#then life took over with work and university and wips

[ririabeam]

𝗕𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

—

I drew this to cope with my birthday depression.

Took 5 months. I also wanted to beat my old manhwa from 5 years ago.

-- Long post ahead! It's my WIPS and thought process. --

Junko is my comfort character as she's the only character I know who hates her birthday.

(Screenshot from Ultimate Talent Development Plan)

I know she’s a villain who has done a lot of bad things, but finding comfort and liking her doesn’t mean I excuse her actions.

A lot of painful feelings went into this, even in Mukuro's perspective so please respect it 🙏🏻

—

- WIPS & Thought Process -

—

Story Script Writing:

A lot of thoughts and feelings went into my script.

-I removed sentences like “For giving me cake!” as I wanted to do more showing than telling.

-“Why do you seem so happy Mukuro?” is changed to “Why are you smiling like that, Mukuro?” as I wanted the sentence to focus more on the thing Ryoko noticed. Mukuro would definitely be happy celebrating Ryoko’s birthday, and the new sentence would help to understand how Ryoko interpreted that Mukuro was more happy than usual.

-“good day” is changed to “great day” for greater emphasis of Ryoko’s happiness.

-A pun is done on “live”, I wanted this sentence to convey the complicated feelings of Junko. She doesn’t want to “live” a “fabricated happy lie” as it goes against her honesty moral. But there’s also a part of her that doesn’t want to kill Ryoko, as she doesn’t want to “leave” this “fabricated happy lie”. She wants to be happy as Ryoko, even if it’s a lie.

This part is a big reference and a reply to Danganronpa Zero.

The background texts are quotes from Danganronpa Zero.

Junko saying “What the hell? Hope?” is a reference to Danganronpa Zero’s ending:

Reading Danganronpa Zero feels like it’s saying something to me: “We are trapped in a loop of despair and hope.” and I’m replying with this part as a “Yes, I agree.”

Junko being confined in her mind is another thing I like about her too. 

I feel the moment we are born, we are trapped, that’s why I ended this comic with “I wish I wasn’t born.”

The moment I’m born, I’m unwanted and worthless, a monster.

I’m trapped in my mind, in other people’s judgements and expectations, and there’s no way out.

I can’t just turn invisible and there’s always something for people to judge and hate. And that hurts when it’s something important to you or you can’t change about yourself.

But even with all the pain, I think of hope to carry on and it’s a loop to fight to live.

I think I make progress with healing but then I’d think wth I’m made to work on this. Cause my life is already scripted from the moment I was born— I’m scripted to have this trauma, this story made my personality and character so in the end I’m still trapped.

So that’s another reason why I find Junko a comforting character and why I feel birthday depression.

I thought of the story first before I thought of the characters who would play it, so I had to make sure it’s in character. 

Things like if Mukuro would say “AU” or “Alternate Universe”. I felt since she spent a lot of time with Junko who knows a lot about these things, she would have heard of this and know the short form term for it. Especially since she had to be Junko at some point.

Since it’s a story about Birthday Depression, my thoughts instantly went to Junko then to Mukuro. It was the perfect story theme to write for them especially cause they are the despair sisters. 

Plus, they are two characters I can feel their struggles and feelings deeply for, so I can write and draw deeply for this story.

Birthdays tend to be happy, and I felt the only kinda right time I can talk about my birthday depression would be on their day.

I felt suffocated and lost myself over the past few years, as I felt I needed to be happy no matter what. When I opened up about sadness and my struggles, people would hate and invalidate me for it. I feel my art reflects that, I don’t like looking back at my old art. It lacked my true feelings, but I feel I’m finding myself again in my Mirai Nikki and Danganronpa art.

For the past few years I tried to celebrate my birthday to try to make myself happy about it but in the long run it didn’t work. I appreciate everyone who celebrated with me all these years still, but now I’m trying to overcome it in another way— facing despair instead of trying to cover it with hope.

I think I’ve learnt a lot about myself and understood myself better through this comic’s process.

Layout Plan:

You can see that things were changed in the final from my layout plan X’D haha

In page 2, Mukuro’s 1st panel is changed so composition is better.

In page 3, after seeing Ryoko as Junko, Mukuro is reaching out her hand instead of placing it on her chest. I wanted it to feel like Mukuro wants to reach out to Ryoko at that moment, like trying to get a wish she knows isn’t real.

In page 5, binary code is replaced with texts from Danganronpa Zero’s story so it reinforces the idea of “a life already fully planned out”.

Lining Process:

I struggled with this part the most as anatomy and poses is not my strong point.

I asked my friend, Setsuya, for help with my poses and redrew the same pose many times for this comic. I really wanted to convey the feelings for this comic right especially since it’s very personal to me. Big thanks to her for helping me so much, I feel I improved a lot from this! 🥺 <3

1st panel of 1st page is the hardest to draw, I’m laughing at my first try of Mukuro who looks like she’s forced to be there 😂:

With suggestions from my friend of how to improve, I tried to improve everyone’s poses:

^ 

Mukuro’s pose was changed to look more fondly at Ryoko, happy to be there and relaxed haha.

Ryoko’s pose was changed to look more delighted and happy about the cake (Which helps to convey the line I removed from my script, “For giving me cake!”)

Matsuda’s pose was changed to look a bit more annoyed about still cares for Ryoko (shown by him still looking at her from the corner of his eyes even though his head is turned away)

And haha I forgot Ryoko’s legs can be seen due to the table frills being transparent, so I had to go back and draw her legs X’D

For this panel, a lot of thoughts went into what things I should place, how they are placed, and what kind of items it should be e.g.

I wanted it to tell the story of what happened before all the characters gathered here, what their feelings are towards each other, and how they are like as individual characters :3

I was thinking Mukuro and Matsuda love Ryoko so much they spoil her by buying a giant cake haha X’D So that’s why there’s a plastic knife instead of a real knife— to show that the cake was bought.

I think they decided not to cook as they would fight about it… (idk if they know how to cook tbh)

I chose strawberry shortcake cause white = purity and red strawberries = blood X’D Kinda like Ryoko-

I was about to draw neatly cut and placed cakes but I think... Ryoko is bad at cutting… X’D so the cakes are lying flat with the cream a bit splattered on their plates.

The table cloth, spoons and plates are all elegant and neat cause Mukuro prepared it for Ryoko :3 I don’t think Matsuda would be able to do that since he seems to not be a tidy person X’D but I do think he probably decided these items and arrangement with Mukuro :3

Here’s a random joke Matsuda + My roughly drawn Promised Neverland manga cover before I squeezed it on to his book haha:

I was going to make Matsuda read Megaman at first like in canon, but I felt making him read “Promised Neverland” was fitting as it helped me bring some foreboding to my happy setting. Like the promise never landed cause I’m going to break my happy promise/premise X’D 

I felt it was fitting too as Matsuda wasn’t met with a good fate like the Promised Neverland children.

Plus I feel Matsuda would like a genre like that, or perhaps he wouldn’t mind anything as he is a laid back character.

This pose was changed so Ryoko would look more reserved and have less of a romantic vibe? Cause the intertwined fingers felt a bit more romantic and off to me, as it wasn’t the vibe I was going for.

Feat. The paper sketch is my friend helping me with anatomy X’)

While writing sentences and drawing for Mukuro’s scenes, I was thinking of experiences I’ve gone through before and the feelings I felt then. 

The way I wished things could be different. I kept having dreams of happy endings I wanted to happen but then I would wake up to the tragic reality and cry.

The way I was suffering on the inside but still held on to this thing I perceived as “Hope” even though it was killing me and could be seen as “Despair” in another POV/or I already knew it was bad for me but it was also my only hope.

Symbolisms for this panel:

Carrying a candle-> holding on to hope/a wish.

Candle not blown out -> Mukuro's wish didn't come true (blowing out a candle means bringing your wish on smoke to the good spirits above to grant your wish) , her hoping leading to despair.

My pose was changed here as it is more natural for the hands to be like that, plus the other hand holding on to the arm greater empathise how Mukuro is holding on strongly to this candle.

The candle is melting and the wax is getting on her hand, burning her. Still, she refuses to let go which empathises how much she needs to hold on to this. Even as she grabs her own hand causing more pain from bleeding, she still needs this “hope.” 

Some colour tests for this panel:

I was considering blue fire because blue fire is stronger than red.... but then if it is a wish of hope, I was considering yellow too... but maybe it would be too happy? 

Mukuro is feeling sad and wishful in this panel. 

I ended up going for blue fire which gives off yellow light for a purposeful contradictory colouring— to show that what is perceived as despair can also be perceived as hope.

^ Some exploration for the poses here so I can figure out which conveys what I wanted to convey the best. I like the poses where Mukuro is reserved happy, Ryoko is more playful(?), Matsuda is more relaxed.

^ Exploration for the Junko slash pose. Ended up just going back to the original pose I had planned for the layout.

I found this super hard to draw as I’m not good at anatomy, drew it quite a few times and deleted as I couldn’t draw it right. In the end, my friend drew that pose reference which helped me get it right in final!

Reasons why I chose the original layout pose in the end:

Strangle pose-> I don't want to strangle Ryoko, not because it’s too violent or graphic or that she's 🥺uwu and I can’t kill her-

I just feel Junko doesn’t completely hate Ryoko... a part of her wants to live a happy life after all

But she can’t, that's why the words "A fabricated happy lie, I don’t want to live this!"

It's a lie and it's against her value (honesty).

Sword slashing pose-> Junko is directly jumping towards and has no hesitation slashing Ryoko. This feels off cause it’s too violent which doesn’t convey the message I want.

Sword is also stronger than knife, which would hurt more.

When I see the knife and how the body is twisted a bit away in the original layout pose, it works better as I can see some control to the slash so it's not full on hatred and anger towards Ryoko.

Random full drawing of this Junko before I cut it off for composition.

I find it easier to get the anatomy right if I draw the full thing and draw through everything.

^ I’m super sad at my failure for this :,) I didn’t intend it to be like that 😭 

It’s too hard for me to draw, so my friend helped me again and I chose a pose and studied her pose and drew the whole pose again:

I chose the 1st pose because the angle of the faces there best shows both character’s facial expressions and the emotions are the most important for this scene.

Plus 3/4 angle is better than the flat side view one as it helps make this scene more dramatic!

My friend helped me with the position of Junko’s tie:

reached max images for this post so,

WIPS continued in another post

[luna-the-bard]

Uhhhh so I’ve been. Drawing a lot lately.

I think last time I posted was like over two weeks ago? So yeah there’s a bit of a backlog.

I’m honestly not sure what else to say as an intro so I’m just gonna. Dump a bunch of art here real quick and if it doesn’t all fit then maybe I’ll make two posts or something. There WILL be rambling. Anyways-

I spent like 6 hrs last night studying one of my Boothill screenshots because I’ve been meaning to learn how to draw him.

Little did I know I was gonna go back to it today again to fix his legs. I can’t believe that asshole took 6+ hours of my life how dare he (I want to draw him again)

I took a break from drawing him somewhere in the middle there only to draw him in my sketchbook instead lol. don’t look at that gun it’s not there shh.

There’s also a new oc I’ve been working on. (Don’t mind the ref screenshot in the bg this is a wip lol)

Playing around with the idea of a princess who slays her own dragon, so when the rescuers come, their job is already done (it’s okay, they can be her getaway drivers instead). Named her Lady Eithel, although her full name and title is “Princess Eithelmira of the House of Thorns”, since she is part of her planet’s/kingdom’s royal family.

Im also putting her on the path of Beauty, because it makes more sense for her than any currently playable paths in hsr, and we know that even after the fall of an Aeon, their paths can linger (as seen with Trailblaze, Order, etc). Also, it not being a playable path means I can do whatever I want with it, and boy am I gonna have my fun >:) She’s gonna be finding Beauty in all kinds of things, folks. I’m gonna throw her around the universe into all kinds of situations (probably).

Eithel’s home planet, Struna-5, are worshippers of Idrila, and it’s said their the planet’s moon was a blessing from THEM. Struna-5 is divided into several major kingdoms, like Pelionore (that Eithel hails from) and their neighbor, Aurora. My vision for the planet overall is a combination of scifi and fantasy/medieval aesthetics. (Not unlike what Nimona did with their worldbuilding, you should go check out the art book for that film, it’s online for free)

Eithel’s been incredibly challenging for me to draw, despite having the same old traits I usually tend to give my ocs. But there’s a certain vibe I’m going for with her and it’s been hard to capture, I suppose.

Some more art of her:

She is 5’2 so if you’re over 6ft tall this is probably what you see any time she talks to you x)

I also really like the sketch I had for that wip from above.

There’s also a few earlier studies of her, including the first time I managed to capture her face/feel right:

I’ve been studying MsLeeSketchbook ‘s (on twitter) art a lot for her, I really enjoy how they paint.

I think I’m getting to the image per post limit, so have this alt lighting mockup from the wip:

I’ll put the smut and other stuff in a separate post, ig.

[simonsapelsin]

Young Royals Sports AUs

🏒 Hockey

futures we should try to make by @royalwilmon (WIP)

Simon’s rookie year playing hockey in the NHL is off to a slow start. That is until the troubled son of a former hockey legend gets traded onto his team. With explosive chemistry on and off the ice, Wille and Simon have a good shot of taking the league by storm.

Et c'est le but! by @piebingo (WIP)

An AU where Simon moves in with a host family when he gets chosen by a new hockey team, halfway across the globe. While he gets along with his host parents, their son isn't too happy about this new living situation.

⚽ Football

The Twelfth Player (series) by @malinowaj

When professional footballer Wilhelm Andersson meets popstar Simon Eriksson, he doesn't know just how much his life is going to change. But how much is he willing to lose to win?

Coming Straight Home to Me by willefroggie (WIP)

Wille is a soccer player for the Swedish men's national football team and Simon is an international pop star.

🏀 Basketball

can i take a shot at your heart? by @theaviatorthatcouldnotfly (WIP)

Simon and Wille may be teammates on the Hillerska boys' basketball team, but that doesn't mean they get along. After a video destroyed their friendship, Simon's been determined to avoid Wille at all costs. But when they're forced to work together for the sake of team bonding, Simon finds himself having to confront some truths about what really went on between them- and whether he really hates Wilhelm as much as he once thought he did.

🏊‍♂️ Swimming

Like a Flipturn, You've Got Me Head Over Heels series by @invisiblewille

Normally the main fight at the Olympics is to see who gets first. But ever since Simon took the swimming world by a storm during the Rio Olympics in 2020, it's not been a question of who would get first, but who would join the Venezuelan swimmer and his equally accomplished Swedish rival on the podium in third. Gold and silver belonged to Wille and Simon. Everyone else could only hope to fight for bronze.

🤸 Gymnastics

Win The Meet-verse (series) by hillerskabrainrot

An alternate universe where Wille isn't a prince and neither of them go to Hillerska. They're both on Sweden's national gymnastics team and meet when they're made roommates during a national team camp.

The Winner Takes It All by @iwouldnevergetintofanfic

It's the Stockholm Olympics and Prince Wilhelm expects to be bored out of his mind watching the Men's Artistic Gymnastics. He does not expect to leave the event with a big, fat crush on gymnast Simon Eriksson. Nobody expects him to show up to another artistic gymnastics event. And another one.

🌊 Diving

hold on to what you believe by @leojfitz (WIP)

Wille and Simon both qualify for the Olympics. They have to share a room, and Wille is not too happy about it. Until he kind of he is.

🥊 Boxing

Down for the count by @iwouldnevergetintofanfic

Prince Wilhelm is known for his notoriously dangerous hobbies. He might be compensating for his pointless job but who's asking. So of course he jumps at the chance of participating in the "Celebrity vs. Pro Boxer" reality TV show. He's a bit surprised when his trainer, boxing champion Simon Eriksson, famous for his mean left hook and his burning ambition, meets him with baseless, blatant hostility. But then again, this might be just the thrill Wille so desperately seeks…

⛸️ Figure Skating

Hope and Legacy by @malinowaj (WIP)

Simon Eriksson has been skating nearly all his life and has a dream. To make that dream come true, he agrees to help Wilhelm with his skating. Little does Simon know that in doing so, he's getting more than he bargained for.

🎾 Tennis

now we're knee-deep in this mess by @prplewille

Simon and Wilhelm are friends. Then they have sex, fall in love, play tennis and ruin each other's lives. In no particular order.

[radioactivepeasant]

Snippets: Free Day Thursday

Per the poll, we're going with "half of Spargus casually parents the boys and Jak doesn't know what to do with that"

Some context: this is set within a half-WIP where I was exploring ways to interpret Ashelin's manipulative little "or did the hero I know die in the desert?"

In this universe, Jak was technically clinically dead for almost 90 seconds because heatstroke is no joke and adding eco imbalance probably makes it worse. He was resuscitated inside the city walls, so the Wastelanders shrug and invoke a law as old as the city: "a "corpse" just took his first breath in our city, that makes him one of us by birth." And then he and Daxter got sent to live in the Arena barracks wing meant for younger Wastelanders (he's not loving it)

Jak was in a bad mood. He'd been up most of the night, dealing with flashbacks, and he was tired. He hadn't finished any of the work he'd been handed so far, and he was supposed to report to Damas in two hours for gods only knew what reason. In the three-odd weeks he and Daxter had been here, he'd spoken to the man all of twice. What had he done? They hadn't even let him go past the gate!

"Jak, you done with the-"

"No," Jak snapped. Immediately, he felt a little bad. Running a hand over his hair he sighed. "...sorry, Daxter."

Daxter narrowed his eyes. "You need a nap."

Jak looked away. It wasn't like he didn't know that. He bit down on a sharp retort.

He hated not finishing a task. It made him feel useless. Like a failure. But he was having so much trouble just. Focusing!

Sitting and tying nets back together was as repetitive as scrubbing the floors back in Sandover -- or the prison, occasionally, when the Baron was coming and the guards had to pretend they actually took care of the facility sometimes. It let Jak's mind wander. In the prison, that was a welcome escape. But after his escape, he didn't like letting his thoughts loose. They tipped into bad memories too often, and trying to remember the good ones was hard.

Right now, all Jak could really think about was the nightmare the morning dorm headcount had woken him from.

The image of Samos glaring down at him, hand on the controls of the Chair, was going to haunt him for a while.

The crews of the Looper, Half-Shark, and Black Eel moved along the beach, monitoring the kids from Dorm Five who had been assigned to help them. They were mostly in their late teens, like Jak, but there were a few unusually small ones -- a thirteen year old, a twelve year old boy and his eight year old brother -- given that they had nowhere else to go. There was a reason the other dorms called Five the Orphanage when they thought the matron couldn't hear them.

Most of the other ten kids were already done, or close to done. And Jak couldn't even do something he used to do all the time as a little kid.

"Y'alright there, sprout?" asked a gruff voice.

The captain of the Half-Shark stopped at the end of the pier with his hands on his hips. When Jak scowled and tangled his fingers in the cords, he made a knowing sound.

"One of those days, huh?"

"What days?" Jak growled.

The grizzled man winked and tapped a finger to his nose.

"Got a visit from the night hag, didn't ya? I won't tell. All sorts of dreams'll put shadows like that under a man's eyes in the night. You can take a break if you need."

"I'm fine."

Jak wove another two rows and knotted them in place. Silently, he willed the man to just go away. The last thing he needed was for any of the others to notice that he wasn't pulling his weight.

He'd never been around this many young people in his life. Ten was bad enough, but there were some hundred or more teenagers all told rotating through the barracks. The noise, the way they all knew each other already, it locked Jak's voice down eight times out of ten. They all stressed him out too much to even consider conversation.

Daxter claimed that he had two rivals and an archnemesis already. Jak didn't want to talk to any of them.

They were normal. Most of them had never been forced labor for a sage or a gangster or a resistance. They'd never been imprisoned, or tortured, or consistently told that if they weren't carrying everyone's burdens, they were worthless.

The only ones who had remotely similar experiences were the three who were rumored to have escaped Marauder slave camps. They didn't speak to anyone but each other, but as soon as he'd arrived they'd seemed to recognize the shadows hanging over Jak. During allotted mealtimes or when they were thrown out into the common area during the chaotically unstructured "free time", the two girls and the younger kid had started sitting silently with their backs to him: keeping watch so he and Daxter could eat. And Jak was not about to ask them what they'd gone through after that kindness.

Matron Pax reassigned Jak from room four to room eight within the week, putting him next door to the pale trio. All the "quiet kids" went on the same end of the hall. He appreciated that the woman paid attention to her charges' personalities, but he could've done without some of her rules.

"It ain't gonna do you no good to run yourself into the ground, son," the captain remarked. He folded his arms. "What's your hurry, anyhow? Ain't like you've got to earn amulets yet."

Jak looked up with incredulous annoyance.

"Yeah we do? We're "newcomers", remember?"

Daxter grimaced. "We don't even know how to drive!"

Captain Oaken raised his hairy eyebrows in surprise. Then understanding settled in.

"Ah don't mind them younger warriors. They're just bein' snots because they gotta earn their citizenship, while you're a born citizen."

Jak recoiled. "I think you've been out in the sun too long. I wasn't born here."

"We think," Daxter added helpfully, "We dunno where they snatched you from. Samos is a lying liar who lies, remember?"

Jak elbowed him and shook his head.

"Your king dragged us here half-dead."

"A good ways more dead than just half, remember?" Oaken corrected.

Suddenly, the midmorning sun felt cold. Slowly, he set the net down and stood up to look the captain in the eyes.

"What?"

"They didn't tell you?"

The captain sounded surprised. He scratched his nose and glanced back at the other teenagers. None of the others were close enough to overhear. Oaken lowered his voice anyway.

"Boy, you was dead dead a quarter of a minute before they got you in the gate. No pulse, not breathing. There was gawkers all over the place while his lordship got your pulse going again. Word got around."

Jak felt sick. Dead? He couldn't have been dead! He wasn't sure if fifteen seconds even counted. His brain would've still been active, right? His brain was still active, and he didn't remember any hypoxia.

Of course, he didn't remember much of anything else, either.

Technicality. It was only a technicality.

Calm down. Calm down, you didn't actually die. He's a fisherman. They tell tall tales. Probably thinks that's supposed to impress me.

"You alright, boy?" Oaken gestured to the pier. "Maybe you oughta sit, huh? You're looking pale."

When Jak only stared at him blankly, he patted the boy's shoulder gingerly.

"Don't let it get to you, eh? They brought you back, and it was inside the city walls. That's the part that matters."

Insane. These people were insane.

But...

If it meant he didn't have to fight to be allowed to stay, if it meant he maybe, hopefully, might actually have rights, maybe he could ignore some of the bizarre tendencies of this city that had...rescued? Captured? Conscripted them?

He never did finish the net. He was completely distracted for the remainder of the morning, wrestling with the implications. Eventually, the warrior on rotation as Dorm Five's resident advisor just excused him to report to the tower.

"What?! He's not even done!"

Luka glared at Jak and Daxter.

"Why does he get to leave early?"

The RA rolled his eyes at Luka.

"Because he got summoned. You could've left by now if you weren't goofing around with the fishhooks instead of cleaning the traps."

Luka sulked, but didn't say anything more about it. Jak fully expected the burly teenager to say something snide about it later that he'd probably have to smack him for. Luka, as he had been assured by the little kid, Koda, didn't like new people in the "orphan hall", and always gave newcomers a hard time. So what else was new.

"Ooooo, he's in trouble," one of the girls snorted in a sing-song voice.

Why were teenagers in Spargus so...childish?

____________________________________

Jak ignored them all. He had to follow a map to get to the citadel, avoiding people as much as possible. He tended to stay away from people anyway, but today especially he just wasn't in the mood for hu'men interaction. The one plus side of getting called up to talk to -- or be talked at by -- the king of this place was that it would probably be quiet.

Anything his dorm...neighbors...or whatever they were...said had to be taken with a heavy grain of salt. But Daxter had heard that the king didn't like more than a few people in a room with him at a time. Either he was paranoid about getting ganged up on, or he just didn't tolerate loitering like Torn.

"Hey, hold up!"

Oh now what?

Jak turned slightly to find a woman with a gunstaff approaching quickly. He tensed, ready for a fight, but she had a fairly casual expression.

In three steps she'd reached them, all while patting her pockets for something.

"Geez, I know the Youth Barracks had a population boom, but you'd think Pax would notice the naked kid."

"Excuse me?!" Jak sputtered, leaning away from her.

With an exclamation of triumph, the warrior produced a somewhat grease-stained rag. Without so much as a by-your-leave, she plucked the cap and goggles from Daxter's head and wrapped the rag around his brow and the back of his neck, just like Jak's scarf. When she deemed the result satisfactory, the warrior slapped the goggles back on him.

"Okay, carry on."

Both boys stared at her.

"What was that?!" Daxter squawked, "Did you just put a grease rag on my head?!"

"Didn't have a handkerchief." The warrior shrugged. "Listen, pipsqueaks, Foothills clan learned a long time ago: fur don't save you from sunburn. You'll thank me later."

Jak exchanged a glance with Daxter. It was true that Daxter's skin had been extra sensitive lately. They'd just assumed it was the heat and sweating. Neither had considered that he could get sunburned.

A little chagrined, Jak looked up at the woman and muttered a quick thanks. He waited, assuming she wanted something in trade. Everyone seemed to barter here, rather than pay in paper orbs.

"Alright, scram," the lady said, waving them off nonchalantly. "You look like you got chores or something. Don't ever say Mel didn't do nothin' for ya, huh?"

Jak didn't speak for the next two turns in the neighborhood. Daxter was more than happy to fill the silence for him.

"Is this what it's like bein' you?" the ottsel asked, hanging over his shoulder, "The eyes all the time? Peeps just comin' up and decidin' stuff about ya? Not that I blame em for lookin, but it does start to wig an ottsel out."

He'd once assumed that being the center of attention was all he really wanted. Even negative attention was still attention, and Daxter had learned every way to provoke people, just so they would have to acknowledge his existence. But now he wondered if there was such a thing as too much of a good thing. Because if he and Jak got into trouble, Jak wasn't the one getting all the consequences anymore. They didn't just tack Daxter on as an accompanying afterthought to "help", no, it was much worse. Matron Pax had proved adept at finding ottsel-sized chores to make him do!

On the one hand, he was being acknowledged as his own person, being nagged at to eat at the same time as everyone else, to stay in his room after lights-out, to go to school (or what passed for school here).

But on the other hand, he couldn't get away with rot anymore!

"I never know what these people want," Jak grumbled as the tower finally came into view. "Are we here to work, or are we being patronized? They're watching us, Dax. I know we're being monitored. There's no way people would randomly stop a stranger to make him fix his scarf."

"Or scold us for carrying three ammo crates at once," Daxter added.

"Or drag us off the street at noon to make us sort beads until noon rest was over," Jak agreed. "Nobody just...does that for strangers. Especially not a city where you're either useful or deadweight."

One more person tried to stop them when they got to the tower. Jak actually remembered this guy's name. Watchman Chayne guarded the elevator up to the throne room. He was a pretty easygoing guy, compared to most Wastelanders. Jak didn't mind him so much.

"Hold it," Chayne signed, raising a brow, "What are you two up to?"

"I dunno, ask Damas," Jak retorted.

"Whatever it was, we didn't do it!" Daxter added quickly, "And I have character witnesses!"

Chayne let out a soft, hissing laugh and waved them into the elevator.

"Oh, your turn for newbie check-in, huh? Just don't mouth off and you'll be fine."

"Define mouthing off," Daxter said, steepling his fingers.

Chayne blinked at him slowly, then looked at Jak, then at Daxter again.

"Godspeed, kid."

Great.

[huis-one-man-show]

WIP#2, also known as "what-if-dick-gave-up-vigilantism-to-be-a-brother AU"

SO. Let me preface by saying, canon who? Canon is a tragedy and sibling relationships make me weep on a good day, so here I am with my wholesome/fluff/slice-of-life agenda and happy endings magic wand because holy shit, the Batfam is deficient in this area. I am also a sucker for magic, so there's going to be a magical touch to this series.

The heart of this series, the overarching theme, is relationships and hope and it starts with a primordial being, ■■ (that's what I've been calling her, yes it's ORV inspired), being brought into existence because the universe was lonely. My soul sister, let's call her A, once said to me:

“one thing I do think about (when it comes to the topic of hope) is how hope is often triggered in moments of isolation, hoping to one day not be so lonely or hoping to one day be heard, be seen, be understood – but I feel like hope is cultivated the most once within a collective, or within support, or community. Less seeking out hope but generally being more hopeful.”

I'll go into more detail about this particular line of lore eventually (let me know if you want to know more :O), but at the end of the day, ■■ was the first being to be worshipped as a symbol of hope, love and resilience. As civilisation advances, her origin is forgotten and she is reborn into various religions that all remember her differently – Guan Yin, Freyja, Durga, etc.

Dick comes from the last line of ■■ worshippers that remember what she represents (courtesy of his mother o7). As with any higher being (and being a fantasy/action sucker, sue me), per tradition the first born of each generation becomes her vessel and can wield ✨ magic ✨ ohohoho

How does this fit into everything else? Well, it's one of the deciding factors that makes Dick pick family over vigilantism.

I've kicked canon to the curb and squished down the age gaps of our lovely BatFam so that my timeline works out. Dick has 7 amazing years of being an only child before meeting Jason at the age of 14 (Jason is brought home at 12). About a year into staying with them, but prior to Ethiopia (I just shot canon point-blank in my backyard), Jason runs away from home which is the pivoting point for Dick to come to terms with what it means being Robin.

In Robin Wars, each of the Batboys were talking about what it meant to be Robin and Dick's answer, "Robin is Family" really did not help with my emotional investment into this AU. My selective reading took it, and ran away with it cackling. Along with the fact that Robin was a parent's nickname for their son, that he essentially became Robin in honour of his parents, it makes sense for Dick to prioritise his younger brother because family looks out for each other. To him, being Robin is about protecting your loved ones and showing up, and Jason needs that. It's not a hard decision to make at the end of the day.

And there you have it, the context for what birthed this entire mega AU.

It's a massive series I'm planning with three main parts and a shit ton of side adventures. The three main parts are broken up into the prologue (when it was just Alfred, Bruce and Dick), pre-canon (seeing how events change as Dick grows into being an older sibling, giving context for the main story) and the main story (the "current day" you could call it; it's a coming-of-age with heavy occultism and refusal of the call flavourings). I have also thought of what-if's for my what-if AU, I am too deep into this.

So far I've been writing the pre-canon chapters and finished writing some of the side adventures stories. I cannot stop coming up with new prompts for the series and I am just enjoying the writing process tbh haha

I think I've covered the major points of this AU. If you are curious and want to know more about this universe, feel free to ask, I am excited to share and to hear your thoughts! I am also open to prompts too B-)

p.s. I have cherry picked some events from the canon timeline to be a part of this universe. Characterisations are a mix of fanon and canon and whatever homebrew that's going on in my head 🤠✌🏼

(side note: recently I've been toeing the Teen Titan's line and I'm so screwed because their dynamics and friendship just resonates with the core AU theme help mE—)

[mmelete]

Hi! Thanks for the tag @sprite-and-the-bunnydragons!!

How many works on ao3? 30.

Total ao3 wordcount? 166k. That's a lot more than I thought!

Top 5 Fics by Kudos?

Twilight Loves his Kids! (Goat kids. baby goats) - this kind of surprised me. This was my first fic in the "Who has Kids Again?" series, and I was nervous about posting it. Then I remember checking it an seeing that it had so many kudos and I was like WHAT.

The 'Wise Old Man' is actually not Old (Or Wise) - First time-centric fic of mine, I enjoyed writing it.

As Ancient as the Sky Itself - ugh. This fic...I don't really like this one at all, I took so long to finish it (barely), I honestly could NOT figure out how to end it....the fic ended up bleeding into the Four-centric one...askjdhksaljhf. no comment.

Four (Young) Mice - ASDKAHSFHSAJ THIS IS THE FOURTH ONE. I'M DEAD SERIOUS. this fact alone made me smile sadfhashdf well deserved. I love my four fics <3

Legend and the Baby Rabbits - my least creative title, but my proudest work. I loved writing this, it was so fun and reading everyone comments made my entire week!

4. What fandoms do you write for? Linked Universe and Legend of Zelda.

5. Do you respond to comments? I used to be pretty diligent about it, but then I got busy over the holidays and just...stopped. There's so many unread comments in my inbox now...sigh. I still appreciate every single one! I love comments <3

6. Fic with the Angstiest Ending: Ooooo...the first and last chapter of my Febuwhump. First chapter is Malon hearing about Time's death, and the last chapter is Legend getting teleported to an alternate reality where Marin and his Uncle are alive, he can't stay and has to leave them, again.

7. Fic with the happiest ending: umm....er maybe...Number One Hero? Ravio is mistaken for Legend, and the town throws a party for him. Lots of fluff and brotherly bonding.

8. Do you get hate? ...i wouldn't call it hate, but I unfortunately am a panster and often I forget what I had planned, so details get jumbled and i update sporadically, so I've had like maybe one or two comments about that. I also didn't understand how to moderate comments earlier and got a hate comment and I just deleted the chapter and reposted it 💀

9. Do you write smut? No.

10. Do you write crossovers? ...not yet. FMAB is rotting in my brain and i have an idea for an LU x FMAB crossover but it's going to stay in my drafts for a while lol.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? ...not that I know of lol.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not yet, but I wouldn't mind at all as long as the person credited me!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic? No. I'm not a very good planner, so I feel like it would be difficult to collaborate on that, but I'm not against it though!

14. All-time favorite ship? Uh...of all time? Serena x Ash Ketchum (coughs). But in loz...MALINK!! My beloved. And Spirit Track Zelink, SKSW Zelink...lots of zelink lol.

15. WIPS you want to finish but doubt you ever will? ...I don't have a good track record for this, but I'd like to finish all of them before I leave the LU fandom (which probably won't be anytime soon).

16. Writing strengths? Unlike real life, my dialogue is very banter-y and witty. It's easy for me to write.

17. Writing weaknesses? ACTION. SPECIFICALLY BATTLES. ohh my god...I don't undersatnd how people write such fantastic and epic imagery while I stare at my docs like "swords. blood. sweat. ok monsters are dead now"

18. Thoughts on mixed language dialogue? I like it. Not in giant paragraphs that I have to google translate, but the occasional phrase can be fitting for a particular character or situation.

19. First Fandom you ever wrote for? Linked Universe!

20. Favorite Fic you've ever written? Oh...Number One Hero did not get as much love as I expected but I loved that one and enjoyed writing that...and Four (Young) Mice is good (it's LU Four, so obviously lol). I also loved And You, My Prince (fable/legend <3)

phew that was a lot! No pressure tags! @poposusz @fithesworddweller @crazylittlejester @readingismyhobby24 @kilgoreontralfamadore @raycatz and anyone I forgot!

[hockey-fics]

The Summer It All Changed ~ Quinn Hughes

ft. Jack and Luke being idiots 

Summary: You grew up with Quinn and for the longest time you really were just friends. But perhaps that’s not all you’re meant to be. 

Word Count: ~5,000

Warnings: Smut, drinking, language. 

A/N: I barely edited this, it’s not my best work. I’m really just trying to get back into the whole actually finishing my WIPs thing. 

You had known the Hughes family your entire life. Quite literally. Your parents were friends and you grew up alongside the three boys. You had been affectionately linked with Jack for most of your life. You were just under a year younger than Jack and your parents seemed to believe that should mean that you two would be best friends. And it wasn’t that you weren’t friends, you definitely were. But it wasn’t Jack that you always seem to gravitate to. It was Quinn who was the recipient of all your attention growing up. 

He would pretend to be annoyed, particularly during the middle school years when being spotted with the younger kids seemed like the most embarrassing thing anyone could imagine. But no matter how much he would pretend everyone could tell he was never really annoyed by you. 

He was always the one who made sure you were able to keep up when you went on bike adventures with the,. He didn’t get annoyed when you didn’t understand the rules of a new game after a single half-assed explanation from Jack or Luke. He made sure to not let everyone talk over you when you were young and quiet. He was the one who taught you how to skate and he was the one who would fight to let you have input on the movie for movie nights. 

Quinn had been there for you during some of the best and worst times of your life. 

The first time you got drunk, in a classmate’s basement drinking glass after glass of boxed red wine, it was Quinn who you called. He was the only one of your friends that had their license, but more than that he was the only one you really wanted in that moment. When he showed up you were sitting alone on the front steps of the house, staring at the ground desperately willing the world to stop spinning around you. Quinn took you home that night, helped you sneak into your bedroom. He got you water and the garbage can from the bathroom, knowing you may not make it through the night with the contents of your stomach still in your body. You barely remembered the night the next morning and Quinn never once tried to tease you about it the way you knew any of your other friends would have. 

Your first teenage heartbreak was as stereotypical as it could be. You had been with him for a whopping six months, which was quite the feat at fifteen years old. You holed up in your living room with your best friend, a pint of ice cream, and an endless stream of movies playing in the background. It was two days after the breakup when Jack showed up to see if you wanted to go on a bike ride. To this day you still weren’t sure who told who what but the news of your breakup eventually made its way back to Quinn. He showed up that evening and after being let into the house by your mom he hesitantly made his way to you, like you were a feral animal that might sprint off if he made too sudden of a movement. He didn’t know what to say, that was apparent to anyone hearing his awkward statements of condolences. But he stayed with you late into that night, watching movies with you and your best friend, making jokes that lightened the mood and letting you curl up next to him, your head on his shoulder for most of the evening. 

You discovered your acceptance into your dream university while your parents were at work and you were home alone. After an ecstatic sprint around your empty house you ended up at the Hughes’ residence, banging on the door like you were in desperate need of help. It was Luke who answered the door, the unwilling recipient of one of the most rambunctious hugs you had ever given in your life. He had hugged you back with a palpable hesitation. After telling him the great news you received a half-assed congratulations. But Quinn was in the room a minute later, barrelling his way to you. He gave you the congratulations you were looking for, telling you he had no doubts you would get accepted and assuring you that you were going to do so incredible in university. 

Obviously you had known that Quinn was going to get drafted in the 2018 draft. You knew it was going to happen, you knew that you couldn’t live down the road from Quinn forever. But when you watched Quinn get picked by the Canucks the excitement you had for him was mixed with a sinking feeling. Vancouver. It wasn’t just far it was in a whole other country. The first time you saw him after the draft you put on your bravest face, hugging him tight with a sincere congratulations. You were happy for him, you really were. But you had only kept your emotions in check for a short time that day. Before you knew it you were crying in his arms, confessing how scared and sad you were to soon not have him around. He had assured you he was still going to be around, that it would just be different. And he wasn’t wrong, taking the spot for the person you texted the most for many, many years. 

After you left for university and Quinn was living in Vancouver you didn’t see each other much. But there was one thing that you could always look forward to. Summer. After you finished your exams for the year and Quinn’s hockey season came to end you would both return home for the summer. 

It was during those summers that your feelings for Quinn truly developed. Those long, hot days were when you realized your feelings for him weren’t the feelings you have for someone who was just a friend. But you never said anything, never did anything to act on your feelings. You were so close and your families were so intertwined that the risk of complicating things scared you out of doing anything. 

You were nearing the end of your years at university, after having completed three full years you headed home for yet another summer with your family and childhood friends. This year was different though, this year you were going to be spending two weeks on the beaches of Hawaii with the Hughes family. 

It wasn’t like it was the first time you had gone on a trip with the Hughes family. But it was different. This was the first year you were able to drink, legally at least. You were all older now. You had your own hotel room, not sleeping on a cot in a room with your parents. You had a level of freedom you never had under the watchful eye of parental guardians. 

“Are we still going to the beach?” you ask, crammed in the elevator of the hotel you had just checked in to with Jack, Luke, and Quinn and about 3 too many suitcases. 

“Yeah, what’s your room number? We can meet you there and go down together?” Quinn offers. 

There’s a couple snickers after his question, Jack being the one to actually speak up. “Yeah, I bet that’s why you wanna know where her room is.”

“Fuck off,” Quinn mutters, elbowing Jack in the ribs. 

Your eyes shift back and forth between them, feeling on the outside of an inside joke. “614,” you state as the elevator doors slide open on the 6th floor. Stepping out of the elevator you drag your bags behind you, heading down the elevator to your room. It’s a beautiful room, one that Quinn had insisted on helping you pay for after you nearly opted out of the trip over the price. 

Digging through your suitcase you find a bikini, pulling it on your body before spinning around in front of the mirror, taking in every angle to ensure it looked okay. Sighing to yourself you adjust the straps a few times, wondering if perhaps it was a little too much for a vacation with some of your closest family friends. But before you have the opportunity to change into anything else there’s a knock on the door. 

Pulling it open you look up at Jack, watching his eyes blatantly travel up and down your body. “Who you wearing this for?” Jack teases. 

Swatting his arm you step aside, letting him into your hotel room. “Is it too much?”

“You mean you have something with less?” Jack chuckles, sitting down on the edge of your bed. 

“Shut up,” you mutter, glancing in the mirror. “Seriously, should I change?”

“Nah, you’re going to make some people pretty happy in that.”

“Gross,” you comment, tossing a few beach essentials into a tote bag as you wait for the other two to get to your room. It’s not long before another knock draws your attention and you open the door, gazing up at Quinn with a smile. “Hi,” you greet, stepping to the side. 

Quinn’s eyes aren’t as easy to follow, darting around to various parts of the room, not lingering on you for more than a couple seconds at a time. “H-hey,” Quinn stammers, clearing his throat. 

“Are you going to come in or just stand there?” you tease, watching Quinn finally take a step into your room.

Quinn freezes again when his eyes land on Jack, glancing back over to you for a moment. “How long have you been here?” Quinn asks, walking over to sit next to Jack. 

“Chill,” Jack chuckles, shaking his head. He whispers something to Quinn that you can’t hear and you look back to the mirror, more than convinced now that you should change. 

“I’ll find something else to wear,” you declare, digging through your suitcase again. 

“Oh my god,” Jack groans, flopping down onto the bed. “Now you need to chill, that’s not what I was talking about.”

“Then what were you whispering about?” you exclaim, spinning back around to face them. 

Jack chuckles, still staring at the ceiling. “What did I say, Quinn?”

Quinn opens his mouth to say something, cut off by another knock on the door. “Guess it’s time to head to the beach,” Quinn states, hoping up from the edge of your bed and opening your door, in the hallway before you have a chance to say anything more. 

Yanking on a pair of shorts and grabbing your bag you hurry after Quinn. The four of you are approaching the elevator when you wrap your hand around Quinn’s wrist, pulling him to a halt. You wait for the other two to get a few steps away before saying anything. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Quinn mutters with a shrug. 

“Obviously it’s not nothing, Quinn. Something is off and I feel weird and….uncomfortable.”

“I’m sorry,” Quinn says quickly, eyes diverting to the ground for a second. “I promise it’s nothing, I’m sorry, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

“Can’t you just tell me the truth?” you whisper, never thinking you would have to ask Quinn to be honest with you. 

“Not right now,” Quinn says quietly. “But I promise it’s nothing bad, it’s nothing you’ve done or anything.”

Sighing you reach out, wrapping your arms around his torso. “I just don’t want this to become a thing, Quinn. I’ve missed you and just want this trip to be fun.”

“It will be, I promise, it’s not going to be weird.” 

Nodding you take his hand, hurrying to the elevator that Luke was holding open for the two of you. 

Down on the beach you claim a lounge chair amongst an empty row, laying your towel down before sitting down, watching Quinn lay his stuff down on the chair beside you. “Not going to swim with them?” you inquire, nodding towards Luke and Jack as they make their way towards the water. 

“Nah, maybe later,” Quinn says, sitting down next to you. “Rather be here with you.”

You can’t help but notice the way your stomach flutters with butterflies at that comment, with the way he was looking at you. Your cheeks begin to flush as you notice Quinn’s eyes drifting down from your eyes to your chest. You contemplate making a joke about it but if you were being honest you didn’t want him to stop and you weren’t willing to risk making him feel uncomfortable it. 

“Do you want a drink?” Quinn asks a few minutes later, looking over at the bar not far down the beach. 

“Yeah, sure.” Standing up you walk along the beach next to Quinn, the sand hot beneath your feet, a gentle breeze tossing your hair. “What are you getting?” 

“Probably just a beer,” Quinn shrugs as the two of you stop in front of the bar, looking at the small cocktail menu. 

“You’re so boring,” you tease. 

“Well what are you getting?”

“A Mai Tai,” you tell him, simply reading the first drink listed on the menu you were looking at. 

“What’s in that?” 

Shrugging you laugh quietly, looking up at him. “No idea, I’m sure it’s good though.”

“You’re going to end up hating it and I’ll have to drink it.”

“That’s not true,” you exclaim, though if you were being honest that exact situation had happened many times in your years of knowing Quinn. 

After ordering and getting your drinks the two of you head back to the lounge chairs. It doesn’t take long for you to fall back into your typical routine with Quinn. You would talk, maybe a little too much, he would listen intently, cracking jokes here and there. The two of you would break out into fits of giggles, laughing till your stomach hurt and you could barely catch your breath. When you were with him it felt like nothing could possibly go wrong, everything just felt so easy. 

The first couple days of the holiday go by in much the same fashion. Wake up later than you should, have breakfast late enough that it becomes brunch. Spend the day on the beach or going out around the city. Drinking begins long before dinner happens and when you finally get around to figuring something out for dinner you’re tipsy and thoroughly warmed from the day in the sun. Drinking rarely slowed after dinner, the location of where that happened did seem to change nightly, from bars to clubs to the beach. 

You’re sitting at a table in a bar at the hotel on night four when you lean closer to Quinn, catching his attention. “Will you go for a walk with me? I want to go down to the beach,” you whisper.

Quinn nods in response, finishing what was left in his glass before setting it down on the table. “We’ll be back in a bit,” Quinn says to the others at the table, walking with you down the steps from the bar to the pathway down to the beach. 

You walk together in a comfortable silence, till you get closer to the edge of the water, plopping down on the sand. Quinn follows your lead, sitting down next to you. The sand is cool now with the sun long gone, the moon shining off the surface of the ocean. 

“Thanks for inviting me here,” you say to Quinn, leaning your head on his shoulder. You can feel your heart racing in your chest, the physical contact felt so much more significant now than it ever had in the past.

Quinn chuckles, setting his hand on the sand behind you, letting you lean further into him. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”

“Well thank you for paying for so much stuff for me, you really didn’t have to do all this,” you tell him, lifting your head to look up at him. “I really appreciate it.”

“I would have paid for all of it.”

Laughing you shake your head. “You’re too nice to me.”

“Is that a problem?” Quinn chuckles, turning his attention away from the ocean to look down at you. 

Your eyes lock and there’s a silence between the two of you that lasts a little longer than feels natural. “No,” you finally whisper. You let out a heavy breath, trying not to let your thoughts get too out of control as your eyes fall to his lips. 

Quinn reaches over, his fingers sliding along the side of your face. It feels so sudden that you nearly flinch, eyes flicking back up to look into his. There’s another long pause as Quinn watches you intently, like he was waiting for you to object to what was happening. But you didn’t, you couldn’t. Leaning closer your hand fumbles along the sand, your breathing shaky. 

Finally he commits to the moment, his lips on yours a second later. He’s gentle and the kiss is so soft and slow. When you pull back it’s hesitant, not wanting the moment to end. But you needed to process it just as much as you wanted to keep going. “Quinn,” you whisper, eyes on the sand, nervous to look into his eyes. 

“I’m sorry, did you not want-.”

“No,” you interject. “I mean, yes, yeah, I did, I just…what, um…what?” you can’t help but laugh at your stammering, still not entirely sure what you were trying to say, just hoping he would pick up on enough to say something in response. 

Quinn chuckles quietly, reaching over and taking your hand. “I don’t know if this is weird to say right now,” Quinn mumbles. “But um, I, uh, I like you…a lot.”

“Quinn,” you breathe out again, looking into his eyes now. 

“Can you please say something other than my name? I’m kind of freaking out.”

Giggling you lean in, pressing your lips to his again. “I feel the same way,” you whisper against his lips, not wanting to pull any further away from him now that the boundaries that had been stopping you from touching him like this before were gone.

Slowly you lift one knee over Quinn’s lap, setting your arms over his shoulders. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” you admit. 

Quinn has one hand behind him, propping himself up as he gazes up at you. His lips are curled into a soft smile. His free hand runs up your thigh, landing on your hip. “Me too.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Quinn shakes his head with a breath of laughter. “I mean, look at you,” Quinn mutters. “I never thought I would have a chance.”

“Quinn,” you whisper, tipping his head back as you lean in closer. “There’s nobody else I have ever wanted to be with more than you.”

You can feel Quinn’s breath on your lips, his hand sliding up your back as he pulls you closer. Your lips brush against his, the kiss was gentle again, slow and patient. It doesn’t last long as your body begins to beg for more, fingers tangling in his hair as the kiss quickens. Your hips grind down into him as his tongue brushes against yours, your nerves firing with every touch of his hands on your body. 

Pulling back you take a moment to catch your breath, staring down at him with eyes full of desire. “Do you want to come up to my room for a bit?”

“Yes,” Quinn replies quickly with an eager nod. 

Clambering to your feet you brush the sand from your legs, taking Quinn’s hand and heading back up to the hotel. Behind the closed doors of the elevator Quinn presses you against the cool metal wall, kissing you gently, hands firm on your waist. The ride is short and you’re giggling as you push him out through the open door, every step you take closer to your room you seemed to be gaining speed. 

By the time the hotel room door is closed your body is buzzing with desire. You’re frantically pulling articles of clothing off each other’s bodies, littering them throughout the room from the door to the bed. You let yourself melt into Quinn as he lays you down on the bed, pressing kisses down your neck and chest, fingers hooking under your underwear, tugging them down your legs. 

A loud breath leaves your lungs as Quinn presses his lips to your inner thigh, slowly moving them higher and higher up your legs. The closer he gets to where you wanted him the more antsy you became, hips squirming on the bed. “Please,” you whimper, desperate for him to pick up the pace. Quinn takes the hint, tongue brushing over your clit as moans begin slipping from your lips. 

Moaning loudly you have one hand on the back of his head, fingers grasping at his hair. Your other hand is grasping the fabric of the sheets on your bed. “Oh, fuck, feels so good,” you whimper. As you grow closer to you your peak your muscles begins to tense, waves of pleasure suddenly crashing through your body just a second later. 

Quinn makes his way back to your lips, kissing you deeply as you reach down, hand brushing against his hard cock. “So hot coming for me like that,” Quinn mumbles against your lips. Fumbling his underwear off you grasp at Quinn’s shoulders, staring at him with eager eyes.

“Are you sure?” Quinn asks, watching you nod before slipping his hand between your bodies. He guides himself into you, slow and gentle as he watches you closely. 

With a soft gasp you grasp at his shoulders, the feeling of him inside you making your head spin with pleasure. No amount of imagining this moment could have prepared you for this. “You feel so good inside me,” you whimper as he thrusts deep inside you. 

“Fuck,” Quinn groans, a blissful smirk on his lips. “I don’t think I’ll be able to last long, you feel so fucking good,” he admits. 

“That’s okay,” you giggle, pulling him closer to press your lips to his. “I don’t think this will be the last time this is happening.”

“Really hope not,” Quinn mumbles. His hips begin to move faster, your moans increasing in frequency as your fingers dig into his shoulders. “Where do-.”

“Come inside me,” you interject, hoping that you knew where he was going with his question. “I want to feel you fill me with your cum.”

“Oh, fuck,” Quinn groans, shaking his head. “Can’t say that to me if you want me to last longer.”

“Cum all over me then, is that better?” you tease with a quiet gasp as Quinn’s hips smack harder into you. 

“N-no,” Quinn stammers, shaking his head. True to his word you feel him finishing inside you just a moment later, groaning loudly as he rocks his hips into you a few more times before slowly pulling out of you. Reaching over he grabs a few of the Kleenex from the box on the bedside table, quickly cleaning you up. 

“Do you want to have a shower?” you ask, propping yourself up on your elbows. “With me.”

“Yes,” Quinn replies easily, reaching for your hands as you sit up.

After a shower you curl up next to Quinn in bed, your arm over his chest, drawing imaginary shapes on his skin. You try to stay awake, to spend more time with Quinn, but you’re quickly overtaken by sleep in the comfort of his arms. 

You weren’t sure what time it was or even how many rounds you and Quinn had gone since you woke up that morning. All you knew was that your legs were beginning to shake with Quinn between them, your fingers tangled in his hair, gasps and moans escaping your lips loudly. But a knock on the door is enough to silence your string of moans and make Quinn pull back quickly. 

“Who’s that?” Quinn whispers, looking over at you with wide eyes. 

“How would I know?” you mutter, scrambling off the bed to try and find some clothes to pull over your naked body. With Quinn’s shirt and a pair of bikini bottoms on you open your door, eyes widening as you look over at Jack. “Hi,” you mutter, swallowing heavily. 

“Are you…okay?” Jack asks, eyebrows furrowed as he looks you up and down. “Oh, oh shit,” he laughs, shaking his head. “Quinn’s not going to be happy about this,” he mutters, glancing around the hallway. 

“I,” you begin, glancing behind you as you let out a loud breath. “What do you want, Jack?”

“Are you coming on the boat today or what? We were supposed to meet down there at one.”

“One?” you exclaim, not realizing how late in the day it had gotten. 

“Yeah,” Jack states, shaking his head at your confusion. “Also, do you know where Quinn is?”

“I, uh,” you begin before shaking your head. “No, I don’t…I’ll be down in a few minutes, just need to get ready,” you tell him, closing the door before he has the chance to say anything else. 

“Didn’t want to tell him?” Quinn asks with a smirk, walking over to where you were standing by the door. 

“Tell him that he just interrupted his brother going down on me?” you ask. 

Quinn shrugs, hands on your waist as he walks you back to the edge of the bed. “Lay down, I’m not going to let that stop me from finishing what I started.”

You let out a quiet moan, leaning up and kissing him deeply. His tongue is in your mouth and you can taste yourself on him, whimpering into the kiss. 

Quinn smirks, pushing you back onto the bed before getting down in front of it. His head is back between your legs just a second later, his tongue sliding along your folds before running over your clit, your hips squirming beneath him. He presses his arm over your hips, stilling them as he quickly brings you to another orgasm, body writhing beneath him. 

“Fuck, holy fuck,” you breathe out as Quinn kisses his way up your body. 

Quinn presses a quick kiss to your lips before taking your hands and pulling you to sit up. “Should we head down there?”

Nodding you stare up at him with an awestruck gaze. “Y-yeah,” you stammer, pulling yourself to your feet and digging through your suitcase for another bikini and pair of shorts. 

The two of you make it down to the lobby only a few short minutes later, your legs not even entirely steady yet. You watch Jack glance over at Quinn and then back to you, eyes narrowing slightly. “Found him,” you declare, looking at Jack as you say it. 

“Mmhm,” Jack hums, looking away from you. “Let’s go,” he declares, storming off towards the doors of the hotel. You exchange a look with Quinn, his shrug being enough to tell you to just leave him Jack be and keep going ahead with the plan. 

You’re on your sixth drink in the span of a couple hours on the boat, a buzz in your body as you lean back against the hot vinyl seats on the boat. You weren’t the only one who had been drinking, everyone on the boat having lost their sobriety somewhere after hour one on the boat. Quinn scoots a little closer to you, draping his arm over the back of your seat as he leans in, pressing his lips to the top of your head. 

“She’s not into you,” Jack declares with a drunken slur, staring at Quinn with a warning look. 

“What?” Quinn asks, chuckling as Jack’s statement. 

“She was fucking someone this morning, you need to stop.”

“Woah,” Quinn mutters. “How many drinks have you had, bud?”

“I’m not lying, she was-.”

“I know, Jack, now shut the fuck up,” Quinn snaps, a warning tone in his voice. 

“You’re in love with her,” Jack exclaims, gesturing wildly between you and Quinn. 

You can’t help but giggle at the situation, looking up at Quinn. “You can tell him, it’s fine,” you whisper. 

“I was the one in her room this morning, bro,” Quinn tells Jack, dropping his arm from around you on the chair to around your waist, pulling you in closer. 

Jack is silent for a few seconds, eyes darting back and forth between you and Quinn. “Oh, shit, sorry, I-.”

“It’s fine, let’s just stop talking about this,” you interject, cheeks flushing. 

“Wait, what?” Luke exclaims from where he was sitting on the other side of you. “Are you two finally a thing?”

“No, we’re not really, like, together, but…finally?” you question, turning your head to look at Quinn with a teasing smile. “Did everyone but me know you had feelings for me?”

“Not everyone,” Quinn chuckles, cheeks red. “Just these two idiots.”

“We’re not the idiots here if you two aren’t going to just get together, it’s been like 20 years,” Luke states.

“We’ll figure it out,” you assure him, turning your head to look at Quinn. “Right?”

“I don’t think there’s much I need to figure out,” Quinn says, looking into your eyes. “I know exactly what I want.”

“Me too,” you whisper with a soft smile, fingers squeezing his hand, a silent communication that you were both on the same page. Because at the end of the day, it’s better late than never and you don’t know if you could have lived with never having a chance with Quinn. 

[ewanmitchellconnoisseur]

"Illusion" (Final Part)

A/N: This is short :/ but it's a cute ending and I like it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Trying to speed run through my WIP's. Anywho here is the final part of Illusion!! Also sorry it took long, I'e been going through some stuff 😚

I do also want to mention that this isnt my best work. Because im finishing what past me started it was hard to make sure this came out good so...dont read to much into my shitty writing!

Summary: After Osferth saw you working at your night job you start avoiding him, embarassed about what he saw. He manages to get you alone and you both have a heart to heart.

TW: Virginity Loss, Smut, P in V, Alochol, Osferth being bold, Tiddy Suckkin

←  Previous Part

Mortified.

That was the only way to express how you felt. You were utterly mortified.

Just when your life was getting better and things were looking up. It's almost as if the universe couldn't let you have a moment of peace.

Your brain ran wild as you drove back home. He would never see you the same again after this. There was no way he'd still want to go on that date. And you couldn't possibly go to his birthday party and face him.

You are quick to run up to your stairs when you finally arrive home. Not noticing the small boy in the living room who stayed up waiting for you to get home.

You didn't have work. You traded your shift the same day he asked you to go with him to his party. Your brothers had plans with friends from school and your mom was working all day.

You spent the first half of the day cleaning your room and the rest of the house. Not cause you had to but because what else was there to do.

For once in your life you had the house to yourself. And the only thing you wanted to do was sit on your couch with a fat tub of ice cream and maybe a hot pocket...or two.

So that's what you did.

Sweatpants, sweatshirts, and slippers. Ice cream, chips and your hot pockets were all you needed as you snuggled on the couch.

You binge-watched your favourite show you've seen way too many times, trying your best to push everything out of your head. You managed to get halfway through the first second season before someone rang the doorbell.

Crawling over the back of the couch miserably and walking over to the door while still keeping your eyes on the TV you open the door.

When you finally tear your eyes away from the screen to look in front of you Osferth is standing there.

Without thinking you slam the door shut in the face. You stand there staring at the now-closed door when the doorbell rings again.

Taking a deep breath and wiping your face with the sleeve of your sweater you open the door again.

Osferth turned back around as he heard the door open. He walks back towards the door.

"Osferth liste-"

His hand is quickly holding on to the side of your face as his other pulls you flush against him. He dips down to kiss you silencing any objections.

You had always thought him to be too timid to do something like this. Too kind and gentle to kiss in such an intense way. When he finally pulls you away he doesn't let you go, continuing to hold you close.

"I shouldn't have approached you the way I did...I wasn't angry, disappointed or even disgusted..."

His fingers gently brush your cheek. His eyes take in all of your face as he's able to see you up close for the first time.

"I was jealous, I think, all those men looking at you I guess just got to me. Maybe I was also confused but that's all. I didn't mean to scare you off." Both his hands move to rest on your waist.

"I was just scared. Worried you would be. I should have heard you out instead of running. I was embarrassed."

Osferth listened to you as he rubbed circles on your waist comfortingly.

"And you had just invited me to your birthday, I was so scared tha-" You cut yourself off as something crossed your mind. "Wait- your birthday! What are you doing here? Your party started like an hour ago."

"I left...I couldn't celebrate without you there. I had hoped you would still come. When you didn't I asked around to find out where you lived."

"You have to go back! Everyone is there for you!" You tried to remove his hands to usher him back to his car but he held on to you tightly.

"I barely know half the people there. Plus, im not going back without you. I don't care if you strip I'm sure there's a reason you do it. And I won't ask if it's not something you want to talk about."

You contemplate telling him. It's not as if you didn't trust him but rather it was a pride thing. Most people wouldn't want to tell people about their family's financial struggles. Then again, if he was willing to overlook the fact that you danced half-naked for money to other men he deserved to at least know why.

"My dad had a gambling addiction. When he died his debts were passed off to us." Osferths hand held on to your lower back rubbing slowly in a soothing manner. "Loan Sharks came by a week after his funeral demanding their money. We paid them all we had in the bank but we still owe more. That's why I dropped out. That's why I strip."

"How much do you owe?"

"...not much left. I'll be done by the end of summer." Osferth nods. "Are you sure you're okay with the fact I strip? I know most guys-"

"Im not most guys. I get your situation. I just wish you had told me."

You smile softly. There is a moment of silence in between you two before Osferth leans back down for another kiss. This one is slightly different it's hungry and more aggressive. His hands slide down from your back to your butt giving it a playful squeeze.

Osferth walks you backwards into your house and uses his foot to close the door. As the kiss continues you soon notice a taste on your tongue, tequila.

You giggle against his lips, Osferths brow raises as he pulls away.

"What's so funny?"

"Did you drink before coming here?" His face flushes the tinniest bit as a smile creeps on his face.

"I took a shot in my car...liquid courage." It definitely gave him plenty of it. "I want you...so badly." He kisses the side of your face making his way down your neck, you tilt to the side giving him more access. "All of you."

You had never had someone say that to you. That they wanted you. Somewhere along the way you came to terms with the act that you could possibly never hear those words. But here they were, coming from the lips of the boy you least expected to say them.

"W-we shouldn't-" You pull your head back. You didn't know much about Osferth but you did know his family's religious standing.

"Yes-" He kisses you again before leaning down more so he can lift you up. "We should."

"Thought you were the wait until marriage type." Osferth smiles as he lifts you up, wrapping your legs around his waist. He carries you over to the couch sitting down with you straddling him.

"I can always repent." His hands roam up under a sweatshirt. "How about we take this off." You help him lift the shirt over your head. He takes a second admiring how good you look in your bra before reaching behind you to undo the clasps.

Once undone he flings your bra off to the side. He marvels over how perfect your tits fit in his hands. Gently rolling your nipples between his fingers before taking one in his mouth.

He sucks eagerly before releasing your nipple with a lewd pop and giving the other the same attention.

You could feel him getting harder below you, his cock straining in his jeans. You grind down on him as he gently grazes one of your nipples with his teeth watching your face for reactions.

You help him take his shirt off before leaning down to kiss him. Osferth was beautiful, despite the somewhat nerdy and shy look to him his body looked like it belonged to another man.

"Are you sure?" You understand like anyone giving your virginity is a big step. He nods and meets you the rest of the way pulling you against him into a soft kiss. He holds the back of your neck keeping you close as he continues rolling your nipple between his fingers.

He pulls away only to help you take off your sweatpants and to shimmy out of his jeans. You can only now see just how hard he is, the tip already leaking.

You reach in between you want to touch him but he gently grabs your wrists.

"I've wanted this for long I can't wait any longer." You lift your hips as he lines himself up. His face is fixed on yours as he lowers you unto his length watching every facial reaction, studying you.

Osferth's fingers grip your hips as you fully sit down. his breath coming in short pants as he leans his head against your chest.

"D-dont move yet. I want this to last." It takes him a moment before he starts to guide your hips to move slowly. You enjoy watching the pleasure plastered on his face.

You let Osferth take control as he pulls you against his chest planting his feet on the floor to gain leverage. You're taken off guard as he picks up pace not giving you a moment to breathe.

Motivated by your moans Osferth keeps going wanting to make you feel good, wanting this to be good for you.

"Osferth~" You rest your head on his shoulder his moans filling your ears. Those are the only sounds besides the crude sounds of his balls hitting your ass with every thrust.

His arms wrap around you holding as close to him as possible wanting to feel all of you inside and out.

"Does it feel good love?" his voice is sultry and only makes you clench around him. You nod back and can feel him smirk against your neck. "It must. I can feel you dripping down my thigh."

He stopped as he moved you both around laying you on your back, one leg over his shoulder and the other wrapped around the back of your thigh.

His eyes marvelled as he watched himself slowly slide in and out of you glistening with your arousal.

Seeing your body covered in a thin layer of sweat your eyes glazed over had his cock twitching within.

"I don't think ill be able to hold back much longer." He began moving once more picking back up in pace. The new angle had him hitting a spot within you that you had not known was there.

Osferth let go of one of your legs and has his hands found a way to your clit rubbing it gently. He could feel you tightening around him, your body writhing beneath him.

He watched as your orgasm washed over you. Your back arching off the couch, the way your eyes roll back slightly and you moan his name.

In his eyes, you looked like a goddess.

The view brings Osferth his own release he pulls out his cum painting your stomach.

You both sit for a moment minds racing to comprehend what just happened between you two.

"..how about we go shower then head to the party?" He stands up offering his hand, and you take it getting up off the couch.

Despite the doubt that crawls in your mind about if he's truly ok with your profession, you can't question one thing. He makes you feel loved and safe, a feeling you have not felt in a while.

And that there was no longer a need for an illusion.

A/N: AGAIN IM SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS TOOK IF ANYONE STILL CARES. AND SORRY FOR THE SHITTY WRITING.

[sunny374940]

WIP... Thursday :D

@spinfins, @lavender-tea-fling, @mercars-musings, @starfleetteddybear, @redheadsramblings, @sorrowsfallallaround

Hi guys, sorry to summon you onto a post that's not fanfic, but I would really value your opinion. I have been GRIPPED by the beginnings of writing an original story and am wondering whether there's any merit in pursuing the thing further. So I'd be grateful for your thoughts, but no hard feelings if you don't want to look at this <3 (also consider yourself tagged if you wanna share any of your wips)

The story is shaping up to be a modern fantasy romance / adventure / something and it's v. gay. It's about a half-elf researcher who is assigned a bodyguard (he doesn't want a bodyguard and definitely doesn't need one, thankyouverymuch) and there will be much pining and peril and feelings from the look of it.

So if anyone wants to look at the thing, it's down here (this is the first page and a little, working title is Damn Sky Whales).

The doorbell rang, startling Fern out of his research. Was it the time already? Surely not, he'd been at this only for - he checked his phone - four hours now. Damn. It was the time.

He threw on whatever clothes he could manage to locate in the mess that was his bed, grateful to Past Fern for the great idea of taking a shower before settling down to more work, and ran to the front door. He opened it in a rush and found himself eye to chest with a stranger. The chest was quite wide, he couldn’t help noticing, bordered by well muscled arms. He took a step back to look the man in the face, which was some way up. Fern wasn’t that short, surely?

“You are not my driver.”

The man was giving him a curious look and Fern could feel his mismatched socks staring accusingly from his shoes. His hair was probably a terrible mess too.

“I’m your bodyguard, sir,” he said, as if that explained anything.

“I don't have a bodyguard.”

“Well, now you do. But I can drive, if that helps.” 

Fern could tell from the amused glint in his eyes that he definitely noticed his ogling, as well as his socks. And he was human. Of course. No self-respecting elf would take the job of safeguarding a half-breed like him. 

“I am certain I don’t need a bodyguard.”

He was being a bit childish, arguing like that, but the way he couldn’t dissuade him was getting annoying. 

“Your mom made the arrangements on your behalf.”

Ah. His dear elven mother. She did enjoy taking over his life. But for all her faults, her support put him through university, when it wasn’t easy for a half-elf to even be admitted to study. Though his academic success was entirely his own, she wouldn’t take the credit there.

It seemed that there was no point in arguing with the bodyguard. His bodyguard. Why would he need one, anyway? Yet another of mother’s idle fancies, most likely. He wouldn’t be able to protect him if anything went wrong today, but she probably felt better for doing this.

“Ugh. Alright. What’s your name?”

“Gareth, sir. So, where we going?”

“We will be inspecting a dragon's lair today. Their numbers have been dwindling over the past few years and I will get to the bottom of this. They are thaumivores and the background magic-”

The bodyguard was watching him with a stony expression.

“You don’t care about the dragons, do you?” he sighed. Why did he even bother?

“Sorry, never given much thought to the sky whales, sir.”

That damn comparison! Just because they floated calmly through the skies and allowed the magic to pass through them, everyone considered them to be useless annoyances that meddled with air traffic. He was being unfair to actual whales right now, but that was besides the point. He could feel the beginnings of a rant coming on.

“They are much more complex than that! They are not mere krill-feeders, the thaumic ecosystem itself is dependent on their presence. They harmonize the magical frequencies, do you know how many wild magic storms there would be without them?”

The corners of the bodyguard's mouth were quirked up just the slightest bit. He was trying to get a rise out of him! Fern deflated. He hadn’t really slept last night, he’d been too caught up in poring over maps of thaumic interference to notice that it was getting late and only nodded off for a few hours amongst the papers spread out on his bed.

“Let’s just go, it’s a long drive.”

“As you say, sir.”

“Could you dispense with the ‘sirs’? I’ve had enough for the whole week already. I’m Fern.”

He didn’t argue, to Fern’s surprise.

“Alright. And why do you need a driver? Your hands too soft for the steering wheel?”

“I don’t like to drive, simple as that. So this is the one thing my mother’s wealth allows me that I take advantage of.”

He didn’t have to tell him that his mother actually insisted on him having a driver after the last time he made a brilliant breakthrough in his research while driving to work and nearly killed himself by slamming the car into a lamp post when he got lost in thought.

[fangbangerghoul]

dividers by @uzmacchiato

I was tagged by the lovely @eridanidreams for a WIP WED but unfortunately, I have been a bit busy this week. So instead, I will do a WIP WHENVER.

Over the last week or so I have posted a new chapter for Citrus and Melancholy (CAM), and a chapter for Empire of Desire, (EOD). Both are set in the Love and Deepspace universe.

CAM stars a single mom MC, Sophia, trying to reclaim her life after living the first couple years as a mom lonely and isolated. She tries to find ways to deal with the grief of losing Caleb while still being a strong support for her daughter Melody. Rekindling old relationships and falling into new ones as someone who's responsibilities are greater than the average persons. tw: grief, mentions of suicidal ideation, loneliness, eventual smut, recreational drug use, alcohol, parenthood, love triangle

EOD stars a nonMC, Carmilla 'Ghoul' Imada, that's a clone of that universes MC. She's an assassin for hire within the N109 zone that slinks around the city to avoid being perceived most of the time. The only one who knows the truth of her existence is Caleb but even she isn't willing to trust him any more than she can throw him. Luke and Kerian normally throw extra freelance jobs her way but her time being out of the peripheral of the leader of Onychinus is drawing to a close. tw: violence, smut, pet names, golden retriever caleb, greedy dragon sylus, sly siren rafayel, sex work, drugs+sex+rocknroll, probably more tags i cant think of rn

This WIP WHENEVER will contain a preview of the next chapter for EOD when Ghoul meets someone new. It will be under the cut.

tagging with no pressure: @roguishcat @bearlytolerant, @lisa-and-shadow, @staticpallour, @mercars-musings, @rafayelxsylusho, @yungcontrolfreak, @bronzealchemy, @ishgard (ive been trying to pay attention to those who like or reblog lads content if youd like to be tagged or not to be tagged plz let me know!)

Preview of Chapter 6:

When Ghoul looked at the culprit she was surprised by what she saw. A man several inches taller than her stood there, wide frame, small waist, but lavender hair that stretched down his back and wrapped around him like an accessory. He also seemed to be wearing loose garbs, but they looked more expensive and tailored to his body. It wasn’t his hair or his clothes that held Ghoul in place but his sunset eyes that caught her attention the most. There was a playful arrogance written all over his face, but those eyes seemed to yearn for something unreachable.

            “I hope there is a good reason you are interrupting us.” Ghoul said flatly.

            “There could be.” His voice carried above the sounds of the club like a melody and he crossed his arms; hip jutted to the side.

            “I should leave.” The blonde began to move from underneath Ghoul’s presence but Ghoul stuck her arm out and stopped her in her tracks.

            “You don’t have to leave just yet. I still have a secret to tell you.” Ghoul brushed her lips over the woman’s inviting her to take the bait but the woman stilled, hesitant. Ghoul took the hint and stepped back to give her space to leave. She wasn’t in the business of forcing someone to be with her even if they were going to be paid. The woman tried to hand back the drink but Ghoul shook her head. “Keep it. Enjoy your night.”

            “Thank you. Sorry.” The blonde ran off and disappeared into the wave of bodies ahead of them. Ghoul felt irate at this man interrupting. It didn’t matter how pretty he thought he was.

            “Aw, that’s too bad.” His pity sounded fake but Ghoul could feel that he was up to something. She wasn’t in the mood to play games with another person. She walked away with more of a stomp in her step from feeling pissy. Instead of being able to get lost in the dance floor again until she cooled her temper, she felt the man grip her wrist and twirl her towards him. The only reason she went along with the whip of her body was because the jerk had made her stumble. If she had fallen on her face, she knew the answer to this problem would be violence. Ghoul managed to control the end of the whip and stopped just in front of the beautiful looking man. Her brow was raised but she could feel the frown growing on her face.

            “Didn’t you say you were lonely tonight?” He breathed against her ear. It sent a shiver down her spine and she gripped his hand that held her.

            “And if I did?” She pried his fingers off her one by one, never breaking their locked gaze. His eyes were a multitude of violet and red hues that were mesmerizing. She realized she had never seen anything like it and that piqued her curiosity.

            “Let me cure it.” His lips looked glossy and smacked softly at the end of his suggestion. He still had that arrogant look on his face and Ghoul started to wonder if he ever had a client turn him down. A part of her wanted to be the first just to get back at him for interrupting her previous engagement, but there was another part of her that was curious if that arrogance held some merit. She was looking to forget a lot of things, maybe that confidence was more of a promise. Ghoul stood back and eyed him from head to toe again, considering the proposition. She finally noticed his ivory knee-high boots that blended with the soft silky pants that billowed out of the ends only to be a perfect fit around his tight waist. Ghoul had to admit he was her type even if she would never tell him directly.

(if you've read this far thank you, reblogs, comments, kudos, likes are all appreciated)

[lokimobius]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by the lovely @elodiah <3

I'm still working on my next door neighbours au. Currently it's looking like it might be two chapters, but we'll see! I don't think I'll be posting it until it's completely written though.

I may or may not have written Mobius as a bit of a disaster gay in this part of the fic. He only has a "tiny crush" on his neighbour; it's nothing serious, of course... Don't judge him!!!!! He's a repressed university professor. His life doesn't get much more exciting than this!

His eyes widened when he caught sight of himself in the mirror. His hair was tousled messily at the back of his head from where he’d been lying on his sofa all morning. A shiver ran down his spine. Had he really answered the door like this? He pulled at it nervously, trying to make it more presentable, which only made it look strangely neat. “Damn it!” He grumbled under his breath. “You got a serious case of helmet head, Mobius.” He ran both hands through his hair and tousled it, this time going for a more deliberate dishevelled look. After having the same hairstyle for most of his life, his friends had convinced him to try growing his hair out. They promised him that it would look good, and they were right. It was a good look for him. However, he still had no idea how to style it. Normally, the way he looked wouldn't bother him, but he was about to have the most put together person he'd ever seen in his apartment. He gave his hair a final smoothing over, silently cursing himself for not making more of an effort with his appearance in the first place. In his defence, he hadn’t been expecting guests today, let alone Loki. A loud knock at the front door interrupted his preening, and he jumped, his heart thudding in his chest. “Shit!” He bared his teeth at his reflection quickly. Did he have anything in them? Did his moustache look okay? Were his glasses on straight? Oh god, he was wearing his glasses. No one was supposed to see him in these. He took them off and threw them onto his sofa as he raced past it to unlock the door. Loki stood outside in his slippers and robe, holding a fluffy green towel and what looked like a cosmetic pouch in his arms.

No pressure tags to: @loki-is-my-kink-awakening @kcscribbler @in-my-loki-feels @thosegayoldmen

@silentxsymphony @devilbearingtrouble @andthekitchensinkao3

[pretend-theres-a-name-here]

I have a couple longfics that I want to get serious about writing but I don’t know which ones to focus on (for clarification I will eventually get to writing all of them, I just don’t know what people would be interested in reading first)

Below the cut: 1 Jayvik fic and 4 Marauders fics

(Summary of fics under the cut as well as a poll to pick which ones you want to see posted first)

(File names only atm)

Jayvik Time Anomaly: when Jayce hits the anomaly with his hammer he gets sent to an alternate universe where he and Viktor are married; he gets transported to another alternate universe where Viktor’s part of the council, not him, because he agreed to go back to his mom’s house at his trial and never made Hextech with Viktor; finally he gets sent to a third alternate universe where he’s a kid again and meets Viktor as a kid. When Jayce is returned to his universe he has a big decision to make.

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Kills Me To Be Kind marauders band au: Jegulus had a secret relationship before both their bands took off, the fame and pressure (and maybe a teeeeny bit of James’ alcoholism) caused them to break up. Set 2 years post break up, the Slytherins (stand in band name) are releasing a new album that’s definitely not about James. Pressured by the media, the Slytherins and marauders agree to go on a world tour together to promote the album. Hijinks and drama ensues, can James and Regulus overcome their past hurt and work together? Can they Be together again?

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A Star By Your Name: Jegulus Romeo and Juliet au, ftm Regulus. Jegulus meet at the ball announcing Regulus’ engagement, James is determined to see him again despite their family’s history. It’s basically just Romeo and Juliet tweaked to fit Jegulus you know the drill, James proposes and they get married, they get so close to a happy ending and then they both die at the end.

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Remus Timeloop Nightmare: Remus centric. Remus lives his canonical life and then dies his canonical death only to be sent back to his first year at Hogwarts. He meets all his friends again and tries to set things right this time. It happens again and again, everything ends the same one way or another, multiple loops of the same terrible 27 years. Wolfstar in some (read: a lot) of them.

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Marauders Arcane au: (only kind of loosely based in the Arcane world) James and Sirius meet in Piltover as kids, they team up in order to find the wild Golden Snitch which hasn’t been spotted in over a century. Sirius runs away at 15 to live with the potter’s and Regulus stays behind. Regulus gets a job at Potter’s Potions Brewery because the Blacks want their new future heir to have more life experience, he ends up enjoying it more than he wants to and getting to see the owners son almost every day is his favorite part (not that he’d ever admit to it). James and Sirius find out that the wild Golden Snitch can only be found in Zaun, James asks Regulus to go with them and all secrets are revealed. Cue Black brothers angst. They bump into the rest of the marauders and even a few Slytherins in Zaun along the way.

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and now for everyone’s favorite part:

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

WIP Wednesday

Lokius. Loki fears they will be lost to timeslipping, so when they appear beside Mobius, even if they are on the floor, they cling onto him.

Loki was lost, pulled across the vastness of space and time, stretched so thin it felt like their atoms would be forever scattered, then snapping back together a second later. Each time, it hurt, but they didn’t want to admit that, not to Mobius when it was their fault they were in this mess. They’d let their guard down, and now the universe was spinning off kilter. The fear was the worst. Each time they disappeared, there was no assurance they would come back…to him. They could be gone and Mobius might never know the truth, that they loved him, even if they could never say it. If they never came back, would anyone think their life had been worth living? For years, they had been cut off from their peers, never having friends, never letting anyone in, isolating themself from their own family. They’d experienced years of loneliness, and they knew they deserved more. It had only been when they’d met Mobius that they’d finally felt some peace. For the first time in their life, they had been truly seen but without any judgement, and Loki had struggled to accept it, until finally—like a ravenous dog—they had revelled in the very thing they’d always wanted. Mobius made them feel whole when before they hadn’t realised they were damaged. And now, they needed him more than ever. With each twist of their body, they were sure they were getting closer to oblivion. The cosmos had never looked so desolate. Darkness filled the void. Their heart ripped, another piece falling out and disappearing, never to be found again. It was over. It must be. They would never know the meaning of love again. With eyes closed, they let themself float, waiting, enduring. Then, a bright light shone from above and they winced. Muscles pulled and contracted, and beneath them was something solid, smooth and cold. Suddenly, they could breathe again. Their lungs worked and blood pumped through their veins. The world settled around them and they opened their eyes, realising exactly where they were. In front of them was a leg hidden beneath the scratchy brown material the TVA insisted everyone wear, and beneath that a leather shoe. Their eyes swivelled down their body, spotting Mobius’ other leg and the thin metal legs of the chair he was seated on. Above them was a table, and Mobius was hunched over it like he always was. Loki took in a sharp breath of air, then grabbed onto Mobius’ legs, wrapping their body around him and sighing with relief to have him in their grasp once more. “What the?” Mobius yelled. “Mmmm,” Loki replied, face snuggled into him, never wanting to let go.

Inspired by this gorgeous art by @queerolddad.

I was tagged by both @cha-melodius and @kcscribbler. Thank you. 💕

Tagging writers, artists and creators @doomed-spectacles @insert-witty-user-name-here @dewdropreader @starport-seven-five @starrose17 @sparrow-the-tired-lesbian @blackbirdofasgard @faylights @typewriterwolf @lgwilt @mobius-m-mobius @wolfpup026 @natendo-art @lokimobius @loki-us and anyone else who wants to do it.

[rmd-writes]

a love note (and some fics)

Sometimes I wonder if there's really anything bigger out there - the universe, some kind of higher power, fate - and then I think about how extremely lucky I am that I became obsessed with a certain tv show and its characters at just the right time so that I could befriend someone who then introduced me to a particular book at exactly the right time to fall in love with those characters as well. And then, because of my need to have more of those characters, I went looking for more stories about them at exactly the right time to meet a group of people (some of them together, some of them later, but that doesn't matter) who would go on to become my friends.

There must be something, right? To bring together a group of people who live in five to seven different time zones depending on the time of year. To create my safest spaces on the internet. To share not just our love for a book and its characters, but parts of our lives with each other. To have them all wedge themselves into the soft spaces of my heart and never leave.

I've been thinking about this a lot over the last two weeks, because those people conspired and collaborated to gift me a collection of 10 incredible fics for a milestone birthday (tomorrow!) - even though some of them haven't written fic for months and months, or don't write for this fandom at all anymore, or have recently been finding it hard to make words work and finish fics, or are just plain busy with other projects and life. That they took the time to find and make words for me means everything and more 💖💖

I've been absolutely overwhelmed with love these past 10 days (probably to the surprise of no one, I have cried at every single fic drop and I'm crying writing this now). So, I want to share the wonderful fics that they've written for me with you all because it's the least I can do to pay it forward and they're objectively stellar fics. If you haven't come across them already then you should definitely add them to your to read lists/open tabs/MFL. Please show my friends some love and read their work.

The Rae of Sunshine! collection, in order of publication (with my very short summaries):

Take It Back (4.2K) by @three-drink-amy

Henry is the head chef at a French restaurant and there's one patron who keeps sending his dishes back. How can they resolve this?

Dick, Dick Dick (You Down) (10.2K) by @everwitch-magiks

Alex runs the craft services trailer on the set of actor!Henry's latest movie. Is he the only person who sees behind the façade?

A deceptively soft story, given the title.

Precious Love (1.3K) by floatingaway4

The fluffiest follow up to one of my favourite AUs Amigos y Migas (aka the food truck au).

Midnight ice cream (5.8K) by @the-amber-fox

Emotional support Cornettos? More likely than you think.

Make it Right (5.3K) by @three-drink-amy (that's right, Ally wrote me TWO FICS)

A rogue little Tarlos fic in amongst the firstprince - a post-season 1 canon divergence that sees TK working in a taco truck while he finds his feet.

a taste of life (7.4K) by @indomitable-love

A journey through Henry's life, told through food. (This one is not my summary, indomitablelove already summed it up perfectly)

Risotto + Melanzane + Dolce (a love story) (16.8K) by @villiageidiot

Alex starts working at an Italian restaurant and is terrible at his job. Somehow, Henry doesn't seem to mind.

Cursed is a State of Mind (WIP) by @welcometololaland & @dustratcentral

A 5 + 1 treatise on cursed coffee consumption.

12 Year Starter (6.6K) by @clottedcreamfudge

When Pez can't make it to Henry's Michelin-star birthday dinner, he arranges for Henry's friend, Alex, to take his place. Featuring CCF's signature banter and fun, and a menu that I wish was real.

Pour Your He(art) Out (WIP) by @athousandrooms

A 5+1 ode to latte art (featuring actual art!)

You can find the entire collection here on Ao3.

[darryscrow]

Polish au Parry unfinished wip

Darry didn't use his head.

For all the times he'd drilled it into his younger brother that he didn't use his own, Darry had gone and forgotten all about the weather.

It had been cold, snowing and icy for a couple days now, but he had been locked away in an office all day with the thickest jacket he's got, until his sight went blurry – which made it feel almost like a chilly day at most. The frost that bit his face when he stepped outside told him otherwise. It was dark, slippery, and dangerous.

Darry blew hot air into his hands before stuffing them into his pockets littered with holes, hoping that his walk home won't feel as long as it actually is. He knows it won't, if anything it'd be worse, but you can't blame a man to try to keep himself in high spirits.

Walking down the village paths wasn't so bad, even when taking all the cracks and ice into account, but it was when the village stopped and the road continued that it got annoying. It wasn't that bad in the morning when he walked over, Darry thought, but then again he could see the ice on the ground then.

Ice covered the edges of the road, and Darry found himself slipping more often than not, praying to God that he'd make it home alive.

He wanted to be mad about taking the job a village over instead of in his own, or at least in a place that had a train track going through it, but they needed the money. Darry was always aware of his family's troubles that were rooted from even from before the war despite their efforts to shelter him, but staying afloat seemed even harder than he initially thought when all the work went his way. At least they couldn't send him off to the army, not when he had two kids under his care.

He took his hands out of his pockets to blow at them again, the cold seeping in through the cheap material. It used to be his dad's.

Oranżada and Ponyboy must've eaten ages ago, and hopefully still kept the fire on. Darry moaned at the thought of the warmth, even if he knew that it'd most likely be put out before he was home.

At least the two of them shared a bed, they could survive the freezing nights together. (He didn't think about the scourching summer nights.) Darry didn't share the same luck in their parents old bed, but at least he finally had his own room.

He bit his tongue and kept trudging on, going down the dark road – until he put his foot down hard out of anger and finally slipped, falling to ground after one too many close calls.

The ice cracked when the back of his head met the road, and apart from his initial curse and hiss, it was a pretty quiet night.

After waiting a minute for his head to stop spinning, Darry got up and started stumbling down the road again. He held the back of his head with both hands and hoped to God that he wouldn't slip again.

What did he do to deserve this?

His parents, his chance at University, his life..

Darry jolted when a low rumble came out of nowhere, and when he turned so fast that stars appeared, he realised that the sound came from a car.

He stood on the side of the road like some dummy as the car slowly pulled up, and the window was rolled down.

"Want a ride home?"

Darry cautiously got close to the car at the familiar voice, "Paul?"

Paul chuckled, "Oh I know I know, it's my dad's. Pretty sweet? Useful in the Winter." He stared right at Darry then.

"I'm serious, hop in."

Darry swallowed nervously, he hadn't seen Paul in about two years. They didn't exactly leave off on a good note either.

His head felt like it was one gust of wind away from exploding though, so he reluctantly rounded the car and fiddled with the handle before managing to get it. Darry tried his best not to seem that awestruck as he took in the interior of the car, questions popping into his head as he discovered one button after another.

[spiritsglade]

the problem with writing jayroy (or them platonically because apparently i forgot how to write shipfic) is that for some reason i am so fucking bad at ironing out the situation they're in. usually with planning i go premise -> setting/timeline -> the nitty gritty bits of how the scenario comes together.

like with "scabbed over" the initial thought was just 'tim was a normal child for 13 years i bet he has a bunch of scars with the most mundane stories. all the visible obvious ones aren't even from vigilantism' and then it was okay. i'd just started reading batgirl 2000 recently so the tim & cass issue was on my mind. contrast with cass's fucked up scars and total lack of civilian life. where would this come up? during a spar. they're sparring because they're friends and how cass reaches out. awesome. we're riffing off of canon and exploring this silly thought i had and also injecting a little layer of angst in there because i an incapable of not adding that.

lies of omission was 'i've been seeing a lot of posts about how bats breaking into jason's safehouses is not fun and wholesome actually. also there's a fuck ton of headcanons for him i really like for him that he'd probably not tell the bats about. what if they find out.' the timeline took a while it was actually initially 10 months post-uth instead of 4 years. and then details have kept getting ironed out as i flesh out the story + have kept happening as the sequel's started crystallizing in my mind.

"casts and splints" was 'i wanna write a dick & jason hurt/comfort fic and also i've been thinking about the vigilante guilt complex when you fail to save people' so a fic centered on comforting around failing to save someone made sense. i'd also been separately thinking about jason failing to save sheila so it was an obvious choice to meld that fic into the universe of "compound fracture" and then from there i spent some time figuring out how to engineer a situation that would incur accidental deaths and also draw in more of those sheila themes.

jayroy. i keep bashing into a Fucking Brick Wall when i get to the timeline bit. rhato is bad so i need to actively rewrite like half the canonical timeline before i can even start thinking about slotting my shit in there. and because i prefer post-crisis characterization and story beats for both of them there's the whole bridging the gap between post-crisis and n52 thing, which is difficult!! because BOTH of these characters are in fundamentally different places in their lives before and after the reboot. nevermind they're literally just Different People entirely. and being written by lobdell. how the fuck do you smooth that over.

like. TOWER, TUMBLING's eventual sequel includes roy and i cannot for the fucking life of me figure out what state lian's in over there. nonexistent, like she is in n52? some 5 year old child, like she usually is in fanon? the blue-haired teen from rebirth that i know nothing about? dead??? the answer to this changes roy characterization, changes the character dynamic with jason, changes how we navigate between the core beats i want to hit for that fic. changes how i'm background-worldbuilding fitting rhato into the post-crisis timeline. what the hell man.

anyway this is just to say i have at least 3 jayroy fics (again maybe they'll end up platonic who the fuck knows. they're kissing offscreen in my heart. trust) at Various Stages in the works. may they escape wip hell eventually.