#the last sequel should be at least 15-20 years old

[storyweaverofgondor]

Me hearing about the possible Live Action HTTYD

Me: Ohh, neat!

Also me: The first movie came out in 2010. The last movie came out in 2019. Why in the name of Odin are they making a life action remake for a three year old franchise???!!!

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 26: The Christmas Cabin

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 5429

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 32

Written in 2022. AU Due to a scheduling mishap, strangers Emma and Killian end up double booked for the same cabin over Christmas in the middle of a blizzard. Obviously there’s only one bed.

CS Genre: AU

By the time Emma pulled up in front of her best friend, Mary Margaret’s cabin two days before Christmas, it was snowing so hard she could barely see three feet in front of her.  The weatherman had predicted a Christmas blizzard, and for once he’d been right.

She parked, grabbed her bag and made her way through the howling wind and pelting snow to the front door.  As Mary Margaret had promised, it was unlocked, and Emma entered to an absolute haven of Christmasy comfort.  A fire was roaring in the hearth, colorful lights twinkled from the Christmas tree, garlands and holly hung from every available surface, and in the corner of the room, the very comfortable looking queen-sized bed was draped with a very festive red and green duvet.

It kind of looked like Christmas had thrown up in here, but it was cozy, and after the ridiculously frozen drive here, cozy sounded pretty damn good.

Normally Emma loved Christmastime, but a big part of that love was due to the excitement her ten-year-old son Henry felt surrounding the holiday.  This year, Henry was spending the holiday with his dad, and Emma had only half-heartedly done the whole Christmas thing.  (What was the point when you’d be spending the holiday alone?) 

When a stakeout went wrong a couple days ago, Emma decided it was the last straw.  She needed to get away.  She needed a break from…well…everything.  Luckily Mary Margaret had offered Emma the use of the cabin she owned with her new husband, David.  (Well, technically, she’d offered to have Emma stay with her and David over Christmas, but it was their first Christmas together, and Emma didn’t want to intrude.)

Emma set her bag on the bed, and had only just stepped into the bathroom when she heard it.  The door opened again, and she distinctly heard the stomping of boots.

She was not alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian Jones had a problem.  He was the best selling author of the immensely popular novel Neverland, which was a rather dark and gritty reimagining of the Peter Pan and Captain Hook story.

The problem?  His editor was breathing down his neck for a new book.  Regina Mills was a good editor (she was not the slightest bit shy about criticism), but she was quite short on patience.  If Killian didn’t produce something to show her soon, she might just show up on his doorstep and start throwing fireballs.

Unfortunately his muse had gone completely silent, and he had no idea where he wanted to go with his sequel.  He’d ended his first book with the rather psychotic Peter Pan finally allowing Captain Hook to leave his island, and Hook leaving to once again pursue his revenge.  What more was there to be told about Neverland?

His readers enjoyed his unique take on the classic story, but they wanted more.  There seemed to be near universal agreement that Hook should transition from morally gray anti-hero to full on hero, and more than a few had suggested the pirate needed a love interest, but Killian had no idea where he might go with either of those suggestions.

At any rate, he had to do something.  He simply had to have at least a few chapters to give to Regina by the new year.

Christmas was always a hard time for Killian.  Had been ever since he’d lost Liam and then Milah nearly a decade ago.  Christmas had been by far his favorite time of year when he’d had a family and loved ones to share it with, but now that he’d lost them, Christmas only reminded him of what he no longer had.

And so when his mate David Nolan had offered the use of his cabin over Christmas, Killian had jumped at the opportunity.  Perhaps alone in the idyllic setting, he could not only weather the heartache of a lonely Christmas, but also get a good start on his newest novel.

The final mile or two to the cabin had been rather treacherous as the snow fell so fast his windshield wipers could barely keep up with it, but fortunately he made it in one piece.  He stepped into the cabin, stomped the snow from his boots…

And promptly found himself face to face with a very formidable blonde woman holding a thick, cast iron pan, poised to pummel him with it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

“I don’t know who you are or what you think you’re doing here, but I suggest you turn your ass around and walk out of my cabin.  Now.” Emma growled at the man standing in her friend’s cabin.  

The man eyed her weapon of choice (the only one she could find in the moment), and then grinned at her, unbuttoning his parka and brushing snow from his hair.  “I think you’re mistaken, love,” he said in a delicious accent.  “This happens to be my cabin for the weekend.”

“Are you kidding me?” Emma asked.  “Listen, bud, I’ve taken down guys a lot bigger and stronger than you, so unless you want me to bash in what few brains you have with this pan, I suggest you change your tune.”

“What tune would you like, Darling?” he asked with a quirk of his brow as he pulled off his coat and hung it on the rack by the door.  “I’ve been told I’ve a rather appealing voice, and I’m at your disposal for whatever Christmas song you might desire.”

Emma growled, raising the pain higher, and the man seemed to finally decide caution was the better part of valor.  He raised his hands in surrender, and took a step away.  “Look,” he said, “apparently there’s been some misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, there has,”  Emma said.  “You came to my cabin and refuse to leave.”

The man rolled his eyes.  “This cabin belongs to my mate, David, and he’s offered me use of it for the next week.”

David? This guy got permission from David?

“Yeah, well,” Emma said, “Mary Margaret gave me the use of this cabin for the next week.”

A quick phone call cleared up the situation.

“Emma, I’m so sorry!” Mary Margaret said as soon as Emma explained the situation.  “Turns out  David and I both offered the cabin without talking to each other.  Why don’t you and Killian just share the cabin?  He’s a good guy, and I bet the two of you will hit it off.”

Emma groaned as she finished the call and turned back to the man who remained patiently waiting by the door.  “Yeah, so apparently the Nolans double booked the cabin.  Obviously one of us is going to have to leave.”

The man–Killian, apparently–glanced out the window, and then back at her before shaking his head.  “Love, I don’t think either one of us is going anywhere tonight, and probably not for a few days by the look of this storm.”

Emma crossed her arms and glared at him.  “So what exactly do you propose we do?  I’m not just going to share a cabin–and its only bed–with some guy I don’t even know.”

Killian offered his hand.  “Killian Jones, at your service.  You’ll no doubt know me from my world-class novel, Neverland.”

“Emma Swan,” she said, shaking his hand briefly, “bail bonds person, and sorry.  Haven’t heard of you or your book.”

“Pleasure to meet you Emma Swan,” Killian said, bringing her hand to his lips and briefly kissing it before letting it go.

The touch of his lips to her skin started butterflies dancing in her stomach.  He really was far, far too hot for her own good.  Her reaction annoyed her, and she stepped back, crossing her arms again.  “Look, how about we just…divide the cabin in half.  You get that half over there, and I get this half.  We each stay to our own side of the cabin, and then maybe we can both get through this week without bloodshed.”

“If that’s what you wish,” he said with a grin, “although I’d be careful if I were you.  I’m rather charming, and I’ve a feeling I’ll win you over by the end of our stay.”

She snorted.  “Don’t plan on it.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was an hour before Emma realized the flaw in her rather ingenious solution.  She had the bed and the kitchen on her side of the cabin…but he had the one and only bathroom on his.  She’d downed a large hot cocoa on her way to the cabin, and her bladder was beginning to protest.

She glanced over at Killian and noticed he was engrossed in whatever he was doing on his laptop.  Perhaps she could simply slip into the bathroom without him being any the wiser.

She’d no sooner taken a step across the unofficial dividing line between their respective halves of the cabin, when Killian looked up at her and grinned. “Breaking our accord already, are you love?” he drawled. “That’s quite bad form."

She rolled her eyes.  “Bad form?  Who are you, Captain Hook?”

A delighted look came into his eyes.  “You have read my book!”

“Yeah well,” she said, “maybe I have. Must not have been memorable enough for me to remember earlier.”

He laughed. “Well, if you read my book and you believe I’ve patterned the protagonist after myself, you know I’m rather a stickler for good form.  You insisted on the dividing of our land, so to speak, and you appear about to break our deal.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Look, maybe I didn’t think this thing all the way through.  I have to go to the bathroom, okay?”

“Absolutely,” he said with a grin.  “I believe I spotted an outhouse just behind the cabin.  I’m sure it will suffice for your purposes.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

He shrugged. “I’m perfectly willing to dissolve our deal, love,” he said grinning down at her.  “After all, spending time in the company of a beautiful woman is no chore.  You’re the one who insisted on boundaries, and as a gentleman I’m bound to respect your wishes.  The question is…are you?”

Emma growled.  “Fine!” she said turning toward the cabin door.  “I’ll, use the stupid outhouse, but if I freeze to death out there, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

He stopped her before she could reach the door.  “I’m not such a cad as to make a lady use an outhouse in the middle of a blizzard.  Of course you can use the indoor facilities.”

“How generous of you,” Emma said dryly.  “But just because I’m breaking our ‘accord’ as you so ridiculously call it, don’t think that means I’m open to flirting.”

“Why Swan,” he said, mock innocence plastered all over his admittedly handsome face, “I wouldn’t dream of it.  And as I recall, you’re the only one of us who’s mentioned flirtation.  Could it be the lady doth protest too much?”

Emma was rather proud of herself that she managed to not punch him in the face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After the bathroom incident Swan had finally acknowledged the ridiculousness of her insistence upon dividing the cabin.  They'd agreed to dissolve their accord--although Swan was quite insistent they continue keeping to themselves.

Killian turned over yet again, still searching in vain for a comfortable position on this torture device Dave called a sofa.  As Killian promised, he’d been a perfect gentleman last night, and as a gentleman, he’d of course offered to take the sofa so she could have the bed.

In the somewhat dull light of day, his neck was rather regretting that decision.  Could his mate have possibly purchased a more uncomfortable piece of furniture than this couch?

Killian sat up and stretched, groaning at the crick in his neck.  This vacation was turning out to be far more painful than he’d anticipated.  Wandering over to the kitchen area, he found that Dave and Mary Margaret had stocked it quite well.  Whatever else was in store for Emma and him over the next few days, they certainly didn’t need to worry about starving to death.

Killian set about brewing coffee, frying bacon and scrambling eggs.  He’d only just popped some bread in the toaster, when he heard the other inhabitant of the cabin stir, and start moving in his general direction.

“Something smells amazing,” she said, stepping beside him and eying the coffeepot with undisguised longing.  “I’m not exactly the best in the kitchen.”

Killian poured a steaming mug of coffee and handed it to her.  “I’ve made far more than I can eat.  You’re welcome to share my morning meal with me.”

She looked conflicted for a moment, and then nodded, taking a sip of her coffee. “Wouldn’t want the food to go to waste.”

“No we wouldn’t want that,” he said with a grin.

Breakfast, as it happened, was a surprisingly enjoyable meal.  Killian found he rather liked Emma Swan when she wasn’t yelling at him.  She was positively pleasant after she’d been fed.  Perhaps the holiday spirit–it was Christmas Eve morning after all–had infected her.

Killian was far more intrigued with the woman than he’d like to admit.   This was the first time he’d felt any real pull toward another woman since Milah’s death, and a portion of him felt disloyal to her memory.

But a bigger part of him was so captivated with the woman sitting across from him at the cabin’s only table that he didn’t care.

“So, tell me a little more about yourself,” he said as he reached for another piece of bacon.  “Who exactly are you, Swan?”

She grinned rather teasingly up at him, and the look actually made his heart stutter before it began racing.  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she asked.

“Perhaps I would.”

As breakfast progressed, Killian learned quite a bit about Emma Swan–more, he’d wager, than she’d intended to tell him.  She was the single mother of a sweet, precocious ten year old named Henry.  Things had ended badly, to say the least, with her ex-Neal, who’d not only left her while she was pregnant but set her up to take the fall for his own crime.

The longer she spoke about the son of a bitch, the more Killian wanted to hunt him down and pummel him.  One could not find much worse form than that, nor more stupidity.  What absolute imbecile would leave a woman like Emma Swan?

Neal, as it happened, was the reason for her rather bad mood this year. A year after the relationship had ended, Neal had shown back up, and though Emma had no intention of ever rekindling the relationship, she did want Henry to have the opportunity to get to know his father.  They'd fallen into a reasonably cordial situation as co-parents.  This year it was Neal's turn to have Henry for Christmas.  

Christmas without her lad simply didn’t feel like Christmas at all.

“I don’t grudge him the chance to spend time with his dad,” Emma said as they worked together to clean up the kitchen.  “It’s just.  I miss him, you know?”

He smiled gently down at her.  “Aye,” he said simply, “and you’re perfectly within your rights to miss him.  I regret that I’m not the guy you wished to spend the holidays with, but I’ll attempt to at least not make your week worse.”

She glanced over at him.  “Yeah, well feeding me goes a long way toward that goal.  Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

After breakfast they lapsed into silence, each retreating to their own chair before the festively decorated tree.  Emma lost herself in a book, while Killian booted up his laptop and tried to begin his novel.

The cursor glared back at him in the midst of a sea of blank, empty Word document.  

“So how’s it going?” Emma asked an hour later.  “Want to give me a preview of what Captain Hook is going to do next?”

“I’d love to,” he said with a wry grin, “if I had even the first bloody clue.  I’m afraid my muse has definitively deserted me.  I haven’t any idea what is next for the good captain.”

She glanced off into the distance for a moment before turning back to him.  “You know,” she said, “it seems to me one of Hook’s biggest regrets in the first book was giving up Baelfire to Pan.  Maybe you could revisit that theme again.  Maybe, I don’t know, Bae grew up after he left Neverland and had a kid of his own.  What if that kid got taken by Pan too?  What if Hook decided to go back to Neverland to save him?”

The ember of an idea lit within him as soon as Swan made her suggestion.  “It has merit,” he said, fanning the flame that had taken hold.  “Perhaps he assists the child’s mother in rescuing her son from the bloody demon.”

“Exactly!” Emma said.  “He could complete his hero transformation, make amends for past mistakes and find love again all at once!”

In his minds eye, Killian saw the dark jungles of Neverland, a rag-tag group of heroes on a rescue mission, Captain Hook slowly and inexorably falling in love with a strong woman with long blonde hair and flashing green eyes.

His fingers danced over the keys as the story began pouring out of him.  It would seem his muse wasn’t gone after all; she’d merely needed Emma Swan to coax her out of hiding.

He must make a note to thank David for the scheduling mistake.  This was shaping up to be one of the best Christmases he’d ever had.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Christmas morning dawned bright and clear the next day, sun streaming through the cabin’s windows, snow glittering on the panes like tiny diamonds.

Emma was warm and comfortable and oh so cozy.

Suddenly she realized just why she was so cozy.  An arm was draped over her middle and a warm, solid man held her to him.

How had she and Killian ended up so tangled together?

Last night as bedtime approached, Emma had noticed Killian eying the sofa with clear regret.  That thing couldn’t have been comfortable the night before, and Emma felt no small amount of guilt that she’d been the cause of that discomfort.

It was the guilt that inspired her next suggestion.  That was it.  Guilt and nothing more.  It wasn’t that she found herself genuinely enjoying Killian’s company.  It certainly wasn’t that a big part of her wondered what it would be like to share a bed with him–even in the most innocent sense of the word.

Nope.  That couldn’t be it at all.

“Look, the bed’s plenty big,” she said a bit awkwardly. “‘If you want to, you know, share it with me tonight, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

He glanced up at her in surprise before a teasing glint entered his eyes.  “Why Swan, are you propositioning me?”

Her heart raced far too quickly at the thoughts those words elicited.  There was a distinct possibility she was in significant trouble here.  

“Boundaries, Jones,” she said.  “We’re both adults.  I think we can manage to share a bed and keep our hands to ourselves.”

“Shame,” he said with a rather adorable little pout.

She laughed.

They’d fallen asleep last night with a good two feet of space between them.

Clearly sometime in the middle of the night they’d sought out each other’s warmth.  Emma waited for the fear to seep in at the closeness, but it never came.  She was just so damn cozy.

Oh gods, she’d somehow wandered into a Hallmark movie.

Her stirring must have woken Killian, and a moment later he opened his eyes, and nearly jumped away from her, his cheeks staining bright red.

“My apologies, love,” he said in a soft voice, gravelly from sleep (a voice that did things to her.  Serious things.) “I didn’t mean to take advantage; wasn’t aware I had.”

She smiled, charmed at how flustered he’d become.

“Don’t apologize,” she said.  “You’re warm….and it’s really cold out there today.”

He grinned, and she saw the mischief in his eyes.  “If you’re cold, I’ve no doubt I can think of ways to remedy that.  I’m endlessly resourceful.”

The way his voice lowered to a very suggestive growl on the last phrase made her shiver.  She wasn’t even going to pretend it was due to the cold this time.  “Think I’ll have to take a rain check on that,” she said, far more breathlessly than she’d like, “but it’s still early.  More sleep sounds good.  If you wanted to, you know, go back to the way we were, I wouldn’t object.”

He looked surprised at her suggestion.  She was surprised at her suggestion.  It wasn’t like it meant anything; it wasn’t like they’d ever actually see each other again after they were finally able to leave the cabin.  What would it hurt to take a little innocent comfort in each other while they were here.

What happened in the cabin stayed in the cabin.

“As you wish,” he said, scooting closer to her and once again wrapping his arm around her middle.  It felt so good; so right.  Maybe when she was back to reality it would hit her what a bad idea this was, but for now, she would just enjoy her warm human blanket.  Smiling at the comfort, she drifted back to sleep.

An hour later she woke again, feeling Killian’s even breathing against her back.  Carefully she maneuvered out of the bed, leaving him peacefully sleeping.

Donning her fluffy, warm slippers and an equally fluffy black robe, she padded over to the kitchen area.  If she knew Mary Margaret, she’d have stocked the kitchen with everything a vacationer could want.  Opening the first cabinet she smiled.  Boxed pancake mix.  Bingo.

As previously acknowledged, culinary skills Emma did not have, but anyone could manage a “just add water” mix, and in no time she’d poured her first pancakes into the skillet. 

Emma heard rustling, and a moment later, she felt Killian step up behind her.  “Something smells delicious,” he growled.

She shuddered, the sound of his low voice making her stomach swoop.  “It’s just from a box,” she said, her voice far from steady.

He stepped even closer, until she could feel his warmth against her back.  “I wasn’t talking about the pancakes.”

Emma nearly groaned, and no small part of her wanted to just turn around, say “to hell with the pancakes” and kiss him senseless, but fortunately she hadn’t lost her mind completely. Yet.

“Behave yourself,” she said again, grinning at his antics in spite of herself.  “Go make yourself useful and start the coffee,” she said, waving her spatula in the general direction of the device in question.

He let out a long-suffering sigh and turned to do as she asked.

Dramatic idiot.

Breakfast turned out quite well if she did say so herself.  The pancakes were warm and fluffy, and slathered in butter and syrup, were everything she could have wished for.

“I must say, Swan,” Killian said, sometime later, setting down his fork and dabbing at the corner of his mouth with his napkin, “for someone who claims to be hopeless in the kitchen, you provided a rather delectable breakfast.

Emma felt her heart squeeze, and she glanced aside.  “Yeah, well, it’s always been our tradition that I make Henry anything he wants for Christmas morning.  Nine times out of ten, that’s pancakes.  Making them now…well it just makes it feel a little more like he’s with me.”

A moment later, she felt his hand cover hers.  She turned to meet warm, sympathetic eyes.  “I’m sorry you can’t be with your lad for Christmas morning.  I know how hard that must be.”

She shrugged.  “Neal may be a bastard, but it’s clear he loves our kid and he’s doing everything he can to be a good dad.  I’d be a pretty crap mom to complain about my kid getting a chance to have a real relationship with his father.”

“Perhaps,” Killian said, “but it’s only human to miss him on such a special day.”

She didn’t respond to that.  What, after all, was there to say?  It was what it was.

“We’ve had breakfast,” Killian said a moment later.  “Were you with your boy, what else might Christmas Day entail?”

“Well, presents, obviously,” Emma said, “and then assuming we had snow, we’d probably go out and make a snowman.  Maybe come in for some cocoa and Christmas movies.”

Killian got to his feet, gathering up both his plate and hers.  “Very well,” he said, “As you so generously prepared the meal, I’ll clean up.  In the meantime, go on and get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

Killian gestured to the window.  “By my calculation, we got a good foot of snow yesterday.  More than enough to make a most impressive snowman.”

Emma laughed.  “Are you serious?”

“Why not?” he shrugged, before turning serious. “Swan, you deserve a happy Christmas, even if it can’t be with your lad.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Impressive,” Emma said, taking a step back to survey their masterpiece. “Looks good, doesn’t it?”

Killian looked over at her, noticed the way the joy sparkled in her eyes and the cold made her cheeks rosy.  She was so beautiful it almost hurt to look at her.  “Magnificent”, he breathed.

She turned toward him, and if possible, the color on her cheeks deepened at his admiration.  Quickly, she turned back toward the large snowman they’d spent the balance of the morning constructing.  “He needs something though.  He looks cold, doesn’t he?”

Killian grinned. “Cold is rather a requirement of a creature made of snow.”

She rolled her eyes at him.  “You know what I mean.  He needs a hat or a scarf or something.”

Killian unwound the simple black scarf from around his neck and drew in a deep breath at the chill suddenly surrounding him.  “Better?” he asked after he’d properly clothed the snowman.

“Better for Frosty,” she said, giving Killian an assessing look, “but you’ve got to be freezing.”

“Offering to warm me up, darling?” he asked with an exaggerated wag of his brows.

Emma laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully.  “You really need some new material.  You’ve used the same innuendo on me like three times this weekend.”

“Why Swan,” he said with a feigned look of innocence, “What a dirty mind you’ve got.  I simply meant to inquire after the hot cocoa you promised would follow our morning in the snow.”

Killian thought he could listen to the delightful sound of her laughter for the rest of his life.  

As they trudged back into the inviting warmth of the cabin and set to work on the aforementioned cocoa, what he’d just thought hit him.  He genuinely enjoyed Emma Swan’s company, and he’d like to have it for longer than simply a snowed-in weekend.

Was there any possibility that she’d be agreeable should he one day ask to court her?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, as the shadows began to lengthen and the sunset painted the sky in lovely shades of pink and purple, Emma sat cross-legged in front of the entertainment center, rifling through the DVDs the Nolans had stocked the cabin with.  It seemed they had every Christmas movie ever made.

After some debate, it was decided that Emma and Killian would watch “A Christmas Story” as an end to a surprisingly enjoyable Christmas day.  After making their snowman and drinking their cocoa, they’d made Christmas cookies, and then Emma had settled in with a good book while Killian typed away at his latest novel, the muse finally deciding to cooperate, it seemed.

The truth was that Killian was surprisingly good company.  He had a wit and charm that was truly genuine once he dropped the endless flirting and innuendo (that Emma was coming to realize was as much his armor as anything else.  You can keep people at bay when they dismiss you as a player.)  The conversation today had been easy, effortless, and congenial.

Emma found that despite her initial impression of him, she actually liked Killian Jones, and she would be disappointed when this weekend was over and they had to go their separate ways.

Maybe….maybe the end of the weekend didn’t have to be the end of their new friendship (or whatever it might develop into).

That night, after the movie, there was no discussion about sleeping arrangements.  They simply climbed into the bed together, Killian gathering her toward him with an arm around her middle.  The fact that she loved the way this felt was something she’d need to examine more closely at some point, but for this night, she was just so comfortable she drifted immediately into a happy, peaceful sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian’s cell phone buzzed first thing the next morning, and he rolled reluctantly away from the woman in his arms to grab the device and peer at the caller ID.

Dave

“Killian,” David started as soon as he’d answered sleepily.  “Again, I’m sorry about the mix up.  I hope it hasn’t been too much of an inconvenience.”

“Not at all, mate,” Killian said.  “I’ve found Swan to be rather enjoyable company.”

There was silence for a moment, and Killian could nearly feel the suspicion bleeding off of his friend.  “I certainly hope you’re not having too enjoyable of a time.  She’s not one of your conquests, Killian.”

Killian rolled his eyes.  He knew David Nolan was protective of his wife’s best friend; viewed her almost as the sister he never had.  “Relax, Dave.  I’ve been the perfect gentleman.”

“Good,” David said, “Keep it that way.”

Killian rolled his eyes again.

“Anyway,” David continued, “I’m just calling to let you know that the plows have been through and your path should be clear whenever you want to leave.  Oh, and Merry Christmas.”

“Happy Christmas to you too.” Killian said in lieu of a farewell.

“David call with good news?” Emma asked sleepily as she rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows.

“The best,” he said, though a part of him felt a pang of regret that the happy bubble they’d been forced into was about to burst.  “The roads are clear.  We can leave whenever we wish.”

“Oh,” she said, glancing aside and looking (dare he hope) a mite disappointed.  “Yeah, that’s good.  I…I guess I should gather up my stuff and hit the road.  I’ve got a few things I need to do before Henry gets home the day after tomorrow.”

“Aye, I suppose it’s for the best,” Killian agreed, though a large part of him wanted nothing more than to object.

Over the course of the next half hour they worked in silence gathering their things and preparing to depart.  When all was put to rights and there was nothing left to do, Killian stopped Emma from turning toward the door with a hand to her arm.

“Before we leave, I have a Christmas gift for you, love.”

She looked surprised at the sheets of paper he handed her.

“It isn’t much,” he said, “but in between working on my novel I wrote a bit of a short story for you.”

She murmured her thanks, and immediately began reading.  Not a paragraph in, a delighted smile covered her face, and she met his eyes.  “It’s our story!  The story of this weekend.”

“Aye,” he answered, smiling back at her warmly.  “Go on.  Read it.”

She nodded in agreement, settling in on the sofa and pulling her feet up beneath her.  She read steadily for a quarter of an hour, and when she reached the final page, she frowned, turned it over, and then looked up at him, confusion in her eyes.

“Killian, it’s not finished,” she said.  “How does it end?”

Killian took a deep breath.  Now was the moment of truth.  Now was the moment this Christmas either became one of the best of his life…or one of the most disappointing.

“That’s rather up to you, Swan,” he said.  “I was hoping it would end with you giving me your phone number and agreeing to a date in the very near future.”

Her eyes rounded, and Killian had a moment of anxiety as he waited for her answer.

She didn’t answer with words.  She answered by scooting closer to him, grabbing his lapels and pulling him down to her for a long and rather thorough kiss.

As it happened, that was all the answer he needed.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[vulpixen]

Forever Falls Prologue

Synopsis: A year has passed since that one fateful summer. Seasons have come and gone and now Dipper and Mabel return to where their journey began for another unforgettable summer in Gravity Falls. Some things changed while others stayed the same. Families growing with one or more new members, friendships formed, and love blossoming among many things have happened. And new mysteries around the corner. 

Since that summer, Dipper and Mabel face the consequences of their choice of having not only their minds erased everything of who they were, but having much of those memories returned thanks to the efforts of their friends and family. However, despite their best efforts, the Mystery Twins face memory issues that’ll affect the rest of their lives. And the power they wield in their beings since Bill, like it or not, became a part of them. Now it’s up to them with what they want to do with it. Together. A/N: Hey all! Been a good while since the last story. Life happens as usual, but I am back and getting into the swing of things again and keeping the promise of a sequel fic to OBWHF. There is something else I want to add as well. There are going to be some changes to the story and a few less notable characters. I honestly don’t want them in the story anymore for this au such as Fiddleford’s raccoon wife. And this story will be significantly shorter than the first. After this story, that’ll be it in terms of giving this a conclusion as I, Vulpixen, have been moving on to different stories but I'm still going to write Gravity Falls related stories. Hope you all enjoy this one. The character Adeline Marks belongs to @hntrgurl13 and @scipunk63 (Purpledragon6 on AO3) and thank you.

Here's the family tree with the Pines going forward as they'll make an appearance in future chapters: Stanley and Carla ---> James and Jessie Pines (41) Stanford and Addi ---> Shauna, Shannon Pines (30) and Shifty Pines (37) James Pines and Tara Grayson ---> Cormac (20), Arya, Aria, and Anais Pines (16) Jessie Pines and Lillian Prescott ---> Tanya (22), Stanley Jr (17) and Tyrone “Ty” Pines (15) Cormac Pines and Evangeline Tremblay (engaged) ---> Xavier, Colten, Gweneira “Gwen”, and Rose Shauna Pines and Marcus “Spriggs” Valdez ---> Quincy Pines (8) Shifty Pines and Tate McGucket ---> Isaac McGucket (15) Shannon Pines-Bone and Clyde Bone (married) ---> Drake Bone (6), Conner and Connie Bone (4, adopted). Tanya Pines, Frederick "Fred" Palovich, and Kyle Harper ---> Cadence Pines, Matthias and Mordecai Pines Prologue on Ao3 

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Night in Piedmont, California…

It had only been a week since Dipper and Mabel returned home after that eventful summer they had with their extended family, and all the adventures they had together. Dipper and Mabel had returned to school for their eighth grade year. There was a stark difference between the towns. Piedmont is nowhere near as small as Gravity Falls; too many faces seem to blend in with one another and can’t distinguish someone in a crowd almost.

And there was the challenge of remembering old friends and classmates. Hell, even navigating through their middle school became a maze of unfamiliarity in their eyes when they should be able to know the campus by heart in the years they’ve attended. Nothing much changed with the school, physically, but specific landmarks they’d recognize became a blur in their vision.

Dipper and Mabel remembered on the fifth day the concerned looks they got from their peers who’ve known the twins for years, or at least seen their faces, asking them if they’re alright when the pair couldn’t recall which class to go to next they shared. And didn’t recognize the faces of the teachers who’ve started teaching them, and the other students. Something that warranted a parent-teacher conference. Something Alex and Dana Pines find concerning as well. 

Now, Dipper compiled a list of reminders on his notepad for himself and Mabel to use if they were to forget again, turning on alarms on their phones in case they forget the list. Mabel slept soundly with Waddles on her pastel sheets. Dipper rubbed his tired eyes and thought of his grunkles and graunties, considering the idea to call them for advice. He took his phone and pushed back the intrusive thoughts to not call them and speed dials the number. He lets the phone ring until he hears Stan on the other end. 

“He-Hey, Dipper!” Stan greets on the other end of the phone. Stan, Carla, Ford and Adeline have yet to make their trip out to Antarctica, but will be soon. “How’s it hangin’? Are you and Mabel adjusting alright at home?”

Dipper lets out a tired sigh. “Things are going pretty well, but when it comes to things like school, we’re still getting pieces of those memories in middle school back to us.” Dipper picked up the goodbye letter Wendy gave him and Mabel, looking at it as he misses where his and Mabel’s lives changed forever. For better and for worse. “And it’s been overwhelming and… we miss you, Grunkle Stan, and the rest of the family.”

Stan let out a husky sigh. “It’ll be okay, Dipper. If not right now, it will be later. I really can’t imagine how much the memory wiping affected you and Mabel. Wish we were over there to give you two a hug, but pretend we’re there, giving you and Mabel a big one.” Stan couldn’t see it, but Dipper smiled at the mental image of everyone there with him and Mabel again.

“Thanks Grunkle Stan, that helps more than you know right now.”

“It’s no trouble, Dipper.”

“Have a good night. Don’t want to keep you up.”

“Alright. Night, Dipper.” 

Dipper placed his cellphone on top of his dresser, inserted the cord of his charger in it, and falls asleep in his bed, hoping tomorrow will be better. 

Within Dipper and Mabel’s dreams...

Dipper found himself within his own dream, fully aware like he and Mabel discovered not too long after coming back home. He gazes upon the world he created for himself in his dreams: orderly, filled with many creatures he’s come to learn of within a forest, and town nearby. The sky was cloudy and there was a breeze. Dipper takes a walk on the brick road he created towards the town when suddenly, a colorful pastel door poofs into existence and out comes Mabel and Waddles. 

“Dipper!” Mabel exclaimed and her pig squealed in delight. “Took you long enough to get to sleep.”

Dipper laughed with ease to see his sister, making his dream brighter as the clouds disappeared. He opened up about what was on his mind.

“I was talking to Grunkle Stan before bed. I miss him and everyone in Gravity Falls. The memory lapses, and Bill’s power. We’re more fully aware within our dreams than we’ve ever been and can manipulate and enter other dreams too, I bet. Something we haven’t tried. Yet..” Mabel listens to her brother and thinks. Instead of trying to distract him like she would have before, she expresses her own feelings. 

“I know exactly what you mean. I miss them too and these powers, like Uncle Maurice warned us about, are pretty cool when used the right way.” Mabel makes a family photo appear out of thin air. 

It had everyone in the large family present in the photo: James and Jessie, Stan and Carla’s grown twin children. Tara Grayson-Pines, James’ wife and mother of their own children, Cormac, and the triplets Arya, Aria and Anais. Lilian Prescott and Maurice Pierce-Pines, Jessie’s wife and husband and parents of their three children Tanya (who is expecting a child of her own), Stanley Junior and Tyrone. 

Then there’s Shauna, Shannon and Shifty, Ford and Adeline’s own grown children where the latter had been adopted long ago. 

“Yeah.” Dipper sighed sadly while looking at the picture and he got a bright idea. “You thinking what I’m thinking, Mabel?”

“We should totally use our powers to traverse distance and enter the dreams of our friends and family?” Mabel paused and showed her bright grin. “Heck yeah!” Neither knew if it would be alright to just appear in their loved one’s dreams, but they won’t know unless they try. 

Dipper and Mabel together manifested a door to appear before them. The twins held hands as they entered through the door together with Waddles in tow, closing upon the three entering. They enter what appears to be a central hub within a cosmic landscape containing many, many doors -- unique to each and every person -- that lead to a multitude of people and animals' dreams. The twins have their mouths agape in wonder of it all. Dipper, Mabel and Waddle’s feet were no longer touching the ground as they simply floated within the space. 

They almost didn’t know where to start. 

“So many doors!” Mabel’s voice echoed, making her giggle. “It would take an eternity to open them all.” Dipper gave his sister a telling look that she shouldn’t do it. “Which is something we don’t have!”

Dipper created a console with his mind before him and his sister and pet pig with the intent to make searching for their family member’s dreams less of a hassle. He touches the sphere of the imaginary machine and inputs the names of each person into the memory. Then suddenly, he felt a jolt of shock run through his head that made the console turn staticy. Mabel felt it too as she held her head. 

“Ah!” Dipper groans. “There’s… there’s someone I’m forgetting!”

“Me too!” 

Waddles, being quick to act, used his pig brain to create the scrapbook from nothing with his mind from memory, squealing and showing it to the twins with his hooves turning the pages for them. Dipper and Mabel squinted at the image of the whole family gathered, voices echoing in their minds that told them of each one; starting with the older and young adults and then to the teens and a young child. Stan; Ford; Adeline; Carla; Jimmy; James; Jessie; Shauna; Shannon; Tara; Lillian; Maurice; Spriggs; Tanya; Cormac; Stan Junior; Arya; Aria; Anais; Tyrone; Isaac; and finally Quincy. 

Seeing all their faces and names in the picture, it brought back memories of all the adventures they had together. For better or for worse. Their adventures with their Grunkles and Graunties, learning the deep and dark secrets of their family members, and how they all became closer through the best and worst moments of that summer. It hurts that Dipper and Mabel were looking at the picture not too long ago, only for their mind to have blanked their memory. They’ll never get used to this. 

It brought a sense of relief to the twins as they started to remember everything again. Dipper finishes the process of making the doors of each family member appear before them; each door is unique and set apart from one another that reflects the person they belong to. Dipper and Mabel didn’t hesitate to start from the oldest members to the youngest members of the family. 

The first dream Dipper and Mabel and Waddles enter within their montage of dream-hopping is Stan’s. Stan dreams of the adventure at sea with his brother, wife and sister-in-law onboard the old Stan O’ War; they'll soon get to go on. Stan fights sea monsters, pirates, and singing shanties no matter how bad his singing was. Dipper and Mabel were pleased with what they were watching and got them excited to see more, but they had to move on to the other dreams and left through a door they created. Stan took notice. 

In the next dream, that being Ford’s, and the twins and pig watch to see Ford dreaming that he ended Bill before Dipper and Mabel could make the deal with him. It brought some unpleasant memories in the twin’s minds so they quickly left as soon as they came. Ford, too, took notice of Dipper and Mabel’s departure, presuming to him that it means Bill’s power has begun to manifest within them. 

Dipper and Mabel move on to their grauntie Carla’s dream where she is in a field of white and purple flowers with the sun in the horizon still in a permanent sunset, creating a lilac sky above. The twins find their grauntie sitting on a red and white blanket surveying the land before her. Carla appeared younger with her wrinkles nowhere to be found on her face, her gray hair back to its original brunette, and a flower in her hair. Then suddenly, a younger version of Stan appears, in a red suit and tie, his own brown hair in a mullet fashion, and a bright smile on his face. It endeared the twins while watching Carla interact with the dream version of her husband. And then, Carla and Stan began to age until they appeared as they do in the real world. Dipper and Mabel found it time to leave and move on to another dream. 

The twins and pig find themselves in Adeline’s dream. The scene depicts a forest on a summer’s day with the sun shining through the trees. There was a noticeable amount of deer that grazed on the grass and stags butting heads against each other. Dipper tries to look for his aunt, but he sees that familiar blonde doe nearby who was utterly frightened and running away from the yellow demon triangle that cackles madly. This is a nightmare. Dipper and Mabel exchange looks, knowing what they felt to do was right, and fly to catch up to the triangle and Adeline. Dipper and Mabel punch the triangle together and put an end to him tormenting their grauntie. The twins and Waddles leave quickly before Adeline has the chance to approach them as she returns to her human self. 

Dipper and Mabel and Waddles enter inside the dreams of their uncle, James Pines. The twins and pig watch him appear to be comforting a younger version of himself after pulling him out of the Bottomless Pit, looking no more than ten, and tending to the wound on his arm that will leave a mark. James reassures himself that things will get better for him. Something James needed to tell himself time and time again. Healing is not a straight road. Witnessing this made Dipper and Mabel feel relieved it wasn’t a nightmare, but a healing dream. They take their leave for their next dream. 

Jessie was fighting her own demons within her dreams. Dipper and Mabel watch their aunt fighting against a shadowy manifestation of Thistle Downe in his ragged siren form. But Jessie wasn’t so much as fighting and showing that boastful confidence she often gave off, but running away from him in fear within the setting of the Woodstick Festival at night and no one but her, Thistle, and the twins and pig present. Dipper and Mabel knew they had to do something for her, too. Mabel makes two axes appear before Jessie on the stage and Dipper warns his aunt to get them and gives her morale in encouraging her to be much stronger than him. It gave Jessie enough motivation to run up to her axes, raise them high, and charge at her nightmare, cutting him in two. But before Jessie could thank the twins, they vanished. 

Inside Tara’s dream, the twins and Waddles immediately witness Tara herself running across a vast distance within the woods in pursuit of an elk in her wolf form with red fur. Tara was getting closer and closer to her target. Mabel verbally encourages her aunt to keep going, but realizing she spoke, she covers her mouth. Tara reaches her goal and a bright light flashes, Dipper and Mabel’s cue she was waking up. The three take their leave to the next dream. 

Within Lillian’s dream, Dipper and Mabel and Waddles find themselves on a highway on a moonlit night. And driving on that endless highway was Lillian riding on a polished white Harley wearing a pink helmet, having the time of her life, driving with no destination in mind. It was just Lillian and her train of thought wandering with not one obstacle coming into view. Seeing they were not needed, Dipper, Mabel and Waddles take their leave. 

Dipper, Mabel and Waddles enter inside Maurice’s dream, finding it wasn’t like the other dreams and nightmares of the others they entered through thus far. It was the living room of the house he shares with his wives and sons. Maurice himself, a tall man with long blond hair, bushy beard and orange eyes was watching tv on the sofa. He turns and faces the twins and Waddles with a welcoming smile on his face.

“Oh hey, kids!” Maurice waved at them. “I see you figured out the dreamscape.”

“Sure have, Uncle Maurice!” Mabel took a seat next to him. “We’ve been missing you guys so we thought to see you all in your dreams.”

“We’ve only been going in their dreams, no one else's.” Dipper joined his sister and pig on the sofa.

“Good.” Maurice turned off the tv to give them his undivided attention. “I’ve been watching how their dreams have been playing out from here without interfering. I’m no dream demon, but I can see other people’s dreams of my choosing from within my own dreams. And I’ve seen what you have been doing.” Dipper and Mabel frowned, believing they were in trouble for it. 

“We were trying to fix the ones with nightmares. Is that bad?” Mabel asked. 

“I don’t think so, but I’d be careful. What happens to you in the dream will affect you in real life, too. People’s nightmares can get pretty nasty. It’s not your job to try to fix anyone’s dreams. You two deserve a break.” Maurice lets out a sigh as he can’t stop them. “But I know you guys will want to try all the same.”

“We don’t like seeing them go through those terrible things.”

“No one does. It’s up to you what you want to do.”

Dipper and Mabel nod at each other and get up from the sofa. 

“Thanks for having us here,” says Dipper, keeping in mind what he said. 

“It’s all good. Stay safe in the dreamscape.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Mabel smiled as her, Dipper and Waddles take their leave.

Within Spriggs’ dreams, Spriggs himself was flying across the forest as a fairy on a sunny day, resembling a Spanish moon moth in terms of the colors of his wings. Spriggs was carrying a piece of metal with gloved hands as he brought it to what appeared to be a metallic gateway of alien nature. Spriggs was engrossed in his work to not notice the twins and Waddles nearby behind the pine trees in working on his project. Dipper was interested in where it would lead. Soon enough, Spriggs finished and turned on the gateway and shines a great blue light upon activation. Spriggs flutters into it as if compelled to. But before he could enter it, Dipper, Mabel and Waddles see everything turn white and fading, a familiar occurrence when they were in Stan and Ford’s dreamscape all those months ago. 

Dipper, Mabel and Waddles couldn’t get into Shauna’s door when it faded away from their view. It was telling she must have woken up that got Spriggs, her husband, to wake up as well. They hoped she was okay as they entered into their aunt Shannon’s dream. 

Shannon’s dream was a spectacle. Dipper, Mabel and Waddles found themselves at a night club full of colorful lights, upbeat music, and familiar faces that danced on the floor or mingled at the bar. At the center stage, Shannon was the center of everyone’s attention as she danced with what appeared to be her boyfriend Clyde. She seemed happy and in her element. Mabel was digging the music and dancing with Waddles. Dipper, too, nodded his head to the beat of the music. But it didn’t last long with Dipper focusing back on the rest of the dreams he wanted to visit before the night ended. He tugged Mabel’s sweater, taking her out of the groove and followed him as did Waddles.

The next dream is Shifty’s. Shifty dream involved himself exploring a vibrant field of an array of colors Dipper, Mabel and Waddle have never seen in their world. Trees that stretch towards the red-orange sky with a blue sun shining above them. Definitely not of their world. Was it a genetic memory? Much of Shifty’s origins still remains a mystery. It is unlikely Shifty himself will ever know, but these kinds of dreams leave him to wonder what could have happened all the same. There wasn’t much the twins and pig could do but take their leave. 

Within Tate’s dream, he was fishing out in the middle of Gravity Falls Lake. Everything was quiet, save for the ambient sounds of nature around him and the light breeze on a sunny day. The perfect day to fish. But he wasn’t alone as his adoptive son Isaac was fishing with him without a care. They waited for something to happen, but nothing of significance. It was just a pleasant time without disturbance. They couldn’t blame him for desiring this after everything that happened. Dipper, Mabel and Waddles leave the dream on a positive note. 

Tanya’s dream was another story. Tanya, an intersex young woman with long blonde hair and partially toned skin, faces across from her a huge wolf with piercing yellow eyes and black as night fur. It was a face off. Dipper and Mabel knew better than to interfere in this as Waddles cowered behind Mabel, shaking in fear. They watch Tanya approach the wolf slowly. She was afraid, but she had to face it. Something unique to her since her lycanthropy awakened and began throwing her off her composure. On top of being pregnant at that.

“Okay, bud. This is how we’re going to do this.” Tanya stares down the wolf who gave her his undivided attention. “This body is my own. I don’t want you to do anything that could harm me and my child, or any children I have after. We share control of it. Got it?” The wolf narrows his eyes before he gives a snort as if agreeing with her. “Heh. Simple as that.”

Seeing as Tanya has it handled, Dipper and Mabel leave along with Waddles.

Within Stanley Junior’s dream, it was much more vibrant and quiet as if they were in a painting themselves of an open field next to a lake on a bright sunny day with little clouds in the sky. It didn’t take long for the twins and Waddles to find the sixteen year old boy who resembled much like his grandpa Stan as a teen, with the exception that his brown hair reaches to his shoulders and a full beard on his face he let grow out. Junior was painting a picture on a canvas of Dipper and Mabel and Waddles, having felt their presence the second they entered his dream.

“Oh! Hey Dips! Mabs! And Waddles, too.” Junior turns to face the trio with a smile on his face. “Dad told me to anticipate a visit from you guys.”

“Junior, your dream looks so pretty,” complimented Mabel. 

“Why thank you. Ever since, um, you know, I became more aware within my dreams and can make it whatever I want it to be, for the most part.” Junior makes the finishing touches of the painting, showing it to them when he turns the canvas around for them to see. “What do you think?”

“Awesome!”

“You captured our likeness!”

“Thanks!”

“We’ll be heading off here to see Ty’s dream, now, before our alarm wakes us up,” said Dipper. 

“No problem! It was nice seeing you again. It’s only been a week and we all miss you guys.” 

“We missed you, too, Junior!”

Dipper and Mabel waved goodbye to Junior as they left for Ty’s dream next. 

Inside Ty’s dream, the tall black boy with blue eyes, plays a white violin before a crowd of anonymous people with his right arm intact. Ty wearing a clean black suit and shoes. The melody on the strings was sorrowful and contemplative. Tears were shedding from his eyes when he concluded his song. On the final note, Ty let lightning strike him in a great flash of light, but he was unharmed and appeared renewed by the electrical energy brought upon him and his being. 

Ty was aware of Dipper and Mabel’s presence and walks up to them, his right arm fading away as he greets them with a small wave of his left hand. “Uh, hey, guys. Did you like the performance?”

The twins nod, showing sad smiles in making a quick glance at his missing arm. 

“We loved it!”

“It was electrifying!”

This made Ty laugh a little. “I’m glad to see you two and Waddles again. We all miss you back home.”

“We missed you and everyone, too, Ty.” Mabel smiled. 

Dipper couldn’t beat around the bush about it any longer. “Ty. How are you holding up without your arm?”

Ty glanced at where his arm was and showed a small smile. “I… I think I’ll be okay. Just not right now. Carrie and Fiddleford are helping me build a better prosthetic. Which is good since they’re hella expensive, normally, even with health insurance.”

“Hope it works out. Let us know how it goes.” Dipper and Mabel take their leave with Waddles and wave goodbye to their cousin. 

Within Cormac’s dream, the albino werewolf, with a long scar across his nose, was running across a grassy plain with no destination in mind on a full moon night in the middle of nowhere. It reminded the twins of Lillian’s dream. But this time, Cormac does come across a pack of wolves he joins. Cormac and the wolves howled together that sounded melodic and it seemed to carry a long distance. It was as if he and the others were singing. Dipper and Mabel leave the dream pleased with what they’ve seen. 

Within Arya, Aria and Anais’ dreams, more often than not, share the same dreams. No one knows why this is, but their strong bond could be a factor. This dream was no different tonight. The teenage werewolf triplets were enjoying themselves at the lake, a similar scene Dipper and Mabel saw before when they were saving the girls from their nightmare induced by the mares. A recurring dream. Arya was hesitant to go into the lake water, but Aria and Anais take each hand and all go together, reassuring their sister she’ll never be alone. Dipper and Mabel get closer to the end of their adventure. Only two more left. 

Inside Isaac’s dream, the teenage boy with long golden hair was looking at his reflection in the mirror. Despite having said he wanted to accept the image he was born with, he hated the possibility of looking like his biological father Preston Northwest, a man he’ll never call his father after all the horrible things he committed. A face he is ashamed of looking at. He missed what he used to look like, before the raccoon shapeshifter lifted the spell she placed on him as a baby to look like someone else. A complicated situation for not only Isaac, but for the family he was raised in. Isaac placed his forehead on the mirror and sighed. Dipper and Mabel walk up to him to share some reassuring words. 

“Hey, man, it’s gonna be okay.”

“No matter what you look like, you’ll always be you, Isaac. No one can take that away from you.”

Isaac lifted up his head to face himself again and brightly smiled at Dipper and Mabel. “Yeah. That’s right. I’ll try to keep that in mind. Just needed a reminder.”

With that seemingly settled, Dipper and Mabel and Waddles travel to one last dream. 

Quincy, the young boy of age seven, was having himself a good dream in playing with his friends he made during the fateful summer. Dani, Jack, Kylie, Jill, Gus and Sebastian, kids around the same age as him and unique in many ways. The boy in the green shirt sprouted full green butterfly wings to fly without a care in the world, and all his friends flying with him in his pleasant dream where the sun shines bright in the sky over a flowery field in perpetual spring time. Dipper and Mabel marvel at the dream being shown, and Waddles takes delight in eating some flowers. 

Dipper smiles and lets out a sigh of content.

“I think this is a good dream to leave off on.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other --”

The sound of their alarms rang that cues their adventure’s end in the dreamscape.

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Dipper, Mabel and Waddles awoke from their adventurous slumber, greeted by the sun that begins a new day. It was thankfully Saturday and they’re in no rush to get dressed yet. 

Dipper and Mabel’s cell phones, however, became the first thing they had to address as they started to ring and ring in addition to text messages from their family members. It was going to take a bit of time to answer them all. 

But there was one question they had on their mind: how was Shauna doing? Shauna, Shannon’s fraternal twin sister, having woken up before Dipper and Mabel could enter her dream. The twins imagine Shauna not having been well after what happened during Weirdmageddon, having been tortured alongside her siblings and parents by Bill before she and everyone else in Gravity Falls were rescued. In addition, residual trauma in her teens at the hands of Bill, or from scenarios unrelated when it had to do with her college friends and their adventures. 

The first call they answer is from Ford. 

“Kids!” Ford began. “Do you two have any idea what you’ve done?” He didn’t sound angry at the slightest, more so astounded by what the twins accomplished. 

“Enter your dreams and everyone else in the family; save for our parents and grandpa?” answered Dipper while scratching his head. 

“Yes! Kids, with this power, you have to be careful how you use it.” Ford paused to form his thoughts before saying. “Like Bill, I imagine you both would be more vulnerable in the dream and mindscape while visiting each person. If you get hurt in there, you get hurt in real life. I’m thrilled about this and… concerned, not going to lie.”

“Yeah, we get that. We talked to Maurice in his dream and we’re going to be careful with this power. We didn’t enter anyone else’s dreams besides you guys. We missed you.” Mabel replied while sitting next to Dipper in joining the conversation. 

“Good, good. We all miss you, too. Looking forward to seeing you both during the holiday breaks.”

“The only dream we didn’t get to enter is Aunt Shauna’s. Is she going to be okay?”

The twins hear an audible sigh on the other end and a heavy pause until Adeline’s voice could be heard on the other end. 

“After what happened to Shauna and Shannon’s eyes years ago, it was so traumatizing to Shauna she was having night terrors and couldn’t sleep at all. There’s reason to believe it’s happening again because of what Bill did to us. To put it short, he hurt us in more ways than one.” There was another pause. Adeline collected her composure to bring up the unpleasant topic. “Please don’t feel you have to fix everyone’s dreams like you did with mine and likely others. You and Mabel have already done so much. We know how to handle this with Shauna. Rest assured, she will be okay, even if not right now.”

Dipper and Mabel exchange concerned expressions and Mabel was the one to respond. “Okay, Grauntie Addi. Keep us updated, okay?”

“We will.”

[generalexcuse]

Alright. I am beating a dead horse here but taking time off of this show and fandom did not work. This will be the last time I ever say something about it but it’s upsetting to me so I need to vent. And to everyone saying “You are an adult man and this is fiction, why are you so obsessed? Weirdo. Learn to differentiate between fiction and reality.” I am going to address these notions as well as other problems I am having here. But really, Inuyasha was one of my first Anime, I have many dear memories and especially Rin was one of my all time favourite characters. Seeing her being mistreated like this upsets me. Ofc it does because if you watch something in formative years it’s not just fiction like a boring sitcom you watch now. Shows and characters are important to people and to simply dismiss it like that even if they would have been equally upset if it wouldnt have become canon, is infuriating. Really this is just therapeutic for me because even after weeks it’s still so baffling to me. Also please excuse the grammar and spelling mistakes. I am not a native speaker.

So the problem is obviously Sessrin and how it’s done because while I absolutely dont agree with this pairing, it would have been fine if it wasnt like it is. 

In the original show, Rin is an 8 yo child and her entire character reflects just that. She behaves like a child and depends on others. She has also been traumatized, doesnt speak at the beginning of the show and dies twice. Both times she is saved by or because of Sesshomaru. In many ways, while she has survival skills on her own, she depends on his presence alone to keep danger away. He also leaves her with trustworthy humans at the end but stays in her life as a protector. Now I like the original dynamic. It’s sweet, innocent and both characters grow because of it. Rin can work through her traumatic experiences, learns to trust others and Sesshomaru becomes a better person.  What happens afterwards only happens offscreen right until Rin gives birth to his children at the crippling old age of 15. 15. My lil sis is 16 now and couldnt consent to something like that. And she is mature af. It’s ridiculous. My blood boils just typing that shit out. And if you give me the ‘it’s legal in Japan’ excuse. In Germany a 14 yo can be with a 20 yo sexually. Still not okay in societies eyes and on tv it’s never shown as something positive. It’s even explicitly forbidden for authority figures like teachers or protectors to be with their protégé before the age of 18 because the chances of even unintentional grooming are too high. 

Now lets take a quick break and discuss how this kind of relationship usually plays out in other fictional pieces. A minor with an adult is something that is being portrayed at times and I dont have a problem with that. The problem is how it’s being done in Yashahime. And I dont mean the nonexisting character development but the fact that even in adult fiction this type of relationship isnt depicted positively. And this show is for young adults and teens that will exist way after all the discourse as the official sequel to Inuyasha. A cult anime. Meaning that in the future young people will watch it. Just like many still watch Inuyasha to this day. It’s on Netflix for fucks sake. Just to preface what comes next.   Some people say, “But cant you differentiate between reality and fiction?!?!?!” Adults can but younger people havent developed this ability to the same extent.   What happened to Rin was statutory r*pe in the USA, illegal even in Germany and should have been depicted as such unless the showrunners and fandom are okay with watching it without criticism or deconstruction. At best it was done with the intention to please the fanbase but really it’s neglectful to anyother part of the present and future audience. Not even most Animes do that. And I get that Sessriners arent into that shit in real life and an adult show could have gone this route because the viewers understand and add the criticism in their heads. Not ideal but whatever to me. But a YA show to go this route is so wrong on so many levels. The younger viewer who will watch this show in the following years might subconsciously internalize that this is acceptable under certain conditions when it’s not criticized properly on the show. That lowers their alertness when an adult actually starts to groom them. How dense do you have to be to assume that the lack of criticism on this YA show is a good thing?? Not everyone who will ever watch this show is an adult or capable of the same reasoning.

But another thing: for the same reason r*pe isnt depicted in a positive light, these types of relationships arent either. Because it’s not a positive thing and most people and showrunners dont want to see or create it as positive. Even in adult fiction, even in other anime, the media critizes and deconstructs what it’s showing because normally the showmakers dont approve but show it for realisitc or dramatic reasons. the same sessrin storyline would fit a fucking horror or thriller series. Just change the music and show it all. No showmakers in their right mind would go “Aye we got a r*pe scene coming up, lets put romantic music and have a pink filter over it.” “But it’s a different time and culture!” People will say and I agree but to have the audacity to assume that back then it was okay or that in todays Japan it’s okay, is fucked up. Think about it for a second. That’s so fucked up to think. Even if the society back then or in Japan thinks it’s okay, does it make it okay? 15 yo girls werent able to consent to adults and bear their children back then. They had to. They were raised with the expectations and they simply grew up thinking that it was the normal thing. But that doesnt make it right. That’s just societal grooming which did not prepare them in any way or allowed them the human dignity that they would have deserved. To now act like it’s all cool to just show the “positive” aspects or to twist it into something positive is so fucked up. Child Brides are a fucked up concept and to portray it as anything else is fucked up and also undermines the experience many girls still have to make. period.

I heard people say that it’s okay to portray it in this way because “Sesshomaru is not human!!!1″ and that’s correct. He is not. BUT, it’s not about being human but about maturity, consens, and independency. Him being a yokai makes it worse imo because there is an obvious power discrepancy. But in this particular fiction a good relationship could have been established (Kagome and Inuyasha for example) on those foundations but they did not because I can only assume they wanted Sesshomaru to smash and the show to pick up at a point where the other characters arent too old to be cool.

“What’s with Sango and Miroku, Kagome and Inuyasha?? It’s the same!” No it’s not. Rin was 8 at the beginning of the show. Kagome was 15 and Sango was 16-17 when they met their significant others. If you now tell me that you think 8 to be comparable to 15-17, I must ask you to get a reality check. Kagome’s and Sango’s relationships were slowburns starting when they already were able to have sexual and romantical feelings. Rin was a child. And Kagome did not kiss Inuyasha until they knew each other for a long ass period of time and bonded as friends and maybe more. Sesshomaru and Rin never were friends in the same way that Kagome and Inuyasha were because the maturity levels are way off. No adult is friends with a little child in the same way they are friends with their adult friends. And normally you dont grow into such a friendship but in the rare case you do, it’s not when she is 15 but maybe 20 or 25. 

Last but not least, Rin is not a character to the audience the same way Kagome or Sango are. Why? Because she was never shown as an adult or 3 Dimensional character to the audience. We know her as a child who wants to be with her trusted group. She is naive, but tough and doesnt have any motivation or drive on her own outside her group. Like every child she clung to the adults around her and her world outside of this group was nonexisting. Kagome wanted to be successful in school, Sango was a demon hunter and wanted to find her brother. Those are motivations and traits that dont circle around the love interest. Rin never had those because she was not developed to that point. Because she was a child and her entire existence was to develop Sesshomaru and to perhaps give the viewer a character to simply adore. What we see is of her: Mistreated child, -> Dead child -> Child being looked after and healing, -> Child not being homeless anymore -> ????? -> Teenager getting knocked up, pumping out main characters and then getting yeeted into a tree. 

This is not the way you treat a beloved character. There is no dignity to her character. “But she is fictional!!1″ Yes she is. But please show me a show that treats its child characters like this without criticizing it. 

I would have loved to see her grow as her own person. Go on her own adventures or learning a craft or developing meaningful bonds with other characters her age. Forming ideas that dont revolve around Sesshomaru alone. You know her being 3 Dimentional and not just there to pump out main characters. And if she then with 20 or 25 met Sesshomaru again and thought he was the hottest shit, I would have been fine with it. Not happy but fine. But in the little time we saw her as ‘not a child’, she still behaved the way she did before. 

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, here is a rec list of bottom Louis fics with everyone’s favorite trope - sharing a bed! We hope you enjoy this list. Happy reading!

1) Just Like Live Wires | Explicit | 5427 words

Harry climbs into Louis' bed when he's cold. Louis pines.

2) Been Gone Way Too Long | Explicit | 8836 words

“This can’t be happening,” Louis says, banging his hand against the window. “This seriously can’t be happening right now.”

Things like this only happen in the movies. Things like this don’t happen in real life. There’s no way that he’s seriously been snowed in. There’s no way that the heating is broken. There’s no way that it’s going to take upwards of twenty-four hours and probably a lot longer for the storm to break and someone to come and rescue them.

“Just sit down, Louis,” Harry sighs from somewhere behind him. He sounds miserable, like he’s already feeling the cold.

Louis whirls around and points a finger at him. “Did you plan this?” he demands a little hysterically. He regrets the question as soon as it’s out of his mouth, but he thinks he’s got a valid point. It’s not like this storm just came out of nowhere - it has to have been on the news for a couple of days, at least. Plenty of time for Harry to have canceled this excursion.

3) I'm Trying Not To Make A Sound | Explicit | 10452 words

Louis thinks he could die right there. He can’t feel anything but the tingling sensation all over his skin. He’s throwing away all his past thoughts on trying to be straight and denying his reactions towards other men, he just wants more of this numbing feeling. Everything else is a long lost memory, can’t think of anything else besides, wow, this feels incredible.

4) Enjoy The Ride | Not Rated | 11103 words

The one where Louis, an omega more than tired of being treated as lesser than alphas, is forced on a road trip by his beta besties only to meet Harry who might just be the alpha he never knew he wanted.

5) Cuffed | Not Rated | 15254 words

What would you do if you were handcuffed to your enemy for 48 hours?

6) Up For It | Explicit | 18223 words

The one where Liam is Mr Organised, Zayn is too perceptive for his own good, Niall is a compulsive matchmaker, and Harry and Louis might just have the surprise to shock them all.

7) Holiday Greetings (And Gay Happy Meetings) | Not Rated | 18417 words | Sequel

Note: This fic has no smut, but it has omega Louis. The sequel has smut.

The one where Niall's dead car and and a foot of snow conspire to force Louis into spending time with an alpha he hates.... or does he?

8) The Aurora Zone | Explicit | 19633 words

The one where Harry is busy crossing off his bucket list while Louis is busy falling for the guy he's supposed to hate.

9) I Wanna Be More Than Friends | Not Rated | 20721 words

The one where Harry’s an alpha with no sense of smell, Louis’ an omega who isn’t allowed to scent his best friend, and that’s all they’ll ever be. Obviously.

10) Etched In Salt (Is A Cathedral Of The World) | Explicit | 24417 words

Note: This fic has BH mentions. It is also locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Louis asks for very few things in life, and they are: to solve cases, to keep bad people from doing their bad things, to get good coffee, to go home to a spacious apartment with nobody else in it, and to manage his stupid telempathy powers with minimal interference. And now he's stuck in a tiny cabin in a snowstorm in the middle of god-awful-nowhere with Harry Styles. Because of course he is.

11) Like A Siren In The Night | Explicit | 25868 words

“There is an infestation in my home,” Louis hisses, righting himself quickly and pushing his way past Harry, heading directly for the kitchen. He’s rather haphazardly dressed himself, a coat thrown on over a loose flannel shirt and black pants, slippers on his feet.

Harry resists the urge to sigh, closing the door and trailing behind him slowly. “What kind of infestation?”

For all he knows, Louis is going to claim that there’s a ghost infestation. Harry has no idea what the end game is here – all he knows is that Louis has found at least three complaints a week to bring up since he’s been living on Harry’s property, and he’s been living here for six months.

It’s way too many fucking complaints, is what Harry is saying. Especially when most of them are ridiculous to start with.

12) Always Come Back To You | Explicit | 28682 words

“I’ll do it,” Harry offers brightly. No one even blinks. “I’ll do it?”

Louis sighs irritably. “Shut up,” he orders, tossing a pillow in the general direction of Harry’s face. This is a terrible time for jokes, especially Harry’s lame, old people ones.

Not that it was an old people joke. Just that most of the time Harry’s jokes consist of knock-knocks or terrible puns. The type of jokes old people like, Louis’ pretty sure. His nan always finds them hilarious when Harry tells her one.

Harry bats the pillow out of the air without even blinking. “Be reasonable, Lou,” he says in his most reasonable voice.

Louis is perfectly reasonable, thank you very much, and he’s also frustrated and upset and tired and he really wants to punch something. Maybe he should have held on to that pillow a little longer.

“You’re not gonna fucking do it,” he snaps. “That’s the last thing I need.”

13) We’re Not Who We Used To Be | Explicit | 30611 words

“Harry…” Louis’ voice catches in his throat, thick with tears threatening to fall out, so he coughs to clear it before trying again. “Harry is Liam’s best man?” “You didn’t know?” Harry is standing at the entrance of the garage, mouth slightly open and face pulled together. He sets his bag on the ground and puts his hands on his hips. When he does that, he looks just like the Harry that Louis remembers (and loves, he thinks with an aching heart). “I’m sure I mentioned it,” Liam says, but Louis can tell he’s lying by the way he chews on his lower lip and twists his fingers together. “You’re all a bunch of dick heads, I’m getting in the car.” Louis isn’t sure if he’s being unreasonable. He has no idea what the protocol is when your ex-boyfriend shows up after three years and nobody bothered to give you a heads up. He’s pretty sure he’s allowed to be upset about it, even if it’s only for a bit.

14) Blind From This Sweet, Sweet Craving | Explicit | 31170 words

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

15) Welcome Back From The Friend Zone | Mature | 32584 words

The one where an idea to create a fake wedding with the sole intent to receive gifts from billionaires took a turn no one, but also everyone, saw coming.

16) Let Me Feel Your Heartbeat | Explicit | 34572 words

Harry is 98% sure Louis hates him. So he feels like his bewilderment is justified when the omega offers to help him through his rut.

17) Close To Nowhere | Explicit | 34589 words

Louis and Harry are psychics who kind of hate each other. They go to Tennessee to investigate a haunting.

18) Playing To Win | Explicit | 36732 words

Big Brother UK alumni Louis Tomlinson and Harry Styles are selected for the UK vs Australia All Stars series with a massive one million dollar prize in the offing. They’re both fit and smart and would make a great alliance... if only they can stop their feelings from getting in the way.

19) If I Stay | Mature | 37226 words

Harry and Louis agree to a temporary arrangement that Harry can't seem to walk away from no matter how many times he tries.

20) The Space Between | Explicit | 39917 words

Harry Styles is the alpha rockstar who can’t sleep and doesn’t know why.

Louis Tomlinson is the omega PhD student who helps him figure it out.

21) Strangers In Love | Explicit | 42207 words

Louis wakes up to find himself in a marriage with the last man he thought he'd ever end up with.

22) Tangled Up In You | Explicit | 45152 words

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

23) No Going Back | Explicit | 56102 words

Sales reps Harry and Louis are bored with their jobs and their lives. After meeting at a conference in Cardiff they hook up, have a few too many drinks, and jokingly apply to become remote lighthouse keepers. Six months, just the two of them, looking after the southernmost lighthouse off the bottom of Australia. It’s not like their applications will be accepted. Right?

This is the story of how one choice - a left instead of a right, a go instead of a stop, a yes instead of a no - can change the future forever and that sometimes, taking that leap of faith, is worth the risk.

24) Waiting For The Tides To Meet | Explicit | 59873 words

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

25) Swallow The Knife | Explicit | 76158 words

“You came,” Louis says, still breathless, clinging to Harry, uncaring that his sweat is getting all over Harry’s presumably clean dad shirt, or that he’s making Harry hold up all of his weight.

“Of course I came,” Harry says. He shifts, one arm curled underneath Louis’ arse, the other spreading wide in the middle of Louis’ back. “If I ignored you every time you pissed me off we would have stopped being friends a long time ago.”

Louis already knows that, of course. It doesn’t do anything to stop the pleased squirm in his belly every time Harry proves it, though. They fight like nobody’s business, both of them too stubborn to pull their punches when they’re arguing, and it used to get them in trouble, but they always make up.

Adrenaline makes Louis loose-lipped, and they both know it. He tightens his arms around Harry’s neck, buries his face in his hair. “I missed you,” he confesses, quiet. “Doesn’t feel the same up there by myself.”

26) Waiting On You | Explicit | 76584 words

“Vampires,” Louis says with disgust, glaring over at the vampire who is noisily slurping from the woman’s neck nearby.

Zayn gives the neat fang marks on Louis’ neck a meaningful look.

“Can’t live with them, can’t live without them,” Louis finishes, ignoring Zayn when he rolls his eyes.

Louis takes a long sip of his milkshake, presses his fingers against the marks on his neck, and definitely doesn’t think about the vampire who left them there.

27) Perfect Storm | Explicit | 80230 words

What do you do when your best friend asks you and your (now) ex to be the best men at his destination wedding? You can either tell him the truth, tell him you’re not together anymore, and deal with the consequences, or you can pretend you’re still together and roll with it, just pray you don’t spiral. Fake it ‘til you make it. You know, for the sake of the wedding.

Harry and Louis choose the latter.

28) Nothing Worsens, Nothing Grows | Mature | 102528 words

Another roadtrip AU featuring Harry as the misunderstood hipster, Louis as the bitter psych major, Liam as the one with the secret boyfriend, and Niall as the one who just wants everyone to be happy.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[texanredrose]

Okay, to put some limitations on this, I’m only including the WIPs that I’ve done more than a synopsis for... that I can remember... that’s on Google Drive... that I actually think I might post one day... but haven’t posted yet because my posted WIPs are fairly easy to identify... okay... I got tagged by @unsteadyshade and I’m tagging @faunusrights and @alexlayer69

1) Across Time - Inuyasha AU where Weiss gets thrown back in time to the ancient past, where she meets two demons (Yang and Blake) warring against each other over a misunderstanding.

2) Alpha’s Devotion - Omega’s Strength, but from Winter’s POV.

3) Bears, Oh My - An exhausted Winter, lost on a hike, comes across a cabin where Yang lives with her three pet bears.

4) Brave New World - Continuation of the Dishonored AU where Ruby and Winter reflect on the new Mantle.

5) Bruised - Third installment to the ace!Yang AU. 

6) Coming Home - Based on Dash’s Tiny Knight AU, Princess Blake is betrayed and stranded far from home and must rely on a reticent knight named Weiss to return to her kingdom.

7) Complications Always Arise - Papa Schnee is demanding Weiss marry before he’ll allow her to take his place as head of the SDC, so Yang volunteers to pretend to be Weiss’ beloved. No one else knows the relationship is fake, least of all Blake and Winter, and it’s just a bunch of pain.

8) Divided - Continuation of the By Moonlight AU where Whitley returns to the castle and Winter’s not upset by that- and Winter’s upset by the fact she’s not upset and has to figure out why her inner wolf is cool with this when she should, by all rights, be furious.

9) Dragonsbane - Mage Knight Winter hears tale of a dragon in the countryside that the local villages wish to see vanquished. Winter, however, has other plans.

10) Eye of the Beholder - Blinded and near death after a battle, Winter is rescued by the mysterious Yang and is nursed back to health despite her protests otherwise. (It’s a Medusa!AU.)

11) Fabled - Fable 3 AU where Princess Ruby and Princess Yang are forced to confront the fact that Queen Raven has lost her fucking mind, only to discover that fear drove the woman insane- a fear they must confront themselves.

12) Fields of Love - Farmer Yang offers a job and housing to apparent single mother Winter and her young daughter Penny. What starts as a kind gesture grows into something so much more.

13) Full Circle - Van Helsing (2004) AU, Winter and Weiss, amnesiacs employed by the church to handle all manner of unholy problems, are sent to discover what happened to King Taiyang. Along the way, they become wrapped up in a centuries spanning prophecy and a bloodline hanging in the balance.

14) High Bar, Low Blow - Yang owns a bar where the gimmick is that everyone’s an out of work actor and the staff is staging an ongoing drama on par with a soap opera to keep their customers coming back. Winter joins the staff and then things get a bit real.

15) Hoodlums and Hijinks - Robin Hood AU where Princess Winter and Princess Weiss are just as in favor for overthrowing the king as the group of bandits run by Ruby, Yang, and Blake. 

16) Last One 2: Electric Boogaloo (title subject to change) - a sequel to Last One where the haunt continues.

17) Lexical Access - Sequel to Tip of the Tongue, where Yang gives her girlfriend a bit of roleplaying payback.

18) Little Red - Carmen Sandiego AU where Ruby was kidnapped adopted by a group of thieves and raised to become the world’s greatest thief, but a chance meeting with Penny via a stolen phone opens her eyes to the wider world, and she meets the rebellious heiress Weiss, street smart Blake, and brawler Yang, creating a team that works to foil Ruby’s former friends while eluding capture by mysterious operatives with a somewhat familiar white color scheme...

19) Long Term Investment - Yang, a fae who lives in the woods, makes a deal with Princess Winter to save the Queen. The price? Winter’s firstborn. Winter misunderstands how she’s expected to get pregnant and Yang’s never actually intended to collect. Next thing Yang knows, Winter’s moving into the clearing beside her tree home.

20) Miscalculation - Another Omegaverse AU where Weiss is an omega and Blake and Yang are alphas, except Weiss lied and said she was an alpha when enrolling in Beacon and now she’s locked in a room with Blake and Yang on the verge of starting her heat. Sharing is caring.

21) More Than Words Can Say - Winter, rendered mute by a military accident early in her career, is honestly the best girlfriend Yang’s ever had. However, tonight’s the night they’ve decided to get intimate, and that includes showing some scars that they don’t show often. It’s less about sex and more about trust and intimacy.

22) Music of the Night - Phantom of the Opera AU where the mysterious, disfigured shade of the opera house, Weiss, finds herself at odds with the rich, jovial Yang in a competition for Blake’s heart. Then there’s Adam being a dick, too, and the opera house has never seen so much drama.

23) My Heart Will Go On - It’s the Titanic, but double the rich, unwilling-to-marry ladies and triple the won-a-ticket-to-a-ship ruffians. Penny’s there too; she, like Ruby, just really likes ships.

24) One Fucking Favor - Winter’s due for a long assignment and wants to make a sex tape for stress relief purposes. Yang doesn’t ask questions; she’s just the one with the camera. But then, Winter’s partner for the vid doesn’t show up. What’s Yang going to do about it?

25) Prophecy - Star Wars AU where Ruby, Yang, and Blake are trained as Jedi, Winter and Weiss are part of the clone army, and Ruby’s the chosen one. That’s a lot of pressure to put on someone, but Senator Salem is there to lend a helping hand...

26) Propositioned - Faunus experience bouts of heat; sometimes, they can safely ignore it and go about their lives, but every now and again, they really can’t. Concerned for Blake’s health as she’s skipped too many heats to be healthy, Yang sets up a partner for Blake’s heat. Blake’s not a fan but she does like the idea of banging Weiss Schnee.

27) Proven - ARK: Survival Evolved AU where Winter, after being ‘won’ by Yang, is taken into the bowels of the earth to learn how the underground tribes who inhabit the area survive in such an unforgiving environment. As she acclimates to the tribe’s ways, she finds herself carving out her own path, culminating in facing off against the Queen and proving herself worthy.

28) Reaping What You Sow - When Winter escaped to the countryside with Penny to start a farm, she knew she had her work cut out for her. In need of help and facing a harsh cold season, she hires Yang, a one armed drifter, to help her. The two end up needing the other more than they could’ve imagined.

29) Tear My Heart Open - Blake thought she understood how the world worked. As a member of the White Fang Gang, all she needed to do was keep everyone motivated to continue their ongoing street war against the police and authorities bent on keeping them down. But while running from the cops, she’s offered sanctuary in the home of one Weiss Schnee and her girlfriend, Yang. From there, her perception of the world is completely upended.

30) The Duel - After her father offered her hand in marriage to the winner of a tournament, Winter opted to assume a disguise and fight for the prize herself. In the final match, she faces Yang Xiao Long, a competitor she’s come to know quite well, and she finds her conviction to win wavering slightly. Is it enough to lose her the fight?

31) The Lies We Tell Ourselves - Weiss has made it; she’s opened her tattoo shop in Vale, well away from her father, and aside from a bad first impression with the florists across the parking lot, everything’s looking up for her- until her father finds her. Luckily, Blake’s been through some shit and doesn’t mind helping Weiss drive daddy dearest up the wall, even if it means letting her own parents think she’s dating Weiss. It’s not like either of them is going to catch feelings... unless...

32) The Princess’ Bride - After losing her fiancée to the dreaded White Fang Pirates, Yang vows to take to the sea herself and exact her revenge. Princess Weiss finds herself falling madly in love with Yang, who still loves Blake, and all this is thrown into even more chaos when Yang gets kidnapped and Blake comes back from the dead! 

33) Two for One - Yes, another Omegaverse AU. Five years after the fall of Beacon, Yang and Blake cross paths, each believing the other has spent the time keeping their mutual mate, Weiss, safe. When they realize Weiss is with neither of them, old wounds are torn open, but before they can resolve their dispute, Winter captures the both of them and hauls them to a remote part of Atlas where an SDC facility has been turned into a fortress. There, they find a mortally wounded Weiss clinging to life and raising twins daughters; she gives her mates until her death to endear themselves to their children, else the twins might opt to stay with Winter and be kept from Blake and Yang for good. Between learning about their kids, Blake and Yang navigate their complicated feelings and try to reconnect with Weiss, all while a sinister force gathers to destroy the fortress and steal the prize within.

34) Weaknesses - Loosely set in the Glamour AU, Yang is being forced to assume her mother’s position as leader of their vampire coven. Her fellow vamps disapprove of Yang’s werewolf girlfriend. Winter, of course, doesn’t care.

I got lazy and cut a bunch out. No, fuck you, I don’t have too many AUs, I will add more if I want. Also, some of these, the first chapter is posted on my Patreon. Don’t ask me which ones; I genuinely have no idea. I’m bad at this, y’all.

[savrenim]

hi hi hi. so I just got into the Hamilton fandom, I swear I am four years late where did everybody go, and, well. I am apparently a hamburr shipper. bcs that is my life now. anyway I saw your fic ifmlam and I swear it is my favourite of all the fics I've ever read (and trust me I've read literally thousands). I love it so so much, how do you write fics like that??? I cried about four times during the whole thing, I stayed up till 4am reading it even when I had to wake up at 7 because it is just. that. good. I could not stop thinking about it for days afterwards and ifmlam has just ruined me. I can't think of listen to Hamilton without thinking of ifmlam anymore.

on to my qursttion: is it abandoned? of course it's perfectly FINE if it is. don't let anyone tell u differently, your fic is YOURS and u are amazing.

but pls I really need closure from ur fic, it has been haunting me if its abandoned or ongoing and I've read ur other fics and they are just chefskiss and thank you so much for writing them all. thank you thank you thank you, I will never be able to thank you enough for writing this fic and for everything it's done for me. I am probably thousands of miles away but I am sending you virtual jugs through a co.puter screen right now.

(don't feel pressured to reply to this or update it flam, I know how overwhelming it can get with so many messages and after a while u get desensitized to it. u can literally reply "thx. itfmlam is abandoned" and I would still be amazingly star struck. anyway has gotten way too long and I need to sleep and I'm sorry u probably won't see this so I'm just talking to myself right now but bye!!)

and thank you so so much for writing itfmlam.

aaaah hello anon!

thank you so so much???? I am so??? honored??? that ifmlam rates so highly to you, and also that you've read my other fics??????

the answer to the "is ifmlam abandoned" question is probably the worst possible one, which is pretty much "I do want to finish it, both for the folks that still want closure as well as it bothers to me have abandoned projects that are in the public eye/ already partially published, but also, it is last on my current writing projects list"

my current actually active writing projects list, kind of in order of priority, is

I'm literally three chapters away from being Actually Fully Done with the not-quite-first-not-quite-second let's call it 1.5th draft of an actual?? full?? original?? novel?? Opus which of course then goes out to beta readers and then gets who-knows-how-much edited and then maybe beta readers again if a lot does change and then a copyeditor my mom, my copyeditor is my mom, and maybe my little brother he's one of the betas but is very good at catching typos and then I!!! get to publish it!!!! which is the single thing I am most excited for!!!!!!!!! this should be closed up in the next week or two, and then take a while for people to actually read the draft and get back to me.

I really desperately want to finish my open-but-like-90%-written fic, which means we raise it up, the final chapter of to the bottom of the river bc I realized that it was kind of incomplete, and the second chapter of a buried and a burning flame because any more work there will need to wait until the author publishes the next book in the series. this should be closed up in the next month or two.

Speedwrite the draft of the second book of the Opus series so that hopefully by the time book 1 edits are happening, I have an almost complete draft of the second book. this is mostly me side-eyeing myself about taking nearly four years to write the first book, but that is solidly in part because I had so many other open projects which point 2 is about clearing that docket. this should be done in the next year.

And then just have my major projects be, at least until books 1-5 are written and published, books 1-5 of that because that is arguably the first major 'plot arc' of the series, so if I'm looking for a pause point on writing, that's probably where to stop.

There are two or three other short side projects (a weird fun second person short story tentatively titled witch-queen, a collection of four short stories Memoirs about a not-so-evil necromancer and the shenanigans he gets up to trying to rule a kingdom, working title Perfectly Normal Recipe Blog which is a collaborative project about a perfectly normal recipe blog that definitely doesn't include anything out of the normal) that will happen when they happen

There are other projects that are on the backburner -- The Numanok Files, a series of probably 12-15 short novellas about a mercenary/ bounty hunter esque person in space whose specialty is dealing with hauntings, but, like, 80% of their jobs is actually "you are effectively a space home inspector pointing out faulty wiring reacting to solar flares/ there's a weird alien fungus/ it's carbon monoxide okay change your atmosphere filters" and 20% of it is punching ghosts; there's a post-post apocalypse novel that I want to write that I know characters and general pacing and half the setting but need to work out the other half and figure out how much aesthetic I want to commit to; there's Strangeside7 aka spacerace book that is my reaction to how much I love how Redline the anime movie commits itself to "no we are about a race, like 60% of the screentime is just fully going to be an utterly ridiculous sci fi space race"; there's even a ridiculous YA trilogy that I would have to completely transplant the setting but might end up writing because the interplay between angel-physics and physics-physics was one of my favorite things in the world. and I guess the weird ridiculous technically a sequel series to ifmlam that was going to be published as original books that was basically me having fun with 'okay I fucking love star wars prequels old rotting space bureaucracy galactic republic style' except with seers and that also still might happen because it does have some of the coolest sci fi concepts and honestly I thiiiink that's all?

but the tl;dr of that timeline is I'm trying to finish a punch of projects Right Now, so that I can write books 2-5 of Opus, and then when I'm done that (which honestly, my average fiction-writing output is close to 100k a year. if I'm concentrating purely on one project, and writing books that are about 100k, we are talking four years. although my job situation is super up in the air in that period and writing might get put solidly on the backburner as I try to make it in academia, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I will re-evaluate which projects go next, and that's when ifmlam is likely to come up for review.

I do not have any expectations that I will make it as an original author. I'm planning on posting all of my stuff online for free, but, like. it is incredibly difficult to convince people to try out even a piece of free and easily accessibly original work even if one has a huge following, I am a very small fanfiction author, and from what I can tell the majority of the people who are interested in my work are mostly interested in me finishing ifmlam. writing is a hobby for me, and while I'm writing mostly for me--and hence the for me bit at least for the next five years is pretty solidly going to be this series that I am deeply excited about and have sunk my heart and soul into every single aspect of--I'm human, and I don't really like shouting into the void, and I expect if I spend five years publishing to absolutely no response I will either stop writing for a while and do other things gods know my life is busy enough, return to fandom in general to write some other fanfic about whatever I get deeply into, or return to a work that I actually get response to. so ifmlam will probably start getting worked on a bit at that point one way or another. unless, of course, we are in the incredibly rare timeline in which I do make it as an original author, there are people who are deeply hyped for my original works and an actual demand for them, in which case as you may have noticed there are enough ideas there to keep me busy for a decade or two, and they will just get my full attention instead of fanfiction*. in this timeline, I will do what I was considering doing a few years ago, which is officially declare ifmlam otherwise abandoned and make one more giant chapter update which is a full and cleaned up outline of what I was going to write, interspersed with the scenes already written, and have ifmlam be given at least that closure.

*I want to make it clear that I very much love fanfiction and am proud to have been a fanfiction author and in my heart of hearts would keep writing it forever, I just also have a lot of ideas for characters and settings and magic systems and Aesthetics and I have been biting at the bit to write something that is //mine// and all mine and only mine for a while, I don't see original work as superior so much as there are a dozen fandoms that I am currently in and bursting to make content about except oops these fandoms currently only exist in my head, and I want to correct that

of course given how much as writing is my vent activity and I write what I'm in the mood for, there's a chance I'll feel ifmlam cravings before then, just... expect it to take a couple of years for an update, but also for there to be an update one way of another in a couple of years? but as for right now, I'm turning to original writing, because that is what brings me joy.

but I am really deeply honored that it brought you so much joy!!! and while I will never publish spoilers in a public place, if you message me off anon I am perfectly happy to give a run-down of my current plans for the ending, bc I know "wait a couple years and see" is not the most satisfactory of answers! and hey maybe you'll be like me and once you've given Opus a try you'll decide you like it better too, it does have Seers although they are deeply different Seers than in ifmlam but imo it's very gay and fun and at least politics on one side

[moonlightreal]

Strange Fate linkdump: Questing, Empathy and Endgames

Huge long post!  Linkdump and many many thoughts that wandered through my mind while going through these links.

Last Lullaby stuff:

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/hachette-signs-new-l-j-smith

About the international licensing of The Last Lullaby in 2013.  Strange Fate is the big obvious lost book but it’s not the only one.

https://booknode.com/the_last_lullaby_0705503

French bookseller page about The Last Lullaby, with back cover blurb in English but no cover picture.  So whatever happened happened before an artist could be commissioned. The book seems to follow unscarred teen Brionwy rather than scarred child Crispy who we met in the Strange Fate chapter

https://spotlightreport.net/featured/burn-bright-presents-l-j-smith-interview

2013 interview about The Last Lullaby.  In this interview Crispy and Brionwy are two different characters, though I’d always had the impression that they were the same person and Brionwy was Crispy’s real name.  Maybe just because Brionwy is the name in the title and then it’s Crispy’s story, back in whatever first incarnation I read of it whatever incarnation that was.  And it’s poetic nfor the scarred child to have a beautiful name.  

So we have the short story Brionwy’s Lullaby about Brionwy in the harem and the Strange Fate chapter about Crispy in the ruins.  Two pieces.  Less than we have of Strange Fate, but there is a looooot of worldbuilding in Brionwy’s Lullaby.  Lots of worldbuilding but no hint of where the story goes next.  Do Brionwy and Crispy meet?  Is there some connection between them?  How does the story end?  In the Strange Fate incarnation of the story this future is traded for a happier timeline when characters in our time avert the apocalypse but as a separate story how would it conclude?

Honestly I’m sadder about this book than I am about Strange Fate; I loves me some YA dystopias and the whole dragons and vampires thing is just neat.  But this book’s as lost as lost can be.

Recent Stuff:

https://www.reddit.com/r/YAlit/comments/krlvr1/lj_smiths_night_world/

Reddit thread from two months ago.  The rabbit hole is real and nobody else seems to have found the bottom.

https://deadline.com/2020/05/greg-berlanti-productions-adapt-the-forbidden-game-novels-lj-smith-as-tv-series-the-vampire-diaries-author-1202944224/

Article about the upcoming Forbidden Game TV series.  Forbidden Game is a Simon & Schuster series, not Alloy, so while I’m sure Ms. Smith has no say in how the show will go she will at least get royalties!  However much royalties book authors get from TV shows, no idea how much that is.  

https://micky.com.au/the-vampire-diaries-writer-reveals-new-fantasy-horror-series-the-forbidden-game/

“LJ Smith has just revealed that its horror trilogy novels...”  Um.  Not quite.

I looked through half a dozen articles about the Forbidden Game TV series and none of them had anything from Ms. Smith.  I knew the chance that this would draw comment from her was only a tiny chance, but it seemed worth looking.  

Interviews and Stuff:

https://www.saltlakemagazine.com/qa-the-vampire-diaries-creator-l-j-smith-on-writing-and-losing-the-series/

2012 interview about Vampire Diaries

https://peoplepill.com/people/l-j-smith-1

Just a biography page.  

http://theliteraryconnoisseur.blogspot.com/2014/05/an-interview-with-new-york-times.html

2014 interview with a blogger.  Ms. Smith does seem to be an absolutely lovely person.

https://areiterowski.wordpress.com/2013/02/10/author-profile-l-j-smith/

2013 Blog post about Ms. Smith, ending with a quite long list of “things she’s currently working on.’ the medical stuff didn’t happen until 2015 though with six projects in progress it’s believeable that she didn’t finish any of them before being felled by illness in 2015.

http://luanatormesdemattos.blogspot.com/2013/11/interview-with-one-and-only-l-j-smith.html

2013 interview with a blogger.

Into the meta: Aubrey Clark and the ghostwritten books

https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/5760167.Aubrey_Clark

Books by Aubrey Clark.  Secret Circle and Vampire Diaries.  I assumed Aubrey Clark is a woman and the other book listed is by a man with the same name, but Aubrey is traditionally a male name and modernly a female name so who knows. Hardly the first time a dude wrote a series aimed at girls under a female name.

https://www.romance.io/authors/54558f9b87eac323ffb2cc31/aubrey-clark

Bio listing Ms. Clark as a she, and classifying her books as romances.  Says she’s been writing for eight years.  Just on the VD/SC stuff or did she write before?  Alloy hiring an existing writer to ghostwrite and that existing writer using a pen name so her new work wouldn’t be connected with her old work is perfectly possible.  I swear I read somewhere that Ms. Clark was Ms. Smith’s editor, or her “person” with Alloy, making her signing on as ghostwriter a bit of a betrayal… but I can’t find my source.

And how much of a betrayal is it really, if Ms. Smith got fired it’s not Ms. Clark’s fault if the series got offered to her, and who could say no to getting to write for a series you know?  It’s a job and a chance to be a published author and nobody should be judged for grabbing that candy if offered it.  

I wish we could hear what happened from Aubrey Clark’s side, just because the story of What Happened to Strange Fate is a mystery I to figure out… it’s easy for me to forget this mystery isn’t a Nancy Drew video game, it’s people’s real lives.  Ms. Clark is not the villain, she’s a writer in a situation we don’t fully understand but she’s just a writer like any writer.

http://debrasbookcafe.blogspot.com/2012/11/book-review-secret-circlethe-divide-by.html

Review of Secret Circle: The Divide

http://bookandbroadway.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-temptation-tsc-6-by-aubrey-clark.html

Review of Secret Circle: The Temptation.  The reviewer was not impressed.

http://yepireadbooks.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-32-temptation.html

Another review of The Temptation.  This reviewer was a bit more impressed than the last one.  I admit I ragequit the ghostwritten books after Ms. Clark started killing off characters, I don’t remember if I even hit book two…  

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/The_Vampire_Diaries_(novel_series)

Publishing history of Vampire Diaries

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304058204579495491652398358

2014 “Vampire Diaries Writer Bites Back.” we’ve all read this one...

https://uniquelygeekygirl.com/2013/05/20/1223/

2013 “LJ Smith vs ghostwriter” from a blog called uniquely geeky girl.  The next article on the blog is more about Alloy and its practice of hiring ghostwriters.

The Rise and Fall of Kindle Worlds:

https://the-digital-reader.com/2018/05/15/amazon-to-shut-down-kindle-worlds/

https://fanlore.org/wiki/Kindle_Worlds

https://www.thebookloft.com/fanfiction-and-kindle-worlds

https://www.hiddengemsbooks.com/amazon-closes-kindle-worlds/

https://gigaom.com/2014/08/17/amazons-fan-fiction-portal-kindle-worlds-is-a-bust-for-fans-and-for-writers-too/

https://www.wired.com/2013/05/kindle-worlds-fanfic-copyright/

http://www.roxannestclaire.com/barefoot-bay-world-kindle/kindle-worlds-faq/

https://www.bustle.com/articles/36237-amazons-fan-fiction-site-kindle-worlds-is-flopping-but-why

It rose, and it fell.  As far as I can tell Alloy is the only publisher to put its works out on Kindle Worlds, I guess because that’s what they were already doing with their hired authors!  Other authors seem to have opened their worlds individually and I guess not many of them signed on.  

LJ Smith and Kindle Worlds

https://www.theawl.com/2014/02/the-writer-who-beat-the-system-how-one-woman-resurrected-her-sexy-vampire-brothers/

https://www.mhpbooks.com/fired-vampire-diaries-writer-takes-to-kindle-worlds-for-revenge/

http://floor-to-ceiling-books.blogspot.com/2011/02/l-j-smith-fired-from-writing-vampire.html

A blog post with some comments so you can read the state of the fandom at the time.

https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/fandom/vampire-diaries-lj-smith-kindle-fanfiction/

http://leegoldberg.com/tag/alloy-entertainment/

“Read the contract.’  This one is interesting because it’s the only one that isn’t in defense of Ms. Smith.  She should indeed read her contracts unless she wants to just be a fanfic writer, which… I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an author going from published to fanfic, but why not?  

Also, good question, where was Ms. Smith’s agent?  And where is Ms. Smith’s agent these days when someone should maybe be being the Strange Fate Police?  

Unrelated: I swear I read an article from Alloy’s perspective about what happened.  Maybe it was this one and I thought it was from Alloy when it wasn’t.  It is the only article not in support of Ms. Smith that I could find.

https://editingeverything.com/blog/2014/04/25/fanfiction-is-letting-lj-smith-tell-her-vampire-diaries-story/

https://www.tvovermind.com/vampire-diaries-lj-smith-fired-book-series/

https://thegameofnerds.com/2018/03/03/originals-10-facts-about-the-woman-behind-the-vamps/

https://dc.uwm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1952&context=etd

https://www.cbr.com/the-secret-circle-why-the-vampire-diaries-author-l-j-smiths-other-cw-series-failed/

I watched one episode of the Secret Circle series because I loved the books so much, but the CW style is not my jam.  But it is interesting to read the pitch for a fewer-character second season.

https://anovelbookblog.com/2014/06/12/leeching-off-the-talent-writing-for-hire-the-dark-side-of-publishing/

About the Secret Circle sequel novels and Alloy

https://www.jeanienefrost.com/2019/02/ghosts-in-the-machine/

Ghostwriting and plagiarism and ethics.

https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/stefan-and-elena/articles/94267/title/lj-smith-fired-from-writing-own-novels

This is the full letter from Ms. Smith about getting fired.

https://teleread.com/thanks-to-kindle-worlds-fired-vampire-diaries-writer-continues-her-own-series-as-fanfic/index.html

http://iswimforoceans.blogspot.com/2011/02/help-lj-smith-vampire-diaries.html

2011 blog post

https://indecisiveturtle.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/assignment-4-ghostwriting-in-the-vampire-diaries-by-l-j-smith/

A long blog post that goes into detail about the writing of some of the books, how to tell Ms. Smith’s style from the ghostwriter’s, sentence length and similes and stuff, all very academic!  I’ve retyped a couple pieces of Ms. Smith’s writing and I noticed she handles punctuation-with-quotes differently than I do, making it very weird to retype.  This is an interesting one.  Someone dived way deep!

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/10/19/the-gossip-mill

New Yorker article about Alloy

https://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/05/29/the-not-so-secret-backdoor-to-publishing/

Article about Alloy and package writing

https://www.vogue.com/article/the-secret-circle-young-adult-witch-fiction

Just an article about the Secret Circle books and how they’re kinda bad but actually good.  Which they are.

That’ll keep y’all busy for a while!

Quest wishlist: I wish we could ask someone in the publishing industry about rights to series and rights to “publication canceled” books and how all that stuff works.  And I wish we could hear Aubrey Clark’s side of the story, but it just seems unkind to reach out to her to ask about this.

But the problem is… I call it “the quest for Strange Fate” because I’m melodramatic and like calling things quests, but what it the victory condition for this one?   The obvious: we win if we find and read Strange Fate, but I don’t think that will ever happen.  No matter how much we learn about what happened that won’t make Strange Fate appear.  

I do wish we could tell LJ Smith that plenty of authors these days have a Patreon.  If the people who still care about the lost books and the story of Ms. Smith could turn that caring into actual useful help for the people and maybe the books too that would be the best outcome.  That would be a successful quest.    

A darker timeline possibility: maybe S&S read Strange Fate and it wasn’t any good. Ms. Smith is a good writer.  But take a good writer and give her 20 years off from writing, and make those the 20 years where the teen experience of life changed radically, her genres of choice became big and popular and evolved and built up tropes, and language itself did… things…

I stan language but it’s a little sus how new lettery bois go brr everywhere I look.  I love it, but it’s humbling having to ask my niece what all the new words mean, and why so many of them seem to begin with S!

And Ms. Smith is sixty and has twenty years of rewriting Strange Fate, pulling it apart and tinkering until it probably doesn’t much resemble the book she started in 1998. Stir up all this in a pot and we’ve got a recipe for making a talented author drop a mediocre book.  Maybe S&S read it, said “it’s a dud, the fandom is 20 years old, let’s just not” and Ms. Smith retired from public life in defeat.  

This makes an unhappy sort of sense, but it doesn’t answer the question of why The Last Lullaby never appeared either.

Anyway. This has been a long post, lots of links and some thoughts on the philosophy of questing.

[linskywords]

criminal-minds-fanfiction wrote a bunch of questions for authors that you’re supposed to let people ask you, buuuut I felt like answering all of them instead of doing my actual job this afternoon. 😄 Here we go:

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

Like 25 maybe? I started writing about a year after I started reading it. I had a fanfiction-deprived adolescence, y’all.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

The hockey boys pulled me in years ago and they haven’t let me go. I do sometimes write other things: I almost always participate in Yuletide, and I’ve actually written a bunch of Animorphs fic under a different name (ask me if you want to see it!). Mostly hockey RPF, though.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

Haha neither. Well, I guess OC’s, if I had to choose -- I don’t read or write reader inserts. But I tend to keep OC’s for original fiction.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

I was very confused about fic having genres before I realized this was probably referring to the genre of the canon works. Um...sports. :D

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

Don’t make me choose my favorite child. Um, probably the first wolfverse story -- I don’t know if it’s the best one, but I’m very grateful to it for starting the ‘verse!

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

None of them, if that’s an option. If I really had to choose...probably the Kirk/Spock fic I never finished even after uploading it to AO3 and promising to finish it this time. I still want to finish it!! But it would be the first to go.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

I don’t have a strong preference. Afternoon/evening. I like having multi-hour blocks, and I use the Forest app to keep me off my phone while I do it.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Plot bunnies come from all over the place: random thoughts, memes, real-life conversations, suggestions from other fandom people. I tend to have a pretty strong “THIS IS A STORY I WANT TO WRITE” response when something grabs me the right way.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?

Haha this is probably why I’m not supposed to just answer all of these in order. XD I’ll answer for my current WIP: the scene where Geno kisses Sid for the first time. So soft. So angsty. 😈 (My own story has cursed me to love Geno. I am doomed.)

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

In general: I know how my stories are going to end when they start. Sometimes it does evolve a bit as I write. One thing I’d like to play with is including more of the main characters being together at the end of the story, instead of ending it at the moment when they get together; the latter makes sense from a tension perspective, but I’ve been finding when I read lately that I want more of the happy times at the end, so I’m going to try to move in that direction.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Only for typos, I think.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

Ooooh. Either Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews. There’s something so compelling to me about Patrick’s fanon voice. And every love interest in every original story I try to write is Jonny.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

I...don’t really write about characters I don’t like? I wish Auston Matthews would shave his mustache.

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories.

About fifty percent of the titles I come up with are desperate scrambles because I’ve got nothing. The other fifty percent I have a perfect song lyric for from the start.

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

I only write OC’s in original fiction, but: I’ve been phonebanking lately, and I’ve been writing down all the good names I come across. The best so far is someone with the last name Quackenboss.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx?

MAGIC.

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

Oh...oh no. Um.

“It doesn’t matter what he was thinking about. His knot popped; that’s the important thing.”

Some of you can probably guess what that’s about. :)

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Mostly on my computer. I have a lot of beginnings of stories I haven’t finished yet; many of them I’ll probably go back to. I tend not to post things until I’m done or close to done with them. (That one Star Trek fic being an exception. Mea culpa.)

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

YES. The 1988 timer one and the 1988 story where Patrick’s a girl who sneaks onto the Blackhawks in disguise. I’d love to do a Bennguin version of both of those.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

Hm. Some of them I think I rushed a little. More Than I Could Ever Promise, I think it needs a good old-fashioned battle scene in the mountains at the end to really round out the plot.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Have I mentioned astolat? What, only two or three hundred times? I should mention her again, then. Give me that woman’s ability to plot. Inject it into my veins.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Haha. I often have slightly cringy moments in my old stories. You Made My Life an Adventure, I definitely didn’t really know what I was doing yet...

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

I usually listen to music.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Turned on.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

Yes. The sequel to My Heart Forgets to Beat.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write?

The Sid/Geno wolfverse story I’m working on now is maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever written. The language barrier is such a new challenge for me.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I don’t formally outline, but I tend to have a sense of the major plot beats. One reason I love writing fic is that the plot and world tend to be straightforward enough for that. I have a lot more trouble doing that with original fiction.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

This will radically reduce the amount of time I spend writing original fiction.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

Like You Have a Secret I think is less read than some of the others because it’s het, but I really love it. Similarly, some of my stories that are inspired by other works (Tangled, Doctor Who, The Giver) tend to be read less because people think they need to know the source material, when really I deviate from the source material so much it’s not important.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Huh. Probably not. I’m definitely surprised when some stories take off -- Kinda Narrows It Down I wrote pretty quickly, on a whim, and I was surprised by the extent to which it resonated with people. Turns out lots of people think Tyler was coming out in that tweet. XD

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)

Ooh. Ignoring the terms of this question, but: I just read this TK/Patty story and loooved it. It’s a different take on werewolves than the one I use in wolfverse, and it’s super compelling:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029188

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Hahahahahaha. (I mean...less so than you might think.)

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

I absolutely love it when people write screaming flaily responses to my fic. Also anytime anyone says that they’ve been having a tough time and my story was exactly what they needed. Maybe my favorite was the responses to More Than I Could Ever Promise that told me it read like a novel; that meant a lot to me right then.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

Fandom is amazing; people almost never give me concrit. I did have someone ask once if I randomly chose when to stop writing and just ended my stories there. I was pretty offended, since of course that’s not true at all, but I can see where they were coming from: my stories tend to wrap up after the characters get together, and sometimes there’s a lot of potential story left to tell at that point. But stories have to end sometime.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I tend to share them! I find other people’s enthusiasm to be strongly motivating, and sometimes people have awesome suggestions I wouldn’t have thought of.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

Well, I only have the one. XD Sid...is about to have an important conversation with Mario.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

Ooh, I’m not sure I’m the write person to answer! No idea, really. My recent TK/Patty is probably pretty funny. Or maybe Quality Time, where Patrick doesn’t understand why he keeps losing track of time when he’s cuddling with Jonny. Anything with a super dumb protagonist, probably.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

Wow, I have no idea. I’ve never really written a story with someone, so I’m not sure how that would work. I want to say astolat again but honestly I’d be too intimidated.

...no, I’m gonna say astolat. Even if I made a fool of myself I think I would learn a ton.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

Third. For some original stuff I like first person, but third feels right for the hockey boys.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

My close friends do. Most of my friends have the vague idea I write fic, but they don’t know my username or anything.

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?

Patrick Sharp. No question.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx.

I will legit listen to a new album with a doc open to write down promising lyrics. Titles are HARD, y’all.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

I think people guessed where the Tangled fic was going. Though I also liked the guesses that it would be about Patrick’s mullet. XD I don’t really mind when people guess twists -- in the kind of story I write, it’s more about the experience of reading it than about surprise!

44) What is the last line you wrote?

“His parents have always been very respectful of any choices Sid’s wanted to make. They haven’t pried into his private life when he’s tried to set boundaries. But they’re wolves, and they know him a lot better than Jordy does. Sid isn’t going to be able to keep it a secret from them what he’s going through.”

...no guarantee it survives in that form. :D

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Getting the story out of my head and into reality! Spoon out that lake, baby.

I also do love the prospect of posting it for people to enjoy and respond to. It’s one of the reasons I find fic so much more rewarding than original fiction, where the timeline to a readership is so much longer.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

Things, probably.

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

This exercise might be going off the rails a bit. (If anyone does want to pose this to me, feel free!)

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Ooh. Mutual pining. Friends to lovers. Werewolves. :D

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

The first fic I ever, ever read was a random Kirk/Spock one I found through google, and I was like “OMG IS THIS WHAT AROUSAL FEELS LIKE”

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Oh man. Angst, as long as it can have a happy ending. But it just wouldn’t be the same without the smut.

[ilkkawhat]

All the numbers. (If not all then pick and choose a handful to answer).

lol you’re really going for it anon, huh?? 😂 bless your heart. I’ll do all of them and then idk. if anybody wants to send any again, I’m sure I can have a different answer

(I did just answer 7 & 22 so I’ll leave those out. rest below the cut)

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

I guess if you count all of my active WIPs that have been sitting dormant for months or years, there’s those since I like. I know what I’m doing in pretty much all of them, just as I know what I’m doing in some of my unpublished WIPs, but I think I just need to be in a certain mood/energy to do certain ones (ie, Agony esp is a very heavy fic so I gotta be able to Deal with that)

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

I deleted those 😂😂😂 but some of my reeeeeealllllly old stuff is still out there and I cringe thinking about that and though I could easily delete those too, I’m keeping them just since the harddrive that has the docs for it is corrupted lol

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

Just all over the place these days tbh. Even chapter to chapter it’ll change, I’ll write snippets in future chapters--and I’m talking like three or four chapters ahead--just to get it out there. But then there’s other days where I’ll sit and just write and not stop.

4) favorite character you’ve written

Nick Stokes, of course 💜💜💜

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

Any of the Macgyver characters outside of Jack. Cause though I’ll claim not to all the time, I do know that I know the CSI characters (though I’m surprised I’m able to write in their POVs outside of Nick.) I grew up with them. I have a bond with them. The mac characters? I’ve only known for like. two years now and not even that well anymore since I’ve stopped watching the show. 

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

Expanding on details. Almost every fic I write, I’ll read it again later and be like “ah shit I should have run with this idea...” but I guess that’s how I can do a sequel/missing scene

8) favorite genre to write

hurt/comfort (emphasis on the hurt, really I mean we’re talking like borderline horror)

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

See I haven’t really honed in on any one particular thing that inspires me to write. It comes out of nowhere, and the following list of things doesn’t like, always work. When I’m listening to a song. When I’m driving in the car. When I’m watching something unrelated to the source material (totes got some inspiring vibes watching Falcon and The Winter Soldier yesterday tbh lmao) When I dream. When I go on a walk. When people send me asks and I just go the fuck off and suddenly ten chapters later I’m writing a fic that they probably didn’t even want (coughSpecimenStokescough)

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?

I think the last couple times I’ve like, really written it’s been in silence. Definitely alone. Don’t got people to write around, really lmao (unless you count my parents being in other rooms with obnoxiously loud televisions and tablets)

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

All of it. And I’m sure it’ll keep improving.

12) your weaknesses as an author

Dialogue. I don’t know how people talk 😂

13) your strengths as an author

Detail, description, and I also like to think--emotion? but idk. It’s hard for me to assess my strength tbh

14) do you make playlists for your current wips?

Oh YES! At least for the longer WIPs like Last Breath or Agony. And listen to it on a loop when I’m trying to brainstorm or write if I want to write with music on. I’ve been starting to link the playlists when I’m doing with the fic (which is not many so far)

(I think Hellbound is the only one-shot I made a playlist for that I didn’t share)

15) why did you start writing?

I honestly can’t remember, cause I think I’ve been writing stories (fan fiction or not) ever since I was in middle school?? Maybe even elementary? But I do feel like I had gotten more encouragement for it than drawing from the few people in my life that did actively cheer me on, and there’s just something about writing that is so...fulfilling? Esp since I can’t like. Just manifest the images or make the “movie” in my head, at least I can write them down and hopefully convey what I see/feel in my mind through words.

16) are there any characters who haunt you?

All my neglected OCs lmao. I did and I guess on some level still do want to make an original series.

In a chilling way Veronica also haunts me cause I realize how much of that like, darkness in myself I put in her. 

And Nick, well, he’s just always on my mind.

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

Just fucking go for it! Don’t give a shit if anybody will read it or not. Take your time, flesh out those details. Describe what you see, what they see, what they feel. 

If you think you’re going too far...you’re not. 

keep going

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

I mean any fan fiction I read in the past has probably influenced me on some level. I know that when I came back to CSI in 2018, reading all of kristen999′s nick whump def encouraged me cause I was like “oh...there’s others like me who like to see him hurt!?!?” and I do think that maybe sometimes after I read a fic, I might like. Try to incorporate those styles I see. The way words are described, sentences constructed. Not like, copy of course but I feel like a long time ago my writing wasn’t really idk, novel-like? very short, almost read like a script whereas now, since I’ve seen the way people write their stories (some novel length stories, too), I flesh mine out a lot more.

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

I don’t 😂 Thinking of my bigger projects like Agony, I do just kind make up some of it as I go with a rough outline although sometimes it is a bit more detailed--like First Flight actually has a super detailed outline but I know that once I start writing, something might come up, some twist I didn’t think of before--or even one that somebody suggests to me, but idk I feel like I do have a way of tying everything together regardless? Cause especially with those bigger WIPs I will try to go back and re-read if something seems familiar or if I’ve forgotten a detail, or if I’m planning on diving back into it after a long break from it. 

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

Depends. I feel more accomplished with the long sit down sessions so I target that, but lately it’s been little spurts with maybe one big dump at the end of the week.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

Mostly cringe, but there are times I’m like “holy shit this is really good???” 

like I remember recently I re-read Agony and loved it, when I wanted to delete it maybe like. a week before that. I think it honestly depends on my frame of mind, and why I’m going back to read the fic? Cause I’ve had times where I’m like “wait what was this one?” and then I read it and laugh at how bad it is, but then other times where I’m like, “I wanna read that one fic I did...” and then I do and it makes me happy.

But, I will always kinda criticize at the same time--”aw, I could do this better, I could have expanded on this,” etc

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

My life is suuuuuuper boring so. not really lmao. One of my earliest CSI fics that actually created what I consider to be my number one OC (she’d be the lead in that original series I mentioned earlier) came out of me sitting and staring into a campfire lmao. 

also there was this teacher I had (one of those good IRL supports) that told me a story of something that happened to her (or was it her daughter?) and I turned it into a story (back in my teen days) so. I guess there are somethings. 

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

Expert? No. But I will do numerous google searches to try and figure some stuff out and get lost in a rabbit hole of “research” for a while and hope that when I do write it, it comes off as I know what I’m doing when really, I do not lol.

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

haven’t really written much in this past week, and certainly nothing to be proud of, but this line hit me like a ton of bricks for Specimen Stokes and I’m in love with it:

“Because, my dear specimen, I wanted to see if you loved the danger...or if you loved me.”

[monsieur-hadrien]

Harry Potter Fanfic Recommendations continued...

I did one of these lists back in June, and y’all KNOW! that I have even more to share with the world.

This list is a mix between crossovers and single-fandom fics, and are drarry or rarepair-centric, but either way I’ll mark which are which when I get to it.

If you want to see what I’ve been enjoying lately, check out my bookmarks on the Archive

Man of Iron, Child of Magic by zathara001

Harry Potter and MCU, no slash, 107k word count, 32 chapters, completed, teen

In the aftermath of the Chitauri invasion, Tony Stark sorts out his priorities - including one he didn't think he had.

Okay I followed this one from the beginning as a WIP because this is exactly the fic that I was looking for. Tony being Irondad for Harry is the most wholesome thing ever, and Uncle Steve is also 20/10. I will say, this fic is not as dark as a lot of this hp/mcu fics of this trope because it happens in Harry’s younger Hogwarts years and his childhood isn’t too ruined just yet. It focuses a lot on Tony’s growth as a father rather than working through Harry’s trauma (which, don’t get me wrong, that happens as well). Harry still has the naive outlook on life that a child should have and it just makes my heart swell.

Although this fic is done, the sequel has not been uploaded yet, as this fic was just completed late August, but don’t let that deter you. The author is a sweetheart to interact with on new updates (which were quite frequent).

Golden Boy’s Dance by Madriddler

Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini, 57k word count, 13 chapters, completed, explicit

Two years after the defeat of Voldemort and Harry is feeling useless. Jobless and suffering from PTSD, Harry spent his days going from horrible interview to horrible interview hopelessly looking for a job. Feeling completely useless, Harry, with the help of George, turns to a new profession that Harry never even thought of : being a camboy. Pleasuring himself for money and people's entertainment, Harry hopes to find a use for the Savior of the Wizarding World in this Peaceful Era.

Yeah so uh,,, this is a total guilty pleasure kink fic and I’m not at all ashamed for putting this fic on here. I won’t even lie, sometimes it felt a bit cheesey, but the porn was so well written it didn’t even matter. I swear to you this is porn with plot and lots of it. Harry works through his post traumatic stress disorder in ways that may or may not be slightly unhealthy, but beyond the porn, it’s really about Harry being okay in his own skin, as someone with mental health issues and as a sex worker. It was a hell of a good time to read and I definitely cried for Harry a time or two.

A Dented Old Street Sign by orphanghost

Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy, 27k word count, one-shot, completed, mature

Draco knows they aren't the only students who will be completing their NEWTs this year, but they are the only ones whose home fireplaces were disconnected from the floo network by the ministry.

At least, Draco assumes as much until he sees the light falling out from the front door of one of the other rickety old houses in front of them and the three figures cast in its warm glow. For a moment they look like some sort of strange, many legged creature. An acromantula, or a particularly massive Blast-Ended Skrewt. Then Draco hears Pansy make a disgusted sound beside him and the light falls in a less blinding way, and Draco can see that it is actually Potter and the Weasel carrying a large couch between them, and Granger fluttering around them with her wand out, seeming concerned.

I don’t think I’ve laughed this much reading a fic in a long time. The golden trio and the Slytherin gang live in the same neighborhood while attending their 8th year at Hogwarts and i swear to fucking god, the amount of mutual pining and angst between Harry and Draco is fucking ridiculous, but you can’t help but love them anyway. Sometimes I wanted to throttle them and then shove them into a closet together so they would just t a l k but like in a good way. also the Christmastime atmosphere is something I just live for.

Words Unread, Things Unsaid by PinkCrupps

Harry Potter, no slash Harry & Snape, 18k word count, 7 chapters, completed, teen

What if the Dursley’s were a little crueler, and a little smarter? What if they didn’t want Harry going to school because they didn’t want anyone to see the bruises?

What if Harry had to leave for Hogwarts, carrying a shameful secret? One that Severus Snape is determined to discover.

When I say this one hurt, I mean it h u r t. I feel so bad because when I first read the tags I laughed when I saw the illiterate tag because I make the “I can’t read” jokes often but then I read the fic and i felt SO BAD OMG.

I am no fan of Snape, let it be known, but this fic, I think made me feel like he actually deserved a bit of a redemption arc (even if it’s fanon). This whole time, all I could think of is giving harry a big hug and never letting him go.

I said this in the notes of my bookmark, and I stand by it: “

I feel like the hurt/comfort tag on this one is also meant for the reader”

What Happens to the Heart by Mossycoat

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 33k word count, 18 chapters, completed, mature

With no girlfriend, no job, and no idea what he wants, Harry has decided to let life go on without him. If only prophetic dreams, demanding ghosts, and Draco Malfoy would let him.

If you need a pick-me-up after the sadness for the prior fic, may i recommend this one. Seer!Harry is a headcanon that I had never seen before this fic, and I was not let down whatsoever. We love a fic where the OCs are wonderful and the writing style is immaculate. The incorporation of tarot and divination into the chapter names and plot also makes my babywitch heart s i n g!!

Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Relevant_Peach

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 70k word count, 15 chapters, completed, no rating specified, but probably teen/ mature for mental health tingz

Draco Malfoy would do anything to find a cure for his son's life-threatening disease. When he crosses paths with an old acquaintance, it unleashes a string of events that will uncover secrets and deceptions. Will Draco be able to look past the misdeeds of his old lover's past? Will Harry ever find the family he longs for?

Ah yes, who knew that pain could feel so good. Everything seems to be fine until it isn’t with this one.

Turn by Saras_Girl

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 306k word count, 14  chapters, completed, explicit

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

oh my goD yes a classic we love to see it. This is one of those fics that is long but doesn’t reallly feel like it is? This is definitely another feel-good fic, even if it doesn’t seem that way in the beginning. Not only does it focus on Harry and Draco’s relationship, but also their relationships with their family, specifically their children. It’s just really heartwarming whenever Harry get’s all fatherly with his kids. ugh I swear I don’t want any but this is just SO ADORABLE! Plus Blaise Zabini rights thank you very much.

Also Boris can suck my left toe.

There’s a Pureblood Custom For That by Lomonaaeren

Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, 105k word count, 36 chapters, completed, mature

The day that Harry stops Draco Malfoy and his son from being bothered in the middle of Diagon Alley starts a strange series of interactions between him and Malfoy. Who knew there was a pure-blood custom for every situation?

This is another fluffier one, and I have absolutely no shame. Draco is just trying so hard to get through Harry’s thick, clueless skull and Harry is just trying to understand. They’re just so adorable I can’t. And Harry defending Draco’s and his relationship after people are like fuck naw just warms my heart. Like yes Harry, protect ur mans you adorable himbo you.

Our Own Demons by Emmalie22

Harry Potter, MCU, Harry Potter & Tony Stark, Harry Potter/Peter Parker, 119k word count, 24 chapters, WIP, teen/mature

Tony Stark. Genius. Billionaire. Philanthropist. Ironman. (Reckless. Lonely. Father.)

Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. The Chosen One. Wizard. (The Master of Death. Survivor. Breaking.)

Tony Stark never thought he would be a father. But when a lawyer comes knocking and truths become evident, he realizes that he can’t let his son walk out of his life. For Harry, acknowledging his relationship with Tony is a last-ditch effort to gain freedom and control over his life. Although the journey might not be easy, Tony and Harry learn to heal and become a family, facing trials and tribulations on the way such as a scheming Death, a Mad Titian, Dark Wizards, dangerous Doctors, and living Wards.

I’m so sorry to give you a WIP that hasn’t been updated in 10 months, but I couldn’t let this one slide. I’m so attached to these characters it’s unhealthy. I’m not gonna lie, this fic was the product of a very hyperspecific filtered search on AO3 but I’m not even mad at it. Tony is Harry’s father but unlike the other fic on this rec list, Harry is a bit more grown up and bears a lot of the scars of 5th year (y’all don’t need me to specify with that one). It’s a lovely family dynamic and super fluffy Peter and Harry wow we love to see it. Harry is also super fucking smart AS HE IS! I will never get over people calling him stupid ugh Harry rights. But yes, author friend, if you see this, update when you can I’m so in love with this.

If anybody wants me to do more specific lists, I will totally do so. Just reblog or private message me. And if you have any other fic recs, please do so too because I’m always looking for something else to read.

[delta-roseblr]

Weekly Writing Updates

***********READ THIS FIRST**************

Before I get into the actual update I want to explain a bit of what has been going on in my own life first because you are going to see that dates have changed. 

I am going to be taking Two Months Off from posting and will be returning in DECEMBER. For the sake of transparency and hopefully understanding I want to explain why this is happening.

Lets go all the way back to March when things really started getting crazy with COVID and schools (including the one I work for) moved to virtual learning. I experienced a lot of initial anxiety with that (which I think we all did) that kept me from writing as much as I normally do. I have a pretty significant history with anxiety that I’m not going to outline here but I can say that it has been bad in the past. I thing I have never experienced before was how Anxiety can shift to Depression but as COVID stay at home orders went from being a couple weeks to pretty much being for the foreseeable future that happened to me. There was a period of time where just getting out of bed was really hard- Obviously this further impacted my writing.

Over the summer things started to get better- I started to get better. I found a routine that worked for me, and I was looking forward to the start of the school year even though I knew it was going to be chaotic. Then right as I got my feet under me, it happened- My supervisor was fired. Not because she did anything illegal or anything like that, just district politics. Beyond the personal disappointment that came with the fact that we worked well together, and I was going to miss her, there was the problem of who was appointed to replace her. It became clear very early on that the new women didn’t have the knowledge to do the job. It took a little longer to realize just how unprofessional and retaliator she is. I can’t go into a lot of detail about what has been happening due to confidentiality reasons, but I can say that the last two months (since this woman was appointed) has been HELL for me. I have cried almost daily because of this woman and her horrible treatment of myself and others.

One thing I learned from my last job was that you should never stay at a job if you are miserable so as hard as it was for me (because I still love many of the people I work with) I began looking for a new job. The good news is that within a week and a half of seriously pursuing something I was offered a new position, and that is such a relief! The thing is they want me to start in October and the position is in Delaware.

So I’m moving again which wasn’t exactly the plan. Right now I am in a whirlwind of applying for my licensure in Delaware, completing all my employment paperwork, trying to find a new apartment, and packing. It’s all happened so fast and I’m still a big old ball of anxiety but at least there is hope at the end of the tunnel now.

So I have decided to take a few months off from posting to take a stressor off my plate as I move and settle in. I will still be writing as time allows, just without impending due dates.

What I’m asking for from all of you is understanding and patience. PLEASE DON’T send me asks asking me if I’m really taking two months off or can’t I start posting sooner. I know asks like that come from a good place but it fucking hurts. This WAS NOT an easy decision for me. I want nothing more then to keep posting and interacting at my normal rate but I’m also trying to get through one of the hardest things I have ever dealt with.

I’m still going to post my weekly writing updates because it is a good way to keep all of you up to date with what is going on. I’m always going to try to post updates about my life as things happens even though that in general is hard for me.

Now onto the actually updates!

All Moments Delix                                          

Chapter 31- Complete -Anticipated Post Date 12/4

Chapter 32- Draft Complete - Anticipated Post Date 1/

Chapter 33- Complete- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 34- Draft Complete- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 35- Complete- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 36- Complete- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 37- Complete- Anticipate Post Date

Chapter 38- Draft in Progress- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Prompt Based Ficlets

Delix & Solangelo kid fic -Outline complete

Anon- Felix thanksgiving prompt

Kyle and “Mysterious Handsome” (AKA- Cecil) meeting- Draft in progress

Solangelo spanking prompt

Delix & Solangelo double-date prompt- Outline Complete

@ satan-with-grey-socks Morning after prompt- Outline complete

Anon prompt: How everyone acts toward Felix following the break up with Dean

@fionaisabel13 prompt Felix acceptance letter

Sex toy prompt

Felix prom prompt

Delix at Camp Half Blood fic-

Chapter 19- DRAFT IN PROGRESS- Anticipated Post Date 12/7

Chapter 20- Outline Complete- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 21 Anticipated Post Date

Other Projects:

Solangelo Mortal Delinquent AU-            

Chapter 13- Complete- Posted on Website – Ao3 9/26

Chapter 14- Complete- Posted on Website – Ao3

Chapter 15- Complete- Posted on Website – Ao3

Chapter 16- Complete- Posted on Website – Ao3

Chapter 17- Complete- Posted on Website – Ao3

Chapter 18- COMPLETE- Anticipated Post Date 9/24

Chapter 19- DRAFT IN PROGRESS- Anticipated Post Date 12/30

Chapter 20- Anticipated Post Date 1/27

Chapter 21- Anticipated Post Date 2/25

Chapter 22- Anticipated Post Date 3/25

Chapter 23- Anticipated Post Date 4/29

Chapter 24- Anticipated Post Date 5/27

Chapter 25- Anticipated Post Date 6/24

Chapter 26- Anticipated Post Date 7/29

Chapter 27- Anticipated Post Date 8/26

Chapter 28- Anticipated Post Date 9/30

Chapter 29- Anticipated Post Date 10/28

Chapter 30- Anticipated Post Date 11/25

Chapter 31- Anticipated Post Date 12/30

Chapter 32- Anticipated Post Date

Chapter 33- Anticipated Post Date

PJO Fancy Word One-Shot Compilation-

Aesthete – Draft complete

Ailurophile – Draft complete 

Ailurophile – Draft complete

Lascivious -Outline Complete 

Prurient- Outline Complete 

basorexia – Draft in Progress

Mellifluous- Draft Complete

Sweven- Draft complete

Liaison

Seraglio 

Serendipity

Bibliophile

Kismet  

Lascivious- OUTLINE COMPLETE

College AU

Chapter 1- Draft complete

Chapter 2- Draft complete

Chapter 3- Draft complete

Chapter 4- Draft complete

Chapter 5- Draft Complete

Chapter 6- Draft Complete

Chapter 7- DRAFT IN PROGRESS

Chapter 8- Outline Complete

Chapter 9- Outline Complete

Chapter 10- Outline Complete

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College AU Delix Companion Fic

Chapter 1- Outline Complete

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Other Projects

Sequel to the Hogwarts AU

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Chapter 5- Draft in Progress

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Delix as Demigods 😉

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Chapter 4- DRAFT COMPLETE

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Chapter 17

Chapter 18

[wishingforalastingsummer]

Hanyo no Yashahime thoughts and theories that I need to get out of head

Okay we are 3 episodes in and I have so many thoughts and I need to write them down before I go crazy. @phoenixwrites since you also are into the sequel I'm tagging you to get your thoughts.

Okay so we know we are in the Reiwa era which with a quick google search started in 2019, and the manga started in 1997. With the end of the Final Act it should be 2000, so that is at least 19 year gap between when Kagome and Inuyasha reunion. Kaede said that the Bone Eater Well stop working over 15 years ago. 15 years which is roughly the age of Moroha. My theory is that when Moroha was a baby she got sick, or something big happened where she needed medication/supplies from the modern era so she tried to travel back, but because Root Head is connected to the Tree of Ages which the Bone Eater Well is made of, he was able to trap her into the tree itself. Evidence based of the women we see in the tree in the preview. 

So knowing the sequel take place roughly 20 years, that means if Rin is the mother she would be around 16/17 (which to the haters I’m just going to point out Sango was that age when she had the twins). Kaede mentioned that Sesshomaru came to the village and took his twins with him and that’s the last she seen of him. Nothing about the mother. Now if Rin is the mother he would have brought her with him, but since he didn’t the only conclusion I can see is that Rin died in childbirth. Now with Rin final death(sidenote: Rin was given life twice and possibly gave birth to two new life. Interesting.) So now Sesshomaru now has two twins that he takes care off until they are old enough to take the rite of courage(which he probably took when he was young) My thoughts on this is that knowing how tough the world is and how many enemies Sesshmaru probably has, he wanted his children to be strong and take care of themselves, but at the same time having the knowledge of losing Rin he put the twins in a forest where he see no other demons, just harmless animals and are happy and healthy. I would also bet that he wasn’t that far either. And on the night of the fire, the reason Towa couldn’t find Setsuna was because Sesshomaru saved her and before he could go and get Towa she was teleported away via the Tree of Ages. 

Now onto the Rainbow Pearls. I know the most popular theory, that the original characters are in the Pearls(which is possible and I also believe) but I think it’s most likely that they are somewhere else. That is not to say that they are not the key to finding them but I don’t buy it 100%. I think it’s most likely the four eyed owl demon Yotsume is the reason why the gang is missing.

These are just a few of my thoughts and theories that have been going through my head. I would add more but this was getting long enough already. Maybe I’ll make another post after a couple more episodes.

[callunavulgari]

YEAR-IN-BOOKS | 2020

So. Last year I read 112 books. The year before that I read 89. The year before that I read 39. This year I have (thus far) read 87 books out of my goal of 75 and will likely at least one or two more before the end of the year. So, click below if you want rambly book recs!

1. a book you loved?

This year has been rough. Like, I’m looking back at the books I read in January and am genuinely horrified to realize that I read them a scant twelve months ago when it feels like I read them at least three years ago. I’m glad I kept my limit lower this year, because enjoying anything this year has been harder than usual. I did read some decent books though, and I think the one I loved the most was Gideon the Ninth (and it’s sequel, Harrow the Ninth). They’re both fantastic books, and so deeply unexpected. Reading the first chapter or so of Gideon’s book is like getting whiplash. You go into it expecting angsty lady necromancers and get a crossdressing bee that secretes hallucinogenic substances and pulsates in time to the music in your head. Literally, Gideon’s dialogue is so out of left field that I spent half the book delightedly confused. But it is genuinely funny? And lesbian necromancers in space is just.. such an underutilized concept. Harrow’s book was a little harder - her head space is weird and everything is intentionally fucking with you so you really are confused for 90% of it, but I think the pay off was more than worth it.

2. a book you hated?

I was deeply, DEEPLY disappointed by The Secret Commonwealth. I finished it near the end of January and was just so fucking mad for days. Because the thing is, my expectations were not super high. I was excited for it, mostly because a grown up version of Lyra is something that I thought I would only ever experience in fanfiction. Now, I wish I’d only experienced her in fanfiction. Graphic attempted rape, retroactively confirming a rape happened in a previous book (one where it was implied that the victim got away in time), retroactively raping a character from the previous trilogy... like. I’m sorry. But fuck that noise. Fuck Philip Pullman. Fuck any douchebag asshole who thinks a woman has to be raped in order to write compelling fiction. I was riding the high of the new HBO series (which was good) and I guess I just... thought the author would have some goddamn integrity.

3. a book that made you cry?

We Are Okay was a really gorgeous, tender little book about grief that I read in one sitting in my bed when I really should have been sleeping. I read this book in March, when things only kind of hurt for me. When things were still largely okay. Before the bulk of covid hit my side of the world. Before self-isolation was an every day thing, not just something in books. Before Mal. Before getting covid. But ultimately, this was a book about healing. It aches, yes, but it also soothes.

4. a book that made you happy?

Both Beach Read and Written in the Stars made me pretty happy. Both romcoms done right, the first is a book about a romance writer falling in love with a thriller/mystery writer. They’re staying at neighboring beach houses and spend a summer getting themselves out of their comfort zones by challenging the other to write in the other person’s chosen genre. It’s sweet. It’s sexy. Over all, a really fun read, with enough depths to keep me engaged.

The second book is a meet-cute that involves astrology, fake dating, and lesbians. It’s written phenomenally well, and gave me a brief surge of happiness when I needed it most.

5. the best sequel?

Probably Harrow. The Dragon Republic is a great second choice though. Again, it’s a hard book, and I wouldn’t have been able to read it any later in the year than I did, because it is... not a happy book. But it is, in my opinion, a good one. And I am still excited about the third.

6. most anticipated release for the new year?

I am hoping to get the as of yet Untitled sequel to Ninth House in 2021. I am also hoping to actually be able to read The Rhythms of War in the new year, since I doubt I’ll get a chance in 2020. I’m looking forward to Mister Impossible, the second book in the Ronan trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater. I’m looking forward to the Hourglass Throne, which I think is coming in 2021? A Desolation Called Peace in March. The Thorn of Emberlain might actually be out in October, which will be wonderful it doesn’t get pushed back again. Rule of Wolves, the King of Scars Duology in the Grishaverse will also be March. One Last Stop by Casey McQuistion in May!!!!

7. favorite new author?

Defintely Tamsyn Muir. I will also be keeping an eye out for Alexandriua Bellefleur’s stuff...

8. favorite book to film adaptation?

Uh, can I say MDSZ/The Untamed without actually having read the original text? Well, I’ve read a few chapters, but damn.

9. the most surprising book?

Taproot. It’s this little graphic novel about a gardener who can see ghosts. And like. It still makes me warm to think about how tender it is.

10. the most interesting villain?

Does Loki: Where Mischief Lies count? Since Loki is technically a villain, even if he’s only villain adjacent in this book.

11. the best makeouts?

I... don’t know? I didn’t real read any of these books for makeouts. Not this year. 

12. a book that was super frustrating?

Boyfriend Material. It has great ratings! It has fake dating! But the story was very so-so for me. 

13. a book you texted about, and the text was IN CAPSLOCK?

I think I yelled at Nick a few times about how pissed I was at the Secret Commonwealth.

14. a book for the small children in your life?

The House in the Cerulean Sea is a book about a case worker at the department in charge of magical youth and he is charged with traveling to an island and making a very important decision about the children living there. It was adorable and I wish I’d had a book like it when I was young.

15. a book you learned from?

That is not the sort of book that I was reading in 2020.

16. a book you wouldn’t normally try?

I read a couple mysteries. Some were good. Most made me remember why I don’t read mysteries.

17. a book with something magical in it?

Call Down the Hawk, because all of Maggie’s books are at least a little bit magical. And while this definitely didn’t hit quite the same vibes that the Raven Cycle did, it was still very, very good.

18. the best clothes?

Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth have the best goth aesthetic I have ever seen in a book. Also, The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, because Addie’s clothes always sounded cute and comfortable.

19. the most well-rounded characters?

The City We Became had some fantastic characters. It was really interesting to see Jemisin get out of her typical fantasy setting and this novel was so out of this world. 

20. the best world-building?

Deeplight! It’s described as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea meets Frankenstein and that is pretty accurate. Old gods that traversed the sea tore each other apart and now the world tries to get a hold of their corpses for amazing powers. It was really, really cool and probably the best book I could have chosen to read at the beach.

21. the worst world-building?

Eh. Most of the books I hated I didn’t keep reading this year.

22. a book with a good sidekick?

I really like all of the characters in the Tarot Sequence. There are some solid characters, even if there’s basically no women. Also Graceling.

23. the most insufferable narrator?

I was not a fan of The Mysterious Benedict Society, mostly because of the narrator. It was so boring and I quit halfway through.

24. a book you were excited to read for months beforehand?

Return of the Thief. Which... was still mostly good. But the ending felt lackluster for me. I may go back and reread the series and see if it feels more genuine after I’ve read them all together.

25. a book you picked up on a whim?

I literally picked up Written in the Stars because the cover was pretty and it looked like the romance was between two girls. And it did nooooot fail me.

26. a book that should be read in a foreign country?

Shrug emoji.

27. a book cassian andor would like?

I still don’t know what to make of this question.

28. a book gina linetti would like?

Shrug emoji.

29. your favorite cover art?

Gideon and Harrow, honestly. I also really liked Under the Udala Trees.

30. a book you read in translation?

I genuinely don’t know.

31. a book from another century?

Teeeeechnically The Great Hunt?

32. a book you reread?

I reread the Diviners and the Captive Prince series near the beginning of the year. They were still delightful.

33. a book you’re dying to talk about, and why?

Into the Drowning Deep was fucking amazing. I love Mira Grant’s work anyway and there’s this scene where a character pilots a submersible into the Marianas Trench and experiences your first face-to-face encounters with the sirens and like. AHHHHHHHHHH. It was so spooky and beautiful and just genuinely amazing.

TLDR; 2020 sucked, most books still couldn’t pierce through the depression, but there were a few bangers.

[blouisparadise]

Upon request, we’ve added to our friends to lovers rec list. You can find part one here and there will also be a part three (and possibly a part four!) up eventually, which will be linked here when it’s been posted. We hope you enjoy these fics! Happy reading.

1) Roses In The Rain | Mature | 5267 words

“Don’t- I know what you’re going to ask, and I… Harry, I can’t,” he said, his voice cracking. “Please. You know that I can’t.”

Louis had his six siblings and his old house with its falling-apart porch to take care of. This town was where people still approached him, 8 years after high school graduation, to tell him that they loved him as Danny in Grease. This town was where he had his pick of suitors, where he had his first kiss, where he took his first steps, where his mama lived, died, and was buried, and he couldn’t leave just to follow some man that he loved.

Harry, for now, seemed to understand that.

“Okay, baby,” Harry sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Okay.”

2) Candy In Your Mouth (I Know You Love Me) | Explicit | 6937 words

Things have shifted since last Christmas.

3) Glimpse Of The Silhouettes | Explicit | 7181 words

Harry isn't sure what the rules are for this. It's hard to believe that there are any, that's there's a handbook just waiting for him to buy: why is my best mate getting hard in my lap when I touch his arse?

4) Woke Up Feeling Knotty | Explicit | 7903 words

Beta Louis has a kink for knotting and the secret aesthetic porn blog he runs about it is more than proof.  When he accidentally finds out his alpha best friend Harry is one of his biggest fans, he knows he has to come clean after everything that has already happened between them.  Harry just might be willing to help him out anyway.

5) A Love Reaction | Explicit | 9968 words

It's never been a thing. Not until now.

6) Got It Right Such A Long Time Ago | Explicit | 9699 words

Four months into One Direction's hiatus, Louis comes to stay with Harry after a bad breakup.

7) (You're Gonna See Me In A) New Light | Mature | 13631 words

A fake relationship AU where everyone knows it's real but Louis.

8) As A Memento From Me | Explicit | 15817 words

Five lives in which Harry and Louis didn’t end up together, and one in which they did.

9) I Put A Spell On You | Explicit | 17525

A BBC/Secret Santa mashup featuring Captain Niall, our intrepid weatherman/amateur matchmaker, rather clueless sports reporter Liam, charming political analyst Zayn, and cheeky entertainment reporter Louis. Harry is the new fashion correspondent who prefers to dress like a flamingo. And pining. There’s a lot of pining.

10) Oblivious | Explicit | 19095 words

Where Louis gets a little crush on Luke and for some reason Harry starts acting weird.

11) Break Open The Sky | Explicit | 20372 words

Werewolf AU. Harry might be a werewolf, but he still wants to experience Uni like everyone else. Turns out he learns a lot.

12) Runnin’ Like You Did | Explicit | 20061 words

The college AU where Louis knows how to hold a grudge and is definitely not in love with Harry Styles.

13) UN(RE)SOLVED. | Explicit | 20873 words

The ghoul boys are back, but this time around there are some unresolved feelings involved. Harry is a skeptic, Louis is not. Watch them go on their ongoing investigation into the question: are ghosts real?

14) Hats Off To My Distant Hope | Explicit | 20990 words

Harry is in White Eskimo. Louis is in London.

15) The Way The Storms Blow | Explicit | 20649 words

Louis doesn’t have a habit of thinking about Harry’s dick.

That would be weird, seeing as they’re best mates, and they share a flat, and they’ve spent holidays at each other’s family homes. Their friendship hasn’t ever risen to a point where Louis should want to see his mate’s dick, and he’s happy to keep it that way.

Except, all that Louis can think about is exactly that. The size of it. The shape. The amount of people it’s been in.

Maybe it’s the tequila talking, or the fact that Louis’ just recently walked in to an eyeful of Harry taking turns on some slags that he’s never seen before, but. Louis’ mind can’t stop obsessing over the idea.

16) Love Like Wildfire | Explicit | 21774 words

Louis was an Omega and a Prefect. Harry was an Alpha and a little rascal. They were mates, drawn to each other since they first met in the Hogwarts Express. They worked well like that, or at least they tried, which only made their relationship way more interesting.

17) Indestructible | Explicit | 24423 words

“Hi,” Harry murmurs, and Louis hiccups out a sob.

“Hi,” he manages, still clutching onto Harry’s shoulders. Harry’s fingers drift across Louis’ cheeks, and there’s something off about Harry’s expression, but Louis can’t figure out what it is.

“I’m okay,” Harry says, and Louis is going to say something to that, even if he doesn’t know what, except Harry’s kissing him.

Louis freezes.

18) A Whole New World | Not Rated | 24967 words

Louis has moved into his new apartment to start his new job as a teacher. Things would be great. If only his arsehole neighbour didn't wake him up every morning by playing piano.

19) Another Day Gettin’ Into Trouble | Explicit | 25619 words

Harry’s drunk when the idea occurs to him. He’s also a pop star, so sometimes his drunk ideas turn into actual things instead of just ideas. The clone-a-willy kit is one of them.

In Harry’s defense, when he first thinks about it his intention is just to buy the kit and give it to Louis to make his own dildo with, because that’s what he wants anyway, right? To have a penis filling him up?

Then he realizes that it would be weird if Louis made a copy of his own dick to fuck himself with. It’d be super weird. Louis fucking himself? That’s a weird idea. Harry’s pretty sure Louis wouldn’t like that.

Clearly the only solution here is to use his own dick for the mold.

20) Brooklyn Saw Me | Explicit | 28537 words

In the cold and unforgiving city of New York, Louis doesn't have a home and Harry wants to give him one. But as their heartstrings become increasingly intertwined, and the snow continues to fall, home is getting harder and harder to find.

21) Rivers ‘Til I Reach You | Explicit | 29315 words

AU. Louis studies astronomy; Harry studies Louis. They spend their summers on the water and it shouldn't be complicated (spoiler: it is).

22) If Ignorance Be Bliss | Mature | 30429 words

Uni AU: Harry is too experienced, and Louis just wants to get to experience him.

23) Blind From This Sweet, Sweet Craving | Explicit | 31170 words

"So, I guess we'll go?" Louis asks later, when Harry has calmed down and eaten his weight in Chinese food. He plays with this chopsticks, spearing another piece of chicken and pops it in his mouth. "I mean, I wouldn't mind. We could make it an adventure."

Harry observes him, watches him seated across from him on their old living room carpet, with a container of food on his lap. He's fidgeting, avoiding meeting Harry's gaze–he probably knows that Harry's mad at him for ruining the one chance they had to get out of this situation. And he's not wrong, Harry is definitely very mad. Harry wants to strangle him and castrate him and smack him upside the head.

But he's also Harry's best friend, and despite everything, despite all the fuck-ups and the plot twists and everything just not playing out the way it should, he'd still rather be stuck in this situation with Louis than any of the other boys. He's got Harry's back, and in a weird, abstract way, he knows they'll be able to get out of this situation, together.

Harry sighs. "We're going," he says resignedly, his shoulders slumping.

Oh well. There are definitely worse ways to spend the weekend than pretending to be engaged to his best friend.

24) Welcome Back From The Friend Zone | Mature | 32354 words

The one where an idea to create a fake wedding with the sole intent to receive gifts from billionaires took a turn no one, but also everyone, saw coming.

25) The List | Mature | 32074 words

'In the weeks that follow, Harry opens his old journal more than he has in the past two years each time he remembers Venice or thinks about Louis. He always flips to the same random page in the middle of the book, marked by the picture of himself that Louis sent him a few days after they got home. There’s a message on the back that says, ‘Spontaneous looks good on you! See you soon,’ and it makes Harry’s chest warm each time he reads it. He wedges their list out from between the worn pages, and it feels silly staring down at a folded up piece of paper with a strange sense of nostalgia for experiences they’ve yet to have; for places they’ve never even been.'

26) Mark My Word (We Gon’ Be Alright) | Explicit | 35524 words

An A/B/O AU featuring an oblivious Harry as the pack leader, a pining Louis as his second-in-command, and an entourage of friends and family who are a little too good at keeping their mouths shut.

27) The Sun Will Rise With My Name On Your Lips | Explicit | 37927 words

When Eleanor breaks up with Louis he finds it hard to keep pretending that Harry isn’t what he’s wanted since the day he first met him.

28) Runner On Third | Explicit | 39643 words

Note: The sequel to this fic is not BL.

The AU where Louis and Harry were best friends growing up, but lost touch after Harry moved away. Ten years later, Harry has moved back to town, but he and Louis don't pick up where they left off.

29) My Sweetest Downfall | Mature | 42048 words

Louis is a retired guardian angel. After the death of his last charge, he became jaded. Humans die—what use is prolonging the inevitable?

He's more than happy to forget about humanity altogether until one day, when Louis is pulled from his desk job for a new assignment: protect One Direction's Harry Styles. It doesn't help that there's something about Harry that Louis can't resist, and it's making him question everything he's ever known. Humans are strictly off limits, and breaking that rule means risking everything, but Harry just might be worth it.

This is a story about forgiveness and discovery, featuring an angel who wants to be a little more human and a human who is so much more than he seems.

30) For the Sake of Propriety | Mature | 52360 words

Louis Tomlinson is the caretaker of an estate that is not truly his, and when his Uncle calls upon him to take it back, Louis knows he will soon be out on the streets with four overly zealous sisters to care for.  His only solution: wed the eldest two off and pray for the best.  When an even better solution unexpectedly presents itself in the form of the charming Mr. Styles, Louis is faced with a difficult choice.  But as with all things in the regency era, reputation very well may threaten to outweigh the fleeting matters of his heart.

31) The Bachelor | Explicit | 53953 words

The one where Harry dates six other guys and still falls in love with Louis Tomlinson.

32) We’ve Got the World in Our Hands | Explicit | 54964 words

Note: This fic has been locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

A mutants/superpowers AU. Louis and his friends attend the Cowell Institute for General Education and Mutant Training in London; when Louis meets Harry, the newest student at the Cowell Institute, he immediately recruits Harry to help play matchmaker for his friend Zayn. Harry and Louis are so caught up in meddling in Zayn's love life, though, that they don't notice that their own friendship is progressing into something more. Meanwhile, an ominous threat up north grows slowly until suddenly, no mutant - or human - is safe.

33) Waiting For The Tides To Meet | Explicit | 49873 words

Soulmate AU. Everyone is born with heterochromia — one eye is their own eye colour, while the other is the colour of their soulmate's. It's only when they meet their soulmate for the first time that their own eyes match properly. After a hazy night at a frat party, Louis wakes up to blue eyes and the shocking realization that he had met his soulmate, without any sober recollection. Seven years pass where Louis comes to terms with the fact that he'll never know who his soulmate is. Then one fated summer, a beautiful green-eyed photographer arrives at Louis' workplace, with promises of endless laughter and a familiar feeling in Louis' heart.

34) Since I’ve Found You | Mature | 74005 words

Louis woke up on the morning he was meant to volunteer at the Feed the Homeless program at St. Mary's church hoping for an opportunity to give back a little to a city that has given him everything he could ever want. Little did he know, there was one more great thing waiting there for him; a boy with radiant green eyes in a weathered jacket and a beat-up backpack slung over his shoulders.

35) Saving Symphony Hall | Mature | 124766 words

Note: This fic is a sequel to this fic.

“I think I have an idea,” Louis said. Slowly, and reluctantly, but with a growing sense of the inevitable. “God damnit, I think I have a really good idea.”

“Oh christ, that's the problem-solving face,” Babs said. “Last time we saw that face, he sold a company.”

“Wait, what?” Zayn asked.

“Right place, right time,” Louis said. “Also, fuck my life,”

“What?” Zayn repeated. Niall patted his hand.

“I usually just roll with whatever Louis is about to do,” he said. “It’s better for us all.”

“That’s the attitude,” said Louis, “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Tonight, I need to do some research. Zayn, give me your number. I’m gonna save our symphony.”

36) Falling Into You | Mature | 143517 words

In the grand scheme of adolescence and boyhood, Harry was still working himself out, so far with little luck. But four things he could say for certain: 1) he'd been at the top of his class all through primary and secondary school, 2) he was the shittiest alpha to ever walk the earth, 3) Liam Payne never let him forget it, and 4) he’d been in love with this boy, Louis Tomlinson, ever since he was fifteen years old.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[itscookieoverlordtoyou]

40 Questions — Meme for Fic Writers

Don’t you sometimes see those ask games and wish you could just fkg do them all? On this sunny Saturday, we make our dreams reality lolol

1.  Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Short fic, I usually get a small scene I want written so I write around it, plus I love short stories with interesting punchline.

2.  Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Probably, I don’t know them all ^^’

3.  Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Writing about stuff that disgust me I guess.

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

Like 5-6? I want to write about a restaurant but set in a world where people have powers I think the combo could be very funny. The main character has the power of insight, the plonge is a giant pool where you swim around cleaning. Backstories of characters with shitty and amazing powers and how they ended up here. Rival to lover character that has the power to see into the future.

5. Share one of your strengths.

Dialogues, subversion, and humor; classmates often said I have a touch to spin a sad story into something positive/happier.

6.  Share one of your weaknesses?

I get tired when I describe something for longer than 4 sentences.

7.  Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“In what kind of trouble have we walked right into?”, I ask my companions as they’re idly fixing their attire. Together, we’ve face many perils and this mission ranks among one of the most dangerous. Yet, the others had been…how should I say it…professional! Rescuing kidnapped princesses, vanquishing terrifying monsters, quests to restore mythical artifacts, save nations from insidious plots. Oddly enough, “Does this dress make me look fat?”, is not the answer I’m looking for.

Ribbon in my hair is the first time I wrote about my knights, I first dreamt about them when I as 18, my boyfriend at the time called my idea stupid and my world building pointless so I only started writing about them when I was 21. Now I write about them a little bit every year :)

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

“Do you really want your last words to be complaints?”

“I die as I lived.”

“Will we become a fruit tree?”

“I don’t think so, it’s never been the case for my ancestors.”

“I’d love it if we could turn into a banana tree.”

“I’m not from the southern regions, plus I like apples more.”

“Just imagine, our fruits could have been banana flambée”

This death scene was a big finale to a story I wrote for a class in Uni, a story of war between clan of forest and volcano people, of the supposedly brutal death of a Goddess, of a mysterious apple tree whose fruit give vision of the past. I should revisit it.

9.  Which fic as been the hardest to write?

My analysis on D’Artagnan and the figure of the hero. Granted it’s an essay for school but I deeply loved it. I was too afraid to write or ask for help from the professor in charge of me (which made our relationship tense ^^’) but when I did, it was beautiful and I was very proud got 89% :D

10.  Which fic has been the easiest to write?

A play called Adelaide where an old couple reads their old fairytale book about a Prince on a quest to save a Princess. They bicker about the other misreading the story but we finally get to the part where the Prince tosses the princess apart to get a better view of the dragon of which he falls instantly in love. The book is actually their wedding album.

11.  Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s one of my passions, but it’s not something I think I could live on so I delegated it to my hobby.

12.  Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

The wedding scene in Shrek 2, my mind was blown when I saw it in theaters and when I need inspiration to write, I rewatch it.

13.  What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Presentation is important. If trying to read you gives people headaches, they’ll stop. Choose a nice big font, space with paragraphs, be mindful of your spelling and missing words. Read out loud because some things written are bad said.

14.  What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I must’ve been lucky in this regard, I don’t think I’ve ever received advice that made me go NO, but I did have to listen/read stuff that made me gag.

15.  If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I would love to the Adelaide acted out, some adjustments would be required because I’m no expert in play writing but I think I’d be great.

16.  If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Luyenor’a and Taram, names are placeholders as of now but they’re two of my knight, being the “only pairing I’m allow to write about forever” means I’d get more knight shenanigans done.

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

I’m doing bullets point of what I want to happen and write stuff without much order. Some days I have no inspirations for what goes in the beginning but have loads for a later point. I surf the wave when it presents itself.

18.  Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

Word on my computer, a notebook in my bag, the note app in my phone.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I have little trinkets all around my computer to invite inspiration.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Freshly woken up, having eaten, drinking something sugary and sometimes apple cider because the alcohol help lower my inhibition.

21.  How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I read out loud at least once the whole thing, helps with missing words but dude I reread my stuff on ao3 and always find mistakes still ^^’

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

I’m not going to put here because it’s in French and I don’t want to translate now but I wrote Vision of a world, mine when I was 16 and damn was I already depressed then?

23.  If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

The Princess and the Soldier, some gay fairytale I think my first one, I’m sure I can do better bow

I also have one about a janitor and it’s a murder mystery I could redo

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Once by accident, I was so angry I never rewrote it.

25.  What do you look for in a beta?

I don’t really use beta (beta reader right?) but I guess I’ve had like 3-4 when I was in Uni and had to read people’s wip and they read mine. They’d talk about what they liked, links they noticed, things that seemed weak or to change

26.  Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I usually just point out the stuff I like

27.  How do you feel about collaborations?

For a class in college, we had to act out a play we wrote collectively. Ten sketches written in pairs/alone. I made sure I was alone so I wouldn’t be saddled with someone else to write my sketch

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

I don’t follow fic writers; I just am in a mood for a ship and read what’s available. I do like my friend @alumort ‘s fics tho ^^

29.  If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

There was a Phineas and Ferb fic focused on Perry I really loved. Their world building was something I’d never seen and they abandoned the story, so I did fanfic of a fic. Never dared to post it anywhere I mean it was their world to begin with.

30.  Do you accept prompts?

Of course, when inspiration is given I accept

31.  Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I don’t care about canon but I do love using it when there are little trivia to enrich the character.

32.  How do you feel about smut?

Love to read it sometimes, would love to write it. Some I’m like………….youveneverhadsexhaveyou…………………

33.  How do you feel about crack?

Love it!!!!!!!! I’m too self-conscious to write it tho. Oh maybe that could be a never before written trope I could try?

34.  What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

Rape I can’t, dub-con where underlying requited feelings exist but anxiety™ don’t let the characters express them but they’re drunk so it surfaces is okay

35.  Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Hell yeah! I do when/if the death makes sense (I am still pissed at Kishi for Neji)

36.  Which is your favorite site to post fic?

Ao3 is where I post,I used devianart when I had one

37.  Talk about your current wips.

Marry Me for the Love of Cake: God I’m so sorry to the few people who followed it, I said I’d pick it up before the end of 2019 and well……I have the ending in bullet points

Yours, with Love: I hope I’ll finish it…I have most of the ending in bullet points

I guess I’m into rom com at the moment lolol

38.  Talk about a review that made your day.

I made my best friend read All this for a Roll Cake, and she laughed so much at my work, I took a picture I look at from time to time to remain humble.

39.  Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Thankfully I’ve never received a rude review. My professor once told me it seemed kinda unnatural how unlucky my protagonist was vs. how lucky his love interest was (All this for a Roll Cake) but that was the whole point of the story so I just ignored her.

40.  Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Writing this I realised I lost my final version of All this for a Roll Cake T^T so I guess I’d rewrite the ending I have of the before the last version I still have.

Well this was fun ^^ got to revisit my works and remember many beloved pieces of fiction I wrote, I look forward to my next projects