better rearrange the rehearsal schedules with that in mind.

Izumi: We can work that out later.

Izumi: Since you guys already have your roles down way more than you usually would, rehearsals have been progressing ahead of schedule, so we should be able to bounce back from this no problem.

Sakuya: Thank you so much.

Tsuzuru: We’ll do our best.

Izumi: (Each of them taking on a new challenge, huh… Yeah, I think it’ll be a great way for them to remember how they felt during their debut performance.)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Chikage: …

Hisoka: …Shouldn’t you be packing? You’re running away from home with the rest of Spring Troupe, aren’t you?

Chikage: We’re not running away from home.

Chikage: I’m basically done packing already. Well, I still don’t know whether I’m even going or not.

Hisoka: You don’t want to go?

Chikage: …There’s something I’d prefer to keep my distance from.

Chikage: No, I don’t even know what it is… I’ve been away from it for so long that I don’t even know what to feel anymore.

Hisoka: …Then shouldn’t you go and figure that out?

Hisoka: Sometimes there’s things that you can’t understand or remember unless you go and look them in the eyes directly.

Hisoka: Maybe the things you’ve always been unsure about or afraid of won’t be scary anymore. You won’t know for sure unless you face them head-on.

Chikage: …I suppose.

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[nerdieforpedro]

Last Line Tag Game

rules: in a new post, show the last line(s) you wrote (or drew) and tag as many people as there are words (or as many as you like).

Tagged by @tinytinymenace @djarinmuse @chronically-ghosted @pedroshotwifey

So I think I’ll give three last lines, because it’s what I’ve been working on, first up is Din Djarin smut. I was supposed to be writing fluff, between @alltheglitterandtheroar and @megamindsecretlair it changed for the better and teasing is always fun. ☺️

Both arms pull Din’s head to your chest, the sharp inhale of air before he’s buried in your body has you whining. The intensity of just two of this thick fingers have you close to your second orgasm but he removes them, a pop then a second as he mouth part from your nipple. “Taste yourself, then you’ll come twice for me.”

Second is from “This is the Neighboorhood Din” my modern Din AU:

“Dear Lord in heaven I am not dressed or prepared to talk to that sort of man any day.” She muttered as Ms. Harris made her way down the stairs toward her, she hugged her, and her arms wrapped around her as well, eye still lingering on the man sitting on the porch. His sweatpants did not leave much to the imagination. They weren’t tight by any means; one could just trace the lines. Thick thighs and well… heavy in the middle is the most polite way to say it. The only way she can think to describe it while hugging her aunt.

Third, last line from chapter 5 of “The Lake Between Us” (yes I do have future chapters written I planned! Unheard of in Nerdie-land)

“That I did Moonbeam. You should be cautious of my motives, but I can start at the beginning of my troubles for you if you like.” He placed his hand on hers, running up her arm to her shoulder and drew a small circle around her mole. “Be forewarned, the past is neither rosy nor glamorous. It is fraught with hardship, double-crosses and some death.”

Moonbeam grinned, nodding as he spoke, “Sounds like a thriller Ezra. I’m all ears. Add a dash of romance and some mistaken identity and you have yourself a movie marathon.”

“I’m sure you’d be riveted to hear it.”

“That I would.” Moonbeam crosses her legs and leans forward, touching his chin with a finger, “Speak.”

Lastly, I might be trying finish my Dave York series finally. 👀 Or one of them, though I’m not sure all of them are on Tumblr. I think I write too much stuff and it get’s jumbled. This is a softer Dave:

At her core, Kiara felt safe with him. It hurt to admit though she wasn’t exactly sure why, pride maybe? Maybe she wanted to continue to be independent but she hadn’t been for a few months now.

No. Not when she really thought about it.

Her head was leaning against the steering wheel, the nurse had seen his SUV parked in the driveway. Dave pretty much lived with her now, though she didn’t remember giving him a key. He hadn’t needed a key their first night together either.

I’m also working on “Roc & Doc” and crafting the murder mystery since I killed off Rockford’s partner and introduced his brother. What role will his brother play? We’ll see. Also, if you’re going to be a furry for the night, make sure you can in and out of your suit. 😎

Chapter 5 of “Weddings 101 with Dieter” is under way as well. I want a lot to be in it, might be too much. We’ll see how it turns out, also smut because Dieter’s gotta get Maya’s dress off - he did promise her that. 😘 Half-ass and Bridezilla are in full swing!

It’s a lot like always because it’s Nerdie, what else am I supposed to do? Too many ideas, not enough follow-through. I did four instead of three. 😵

NPT: @maggiemayhemnj @morallyinept @rhoorl (for the sweatpants) @linzels-blog for Din @inept-the-magnificent @soft-girl-musings @angelofsmalldeath-codeine @magpiepills @secretelephanttattoo @goodwithcheese @undercoverpena @legendary-pink-dot @for-a-longlongtime @lady-bess @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @gemmahale @laurfilijames @avastrasposts @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @tightjeansjavi @frenchiereading @boliv-jenta @thefrogdalorian @trulybetty @kewwrites @beefrobeefcal @fhatbhabie

And whoever else saw all this and was like, let me do it too! ☺️

[jimmyandthegiraffes]

Fic Writing Review 2023 🌈

Thank you sm @itwoodbeprefect for the tag!!!

I hardly published anything this year so if u wanna skip to 'projects for 2024' that's gonna be the most interesting bit >.<

Words and Fics (on ao3) 📚

words posted: 714 💀 but many more words were written, just not posted lol fics posted: 1 first fic/last fic 😅: King of the Eyesores - Doctor Who (1963)

Ships and Fandoms ⚓

Doctor Who - no ships really but KotE is Mike Yates-centric.

Top 5 Fics by Kudos 🏆

It's KotE again lol which is at 6 kudos. Of all time, tho:

After the Hour(glass) - Night at the Museum (Jedtavius)

Less Than Ideal Circumstances - The Man from UNCLE (TV) (Napollya)

When They Sleep - The Man from UNCLE (TV)

Dismiss Your Fears - Back to the Future

After All, I'm Only Sleeping - Doctor Who (1963)

Top 5 Favorite Fics 💖

KotE......... I do actually rly enjoy KotE I think it has potential in terms of where it's going. But since I only posted one fic in 2023, I'll do my top 5 of fics I've ever posted. Apart from the first one this is in no particular order

tickertape - The A-Team (TV) it's my baby it's all I thought about for months of my life, it's like an iceberg (i.e. most of it is in my WIP doc, and only a tiny fraction is published so far), it got me thru a difficult time, it's an exploration of mental illness and complicated messy relationships expressed in epic format (i.e. it's probably gonna be novel length when it's done)

Bullet Number Six - Starsky & Hutch (TV) it received criticism for being obscure and hard to follow bc it switches pov briefly halfway thru but idc i love it anyway

I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues - The A-Team (TV) it was my first A-Team fic and I still think for a beginner it nailed some p realistic in-character dialogue and addressed an undertone I wished I'd seen addressed in the ep it's a coda to.

When They Sleep - The Man from UNCLE (TV) it's kind of riddled with certain mannerisms of my slightly older writing which I personally find a bit annoying and have worked to iron out for the sake of elegance over the years. but I still think it's a cool little exploration of all my sleep headcanons for the pair of them in one place

King of the Eyesores - Doctor Who (1963) see it made it to the list after all! I kinda like it more for its potential than for what it is right now butttttt who cares.

special mention to Unbereft (Starsky & Hutch) which I really really like but I wrote it in one frenzied sitting and only remembered after I'd posted it that it was very like someone else's fic I'd read several years previously. I don't think it's too much like to be taken down and I've since mentioned the writer of the other fic (it was dawnwind, hello!) in the notes. that's the only reason unbereft isn't in my top 5 because I'm otherwise really proud of how well it's written. Not to tootle on my own trumpet.

Fandom fic events

none RIP but maybe this year!!

Projects for 2024

Okay here we goooooooooooo

priority 1 is to finish the unfinished works that I've already half posted: King of the Eyesores, Every Line A Comedy, OUTATIME, The Windhover, tickertape, The Hanoi Bank Job and Other Misadventures, 38 Hours. Bolded are my top priorities.

other works that I'm writing but which haven't seen the light of day at all yet:

Dear Mike - an epistolary between Jo Grant and Mike Yates following her marriage to Cliff Jones.

The Lark/Behind That Locked Door (working titles) - a 30-chapter 2/Jamie fic about season 6B in which Jamie suffers permanent memory problems after the War Games. It explores grief, social ostracism, feeling abandoned, undirected anger, guilt, and acceptance that healing sometimes is a process that is never complete. I've been working on it since about 2016 lol but I'm lazy I just need to press on.

hell valley au - as yet untitled lol. In which the Hell Valley!Marty (who is never seen in BTTF2 as he is in Switzerland) and Hell Valley!Doc (who has been institutionalized) break out of their respective situations and go on the run together. But there's a problem - they had to leave Einstein behind, and when they get information that Einie is to be used for a dogfight, they make the risky decision to go back to Hill Valley to rescue him. However, going back to the place they just escaped by the skin of their teeth also brings them face to face with the last person they expect to meet.

a changed man (working title) - a Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) fic from Jeannie's pov. mostly it's about their picnic excursions but it's also about Jeannie wishing Marty wasn't such an elephant in the room

mfu/rahd xover (untitled) - the first chapter of this is almost ready to go tbh. it's what it says on the tin lol, Napoleon and Illya go to London and get help from a rather eccentric private detective who has uncanny powers of solving impossible cases but also they think is probably clinically insane

to see him happy - VERY weird rahd fic. it's smut but its also about grief. might never post it because several of my family members have access to my tumblr and therefore my ao3 lol they dont need to see that

the winter of '62 - a study of jeff and marty's life when they lived together in a grotty bedsit and couldnt afford to put the heating on

star wars (untitled) - set during ROTJ, han pov. han's lost a lot of time and now everyone is one step ahead of him which isn't a sensation he's used to

skyrissian - what it says on the tin lol

the older gen (untitled) - jeeves fic about bertie's aunts and uncles and parents as they were as they variously grew up, got married, had children, died (or didn't), fell prey to alcoholism or insanity or petty crime, went to war, prospered (or didn't)... This is pretty unlikely to be finished this year tbh as it's very detailed but I can dream

a couple of long form fics about starsky & hutch and mfu respectively (the s&h one is set post sweet revenge, the mfu one takes place at various moments throughout the show)

x-files series - canon compliant until paperclip and then gradually diverges into how i think the show should have gone lol. another biggie

and a handful of tintin fics that im protective of and might never post but we'll see - one where tintin and chang go on holiday in london after picaros, one where the gang encounters rajaijah one last time (featuring a letter from didi, chang making a very daring crossing at the songolese border, and tintin taking about ten years to chop up a clove of garlic), and one where tintin gets shitfaced at an embassy ball and accidentally starts an Incident. haddock looks on, appalled.

i knoooooooooooooooowww this is a lot but i'm not realistically hoping to finish it all this year but it's nice to have lots of things to play around with lol.

unfortunately i have the eternal problem of not ever knowing which of my mutuals write fic and which of those havent already been tagged but imma tag @theteaisaddictive and genuinely if u see this and u write fic ur tagged i want to knowwwwwwwwwwwww <333

[buthowboutno]

buthowboutno's Unsolicited Writing Advice

Howdy fam!!

This is a post that i’ve been wanting to make for a while so!!! Finally fucking sat down and did it lmao

Considering we’re past the halfway point of ATWLP and over 125k words written for the universe, I thought I would share some writing advice and tidbits I’ve picked up along the way!! (especially for you baby writers out there) (we’re ignoring the fact that I only broke my five year writing hiatus like seven months ago)

ANYWAYS, ramble under the cut <3

--

Don’t force yourself to write linearly

If you’re dragging your feet along writing sections just to get to a certain scene in your head and losing motivation, just… write the scene you wanna write. This might be specific adhd oriented advice, but you gotta use your juices when you have them. 

I’ve recently posted a chapter that I wrote all the way back in November. Did I have to edit some parts in light of changes I made to the outline and the way my blorbos have developed? Yes, but that’s way easier than starting it from scratch and losing all of my ideas when the scene was first bouncing around my head.

Outline outline outline… but don’t be a slave to it

Sometimes all I can manage the energy for is a long series of bullet points outlining a chapter, but it makes it SO much easier to sit down and type everything out properly later.

I also find that having a main outline for my entire story helps me from falling into plotlines that I don't know how to get out of or losing motivation for a fic because I haven't figured out the end goal for my characters. It's easy to sit down and work on a chapter because, for the most part, I already know how it's going to end up.

Having said that, sometimes your characters are stinkasses and decide to completely break away from what you had planned, and that’s okay! Understanding how you can and cannot shove your blorbos around for the sake of plot is a part of learning how to be a better writer.

Don’t delete your writing!

Chances are if you hate a section, it’ll read a million times better after you set it down for a few hours. Us writers can be so incredibly critical of ourselves, but resist the urge to select all and backspace!!! If anything, leaving a section you hate allows you to come back and edit it into something way better instead of starting from scratch again.

If you have to delete a section that just doesn’t fit in the story anymore, still save it!! I have a bits and pieces doc that houses all my deleted scenes that have been revived in later chapters. You never know how deleted scenes might help you pad out future parts of your story.

If you’re a literature snob (like me) and want to just flat out improve your craft… you gotta do your homework

You will always become a better writer the more you write and for those just looking to get out some emotions or have fun, that is perfectly fine! Ignore me! You’re already doing fantastic, look at you go!

But if you’re the type of person to read a fic and be like… “wow, that was better quality than most published books. how do i get to that level??” this is for you

When you’re reading, regardless of what it is, make a mental (or physical!) note of the things you like and dislike.

 Ex: How does the author portray a certain emotion? How do they lay out the scene? What different aspects of characterization stick out to you? What’s the word choice like?

Never gonna bash on anyone who just wants to read for enjoyment, but when you start to exercise that muscle I /promise/ you that your writing will improve that much faster. (It really is annoying how the fucking rhetorical analysis skills they teach you in highschool help, but they do.)

Ages ago I went to this conference for young writers and in one of the seminars I went to, this pair of authors talked about this spreadsheet they set up to better lay out the aspects of writing they really loved or wanted to avoid in their genre. I think this is vv important when you’re planning out longer pieces of writing; you don’t want to get stuck in a trope you hate!

Watch critiques of books!

Booktube is super fucking great for this. I’m personally a video essay bitch, so I’ll sit and watch a three hour long video of someone dissecting a novel and giving a review. That shit will help you with everything from learning how to construct longer and cohesive plots to avoiding certain pitfalls that may turn an audience away from your work. 

Rachel Oates is one of my forever faves and Alizee is a youtuber that I’ve just recently stumbled upon but love all the same.

 I WILL SING THE PRAISES OF OVERLYSARCASTICPRODUCTIONS ALL DAY EVERY DAY.

They have really excellent videos that go into the different tropes and all the ways they can present in stories, whether it be good or bad. This helps you get familiar with the building blocks of a narrative and decide things like wanting to subvert a trope, build upon the popular ones, or even reject them all together. Fic is basically built on fandom-wide tropes, so I think it’s good to be familiar with them.

Just like artists, we gotta do our studies, too

Back when I was a infant writer (i.e. in eighth grade) me and my friends would find different writing prompts on pinterest and spend a few hours working on them before sharing what we wrote. Even if it's not for a larger work, it is /really/ good practice to describe scenery in a picture or come up with a character on the fly and explore how they interact in a situation.

It’s is the literary equivalent of drawing a hand instead of putting it in a pocket so you didn’t have to deal with it

Write messy! Write fast! Write garbage that you’re going to delete in five minutes! You’ll be surprised about the gems that come out of doing this. Literally some of my favourite lines have come out of a frenzied 10 minute keyboard mashing session.

Don’t be afraid of critique but know the difference between that and simply being hard on yourself.

 I think this is probably the biggest thing I’ve struggled with as I’ve gotten back into writing. Before I started posting, I had about five chapters saved up ‘cause I was agonising over making everything perfect. Do I see, six months later, things I know I could have done better? Yes, but! I wouldn’t have been able to grow or develop as an author if I didn’t take that first step of posting and moving on to other parts of the story.

There is a time and place for critiquing and editing your own work and seeing where you can improve, but you also gotta meet yourself where you’re at. We’re not going to be Shakespeare overnight. Getting better is a process, baby! Embrace the fact that if you’re embarrassed about your work years or even months down the line, that means you’re growing as a writer.

And remember stinkies, any creation is good creation. Don’t go comparing hits or kudos or likes and being down on yourself, the act of creation is an important part of the human experience!!! Even if the only thing you ever put out is a 100 word drabble about lightning mcqueen making love to bowser, i’ll be proud of you. 

Happy writing and get yourself some water <3<3

[leynaeithnea]

Eeeeee I'm super happy to learn stuff about you :)

I'm pretty sure the cause of the block is too many ideas tbh. I'm trying to get a first chapter for my new book, but it's just not coming because I've basically written it in my head, and all the ideas seem like too much to fit in :(

Also all the happy stuff that's happened today is so great and soft and awesome!!!

🤍 hiii eheh

So, when you say you have it already written in your mind does that mean you have a whole plot and figured out storyline, or is it a whole bunch of scenes, ideas and all of that mixed together into something you cant bring into one line yet?

If its the former and you mostly struggle with getting it out on the page due to overthinking or sum then Id say: put words on the page without thinking about it, without trying to pick the "right" words to express what you mean and without going back to edit it, if its chapter 1 thats giving you specific isssues, skip it and move to a scene you have better figured out, first drafts are there to make the story exist, all the other drafts after are there to make them functional and effective and good ;3 the first draft is allowed to be trash

If its the later, I would say the best might be to look at the core story: the theme and the character and their goal and whats standing in their way, the core story you want to tell and ruthlessly cutting any ideas that might really really cool but simply dont purpose on express what that story is about, you can save the ideas on a seperate document or something like that to reuse in future projects

Generally if you havent yet, mayve trying to figure out some plot structures and sorting things into can help

I'm a plotter type writer for the most part, I need to have my core story in order to be able to do some discovery writting to figure out the things inbetween; but every writer works a bit different so you just gotta see what works best for you!

Mmhh another idea would be if its about struggling to sitting down and writing it down is giving yourself some repeated sensory imput (specific songs, specific lights, smells, etc etc) whenever you sit down with the goal to write, it will eventually condition your brain to associate this sensory imput with writing and it will help getting into the "writing zone"

And if its idea overflow: write them down, figure out a note taking structure that works for you so you keep an overview over everything and write it down, when things are trapped in your mind they might be beautiful dreams but its only once you read them that you can fully grasp them and sort through them

I hope any of these ideas might work for you 🤍

Id be curious to hear about what youre working on sometimes :3

[crazy-ache]

hello!!! ACOWAR (elucien’s version) maybe for the fanfic ask game ☺️

Ahhh I could talk about this fic all day thank you! ❤️

My favorite scene- There is a scene VERY early on where Elain confronts Graysen and it goes horribly wrong. Lucien is there to catch the pieces. It was that scene alone that made me NEED to write this entire story. It was the kind of Canon AU I had dreamed about in the fandom and now I had the chance to write. I’m so glad I did.

My favorite chapter- SO FAR my favorite chapter is the one where they kiss 👀 It was a self indulgent chapter and it was born because I asked @zenkindoflove “do you think its out of place if I write them going on a date?” And she said NO WRITE IT. So I had to listen and I’m so glad I did.

Hardest scene to write- I talked about this in another ask, but I’ll talk about something different. The hardest thing in general about ACOWAR was sitting down and figuring out Lucien’s internal thoughts early on in the book, especially in regard to his relationship with Feyre, and how Elain’s presence would influence his reactions. Feyre is playing a complicated game in that book in Spring and Lucien is playing too but he’s not quite as knowledgeable about everything as her- he doesn’t have access to all the pieces because Feyre keeps secrets. Then throw in his mate into the game and now Lucien is going to pulled in impossible directions. That was hard to navigate. But also really, really fun.

Favorite character to write in the fic- I think Lucien in the beginning and now it’s Elain as she has steadily grown in her own confidence.

Favorite dynamic to write- Lucien and Feyre in the beginning for sure. But I’m currently working on a future chapter and I gotta say I have big plans for how Lucien and Vassa will interact and I’m really excited 😂

Why I chose that title- LOL Because I did not want to write out A Court of Wings and Ruin and also my nod to Taylor Swift. It was just so succinct and encompassed exactly what I was trying to achieve in this story.

A fun fact- I’m re-reading ACOWAR as I write the story so I can do my best to really stick to canon while making it my own version. I wrote the first 10 chapters before I even posted the thing! It’s been a long work in progress.

[ego-osbourne]

im really new here, is tdi like a comic or a fic or something? if it is where can i read it 😭

Gonna go ahead and answer this one early as opposed to leaving it in the queue

Firstly, hello! Happy to have you on my blog!

Secondly, TDI—The Dez Illusion—is a fanfic that is currently in production. I figured I could also use this ask to update my followers on the status of TDI right now :]

Technically speaking, the entire outline is written. It sits at ~100 chapters at the moment, but I am planning on bringing that number down. There are a few multi-chapter long sections that I plan on cutting out completely for narrative flow, pacing, and utility in other planned fics.

More below

When I was first drafting TDI, I had never played Oblivion and had no intention to make more fics afterward. Then, I started a sequel story, Salt in the Wound, with a group of friends. Some characters there would have ties back to the events of Oblivion, so I decided to give the game a go.

And I fell in love with it. So much so that I wanted to write another fic. Mortal Intentions will be that fic—a prequel-sequel to TDI.

However, this meant I had to change my initial plan for TDI. A lot of stuff that I put in that fic I realized I could do much better in future fics. So, with everything written out, my job now is to go back and trim everything down so the story isn’t so bloated. It’ll be hefty, believe me, but perhaps more digestible once I’m down.

I will make no promises as to when the first chapter will come out. If I dedicated all my time to writing, we’d very likely have chapter one by December. But, I have just moved back to college, and my motivation for writing gets traded back and forth with my motivation for drawing.

So, let’s just say sometime next year sounds pretty safe for chapter one. After that, hopefully it’s smooth sailing and I’m writing chapters with ease :] Just gotta cut off the excess for now.

//TLDR: I am in the last stage of drafting before officially writing chapters, but this last stage will take a while.

Thanks for the ask!

[true-blue-sonic]

🥑🧸🦋

🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?

I think that would be you, Lea, and my friend from Discord, haha. That's the three people I talk to almost on the daily. Thus, this should cover multiple bases of reactions and advices! XD

🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual?

The fastest way to become my mutual is take it very, very slow, lol. I met @xxlea-nardoxx after reblogging some of her Silver art, and we slowly began talking in the comments and reactions before moving to our DMs, but iirc that took multiple months. And for you, you began leaving comments on my Ao3 stories for a while before moving on to Tumblr (I don't recall if we exchanged Tumblr usernames or something, though. But your comments were a great help in getting through New Beginnings! <3). Overall, I vibe best with people who like/reblog some of my posts here and send in asks with me sending asks back at times: it gives me some time to see who I am talking to and what our stances are on things.

🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately

I'm so glad I am no longer so ill, haha. I legitimately couldn't do shit except lay on the couch, have a fever, and be unable to eat. Plus, it really sucked that it took so long (well over three weeks): I began feeling just a bit desperate with every time I thought I had improved, only for the illness to come right back again a day later. And I'm still easily winded with zero stamina... Running around like BotW!Link with a constantly-empty stamina wheel here, while having no idea when that will finally be fixed...

I want to use that uncertainty as a guiding line in Stories. I named the fic All The Stories That Will Be Written because we don't know how our stories and those of the world will go: none of us can predict the future. I know we can't, but I hate it. It makes an interesting contrast with Silver who is from the future and who has a very unique story that formed his life there, but who is also shackled by uncertainties and worries and acts out heavily because of those. Yesterday I was going through the bits I have already written... and I found I'm entirely stuck eight chapters in, lmao. There's events that I know have to happen: Espio will have to convince Silver to stay in the past for longer, Espio will have to try and find evidence that proves Silver's innocence, Silver will have to undergo some development that shows why he is so intense about everything all the time, and I also want him to discover what Espio is up to (I also have an idea of what will happen after that, but that is something I don't want to spoil yet :>). It just needs to be written, aka the number 1 enemy of all writers XD With having been so ill, my whole writing system is entirely out of whack. I gotta sit down and brainstorm the next handful of upcoming chapters and see what I can make of it!

[casspurrjoybell-29]

Healing Ties - Chapter 34 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Yore didn't sleep well that night and he was up early the next morning.

He had a lot of thinking to do.

He essentially had to remap his entire life in his mind.

The limited future he'd planned for no longer existed.

Now he had to plan for a family of his own, inheritance, and so many other things.

That was by no means a bad thing, of course.

He also had to plan for the immediate future.

How he would tell everyone about what Fanner was doing for him.

He wanted to get that right.

Fanner deserved to be appreciated not just for what he could do but also for the courage it had taken to make himself vulnerable.

Fanner, meanwhile, had knocked out early and slept through the night.

Yore suspected that after taking energy from him, Fanner had continued to use his own to finish healing Yore and run his reserves low again.

He really didn't have to do that and Yore hoped to convince him of that but not today.

For now, he just wanted Fanner to feel good about what he'd achieved.

Yore had been considering writing Fanner a note so that he could sleep in while Yore got started on his journey but as he was getting dressed Fanner stirred awake.

Fanner covered a yawn with the back of his hand as he pushed himself up.

"Are you leaving?"

"I was planning to head out, yeah. Do you need anything before I go?"

Fanner shook his head.

"Okay. I should be back tomorrow but if not, the day after. Once I'm back, we can sit down and have a conversation about when and how we're going to tell everyone else about all of this."

"I'll do things however you want."

"I want for you to have a say."

Fanner looked away.

"I just... don't really know. You seem to be good at these sorts of things."

"Fair enough. Sometimes an opinion is just that you don't want to have to be the one who does the talking. That's reasonable. We'll make those decisions together, okay?"

Fanner nodded, his lips self consciously pressing down to try to hide a smile.

Yore didn't try to suppress the one he gave Fanner in return.

"All right, I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Good luck with, um..."

Yore laughed.

"Yeah. Guess we'll see how well this thing works now."

As Yore left his cabin, he was still smiling.

********

Fanner had another day with Slone and it was just as fun as the last one.

They climbed trees, walked along the edge of a creek and explored all the tiny critters that lived there and ate some wild berries.

It was like being a child again, only this time he could do all the things he'd been forbidden to do when he actually had been a child.

"Have you seen Cookie around?" Fanner asked as they sat and ate their lunch.

"Hmm, nah," Slone said. "Can't say I have. She don't really leave much of a scent, either, so it's hard to tell if she's been about."

"I hope she's still around but maybe she knows I don't really need her anymore. I want her to be here because she's my friend but I'm safe now and not so scared."

"Could be. Hard to know what goes on in the head of something like that."

"Maybe we could leave out some food for her? Like, some entrails if you hunt something? She likes eating things."

"Sure. Can't say I know how she finds her way to anything, cause she ain't got no eyes or ears or nose but she's gotta have some way. We can give it a go."

********

Yore reached the spire a bit before lunchtime and headed straight for Eleanor's lab in the nearby town.

Eleanor was a doctor or... something like that.

She did medically related things, though she wasn't much like the medical staff Yore had encountered during his time in the human military.

Her lab wasn't much like the places those human doctors worked, either.

Human doctors kept their spaces clean, well lit and minimalist in design and decoration.

Eleanor's lab was dimly lit, adorned with flowing, colourful curtains and decorated with strange sculptures made of coloured glass.

There were several shelves stacked with bottles and jars full of mysterious substances as well as some actual human medical equipment like a microscope and a stethoscope.

And then there was Eleanor herself.

She was more or less human in shape but instead of skin, she was covered in tiny, iridescent scales.

Yore had never been quite sure if they were more along the lines of fish scales or reptile scales.

Perhaps they were their own thing entirely.

"Ah, Yore," Eleanor said as soon as he entered the room.

"For someone so unhealthy, I don't see much of you. How can I help you?"

"Ironically, I'm here because my health has recently improved."

Yore told her.

"I had some issues with achieving an erection and those have been resolved now. I haven't spoken to Aime yet because she lives further out but I'm hoping we'll be able to get started on things now."

"Of course, of course."

Eleanor grabbed an empty jar off a nearby table and handed it to Yore.

"First of all, I'm going to need a sample to make sure your little swimmers are wiggling like they're supposed to. You can take your time getting it but bring it back to me as soon as you're done."

"Okay, I'll, uh... go back to my room and do that, then. Thank you."

"Hmm," was all she said as she turned her back on him and returned her attention to whatever she'd been doing before he had entered.

Yore went to his room at the base of the spire, stripped down and lay down on his bed.

He should have been looking forward to finally getting off, considering he hadn't done so for years at this point but he was apprehensive to say the least.

Sure, everything ought to be fixed now but he'd spent the whole of the previous day being hurt in a way he had previously come to associate with sexual arousal.

He tried touching himself, conjuring up erotic images in his mind but his cock refused to stir.

Yore sighed, pocketed the empty glass jar and returned to Eleanor.

Eleanor held the glass jar up and squinted into it.

"Were my instructions unclear?"

Yore rubbed the back of his neck.

"No, your instructions were fine. I just had some... issues. See, it used to hurt when I got an erection. As far as I know, all that physical stuff is fixed now but it's hard to convince my body of that. I couldn't get the job done."

"Hmm," Eleanor said.

"How sure are you that you don't have any physical problems with getting erect anymore?"

"I mean... fairly sure?"

"Hmm."

"You're not going to ask how it got fixed?"

"No, no. I'm very smart. I already figured that out. So, would you say you're sure enough that you'd be willing to reverse the issue?"

"Uhh..." Yore said, still caught on the first part.

"What does that mean? Reverse it?"

"I can make it so that, for a bit, it's more difficult for you to not have an erection. But you probably want to be sure that whatever made that painful is fixed. If it isn't, that would be..." she narrowed her eyes. "Bad."

"I don't know if I'm certain, but I have enough faith to take my chances."

"Great," she said and turned towards one of the shelves stacked with bottles.

She retrieved a large glass bottle full of orangish liquid and a smaller, empty glass bottle.

She eyed him critically as she poured some of the viscous liquid from the large bottle into the smaller one.

"Hmm. You're a large man and werewolves have fast metabolisms..."

She nodded to herself as she settled on an amount, corked the small bottle, and handed it to him.

"It's strong and it acts fast, so wait until you're alone or with a consenting partner to take it. Don't ask what's in it."

Yore immediately uncorked the bottle and sniffed the liquid.

"Why does this smell of semen?"

She clicked her tongue.

"Drats. The orange citrusy smell doesn't cover it up?"

"Not to a werewolf's nose. Is there maybe a version without the semen?"

"Sure, I can whip you up a batch right now. How much do oranges turn you on? Because it's going to mostly just be oranges. No, Yore, I can't make you some without the semen. Do you think I just put that in there for flavour? That's minotaur semen and it's the active ingredient."

"Ugh."