#the next thing i post is going to be a twilight fic i am so sorry guys

[seeingivy]

picnic

sukuna x f!reader

**part of my best friend's older brother fic

previous part linked here

(^^make sure you check since this was a double upload and I posted the last one very recently :D)

--

dear head of the cullen clan,  keep evening plans open – im getting off work early and we’re going on a picnic.  coldest regards,  the head of the volturi  (ps. am expecting a very wholehearted appreciation for the fact that it’s coldest regards and not warmest regards, because they are, in fact, vampires and therefore cold. because they don’t have a heart and such.)  (extra ps. this is a link to a shared spotify playlist. i’ll add a song and then you add one. we’ll keep it going.) 

you snort. 

dear aro of the volturi (does he have a last name???),  so much to unpack in one email, yet again. you really know how to keep a girl on her toes.  first and foremost, you are SOOOO ran through. so offended that i wasn’t the person who got to put you on to twilight and whoever it was, I HOEP SHE DIES! if you’re team jacob, you’re a freak.  second, SO VERY FLATTERED that you think i would be carlisle. a little haunting that you think YOU would be aro…but it’s ok cuz former companions to enemies back to lovers in our case would be kind of crazy???  third. done and done. i just added a song so hurry up bc i have like ten other songs i want to add and i am #impatient  see u after work pookie :D,  carlisle cullen  (very appreciative of the cold regards. you are a king among men.) 

his response back is very prompt. 

Never call me pookie again.  (very offended that you think i’d be stupid enough to be team jacob. and direct your murderous rage towards yuuji and my mom, who forced me to watch it in theaters with them.) 

--

you wait for sukuna at the park two blocks down the apartment complex. the sun is hours away from dipping into the horizon, the chilly wind rustling through the trees. you realize now that the red skirt and white sweater might betray you in a few hours but decide that you’ll simply have to steal his jacket when he gets here. 

and you would have already but he’s twenty minutes late.

and while this part of the city is extremely safe, sukuna’s ever constant fear of people attacking you on subway trains and stabbing you in alleyways has instilled an acute fear of strangers in you, which is why you’re gripping the sparkly pink pepper spray he bought you very harshly in your palm right now. 

you think it’s sweet that he bought you a pink one. 

but of course it’s severely ironic that you almost used it on him. 

because he scares the living daylights out of you, by placing his hand around your shoulder from behind. 

“hey. i’m sorry i-” 

“jesus fuck-” 

you instinctively hold the pepper spray up to his face, your hands shaking in front of you. 

“i’ll use it, you pervert!” 

sukuna leans his head to the side, which is when you’re finally able to log that it’s actually him standing in front of you and not a stranger, and you drop your hands in embarrassment. 

“i mean, i’d really appreciate it if you wouldn’t doll face but–” 

“oh my god, sukuna. i thought you were trying to rob me!” 

“i’m smarter than that. the only thing inside your purse is lip gloss, which has very little value to me.” sukuna responds, dropping the little basket at his feet and taking the little stalk of flowers out of the top handle. 

“i’ll have you know that it’s actually sold out in every store right now. so you could make bank if you sold it.” 

“don’t tempt me. and for your sake, i’ll accept the apology you didn’t give me for just trying to rob me of my eyesight and for calling me a pervert? i’m getting really tired of the age gap jokes, y/n.” sukuna responds, as he lifts your hands at your sides and places the stalk of flowers in your hand. 

you give him a big smile as you press your nose to the flowers, the scent fresh in your nose. and sukuna props down, setting a billowing white blanket on the ground before he taps the spot next to him and signals for you to sit next to him. 

“who needs eyes?” you joke, as you squeeze his hands and set the flowers down next to the little basket. 

“me, dipshit. how else am i supposed to look at you?” 

you cover your hands with your cheeks as you watch him place all of the little things inside the basket next to you, laying them out perfectly. it’s albeit a weird assortment – two wine glasses, perfectly wrapped sandwiches, a mini-cake, and strawberry lemonade. 

“well, stop perceiving me. this is so weird!” you murmur. 

it’s enough to catch his attention and stop him in his tracks. 

“what?” 

the question makes you pause. and a little embarrassed. it was a little harsh to say while you were joking.

“oh, i mean…i didn’t mean it like that! i was making a joke about perceiving because eyes…vision…and i almost took your vision away! and you perceive with your eyes, because how else would you see…” 

sukuna smiles, before shaking his head, and continuing spilling out the last of the contents – a set of gouache paints and two little small canvases. and he drops to his feet, yanking his shoes off, before sitting flat on the blanket and gesturing for you to join him. 

“there’s no way in hell that was what you meant. but we’ll ignore that for the time being.” sukuna responds, hiking his legs to his chest and gesturing towards the spread he just put out. 

you tilt your head to the side in confusion. 

“you look very pretty today.” sukuna responds. 

“thanks! you too!” 

he narrows his eyes. 

“uh huh. well, pick what we do first. the paint, the sandwiches, or the weird wine glass cake.” 

“the wine glass cake? like from tiktok?” you ask. 

“correct. i’m really bad at…cute dates. so…i did some research.” 

sukuna refuses to look at you. because after admitting it, he’s suddenly busied himself with reading the back of the box of paints, like it’s the most riveting, intriguing thing he’s ever read in his life. 

but the pink flush that’s creeping down his neck betrays him entirely, as you reach forward and push the little box down. and sukuna’s already glaring at you. 

you place your chin on the top of his knees, reaching for one of his hands and smiling. 

“you did research for a date?” 

“you can choke on your spit.” 

you grin. 

“you really know how to turn a girl on.” 

“you’re filthy.” 

you grin. 

“and you’re actually so precious, i–” 

“don’t call me precious, y/n.” he whines, as he reaches forward to flick on your forehead. 

you smile as you sit by his side, tucking the folds of your skirt under your leg as you reach for both of the wine glasses and hand him one. 

“so how humbling was it to have satoru explain all this to you?” you ask. 

he sneers. 

“don’t even ask. he’s like the biggest nuisance i’ve ever met in my life. top ten worst moments of my life.” sukuna responds. 

“i’m flattered you humbled yourself to him for me.” 

“i actually asked suguru. they’re like…two peas in a pod, they can’t do shit without each other. the paints and stuff they gave me and the nice basket too.” 

“that’s sweet of them. remind me to send them something later to thank them.” 

sukuna scoffs. 

“no need. they were more than happy to give it up for you.” 

“ah yes. i hear they’re big fans of this camping bag story. the scouts honor and the fake story we had to tell them makes a lot more sense now.” you respond. 

sukuna rolls his eyes. 

“okay, you know what? sue me. i was like sixteen sleeping next to a girl for the first time. god forbid i enjoyed myself. and i don’t know why they’re all so hyperfixated on that story because it was a very normal thing to assume when you’re asked that question.”  

you snort. 

“and you say you’re not a pervert…” 

sukuna leans forward, his eyes flitting down to his lips before he looks back up at you. and he can tell that you’re in a mood, that you’re trying to push his buttons by annoying him. 

“you know i despise you right?” he whispers. 

you grin, leaning in. 

“is that right?” you whisper back. 

“oh yeah. you irritate me.” 

there isn’t even a shred of earnestness in the words he’s uttering. you know he doesn’t mean them. 

“keep going.” you respond, as he presses a warm kiss to the side of your cheek. 

“you’re a nuisance.” – a kiss to your forehead. 

“an irritation.” – a kiss to the tip of your nose. 

“like a fucking thorn in my side.” – and a kiss to the sweet spot right in your neck and his hand snaking up your thigh, which makes you nearly keel your head back from the sensation. 

you place your hands on his cheek and pull him back, face flushed and his eyes nearly glazed over. 

“are you crazy?” you whisper. 

“what?” he asks. 

“we’re in public, dumbass. you can’t just start trying to rile me up.” 

sukuna leans back, obliging. 

“so you admit it? i was riling you up?” 

“oh, shut up.” 

you reach for the sandwiches and unpeel one for sukuna. before he takes it, he places a tiny white box in your lap. 

you frown. first the fancy date but the jewelry too? 

“sukuna. you didn’t–” 

“just open it. i’m impatient and i’ve been waiting all day. and i actually think you’ll like it. otherwise, you’re ungrateful and rude and you hate me.” sukuna responds. 

you give him a tight lipped smile before you open the little box and actually smile. 

it’s a dainty silver chain – the exact same as sukuna’s from the chain-links, but the build is a little thinner. and right at the center, a little charm of a star. 

you reach forward for his chain, dangling around his collarbone. and surely enough, in addition to the original charm he had of an interlocked circle, there’s a star charm added right next to it. 

“you always reach for it. when you’re talking or when we’re kissing. figured i’d get you your own since you’re such a big fan.” 

“you are so…” 

“perfect? sexy? the father of your children?” 

“i was thinking adorable. can i answer d for all of the above?” you respond. 

sukuna grins. 

“survey says yes, princess.” he responds. 

you yank the chain from the little box and hand it to him, before turning around for him to secure it on you. his fingers tickle against the nape of your neck, accompanied by a warm kiss, before he taps your shoulders to signify that he’s done. 

“you know. you really are perceiving me right now.” you respond. 

“and how’s that?” 

“i know you’re obsessed with me and pay attention to every word i say.” 

sukuna smiles. 

“obviously.” 

you jab at his side. 

“i mean, i know you’re doing this because i mentioned picnics yesterday and always feeling left out. sure you could put two and two together that he never really bought me any nice gifts or anything when i said he ruined my birthday.” 

“okay, captain obvious. and?” 

you shove him once more, before leaning your head against his shoulder. 

“well, i appreciate it. i know the whole…cutesy painting date isn’t your thing. we won’t have to do it again. and that you…you’re trying to make this whole thing special for me.” 

sukuna scoffs. 

“i’m offended. first and foremost, i always like to eat with you. every time i think that there’s no way you can amaze me more, you find another way to spill food on your clothes.” 

“hey! that’s not true.” 

“you already spilled on the blanket. second, this is a very violent way to eat cake. you literally mess up all the layers by doing that and destroy the piping on the cake which i can admit, i am a fan of. and third, i’m going to paint us as worms, which seems enjoyable to me.” 

you curl your nose. 

“worms?” 

“yeah. what were you going to paint?” 

“i don’t know. but it certainly wasn’t going to be worms. like the park or flowers or something.” 

“boring. i’m going to paint us as slimy worms. and because we made it on this date, you’ll have to agree to put it up in the apartment, even if it’s ugly.” 

“sukuna.” you whine. 

“especially if it’s ugly. it’s a testament to our love.” he responds, dramatically placing his hands on  his chest. 

“you know, you’re so right. worms have been a really defining feature of your relationship.” 

sukuna leans forward and presses a quick kiss to your lips and an additional one on your cheek. 

“you just get me, princess!” 

and he breaks the little joke by lifting one of your hands to his lips, and pressing a kiss on all four of your knuckles before pressing your hand to his cheek. 

“and i have to do special things for a special person.” 

you return the gesture, lifting his tattooed fingers to your lips and doing the same. 

“you know…you’re really good at this type of thing.” you murmur. 

“what do you mean?” 

“i mean, being a boyfriend. and…and being supportive about everything. sometimes i feel like i’m trying really hard to be the best but…just comes naturally to you.” you respond. 

sukuna shrugs. 

“don’t know if i’m perfect but…loving you has always come really easy to me. i don’t really have to think twice about it because these are actually just things i want to do for you.” 

you groan. 

“see! that’s what i’m saying! you always just…say sweet things, do sweet things. sometimes i’m convinced i’m not even half deserving of it, just because sometimes i don’t reciprocate that back.” you respond. 

sukuna leans forward. 

“you know, you actually do though.” 

“as if.” you groan. 

sukuna pauses, before leaning his cheek against the tops of his knees and looking out at the expanse of grass in front of you. you follow his line of vision – to the dog running in the distance, the wide, billowing trees, and the little flower truck on the side – which you now realize is where sukuna copped the flowers from earlier. 

“i mean, this type of thing. that we have, or…or the way i act around you. it means a lot to you because, you…you’ve never had this before. right?” 

“yeah.” 

“well, i haven’t had you before. i know you see me as perfect, but…but when you say that i can tell that you don’t mean it the way my mom or…or yuuji think that i’m perfect. in the untouchable way.” 

you lean forward, cupping the side of his face. 

“sukuna. you’re so touchable.” you joke. 

“you’re disgusting.” 

“you love it.” 

sukuna smiles. 

“yeah, i really do. it does actually mean the world to me that you think i’m perfect how i am and don’t think i’m larger than life.” 

“if anything, your ego could be smaller.” 

sukuna leans forward and presses a kiss to your cheek. 

“and…and even the other day. i know you were acting squirrely and weird when yuuji was near us and heard us bickering, but i was half convinced that you were going to take his side at the end, when he started saying that stuff about me. because it is true and i have acted a certain way in the past…and, you would have every right to agree with him if you wanted to.” 

you frown. 

“no, i wouldn’t. you’ve never treated me like that and i know you’re being earnest when you say these things to me. this would be a very elaborate way to get into my pants if that was what you were trying to do. and i know it’s not.” 

sukuna smiles. 

“that’s what i’m saying. every other person for me has never given me that benefit of the doubt, but you always do. you were the person who thought to tell me that my grandpa died when you all came to get me and you were the one who wasn’t mad at me. the things you do for me are the same, in equal magnitude, as what i do for you. if this makes you feel good, or…or on top of the world, you have to know that’s how you make me feel too. i’m half convinced that you’re basically made for me at this point the way you get everything right on point.” 

you lean forward and press a lingering kiss to his lips. 

“i really think you’re made for me too, ryomen.” 

sukuna groans, dramatically leaning his head back, before nearly pushing you over and peppering kisses to almost every surface on your face. 

“quit fucking saying my name. you have no idea what that does to me.” 

“i mean, i think i have an idea.” 

sukuna clamps his fingers over your mouth, before pressing a few more lingering kisses to your face and pushing off. and subsequently, picks all of the grass out of your hair as you roll your eyes. 

and after that sukuna, admittedly, very aggressively uses the wine glasses to portion off little slices of the cake and makes it a point to finish off yours when you can’t stomach the sweetness. and true to his promise – sukuna paints the two of you as worms, but at the park, stargazing. 

it’s a little silly, the way he paints it. you were expecting it to be more gory or gross, but it’s so corny that it makes you smile. because he draws the two little worms, but distinguishes between the two of you, by swiping some of your pink paint and adding a little ribbon to the one that’s supposed to be you. 

sukuna explains the stars. because before sukuna had dragged you out of that shitty bathroom bar, it’s what megumi and yuuji said in his drunken mess – he had pointed at two little stars and likened them to him and megumi.

and you’re almost positive that at the time, sukuna found it utterly ridiculous. but now, he understood it – the sentiment. that you and sukuna were two little worms, and two stars, and two little flowers too. 

and to his promise, the two of you decide to place the little canvases you drew at the end of the kitchen counter. 

it’s only then that you realize that you have to go the whole ten miles for sukuna the way he had done for you – countless times again. and that if you were going in blind in trying to make something special, you’d have to take a page out of his book and do some research. 

and there was only one person who could really help you, who you’d rather die than humble yourself to than ask for help. 

regardless of that, you still call sammy the next morning.

--

next part linked here

an: they're about to do it. anyways....there is a very real playlist to match the one that they talk about in the fic -- and it matches the way it described in the fic! so it's interleaved, the first song is a song that sukuna would have added, the second one that y/n added, the third sukuna, so on and so forth. it's linked here! happy listening babies

second an: thank you for the love on the last chapter. it makes my heart really warm bc all of that was actually based on a REAL MAN and real things that I have felt/have said to me and just having people comment that they felt seen by it or it made them feel a certain type of way actually made me really happy and so warm. this blog was one of the first things I did after I stopped being really, really sad and i'm glad that i'm able to share a little joy here and there, if that's what this fic is for you. anyways this is long and sappy and gross and actually I just love you all for enduring the ouchies and the sillies with me a little bit 💌

third an: double upload bc yall were so patient with me :D

taglist: @porridgesblog @k0z3me @kayleegomez @yihona-san06 @sweetenertea @skzismyhome @mykyoon @violetmatcha @rebeccawinters @shotenvinsoot @itzmeme @gojoswifeyyys-world @cutiejg @chilichopsticks @ghostreadersthings @charlie-xo @whoami-72 @heijihattorisgf @megu-meow @complexivelovely @multiplefandomthings @hoebuns @lzaj19 @glossygreene @ramluvr @sureconfused @najaemism @manduse @imhorn1help @gamergirl5125 @r0ckst4rjk @invisible-mori @isaacdaknight @wishmemel @gyros-cum-sock @suftsunshine @i0099 @cowgirlikets @haitanibros0007 @stuffeddeer @yoontaedotin @ec3lipsy @armani79 @awkwardaardvarkforever @kereseth @leave-rae-alone @ruruvia @princess-ackerman @jjkwritingss @lilkiwikiara @opchara @telepathicheartss @starriesworlds @raechu11 @exprimidordefresas @nxxrxm @aalloochaat @strangehuman101 @tzutology

[waffle-sorter]

The other day, I came across a post by @thejakeformerlyknownasprince talking about, among other things, rarepairs in Animorphs shipping. And one that was mentioned was Melissa/Tobias, which somehow grabbed onto my brain and won't let go. So here's the concept I've come up with, because I have to do something with it and no way am I confident enough to try writing Melissa.

This would be a fic from Melissa's POV. Ideally in first person like the canon Animorphs books, but I'm not picky about it.

It's Rachel who introduces them, naturally. The boy looks vaguely familiar; Melissa never really paid attention to him, but was he always so... confident and alert? When she talks, he looks at her like she's got his whole attention. (For the purposes of this fic, Rachel and Tobias wouldn't be in a relationship. There may be a story there, but it's not this one.)

So the two start to hang out more and more, and gradually those hangouts become dates. Tobias' home life remains a complete mystery - any time she offers to walk him home, or have her dad pick him up for something, he seems so uncomfortable with the idea that she backs off, and sometimes he vanishes the next time she looks away. Sometimes he talks like he's got a brother or two, but one of them seems to be Jake's friend Marco, who's definitely an only child, so she must be misunderstanding something.

And Tobias does vanish, a lot, actually. They'll say goodbye and go their separate ways, and Melissa looks back and he's nowhere to be seen. Between that and the fact that he doesn't seem to have a phone number, she sometimes wonders if he's even real. (I'm picturing a phone conversation with Rachel where Melissa goes "be straight with me, is my boyfriend a ghost?")

And then they kiss, he completely disappears, and Melissa doesn't see him at all for over a week. When he does show up, he's blatantly worried, showing more emotion than he's ever displayed before. After frankly excessive checks to make sure they're totally alone, he tells her that he has to confess something, and she can't tell anybody, like no, anybody at all. (I want some kind of "what, are you a vampire?" here, but I don't think that was a significant thing in mainstream consciousness before Twilight in 2005.) And then, before her eyes, Tobias' body starts to change, compressing into itself, sprouting feathers...

(It is essential to my concept that, up to this point, the story be strictly slice-of-life, with no clear indication that any of the events of canon are happening. Tobias' disappearances could be parkour or camouflage or something, and the hawk that's often mentioned when he's not around might just be a coincidence. Melissa's parents are distant and stressed, but it could just as easily be because of their jobs or something. The canon Animorphs - including "Phillip" - recently started hanging out together, and sometimes they all go absent at the same time, but who knows what's going on in other people's heads? Any indication that they're suffering from escalating stress and dissociation should be within levels reasonably attributed to the middle-school experience. The Sharing probably shouldn't be mentioned more than passingly.)

And so Melissa hears his voice in her head, explaining that he met an alien who gave him morphing powers, and that some things went wrong and now the hawk is his base form, so he can't live a normal life. If pressed, he admits that it would be possible to make his human form his base again, but then he wouldn't be able to morph any more at all, and he "can't" do that but won't explain why not.

I think that's where the story should end, although I do have thoughts about a couple of story threads that would need at least an epilogue.

[gimlilithegreat]

One of the weirdest interactions I’ve ever had with a commenter happened today.

A couple of days ago someone started commenting on my HP/Twilight fic, innocuous things, it’s always fun when someone comments when they reach the end of every chapter because I can kind of see their progress through the fic.

They get to chapter four and there is a moment in that chapter when Harry is making fun of someone and they really didn’t like it. Left a multi paragraph comment with dictionary definitions and a lot of rage.

No problem. I get it. Stuff can be triggering. I get the email notification, go off and do some research to try and see it from their point of view and decide if I’m going to respond, if I want to make any edits, that kind of thing.

They continue to comment. So I’m like hey, that’s nice at least that didn’t ruin the fic for them.

Their next comment is about something completely different and when I go to respond to it I notice that there isn’t a reply button.

I have no idea what that means, but after some googling it looks like they blocked me. Fair, I wrote something, they had a reaction. I can understand blocking someone. But now I’m really confused because they are still reading, I’m still getting an email every two hours that they are commenting.

Positive things. Reactions to parts of the story. Favourite bits or characters. Things I’d usually respond to.

So I make a Reddit post to see if I am alone in thinking that’s weird. Maybe this is normal and I’m alone in finding that strange. I’m relatively new to writing fanfic maybe this is something people do.

Nope. Everyone thinks that’s weird.

Great.

One of the suggestions on a way it could be not weird was if they’d blocked me by accident. People suggest I leave a guest comment to double check.

After basically a day of getting fixated on how weird this is I decide to do just that. Head into incognito and leave this comment:

“Hey! Not sure you're aware but you've actually blocked me (the author) from responding to your comments?

If you have deliberately blocked me, that's obviously fine, you do you, but I'm not massively comfortable having comments I can't respond to in my comment section especially as I get an email notification every time you leave a comment and I just find that really strange. So I will be blocking you from commenting on this fic. And potentially deleting your comments. Unless this was a mistake, I'll leave this up for a bit to check.

I've appreciated you going to the effort of commenting either way.”

A couple of hours later I get this back:

“Not a mistake but don’t see the big deal. Don’t know if you’re really the author or not but if so it’s a little weird to go out of your way to message someone who clearly didn’t want further interaction than leaving a comment.”

Wow.

Just wow.

Now I’m offended BECAUSE I AM NOT THE WEIRD ONE HERE.

2 hours later she’s finished the fic and left another positive comment.

Like a weirdo.

So I blocked her back and deleted her comments.

Obviously this has become a point of fixation here. I am not going to get over how weird I found this for a while.

So that was my day, how was yours? XD

[aftgficrec]

Any neil& aaron recs? Not with a relationship with them necessarily as endgame but something like triptych or the one where they're on the hunt for andrew (cant remember the name rip, but i love that one)

There are a good amount of fics for Neil and Aaron — their relationship is fertile ground to explore angst or growth! The stories run the gamut from mutual disdain to familial warmth, from bad or awkward situations to quests (like hunting for Andrew together in ‘I'm leaving this town…’), from friendship to lovers and even plain ol’ sexual experimentation (see ‘triptych’). 

Though you weren’t keen on Neil/Aaron as a couple, you might enjoy ‘Every Sinner Has A Future.’ It’s friends to lovers and spends significant time developing their relationship. Find it and the fics you referenced among those featured below. -A

Neil & Aaron in situations/working together 

Aaron & Neil stranded together here

Aaron & Neil stuck in a bad situation here

‘Calm down. I look a lot worse than I am.’ and ‘climb a mountain (hold his hand)’ here

‘they who made you/they made me too’ here

‘Identity Theft’ here

‘Apart from Your World (A Part of Mine)’ (selkies) here

‘The World Beneath Our Feet’ series here

‘Crossfire’ here 

‘For You I'd Bleed Myself Dry’ here (updated)

‘If Neil, Then Fox’ here

Neil & Aaron relationship because of Andrew

Aaron & Neil rapprochement here

Aaron accepting andreil here

Aaron & Neil's talk at the cabin here

Neil meets the in-laws or foxes here

‘Did You Get What You Deserve?,’ ‘The Ash is in Our Clothes,’ and ‘common ground??’ here 

‘Married To Annoy,’ ‘head case (what to do with you),’ and ‘AJMICKEY56's Fanfiction Palooza!’ chapters 2 and 82 here 

‘Hold each other...ch 8: Time Does Things’ here

‘Muscle memory’ (completed) and ‘The Memories I Never Can Escape’ here

‘No More Fucks To Give’ here (updated)

‘Neil Fights the Foxes’ here

‘on the tip of my tongue (say something)’ parts 7 & 8 here

‘No straighter path than to struggle,’ ‘The Road Trip,’ and ‘An Olive Branch’ here

‘what even is baseball anyway’ and ‘Holding On and Letting Go’ here

‘Hold me close (in fact, bury me)’ here

‘a girl so bright she'll blind you’ here

Neil & Aaron friendship

Aaron & Neil = Andrew/Neil here

Neil & Aaron friendship 2 here

domestic fluff w/twinyards bonding + Neil & Aaron friendship here

the tumblr posts in Neil/Aaron or Neil & Aaron ask here

‘Make This Leap (Geronimo)’ here

‘Math, Exy and Middle Ground’ here 

‘every piece of you, it just fits perfectly’ here

‘i just wanted you to know (this is me trying)’ here

‘togetherness’ here

‘More Than Words’ here (updated) 

‘Ten Percent’ here

‘Tachycardia’ here; ‘Tachycardia (the My Own Soul's Warning Remix),’ ‘It's going tibia okay,’ and ‘What the fuck happened to you?’ here

‘Aaron is Neil’s doctor in the pros’ here

‘Shards of Glass’ here

‘Et tu, Doctor?’ here

‘Art Hoe’ here

‘Beach Bois’ here

‘just a footnote’ here

‘I'll Follow You’ here

‘Call the doctor ( I may need help)’ and ‘we're inside out’ here

‘Andrew Goes to Hogwarts’ series here

‘Minyards' Magical Mischief’ here

Neil/Aaron rarepair

Neil/Aaron or Neil & Aaron here

‘In The Forest (Burning Bright)’ here 

‘Winter Banquet’ here

you may also like

new Katelyn/Aaron here

Katelyn & Neil friendship here

Katelyn & Neil as siblings/lookalikes here

Katelyn-centric hurt/comfort here

Aaron protective of Neil here

Neil mistakes Aaron for Andrew here

Andrew & Katelyn rapprochement here

‘the prettiest blue’ and ‘The Photo Strip Predicament’ here

‘Nor are we forgiven’ here

‘Give Me Another Minute (to Lay Here in Your Echo)’ here 

‘coming loose’ here

‘the roads I traveled with you’ here

‘One day we'll reveal the truth’ and ‘i'm getting static from my better sense’ here

‘you're not next before forever’ here (completed)

‘Before You Drown’ here

‘Five Years to the Day’ here

‘Twilight and Daytime’ here

‘Whispers in the leaves, shadows in the moonlit night’ here

quests and situations

halloween series by zweimam [Collection, Rated T, 44426 Words, Incomplete, Updated Sept 2023]

NB: Part 1 reviously recommended in new twinyards bonding ask

Part 1: I'm leaving this town (and I'm changing my address) [40309 Words, Updated Sept 2023] Aaron tries to assimilate everything, nodding, "How do you know he didn't mean it?" "It wasn't a thought, or anything," Neil says, looking everywhere but at him. "He told me to go away, to leave and run, and I did. I'm very good at running, you see." Or: Aaron has been looking for his brother for six years. Right when he's beginning to lose all hope, he meets Neil Josten.

tw: child abuse, tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: heavy suicide themes, tw: implied/referenced suicide attempt, tw: implied/referenced drug addiction, tw: detailed discussion of drug use, tw: implied/referenced overdose, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: panic attacks, tw: dissociation

Part 2: I know that you'll come if you want [6170 Words, Updated Aug 2023] If Aaron has been looking for his brother for six years, Andrew has been waiting for him for longer.

The Most Unorthodox Way of Fighting Back by orphan_account [Rated T, 1683 Words, Complete, 2021]

Neil Josten is forced to pick up his shoes and run. If not for him, than for the ones who can’t.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: murder, tw: blood/gore

Tumblr Bits by gluupor [Rated T, Collection, Complete, 2019]

Chapter 8: Neil Josten: Accountant Spy [2316 Words] Whenever anyone asked Neil what he did for a living, he responded by saying he was a spy. This always was met with impressed faces and probing questions about his job.

till the bitter end on a flat tire by thewintersolstice [Rated M, 10000 Words, Complete, 2022]

neil & aaron end up stranded on the side of the road in the desert. neil wants to talk homophobia. aaron wants neil to shut up for once in his life. aka: my attempt to turn aaron minyard into someone i want to like

tw: homophobia, tw: implied/referenced child abuse

Growing Sharp Edges by Leocante [Rated G, 10218 Words, Complete, 2022]

Aaron just needed some wiggling room. He didn't think he was asking for that much - a few inches of freedom, a miniscule amount of life outside of school and exy, an ounce of control over his day. Well, thruth be told, he wasn't exactly asking asking. Questions like that resulted in a knife under his neck and an unyielding 'no'. But Aaron needed some goddamn wiggling room, and he was desperate enough to ask Josten for help.

tw: attempted sexual assault, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced drug addiction, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced murder, tw: recreational drug use, tw: alcohol

Who is the man in the relationship? by sugaroto [Rated T, 6986 Words, Complete, 2022]

"I'm your type." Neil went on. "Then I'm yours." Aaron shot back, "You're literally fucking my twin, asshole!" "High five!" Neil said, his eyes lightening up, "We're type buddies!" Neil started laughing. "What? What's so funny?" Aaron asked. "We should get married!" Or The time Neil and Aaron got drunk and thought it'd be funny if they got married.

tw: alcohol

NB: fic meme by @sugaroto here

Momentary Disaster by JostenlovesMinyard [Rated T, 1305 Words, Complete, Twinyards Appreciation Week 2022]

Day 2: Disaster Aaron and Neil are sent to do a grocery run but Neil loses something along the way. Aaron is there to help him.

You Are So Much More Than Your Father's Son by phan_taloon [Rated T, 3143 Words, Complete, 2021, Locked]

In which Nathan Wesninski has fanboys and Neil Josten doesn't want to deal with them, but Aaron is there to save the day.

tw: panic attacks, tw: flashbacks

A Pain Never Meant to be Felt (I really suck a titles, just pretend its good.) by transandsad [Rated M, 14187 Words, Incomplete, Updated Aug 2023]

Aaron is mistaken for someone he is not and has to figure out how to pick up the pieces in the aftermath.

tw: gang rape, tw: nonconsensual touching, tw: assault, tw: graphic descriptions of csa, tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: blood, tw: flashbacks, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: ptsd, tw: panic attacks, tw: suicidal thoughts, tw: murder, tw: drug addiction

Neil and Aaron swap body’s AU bullet fic by @sadboyayeron [Tumblr, 2020]

AFTG Neil & Aaron Gender Swap hc by @sadboyayeron [Tumblr, 2020]

friendship

Oblivious series by greencherrybomb [Rated T, Collection with 2 complete works, Updated July 2022]

Part 1: Oblivious in love (3152 Words) Andrew has been pining after Neil Josten for months, but knows it wont happen. Neil doesnt even swing, so he does the only thing to protect his feelings. Ignoring Neil and eating ice cream. Part 2: Best Friends Brother (3930 Words) Neil has been harboring a long time crush on his best friend, Aaron Minyards, brother Andrew. Too bad Andrew has been avoiding him at all costs and is dating the hottest guy in school, Kevin day. Or at least thats what Neil thinks.

Dear Little Ghost by choisunsanie [Rated G, 4650 Words, Complete, 2022]

Neil Josten starts to be haunted by a naughty blond ghost.

tw: previous major character death, tw: car accidents

And I Swear And I Swear, I Was Burning Alive by Miss_Fun_Fun_and_Fun [Rated T, 1477 Words, Complete, 2022]

Neil is confronted by his ex-best friend's twin brother while still reeling from his mother abandoning him. - A one-shot, alternate universe for Fortheloveofexy's fic, "More Than Words".

tw: implied/referenced drug addiction

NB: ‘More than Words’ was previously recced here (updated)

sexual experimentation

triptych by likearecord [Rated E, 12805 Words, Complete, 2023]

Three parts, three POVS. Aaron, wondering, picks up a guy in a bar. Neil, having learned something, wants to try again. Andrew, knowing nothing, sees something he likes.

tw: explicit sexual content, tw: nonconsensual touching

friends to lovers

Every Sinner Has A Future by OfficialStarsandGutters [Rated E, 29864 Words, Complete, 2021]

Canon divergent Neil x Aaron. - Neil Josten. A shock of red hair and ocean blue eyes. Pretty faced, but nothing special. Except he makes a throwaway comment about Andrew being off his meds and it’s like everyone in the room forgets to breathe. Even Aaron, his body still and tense with surprise that he can tell them apart. Without even having met Aaron, he knew Andrew wasn’t him. That shouldn’t mean anything. Aaron rubs his sweaty palms on his skinny jeans and tells himself it doesn’t, it doesn’t, it doesn’t.

tw: recreational drug use, tw: implied/referenced drug addiction, tw: nonconsensual drug use, tw: graphic description of overdose, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced murder

Art

monsters cuddle pile art by @emry-stars-art

au where aaron and neil are best friends first comic by @02511213942 also on twitter

when Neil tells Dr Aaron he’s fine art by @srslyarts

get in loser we’re going shopping art by @ouijacine

Josten and Aaron on press duty comic by @paradoxolotl

Aaron is a godfather comic by @paradoxolotl

[memberment]

good morning everyone

yes it's 7pm.

no I did not just wake up for the day, but I did just wake up from a nap and honestly all I really did was read trashy webtoons and get like 500 words out meanwhile I have homework due at 3am so I might as well have just woken up.

idk y'all I was rlly sleepy today.

I got through a bunch of fun in Morning Glory but I think I'm switching back over to Revelations again bc lowk I think I can only write so much fluff before I'm like okay where the fuck is the plot???

Idk guys think I might be duo writing atp bc I get bored from things being too good and then devastated bc Revelations is lowk gut wrenching along with the scary shit LMAOO

whatever whatever updates here AFTER I get some of my work done bc goddamn, am I behind.

(12:11) so guys I totally did shit on my physics test but ngl actually kind of understanding what I was doing made me feel like god's favorite questionably gendered royalty so I think I'm gonna force myself to learn physics.

but tomorrow because I actually just spent like five hours working on pulling myself together for said test and I'm kinda dead inside. I'm going back to working on Revelations in the meantime. I'm gonna post Tweek's guide either like later or what you folk constitute as tomorrow (me personally, Tuesday is Tuesday but whatever) because I just do not have the energy to think up a chapter title at the moment. And I know I've mentioned this but y'all I am never waiting to make chapter titles again like they're just getting done as we go now. Summaries too bc FUCK THAT idk why I didn't think this would be an issue literally like THREE MONTHS AGO when these got finished god bless

(2:09) Revelations is at like 3.5k and lowk I am like DRAGGING my feet with this beginning chapter. Like, it's literally just this beginning bit I keep jumping back into my notes to write stuff from later in the fic LMFAOO

Like, I know once I get past 17 it's gonna go so fast but GODDDDD, trying to write the same things but ever so slightly different and then some different events entirely thrown in there is making my head hurt because idk like what exactly I want to include. Like, yes, we get our boys finalizing their contracts. BUT NOW WHAT. LIKE AM I FLESHING OUT THIS ENTIRE MEET UP????

DOES KENNY ACTUALLY EXPLODE AT SAID MEET UP OR AM I MAKING AN EXCUSE FOR THIS???

Bc I do kinda want everyone to see Clyde break his arm for the first time on page. (Speaking of, him and Kenny are talking in this first chapter AND THEY'RE SO FUCKING AWKWARD LIKE IT'S ACTUALLY PAINFUL LMFAOOOO)

but ugh

yk what I'm going back to reading trashy webtoons for the next few business hours bc my best ideas seem to come to me at twilight and it is 2am. LATER!

(6:15) I've decided to force myself to post guide. I swear to god I need like a calendar person to scream at me when I don't post LMAOOOO LIKE I DA WILL FORGET

(6:52) Guys I have re-fallen in love with Lost, my god.

[drsteggy]

I've been loving Uneasy Lies the Chosen of Farore! How did you come up with the plot, especially since it's not based on any one game?

Thank you so much for the ask!!

I discovered Zelda games through Breath of the Wild in 2018 and a year later I was very deep in the fandom- I’d started cosplaying and was reading fic…and I was starting to think about but what if these characters were older. I found Zelda when I was older, I’d already lived a lot, how would I handle it?

Like I’d had situations in BOTW where I’d look at something and snort and go no thanks. I am too old for this bullshit. And one day I had something happen at work that made me react the same way but guess what! I had to do the bullshit anyway and that got me thinking a lot.

Eventually the thought experiment got to be too large for my brain, so I wrote it down. The first version ended with Link riding back to the castle after going home and to Lurelin. I never posted that but I did have some people read it. At the time, the only Zelda fans I’d found were gamer dudes and that was a mixed bag of an experience, but a couple of them read it and asked what happened next and I didn’t have an answer.

Then 2020 happened and the world went insane and I started publishing my fic on the fly, updating chapters roughly every 2 weeks. Sometimes I didn’t know where I was going next. I started playing Skyward Sword on my Wii and all those spiders informed my forest temple (a lot of people went on about Gohma in my comments and I had no idea what they were talking about lol). I had fallen in with a bunch of gamers who thought the Arbiters Grounds in Twilight Princess was peak dungeon, so that got added (I watched a let’s play of that dungeon once as research) and I’m not going to spoil my own fic, so you can pick out what else I played (or just saw a ton of fan art about) as you go lol.

Link has very rough parallels to my own life and experience, though I believe I’ve been more self aware than he is at the start lol. But I did great things in my 40s and older that I could not have pulled together when I was 17. I didn’t have the experience with people and things that I developed. Like there should be stories to tell you that, too, that you can still change the world once you think you’re past it.

[freezingwhitefire]

So it isn't up on ao3 yet, but it will be... and um here is day 1's fic for whumptober. Warnings for possession, panic attacks, blood, drugging. If I need to add more warnings please let me know, it's after 1:30 am when I post this and I have no idea what warnings I need to include beyond those right now.

P.o.V. Time (italics are all Time but a different Time) and Twilight

Normally portals weren’t too bad, there were occasional side effects that made themselves known to some of the group, but this time Twilight regretted it halfway through the portal. The pathway seemed to jolt and spasm a few times as though something was influencing it and when Twilight finally stumbled out of the thing he was grateful to be back on solid land. Standing quickly he looked around wondering where they were, it seemed familiar to him but he ignored that feeling and turned his attention back to the others. Warriors had his shield and sword out and was looking for the Wizrobe that had attacked them. When Warriors sheathed his sword and secured his shield on his back again he felt relieved.

Looking around again he noticed Legend getting up out of some bushes, his nose twitching a little making a comment about rabbits come to his mind, and Four climbing on top of a rock, which he was glad to see since all the flowers around may have made him difficult to track. A low groan drew his attention to Hyrule who slowly sat up rubbing his head with his right hand and holding his left one close to his chest. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Warriors’ sympathetic look and remembered that Time had picked Hyrule up and tossed him towards the portal as he had entered it.

“Is everyone here?” Warriors asked, visibly taking note of who he had seen and who he hadn’t.

“I think so?” Wild replied, his voice slightly hesitant as though he felt like the number of people in the group was wrong.

Twilight looked at his cub and noticed that he had climbed on top of one of the bigger boulders around them. That would make it easier for him to spot the others if anyone was missing. Which… he checked around again for Sky, Wind, and Time since he hadn’t spotted them already. Sky was just approaching Hyrule as he once again checked around.

“Let's see…” Legend said as he looked around. He frowned when he failed to find everyone. “Wind?”

“I’m right here.” The Sailor called as he joined them, sliding down a boulder near the one Wild was perched on.

Twilight nodded absently as he looked around. He could see Warriors doing the same and the two of them shared a look as they noticed they were missing one Hero. Warriors turned to count them all again, hoping that he was wrong while Twilight focused on their surroundings again wondering at the sense of something being wrong. Four was crouching near a tree stump now, his hands cupped to hold something. Wind had climbed up next to Wild and was bothering him for a snack, Twilight could just about see Time’s grin at that. Sky was checking Hyrule’s hand where he’d gotten burned before Time reached him, which reminded him that Time would be hurt when they found him. Legend seemed to reach the same conclusion that he and Warriors had and was giving them a look while waiting for one of them to say what they had noticed. Behind him Twilight finally noticed something that seemed a bit strange but yet again he ignored it while continuing to look for Time.

“Where is Time?” Legend finally asked, seeing that neither of them were going to point it out to the others.

As soon as the question was asked the others were looking around, trying to spot their leader. None of them spotted any glint of metal anywhere nearby and they all looked around a little more intently. As he looked, Twilight noted that there were some trees near them but not so close that they were in the forest. It was possible that Time had gotten thrown over into the woods instead of left with them. If so then it could take some time to find him given how Time’s magic seemed to help him hide in trees. Somehow the woods seemed familiar to him, almost as if… he once again looked at the thing behind Legend and realized he knew where they were… or he would if it was some years in the future.

“I.. can try tracking him?” Twilight offered, his hand reaching for the crystal hanging at his neck.

“Time usually tries to figure out which era we’re in.” Four commented while looking around curiously.

Twilight couldn’t ignore it anymore. He paled and hoped that he was wrong, the bridge and the forest. He remembered the Sacred Grove and the puppets that led him there. There was something else though, he remembered that he never did find Time’s body, not after he pulled that sword out of it when he had been younger which meant that Time could easily be the one who trained him already.

“Twi?” Wild asked gently, his hand cautiously resting on the Rancher’s shoulder.

“I… I think this might be somewhere between Time and I.” Twilight said, his voice sounding weak as he looked around again.

“You recognize something?”

“That bridge… when I see it the wood is worn and darker… but it looks new.”

Knowing there was no time to lose, that sense of foreboding was getting worse the longer it was taking to find Time, he touched his crystal and shifted. Quickly he shook his body, getting used to four legs quickly, then he padded in a circle noticing that there were two more scents that were heavily faded but as though they had been there within a day. One was very similar to Time’s and he decided to follow that one, hoping it would lead them to the right place.

He shot for the woods then paused to look back, giving a couple of barks, demanding that the others join him quickly. Once he saw that Warriors was following he turned back to his path hurrying in a straight line until it turned then he waited for Warriors to get where he could see him then as he started moving onwards again he gave a tree a scratch in the direction that he was heading. As he moved the scent of decay started to reach him, as though a body or two had been laid out to be picked clean by the local monsters.

Running.

He was running through the forest.

A familiar forest which left his heart aching.

His legs burned as though he’d been running for hours already but that couldn’t be right, he’d hardly been running for more than ten minutes… or had he been running for hours and just not realized it?

Something was following him making noise and he looked back, his eyes scanning for whatever was following him. His steps slowed slightly before he checked again, the feeling that whatever was following him wasn’t supposed to lose sight of him filled his mind.

It was then, after he had slowed, that he saw what was following him. He saw two children, one with golden hair and one with red hair… somehow he knew who they were, his child and Zelda’s. The two children were having trouble keeping up with him, otherwise he wouldn’t have had to slow to spot them, and he knew that while he could carry them it would do little good against everything following them now.. not with how tired and sore he already was. It felt like he had been running through the woods in his armor for hours and fighting whatever he came across. If he bothered to pay attention he noticed that his right arm burned a little like there was a cut on it. He also knew there was a spot up ahead where he could stop for a few minutes, a place he could send the children onwards while he held the line. Link was beginning to understand what was going on and he felt alarmed at it since he knew he wasn’t supposed to See things this clearly… not this far away from his own time in his own life.

The children just had to keep up a little longer, the place he was heading to was within sight. As he was about to reach the spot Link heard as Zelda’s son stumbled. He glanced back fearing that he would fall but to his pride his daughter stabilized him and the little boy clung to her hand while she helped him keep up with Link. They finally reached the area he knew they needed to get to, a point where the foliage in the forest was so dense there was only one way through, and he knelt down. Pulling off his ring, the ring Malon had given him when they had married, and the ocarina pouch he carried with him, the ocarina of time was safely inside it, he handed both to his daughter. She seemed nervous, no doubt catching onto the same feeling he had, but Link smiled softly at her and at her cousin before giving both children a hug.

“I want you to run, okay? Head for the edge of the forest and tell the Captain what happened. I will handle the monsters but you both need to go.”

As much as he wanted them with him Link couldn’t protect them as well as fight the monsters.

“I don’t want to go, papa.”

“I know, but I need you to do so. Can you be brave for me and get your cousin to safety sweetheart?” Seeing her expression Link wanted to laugh. She looked so much like her mother with that look, the doubt and reluctant acceptance. His heart ached at the thought of Malon who would be waiting for him to return with the children. She’d get the Captain returning with them if he didn’t manage this right, and he knew he was out of practice enough the slight misstep was all too likely.

“I guess…”

“I’m scared.” The little boy said quietly, tears running down his small face.

Link smiled reassuringly as he wiped the tears away. “It will be okay. I just need the two of you to go that way and no matter what I need you to keep going until you get out of the forest. Can you do that?”

“Yes.” they both replied slightly sullen and slightly terrified.

Link nodded, gave them a small squeeze and kissed the top of both of their heads then he stood up again.

“Go on.”

As the two children ran for the path he watched them. His heart ached even more as he felt that this would be the last time he saw them, much like he’d felt when he saw his wife before he’d left home. Even so Link was relieved, they would be safe. After all, his daughter shared his knack for finding the way in a forest. He knew he couldn’t watch them for long, the children had accidentally gotten the attention of monsters, and possibly worse, while they had been exploring the woods. His true purpose for being here was that he and Zelda heard about assassins living here, and once he’d arrived he’d discovered the two children had run off into the forest.

As he turned away from the two, Link could hear the monsters approaching him. The clanking of metal armor giving them away as surely as the cries of angry Lizalfos. Knowing that the children needed time to escape, Link sighed and pulled his sword out of its scabbard while securing his shield to his arm. It had been a while since he’d last handled a larger group of monsters, but it always seemed to come back to him quickly. He could only hope that this time would be no different.

Looking at the monsters he felt his blood chill as he recognized how many dangerous and difficult to fight ones there were. The mixture of Wizrobes and Darknuts coupled with Lizalfos and a few people dressed in the Sheikah garb of those that were against the Royal family alarmed him and made Link even more grateful he’d sent the two children out of the Woods. This was no place for them to be, not with these assassins here. His hand tightened on his sword and Link growled as he shifted his stance to be ready to fight. He could not afford to lose to these monsters. Not with the two fragile lives on the line… not knowing what they would lead to and how precious those lives had become to him. Seeing them wait he rushed forwards, his steps quicker than the monsters expected and his sword ready to strike.

Time gasped as he jerked away from the decaying remains in front of him. His eyes were wide as he felt his chest tightening. He shook slightly as he looked around half expecting the monsters to be there around him. Trembling he staggered back away from the body, falling as he stumbled back over a branch half buried behind him. He could see that image, the fight, and more. There was so much there, so much more. His breathing couldn’t seem to settle into a proper rhythm, it kept speeding up even as he struggled to slow it. His eyes searched the clearing, as he looked he could see the piles of armor where the fallen Darknuts had died even as he knew there was nothing there. His breathing picked up even more, and his hands slid into his hair, tightening there to tug.

Usually pain grounded him a bit from his panicking but this time he just sat there with his chest tight and air hard to get. Pain radiated from his chest as his breathing continued to speed up. His hands shook as he released his hair, the tugging did nothing to help him. Somewhere close to him a horn sounded and Time turned his head. His combat instincts said that the area was still dangerous, as dangerous as it had been when he’d gotten to his feet after the portal.

"You need to move."

He knew that. Time really did know that, but he couldn’t seem to convince his limbs to work properly. His legs felt weak and his chest felt like one of Wild’s Hinoxes was sitting on it. Almost like it was through water he saw a familiar arm, black under tunic and brown gauntlets, reaching out to him. He felt like he was shaking too badly to manage to touch him but he raised his hand and set it into the grasp of the other’s hand.

"I’ll get us out of here."

It was a promise, a familiar promise, and Time felt his body moving without his direct control. It was familiar since he’d bonded closer with the spirit of the Deity’s mask, the god could sometimes control his body for him and get them out of danger. So he knew that the Deity would just get him to safety, that safety was the whole point of it, but it felt too wrong all at once with the lingering disorientation from the vision he’d had. He struggled against it, against the familiar warmth and comfort of the deity. Immediately control was returned to him with a worried sound from Kishin as he was once again left to watch as Time struggled against his panic and whatever enemies that horn had called. A spike of pain from his shoulder sent Time tumbling to the ground, his hands hitting the ground sharply bringing all the sensations into focus. Gasping Time looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Monster archers." Kishin murmured and Time felt a small surge of guilt at how he had reacted. "Peace little hero, I know you are disoriented. Sight always seems to do that, especially when it is like that."

"Still…"

"Why don’t you use one of the other masks and get out of here?"

Time nodded without thinking and dug into his pack, instincts sharpening again as his breathing returned to normal for a moment. He dodged out of the way of another arrow before putting on the Deku mask. The smaller form gave him a much easier time to get away. He scurried through the forest, dodging around the trees and away from the clearing. Somehow he felt like he was going the same way the children had gone. His hands hurt a bit but not as much as his shoulder did, his shoulder hurt badly, the feeling somehow sharper with the Deku form.

Time ducked into a small hollow, watching as some monsters passed him and he turned, going deeper into the cave the hollow led into. Once he was there he removed the mask, it hurt again and as he grew back to his normal size. As he returned to normal Time dropped to his hands and knees once more, gasping softly and shaking. Looking at his hands Time realized that he was shaking, his breath was picking up again, hearing something approaching the cave’s entrance he pressed his hands over his mouth to silence the panicked breathing. He backed up away from it, moving to press his back to the wall of the cave but forgetting the arrow there. He managed to stop a cry of pain as the arrow shaft snapped, the broken part clattering to the ground while the rest of it dug deeper into his shoulder.

His vision started blurring, the edges blacking slightly. He tried to listen but heard nothing. Taking that to mean that there was no one there he dropped his hands while he panted for breath. A new sharp pain left him feeling even more disoriented, his body dropping to his hands and knees once more. One hand moved to press against his stomach, the hot sticky fluid that quickly coated it caused everything to spin sharply.

"No, no, stay awake. You must stay awake."

Time tried to make himself wake up more but something jabbed into his neck. Whatever it was caused everything to fade out even more. He felt himself land on his side, his eyes opening slightly as he tried to figure out what was going on. Above him stood one of those assassins with a Wizrobe behind it. As everything went dark he prayed that the others reached him.

Just before his sense of hearing faded he thought he made out an angry bark, leaving a soft wash of hope in his chest.

Twilight raced through the woods, worried that he wouldn’t find his mentor. He wasn’t entirely sure why he felt like he needed to find him immediately but that sense had only grown the longer it took to find him. Maybe it was a passing memory of Rusl mentioning monsters and such used to live in the forest, or perhaps it was the memory of that golden armor damaged and dented on the skeleton outside his home village. Whatever the case he waited just long enough for Warriors to see him before taking off once more.

This seemed to be the last major turn in finding Time.

At least he hoped it would be, he remembered some ruins in this part of the forest from some of his explorations. There hadn’t been monsters though, and maybe they were the reason for that. His ears twitched as he listened for whatever was ahead.

From the sound there were monsters ahead, mostly Lizalfos but a couple of Wizrobes, he ignored both. Arrows flew and pierced the Wizrobes creating an opening for him to pass them. Twilight spared a moment to be grateful to Wild for his accuracy. He was passing a tree when he noticed the scent of fresh blood coming from inside it. His ears pressed back and he quickly entered the tree’s base to find a cave. There were two assassins, one holding a bloody blade standing over a dark form while the other seemed to be talking with a Wizrobe. Twilight gave a low growl before barking as he lunged for the throat of the one holding the bloody weapon. As soon as he felt the man’s neck snap he turned to pounce on the Wizrobe but saw it was quickly making its way outside where Wild and the others were. With that out of the way he turned to the second assassin.

That one was holding something long and pointed, a needle of some sort. It made Twilight think of some things he had seen in Wild’s Kakariko Village before, one of the massage masters used them for helping deal with some of the groups’ over-sensitized nerves. It had an odd hue to the tip of it and when Twilight noticed a similar item piercing what seemed to be the neck of the dark form he realized that it was a sort of drug.

“Damn, I was hoping to get extra when I returned to the Baron with his prize. I hear that hi- urk!” The assassin was so focused on Twilight that he completely missed Wind entering the cave and shooting him.

Twilight felt saddened that Wind had to do that but he was more focused on the limp form that he was near. Now that the enemies were dealt with he clearly recognized Time and after shifting back he touched his back noticing that the bloody weapon had indeed been used on him. Time was deeply unconscious from whatever drug was on the needle like weapon and Twilight quickly but carefully removed it from his neck.

“Twilight?” Wind sounded worried.

“Go get Warriors for me, okay? I’ll need his help.”

“Okay.” Wind agreed and quickly left the cave.

Twilight sighed softly, his eyes anxiously running over Time’s body and noting what he could of the injuries the older hero had.

“What is going- Time!” Warriors lunged forward, dropping to his knees next to Twilight and running his hands over Time’s back. They got to his shoulder and it earned the two of them a pained cry though that was nothing compared to the sound they got pressing gently against the stab wound lower on his back.

“He’s going to need a potion, and I will need a fire as well as some clean water to clean this up.”

“I’ll go get Wild and a potion from Legend.”

“Hurry.”

Twilight quickly dove through the entrance to the cave and came face to face with Sky who was crouching to see inside.

“Lege-”

“WHat do you need?” Legend asked, cutting Twilight off.

“Red potion at least. Wild, Warriors asked me to get you too. We need a fire and fresh water.”

Wild gave a quick salute while hurrying inside the cave. Legend sighed and entered it himself. Wind seemed anxious while Hyrule was consoling him. Twilight debated about going inside to help with Time again but figured Hyrule or Sky would be better choices.

“We noticed two wounds that were bleeding, and he was drugged.” Twilight told Sky who frowned but nodded. He stood and turned to look around.

“This is your Hyrule, right?”

“More or less.”

“Are there any plants near us that you recognize that would knock someone out?”

“There is a red flower that grows in some meadows that does, but only in concentrated doses. I’ve only had very limited amounts of it in Kakariko where a healer is.”

Warriors apparently heard that and started cursing at length, the words were such that Time would be scolding him for his language if he was awake. Sky nodded grimly before entering the cave to help Warriors tend to Time. Four followed him while looking thoughtful, before long Four dragged one of the two assassins out of the cave and dropped him at Twilight’s feet. Twilight recognized it as the one he’d broken the neck of. He stared at it numbly.

“I would do it again.” Wind said, his voice soft but determined.

“Hmm?”

“I would shoot him again. Anything if it meant saving one of you.”

Twilight looked at him and noticed that seeing the body had helped him somehow. He nodded, then looked back at the body, noticing that the other assassin was next to him too.

“You saved him, you know?”

“Did I?”

“His weapon was drugged, it’s how they took Time down.. at least I think it is.”

“Then I’m glad. I… I don’t want to lose anyone.”

“Mind being here while I follow his trail? I want to see what I find at the other end of it.”

“You don’t want company?”

“I do, but I want to make sure no one will sneak up on the others more. You did well catching someone sneaking up on me earlier.”

Wind seemed proud of that and nodded. “Okay.”

Twilight nodded back then transformed into his wolf form again. The smell of blood hit him hard and he backed away from the cave before taking off. It was surprisingly easy to follow Time’s scent once he caught the change to it. Somehow it turned much more woody and like he was following a plant instead of a person. Eventually he would have to ask about that but for now he was more focused on finding where Time had been and possibly rescuing anything that might have been left behind while he was attacked.

The first thing he became aware of was that something soft was under him. Time wanted to simply curl into that softness and drift away again but a hazy sense that he had been attacked last time he had been awake prevented him from doing so. That was followed by the throbbing ache from his shoulder and back, they hurt in a way that told him the wounds had been treated but not healed completely. It was also that which prompted him to open his eye.

Grey fur met his sight, a very familiar pelt of grey fur. He tried to command his hand to move, wanting to feel the familiar soft warmth, but exhaustion prevented him from doing so… at least he hoped it was simply exhaustion. A low sound left his throat prompting the body he was laying against to tense, one pointed ear flicking back towards him. A soft bark followed that ear flick making Time wonder what was going on.

“He awake?”

The question got a soft rumble and Time sighed, his eye slipping shut.

“Hey, come on. I need you to stay awake for a moment. Can you do that?”

Those words taunted him, Time felt like they were important. He also felt his breathing pick up after hearing them, it was draining his strength faster than he thought possible. The distant sound of someone cursing drifted through the haze that seemed to settle over him.

"Little hero, you are among friends. It is safe."

He knew that, Wolfie was a perfect sign of that.

"They are trying to give you a potion."

“That bad?” Time wasn’t sure if he spoke that or if it was only to Kishin he said the words. A gentle hand on his cheek helped to ground him. His eye fluttered open again to see Sky’s worried gaze. It was only seeing the gentle relief on his face that Time realized he’d been starting to panic again… and then the bottle at his lips captured his attention. He drank what was poured into his mouth, slowly draining the bottle.

“That’s it. Thank you, Time.” 

Was that Warriors? He sounded worried.

"You almost died on them. Blood loss."

"Oh."

“Think you can manage some soup?” Wild asked, crouching down with a mug of soup in his hands.

Time noticed Sky watching something and belatedly remembered that Sky could sometimes see Kishin, especially when the Deity took over or helped him out more directly.

“Yes?”

A slight laugh followed his answer and soon Time was helped to sit against Wolfie while Warriors fed him the soup. It sent blissful warmth through him leaving Time wondering how he had gotten so cold before remembering Kishin’s words about almost dying from blood loss.

“You found me.”

“We did, thanks to Twilight.”

Wolfie’s ears twitched and Time hummed, wanting to move his hand to rest in the soft grey fur. Warriors clearly saw his expression and guessed what he wanted because as Time was lowered to lay down again his hand was moved to rest on Wolfie’s back. He gave a soft contented sigh as he drifted off again.

He was running again, trees seeming to shift to block the ones following him as Link tried to find a safe spot to rest for a moment. He ducked as he felt the slightest hint of danger, his sword flashing through the air to cut down the Lizalfos that tried to sneak up on him. His eye glanced over his shoulder to see that the group had shrunk significantly from what he’d first dealt with but there were still enough monsters he needed a small break or a good choke point to fight them all.

At least the children were safe. He managed that much.

Link swore under his breath as he realized that they were trying to force him into the desert. Oh he knew it was this way but he hadn’t realized they were slowly trying to force him that way. Ducking under another attack he rolled, away from the desert. Once he was on his feet again Link raced through a section of the woods he knew held monsters, Stalfos and the like. The ones behind him hesitated for a moment, just long enough for him to manage to get some distance. Within the forest some distance was more than enough to give him a break to catch his breath and down a mouthful of blue potion.

Turning back to them he raised his hands, magic swirling in warning before he unleashed the fire magic he’d learned so very long ago.

“Time! Come on, old man. You have to wake up!”

Time gasped as he jerked, freed from his dream… no from the vision unexpectedly.

“You back with us?” Legend asked, his eyes scanning Time’s face.

“I think so.” Time replied, his eye darting around the cave trying to remember where he was and what was happening.

Legend caught that and his eyes narrowed. He seemed to want to say something but refrained from doing so. Instead he turned to Hyrule and made a few small gestures. Hyrule moved closer to Time, as did Legend.

“Well it seems the potion helped you some. I still think you’ll be better off fully healed.”

“That sounds… wonderful honestly.”

Hyrule smiled gently as he began to work his healing magic. Time sighed softly as he felt the familiar magic wash over him. He didn’t realize as he began to hum to himself, the song one that always seemed to draw fairies to him. As he was getting ready to move Time noticed fairies settling around the cave, gently checking each of the others before giggling and dancing through the place. He smiled at them and shifted away from Wolfie’s side, pausing to give his descendant a reassuring pet.

He decided to check on each of the others himself and got up shakily. As he checked on the others the fairies began to bring them each flowers and to play with their hair, he was no exception even if it did make him want to settle next to Wolfie… next to Twilight again and sleep. As he got to where Wild, Warriors, and Twilight were settled Time was abruptly yanked into the small pile. He blinked dazedly for a moment before checking and seeing that everyone had settled into the pile around him. Huffing a laugh he relaxed and closed his eye.

“Sleep now, worry tomorrow. Got that?” Legend demanded, sitting near Time’s head instead of joining the group properly. Time suspected that Legend was on watch and was oddly okay with that.

“... yeah. I think I can do that.”

“Good.” Legend nodded satisfied. His hand moved to play with Time’s hair, the sensation helping to relax him back to sleep almost as much as the warmth radiating off the ones around him. “You’re safe with us. I promise, we won’t let anything happen to you that we can stop.”

The words helped and finally banished the vision of monsters and such chasing him through the woods. When Time closed his eye this time it was to dreams of helping collect apples in Legend’s orchard, corralling the goats with Twilight, and joining Wind on some of his adventures. During them he saw the children again, the girl laughing brightly as she climbed onto Warriors’ shoulders to reach some apples while the boy clung to Four’s hand while Four told him about the goats, and he smiled happily. That was why he did this after all, to keep his family safe.

[crazylittlejester]

DAILY BRAINROT

Disclaimer: If nothing I say makes sense, it's probably because I'm so stressed I almost set the microwave on fire.

I'm glad to see that the Warriors knits headcanon is alive and well. In fact, it is thriving. This brings me immense joy because I've been losing my mind over it for the past several months, and it looks like it's here to stay. :) The best part is when someone writes a scene where Legend is embroidering/sewing and Warriors is knitting, and they're BONDING OVER THEIR CRAFTS.

In other news, I am seriously considering making glowing Warriors' power and having it be kind of like those glow-in-the-dark stickers people put on the ceilings of their kids' bedrooms. Hear me out. He can be powered by the sun, like a solar panel, and store the extra energy to do Cool Superhero Stuff with. The unfortunate side effect being that he tends to burn off excess energy by glowing in the dark. This means he has been explicitly banned from working night shifts because his cover would be blown.

It also means that he's the perfect nightlight for kids with nightmares.

I'm really looking forward to writing up more of the first meeting stories now that I've gotten the one about Legend & Wild posted, but since I'm making myself wait until I get the next chapter of Hyrule's fic up I'm just going to ramble at you about it instead.

I haven't decided which one to do next, but I have thought about the one for the trio (I also need a better name to refer to them). Anyway, I'm thinking that Twilight and Warriors actually grew up knowing each other, but sort of lost touch for a little while. Twilight was busy with the Twili stuff and getting used to his new abilities, while Warriors was in the middle of the mess with Cia. Sometime after that, they get back in touch, and they've both decided that they want to move out. Twilight wants to leave Ordon because he feels uncomfortable there now, and Warriors wants to move to a different district in Castletown to avoid anything related to Cia. Right around the same time, Sky is looking for roommates because he doesn't want to go to college in Skyloft or something. Ghirahim probably has something to do with it because I kind of doubt that he'd be very chill about Sky killing his master... Regardless, they get introduced to each other and the rest is history.

Slightly related to that, Sky is going to be an interesting combination of ideas here and is quickly becoming a favorite of mine for this project. He's kind of similar to Time because he's an incredibly powerful individual that dropped off the radar. He showed up, kicked villain butt, and then vanished (curtesy of Sun). I'm poking him because I have a lot of ideas about that. Maybe he doesn't like thinking about it? Maybe he doesn't remember what he did? Maybe it wasn't actually him and he was just possessed or something? Could he maybe be the source material for the experiment that made Wild? Is he just like this or is it trauma or his power(s) or did someone else do this to him?

Gnawing on all these questions as if I don't have things due tonight.

IM SO SORRY DUDE. they call me the kitchen appliance killer, i think the only thing safe from me is the stove and the blender- but i’m also afraid of fire so like, i don’t go near the stove anyway lmao 🕺 but fr I really hope you feel less stressed :(

YES YES YES. I love the wars knits headcanon it’s everything to me, i’ve been tryin to find a good place to throw it in a fic. AND WARS AND LEGEND BONDING OVER CRAFTS IS JUST PEAK

DO IT. DO IT, TAKE MY FUCKING MONEY. /j SOLAR POWERED NIGHT LIGHT GLOWSTICK WARS IS EVERYTHING TO ME

ooooooh okay okay, i like it >:)

istg the ‘hero/vigilante’ type au turning sky into peoples favorites is a real thing, it happened to me writing FH9. He’s my FAVORITE character in that ENTIRE au 😭 im so excited to see what you do with him in this 👁️👁️

remember to take care of yourself 🫶 get some water and snacks if you need em

[mid0khan]

Last Line Tag Game

I've been tagged by @samsalami66 and I'll take advantage of it to post a snippet of the Dream/Denial fic I have been working on for half a year now (already !). Thanks for the tag btw ^^

I hesitated to post a piece of the ninth chapter, because I'm really proud of it, but the game say last line, and I have started writing chapter 10, so have what I've done for it so far !

Hob looked up from the printing press, offering an apologetic smile to the nun who had interrupted his work. “I am sory, Suster, we ne sellen the Twilight bokes her, oonly the Bible!” He wiped his ink-stained hands on his richly embroidered coat as the nun berated him for the unfaithful books he was making when a familiar presence made him shiver. “Morpheus?” he called, looking around for his friend. But the lordly being was nowhere to be found. Hob shrugged, apologising to the irate Sister who was now sermonising at him about respecting his elders. He would have been really surprised if Morpheus had visited him here. … But where was here, exactly? The weirdness of the situation suddenly dawned on him. He looked around, noting all the incoherences of the place. He was working on one of Billy Caxton first printing presses, dressed in a mockery of the coat he had worn to Robin’s christening. The shop was a mix of his room when he had lived in Paris in the 1920s and his current office at the university he was teaching at, with the unfinished paintings on the walls and a bi flag in his “best teacher” mug on a desk. The place was filled to the brim with shelves sagging under the weight of thousands of copies of the Bible with a wonky Jesus drawn on the cover. “I’m dreaming, aren’t I?” he asked the nun, who stopped moving like an automaton running out of battery. The whole scenery started dissolving as Hob ran around the shop, desperately calling for Morpheus even though he knew the Endless was already gone. He couldn’t feel the tell-tale buzz of his presence anymore. The dream disappeared, revealing the closed doors of the Dreaming’s castle. Hob groaned in frustration and disappointment. He looked up to greet the griffin and startled when three pair of eyes met his. “Welcome back, Dreamer!” the griffin saluted him enthusiastically. “As you can see, my companions in duty came back since we last met.” “Hi guys,” Hob waved awkwardly. The hippogriff and the wyvern resting next to the griffin nodded in acknowledgement. “Am I still banned from the castle or can I go in this time?” “I am afraid you are still banned from entering, Robert Gadling,” the hippogriff neighed. “But the Royal Librarian expressed the desire to be informed of your next visit.” With its long, whip-like tail, the wyvern gave a heavy crystal ball to Hob, who looked at it quizzically. "To talk with someone, call their name,” the reptile explained. “The crystal will do the rest.” Hob stared into the iridescent reflections of the sphere with a newfound interest. If he called for Morpheus, could he talk to him? Could he really reach him so easily? His tongue itched with his friend’s name, but Hob forced himself to swallow it back. It would only scare Morpheus further, and rightfully so. It would be intrusive and a terrible breach of trust. No. No matter how much Hob craved to talk to his friend and make things right, he couldn’t force it. He had to let Morpheus come to him when he was ready. He could wait. Hob was good at waiting. He cleared his throat. “Loosh, are you there?” he asked the crystal ball.

Tagging @the-apocrypha , @embroiderling and @avelera , no pressure to participate of course !

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

Tagged by @rngaredead :)

For simplicity's sake I'm going to go with just my biDEMONium/trentcrimminallybeautiful ao3 and not try to combine it with my thesorrowoflizards one (why do i have more than one? because i was, among other things, an idiot who didn't know how pseuds worked next question) even though that would probably double some of these numbers lkfjgh

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Again, just on this account? 171 (some of those are oneshot compilations though)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

661,851 for now

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Ted Lasso, The Mysterious Benedict Society, The House on the Cerulean Sea, House MD, Death by Dying, Instinct, King Falls AM. Also, sort of Gravity Falls. Mostly those first two though, tbh. This one I think I will include other fandoms I've written and posted for on other accounts because it's fun and less about math. So also Shadowhunters, The Librarians, The Mentalist, The Dresden Files (TV), Roswell New Mexico, The Sandman, Star Trek, Professor Layton, Sanders Sides, Miraculous Ladybug, and sort of The Legend of Zelda. Also see, for unposted or posted a very long time ago and no longer something I would willingly share, Supernatural, Dirk Gently (both 2016 and 2010), Doctor Who, Warehouse 13, SurrealEstate, Person of Interest, Haven, Leverage, Bones. Psych, and probably more

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Ted Lasso Kisses Trent Crimm On The Mouth (Trent/Ted - 1,157 kudos)

semaphore (Trent/Ted; Trent & Colin - 997 kudos)

off the handle (Trent/Ted - 736 kudos)

linger (Trent/Ted - 709 kudos)

a preacher, a bikini, and a kiss or two (Trent/Ted; Diamond Dogs - 673 kudos)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to but I always get really busy/tired and then it's been so long it feels like it would be weird if I did. Plus, sometimes my answers by nature of the comments can get repetitive and then even though I'm being sincere I feel insincere which sucks. However, if a comment has a direct question or something I actually have like, something unique to say about, I'm much more likely to respond sooner rather than later/never. I appreciate every single comment soooo much though literally my motivation to get through the day like 80 percent of the time

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm going to stick with Ted Lasso fics here since I have so many fics posted and this is my Ted Lasso sideblog and say... well, most of the time I have a bittersweet ending and then some sort of hopeful epilogue (such as with ink sunset and make a mess of you) but I guess betrayal's sting / absolution's balm or something to get off my chest may qualify?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uhhh, honestly, most of them are happy endings. I think trick & treat and matters of the heart end on particularly high notes?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not in this fandom! Yet

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh, yeah, baby. So much. Not sure what "kind" means in this context. It sure is explicit smut. I have tended almost exclusively towards hot transgender sex the last few years because. yknow. hi. but somehow I don't think that's the intention in the question.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I do, but I haven't posted a lot. Only one on this account (a Gravity Falls x The Mysterious Benedict Society crossover that started as a joke because of a shared actress) although I had an interesting Shadowhunters x The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess fusion on my other account. I've written some pretty weird WIPs, though. And I've got some posts about Ted Lasso crossover/AUs, like a Sarah Jane Adventures AU, a Pushing Daisies AU, a Stardust AU... You can find that kind of thing in this tag on my blog.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes. Not in this fandom, though, as far as I'm aware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Again, not in this fandom, though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh, man, I don't know if I can decide. Magnus/Alec (TV version only I'll die on this hill) will always hold a special place in my heart, but I've got other "obsessed with this when I was a kid" ships and also recency bias/current hyperfixation means Trent/Ted screams as an immediate answer, and so on and so forth. I'm bad at picking favorites. Overall, I'd probably say one of those two, or both.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Sticking to Ted Lasso again (I have. so many MBS WIPs. god.) I'd say lost sight of (who you are) (lost motivation, want to finish, fuck!!) or sweeter than heaven (hotter than hell) (got mad at it), or!! oh!!! ink sunset (stuck) and possibly the next installment of matters of the heart. Yeah, I have a problem

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty good at being funny and also at eloquent but perhaps a little too verbose metaphors. I love me an elaborate metaphor

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

It's hard for me to focus and get what I have in my head out sometimes, even when I really want to. Whether it's being unable to organize or just my brain flat-out refusing to cooperate and do anything. Also, I'm way too like. easily discouraged with lack of feedback, and even a little negative feedback can kind of ruin my week and make me never wanna go back to that story ever again.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I just realized. The questions seemed familiar but I wasn't sure why and now I know, now that I've gotten to this question. I have done this game before and I remember bc of this question. I was confused bc it was under a different name, I think the questions were in a different order, and it was sometimes slightly differently worded but nope! This is the same one! Weird Anyway, just for this particular question, I'm going to copy-paste my old answer because I'm lazy. I’m extremely bad at linguistics in general, so if I must include someone talking in another language in my fic, I think I’d tend to cheat and do italics or some other indication that this is ‘in another language’ (ie “Where are you going?” she asked in Russian), but that’s admittedly a lazy approach. But I also think it’s probably better than butchering it with an auto-translator? Also, when people just include the translation in the end notes, even with a link (although that makes it marginally better) it breaks the flow of the story and makes it hard to read. Making an effort to at least match grammar is good (which I would do if it was for longer than a single scene, probably) but I think the best solution is when people know what they’re doing and like, have an actual translation with a little html code so you can click on it and it reveals what it means? Or if you’re clever, revealing what it means using context around it, but that has its own limitations. So that both like, uses the actual language and doesn’t break up the flow. It balances accessibility, flow, and respect for the other language in question well. But you’ve got to both know what you’re doing with the language (either asking someone/hiring someone/knowing the language yourself) and the html (although there are guides for that you’d have to spend time figuring it out + know it exists in the first place to look). And this is fanfiction, something we ultimately do for free in our spare time, so the lazy approach, I think, can be understandable. Maybe not in every context, but it’s not worth stressing a lot over in a few random lines or anything, you know? It is really cool when people do know a language well enough to include it properly in a fic, though, it can say a lot about a character or dynamic; and their background(s) and like. it’s neat :)

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Ever? Doctor Who. And I don't remember the order, but after that I know I wrote some stuff about Star Trek (mostly TNG but I believe also TOS), Supernatural, A:LTA, Marvel, WTNV, and the Stanley Parable? I think I first posted either Supernatural or WTNV

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I have no idea. Some of my top ones (for Ted Lasso again) would be matters of the heart and trick & treat I suppose?

Tagging: whoever wants to do this man, I probably tagged everyone I'd normally tag last time so if you see this and you wanna do it, go ahead and tag me and do it!

[whateverithinkof]

AO3 Year-End Roundup, 2024

So I happened to see this post by @crackinglamb recently, and I thought that the whole idea of a year-end roundup was amazing. So I decided to do my own! :)

Total words posted (all-time): 148,154

Words written this year: ~136K

Total kudos (all-time): 1,675

Kudos this year: 1,621

Total hits (all-time): 51,209

Hits this year: 48,203

Total user subscriptions (all-time): 32

User subscriptions this year: 32

Total comments (all-time): 472

Comments this year: 470

Total bookmarks (all-time): 581

Bookmarks this year: 554

Total work subscriptions (all-time): 676

Work subscriptions this year: 647

Fandoms I've written for (5): Harry Potter, Yuri On Ice, Hamilton, MCU, Percy Jackson

Fandoms I've read from (36): Percy Jackson, MCU, Harry Potter, DC, Criminal Minds, Teen Wolf, Dear Evan Hansen, Red White & Royal Blue, The Greatest Showman, Sherlock, NCIS, The Mick, Newsies, Nimona, Twisted Wonderland, Twilight, Coco, The Outsiders, Yuri On Ice, Obey Me, Hannibal, Good Omens, Dracula, Mamma Mia, Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Avatar The Last Airbender, Black Butler, Descendants, Haikyuu, Supernatural, BTS, A Biltmore Christmas, Seventeen

Works: 18, 15 of them new

Highest kudos: lookin' up now ('cause i am royalty), at 624. Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson (PJO). Rated T, 16/? chapters, 64,387 words.

Highest hits: lookin' up now ('cause i am royalty), at 24,730. Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson (PJO). Rated T, 16/? chapters, 64,387 words.

Highest kudos one-shot: Miracle, at 181. Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov (YOI). Rated T, 5,601 words.

Highest hit one-shot: Miracle, at 3,868. Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov (YOI). Rated T, 5,601 words.

New things I tried: This is the first year I've really written a lot fanfic-wise, with 2023 being the first year I ever posted a fanfic, so the main new thing I tried this year was writing fanfiction. But other than that, some new things I tried this year were:

Grammarly: I'm not kidding, I got Grammarly like maybe a year ago? A year and a half ago? So while technically in 2023, I only started using it for fanfics in 2024. It feels crazy to think about, as I use Grammarly a lot now, but I'm glad I started using it then because it really does make a difference. (Not sponsored, lol)

My Hero Academia: I wasn't in the fandom before this year, but I've kinda become obsessed. I haven't written anything for it (yet), but the sheer number of like hundred thousand-word-long fics that there are is like heaven for me.

Yuri on Ice: I originally watched Yuri on Ice on YouTube in 2021, and I. Loved. It. I looked for a second season and was so excited to see that there was a movie planned, but, well... we all know how that went. I didn't really read many fanfics back then, but 2024 was the year for Yuri on Ice fanfics for me. (Notedly my YOI one-shot series Next Level, which currently has 6 fics and the 200+ YOI fics I've read over 2024)

Fic I spent the most time on: lookin' up now ('cause i am royalty), Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson (PJO). Rated T, 16/? chapters, 64,387. I know I keep mentioning it, but seriously this WIP is going to be long. I'm so excited to keep writing it, but the chapters take me forever and a day. 😭 I wish they didn't take me as long, but I think it's worth it for the longer chapters. This fic is what I always wanted to read myself, and I'm happy to be the one to give it to many readers who are also just as excited about it!

Fic I spent the least time on: Moonlight Sonata, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov (YOI). Rated G, 1,482. I was feeling really depressed at the time that I wrote this, and sometimes when I'm feeling really sad I listen to piano and instrumental music. So when this song came on, I got inspired to write. I wrote it in one night, editing, tagging, posting, and all.

Favorite thing I wrote: Moonlight Sonata is honestly my favorite thing I've ever written. It's the type of fic that I don't think many people read, but I loved writing it. It's just a simple story. (lookin' up now ('cause i am royalty) is also one of my favs, but I think that's pretty obvious at this point if you've read all of my previous answers)

Favorite thing I read: This is a tough one... I've read a lot of fics this year, but my top three (that I can think of right now) are:

We Forgot Peter by inkinmyheartandonthepage [Peter Parker & The Avengers (MCU), Rated G, 506,700]: This entire series is just ✨perfection✨. Sometimes angst is just the way to go, and seeing as I love the Avengers and Peter Parker, I just love this.

Leap of Faith by alighterwood and ErinWantsToWrite [Dick Grayson & Peter Parker (MCU & DC), Rated T, 460,010]/A Long Way From Home (And No Way Back) by Vivia_wants_boba [Batfamily Members & Peter Parker (MCU & DC), Rated T, 78,129]: More marvel Peter Parker fics, but this time these two are Peter Parker in Gotham fics. They’re pretty popular (for good reason!), and these two are the ones that I’ve been obsessed with.

The Collector by AwkwaAMO [Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku (MHA), Not Rated, 136,945]: One of the best MHA fics I’ve read so far, it sort of covers a vigilante Izuku with a villain-ish quirk, which I love reading about. I do want to write an MHA fic at some point, maybe even in 2025.

Something I finished: 😬 Unfortunately I can’t really think of any fics or series I’ve finished this year (other than one-shots), but I think 2025’s the year for me. I might look at this at the end of next year and still be disappointed in myself that I didn’t finish anything, but I’m determined to at least try.

Miscellaneous highlights:

Posted my first Yuri on Ice fic called Unfaithful [Katsuki Yuuri & Yuri Plisetsky & Otabek Altin (YOI), Rated T, 2,375] in May

Started my first two-shot called Lay All Your Love On Me - Mamma Mia [Yuuri Katsuki/Victor Nikiforov (YOI), Rated T, 2,849] in June

I followed the (slightly old) trend of Yuuri doing the first quad axel in my fic aptly named Quad Axel [Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov (YOI), Rated G, 1,416] in June as well

Writing goals for 2025: My main writing goal for 2025 is to finish writing some of my WIPs, but I think another important one is to keep on top of updates. I haven’t been the best with updating all my fics in the last half of 2024, so in 2025 I want to make sure I don’t just spend all my time on one fic. It wouldn’t be that big of a problem if I actually finished that fic, but… my first goal is pretty indicative of the problem with that, lol.

Final thoughts: Overall I think 2024 was the first year I really dove head-first into fanfic. It’s been amazing to be able to write down any kind of story I think of and know that I can just upload it so that people who also enjoy the idea can see it. It’s also crazy that I wrote 130,000+ words, like I hope to be able to write even more in 2025, but still. It’s a lot.

This year I also got 32 subscribers to my AO3 profile, which I thought was crazy. I know many people subscribe to stories to keep track of any updates, but wanting to keep track of what I write? It’s amazing to think about. 😅

Thank you to all my amazing readers! 💞 2024 has been crazy, and I hope 2025 brings us many good fics and lots of happiness ❤️

[magnificentcenturyfics]

So.. anything Hürrem and Süleyman related😁 like maybe filler scenes that could've been in the show, but weren't, that would add to their relationship.. there is this post for ideas, but if I think of something more detailed I'll send another ask. sorry if this is kinda vague

Okay, so based on your prompts you probably wouldn't mind a silly fluff piece, which, lucky you, that is exactly what I wrote! Just. The most no-plot, all-romance fic ever. Call it Massage or something. Featuring some horniness and A LOT of physical contact.

***

After that first night, Alexandra was woken up way too early by something she could not quite place, untill she realized that Süleyman wasn’t next to her. She sat up at the bed, thoughts still lousy and pained eyes closing on their own, and forced her sore thighs to move in order to get out of bed. In the dark, she saw the sillhouette of her lover creeping to the door. „Süleyman?“

„Alexandra? You’re awake?“

„How could I sleep without you next to me?“

„I wish I could never leave my bed without you, then, but the morning prayer is fast approaching and I need to clean myself of... The last night.“

„You’re going to the mosque?“

His tone was slightly bemused. „No. Don’t fear, I’ll come back to bed soon. You can go back to sleep, Alexandra.“

But she was already seized by the image of him in a bath, too intrigued to pass the opportunity. „Can I go to the bath with you?“

Süleyman laughed. „Alexandra, I can’t sully myself again mere minutes before the morning prayer.“

„I’ll behave myself! I won’t try anything, it’s just... I am dirty too, you know?“

Süleyman’s voice was gentle, but he didn’t exactly give her the answer she wanted. „Go back to bed.“

„You don’t trust me?“

„After the last night? I certainly wouldn’t with keeping your hands to yourself.“

Alexandra moved towards him in fast steps. „C’mon! You know I’m...“ Suddenly, she became more serious. „I wouldn’t disobey my sultan like that. Not if it’s that important for him.“

A moment of silence, then an answer. „Alright. Come with me, then.“

   Sultan’s bath wasn’t as large as theirs in the harem, but it was still larger than she imagined one person might need – otherwise, it was similar enough to the one concubines used, golden screen covering the left half aside. The sky above was slowly turning lighter blue, but the twilight still hasn’t quite began. Süleyman let her behind the golden screen with him, but didn’t pay much attention to her afterwards. Undaunted, she stood next to him covered only by his own robe and watched him wash himself intently, murmuring something that sounded like Arabic. She figured it’s a muslim thing – she saw girls who already converted do that before, and while she didn’t quite understand it, she just assumed it has something to do with religion, because what else would the random slave girls and the great sultan Süleyman have in common? At that, she felt a pang of jealousy; she certainly doesn’t have that connection with him... Maybe conversion wasn’t such a preposterous idea? „Süleyman?“

„Please, be quiet and wash yourself, Alexandra.“ he murmured.

„What are you doing?“

„Alexandra, please, leave me alone, I’ll explain later.“

   Alexandra sat down on a seat by the wall, somewhat offended. She tried to focus on bathing, but her eyes couldn’t help but fly towards Süleyman and watch the strange, overly pedantic manner in which he was washing himself. He stopped just as she started to sing a song she heard from a Poprad merchant.

Za lasami za gorami za dolinami Pobili sie dwaj gorale ciupagami Hej gorale nie bijta sie Ma goralka dwa warkocze podzielita sie

„Is this some kind of christian prayer?“ he asked.

Alexandra barely contained a giggle. She had no idea how much did the sultan know about christian rites, but surely, he could not believe something so silly...? „No.“ she said with a smile on her face. „Why would it be? Do you think I’d pray in a bath? And to the christian god, at that?“

„It’s just a song, then.“

„Yes. Why...“

„See, because what I was just performing was a ritual cleanse. No good muslim can pray whilst unclean, and intercourse is one of the things that can cause such uncleanliness.“

He explained it to her in such a serious tone, as if it at all mattered to her, and it wasn’t that hard to understand why – sultan wished to make a muslim out of her. Still, she could not help herself. „You sounded like Suklum now.“

„Suklum?“

„The man... Well, he’s not a man, but you know. The one that teaches us stuff.“

„Oh... I think you mean Sümbül...“

„Whatever! He’s not here to get offended.“

Süleyman could not supress a smirk. He sat down a bit farther away than she wished him to be – if they weren’t already undressed, it would look like he’s trying to prevent people from getting the wrong idea. „That song... What was it about?“

„Nothing, really. Two guys are fighting, and someone, it’s not clear who, tells them that they can share. Hej gorale nie bijta sie... Ma goralka z produ z tylu podzielita sie... Hey, gorals, don’t fight, Goral woman has front and behind, you’ll share...“

Süleyman’s look alone made her burst out laughing. He was... Terrified? Mesmerized? Offended? Everything all at once, and some emotions no human tongue has names for? „You make me regret even being muslim, you know that? If I did not have to keep myself clean...“

She leaned towards him. „Then what?“

„Then I’d do you things I shouldn’t even name out loud.“ he said, voice deep and tempting.

She wanted to ask whether it’s not time for prayer already, but then she remembered muslims need to be called to it first. The call of muezzins was inescapeable in this city, like church bells, only stranger. „I mean... What’s one missed prayer if you have to do them five times a day?“

Süleyman gave her a stern look. „Don’t say such things to the kalif of islam.“

„What does that even mean...?“

   But he didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his head away from her and grimaced. „I slept in a wrong possition and strained my neck and shoulders. It happens.“ he answered her bewildered look.

Alexandra beamed. „Oh, I can help with that! There is a girl in harem, Emine, whose whole deal is that she gives valide sultan massages. I saw her do her work sometimes, and while I can’t be as good as her, I can at least try...“

Süleyman smirked. „Alright. I’ll humor you, then.“

   Alexandra stood behind him, laying hands on his neck and trying to remember what exactly did Emine do with valide. Massage was such a strange concept to her, like caressing except harder, but for some reason it sometimes felt good when your flesh was treated a little roughly. No matter. Touch was such a strange sense anyway; the same thing was barely felt at one part of her body, was somewhat unpleasant at other and on yet another felt very, very good... God, what even was it that happened last night? How is it even possible for a human body to feel like that? Shouldn’t it be one of those things is reserved for angels in presence of God or something? And do muslims even have angels...?

   She applied some pressure trough her thumbs – not a lot, just enough to make their contact something more than just a touch. „Tell me if it hurts, alright?“

He laughed. „Don’t worry, Alexandra, the great sultan won’t be affraid to tell you, a simple concubine, what he wants.“

She giggled. „Oh, you can be funny too!“ she noted in suprise.

„Thank you, Alexandra, but... You’re going too soft.“

„Oh! Of course.“

So she pressed a bit more, very carefully.

„More, Alexandra! And move your fingers.“

„I know you can’t just press your hands on someone and call it a massage, I at least caught that from watching Emine!“

   However, then she realized that her outburst brought down the mood in the room, and felt ashamed of it. She tried to mollify Süleyman by kissing the top of his bald head and moving on with the massage, pressing as hard as she dared and sliding her thumbs up and down Süleyman’s neck. Slowly, she started using her other fingers and a range of movement, in a straight line or a circle as she pleased; it was so much fun to experiment, test the possibilities and boundaries, especially since Süleyman’s displeasure was so mild, expressed in small movements and sounds she watched for carefully. She could feel Süleyman’s body gradually relax, which brought her so much joy she eventually dared to move on from his neck to shoulders, which he seemed to appreciate. After a few minutes, he whispered. „Kiss me.“

„Huh?“

„Kiss my neck, Alexandra.“

   He certainly did not need to tell her twice – she herself thought of doing it since they started, but supressed that desire to focus on the task at hand. Now, she kissed him eagerly, almost hungrily, every patch of the royal flesh was an icon and this was her own private mass. Suddenly, his hand shot up to caress her cheek and hair, at which point Alexandra burried her nose in the nape of his neck. She wanted to get lost in him so badly, land her hands, chest and belly on his, and bellow the waist to connect to him like chain links are bound one into the other... At that thought, she felt the now familiar pang of sweet pain. God, he smelled so nice.

He continued to caress her, untill he murmured. „Come here.“ And then he tapped on his thighs.

She almost giggled at the thought of sitting on his knees like a little girl, but when she actually tried it, she realized it has its benefits. She could look right into his eyes, touch his chest and shoulders (she especially liked running her fingers trough his chest hair – if only he had much of them on his head like a normal person, but alas), put her hands around his neck or kiss him on the mouth or face, all the while feeling his penis right bellow her ass and knowing immediately whether he happens to be aroused. And right now, he was very much so. He soon started kissing her, and even muezzin’s call didn’t stop him.

   That day, sultan Süleyman khan, the caliph of all islam, the leader of all muslims and custodian of Mekka and Medina missed his morning prayers.

---

He didn’t ask her to massage him very often, but by the time he came home from the Belgrade campaign, she still did it enough times to suss out what he likes and what he doesn’t. It also sufficed to completely change her view of massage as an act; upon seeing Emine massage valide’s age-battered back, her mind was filled with all kinds of inappropriate intrusive thoughts, and she staunchly refused Maria’s offers to take care of her feet, on which the late stage of her pregnancy did a number on. Sometimes, she casted longing looks at valide’s relaxed appearance upon leaving the bath, and thought that, perhaps, if she put her mind to it, she might just take Maria’s help while fending off all the filth that took up residence inside her head... But then she dismissed the thought; her fear of being inappropriate was, in one of the rare cases, stronger than pain.

   The doctor was quite clear that intimacy at this late stage of pregnancy was best to be avoided, but Süleyman just came back from war and truly couldn’t wait for her to give birth; and, frankly, Hürrem wouldn’t want him to. In the first couple of months, she thought she was going to handle his absence somewhat, but as she started showing, Hürrem was hit with a frankly shocking wave of nasty thoughts. It was quite fortunate that she had to rely on Nigar to write her letters, because if Hürrem had her way, her letters would probably be torturous to the lonely man far from home and any kind of female company. And so, upon reuniting, she and Süleyman as one decided (after the whole thing with the poisoning was sorted out) to forego doctor’s advice and experiment.

(After bearing five healthy children, Hürrem was certain that the common advice to avoid intimacy during pregnancy at all costs was simply nonsense, or at least for women much more delicate than her. In fact, with how strong her urges became sometimes, she was quite sure she’d herself more by maintaining celibacy for the entire seven or eight months that she knew she is expecting.)

   „I wonder if I could even enter you like this.“ he laughed as she lied on her back in bed, legs spread, although still covered with skirt. „The belly would be... A challenge.“

„I mean, you could try.“ she mused. „But I think if I sit on your lap... No, no, that isn’t quite...“

„You were probably thinking of laying me on my back, you little minx.“ he laughed, lifting up her skirt and taking her right heel in his hand.

   He planted a quick kiss on it, only to stop suddenly. „Your legs, they...“

„Yes, I know, they look abominably, and it’s all the fault of your son! My poor little female body simply cannot carry such a big, strong boy everywhere I go...“

„Hürrem, you’re one of the tallest women I’ve ever met...“

„So what? Hatice is even taller! Clearly, a woman can be both tall and fragile!“

He laughed some more, then stopped suddenly, becoming more serious. „It must hurt.“

„Oh, it does! But not more than is normal for expecting women, I was told.“

   He had her waiting for his next move, but when it came... It started out quite nicely already, with him running his hands trough her tortured calves. But as he went on, his caresses became harder and harder, with him putting more pressure on the tips of his fingers and moving more deliberately. When the movements of his hands started shifting between straight and circular, she knew what he was doing. „Thank you.“ she said in a quiet, moved, almost reverrent tone. Her interactions with Süleyman may have been to a certain extent devoid of the usual overbearing adoration towards His Majesty that she otherwise felt all around her, but even in her most relaxed moments Hürrem knew she could not do or ask some things of him that she perhaps could of a hypothetical husband (or Leo). Since she could not automathically expect any care for her well-being from the great sultan Süleyman, it was all the more precious for her that he did, in fact, care, and could for a moment drop his usual inscrutable façade to be tender, just for her sake.

   She sat up on the bed and leaned trough her enlarged belly to kiss his forehead. „Better?“ he whispered.

„Of course! You always make the pain go away...“

---

It was twenty-five years later. As the last servant left Hürrem’s chamber, she dragged her heavy legs onto the bed, while Süleyman sat next to her and started caressing her left foot. „Age has caught up to you, my love?“

She smiled. „It would seem so.“

„One wouldn’t think that, looking into your face. You’re as beautiful as you’ve always been...“

„Oh, so are you, my dearest!“ As a cramp gripped one of the smaller muscles on her calf, she crunched her face in pain. „It wouldn’t have been nearly so bad if I still took a few hours a day to walk barefoot in the gardens like I used to.“

„Perhaps.“ Süleyman said, bending towards her leg. „But, remember when your legs gave you grief last time? All those years ago, when you were pregnant for the first time?“ He then dazed her with a mischievious smile. „I think it’s time to take out the old remedies.“

He caught her ankle and started with slow, gentle strokes of his thumb...

[wisteria-blooms]

LOGGED INTO TUMBLR, WENT TO YOUR PAGE, SAW YOU'D REBLOGGED SUNBURNS AND DRAGONS. NEARLY HAD A HEART ATTACK AND A HALF. omg.

in all seriousness though haha how are you? how have you been? i really hope you're doing well and that this time of the year is treating you well. it's easy to forget to stay hydrated (especially if it's cold where you are!!!), so remember to drink lots of water <33

sending you lots of inspiration and lots of fun to be had while writing. i will be cheering you on from my little corner of the world, which is always a little more brightly lit each time i run into you on my tumblr feed (said times are always orchestrated, since my post notifs for you are on haha).

stay cozy and happy!!! if you ever need a pick-me-up, i would like you to remember that you're pretty much my god. but seriously, i love both the bill and charlie series so much, it's not even funny. publish them or else 🔫

love,

anon who sent you a long paragraph ask a little while ago!!! (it ended with this emoji 🛐 i think lol)

ps. you asked me who i'd rather date HAHAHA my answer is charlie oops wby

pps. SORRY FOR COMING ON HERE TO PRETTY MUCH LOVEBOMB YOU EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE. you can tell me to stop.

I'm just gonna say that this message pretty much got me to say okay, go sit down, finish the chapter, and post that thing. SO THE NEXT CHAPTER IS ACTUALLY HERE. Also, I am absolutely okay with lovebombing. You are so excite-able and pleasant and I absolutely love interacting with you hahahaha.

I hope you're well, too!! It hasn't even snowed here. Do you have any plans for the upcoming holiday season?? Are you writing or reading anything fun?

Okay, but you know how 50 Shades is Twilight fanfiction and Ali Hazelwood is like, Kylo Ren fanfiction? Imagine (in a far-fetched world) I decide to change some names and try to get someone to publish these fics as books. Someone would be like, oh yeah, that's Charlie Weasley fanfiction, she just changed his name. I would die.

Me when I see your asks: 🛐🛐🛐🛐

[butterflydm]

fic updates & WoT time skips

Next week, I'm going to be posting my post-canon story where Mat pulls his Seanchan long con (so, when I say 'post-canon', I mean... a ways into the future).

My current plans re: Voice is to probably start posting the next fic about a month after S2 has finished airing but that's pretty flexible. If S2 gives me a bunch of fic ideas, I might want to strike while the iron is hot.

But right now, I'm currently working out the detailed outline for the next fic in Voice series, and one of the things that I really had to pay attention to in the next section is the Seanchan because this fic runs through... it looks like A Crown of Swords, but the history of this AU changes the timing on the Seanchan quite a bit. And another thing I needed to think about was forkroot tea.

Spoilers through Crossroads of Twilight below

So. Forkroot tea. In the books, it was the discovery of a single person in the middle of a small village in Amadicia (Ronde Macura). Theoretically, Nynaeve & co might have run across her town on their way to Salidar, but they had no reason to stop into the shop to check in on the Yellow's eyes and ears, because they already know where they're going (due to Perrin's TAR communications with Egwene). It was Elayne and Nynaeve's encounter with Ronde that led to her sending the information about forkroot to the White Tower. Elaida then treats her horribly and she ends up despising the Aes Sedai and hooking up with the Seanchan, giving that secret away to them as well. None of those events have happened in Voice and Ronde is just... you know, chilling in her village.

Should I try to come up with a different narrative justification for knowledge of forkroot tea spreading or just let it remain one woman's secret, off in a tiny village in Amadicia? Hmm.

The other outstanding question that I am working on answering is how far the Seanchan will have progressed in their invasion by the end of the next fic. Obviously pretty important for future fics in the series!

In my AU, Rhuidean and Falme happened at the same time, which has essentially meant that the Seanchan are running two books behind where they are in canon, at least in relation to Rand's story (or, I guess more accurately, Rand is running two books ahead). But while I was looking into how I would need to take that into account in the next story in my series, I noticed an... interesting narrative pattern.

Jordan sometimes just basically puts some of our main characters in a holding pattern so that other world events can happen, but as I was breaking down the plotting, I really noticed how often that happens to give the Seanchan a better foothold into whatever their new territory is or to make the timing better for the Seanchan specifically.

Three examples:

In The Great Hunt, Rand & co flicker-flicker-flicker and lose several months, giving the Seanchan plenty of time to invade Falme and really settle into their new digs there, making them a much bigger threat for Rand to deal with.

In A Crown of Swords, Elayne and Nynaeve do their best to avoid Mat for an entire month, which means that by the time they're ready to actually find the Bowl of the Winds, it's just about time for the Seanchan to invade Ebou Dar.

Rand literally just hangs out in a manor in Tear for a month in Crossroads of Twilight, waiting for the Seanchan to reply to his message and doing absolutely none of the other plot-related things that he could have been doing during that time. This gives Tuon and Mat a chance to have their 'courtship' plot.

Now the first example isn't a choice on Rand's part -- the magic is wonky. But the other two examples feel like instances where Jordan was prioritizing his timeline events over his characterization. He wants the group to still be in Ebou Dar when the Seanchan invade, but he also knows how long it will take the army to get there, logistically, so he throws Elayne and Nynaeve's logic and common sense under the bus so that they'll be stubborn enough to uselessly do the same thing over and over for a month before finally being willing to let Mat help.

(This specific problem mostly happens, imo, because of Traveling -- Egwene takes them instantly to a place near Ebou Dar but then the story isn't ready for them, so they have to do nothing for a month waiting for the timelines to match up again to the Seanchan invasion -- if they'd needed to ride there, then they could have gotten to work right away once they arrived.)

The Crossroads of Twilight example is even worse, because everyone else gets put on hold in order for Jordan to try to make it semi-believable that Mat is doing all the bizarre things he does in CoT & then in KoD (all of which is related to Jordan once again bending over backwards to help out the Seanchan). I know this has been talked about before but it's honestly ridiculous how little actually happens in CoT. Nynaeve shows up in one scene to ogle Lan while he's training and that's it. That's all she does in the whole book! No one does anything, all so that Mat can have weeks to brood over how much he hates the 'fate' that he is actively forcing himself to chase after (just like Min does in books TSR-ACoS but at least it makes sense that Min does that, even if it makes me dislike her as a character, because Min has conditioned herself to 'help along' her viewings even while claiming to believe that they're inevitable).

Ugh, I don't think I'll ever stop being annoyed by CoT & KoD. Okay, pushing past that for now.

...

Actually, while I'm here, I think I might go over every timeskip in the Jordan books just to track this issue and see if it's as related to the Seanchan as it feels like it is (using the massive timeline here for reference: stevenac[dot]net/wot/tl0998.htm). I am including the stretches of time here where main characters just sit around and do nothing; not travel-related time. This is only covering the Jordan books, though there are a couple in the last three books as well.

TGH: First we have everyone hanging out at Fal Dara for a month. This is Moiraine's choice and is primarily about waiting for Siuan to arrive. It does give Rand time to do sword-training with Lan.

TGH: Then we have Rand's accident with the Portal Stones. This gives the Seanchan time to dig their claws into Falme but, on the plus side, it also gives Egwene, Nynaeve, and Elayne the longest uninterrupted time training in the White Tower that they ever get: almost three months pass before Liandrin's betrayal of the girls, and then Egwene spends almost two months in captivity with the Seanchan.

TDR: After the Battle of Falme, Rand chills in the rough area of Falme for the winter, roughly four months. This gives the girls (and Mat) time to make the journey back to the White Tower and lets the Seanchan begin to regroup. In-book, this is justified by Rand spending four months arguing with Moiraine.

side note: it takes girls (and Mat) over five months to travel from Falme back to Tar Valon. They leave in "November" of 998 and arrive in "April" of 999. I'm guessing this travel time is a large part of why Jordan has Rand just hang out for a winter instead of acting sooner.

TFoH: Roughly a month passes between TSR and TFoH, which gives Rand some time to train with Asmodean but he's actively doing Something there and not just hanging out.

ACoS: A month into their stay in Ebou Dar, Elayne and Nynaeve finally get around to mentioning the Bowl of the Winds to Mat. There is a lot of plot stuff that happens to the other characters here, so it's not just about letting the Seanchan further progress their invasion, but it really is a nonsense plot beat for Elayne and Nynaeve's storyline that Jordan gets away with by having it happen off the page between books.

ACoS-WH: A wall falls on Mat, injuring him badly enough that he will be stuck in Ebou Dar until the second wave of the invasion arrives. Other characters do progress their own storylines while this is happening, which kinda makes it feel like taking Mat out of the action here directly results in everyone else getting put on hold later so that Mat can catch back up to them.

If Tuon had been in the first wave and Mat had been not so badly injured, then Mat's storyline could have happened at the same time as everyone else's (during TPoD), and Rand wouldn't have needed to hang out and do nothing for a whole month in CoT. It also would have fixed the awful Winter's Heart plot hole of everyone's vow of silence about telling Rand that his best friend was left to rot behind enemy lines (because Mat would have escaped by the time that Nynaeve and Rand saw each other, so she could have been honest with him but the color swirls would have reassured him that Mat was already out of Ebou Dar).

CoT: Speaking of! Post-cleansing, Rand spends an entire month doing fuck-all, and so does pretty much everyone else, all so that Mat can get stuck in his second abusive relationship, this time with marriage vows included (maybe his third, if you count Melindhra).

So, yeah, three separate timeskips happen in the books ACoS-CoT that seem primarily about trapping Mat into the Seanchan.

[miss-morgans-lover]

💜About Me💜

My name is Abi or Vesper (online name) and I run this multifandom blog under the user: miss-morgans-lover.

The main fandoms you'll see are:

Twilight

Power Rangers Dino Charge

Marvel

Harry Potter (usually Marauders Era)

9-1-1/ 9-1-1 Lone Star

Omar Rudberg

My blog is not limited to these however, I am in many fandoms and will post/repost about them.

You will find I have a obsession love for a character called Kendall Morgan and the ship Kendall/Shelby from Power Rangers Dino Charge as well as Omar Rudberg. They inspired my user, blog theme, pfp and banner. They are my favourite things.

My favourite colour is purple (I wonder why), I am Bi and Genderfluid (They/She/He pronouns). I am a fanfic writer, cosplayer and editor, along with this blog. I play on Roblox (mostly Royale High).

Me and a few irl friends are also writing our own web comic, which I may share about on here, but most will be on the books account @the-spirit-academy which is run by me and an irl friend. There is nothing on it atm, but there will be at some point in the near future (hopefully).

I also have a RWRB/ Young Royals side blog (history--huh) this is the intro post for it

Discord:

I run a multi random discord server, which has a number of fandoms already added, and so much more room for more. So if you find yourself wanting a community for a fandom you are in and can't find one, dm me, either, it will already be there, or can be. It is called Anything and Everything, my user is wolfstarlover127, but dm me for the link.

There is also another server I am in called Twiwhores. It is run by @denalilily and @bellasdumptruckass and is a Twilight server, so if that's what you want, dm them and we'd be more than happy for you to join us.

Fanfic:

I write fanfic on multiple sites for a few different fandoms that I am in.

I currently have fics posted for:

Twilight

Harry Potter

Power Rangers Dino Charge

Wolfblood/Twilight Crossover

Twilight ones are all on Wattpad except one, but there is an intention to move them all to AO3 as well.

The Next Step

{UF} - Unfinished

Secrets Series:

Secrets (Bella/Jasper)

Secrets 2 (Bella/Jasper/Angela) {UF}

Secrets (Rewrite) (Bella/Jasper) {UF}

True Mates? (Rosella) (Twilight/Wolfblood Crossover) {UF}

Underneath The Mistletoe (Jess/Bella) Mistletoe kiss, they pretend to hate eachother, but are actually in love. (This one is on AO3 only)

Harry Potter fics are just on Wattpad, but same intentions are there to move them to AO3 as well:

Moonstar (Wolfstar's child fic) set in Golden Trio Era, OC called Hope Libra Lupin Black {UF}

Vampire Love Story (Ginny/Hermione) Twilight inspired vampires but set in HP universe. Set at the start of Order Of The Phoenix when Hermione first arrives. Oneshot.

Hogwarts Coven AU A Marauder Era and Golden Trio Era AU. It is a supernatural spy AU set within the normal HP universe. There's Werewolves, Veelas and Vampires (inspired by twilight but not the same). {UF}

Power Rangers fanfic is on Wattpad, Tumblr and AO3, though, all is on AO3, and unless it says otherwise, assume it's just on AO3

Kendall/Shelby Vampire AU Oneshots - AO3 vers - PRDC

Kendall/Shelby Vampire AU Oneshots - Wattpad Vers - PRDC

Kendall/Shelby Vampire AU Oneshots - Tumblr Vers - PRDC

Vamp!Kendall AU Context

She's His Pt1

She's his Pt 2

Why Him?/Temptation - Kendall/Shelby, PRDC, Rated M, Vamp AU, was originally going to be in the oneshot book, but then I decided it fits better as it's own. Shelby and Tyler go on a date, it hurts Kendall in a way, she wants to be in Tyler's place, but Riley helps her realise that it's ok. Then she rants about how pretty Shelby looked.

The Honourary Rangers - PRDC, Rated Teen, based on a hc, I (and a few others on the discord) have, that the science geeks of the team made new morphers that allowed certain people to become temporary rangers. It stemmed from my interest in the morphing grid and Kendall being the mentor, then grew. The main question is: who becomes an honorary ranger? {UF}

Mine - Kendall/Shelby, PRDC, Rated M, Vamp AU, main fic in the vamp au, it explores their relationship from Kendall's POV, while also exploring what it's like for her doing what she does whilst being a vampire, and whilst having her past {UF}

1 Time Kaylee Helped Kendall and 1 Time Kendall Helped Kaylee - PRDC, Kendall and Kaylee often hole themselves up in their work. This means they can forget to do things like eat and rest. This is one time Kaylee helped Kendall and one time Kendall helped Kaylee.

The Next Step fanfic is just on AO3. I currently have 2 fics, and they both have Gisanda at the center

Night Training - Ivan POV, PRDC, it's Ivan's first training session with them, but it's one of Kendall's surprise nighttime ones. She likes to keep them on their toes

Too Much Labour - Kendal POV, PRDC, Rated M, Kendall breaks down due to all the pressure she's put under as the ranger's mentor/scientist, and being a ranger herself. She proceeds to tell Keeper how she feels. Complete with Chase + Kendall siblingism.

Feels So Good, But Hurts So Bad - Kendall/Heckyl, PRDC, Rated M, A series of oneshots inspired by Troublemaker by Olly Murs, which follows them both as they figure out how they feel about each other pre and post reveal (of Heckyl + Snide), and what they do about it {UF}

Repeated Control - Tommy POV, PRDT, Rated M, Set After Trent comes out of the spell and Tommy out of the amber. Tommy offers support and tells him about the time he was in his position.

You Have A Therapist? - Kendall POV, PRDC, Rated M, The ranger team find out Kendal has a therapist, and a little about why

Awakening - Tommy/Adam, Adam POV, PR Zeo, Rated T, After Adam’s dream about his friends being supernatural creatures, one specific part won’t leave his head, causing him to realise some feelings. Aka: That whole scene between Vampire!Tommy and Adam was gay as fuck, so I had to write a fic post that.

Rewind (Amanda Vs Ultra Elite) - Gisanda (Giselle/Amanda), Rated Teen, Set during S9 (writing started pre S9 release), what if, Amanda had been keeping an eye on Lucien as much as she could, she knew his schemes weren't over. When she hears about Ultra Elite being shut down, she knows what's likely happening. What will she do, when there is a risk of a rewind, and history repeating itself. (Side note: Amanda is traumatised from her past home life and time at Elite)

Tiktok:

Tell The Story (The Reality Of Elite) - Amanda POV, Rated Set post S2, but pre S3. Giselle walks into a dance studio at school to practice, but sees Amanda crying in a corner. Giselle, who had gained feelings for Amanda that hadn’t left her, even after the betrayal, helped Amanda calm down. This led to Amanda revealing what had made her so upset, and, in turn, the reality of Elite.

Young Royals fanfic is just on AO3, I currently only have one fic

Your Jumper, My Colour - Wilhelm/Simon, Simon POV, Wille finds out Simon has kept his jumper.

I make multifandom edits on tiktok for multiple different fandoms including:

Marvel

Harry Potter

Power Rangers Dino Charge

The Next Step

Twilight

Royale High (occasionally)

MLP EG

Username: abi.edits127

[eponatheestallion]

I just squealed and flapped around for a good couple minutes when I saw the newest chapter of Lost Link was posted. I just wanted to say how much I love that story, it's amazing! I love the idea, I never thought how things would be different if Wild still had his memories. I can't wait for everything to come spilling out, Lost's age, what his time as a knight was like, the whole 'died and came back after 100 years' thing, what's going on with him and Twilight. You write him beautifully, even more so because it's so different than what I normally see. I just wanted to say how much I love your work Thank you!

oh my gosh this was such a sweet message!??!?!?!?!!? im so glad that youre enjoying the fic!!!

all credit goes to kholby for the idea of "what if wild still had his memories" bc i too never really thought abt how things would be different UNTIL kholby asked that question. like at first it was just musings back and forth abt the idea and then suddenly we blinked and we had a whole fanfic and au in front of us.

as regards to lost and twilight GOD. i wont go into spoiler territory since his chapter is next but. just know out of all dynamics between lost and the chain, i think lost and twilight's is the most insane i am about. kholby can testify to this being true.

anyways THANK YOU for reading and being so kind 😭yall r so nice like what !?!?!? <3