#one has mountains of content. one has silly edits of his death

[gochujangst]

ROD..... FUCKINNGNGGBBGGB

[nerdzzone]

Light After Dark: Chapter Six

Summary: Brooke Harris was trying her best to be grateful. As the world tackled the COVID-19 pandemic, she was healthy and safe and so was the rest of her family, but her dreams had very quickly been crushed by the economic fallout. Trapped on the quaint island of Jersey with nothing, but free time to wallow in her mistakes, Brooke’s mental health was taking a hit, but when she collides with a handsome stranger she starts to realize that the future might not be so bleak and there might still be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Pairing: Henry Cavill x OFC

Content warning: Mention of overdose and past death of a close friend. It’s not too detailed, but I wanted to give people a heads up just in case.

________

May. 12. 2020 

Henry: I have a proposition for you

Me: That makes me slightly nervous

Me: What is it?

Henry: Would you like to go on a hike?

Henry: We can keep our distance and I've heard it's harder to spread/catch if you're outside

Henry: I completely understand if you're not comfortable though

I thought about it for a moment. As long as there wasn't too many people out on the trails then it should be pretty low risk as long as we kept our distance and I hadn't been out of the house at all since taking the cake over to Henry's house for his birthday. So, after my brief deliberation, I accepted his invitation.

Henry: Great, meet me at my house in twenty?

Me: Sounds good!

I quickly dragged myself off the couch, threw all the necessities into a bum bag, grabbed a sweater from my closet and shouted goodbye to my family with a brief explanation of where I was headed. They shouted a few questions back, but I rushed out the door without giving them a chance to get too nosy.

Me: On my way!

I sent to Henry when I was about halfway there before adding another message

Me: All masked up and ready to go

Me:

 As I turned onto Henry's street, he was standing outside his house, looking down at his phone as Kal sniffed the sidewalk around him.

"I like your sweater," Henry smirked as I got within a reasonable distance.

"Thanks," I smiled. "I thought it might scare any bears we might run into. You know, they might get confused and think I'm one of them."

Henry laughed and shook his head.

"There's no bears in Jersey that aren't locked up in a zoo," He informed me. "There's absolutely no dangerous wildlife around here."

"That's reassuring," I smirked. "But it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Fair enough," Henry chuckled before pausing. "Would you feel more comfortable if I wore a mask as well?"

I appreciated his offer, but shrugged.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," I assured him. "I know you've been staying pretty isolated and I'll probably take it off once we're off the main roads, but it just gives me peace of mind if we run into anyone along the way."

"Alright," He smiled. "Shall we head off then?"

I nodded and we started off down the street, Henry whistling for Kal to follow. He did so obediently, nudging his nose against my hand before walking a few paces ahead of us.

"I'm glad Kal gets to come," I commented. "But aren't you worried he might dart off after any little critter he sees?"

"Not really," Henry shrugged, respectfully staying on the edge of the road, just off the sidewalk as I walked along the opposite side. "I've got him quite well-trained. He might get distracted, but as soon as I call him he'll come back."

"What a good boy!"

Kal's tail wagged at that, but he was too busy sniffing around some bushes to pay much attention to us.

"He is," Henry nodded. "He's been an amazing asset. He comes with me every where I go and I can't imagine getting through this whole acting experience without him."

"That's really sweet," I smiled. "I always wanted a dog, but it's such a big commitment. I wouldn't want to get one and then be too busy to give it the kind of life it deserves."

"It is a massive commitment," He agreed. "I'm very lucky that I'm able to bring Kal on almost all of my travels and that when I'm on set there's always someone happy to keep him company."

"Well who wouldn't want to keep him company? He's gorgeous."

I held back a remark about dogs looking like their owners as Henry grinned proudly and we fell into a comfortable silence.

****

It was only about a ten minute walk before we turned off the main road and onto a more secluded path. The sun was starting to get stronger as it was almost mid-afternoon so I slipped my mask down to my neck so that I wouldn't get too hot, but could cover up quickly if we passed anyone on the trails. Somewhere along the way we'd fallen into asking each other random questions and, while most of it was silly, some of it was proving to be rather informative.

"That's so boring," I wrinkled my nose when he told me that his favourite fruit was an apple. "Considering how much of a world traveller you are I would have expected something much more exotic."

Henry chuckled at that as he did every time I criticized one of his answers.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe a papaya or a dragon fruit," I theorized. "Anything more exciting than a boring old apple."

"I don't think I've even tried either of those," He admitted. "Now, speaking of travelling, what's one place that you've not been to, but would love visit one day?"

I thought about it for a moment before answering.

"There's quite a few really, I haven't travelled nearly as much as I would have liked," I confessed. "But if I had to choose somewhere to go first, I think I'd choose Canada. Australia is a close second, but I'm terrified of spiders and I hear there's a lot there. So Canada, the part where the mountains and lakes are."

"My brother lives there," Henry's face lit up. "My younger brother, Charlie. He lives in Calgary which, from my understanding, is quite close to the mountains and lakes."

"That's so cool," I smiled, my words dripping with envy. "Have you been to visit him?"

"No," He sighed. "Usually he's the one to come here. He was back briefly before the lockdown actually, but he left to be with his family just before I came back to Jersey so we didn't see each other."

He looked sad as he spoke and I felt a pang of sympathy in my chest.

"That must be hard," I said softly. "Especially not knowing when international travel will be back up and running."

"It's tough," He nodded. "I'm used to only seeing him once or twice a year, but it's definitely worse not knowing how long it will be until we can all be together again. He's safe though and so is his family and that's what matters the most these days, isn't it?"

I nodded in agreement before a smile slid onto my face.

"And now, you can tell your brother that you'll be visiting as soon as you're allowed to because I fully intend to take advantage of this connection and make you take me there."

"Make me?" Henry laughed. "And how do you intend to do that?"

"I can be very persuasive," I smirked with a suggestive lift of an eyebrow before turning my attention back to the path before he could react. "So, if you weren't an actor, what would be doing?"

"I'd probably be in the military," He answered without having to think about it too much. "A couple of my brothers are and I'm quite disciplined so it seems like a good fit."

"More dangerous though..."

"Well, I do my own stunts so sometimes acting gets dangerous," Henry pointed out. "I did spend a lot of time hanging out of a helicopter for Mission Impossible."

"Yeah, but there's a whole team of people responsible for making sure that you don't die, right?"

"Of course and the stunt teams are amazing," He smirked. "But that doesn't mean there isn't any risk, accidents do happen."

I grimaced slightly, knowing that he was probably right.

"You should switch to baking," I suggested. "Definitely a lot safer."

Henry laughed, shaking his head.

"Alright, well, my next question is: have you ever had any bad baking mishaps?" He asked. "It might not compare to action stunts, but I'd imagine there's the potential for some nasty injuries."

"There is, but luckily I've always been pretty careful. A few minor burns and the odd slice of a knife, but nothing too serious. I have seen some pretty nasty stuff over the years though. Like once..." I paused for a second. "Wait, do you want to hear this? It's pretty bad."

"Yeah, go on," Henry nodded. "I think I can handle it."

"Okay, so, one of the bakeries I worked in for a while made a lot of things like doughnuts and churros so we had a deep fryer." My skin started to crawl just thinking of the memory and from the look on Henry's face he seemed to regret agreeing to hear about it, but I continued. "One day, my co-worker was cleaning the counter next to it, scrubbing really hard on a super sticky spot and her hand slipped and shot right into the boiling hot oil.”

"Oh my god," Henry squeezed his eyes shut, his fist clenching as if he was experiencing the pain himself. "That's horrible. Were you there? Was she okay?"

"I was," I nodded. "It was like it happened in slow motion and she didn't even scream, I guess from the shock, but I was hysterical. I kept expecting her skin to just slide off any minute like you see in the movies, but thank goodness it wasn't quite that bad."

"I think I'm going to have nightmares just hearing that story," Henry cringed. "Has it scared you off ever going near a deep fryer again?"

"I haven't had to use them much since that job actually, but it definitely made me very cautious," I admitted with a wrinkle of my nose. "What about you? Any nasty injuries on set?"

"No, I've been lucky as well. The stunt teams are all very good at their jobs so other than a few near misses with a sword here and there, I've never been in any real danger."

"Do you actually use real swords?"

"For the most part," Henry nodded. "For the Blaviken fight scene in the Witcher we used swords that were cut in half and then CGI edited in afterwards because we did it all in one take and there were a lot of moving parts that made it more dangerous."

"You filmed it all in one take?"

We were on a fairly steep incline and I was feeling the effect. My words struggled to come out as I fought to catch my breath and I was happy to give Henry some more time to talk before I had to answer any more questions.

"We did," He smiled proudly. "For the flow of the scene, it just made the most sense, but it was difficult. The cameramen couldn't see where they were going at all, they just had to use their memory with someone guiding them from behind so everyone had to hit all the marks just right to make sure there were no collisions. And with it all being one take, if anyone made a mistake or the timing was off at all then we had to stop the whole thing and start from the beginning."

"Wow, that's...impressive."

Henry caught my slight gasp for breath and looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you need to rest for a moment?"

I nodded and we both stopped walking as I pulled my inhaler out of my bum bag. I took a quick puff followed by a few slow breaths until I had managed to steady my breathing.

"Sorry about that. My asthma has been playing up the last few days and that hill just took it out of me..."

I felt silly getting winded while he was so unfazed, but he waved me off.

"Don't apologize," He insisted. "We can take a break whenever you need. There's been a lot of hills and I didn't even think about your asthma so I'm sorry for that."

"No need to be sorry. I haven't left the house at all since I brought your cake over last week so it's good for me to exercise," I assured him as I started walking again, much to Kal's delight as he charged off ahead of us again. "Anyway, back to your sword fight. That must have taken so much practice!"

"It definitely did," Henry nodded. "Hours and hours of it. It's like training for a big dance number really, everyone has to hit their marks exactly right, but we pulled it off first try."

I couldn't help, but smile at the pride in his voice.

"That's amazing. It must have felt incredible when you finished and knew you'd nailed it."

"Absolutely," He grinned. "So, if your asthma gets in the way of certain exercises, how do you stay so in shape?"

I felt my cheeks heat up at the subtle compliment, but he was looking ahead and keeping an eye on Kal so luckily he didn't notice.

"I do yoga," I told him. "Not the most exciting, but it is a lot harder than it looks. I thought it would be easy, but the day after my first class I could barely move at all."

"I've heard that a lot about yoga," He chuckled. "Even from big body builder guys at the gym, they try yoga thinking they'll smash the class, but they end up coming out just as sweaty as when they lift weights."

I'd had to defend my love of yoga to many people over the years. As Henry pointed out, my options for keeping fit were quite hampered by my weak lungs so I didn't have loads of choices, but I did end up really enjoying yoga and seeing plenty of physical benefits from the classes. It was annoying to have to constantly insist that it was in fact a workout worth doing so it was refreshing that someone with Henry's gym experience understood right away.

"It's pretty tough," I smiled. "Even though I'm sure you'd find it easy. I imagine with those muscles you could probably lift a car over your head without any struggle."

Henry laughed at that, shaking his head.

"Not quite a car," Henry smirked. "But speaking of strength, are you a good climber?"

I raised an eyebrow at that question as I noticed him looking off to the side of the trail at a small rock wall that was about Henry's height.

"Why? What have you got planned?"

"There's an excellent view if we take a brief detour," He explained. "But you'd have to climb that little cliff."

I looked at it a bit more intently than I had before and it seemed easy enough. It wasn't all that high and the edge was rough enough that it wouldn't be too hard to get a grip on.

"I think I can do it," I shrugged. "But what about Kal?"

"I'll lift him up. He's much lighter than a car."

He shot me a wink and I actually, literally giggled like some kind of flirtatious fangirl. It slipped out before I could stop it and, despite Henry either not noticing my embarrassing behaviour or just politely ignoring it, my cheeks went bright red again.

He led the way over to the wall and whistled for Kal who bounded over happily. The big dog didn't even flinch when Henry scooped him up and plopped him down on the top of the little cliff and he sat down obediently when he was commanded to 'stay'.

"You go up first and I'll spot you," Henry instructed.

I nodded and went up to the wall. It was pretty easy to find a good spot to hold so I grabbed on and hoisted myself up. It wasn't that far to go so I only needed to get my feet a little bit higher before I could push up and get my hands on the ground at the top. I could feel the warmth of Henry's body hovering behind me and perhaps it was the distraction of realizing how close he was or just that my running shoes didn't have the right grip for this kind of activity, but as I got my hands on the top of the cliff, my foot slipped off the wall before I could push myself up properly. I didn't fall very far though as Henry's hand was right there, ready to catch me as it collided with my bum.

Both of us froze for a moment. The warmth of his hand felt like it was burning a hole through the yoga pants I was wearing and my brain instantly felt the need to focus on the fact that his massive hand covered almost the entirety of the cheek it was currently cupping. As the shock of the contact wore off, I quickly found my footing again and dragged myself up so I was sitting on the edge at the top.

"Two metres apart, Mr. Cavill!"

He was standing there with his hand still out where it had been, looking just as surprised as I was, but as I scolded him his shock quickly morphed into a smirk.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," He assured me as he grabbed onto the wall and pulled himself up with an ease that made my attempt look quite sad. "But I must say, that yoga is definitely working for you."

My jaw dropped at his comment, but after a moment I couldn't help but grin. Even if I didn't have muscles like Henry, I did put a lot of effort into my body and my bum had come a long way from the flat board that it used to be and I was proud of it.

"Thank you," I said as I pulled myself up to my feet. "But please, keep your hands off of my bum...At least while we're out in public."

Now it was Henry's turn to be shocked by my comment and my turn to smirk as I turned and headed off towards the little path we were next to with Henry and Kal hot on my heels.

****

The path we ended up on was another steep hill which Henry profusely apologized for once he realized, but I assured him I was fine. It was a beautiful trail and it wasn't long until we ended up in the clearing that he was steering us towards. As promised, the view was amazing and absolutely worth the trek.

"Wow," I gasped quietly, looking out over the ocean. "This is incredible."

"It's one of my favourite places on this whole island," Henry admitted. "I don't think many people know about it as it's not a main viewpoint, but Charlie and I used to run wild all over this place and we stumbled across it when I was only about twelve."

"What a great find," I complimented him, still in awe. "It's beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with me."

"Of course," He smiled. "You're practically a local now so you need to know all the best spots."

I laughed weakly at his description of me as a local even though it was probably true. I’d been here for months and wouldn't be leaving any time soon.

"Well, I can't think of anywhere that would beat this. Can we stay for a while?"

"Sure," He shrugged. "I don't have anywhere to be."

I smiled and went to the edge before sitting down and letting my legs dangle over. It wasn't a straight drop down, there was a big ledge sticking out only a few feet down so it was safe, but gave me a sense of freedom as I looked out at the wide open space in front of me. Henry whistled for Kal and gave him some water from his bottle before joining me, but keeping a respectful distance.

"So," Henry broke our comfortable silence a few minutes into our pit stop. "After all those questions, I realized I've never asked you what your bakery was called."

I felt my stomach drop at that question. He probably thought it was a pretty easy one, but my hands went all tingly and clammy and I was almost positive all the colour had drained from my face. I stayed silent for a moment as I thought it over. I could have lied and told him anything, really. He'd never know. But deep down I knew it wasn't a subject that I could avoid forever so I took a deep breath and answered.

"Lola's."

As I predicted, he gave me a confused look and pressed for answers.

"Lola's? Is that your middle name or something?"

Again, I was tempted to lie and pretended he'd guessed right, but if I wanted to continue our friendship, I had to be honest.

"No, it was the name of my best friend." My voice was quiet, but it didn't crack or waiver so that was an improvement. "She died last year."

I saw Henry turn to look at me out of the corner of my eye, clearly at a loss for words, but I kept my gaze off on the horizon.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," He said after a moment of quiet. "How did she die? If you don't mind me asking."

I didn't mind, but it was hard to talk about. I'd gone the route of burying my emotions rather than dealing with them when she passed so it was usually a topic I just steered clear of completely.

"She overdosed," I told him, still not looking over at him in an attempt to hide the tears that were brimming in my eyes. "She was always into partying, much more than I was, but she never really did drugs until she started dating this new guy. Suddenly she was talking about all the things she was trying and a few weeks later she was dead. Apparently he was a dealer and he'd tried cutting his supply with something dodgy so he could make more profit."

"That's horrible..." Henry's voice was soft and cautious and it made my eyes fill even more. "I'm so sorry, Brooke."

"Thanks," I choked out. "Sorry, this is super heavy. I don't mean to dump it all on you."

I wiped my eyes and tried to sort myself out a bit, but he shook his head.

"I'm happy to listen," He insisted. "How long were you friends?"

"Since we were three," I smiled. "We met in nursery school and were instant friends. Her name was Laura, but I called her Lola from the day that we met, I thought it suited her better."

"Wow, that's a long time."

"It was," I nodded. "She was like a sister to me. Cassie and I are really close, but Lola and I just clicked instantly. No one understood me like she did and she absolutely always had my back. She was the one who gave me the idea to open my own bakery. She'd been saying it for years so when she died, I knew I had to give it shot. You know, to honour her. It made closing down so much harder because I feel like I've let her down."

"I would be willing to bet a lot of money that that isn't the case at all," Henry smiled reassuringly. "I bet she's watching over you, proud that you gave it a good shot and completely relieved that you did what was best for your health."

I teared up again as he spoke, knowing deep down that he was right. Lola wouldn't be disappointed that I failed for reasons that were out of my control and if she was alive she would have dragged me to Jersey herself if it was the safest place for me to be. I hadn't voiced my guilt to anyone else though so no one had the chance to tell me I was being silly and hearing it made at least a tiny bit of my regret melt away.

"You're probably right," I agreed, wiping my eyes again as a few tears slipped down my cheeks. "Sorry, it's just hard to talk about and it's her birthday in a couple of weeks so it's even more of a sensitive subject."

"No need to be sorry," He assured me again. "It sounds like it's still quite fresh, but whenever you want to talk about it I'm more than happy to listen."

I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth, biting hard to try to fight back the floods of tears I could feel rising. It was very touching how kind he was being when plenty of people would have run for the hills as soon as they realized what a nerve they'd struck with such a simple question. I glanced over at him, trying to find the strength to thank him without a sob bursting free, when he tentatively held out his hand, placing it palm up in the dirt between us. A few more tears escaped at the gesture, but a smile slid onto my face as well as I reached out and placed my hand in his.

We stayed like that for a long time. Hand in hand, but almost two metres apart as we looked out over the ocean with Kal settled in the dirt between us. It was refreshing and calming as was almost every moment that Henry and I had shared. Eventually, we realized that it was getting quite late and we should head back before we ended up walking back in the dark, but the comfort I'd felt in that time with him lingered even as we headed home.

The somewhat somber mood that had fallen on us was soon forgotten and the laughter and fun returned as we continued asking questions and talked about everything from what we do if we could be invisible for a day to how much we both wanted a family and children of our own.

We ended up down by the beach just as the sun was setting and paused by the pier to watch it. It was a pretty breath taking sight and by the time I got home I was feeling giddy from the magical day that I'd had. Henry was shaping up to be pretty much everything I hadn't realized that I'd wanted. I'd been so busy in the last year, grieving the loss of my friend and then trying to start and run a business that dating hadn't even been on my mind, but now, after sharing so many heartwarming moments with someone who made me feel as warm inside as he did, it was something I couldn't help, but think about a lot.

I was in the middle of filling Cassie in on my day's adventures as I rather inelegantly shovelled some food into my mouth when my phone beeped on the table. I saw Henry's name pop up on the screen and my heart melted at what I saw when I opened the message.

Henry: 

Henry: I took this picture earlier and I can't get over how beautiful it is...

Henry: And by 'it' I mean you, the sunset pales in comparison

[all-hail-the-witcher]

questionable government spies chapter 14

no your eyes do not deceive you, this is chapter 14 of spies

heres the masterlist in case you forgot what happened (I did too dw)

______

ship: eventual sprace, platonic ralbert, jack is madly in love with Katherine but she doesnt like smol emotion bois who drive vans

warnings: race drinks far too much sugar, race is a dumbass, Albert is Mad cause race is a reckless little shit with a death wish, some Anger Words, hibachi chefs, fear of crayons

editing: maybe idk havent decided yet

words: idk maybe like 2k

______

Race scrambled down the hallway, buttoning the last three buttons on his collared shirt as he attempted not to bump into every person he ran past. The one thing that Checks had told him was to not be late, and yet here he was. He had even left before Albert had woken up and hadn’t had time to write him a note and therefore had exactly no backup. Hopefully nothing would go wrong.

Luckily, Race managed to slip into the door to the meeting room just as it was closing. Immediately he saw Spot across the room and gave him a wink. Spot, in turn, glared at him - probably because he was late. Race considered sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes at Spot but Checks started speaking before he had the chance.

“-hope you all brought your big boy pants,” Checks was saying as she distributed a half page of hardly useful information - something Race was beginning to assume was normal around here. He briefly skimmed it and when he didn't see the words “self sacrifice,” “imprisonment,” or “hibachi chefs” he folded it neatly and shoved it into his shirt pocket for Albert and Jack to analyze later.

Speaking of Albert and Jack, why weren’t they being regular nuisances in his comms like usual? Race reached up to his ear to fiddle with the device and see if he had put it in backwards (something he did far more often than he would like to admit), only to realize that the reason why Albert and Jack weren’t talking to him was because he had left the device in his locker. Despite his super spy training, Race did the very thing he was trained not to do when something bothered him: he groaned.

Luckily for him though, the groan happened to coincide with Checks announcing their mission. What the mission was, Race couldn’t say because he had been too busy thinking about his missing comms.

So when Checks stopped next to him and gave him what could only be described as The Look, Race felt a small part of his soul shrivel up and die from fear.

“You got a problem, Marx?” she glared. “You scared of crayons or somethin?”

Crayons? What the hell was she talking about? “No,” he said in his most badass voice.

She snorted in response, but continued her briefing nonetheless, leaving Race to wonder who the hell would be afraid of crayons of all things? Hibachi chefs were way more terrifying, they literally thought they possessed big enough dick energy to play with fire! Their dicks weren’t even that big either. Race would know, he had dated one once.

He tried to tune back into whatever Checks was saying so that he could at least report something remotely useful back to Albert once he retrieved his comms, but was interrupted by Darrel tugging on his sleeve.

Race looked down at the kid next to him. Today he was sporting a shirt with a giant tootsie roll pop on it. And he was definitely wearing silly bandz. “May I help you?” Race asked skeptically, unsure of how to talk to children who seemed to be stuck in 2009.

“I’m afraid of crayons,” he whispered.

It took every ounce of Race’s training to keep his face straight.

“Well, not every color, just the Burnt Sienna one. And only cause when I was 7 my fish died cause he ate one,” he clarified, brows furrowed together in thought. “Which colors are you scared of?”

Race sighed. Never in his life did he think that talking to a confused fifteen year old about crayon phobias would be part of his FBI agent skill set.

Oh what the hell, he thought dejectedly. I’m not gonna get any information out of this briefing anyway.

•••

As it turned out, Race had not only forgotten his comms in his locker, but he’d also somehow forgotten to tell Albert that they were getting a mission assignment today. Spot had laughed hysterically when Race went out to the parking lot to climb dejectedly into Jack’s van only to realize that it wasn't there because the two of them were working their shifts at Medda’s coffee shop. Because Race had forgotten to tell them that they were needed as backup.

Race spent quite a long time on the subway thinking about what an idiot he was.

After imagining every possible situation that could have unfolded because he didn't have back up - of which there were 27 and only 5 of them resulted in severe injury or death! - he arrived at the coffee shop. Hopefully Albert wouldn’t go too hard on him, he was being particularly protective over him on this case for some reason.

The bell next to the door dinged as he pushed open the door and slumped over to the counter where - thankfully - Romeo, Katherine and Jack were working.

“Well don't you just look like a little ray of darkness” a voice said as he approached the counter.

“Hey Ro,” Race sighed. “Gimmie the sugariest thing you can come up with.”

Race looked up at Romeo’s face for the first time and saw that his mouth had curved into a wickedly mischievous grin that Race knew he should fear, especially since he was entirely certain that Romeo could single handedly give him a sugar high that could last upwards of a week.  

“Bad day?” Romeo asked as he began to make Race’s drink. He knew Race only subjected himself to his drink creations when he was entirely desperate.

“I forgot to put my comms in, and then we had a mission assignment briefing and I realized after that I had also forgotten to tell Al and Jack so I had no backup and Al’s going to kill me,” Race mumbled into his elbow.

“Well,” Romeo pondered for a moment as he frothed what Race hoped was milk, “at least if Al does kill you you won’t have to fill out the paperwork.”

Race lifted his head to glare at his friend. “Not helping Ro.”

Romeo shrugged as he put an ungodly amount of whipped cream on Race’s mystery drink. “I never said I was trying to be helpful. That’s just the facts.”

“Punk.” Race let his head fall back down on the counter.

Romeo huffed in annoyance. “Would a punk go out of his way to make you only the greatest drink not on the menu?”

Race peeked up from his state of misery to gaze upon the creation Romeo was holding out to him.

It was in a hot pink mug - the mugs at the shop were all brown where did he find that? - and was topped with a mountain of whipped cream and chocolate shavings, rainbow sprinkles, and what appeared to be crushed oreos -again, where did he find that in a coffee shop? Race was immediately afraid of its contents and silently cursed himself for moping instead of watching what Romeo had put in the drink.

“I’m not sure,” Race said, taking the drink from him gingerly as if it would explode any second - which, knowing Romeo was a high probability. “I haven’t met any other punks.”

“What about me?” Jack asked, choosing that very moment to walk past him and Romeo. Today he was wearing a Fall Out Boy shirt and a gray beanie. It looked horrendous with the light pink apron, but Race assumed that that was what Jack had been going for.

“You’re not a punk,” Race said distractedly, trying to decide if he actually wanted to drink the mess Romeo had given him. “Now, Albert in Budapest, that was punk.”

“You and I remember Budapest very differently.”

Race’s heart sank as he heard Albert approaching him from behind. “Hey Albie,” he sighed.

Even though he wasn't looking at Albert, Race could feel his steely gaze as he took in the khaki pants and half unbuttoned, rumpled white shirt that gave away the fact that he had been at YMONY. “Why are you dressed like that?”

Race shot a what do I say look at Romeo who in turn gave him a your mistake your problem look back. Race flipped him off with his eyes before turning to Albert.

“Let’s go sit down and I’ll explain.”

Albert nodded, motioning for Jack to follow them.

Race took a deep breath and tasted his drink. It tasted like candied marshmallows covered in caramel. Honestly, not bad.

Albert led them over to a table in the back corner, pulled out a chair and sat on it backwards. “Explain yourself.”

“Okay so,” Race placed his drink down on the table. “I went to the headquarters cause we had a mission assignment briefing and I forgot to put my comms in but then after I finished I realized that I forgot to tell you guys so I didn't have backup and I’m sorryitwasanaccidentpleasedontkillme.” He stared down at the table, waiting for Albert to say something.

Instead though, it was Jack that broke the silence. “What’s the mission.”

“Breaking into a crayon factory and 6000 units of Neon Carrot crayons.” Race couldn't help but crack a smile.

“Neon Carrot?” Jack laughed. “I don't believe you.”

Race reached into his pocket for the info sheet and smoothed it out, sliding it in front of Jack. “Believe me now?”

Jack’s eyes scanned the paper quickly before he busted out laughing. “Well,” he said in between giggles. “At least we know whoever’s in charge of this dumb thing has a sense of humor.”

“We’d know who was in charge if we were actually working and not getting distracted,” Albert mumbled.

Jack and Race shared a look across the table, clearly trying to figure out what to say when they were saved by Katherine.

“Hey Jack- whoa!” She tripped over a loose floor board, falling into the table.

“Kath!” Jack jumped up to help her and Race couldn't help but roll his eyes. That boy was so hopelessly in love and it was going to end badly for everyone involved.

Katherine brushed off Jacks help, using the table instead to right herself. “Romeo needs help working the counter and my shifts about to end, do you mind?”

“No, no of course not.” Jack gave Race and Albert a nod before walking back towards the counter.

“That boy is so helplessly in love,” Race commented, watching as Jack tried to walk as close to Katherine as he possibly could without touching her.

“So are you,” Albert scoffed.

Race tore his gaze from the two of them and turned to face Albert. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You are in love with Spot.” He stared at Race accusingly.

Race was taken aback. “Am not!” Albert hardly ever meddled in his love life. And besides, he was not in love with Spot.

“Yes you are and it’s ruining the dynamics of the mission!” Albert pulled at his hair in frustration. “You’re getting sloppy, you didn’t have backup, you didn’t have comms, what if something went wrong? I can’t have you dying over a stupid boy, Antonio! We’re not 12! We have jobs, and lives! You’re putting the whole integrity of the operation at stake with your slip ups and you need to be more careful! He’s just a stupid boy, he’s not worth it!”

Race, who had been staring daggers at Albert during his heated speech, stood up from the table. “If you’re even suggesting for a second that I would put all of our lives at stake, then you clearly don’t know me,” he spat, shoving his chair against the table with a loud bang and stomping off toward the exit, letting the door slam behind him.

Albert DaSilva could go fuck himself.

•••

Albert watched as Race stormed out of the shop, immediately regretting everything that he had said to him. Of course he knew that Race was already tense being back in New York and he had probably just made it worse.

He just cared about him, and didn’t want to let his friend’s carelessness cost him something important. Like his life.

Albert stood up, kicking his chair and then cursing when he remembered a few seconds later that kicking chairs did not solve any problems and just made his foot hurt. He fought back tears that he told himself were from the sharp pain in his foot.

How could he have been so stupid?

Dejectedly, Albert strode over to his guitar and picked it up, absently plucking at the strings before settling on a song to match his feelings.

“I remember when you were all mine, but you’re changing in front of my eyes, what can I say

Now that I’m not the fire in the cold, now that I’m not the hand that you hold, as you’re walking away.

Will you call me to tell me you’re alright? Cause I worry about you the whole night. Don’t leave me this way, I won’t sleep till you’re safe inside. If you’re home I just hope that you’re sober, is it time to let go now you’re older? Don’t make my mistakes, I won’t sleep till you’re safe inside.”

______

o shit he maddd

next up: its crayon stealing time kiddos (btw neon carrot is a real crayons crayon color)

heres the song Albert sings

the story is actually finally picking up thank hecc

feedback is always appreciated hmu to be on the taglist

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@getchapapes

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@nico-nat​

[master-sass-blast]

Strong as Stone: Part Seven, First Half.

Hey, Sass, why do you keep writing multi-part chapters? (asked no one)

What? I don’t do that. I have no idea what you’re talking about. *blatantly ignores title of this post*

Lowkey, I have ideas, and then I start writing, and then I realize about 3k words in it’s going to take more time than I thought.

Like, I don’t write these over the course of the week. I write, edit, and post over the weekend. I’ve got two days to make these updates happen. I’ve written almost 10k words in two days before (Part Five, when Dewani beats a man silly). It’s not fun (well, it is, but not eating so that I can keep writing isn’t fun).

So, yeah. Multi part posts so I can keep my sanity! Yay!

Anyway...

Hey, guess what!

It’s nap time!

Last week, we watched as our favorite group of heroes managed to renegotiate with the United Nations and cancel both the search and the tactical repercussions.

This week, Okoye finally gets her much needed vacation.

Rating: T/PG-13.

Warnings: One metric fuckton of fluff, mostly to atone for all the angst and stress of the last few installments, sensuality and sexual themes, swearing, and Dewani being a little shit.

Pairings: Okoye x M’Baku and background Shuri x OC.

@the-last-hair-bender

The life of the Dora Milaje is not one of peace or leisure. There will be times when you’re pushed past your limit, when you’ll feel like you’re worn down to nothing, when you’ll feel like you’re about to break.

That is why, when you have time to rest, you must take it.

Never feel guilty for taking care of yourself. A Dora Milaje who doesn’t take care of herself is a danger to her sisters and those she’s sworn to protect.

Her boots thudded against the patchwork stone slabs that made up the courtyard outside the Great Lodge. The chilled wind nipped at her nose, and snow clung to the corners of the windswept space.

Okoye grinned as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

She’d taken a couple days to sleep and put her brain back together. Then, once she’d felt human again, she’d packed her things and taken her ship up to the Jabari lands.

She had eighteen days left in her vacation, and she intended on spending each and every one of them with M’Baku.

Her heart sped up when she saw the main door open, then went back down to normal speed when she realized it was just Dewani.

“Hi, Okoye!”

Okoye smiled and returned Dewani’s hug. “How are you?”

“Oh, I’m just fine.”

Okoye narrowed her eyes at Dewani’s cheeky smile. “What do you have planned?”

“Since when have I planned anything ever?”

Okoye crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve spent over a decade in service to the royal family. In that time, I’ve watched Princess Shuri prank and best the King no less than two hundred fifty times. I know when someone’s planning something.”

Dewani grinned. “M’Baku might not know you’re here.”

Okoye’s eyes widened in alarm. “I thought I let him know I was coming.”

“Oh, he knows you’re coming. He just might think that you’re arriving about... oh... two hours from now?”

Okoye fought the urge to roll her eyes. “So, I have to wait for two hours?”

Dewani let out a cackle. “Hell no. He cleared his schedule for today when he realized you were coming so that he could be ‘ready in case you came early.’ He’s just working in his garden right now.”

Okoye raised an eyebrow. “He has a garden?”

“Well, yeah. It’s not all that uncommon among the Jabari. We are vegetarians, after all.”

Okoye shivered as another burst of cold wind swirled around her. “Can we go inside?”

“Oh, shit, yeah. Sorry.”

She followed Dewani into the main lodge and down a hall where the outside wall was made entirely of glass. “How did you like your first trip to the outside world?”

“Decidedly underwhelming. Are all Americans that obnoxious?”

“Unfortunately, most of them are.”

Dewani grimaced as she took a sharp right turn and started walking down a flight of stone stairs. “Great. Why did the King want to rejoin with the outside world again?”

“If we take every sign of struggle and every setback as a reason to reject the notion of unification, we’ll never make any forward progress in bettering the world.”

“Fair enough.” Dewani paused just outside a doorway, peered around the corner, then looked back at Okoye and held a finger to her lips. She mouthed the words ‘I’ll distract him first’ and disappeared around the corner.

Okoye crept up to the doorway and peered around the corner.

“Is she here yet?”

“Will you learn some damn patience? It’s only been fifteen minutes since I talked to you last. Relax!”

M’Baku’s shoulders slumped, and he went back to pulling weeds out of the rich, black earth. “So, what’s happened in the last fifteen minutes?”

“The apocalypse, apparently. Everything outside of the Jabari lands has been consumed in a bright, fire-y death.”

“Praise Hanuman for protecting us.”

“I kept telling the low-landers that vegetarianism would pay off, but do you think they listen to me?”

“You’re ahead of your time, Dewani. They were fools to not listen to you.”

“I know!”

Okoye had to place a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

It was endearing to watch, really. It was clear by M’Baku’s casual, unruffled responses that he was used to Dewani making up nonsense and was more than content to play along with her.

It also reminded her of the stories Shuri had told about M’Baku threatening to feed Agent Ross to his children, only to reveal that the Jabari were vegetarians and start snickering.

And then there had been Olufemi’s comments about her service to the avatars...

The apple does not fall far from its tree, Okoye thought as she watched the Jabari siblings banter back and forth.

M’Baku turned away from Dewani to drop a couple handfuls of weeds into nearby basket, and the younger woman nodded at Okoye, signalling the General to start sneaking up behind the Jabari Chief.

Okoye slid out of her coat and set her bag off to the side, then started creeping up behind M’Baku.

“So, if you and Okoye can take vacations together, does that mean I can invite Shuri up at some point?” Dewani asked to keep her brother distracted.

“I think that would be reasonable. You’d just have to get the Queen Mother and the King to agree.”

Dewani hummed as she ran her fingers over the delicate leaves of a little sprout. “I want to show her the valley. I think she’d like it.”

M’Baku grunted. “She’d probably find ways to bring her technology into it.”

“Shuri isn’t all about technology,” Dewani insisted, leaping to her girlfriend’s defense. “Quit being so sour.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So,” Dewani went on as Okoye carefully edged around a row of knee-high plants. “Do you have anything planned for Okoye?”

“Dewani--”

“Not like that! I was just wondering if you were going to show any of the sights.”

Okoye took the opportunity to grab M’Baku by his shoulders and kiss his cheek. “Yes, I’d like to know as well--” She couldn’t even finish her sentence before she was swept off her feet and into a massive hug.

“I thought you wouldn’t be here for another two hours!”

“Uh, yeah.” Dewani grinned deviously. “I lied.” When M’Baku gave her an exasperated look, she shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you. Are you surprised?”

M’Baku pressed an enthusiastic kiss against Okoye’s cheek. “Very.”

“Then my work here is done. I’m leaving before you two get gross. See you later, Okoye!”

Okoye tried to open her mouth to reply, but was cut off by a passionate kiss from M’Baku.

“Why’d you go along with her?” M’Baku asked when he finally broke away.

“It seemed harmless enough.” Okoye stroked the side of his face. “It’s good to see you, my love.”

M’Baku beamed down at her. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

She smirked up at him. “You could show me, if you wanted to run the risk of really grossing Dewani out.”

“Mmm, perhaps later. I have some things I’d like to show you first.”

She shivered slightly as M’Baku pressed his lips against her jaw. “By all means, then, show me.”

Okoye couldn’t help but smile. “It’s beautiful.”

They were standing on one of the many bridges that crisscrossed the Jabari lands. Below them churned the main river that ran from the ceremonial waterfalls, through the River tribe’s territory, and flowed out through the Jabari mountains. Before them, one could see down the entire length of the valley. The lowest parts of the mountains were dotted with lush vegetation, giving way to snow peaks as the eye moved up.

“I’ve been wanting to show this to you for several months now,” M’Baku said. “This is the spot that Dewani wanted to show to the Princess.”

“It’s breathtaking. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You wouldn’t. The low lands have nothing like this. For thousands of years, this view has only been seen by Jabari eyes.”

“Until now.”

M’Baku grinned down at her. “Until now, yes.” He pressed a series of gentle, warm kisses against her cheek. “How long are you staying, again?”

Okoye smiled up at him. She’d already told him, but seeing the giddy look on his face was worth saying it over and over. “Eighteen days.”

“Eighteen days,” M’Baku murmured against her lips. “A lot can happen in eighteen days.”

Okoye opened her mouth to agree, but wound up clinging to M’Baku when a particularly strong gust of wind made the bridge shake. She glared up at him as he started chuckling and swatted at his chest.

“How about we go inside?” M’Baku offered, one arm around her and one hand on the railing, steadying them both.

“Yes.” She gritted her teeth as another gust of wind shook the bridge. “Now.”

Kiss. “You have no idea--” kiss “--how happy I am--” kiss “--that you’re here.”

“I think--” kiss “--I’m getting--” kiss “--an understanding.”

They were seated on a blanket in front of the fireplace in the library. A bottle of wine and two half-filled glass sat off to the side, next to a small plate of fresh fruit and cheese.

Okoye was half-straddling, half-laying against M’Baku, leaning against his solid chest as he pressed kiss after kiss against her lips.

This. This is what she’d been craving for the past month. Time to rest and relax. Time to detach from her job and just be herself.

Time to lazily make out with M’Baku in between intervals of drinking wine and talking.

If there ever was such a thing as paradise, this would be it. “So,” Okoye asked as she reached over and took another sip from her glass. “What all do you have planned for me over these next eighteen days?”

“Well, I didn’t want to pack too much in. I know it’s been a while since you’ve had a proper vacation.” M’Baku took a sip from his own glass, then leaned back against the couch. “I also have some meetings with my council over the next few weeks, but I figured I’d show you a few sights. Nothing too strenuous.”

“I like the sound of that. What would you show me?”

“Well, there are some gardens in the valley that are among the best in Wakanda, if not the world. There’s a spring celebration in the central village that I thought you’d like to see. There’s a series of hot spring pools that are connected to the lodge.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of the last one.”

M’Baku grinned. “I thought you might.”

Okoye smiled back and kissed his shoulder. “So, where am I staying while I’m here?”

“Well, I can have one of the servants make up a room for you, or you could stay with me.”

Okoye gazed into the fire as she mulled her options over.

The logical option was to ask for her own room. They were barely six months in to their relationship, and they’d never slept together before. Diving in to something like that, especially since they hadn’t talked about it much, would be irresponsible.

The option she wanted to go with, however...

“What would happen if I stayed with you?”

M’Baku shrugged, not bothering to hide his smile. “Whatever you want to happen.”

“If I just want to sleep?”

“Then we’ll sleep.”

She gazed up at him, excitement coursing through her. “And if I don’t want to sleep?”

“I can accommodate that as well.” M’Baku pulled her into his lap. “What would you like?”

“Well, I think we need to talk about this,” Okoye said as she slid her arms over his thick shoulders. “At least a little.”

“Okay. Do you want to have sex with me?”

Okoye giggled and pressed her face against his shoulder. “You are so ridiculous!”

“On the contrary, I like to think I’m highly efficient and straightforward.”

“I’m not opposed to having sex with you,” Okoye said once she had her laughter under control.

M’Baku grinned. “I’m not opposed to having sex with you either.” 

They both dissolved into a pile of giggles together.

M’Baku got his breath back before she did. “Are you on contraceptives?”

“All members of the Dora Milaje get a contraceptive shot every six months.”

“Are you sure it’s up to date?”

“I had it updated before the Harvest Moon festival.”

“Oh, I see,” M’Baku said, grinning widely. “You had plans, did you?”

“Plans, no. Ideas, maybe. Prepared foresight, yes.” Her smile slipped away, and she started tracing her finger over the designs on his tunic. “Do you think it’s too soon?”

“No.” He skimmed his fingertips over the edge of her jaw. “But you think otherwise.”

Okoye sighed.

It wasn’t that she thought otherwise, not entirely. She wanted to be with M’Baku, wanted to ‘have sex’ with him, as he had so bluntly put it.

Half a month ago, after the Harvest Moon festival, she’d been perfectly fine with the idea. She’d even put some of her tighter dresses and nicer underwear on her packing list, for Bast’s sake!

So, what had changed between now and then?

“I think I’m just tired and overthinking everything,” Okoye muttered as she laid her head against his shoulder. “I’d much prefer to go back to bed with you.”

M’Baku chuckled quietly and kissed her temple. “How about this: you come to bed with me. If something happens, it happens. If not, that’s okay too. And, by tomorrow, if you decide you want your own room, I’ll have one set up for you. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.”

His bedroom was unlike anything she’d ever seen, from the rooms in the palace, to the hotels she’d stayed in while travelling with T’Challa, to her own apartment in downtown Birnin Zana.

For one, it was markedly simple. Only the necessities were present: a bed, a desk and chair, a few dressers, and a nightstand.

Okoye couldn’t help but mentally compare it to Shuri’s bedroom, which had its own mini-lab in it.

M’Baku’s bedroom also seemed to follow the Jabari principle of letting the outside world in. The outer wall was made up entirely of glass, showcasing a fantastic view of the mountains. All the furniture was made out of wood, twisted and carved into elegant, smooth shapes. A massive fireplace lined with stones from the river sat opposite of the bed. The bed itself was as massive as M’Baku, and was draped over with wool blankets and thick furs.

“I like your way of decorating,” Okoye said as she ran her hand over one of the furs. “It’s simple in a good way.”

“We don’t see a point in complicating the purpose of a room,” M’Baku said. “Let the room be what it needs to be, big enough to house what it needs to house, and only have the rooms that you really need.”

Okoye smirked. “I need to show you an American website, then. It’s dedicated to mocking ridiculous houses with too much wasted space.” At M’Baku’s blank look, she went on. “Think seven bedrooms, six bathrooms, and three dining rooms. For a house, not a palace-style building.”

M’Baku rolled his eyes. “Colonizers.”

“Tell me about it. Is there a bathroom I can change in?”

M’Baku grinned at her salaciously. “You could just change right here. I wouldn’t mind.”

“I know you wouldn’t, but I’d like to take my makeup off.”

M’Baku pointed to a door at the far end of the room. “Through there.”

The bathroom was much like the bedroom --everything was made out of river stone, and only the necessary fixtures were there. A massive stone sink took up one side of the wall, with a toilet positioned next to it. At the far end of the room sat a massive stone tub that was big enough for M’Baku to rest in comfortably. The outer wall was a continuation of the glass from the bedroom.

Briefly, Okoye wondered if self-exposure was a regular part of Jabari life --and, if so, just what she was getting into with M’Baku--before she quickly changed into her night clothes and washed her face.

Back in the bedroom, M’Baku had already changed into a pair of simple linen pants. He was stretched out across the bed, and smiled as he watched Okoye walk towards him. “You look nice.”

She glanced down at her oversized purple shirt and sweatpants. “If you say so.” She laid down next to M’Baku and trailed her fingers over his bare chest.

M’Baku propped himself up on one arm and gazed down at her. “Eighteen days.”

Okoye smiled up at him. “Eighteen days.”

“What would the King do if I kept you here?”

“I think you should be less worried about the King and more worried about me.”

“You wouldn’t want to stay longer?”

“I only packed so many clothes!”

“I can have more made for you.”

Okoye laughed and rolled her eyes. “I like my job, M’Baku. I have purpose in it.”

M’Baku sighed dramatically. “Well, I suppose I can bear to part with you, if only for that.” He started trailing kisses down her neck. “But not forever.”

Okoye sighed happily and tilted her head back to give him better access. “That’s something we can agree on.”

M’Baku froze, then moved so that he could look her in the eye. “Promise?”

Warmth spread through her chest, and she smiled softly as she reached up to cup his cheek. “I promise.”

[scifrey]

Get To Know The Writer

 Get to Know the Writer Tag

Rules (always post the rules): answer the questions given to you, write ten questions of your own, tag ten people.

@rosecorcoranwritessaid anyone who wants to do it can, and it looked interesting.

1.) Where did the title(s) of your latest project(s) come from?

 The titles for The Accidental Turn Series were sort of decided by a committee of my agent, my editor, my publisher and me. I’m rubbish at naming books, so through a series of emails a list of about a hundred throw-them-out-there titles were whittled down (mostly by Googling them and seeing if any other book had that title already) to a few themes. From there we narrowed down and named the first book (The Untold Tale, where I had been calling it That Feminist Meta Thingy), and then the other two books dominoed into place after that (The Forgotten Tale, and The Silenced Tale.)

These titles are because in book #1, the fantasy is being told from a side character who in fantasy-novel tropes is often overlooked. In book #2, other fantasy stories start vanishing, forgotten by the readers, and in book #3,someone is trying to silence the writer of these fantasy books forever.

 City By Night, one of my novellas, is also being reissued next month. Its original title was The Dark Side f the Glass, which was both an allusion to Alice Through The Looking Glass, as it’s about a woman who falls into a TV instead of through a mirror, and a tip of the head to the song of the same title from the soundtrack of one of the television shows the novella satirizes, Forever Knight. However, my agent thought the reference was too obscure, and after another big round of back-and-forth, it was decided to name the novella after the fake-TV show I made up for the story.

 The titles of the to books in The Skylark’s Saga (#1 The Skylark’s Song, and #2, The Skylark’s Sacrifice) are because I do love alliteration when I can get away with it! These are the only titles of the recent projects that I decided on my own and the rest of my team liked! Score!

2.) Do you have any rhyme or reason behind your character names?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. For the Accidental Turn Series fantasy books, I stole a lot of street names or snipped letters out of traditionally “European” names, like Kintyre, Forsyth, and Bevel to make them look suitably fantasy-esque on the page. But when the characters come to the “real world” I made a point of surrounding them with characters who had distinctly non-white, no-European names like Ahbni, Ichiro, and Juan just to really emphasize how much more diverse the “real world” is over traditional fantasy. 

In Triptych, every friend who helped me with edits got a character named after them. And in The Skylark’s Saga I got a bit silly - the Sealies all have surnames inspired by pagan gods, the Saskwayins are colors, and the Klonn are plants.

3.) What is your writing routine, if any?

When possible, I like to write at night, in silence, and with only my desk lamp on.  I try to keep my desk area very tidy, too, with only notes about the project I’m immediately working on written on my whiteboard wall. I need the only mess to be what’s in my head.

I’m more of a pantser who has, by virtue of writing series, been forced to learn how to plan. But even then, my planning is pretty rudimentary. I often do this in a notebook on transit (I tend to come up with ideas when I’m in liminal spaces), and run that by my editor. If she approves the vague outline, then I often write whatever scene is foremost in my mind - whichever has really grabbed my imagination, and allows me to figure out who my characters are, what the voice is, who the narrators are.

From there I often write chapter one, and then usually skip straight to the climax of the book and write that. This way I know where I’m aiming before I properly knock the arrow. Even if the target eventually shifts, I still have a sense of its shape and location.

From there I tend to skip all over the narrative and write whatever arrests me or I have in the front of my mind. Once that’s done, I go back to the start and begin the process of filling in the gaps. If I get another idea, I’m always happy to jump ahead and do that.

Using Scrivener has made this process a thousand times easier than when I had to scroll-scroll-scroll through Word.

When I don’t have to go to my dayjob, I try to write about 4000 words per day. When I do, I am for 500-1669, which keeps me limber for NaNoWriMo.

4.) Where is the weirdest place you’ve ever written?

I actually wracked my brains on this one, and I was going t say something like “a 400 year old house on the top of a mountain in Japan” or “in the shadow of the Great Pyramids in Giza”, but honestly, the real answer is on my BlackBerry while high off my face on morphine in the emergency room. Apparently I wrote a GREAT short story, which I emailed to all my friends, and emailed them. Without telling anyone that I was in hospital with Organ Death ™. And without remembering at all that I’d done it.

5.) Do you prefer to write by hand or type?

Typing, hands down. I type way faster than I handwrite, and I get frustrated that my pen can’t keep up with my brain. If I get an idea when I’m away from the computer, I usually only jot down enough to remember the scene/idea/mood/exchange without writing it out. I despise having to do the work twice, and that’s what transcribing from paper to computer feels like.

6.) Ideally, where would you like to see your writing take you in five years?

I’d like to break this barrier there seems between me and the Big 5. My agent and I have been working at it, but there seems to be some strange gap. Lots of editors at the Big 5 like my work, but no one seems to want to sign it. I get compliments on my voice, on my word crafting, but no contracts. It’s so frustrating to be so close to the possibility of working with a team with more resources than I have so far. 

7.) Which character is most fun to write and why?

Now that Triptych is complete and being serialized on Wattpad, any opportunity to revisit Kalp is a delight. I love looking at the world through his eyes. Olly, from The Maddening Science was a lot of fun too, again because of the way I have to shove aside my own assumptions about how and why the world works and see it through the lens of his own intelligence and lived experience. And Bevel will never not be a hoot, because there’s something just so great about getting to be that crass, and to come up with dirty jokes that fit in a fantasy world.

8.) What advice would you give writers just starting out?

Read widely outside of the genre you want to write in. If you want to write fiction, read non-fic, pop sci, and academic papers. Read the news. Read blogs. Read things that are in your wheelhouse, but then randomly grab something from the library that looks cool. You never know where the next idea will come from. Let your imagination wander.

9.) Do you have any “writing heros”? (This could be published writers or non.)

Anyone giving it a go! It’ hard, and it’s disheartening when people don’t love something you’ve put so much work and heart into. It’’s easy to give up on. Don’t.

Otherwise, I love Dianne Wynne Jones’ blatant subversion of stereotypes and tropes, which has really informed my writing, an Jane Austen’s ability to create such diverse, thoughtful, and complex characters.

I also super appreciate fanfic writers, cause they do it out of sheer love, and work for years to hone their craft. Among my faves are @bendingsignpost @sheafrotherdon, and @madlori.

10.) Tell me about your work-in-progress.

 Oh lord, is this a can of worms you really want to open?

 The Silenced Tale & The Accidental Collection  - books #3 and #4 of The Accidental Turn Series  are done. They just need to be line-edited and then the editor can lock the manuscript and it’s out of my hands and into the typesetter/designer’s. (And then of course I need to ramp up to marketing machine.)

 Book #3 is the conclusion of a trilogy of books about a secondary character in  fantasy epic who becomes self-aware and slips the pages of his book.

 The Skylark’s Saga - The two books are written, but one of the relationships is changing dramatically and I need to go in and shift that. I have no idea how much writing/rewriting this is going to entail. However, I do know that I want to get it done by the end of the year. As soon as the manuscript for The Silenced Tale is locked, I’ll be moving onto this.

 This duology is a steampunk-adventure-romance book about a girl vigilante and her ornery rocketpack who gets trapped behind enemy lines after being shot down in a dogfight.

 The Austen Hollywood AU  - I’ve written the first book of the series, and my agent is shopping it now. It’s possible that it may only get signed as a one-book deal, but ideally I’ve developed it as a six-book series (one for each of Austen’s). At some point I’d like to write the first three chapters of the remaining five books, to demonstrate what the voice and tone of each is gong to be like. (Possibly for NaNoWriMo this year??)

 These books are modern adaptations of Austen’s work, but they will all intertwine as characters from different aspects of the entertainment industry cross paths, work together,  and as they do in the originals, find love and contentment.

 The Maddening Science  - at some point I’d like to develop my short story of the same name into a full-length novel, but it would take a lot of research on my part, and a lot of buy-in on a publisher’s. I’m not quite ready to tackle this one yet, though I have pitches and synopsizes and the like written.

Henrietta - This idea is relatively new idea, born from watching a documentary and then reading the non-fic biography that inspired it (see, reading outside your genre helps!), but I think I’d really like to take a swing a writing a historical romance based on the life of a certain historical mistress, something like The Other Boleyn Girl. It would take a massive amount of research as well, but I think would be really interesting and engaging. The woman’s life was fascinating.

The Neridis - I wrote this book about four years ago and it’s been trunked. I’d like to pull it back out and give it a spit-polish and a steam-up, then self publish it sometime next year under my erotica pseudonym. It’s a time-travel lesbian romance story that can easily be punched up into erotica.

And of course, there are three other books that are sort of hovering in the back of my mind, but I’m not ready to write them, or even really a pitch for them yet. The vampire one might be a screenplay instead, I’m not sure.

 Oh, and I am looking to place a script, too - I wrote it under spec for a company that later decided not to shift from distribution into development any more, so I’m not sure what do with 228 pages of cute lesbian comic-book creators falling love over lattes and superheroes. I keep thinking that it would make a great webcomic/graphic novel, but I have no idea how to find an artist willing to commit to like a 500-page graphic novel, and more importantly, find the money to pay them.

I tag whomever wants to jump in. No pressure.

[fantabulosogamedev]

Midweek Update: The Sounds of Summer

Hey everyone!

I’m very proud to announce that, despite the massive workload I gave myself, every single goal for this week has been completed!  In addition, I even put a few extra goals on there as I went along, so needless to say this MU is...pretty massive.  Let’s get started!

(animated)

A major focus of this update was on sound effects.  The first change, and likely the one most noticeable, is that Capboy now vocalizes on jumping!  He’s also gained a sound effect for ground pounds.  In order to help circumvent the repetition that sometimes occurs with jump sound effects, Capboy currently has 7 different noises he makes when he jumps -- this number’s likely to grow as the game progresses!

(animated)

Next, the Crystal Teeth have been properly implemented!  They now have a nice, slightly-randomized idle animation, helping add a sense of natural-ness to groups of them, and have a pretty solid pickup sound and particle effect as well!  Thanks to the framework I set up last september, I was also able to flawlessly implement them as actual, real collectibles in a matter of minutes!  The months of seemingly slow progress are finally paying off!

(animated)

Moving on to more Capboy sound effects, I’ve re-done his weak hurt SFX and implemented a slipstance activation sound!  I’m happy with the hurt SFX, but will likely tweak the volume on the slipstance one, add variations on it, and also add a backing non-vocal sound -- my current thoughts are some sort of blade-unsheathing-type sound.

(animated) - fixed link

The above clip looks odd, but don’t worry -- there aren’t any invisible enemies in the game!  I just used debug tools to show off Capboy’s new medium knockback behaviors.  In addition to having a pain vocalization when being medium KB’d, Capboy now also falls on his back if he gets medium KB’d in the air.  At the end of the clip, you can also see his aerial weak KB behavior -- he flinches and slightly rises in the air.  Possible speedrunning tool?  I guess we’ll have to find out...

(animated)

Lastly on the topic of Capboy’s knockback, I’ve also added knockback behavior for him underwater!  It’s a little rough around the edges, and will likely be improved a bit before release, but touching it up is low-priority for the demo.  The underwater behavior is basically the same as it is on the surface, except weak knockback won’t stop him in his tracks as strongly.

(full size here)

Moving on, I’ve gotten a solid start on the main Spherefriend Fort’s structure!  This is the fort that, prior to the events of the game, was overrun with Shamrock Magic and forced the Spherefriends out.  Where are the signs of this magic, you might ask?

...they aren’t here yet.  They’ll be added within the next couple MUs!  However, what is present is something much more interesting to Capboy...

(full size here)

A spherefriend treasure, locked away from the Shamrocks with a puzzle that is, in the words of one Spherefriend, “very much of the means!”  Will Capboy be able to solve this puzzle and reach the delicious sausage inside?  Only time (and player skill) will tell!

(full size here)

Moving back inside the mountain, two hearts have been added in the combat room!  These are going to prove important, as the combat challenge is going to put the player’s Shamrock fighting ability to a very strong test.  But first, let’s talk about what happens before: the cutscene!

(animated)

I’ve now implemented the cutscene sound effects controller!  With every cutscene, each individual panel will be able to play its own looping sound effect, as well as change the (currently unimplemented) background music.  It can also change the sound effect’s volume, as seen above, and (obviously) is able to smoothly transition between the panels and the zoom levels.

(animated)

Lastly, I’ve designed the combat waves that Capboy will have to deal with in the room!  You can see a preview of one of them above, though note that the area itself is likely going to change a decent amount before the demo.  This room is essentially intended for demonstration of Shamrock combat mastery, and features a 1v1 of every Shamrock type in addition to some dangerous combinations.  There will be a checkpoint right outside the arena, however, so the player can try again very quickly if they fail!

(full size here)

Finally, there’ve been a number of changes that aren’t really deserving of their own videos, so I’ll quickly bulletpoint them here:

Capboy now scoots back from the wall when headbutting, reducing clipping issues

Capboy now drops carried objects when damaged

Capboy’s air kick hitbox has been adjusted and improved

Capboy knockback physics have been made dynamic

Capboy knockback lasts slightly less time (approx. 80% as long across the board)

Fightyplace size has been reduced by another 20%

Dialogue has been adjusted internally for easier editing

Probably more small stuff that I’m forgetting!

Overall, I’m very satisfied with this week’s work.  So now the question is, what’s next on the agenda?  It seems a bit silly to have all this combat-related content when, as it stands, Capboy is immortal and combat doesn’t even matter!  My primary goal for next week is to implement Capboy’s death state, alongside respawning + healing at Effigies and the smaller temporary checkpoints used for areas like the Dogjail’s arena.  I’d also like to finish details on the dogjail, add more details to the Spherefriend Fort, and try out a new AI implementation for the Shamrocks that will hopefully reduce instances of them clipping into Capboy and causing him to jump.  If I manage to get all of that done, I’ll move on to building up the Shamrock battlements on the central mountain -- no promises on that one though!

Thanks for reading, everyone, and I’ll see you guys next time!

Last Week: Full-Year Update!

Next Week: Death of a Stickfellow

[learnspanishfans]

How 3 YouTubers Learned Brazilian Portuguese by Making Videos

Sitting down with textbooks isn't the only way to learn a language... as you'll be aware if you've read much on Fluent in 3 Months. In this post, you will learn how three language learners used making videos on Youtube as their secret weapon in learning the language they love - Brazilian Portuguese. Enter Gavin, Josh and Alonzo.

How Gavin Roy Improved his Portuguese by Making YouTube Videos

GavinRoy shares videos in Portuguese on his YouTube channel, SmallAdvantages. Here’s what Gavin says about how he learned Portuguese:

I was originally attracted to the Portuguese language because of its melodic beauty, but I fell in love with the language because of the people who speak it. Brazilians are some of the most full-of-life people you will ever meet, and the honor they feel when a foreigner attempts to learn their language is a guarantee that you will be encouraged to converse, helped when you make mistakes, and even welcomed into their homes. What’s more, Portuguese is really similar to Spanish. With a base structure and vocabulary that is anywhere from 40-60% (depending on who gives the estimate), it would be silly to start learning Portuguese from scratch if you already speak Spanish. In fact, Portuguese is mutually intelligible with Spanish, although this interaction is much easier for native speakers of Portuguese from what I understand. I originally learned Portuguese from my Spanish, and let me tell you: what an epic language hack! If you are not familiar with Spanish, my secret weapon to learn Portuguese is to film yourself talking and then watch it – simple as that. From the moment I started my YouTube channel, which is 90% in Portuguese, I made mistake after mistake, forgot word after word, and then had to relive each moment again while editing the video and then again after posting the video. However, each of these became a mistake I never made again. I also picked up on other little mistakes I hadn’t noticed and even speech tics of mine that I was able to correct because I watched my films. Having native Portuguese speakers review my speech (and often politely correct me in the YouTube comments) was also a fantastic resource: ask and you shall receive, because Brazil has the second largest YouTube presence in the world behind the US. My YouTube channel SmallAdvantages now has 450k+ subscribers and growing!

Stop being a perfectionist, lose your pride, hit record, and babble! And then upload your video to YouTube :)

For Josh Plotkin, Teaching Portuguese is the Fastest Way to Learn

Josh Plotkin teaches Portuguese at his blog Brazilian Gringo and on his YouTube channel. Here’s his top tip for learning Portuguese:

My #1 tip of learning Portuguese is to convince yourself that the world is going to end and that the only way you'll survive WWIII is if you marry a Brazilian and get a citizenship. This mindset shift worked like a charm for me in learning to speak Portuguese.

[caption id="attachment_20629" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] No, this is not my Brazilian wife.[/caption]  

So create whatever mindset that empowers and motivates you to make learning Portuguese happen. Teaching what you learned is also a great way to learn faster and improve recollection. And if you share it publicly others can see what you're up to and help you grow. Especially if Brazilians sees your journey, they will support you in incredible ways that you never thought of before. Create some kind of record of your journey with Portuguese. Whether that's through a blog, a YouTube channel, or just simply sharing every moment of inspiration on Facebook.

Alonzo William Jr. Learned Portuguese for a Journalism Project, and Never Looked Back

Alonzo William Jr. runs the Everyday Strangers project, where he travels to different places, interviews strangers, and takes their photograph. Here’s what he says about Brazil and learning Portuguese:

I'm a huge fan of Brazilian culture. From the martial arts, the food to the people. I find it easier to learn from something that inspires you. Brazil will be the first place outside of the U.S. where I will take the Everyday Strangers project. Because communication is the meat of my project, I challenged myself to learn the language of any country I visit. One of the key that helped me learn Portuguese is to make language learning as fun as possible. Example: One of my favorite MMA fighters, Anderson Silva, is from Brazil. Knowing this, I'll watch one of his fights and then listen to his post fight interviews in Portuguese. It makes listening more interesting. So study content that you're actually interested in! It helps a great deal! And the thing that helped me most was to make the choice to stay away from my comfort zone. Believe it or not, I'm naturally an introvert, so there were moments where I would try to take the easy route like avoiding Skype sessions because I felt like I wasn't "prepared". The bottom line is you will never be prepared, you have to actually get prepared by making mistakes and learning from them.

The Add1Challenge - Could You Learn Portuguese in 90 Days?

Alonzo William Jr. learned Portuguese by taking the Add1Challenge. He says:

I took the leap of faith to join the Add1Challenge to push me out of my comfort zone and see how far I can go learning Portuguese in 90 days.

Here is his out of comfort zone video speaking Portuguese in the Add1Challenge on Day 0: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSigLp4hwxI And here is his result speaking to a Brazilian in Portuguese for 15 minutes, 90 Days later: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71GqDfPIbnM Alonzo says:

If an introvert like me can do this and get this kind of result studying just 4 days a week, 30 minutes a day for 3 months, anyone can. So make language learning fun and make the choice to stay away from your comfort zone, then you will speak this beautiful language of Portuguese before you know it.

Take Action to Learn Portuguese, Today

You can have the most amazing Portuguese hacks, the most comprehensive Portuguese materials and the most effective Portuguese learning methods in the world but it’s completely useless if you don’t put them into a consistent learning routine in your everyday life. If we all know this, why don’t we do it? Because most of us are too comfortable in our comfort zones AND we scare ourselves to death by imagining how many mountains of hours and hours and hours we need to put in BEFORE we can have a conversation in Portuguese. But… What if we break down the hours of learning Portuguese to just 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 90 days? This is exactly what Alonzo did in the Add1Challenge.

Could You Do the Same in 90 Days?

Most people are surprised by this result, including Alonzo himself. Yet Lisa (Day 0 / Day 90), Adam (Day 0 / Day 90) and many, many other language learners who took part in the Add1Challenge got similar results. After helping thousands of language learners speaking their target language in holding at least a 15 minute conversations with a native speaker in 90 day, what we found is… We often underestimate the power of consistency, because we have never been consistent for a long enough to allow the result to reveal itself, especially in learning to speak a language. A routine of just 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week for 90 days is what we found the minimum sweet spot if you want to be able to have a 15 minute conversation with an Italian in just 90 days. Learning Portuguese is not so intimidating anymore right? You can now implement these hacks into your learning routine on your own. Better yet, apply for the Add1Challenge and begin this 90 day journey together with other Portuguese learners around the world. We will be opening for application very soon so if you’d like to join the Add1Challenge to finally speak Portuguese with Brazilian in 90 days, you can join us here. See you inside!

The post How 3 YouTubers Learned Brazilian Portuguese by Making Videos appeared first on Fluent in 3 months - Language Hacking and Travel Tips.

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