#there’s a couple scenes I need to finish off and a couple to polish up but like..probably only a few thousand words away ultimately

[yannfredericks]

wait not to be whatever but I didn’t realise how close I actually am to finishing this next chapter of life after, what!!!

[hearts4kaulitz]

Cuddling one shots on a tour bus w/ bill 🤭 like yall paint eachothers nail and do eachothers eyeliner while sitting on eachothers laps. Or if reader is tired while on tour she'll fall asleep in bills lap (maybe tom takes a couple photos 👿) bill running his hands though readers hair etc. Yk shit like that 😍😍😍

schatz ; darling

TOUR BUS ANTICS.

bill x gn! reader

YOU AND BILL SAT TOGETHER ON THE TOUR BUS, you two had chose to sit by each other because one, your dating and two, itd be fun to look at stupid buildings and giggle about them.

but you two also needed to spend more time together, of course you did but alot of the time stuff got in the way so this was a good opportunity to spend time with eachother.

“bill look at that one” you held back your laughter as you pointed to an oddly shaped building.

he just chuckled and watched as the bus soared past it, looking over to you and realized some of your nail polish was starting to wear off.

bill painted his and your nails regularly even if you weren’t going on tour or somewhere important, it was a fun way to spend time with you.

he pointed at your hand and looked at you with a small smile, you instantly knew what he meant.

“do you have any?” you asked, quirking an eyebrow as it was followed by a mumbled “probably..” from bill as he began to search his bag.

soon he pulled out a small bottle of black nail polish and held it up to you. you grinned and laid one of your hands on the arm rest you two were supposed to share.

“my professional nail tech” you joked as bill giggled at bit began to turn the lid so it would open.

it cracked open after a bit of effort as he gently grabbed your hand and began to brush the raven paint onto your nails.

“how long will it take to dry again..?” you questioned, as the boy focused on your nails, trying his best not to get paint on your actual fingers.

“maybe five minutes…” he muttered, tucking some of his loose hair away. he hadn’t styled it that morning because he had to wake up so early.

a dramatic groan left your lips as you rolled your head to the side, admiring the scenes you strolled past.

you turned your head to your hand and grinned, “i love it,” you grinned softly and looked as his smile grew in excitement.

“its not even that long of a wait..” bill giggled at your over exaggerated reaction and finished on your first hand, moving to your other quickly.

a bit later, he pulled away and looked at your nails that were now painted. “do you like it?” he asked, smiling nervously.

you leaned in swiftly and pecked his nose, blushing a light pink.

SOME TIME HAD PASSED, you were resting your head on his shoulder, completely bored out of your mind.

“bill…im bored..” you croaked, looking up at him with a displeased frown. “well what do you wanna do?” he asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

you thought for a moment before realizing he hadn’t done his eyeliner yet, a smile forming on your lips. “wanna do each other’s eyeliner?” you said excited.

there was a quick nod from bill before he once again, rummaged though his bag before pulling out an eyeliner pen.

“whos going first?” he asked, holding out the pen just in case you wanted to. “i will” you smiled before taking the pen gently and shimmying onto his lap so you could get a better angle.

bill chuckled a bit and rested his hands on your hips, “oh shutup,” you smirked and grabbed his face more aggressive so he’d shush.

“alright, close your eyes.” you ordered as bill obliged and shut his eyes quickly, you cupped one of his cheeks and began to drag the black pencil across his eyelids.

“stop moving!” you squeaked in annoyance as bill purposely moved his eyes around to get on your nerves. “fine…” he sighed dramatically.

you rolled your eyes before returning to your job, finishing up on the medium sized wing.

you moved to his second eye briskly and drew a matching line and began to fill it in. “schatz, are you finished yet…?” he whined, fiddling with his fingers that were tied behind your back impatiently.

“almost..” you muttered, coloring in the wing as fast as you could without making it look bad.

finally, you pulled away and looked at it. it wasnt symmetrical of course but it looked fine at first glance.

bill opened his eyes quickly as you giggled, “im pretty good at eyeliner, eh?” you asked before grabbing the small mirror beside you that you took out a few moments before.

he turned his head to get good angles of the eyeliner and smiled, “it looks amazing.” he complimented as you hugged his quickly.

“awww!” a voice rang out in tease as you both looked to see it was and low and behold, it was his bother.

“shutup tom!” bill yelled annoyed as a snicker left his brothers mouth before he lifted up his phone and showed you two the multiple pictures of you together as you did his eyeliner.

“oh my god you asshole.” you grinned, pushing his phone away as you fell from bills lap and onto the brick felt cushions.

“wait until i show gustav and georg,” tom teased as he sat up swiftly and began to walk off towards their direction, calling out for the two others.

you and bill laid there for a moment before you began to giggle, “hows management gonna feel about those?” you asked, smirking as you looked at him.

the raven haired boy just groaned as threw his head back, sinking farther into the seats.

YOU HAD MOVED YOUR HEAD ONTO BILLS LAP AS A PILLOW, cause god forbid the pillows that came with the tour bus were horrible.

bill played with your hair as ran some of the strands down his the palm of his hand gently, smiling gently as you drifted into a sleep.

he did his best not to ruin it but he couldn’t help but mess with it a tiny bit, he loved to play with his own hair but most of the time he was having a war with hairspray and gel when he did his hair.

he admired the way your features rested on your face while you rested, the way your eyelashes fluttered a bit when there was a small bump or when you turned your head to the side.

you were absolutely perfect to him and there was no denying it, without any doubt he would say you were the attractive person in the world and honestly he couldn’t believe you were his.

he couldn’t believe someone so perfect fell for him, of course you fell first but he fell harder.

and he always would, he would always fall for you. everyday his love grew for you and it would never stop. he was head over heels for you and as much as the boys teased him for it, it was worth it.

you were worth it, you were worth everything.

[pennyluna]

Misunderstandings Part 1

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader (18+) Wordcount: around 1.5k

Genre: New to working together au. Cold playboy au. Future something au.

WARNING: This story contains some bad words/strong language! Contains also spicy scenes, so please be aware before reading it.

It has been a week since my team started working with Yoongi, the week had been filled with meetings about coordination between the teams, some of the meetings were one on one basically so I could get a sense of what he expected from me during this 5 weeks, it was fairly easy to agree on the way we could handle things, starting from the fact that I would have to be available 24/7 just in case I was needed! I had been going home around 8pm every day and always kept my phone on me with the ringer.

Yoongi was going to be in the studio all day tomorrow, which meant I didn't have to go into the office so I decided to relax tonight, took a long shower, moisturized and did my relaxing ritual, put on a grey tank top, no bra and some shorts, wrapped my long wavy dark hair in a towel and walked to the kitchen.

I make sure the bottle of Sauvignon blank that I bought on my way home was cold and put out two wine glasses, one for me and one for my girl best friend Josie, she is on her way over so we can gossip and watch reality shows. Josie has been my best friend since middle school, fun fact her fiancé is also my best friend. Even bigger fun fact, I had been on a date with Zion when we were in college but we quickly agreed that a friendship was the thing for us, I introduced them during one of Josie's visits on campus and now 4 years later they are just a few months away from getting married.

I hear her emergency key to my apartment in the lock and start preparing the popcorn.

"Zion is driving me crazy!!" she says with an exasperated tone while closing the front door.

I laugh at her facial expression, she is going for annoyed but it looks cute on her.

"Hello to you too... what did he do now?"

"He keeps changing our funny dance for the wedding!"

"you mean your first dance?" I say with a confused face while pouring the wine and handing her a glass.

she takes a big sip "Nono, 'Cant help falling in love' is still our song but he saw online that people like doing some funny dance trend after and You know I'm not good at dancing."

Josie comes from a rich conservative family, she is very classy and polished, never late and never a hair out of place, so I was surprised when she told me she was in love with Zion, his style very much the opposite of her but both with a heart of gold.

I laugh at the thought of Josie dancing some TikTok challenge.

"Oh josie...you are a great dancer, just not with the new stuff!" i try to comfort her and we walk to the couch.

We are under the fluffy blankets watching our third episode of love island UK season 10, we had finished the USA one a couple of weeks ago. Suddenly my phone starts ringing, the word OFFICE written in the screen, I look at the time "11:34 pm". Josie and I look at each other with confusion in our faces, she pauses the show and I shake my head trying to shake the 2 glasses of wine off my system and then proceed to answer the call.

"Hello (Y/N), this is the security from the building, sorry for calling you so late, Mr. Min is here at the office trying to access the studio but he had left his keys inside and the other copy isㅡ"

"is in my bag!" I say simultaneously facepalming my face. "I will be there in 15 minutes" luckily I don't live far away from it.

Hanging up I rush to the room, put a pair of skinny jeans on, my classic vans and put my hair on a messy ponytail. The taxi Josie had called for me was here already so I rushed out of the door telling her I would be back soon.

7 minutes later I was in front of my building, greeted the security and proceeded to the 19th floor, were the studio is. Yoongi is waiting right in front of the elevator doors when they open and I get surprised to see him in his very relaxed outfit. Hair covering his gorgeous forehead, his phone in one hand and the other one in his pocket, his eyes rise up to meet mine and I smile at him. We start walking to the elevator, he is behind me and I don't know if its his presence or the wine but I feel my cheeks heating up and warmth running through me. I open the door for him and try to hand the keys to him.

"do you want to come in for a while?" he asks with a blank expression.

"mmm sure." dammit, I am supposed to be just dropping the keys off.

I walk past him and he closes the door behind us. Its a normal studio, with little touches of him, a couple of basketball gadgets and some posters, a couch with some pretty purple cushions and a blanket, he had made it his own.

"would you like some more wine?" his question takes my attention out of looking around his studio.

"mmm sure. thank you. Waitㅡ 'more'?" my face expressing my confusion.

He has a small smile on his face while pouring me a glass "yeah, more! I noticed you have a slight scent of wine on you, so you must have been drinking some before coming here".

aww, he was smelling meㅡ Stop. waitㅡ oh my god did that mean I smell of alcohol?. oh God, that's not very professional.

"hey, its not a problem you know. I like wine, so you know... you smell good" his words snapping me out of my small mental freak out. "plus, you weren't even supposed to be coming here so don't worry about it." he hands me the glass of wine.

We've been seated on his couch and talking casually about the things we like and our passions for a couple of hours now, I feel really comfortable around him and he seems comfortable around me! He said something funny and I pushed his leg in a jokingly manner but when I tried to retrieve my hand he grabbed it pulling me closer to him, we stopped laughing suddenly and stared into each others eyes, he bit his bottom lip and shacked his head no subtly, like if he was shaking away a thought. His eyes started roaming my frame and My heartbeat accelerated once I noticed where his gaze had stopped.

My nipples were hard and he could see their outline through my tank top. Shit!!! I didn't put on bra. I should say goodnight and walk away but why aren't my legs moving?! I feel warmth spreading through my thighs.

"It's late!" He suddenly gets up and it startles me. "Maybe you should go home!"

"huh? maybe you should go home!" I say with defiance, -why cant i just shut up-.

"(Y/N)!" -my name sounds so good in his voice- "You are drunk and I'm afraid you will regret any decision we take after this point!"

He is making sense, he has a point, plus we are working together, we need to maintain a professional relationship so I get up and start walking past him and towards the door, I say goodbye and walk to the elevator. Pressing the button to call the elevator I realize that my keycard to leave the building is in my bag with my phone and my house keys -damm it- I walk back to the studio where Yoongi hadn't closed the door yet for some reason and when his eyes reached mine, I swear there was a little hope in them. I walked past him again and grabbed my bag then turned around to wave goodbye.

He stayed still for a while, like contemplating what to do, he raised his hand to wave back but he seemed hesitant. I started to walk to the door when suddenly he grabbed my wrist. I stopped breathing for a second and my heart started beating faster.

"Maybe you should stay!" he says softly. while pulling me towards him until my chest is flat against his. I can feel his breath on my face. A hint of whiskey on it.

"Maybe you should stay too!"

He smiles at my statement and that seemed to be all the permission he needed because his hand started to travel from my waist to my breast while the other one held my chin up while he watched me and the kisses me.

It was gentle at first and then became passionate, one of those kisses that take your breath away and make you dizzy. He kissed like I belonged to him, like no one had kissed me before and I was loving it.

His hand move to the front of my jeans and start undoing the buttons, his mouth now trailing my neck. my jeans come off and we move around, he leans my ass against his desk and starts trailing wet kisses from my neck down. He sucks my nipples through the tank top and starts rubbing my core.

"so wet for me already huh?" I moan and put my hands on the desk to balance myself a bit. His mouth trails down my body until I can feel his warm breath on top of my core, his fingers slowly move my panties to the side and the he assaults my clit with his mouth. -so much talent in that mouth-.

Yoongi's tongue is all over my clit and I feel my orgasm building. I cant control my moans and thank god this place is soundproof. He starts alternating between tongue fucking me and playing with my clit and I am almost at my high. The minute his hand grabs my hips to keep me still I cant control myself any longer and come. "Good girl! You taste amazing". he smirks.

"My turn!!" I smile at him and fall to my knees, looking up at him and holding the eye contact I start lowering his sweatpants. I was surprised to notice he wasn't wearing any underwear and his erection almost smacked my face when it came out of his pants!

I start holding his dick and licking the tip of it, he exhales a shaky breath and I slowly introduce his erection in my mouth. Starting to suck in and out of my mouth at first slowly and then increasing my pace, I cup his balls in my hand and then continue to suck him off at a fast pace! he is moaning and throwing his head back and I can feel it wont take him long before reaching his orgasm! I slow down my pace to tease him a little and we make eye contact again, he seems hungry for me, he wants me.

"Get up!" after taking the rest of his clothes off, he helps me get up and he takes my tank top and underwear then stares at my body for a second, I can see hunger in those eyes, hunger for me. I can see he cant decide on what to play with first. "Bend over my desk!" he commands -I guess he decided where to start- my boobs are now pressed flat against his desk, it is cold and I feel my nipples hardening.

His hands start caressing my ass and touching my clit "You are a sight. I've been wanting to bend you over my desk ever since the first day when you gave us that building tour" he says and I instantly moaned out of neediness, I need him inside of me now!.

"YOONGIㅡ"

"My god I love how you say my name... keep saying it princess!" -fuuck I want to come again so bad- he continues touching me and then I fill his hand get to the back of my neck pinning me to the desk and his other hand rubbing his dick around my folds.

"Yoongi, I needㅡ" he shut me up with his dick entering me hard, I moaned loudly and he waited a second to let me adjust then started pumping into me hard and at a fast pace. I became a moaning mess and my orgasm started building again, he used his free had to spank my ass and I moaned again, my eyes got teary but I was enjoying this. I was enjoying being fucked senseless. I enjoyed the pain mixed with pleasure that he was giving me. I needed it. After all, it had been almost two years since the last time I had sex.

I notice his pace getting faster and faster "Come for me princess! I want you to come!" he says with a commanding voice. Our orgasms hit us couple of seconds later, his seed all over my lower back!

We are both panting. He takes a second to clean me up, then opens a drawer grabbing a t-shirt from it and giving it to me. We sit on the couch to rest for a bit he kisses my forehead and suddenly the exhaustion and the wine get to me and I fall asleep in his arms!

I wake up the day after with a strong headache, I feel around for my phone that should be on my bedside table but then open my eyes to realize I'm still on the couch in the studio. Yoongi isn't in the couch anymore so I look around and see him working at his desk on the computer. I breathe a sight of relief. I reach for my jeans put them on and then walk towards him.

"Your bag and keys are by the piano" eyes fixed to the screen and monotone voice.

"Thanks!" I say hesitant about what to do next. "Would youㅡ" he cuts me off.

"I will see you at the meeting this afternoon." This time his voice sounds annoyed and dismissive. A bad feeling downs on me.

I grab my things and once I'm at the door I look back, expecting him to at least look at me before I go but nothing. -He regrets it-  that thought hurt, more than my headache!

While waiting for my taxi I realized that its 6am, that I had left Josie at home waiting for me and that I had royally fucked up by sleeping with the VIP, that he seemed to regret it to the point of not being able to look at me and that the meeting where I will have to see him in a few hours will be hard.

A.N: This is part 1 of this story, Hope you can enjoy it. Please if you want, read the prologue of this story too. I am not clear on how many parts it will have but hopefully many more, I have already mapped out how the story will continue but publishing it depends on the readers request.

A.N 2: any feedback would be appreciated! Likes and conditions are appreciated too! Please do not copy my work and give credit if reshared!

[number1mingyustan]

Ridin’☾

streetracer!yeonjun x fem!reader

Genre: smut, established relationship,

Warnings: choking, unprotected sex (riding), grinding, kissing, cursing, creampie

Summary: Who doesn't love a late night drive?

Word Count: 2.3k

_______________________________________________

The night air is cold, so you’re quick to make your way to the car. It’s beautiful, a nicely polished white car with red and black detailing. You almost regret wearing a skirt, but as soon as you climb into the passenger seat you feel the heat inside of the car.

Yeonjun looks over at you with one hand resting on the steering wheel. “Hey baby.”

He leans over, planting a kiss on your lips. “Hi,” you smile.

You weren’ t supposed to be here. It was a little after 1 am and your parents think you’re in bed sleeping right now. Granted, they’re asleep too and you’ve gotten damn good at sneaking out since you and Yeonjun started dating.

You know they’d absolutely freak if they ever found out you and were dating, and Yeonjun at that. He definitely wasn’t the type of person to bring home, especially not to your parents.

He wasn’t necessarily a bad guy. He’s gotten into some trouble along the way, but nothing too extreme. However you know your parents would immediately disapprove if you brought home the 6’1 boy with all his tats piercings and all.

Granted, you had a secret tattoo of your own thanks to him, not that they’d find out any time soon anyway.

It’s been a bit hard to hide stuff from them lately because Yeonjun loves spoiling you so much. Random gifts often catch your parent’s attention nowadays, forcing you to lie to them more than you already do.

Your story was nothing out of the ordinary. The straight A good girl falls in love with the troublemaker hot guy. The extremely played out romeo and juliet trope, but nonetheless a goodie.

“You look cute,” he smirks, shamelessly eyeing you up and down.

He loved the way you dressed. You were always dressed so bright and bubbly. Your style consisted of plenty of pink and baby blue, headbands, skirts, fuzz, sweaters, leg warmers, and thigh highs. He absolutely fucking loved the thigh highs.

It contrasted him too perfectly, as he was currently dressed in a pair of ripped black jeans and a black graphic tee. There were silver rings decorating his fingers, like always.

“Thank you,” you respond. “You look cute too.”

Yeonjun chuckles. “Do I?”

You nod your head enthusiastically.

“Thank you baby,” he starts up the car. “Are you ready?”

You nod again. It’s all he needs before he speeds off into town. You’ve scolded him many times about driving so recklessly when he’s close to your house, but he never listens.

This has become a bit of a routine for you. Every Friday night at around this time, Yeonjun picks you up and you drive to the abandoned racetrack on the edge of town where Yeonjun races. At first, you hated it.

He was risking his life and committing a crime on a weekly basis, but it paid well when he won. And Yeonjun always won. The first time he brought you, you were terrified. You watch him zoom through the track with the other cars, going at least 90mph recklessly.

Slowly, you grew more comfortable. You’ve even been in the car with him a couple times during his races. It’s not really your scene, but you can see why Yeonjun enjoys it.

It’s not long before he pulls up to the familiar track. A crowd has already formed and cars have begun lining up at the starting line.

“You ridin’ with me?” he asks.

You think to yourself for a second before shaking your head. “Nah, I’ll be waiting for you at the finish line.”

He pouts. “You sure baby?”

You rode with him in a race, one time and one time only. Truthfully, you did have a lot of fun. But you’re not one to put your life in danger for a bit of thrill. Once was more than enough for you.

“Yes I’m sure,” you open the passenger side door. “I have to tutor tomorrow morning, I’m not risking my life.”

“You know I always take care of you,” he leans over.

“I’ll be waiting for you when you win,” you tell him.

He frowns before placing a kiss on your lips. “Be good my good luck charm,” he tells you.

You back away from the car, continuing to wave at him as you start walking toward the stands. He drives away toward the starting line and you push through the crowd.

You push your way to the front in order to watch the race from the best view possible. The engines are revving as the countdown begins.

3

2

1

Go!

The race starts and your boyfriend immediately takes the lead. People are cheering from the stands, yourself included as the cars circle the track.

No one really competes with Yeonjun’s speed, falling behind him and staying there for the duration of the race.

The cars circle the track 3 times trailing behind your boyfriend. The crowd is roaring with excitement throughout the race, and they only go wild when he jets through the finish line. The other cars soon follow after him, and he parks the car near the edge of the track. He climbs out of the car, flipping his head back and running his hand through his hair before scanning the audience for you. You stand up on the railing and wave at him excitedly. He blows you a kiss and shoots you a wink.

You watch as he pulls out his phone and types something before your phone buzzes. You look down at his text.

‘meet me in the lot’

By the time you look up, he’s already in his car revving up the engine and driving off the track and out of sight. You know which lot he’s talking about, it’s the area the cars go before and after races,but it’s about a 10 minute walk away considering most people drive around here.

__

You spot him, leaning against his vehicle while talking to Kai, his best friend at the tracks. There’s music playing from inside Kai’s car parked next to him. The two boys are talking, but his attention immediately turns to you when he sees your approaching him. He holds up his middle and ring finger, creating a ‘come here’ motion.“Did I make you proud?”

You walk up to the car sheepishly. “Yes,” you breathe out. “I knew you were gonna win.”

He smirks again. “Yeah, told you you’re my good luck charm.” He wraps an arm around you, pulling your body close to his.

He continues his conversation with Kai, but you find yourself quickly growing bored. Silently, to take his arm off your shoulder and walk to the passenger side of the car to wait for him. You sit inside of the vehicle on your phone for a few minutes before he knocks on the window.

You lower in, looking up at him. “You ready to go?” he asks.

You nod.

He plants a quick kiss on your lips. “Okay baby, give me a few minutes and we’ll go.”

The boys continue talking, but they’re soon interrupted by the sound of sirens and blue and red light flashing.

Oh yeah, what Yeonjun does is extremely illegal. The race track is an abandoned property no one is supposed to go on and there’s so much better that goes on about the dangerous sport.

“Shit,” Kai says.

The boys exchange a quick look before scrambling. Moments later Yeonjun is in the driver’s seat, starting up the car. The engine revs loudly and he speeds off. You hold on for your dear life, he can’t get caught, not with you in the car. If it was just him, it would be less than ideal but he could easily get away. But if he got arrested with you and your parents found out? He’d be a goner.

He races off, driving into the city. The cops trail behind him for a bit, but you know Yeonjun. He car twists and turns sharply as he drives through different side streets to outrun the police. Your heart is beating so fast.

“Yeonjun?” you ask.

“Hmm?” he hums.

“Where are we going?”

“You trust me right?” he asks.

“Of course, but I—“

“Just trust me.”

You stay silent, simply observing your surroundings. Once he loses sight of the cops, he pulls into the parking lot of a park. The area is secluded and dark, perfect. He parks the car

He pulls you in onto his lap from the passenger side. He doesn’t bother to say anything , simply running his hands up your thighs as he begins kissing your neck. "Wanna show me how proud you are? Hmm?”

“No way you’re actually horny from running away from the cops,” you breathe out.

It was a combination of the high he felt from racing and your outfit that did it for him, you looked so cute. A fitted cloth baby pink and white dress with leg warmers and moon boots. He loves that you’re so dressed up for him in the middle of the night. Your dress rides up at be adjusts you on his lap.

Besides, the adrenaline is pumping through his body and you look so fucking good. He knows you guys are safe from the cops and a release seems perfect right about now.

Your lips find one another’s desperately. He hands are on your thighs, pulling your dress up further and further until your your little pink panties are exposed.

His hands guide your hips, causing you to grind against him. Your panties are thin, allowing you to feel everything right where you need him. He’s growing harder in his jeans, cock poking right onto your clit as your grind down on him.

You’re soaking through your panties from the friction. You moan against his lips as you grow more desperate for contact with him.

You pull away hurriedly and reach for his jeans. Your hands fiddle with his his belt. He watches you, panting with a pink tint flushing across his face. His lips are swollen from kissing you, plump and puckered.

You finally undo his pants, pulling out his cock and stroking it. He leans back in the seat, smirking as he watches you jerk him off. The more you touch him, the more he leaks. The clear fluid spurts from his cock, coating the palm of your hand and lubricating his length.

“Shit,” he breathes out.

He quickly grows impatient, lifting you up and pulling your panties to the side. You’re so wet for him and he hasn’t even properly touched you. He slides the tip of his cock along your entrance, causing shivers to spread through your body.

He guides you down onto his cock, filling you up inch by inch slowly. You moan out as he stretches you open. It feels so good to have him inside of you again, to be full of him.

He takes his time splitting you open initially, but as soon as you adjust to his length he’s merciless. He quickly picks up the pace in his movements, pushing his hips up to fuck you. You bounce every time he thrusts into you, feeling his cock poke deep inside of you.

“You love it when I fuck you like this huh? Treat you like the dirty girl you are hmm? He mumbled into the crook of your neck.

“S-Shut up!” you moan.

“Fuck,” he grunts. “You’re lucky this pussy is so good. I should cum in your mouth next time,” he yanks on your hair, tipping your head back forcefully. “That way you can’t talk back to me.”

You let out a strangled moan at his words. His hand is now wrapped around your throat, applying just the right amount of pressure to make you see stars. He’s absolutely fucking you dumb right now and you love it. You love the way he’s rough with you, pounding into you at a harsh pace.

His cock stretches you open with each thrust, pushing deeper and deeper up your lower abdomen.

The windows are foggy and the car jerks with each thrust of his cock. You’re holding onto him for dear life as you feel the pleasure building in your lower region as he wrecks you.

You’re crying out his name like a chant, moaning pathetically. “ ‘M gonna cum baby, can I? Please let me, ‘m so close- fuck—so close.”

You feel him smirk into your skin at your begging. “Go ahead,” he permits.

He stills his hips, allowing you to ride out your orgasm while using him. He watches as you enter a state of bliss above him, grinding your hips into him desperately as you get off on him.

He thinks you’ve never looked sexier, in your pretty pink bouncing on his cock whole you cry out his name and use him for your own pleasure. It’s a sight to see.

You’re tightening around him, squeezing his cock perfectly as your orgasm pulses through your body. Fuck, he thought he was gonna last longer than this. But you’re squeezing him too good, too tight.

He curses, hips growing erratic as his orgasm courses through his body. He pumps his load inside of you as he thrusts messily. His head is tilted back, plump lips parted as he fills you up.

You both come down from your highs, panting heavily. There’s. a sticky mess you’ve created on his lap that causes you to cringe.

“Fuck,” he breathes out as he looks down. “I gotta get you home.”

You frown. It’s nearly 3 am and you know he’s right. Besides, you’re created quite the mess and you need to clean up. He lifts you up, causing you to cringe again as he pulls out of you. You sit back down on the passenger seat and fix your clothes. He redoes his pants, cringing at the very visible wet spot on the front.

He leans over and plants a kiss on your lips. “You’re so pretty baby.”

He licks his lips and smiles at you. You smile back at him. “I love you.”

He starts up the car again. “I love you too, now let’s get you home yeah?”

_______________________________________________

© number1mingyustan - Do not repost without permission.

[bigsexiest]

Early Morning Tripping (not what you think)

Just a little tiny fic I drafted a couple weeks ago. I polished it up hoping its still somewhat cute. Maybe in the future I'll make a fic about early morning tripping (drugs) and it'll be funny.

Word count: 615

tw vaguely described sexy scene ig

Summary: Mountain trips over Rain as he's sleeping in the greenhouse. Rain exacts sweet revenge.

just imagine Mountain, sliding his feet, hunched over, eyes squinted, he's just REALLY tired, walking into his greenhouse at some obscenely early hour of the morning. And he trips over a ghoul.

Yeah, he trips right over Rain.

Rain, who had slithered into the greenhouse after a particularly warm summer night swim.

He meant to just lay down for just a few minutes. He wanted to dry off a bit before trudging back into the ministry to his dry comfy bed.

But the warm humid air of the greenhouse and the soft squishy dirt pathways were just too comfortable. He was out cold in minutes.

He almost doesn't wake up when Mountain tumbles head over heels on top of him. What does wake him up is Mountain's steaming hot coffee splashing everywhere, including on Rain's bare naked skin.

The poor water ghoul, still drowsy with sleep, jumps up and splashes into a large tub of water conveniently sitting on the floor by one of the long tables. Only his tail above the water, flicking back and forth with anger.

Rain can see in the dark, it being so early that the sun hadn't even fully risen. Mountain, on the other hand, was blindly squirming around in the dirt trying to figure out what was happening. He hadn’t remembered leaving anything blocking the pathways. Usually, he could find his way around by memory. Nothing changed so why did he have to worry about tripping over something?

As Rain slowly raises his head from the tub of water to hiss at whatever ghoul had decided to interrupt his sleep, Mountain finally stands up.

Mountain paws at the wall of the greenhouse till he finds the switch to turn all the grow lights on.

The long building is lit in a bright wash of purple. It's just in time for the earth ghoul to see a flash of skin as Rain pounces. Mountain falls to the floor again, with Rain splayed victoriously on top of him.

The rest of the morning is dedicated to revenge. Rain makes sure Mountain is alert without the need for caffeine.

It’s violent and needy—Mountain groans and writhes on the ground under Rain. Rain takes his time destroying the earth ghoul’s resolve. 

Rain leaves claw marks down Mountain’s chest and his tail wraps tightly around his thigh. Mountain’s hands never leave their tight grip on Rain’s hips.

By the end, Mountain is shamelessly begging Rain for release, completely forgetting that the whole incident had originally been Rain’s fault. The water ghoul relishes the deep satisfaction he gets from successfully flipping the blame.

Rain knew it had all been his fault, but he’d rather get splashed with hot coffee again than admit he was at blame for falling asleep. Mountain would never know anyways. He had just been appreciating a cozy spot when he unfortunately might have dozed off. Can a ghoul not enjoy life as it came?

Mountain certainly doesn’t seem to care as he’s chasing his release. Jackhammering into Rain trying to play catch up. Rain certainly hadn’t waited for Mountain, he hadn’t even given a warning that he was close. 

It’s deeply satisfying for Mountain, being able to grind Rain’s hips against his own, holding the water ghoul down as firmly as he feasibly could. That and not having to move a muscle when he was finished. He was already laying down, he could rest right there.

Both ghouls are so tired by the end, they wind up sleeping throught the morning well into the afternoon. 

They are ironically awoken by a certain Multi ghoul tripping over them with his lunch in hand. They both decide to teach him a lesson.

[selfawarejester]

Do you have any headcannons for Noble team? 👀

Hey there! So I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about Noble Team! I mean, I adore them, of course, but when my mind wanders to them, it inevitably wanders down the mainline story and then tears 😭 Lots of people have written awesome headcanons though, so some may influence my own. Hope you enjoy regardless!

Let’s start off with the most obvious one: Jorge was TOTALLY a big brother/father figure to the others in Noble! He was a Spartan-II with way more experience and training under his belt, and he happens to be one of the most well-adjusted of his group as well. You can be certain that Carter sought out Jorge’s council when he felt doubt (doubt that he would’ve been conflicted by, since he was a Spartan, and Spartans never hesitated) and got some good advice from a weathered professional who’s been in his shoes.

Emile and Kat had this tendency to butt heads when they came to the squad, but Carter was firm in that they don’t resolve it with fists (even though they were both rearing to go) since he wanted the squad to function cohesively; so their solution was to compete in literally everything else. Jun’s sitting there laughing quietly as they fight to finish their mountain of food first while Carter’s thinking letting them break a couple of bones might’ve saved him a life of headaches.

(Jorge is commentating with the rest of the Marines cheering in the background)

Jun is a touchstone for the rest of the team, including Jorge — when times get too hectic, you can find a member of Noble slumped down next to Jun, listening to him polish his gear and conduct maintenance on his weapons. He’s also a great listener, and gives very logical advice.

But if you wanna rage and complain and break shit, Emile’s your guy. He’ll take you to a neck, secluded spot and let you wreak havoc, matching your energy and hyping you up even further until you get some catharsis and feel way better.

He kinda reminds me of Lambert from The Witcher 3 in a lot of ways.

Carter is literally just trying to live his life and yet somehow manages to be a huge magnet for women. After all, he’s tall, handsome and stoic, and a Spartan, which means he’s at peak physical form and saves an uncountable number of lives every day (which Carter himself thinks is excessive, but one can’t control the rumors and takes that spread).

Man’s eating breakfast, avoiding the huge scene Kat and Emile are making, and these women (and also some men) keep smiling at him suggestively and winking; he just sighs and ducks his head, avoiding eye contact so none feel the need to come over and make conversation, god forbid.

Carter needs a vacation. Period. Preferably all alone. Or with just Jun and Jorge. But he never gets one, because he’s got the mass ☺️

[tariah23]

Still unfortunate that Fabricant 100 was axed. I’d just found it not too long ago (like two weeks ago or so) and ended up binging it because I found it decent enough to do so. It was never really all that boring to me either like, it kept me interested despite its problems and I still wanted to see more of it. But it’s over now. Well… I can say that there is no shame in having your manga axed after only 30+ chapters (shit happens) and it doesn’t mean that you’ve failed or have never had the chops to keep your manga running in a popular ass weekly magazine like JUMP, either.

I can point out quite a few positives from the manga at least. For one, the art for F100 remained very fairly consistent throughout it’s short run and it was aesthetically pleasing enough for me to linger on many pages that left me saying stuff like “Ohhhhh, sexyyyyy-“ and “so cool, I need more of this!!!” Like, the mangaka’s art style was very appealing to me right off the bat and I really loved the way that they drew faces and eyes especially. I’ve mentioned this before but I can definitely tell that they’re a fan of JJK because of their style. It’s always nice to see other mangaka be influenced by their fellow peers and friends. This is just my personal observation though but you can really see it in their style (just more polished vs JJK’s more rough look.) not to compare the two but yeah.

The story was pleasant enough for me to keep on pushing without feeling like it was a drag. It’s unfortunately axed to the shadow realms, never to see the light of day again, but I’d still recommend it if you’re just looking for something that is extremely easy to digest in a short period of time. There’s a decent amount of violence (typical for what you’d find in most shounen), some heart stings being pulled ever so slightly, again, great art, and a new fav character who you’ll say deserved so much better than what she’d gotten *cough* 100 *cough* 🚬.

On to my grievances with the story itself. Well… after finishing it (I just read the final chapter a couple of hours ago), I can… sadly understand why it had gotten axed.

For one, I feel as though the plot had been a little too fast paced for the kind of story that it was for it to work? The plot could be easily followed but the story didn’t linger on the world or the characters and their lives enough to fill in the blanks, causing readers to probably not care too much for what was even going on outside of admiring the art and looking at how cool 100 was. Tbh…… Would’ve helped with developing the characters a whole lot better if the mangaka had given themselves more time (it’s JUMP so who knows how much stress they had been most likely under while working on this series.) Fast paced stories CAN work! But I feel like you’d have to be an extremely disciplined, and probably seasoned writer, to pull off such a feat: i.e Fujimoto. Not comparing him to others (it’s unfair, sorry) but he’s pretty much on an entirely separate level when it comes to how he progresses his stories and how he chooses to transition them vs his peers. CSM is handled extremely well in that regard. Sometimes, you just need to slow done your plot, the world, and characters that exist within it in order to better understand where you’d like to take it next. ☠️ Because of this, majority of the characters did fall a bit flat because we got to meet them but we never had the chance to know them as characters outside the one or two chapters they might’ve appeared in just to add a bit of action and raise the stakes of the story. The thing is, the few characters that we did meet were actually pretty alright? They weren’t boring at all to me, they just lacked a lot of importance to the story and felt like place holder for the plot’s transition from point A to point B, to point C, onto D, etc like… they all felt like they were just there to advance a scene pretty much. It would’ve been great to learn more about some of them (the siblings and Luka especially. Felt completely wasted tbh.)

The MC, Ashibi Yao, wasn’t the worst shounen MC at all, either. I felt like he’d been limited as a character though. Like, his family were known to have unnaturally long lifespans for them to just be literal humans, and could all heal themselves from most injuries despite being a completely normal family. The reason for his family’s abilities were later explained in the last couple of chapters of the manga but I felt like there could’ve been more to this? Idk, I guess it wasn’t too bad when I really think about it. But I didn’t find him using his “spark,” (enhanced abilities that the body already holds deep inside or whatever. Since his body is not normal, his healing abilities had been greatly enhanced due to him receiving a spark,) all that interesting if I’m being completely honest. Like, him just jumping around and spilling his blood in any old flashy way like that…? Eh. Would I still like to see him doing this once it hits chapter 100? No way, man. His personality wasn’t too bad though. He had some kind of bite to him and didn’t fall to much into the “uwu, soft boy MC,” category like Tanjirou for example (very boring character archetype, especially if that is all that there is to them personally wise like give me something. Deku had fit this category as well for a short while but I remember enjoying his character regardless because of how quirky he was. I just wanted to root for him ^^. I still care about a couple of BNHA characters even tho I don’t care about the series anymore. Making a character too honest can be a turnoff. You have to give them some kind of personality to go along with their pure heart as well because then otherwise, they’d just end up as your run of the mill, shounen MC who doesn’t stick out at all.) Ashibi was honest and had a good heart but he was out for revenge. And never faltered and instead, put his trust into his will to keep going and 100’s power by his side. Idk, his journey had been short but I was happy for him in the end. He got to live and start his life over at the age of 18. He was a decent MC. The mangaka just needed to give him MORE of the things that he’d already possessed is all. And cooler powers!!!

Tbh, the Fabricants weren’t all that interesting at all… except for 100 (and that one Fabricant who had started to regret what he’d done at the end of his life… would’ve been nice to run into all sorts of different Fabricants who’d probably felt differently about their origin? Maybe they didn’t want to become the “ideal human,” (forgot to mention that this was the main conflict of the manga. All of the Fabricants (false human shaped individuals who’d all been created from the corpses of dead people who’d been bombed 🗿…) had been created by a Doctor who built those very bombs (he felt bad afterwards, blah blah blah, and wanted to make amends for his actions by bringing people with the purest hearts back or whatever. But none of his creations had ever proven successful. Upon bringing a Fabricant to life, he’d immediately reject them, causing each and every Fabricant to immediately feel insecure about their right to be alive if they’re weren’t perfect or what the doctor had wanted. They were all born with the mindset of wanting to become the ideal human being. Each Fabricants strength is based off of the order in which they’d been born. The largest number meaning the strongest. The MC just so happens to travel the world with the Strongest of them all. 100. Who had been the final Fabricant created by the Doctor. She’s kind of everything actually. I think her character was just too big for the story and that she would’ve thrived if the circumstances would have been different. She was pretty much the most interesting character out of the whole story and if the manga wouldn’t have gotten axed, if the story would’ve improved enough for it to continue, I could’ve easily seen her becoming a really popular character across social media. It’s too bad. 😔❤️.

I’m done talking tbh. Would like to say more but it’s over, man. I’d still be interested in reading more of what this mangaka has to offer whenever they do decided to work on something new and hopefully, their next work will become pretty successful. Their art is so nice, it would be a shame to see such a promising mangaka disappear after F100’s axing. I believe in them!

[autumnslance]

Writing To Yourself

(Mileage may vary, I'm not your mom nor your teacher--unless you're working for a specific state healthcare service, anyway.)

That's how you garden. Tend the plot. Plant a million seeds, reap a thousand blooms. The rest? Compost for the next crop. -@biot08 / @driftward

During a Discord convo, I thought about why so many fandom writers catch “writer’s block”, and some of it goes back to self-care and taking in new media, getting inspiration and knowledge, covered in this post. But much of it?

People think everything they create has to be publishable for others’ consumption. That is Not True. Too often we don't want to write things just for the sake of writing them, falling into the trap of thinking it needs to be perfectly polished and shared, but No It Really Doesn't.

Folks talk about “writing for oneself” but in terms of posting finished pieces of the kinds they want to see. If everything feels like it “has to be” publishable, it can start to put too much pressure on oneself. And then there’s your block, especially if the type to worry about how others Perceive you and your art.

Try simply writing anything and deciding later if it's something you want to share. I have pieces I wrote cuz my brain suddenly said it wanted to, but that writing isn't posted anywhere. Usually it’s random lines; out of context sentences, scenes, or bits of dialogue. Sometimes just incoherent character rambling. Ideas for situations and what ifs. Misspelled, typos, not grammatical, redundant wording, passive voice, bad POV, too many adverbs, not enough active verbs, not enough description, too much description, etc. All in notebooks or doc files. I’ve shared the (now out-dated) deep nests of my WIPs folders and the multiple, unfinished, unpolished pieces within them. Most will never be completed nor seen by the public. 

For instance, I've a random smut fic of a Highlander Warrior of Light and the popular antagonist of Shadowbringers. I'm not usually a villain liker, but one day it hit my brain, so I wrote it. I have notes and outlines for the rest of their story and how it plays out, though I'll probably never write more. I scratched the writing itch, stretched some skills, considered things from a different angle, and now it sits in drafts (I did post a couple decent-ish smut lines to my private Twitter once).

Mostly, it's practice. Even if it's junk and janky.

“But I have (professionally) published X or Y…”

Still gotta exercise the writing muscles! Still gotta scrawl off something utterly unusable now and again for the heck of it!

All those random lines, descriptions, scenes, rambles? Maybe I'll use them someday. I wrote them down to feel the pen in my hand or keys clacking under my fingers, to see the words pop onto the page or screen, to play with word choice, sentence structures, and “how would they say that?” For my own satisfaction, no one else’s.

When I get bored or stuck, or need a screenshot or writing prompt response, I might poke at those lines, pages, rambles, and see if they hit now or spin off to something else. They often don’t. But sometimes they help inform other things I do post to the public later. Even if that’s just a Question of the Day prompt response on Twitter.

(That also counts as writing and creating btw; you’re still coming up with something to share about your characters and I think that’s very creative of you.)

If the mood strikes, write. Even if it's just a vague idea--especially if it's any bits of dialogue or description, if it's something you think that you actually do want to write when off work or out of bed or whatever.

Even if you never post it anywhere public. Even if it never gets out of crummy first draft, unfinished pages form. It might feel like pulling teeth and look rough, especially if it’s been awhile.

But still write it. No one else has to know or see. Not until you want them to.

Maybe parts of it will inform something you do finish later. Maybe two years from now another prompt will hit just right and you’ll dig out that draft and finish it for posting. Maybe you’ll cannibalize aspects of it for an entirely different piece. Maybe you’ll even use it in a few more years to see how far you’ve come as a writer.

In many cases? That's how you actually keep writer's block away. Keeping ideas around to steal from yourself, letting yourself write nonsense, unpublishable bits and pieces, maybe even whole pages, just for the heck of it, if writing is something one enjoys and wants to stick with as a hobby (or professionally). If you don’t enjoy writing for fun? Don’t force it; do little character prompts and blurbs as they feel right, and find the ways to share creativity that work for you.

And seriously, don’t forget to take in new media, experiences, and information. This is How You Lose the Time War got me writing on an original story I shelved last autumn. The stories aren't at all alike! But seeing new words in new ways helped shake something loose in my brain. So try to make some time for that, too.

Write to yourself, not for others’ consumption. Public posting is great for validation and encouragement, for when we feel the urge to share due to pride or just wanting to gush about our faves. But also let yourself remember why you liked creating worlds, making up stuff about your characters, and writing at all to begin with, without the pressure of public posting. Give yourself some grace, and let it all be messy, unhinged, misspelled, ungrammatical, incomplete, and make no narrative sense.

Write to yourself, for yourself. Then let the rest follow.

[mrbexwrites]

OC in 15

Thanks so much for the tag @surroundedbypearls! Logan sounds like a fun chap!

Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you’re free to include those as well!

Continuing into hell to edit and after I made this post about Nora, I wanted to focus on her some more!

“Holy shit! Bitch! I was beginning to get worried!” A hoarse voice yelled at me down the phone. “I know you said not to panic until a week had passed, but, girl, when I saw you go off with that guy and the state you were in...shit! Are you okay?”

“Where are you? I’m coming to you. This is going to be such a scoop! Jared is going to shit himself when he finds out!”

“A scoop! A first for Nora Ling! I can almost feel the Pulitzer in my hands! How do I look?”

“With me, is Deputy, uh, Deputy Ward of the Sheriff’s Office,” Nora quickly recovered. In her eagerness to land her scoop, she’d not gotten Ted’s name, so had to quickly squint at his name badge. “Deputy, can you confirm the rumours that you’ve found Amy?”

“But when I ran the plates a couple of days later, it wasn’t a cab. The car had been reported as stolen from a local resident in Luna,” Nora came up and slung an arm around my shoulder. “But the plates didn’t match the car listed on the DMV. So, chop shop, right? I went to the police in Albuquerque, but got poo-pooed. They wouldn’t even take a witness statement from me. So, I went to my boss at the paper, and he basically told me to go and take some photos at the dog fair.”

“Fuck!” Nora had finished her call. “Fuck! Fucking Courtnee Fucking St. Claire-James. Fuck. That fuck-face Jared, has taken the story, that I broke, from me, and is sending in Courtnee St.Claire-James to take over. Because she has ‘better screen quality and gravitas’. Fuck!” 

“I can dream. Just a ‘Nora Ling who broke the story’, you know? My scoop! My five minutes of fame, and introduction to investigative journalism. But Jared just erased me with a wave of his hand, and now Courtnee St. Claire-James is getting all the credit. Ugh!” 

“We’ll be there,” Nora had turned her attention back to the conversation. “Courtnee just posted that she can’t get anyone to comment from the Sheriff’s Department. I can’t imagine her face when I waltz in and get a quote from Sheriff Harris himself,” she smiled slyly, and also helped herself to one of my pancakes, having polished off her own. 

Nora watched him leave, and closed her laptop when she saw one of the photojournalist’s staring at her. She gave him the stink eye. “Yeah, that’s right buddy. The scoop was mine!” [...]“It’s a dog eat dog world in journalism. If you think none of them would push me into oncoming traffic for a chance to get inside the Sheriff’s Office, then you’re more naive than I thought.” 

“You know, she’s only the face of the Independent Chronicle’s social media department because her dad owns the paper, and paid for her boob job.”[...]“Of course! I’d kill to have those connections, and I’d rinse the hell out of them. Do you know how far ahead of my career I’d be if my dad owned a newspaper, or news channel? Why? Why did Ju-Long Ling have to be a dentist?!”

“Holy fucking shit!” Nora sounded as if she was screaming. “Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! I have so much to tell you, but first; I need the deets. Tell me everything. Fill me in. I have five million followers who need to know!”

“I’ve...uh...I’ve stolen a copy of the letter. It was just lying out. I took a quick snap when the forensics guy put it down to fill in paperwork. Does that count as interfering with a crime scene?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Nora waved me away. “I’ve got releases for them. I’m not a monster. I have ethics, y’know.”

(On meeting Avery) “You know who I am!” Nora looked like she might  faint with happiness. “I was at one of your parties that you threw at Samson’s in twenty-eighteen. It was the best night of my life”

“I’m never drinking again,” she croaked. “Why are all the phones ringing at once?”[...]“I don’t understand how they are still upright,” Nora groaned. “Words in my head are too loud. I’m going to be silent forever.” [...]“Some booze,” Nora looked green. “You were behind the bar, pouring cups of tequila into the basin.” 

Passing the tag onto @kaylinalexanderbooks @warriorblood1 @andromedaexists @cowboybrunch @darkangel319 and open invite to anyone who wants to :)

[chattercap]

Future Plans for Actala

Sorry for the kind of sporadic updates, I do need to be better about posting here! I post devlogs on my itch page monthly, and I've decided to crosspost the latest one here since it has some important info about Actala's future development! A copy of my latest itch devlog is under the cut!

Hello, happy June!

It's been another month (time really does fly)! 

No Actala updates this time, as I ended up increasing the scope a bit on my Otome Jam project so I had to divert my attention to that (please look forward to some EXCELLENT voice acting)! Karamu will release sometime in the next couple of weeks!

But although I don't have any updates for Actala, I do have a bit of an announcement. As you might know if you played through the demo, I originally planned to illustrate the story 100% with CGs and mini-CGs. This was...unrealistic (as basically anyone with half a brain could have told you, I imagine). 

This was something that became EXTREMELY apparent as I worked on Karamu. I thought I scoped very realistically (a simple scene with 2 characters and only 10k words), and I hoped to finish the game within a month. However, while I finished the script in a week, I've spent almost 2 months on the illustrations. (If I extrapolate that out for Actala, where the current script is 250,000 words...I won't finish the thing for another 4-5 years...)

Part of that is that I've been experimenting with more complex/highly rendered CGs, and taking more care with the color and compositions (you can see a sample below). For Actala, I adopted a more simple coloring style because of the high volume of illustrations, but I was never really happy with them. Rather than putting out a ton of illustrations that I'm not happy with, I'd prefer to put out a smaller number that I'm more satisfied with.

If I'm being honest, I didn't adopt the "CG only" strategy for any deep reason in particular. It was mainly a snap decision based on insecurities with my own art, as I felt like my art couldn't really stand on par with other VNs (so I decided to create value with quantity over quality). However, ultimately I think it's detrimental to the project. The amount of work required for the art just dwarfs everything else, to the point where I put off the other tasks to make a SMALL dent in the art (for instance, I really want to improve the GUI, which looks a bit clunky and not super elegant...) 

So from now on, I will most likely adopt the sprite format for Actala, instead of utilizing exclusively CGs. Those sprites may or may not be animated; I'll try it out and see how I feel about them. You can still expect a lot of CGs from me, but not exclusive! Interestingly, I actually planned to do sprites in the early stages of development, and I finished almost all of them. These are over a year old at this point, so they will be completely redone, though! 

I hope that this isn't disappointing to anyone (it probably isn't; I'm just stubborn as an ox when it comes to my impulse decisions...) But from a projection perspective, it's just 100% impossible to get Actala out on any reasonable timeline with the approach that I was taking. This way, I'll be able to get the game out a bit faster (with nicer illustrations, just fewer of them)! And it will give me a little more time to polish other aspects of the game, and perhaps work on a few more side projects ;)

For the rest of this month, I'll be finishing out Karamu. Then at the start of July, I'll take a bit of a game dev break before tackling the sprites! Expect to see some sketches in the next devlog~

If you read this far, thank you! See you next month :)

Chattercap

[lacomandante]

Tagged in '20 questions for fic writers' by the @chiropteracupola — thank you!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

4. Very shameful... I have many, many fics started, and so many ideas, but I usually lack the energy to finish them, but slowly work on them. And while I do have a couple that are finished, posting them wouldn't make a ton of sense without prior explanation on a lot of things. So it stays in the vault for now.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

8,887! I need to publish a fic that's just one word now!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Primarily Sharpe- but more often I've written for Tolkien, even though I've never published anything publicly to AO3, just tumblr.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

....I don't want to link the first one bc it's embarrassing, but it has 199 kudos.

Home has 34.

Longest Night has 26

And Después de guerra has 19.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Absolutely- I try to respond to every one I get. It's very rare I get comments for my fics, especially the Sharpe ones, so I treasure them dearly!

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

This is going to sound terrible, but I usually don't write fics with angsty endings!! I always try and end with at least a silver lining. (And at least for Sharpe fics, canon already is pretty depressing, so I like to write happier things lol). I think it would have to be the one where my dúnedain ranger dies at the Battle of the Morannon, being snatched by a fell beast and dropped from a large height.

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

I think Home. I just love Teresa and Sharpe and Antonia safe and happy and loved 🥺 Though it's been so many years since I wrote it I might have to go back and polish it....

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, thankfully. But the fear of getting hate is what's prevented me from posting most of my Tolkien ones, I would say.

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

Yes! I've got one in the works atm that I really like. I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort in general, but honestly, I'm game for any smut. I'm the type of person who writes a 2,000 word blowjob fic thats IMPERATIVE for the character development lmao.

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

I don't think I've personally written any fics with crossovers before. I guess like 12 years ago I wrote a Resident Evil/Silent Hill crossover but never got far into it...I posted it to LiveJournal lol. Those were the days.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, thank goodness. At least for Sharpe the fandom is so tiny it'd be hard not to notice if someone did lol.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope! Though I've considered translating my own into Spanish, I'm not quite proficient as I am in English and it wouldn't be the same.

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

Almost every single bit of writing for the Sharpe series that isn't posted to AO3 has pretty much been written with @properbastard. Sam and I pretty much every day bounce ideas off of each other and share one brain cell. But she also beta-reads my fics and often helps me when I'm stuck, so even if it's a fic I wrote myself, she's pretty much embedded into it too. And if rping counts as cowriting a fic, then yes, absolutely!

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

If you're following me and reading this, you probably already know <3

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

Personally I try not to think of WIP's that way. I think I have the potential to finish any fic, but I don't want to set myself up for failure by thinking I'll never finish something. Or maybe that's just me being in denial LOL.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think descriptions and maybe dialogue? I like to describe landscapes and set up scenes so that a nice image is painted and sets the stage for the main characters, so to speak. I also have a decent feel for dialogue, I think. Since I've very rarely written modern fiction, one of the most important aspects of historical fiction is being conscious of how characters speak. What words would they use? Do they shorten sentences, or not? What's their background? Upper class or from the gutter? Do they speak English natively? Can they use this phrase, or is that a modern one? I'm a stickler for it, and if I read a fic where the characters Do Not sound like themselves, I usually have to exit out of it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually writing lmfao. I don't tend to have a lot of confidence with my writing, which is a shame, but I struggle a lot with that and second guess myself on a lot of things. I'm also incredibly slow- I have so many fics on the backburner just chillin' that I get overwhelmed just looking at and then don't do it, despite wanting to. I create a lot of obstacles for myself that I know don't need to be there, but I'm not sure how to get rid of them.

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

I've done it before! Least not in published fics. For Teresa, since I literally got a Spanish degree because of her, in the past I've incorporated a bit of Spanish into my writing to practice my lessons with her. It was really fun- and honestly, I think it can definitely serve a purpose in a fic- sometimes not knowing what's being said and being forced to extrapolate for yourself through context clues can really put yourself into another characters shoes.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Left 4 Dead. I was hugely into the Valve games, but L4D was my first foray, and probably my biggest and most popular fic. I had quite a few chapters and people really liked it on FF.net, and I would write out the chapters on paper in class, in middle school. I ended up deleting it because I had no idea what to do with it- no plans, no story, just writing as I went. I fondly remember a scene I wrote where Zoey was bleeding out and Nick used a defib on her and it worked <3 oh 13 year old medical knowledge....

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

I can't choose! I think I'm so critical of my writing it's so hard to like anything I write.

I tag @phoenixflames12 @properbastard @conquistadoradelmar @prvtocol and whoever else wants to do it!!

[casdeans-pie]

For the AO3 Wrapped: 12, 17, 27 & 29!

Ahh thank you for all the numbers!! These things always take me ages to get to because I have to wait until I can get at my laptop to type out my responses easier than when I'm on my phone asdfghjkl

12: How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

At the moment: only 2 ! I have ongoing work on Cabin of Feathers and I have the first couple of chapters of Angel Studies 101 written. Angel Studies might have a bit of an overhaul after I finish CoF though, I think I need to lean on the episodic nature of it more and treat it less like a longfic and more like a series of ficlets.

I have a bunch of ideas rattling around my brain cavity, but only 2 offivial wips, so I'm not doing too bad at the moment!

17: Your favorite character to write this year?

Ooh that's tough. I've enjoyed Cas and Dean for entirely different reasons... I think probably Dean. He's really intensely hard for me to 'get right' but really fun to explore and play with because he's got like a million layers to everything he does. Complicated onion man.

I do really love pushing how awkward I can make Cas though - the more awkward and flustered he gets the more fun I have honestly.

27: What do you listen to while writing?

There's a channel on Youtube called Blue Turtle and I adore every single one of their compilations. They're all instrumentals with a slightly different mood depending on the video - so I pick the one that goes with the vibe of whatever I've sat down to write. I don't know what it is about them, but they scratch my brain in the most perfect way while I write - giving me just enough background to not get distracted and stare into space, but doesn't intrude on my concentration either. Fully recommend.

(Also if you watch the animations they're incredibly relaxing - and they tell a vague story across all the videos!)

29: Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Good question! I have no idea! Let me do a bit of re-reading and I'll be back....

Okay, I struggled because I have that thing where I remember writing it too clearly - like that image of the cross stitch where the front looks all polished and nice but the back is just a mass of threads. But! I think this one really captured exactly what I wanted it to do - I love writing domestic scenes that convey character at the same time!

Whipping up pancakes is something Dean’s been doing since he was old enough to work the stove… or probably before he was old enough really – he used to stand on a chair because he couldn’t reach. In no time at all he’s got a batter mixture made from the ingredients he bought at the store, and he’s appreciating the smell as he cooks each side and flips it in the air. So many of their pancakes would end up on the floor when they were kids, when Sam would ask to try and flip them too – even though Dean knew his little brother was all gangly limbs and terrible hand eye coordination, he could never say no. Once there’s a small stack, glistening with a smothering of syrup, Dean grabs the plate and takes it to the back porch. When he first opens the back door the morning chill is still in the air, and he shudders as he steps out onto the wooden decking. His shirt and flannel seem a little thin now, but Dean can’t be bothered to go back inside for a jacket. He’ll warm up once he starts eating. The steam wafting off the hot pancakes curls into the air, and he heaves in an appreciative deep breath at both the sugary smell of his breakfast and the specific earthy scent that comes from the forest.

[aussie-bookworm]

Going Through The Motions: Bonus Bits

Hi all! I'll keep this quick but we recently hit 4k hits on Going Through The Motions! I can't believe it! Thank you all for reading my silly little fic.

As thanks, I went through my cut content document and polished up these missing scenes from Chapter Four: Help. I originally wrote full scenes of Scout asking each merc for help but decided it was going to make an already long chapter too long and it was a bit repetitive so I cut it down to the basics.

These scenes take place between Scout asking Engie for help and asking Spy for help. Thank you to the lovely @gingerale13 for proofreading! Enjoy!

Demo finished his list of names on the blackboard and put a cross next to Engie’s name.

“Alright, next up is…”

***

“Heavy?” Scout asked, knocking on the man’s door. “Can we come in? I need your help.”

“Da. Just cleaning Sasha. Door is unlocked. Do not touch gun.”

Scout hesitantly opened the door to see Heavy sitting on the floor of his room, surrounded by gun parts, focused on cleaning the barrel. 

Scout shot a nervous look at Demo who nodded. 

Honestly, Scout doubted Heavy would be able to help him, but he had to make his way through the list.

“What is problem?” Heavy asked, not looking up from his task.

Scout slowly sat down, cross-legged across from him, making an effort not to touch Sasha.

How would he even explain this? Scout knew that with Heavy, you had to be blunt.

“I need your help. I’m stuck living in a loop of the same day.”

Heavy merely raised an eyebrow and continued cleaning.

“So you come to me for joke?”

Scout blinked, leaning away from Heavy.

“What? No! Nonono! Heavy it ain’t a joke! I'm actually in a time loop! Tell him Demo!”

Demo sat down next to Scout with a sigh.

“It’s all true, Heavy. Swear on my mum’s life.”

Heavy hummed to himself, as he gently placed the barrel down and started cleaning the rotor. 

“And you come to me because you have no other options.”

It was not a question, but a statement of fact.

“How did you…?”

“Little Scout would not willingly come to me for help with magic problem unless no options are available. So you come to Heavy.”

Scout bit his lip with a frown as he looked away.

Heavy was smarter than Scout gave him credit for. The team always saw him as a big gun-obsessed Russian. Maybe there was more to him than Scout originally thought.

“Yeah, but–”

“Heavy,” Demo interrupted, holding a hand out in front of Scout to shut him up. “Have you noticed anything off with Scout during the last couple of days or weeks? Or just… anything noteworthy that could change things?”

Heavy was silent as he slowly started reassembling his gun.

“Cannot think of anything. Little Scout is little Scout as always,” he eventually commented. “I have suggestions but do not think little Scout would listen.”

“Suggestions?” Scout’s ears perked up. “What do you have for me, big guy?”

Heavy sighed as he continued to skillfully put Sasha back together.

“Understand that team is looking out for little Scout and is not babying him. Understanding others’s motives is good thing for strong team, da?”

Scout sighed.

“Yeah, I know,” he responded dejectedly. “Been through enough loops of you telling me that to get it through my thick skull.”

Heavy was unperturbed.

“Team is only as strong as weakest link. When one succeeds, all succeed.”

That made sense, Scout guessed. No ‘i’ in team and all that. 

But Scout already knew this from his baseball days! How was this supposed to help?!

“Anythin’ else?”

Heavy was silent again as he finished up his assembly. Sasha stood proud in front of Scout, ready for action.

As Scout stared at the gun, Heavy finally turned his gaze over to Scout and assessed him.

“Teamwork requires communication. Speak to Sniper.”

“What?!” 

“You have been avoiding Sniper. I have seen it. Speak to Sniper.”

Scout spluttered, trying to come up with a response.

“He’s right lad,” Demo spoke up. “Even I have noticed you’re avoiding him and I’m drunk half the time!”

Was that why Engie had suggested it yesterday? Had he also noticed and decided not to be as blunt as Heavy?

No! He couldn’t risk it! He barely got through that awkward conversation when he tried to give Sniper a compliment! Why would he decide to do that again?!

“I… I’ll do it, tomorrow,” Scout lied.

Heavy nodded.

“Very good. Is there anything else Heavy can do to help?”

“Don’t think so. Thanks, big guy.”

Heavy smiled and nodded. He stood up and picked up Sasha. Scout took that as his cue to leave. 

Quietly, Scout stood up and Demo went to follow. He opened the door as Demo slipped through.

Scout threw a look over his shoulder to see Heavy starting to clean his supplies, before shutting the door behind him.

Scout turned to see Demo looking at him. Silently, they both turned and started to walk down the hallway.

“So, tomorrow you’ll talk to Sniper, right?” Demo asked, breaking the silence.

Scout quickly wiped the scowl off his face before Demo could notice.

“Yep!” Scout lied.

***

“So we’ve talked to Engie and Heavy? We’re making good time,” Demo commented.

“I guess,” Scout responded. “So who’s next?”

***

“Hey Medic, got a minute?”

Medic’s head snapped up from the corpse he was experimenting on and looked at Scout as he and Demo pushed the doors to the infirmary open.

“Herr Scout, you know where the plasters are. You do not need my help to put one on.”

“No, it’s not that.”

Medic sighed. 

“What is it then? Herr Demo might need my help and you are wasting my valuable time.”

Demo shook his head.

“No doc, I’m fine,” he responded. “Scout needs your help, though.”

“Verdammt. What is it?”

Demo gave Scout an encouraging nod as Medic continued to operate on the corpse. Scout let out a nervous breath.

Of course, he was nervous about this! He knew what Medic did last time Scout told him about the loop!

“I need you to promise me you won’t try to give me meds this time, okay?”

“…This time?”

“Just promise, okay?”

Medic shot Scout a confused look but slowly nodded.

“Ja, okay, I promise.”

Scout sighed. 

Good enough, he guessed.

“I’m in a time loop,” Scout blurted out. “If you can help me that’d be great. Have you noticed anything off with me in the last couple of days?” 

Medic blinked, processing the stream of speech that was directed at him. 

His scalpel slipped out of his hand and into the corpse’s rib cage as he turned his head to look at Demo who had a serious expression on his face. Medic turned back to Scout.

“O…kay?” Medic eventually answered, picking up the scalpel. “Am I to understand you have been experiencing the same day on repeat?”

Scout nodded.

“Yeah. Demo suggested I talk to everyone and see if they can help.”

“Really, we just want to see if there’s something Scout can change that I haven’t already noticed,” Demo helpfully added.

Medic looked up at Demo through his eyelashes.

“And what have you noticed, Herr Demo?”

Demo said nothing, staring at the doctor. Medic frowned and tilted his head. 

As the two seemingly had a silent conversation among themselves, only nodding and pulling faces, Scout bit his lip.

“Uh… I can go if you want,” Scout spoke up.

“No need, Herr Scout,” Medic replied with a bloody wave. “I was just making sure Herr Demo and I are on the same page.”

“Okay then. Can you help me? You’re smart – surely you can think of something!”

Medic put a hand to his chin in thought.

“Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything major that could break this loop you speak of,” he mused as he placed the scalpel he was using down and reached towards Scout. “Unless you let me look at your brain and the observable effects under the loop–”

“Nuh-uh! No way!” Scout interrupted, slapping one of Medic’s hands away. “Besides, you wouldn’t even fuckin’ remember it!”

“Ja, but how often do I get to observe the synapses of a brain undergoing extreme stress and magic? Oh! I wonder if brain activity would remain the same as the previous loop! Or would it change as you are experiencing a different flow of time?”

“You’re scarin’ the lad, doc,” Demo piped up.

Medic laughed as Scout staggered backwards.

“Just imagine…” Medic said to himself.

Scout frowned slightly. He wasn’t going to get much more out of Medic which was somehow both a blessing and a curse.

“I… I’m gonna go. If you can think of anything that can get me out, let me know before midnight.”

That conversation seemed pretty quick and painless. Scout wondered if the conversations with the rest of the team would be the same.

As Scout turned to leave, Medic perked up. 

“Ah, Herr Scout?” Medic spoke up.

Goddamn it.

Scout silently begged for this conversation not to go where he thought it was going to go.

“Yeah?”

“Have you spoken to Herr Sniper about this?”

Fuck.

What was everyone's obsession with him speaking with Sniper?! Scout avoiding Sniper wasn’t that bad, was it? 

“Oh um… he’s later down on our list. I-I’ll talk to him then.”

Medic nodded approvingly

“Good, good. I recommend you speak to him earlier. He might have seen something similar to this during his career.”

Scout frowned.

“Why don’t I speak to Spy then? He’s way older and has probably seen more shit.”

“The man is… Scheiße, what’s the word in English?”

“A prick?” Scout suggested.

“Secretive,” Demo offered.

“Ja! Secretive! He does not like to share details of his past. Although…”

Demo cleared his throat.

“One problem at a time, doc,” Demo interrupted. 

“But it might–”

“Doc, not our place to say, remember?”

Scout blinked.

“Are youse hiding something from me?”

Demo and Medic made an obvious effort to look away from Scout, who was starting to feel very left out.

“Okay… You don’t gotta tell me anything. Just figured it might help break this loop quicker,” Scout muttered.

Demo sighed.

“Sorry lad. If we told you, he’d probably kill us.”

What?

“Even if you won’t remember tomorrow?”

“Herr Scout, drop it,” Medic snapped.

Scout recoiled and stared at the two men.

“Alright, alright! I’ll go! I’ll leave you two to your secrets, assholes.”

With a scoff, Scout sulked off to his room. 

Quietly Demo shook his head at Medic.

“Plan B,” he whispered.

“Ah, I see. Good luck getting him to speak to Herr Sniper. He’s stubborn as a mule.”

Demo groaned.

“It’s gotta happen sooner or later. Either way, are we still good for drinks tomorrow?”

“Ja. Heavy found a new bar that’s opened in town that we haven’t been banned from yet!”

***

“This would be more effective if I could remember these previous conversations,” Demo muttered, drawing crosses next to Engie, Heavy and Medic’s names.

“Yeah, well, they’re not very helpful,” Scout said, trying to decipher the names on the blackboard. “Are you sure about this one?”

“Well, who do you go to for a fantastical scenario? That’s right, you go to…”

***

“Pyro! Hey buddy, are you free right now?”

“Mmph! Mm-Mmph! Mm!”

Scout and Demo walked inside and sat down at Pyro’s tea party table.

Now, this conversation should be nice and quick, right?

“Pyro, I need some help from you.”

“Mph mm?”

“Yeah. You see, Merasmus cursed me to live the same day over and over again.”

“Mm-mmph!”

“I know, buddy. He said that I can only break it when I make a huge change to myself, but I don’t know what else to change. Have you noticed anything I need to change?”

Pyro was silent before they jumped up from their seat and ran over to their bed where Balloonicorn was resting. 

They thrust Balloonicorn into Scout’s arms for a hug, bouncing slightly. 

Honestly, Scout couldn’t say no to Pyro. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around the plush toy and squeezed. Demo snorted from next to him.

“Does Balloonicorn know how to break the curse?” Scout hesitantly asked from his hug. 

Pyro shook their head.

“Mph mmphmm mph mph mmph mmphmm!”

“He wanted me to feel better?”

Pyro nodded.

“But you and Balloonicorn don’t know what else I could change?”

Pyro deflated slightly and shook their head. 

“Mmph.”

“No, it’s okay. We haven’t had much luck with the others either.”

Pyro looked away and started tapping their foot.

“Mmph mph mmph mmphmph?”

Not this again.

“What’d they say, lad?” Demo asked.

Was this coordinated?! How much did the team talk about Scout and Sniper behind their backs?

“They asked if I had spoken to Sniper yet. We’re doin’ that tomorrow.”

Pyro cheered and clapped their hands before going in to give Scout a bone-crushing hug. Scout gave a small smile and pat Pyro on the back. 

As he turned to walk back into the hallway, Scout’s smile slipped off his face and was replaced with a scowl.

He was running out of time and excuses.

***

“Okay, so we’ve talked to Engie, Heavy, Medic and Pyro. Now we’re onto the S’s. Are you ready to speak to…”

“Actually Demo? I fucked up. We spoke to Sniper yesterday. I just forgot to tell you,” Scout lied.

He didn’t want to risk anything. 

The way things currently were with Sniper was fine, Scout told himself.

He didn’t want to scare Sniper away thanks to some dumb feelings he had.

“…Why did you…?”

“I just forgot,” Scout responded. “All these talks with everyone are kinda blending into one. Sniper didn’t know shit and it was so similar to our convo with Heavy that I kinda just… forgot one. Sorry.”

Demo was silent, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Sniper didn’t say anything helpful?”

“Nah. It sucks but he didn’t know anything to help.”

One little white lie couldn’t hurt, right? 

Demo sighed and turned back to the blackboard, drawing a cross next to Sniper’s name. He muttered something under his breath Scout didn’t catch.

“Alright then. Today we’ll be speaking to…”

***

“Soldier?” Scout called, knocking on the door

“Atten…tion!”

Demo leaned into Scout space.

“…Do we salute or…?” Demo asked.

Scout shrugged as he knocked again.

“Solly, can we come in? I need your help.”

“Affirmative, Private Second-Class! You may enter!”

Scout pushed the door open to reveal Soldier doing push-ups in the centre of the room. 

Scout blinked at the sight in front of him. Did the guy ever rest?!

“At ease, Soldiers!” Soldier ordered, getting to his feet. “You requested aid?!”

Scout shot a hesitant look at Demo before turning back to Soldier.

“Uh… yeah, I did, Solly. I need your help. I’m stuck in a time loop and can’t get out. Is there anything you think I need to change about myself that could break the loop?”

Solider hummed as he put a finger to his chin and tapped his foot.

“Have you spoken to Merasmus about this?”

“Affirmativ- I mean, yeah, but he wasn’t able to crack it! He suggested I find something I needed to change, but I can’t find anything else! I’ve won so many matches, I’ve been to your boot camp so many times, I don’t fuckin’ know what else to do!”

Soldier frowned.

“Then, I have got nothing to offer.”

Scout deflated. He was starting to get sick and tired of this song and dance.

“Alright, thanks, Solly.”

As they turned to leave, Scout could see out of the corner of his eye, Soldier perk up.

“Private second class!” 

Oh no. If this was about–

“Have you informed the Sniper?”

Scout blinked, saying nothing, and just glaring at the corner of the room.

“P-private second class?” Soldier asked, sounding hesitant for the first time since Scout had met him.

Scout ignored him, robotically turning and leaving without saying a word, leaving both Soldier and Demo dumbfounded.

“What is wrong with Private second-class?” Soldier turned to Demo.

Demo sighed.

“Janey, he’s been doing this for fifty-nine days. All things considered, I’m surprised he hasn’t plumb given up.”

“Hm… His determination is admirable! When he fixes this, I think I will give him a rank-up! And a medal!”

“You do that, Janey.”

[practically-an-x-man]

2, 7, 8, 13, 17, 27, 30, 37 and 55 for the fic writer ask game!

Thank you so much!!

Get To Know Your Fic Writer!

2, 8, and 13 I've answered previously! Here are the rest:

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

Most of the time, it just sort of feels right. I've tried to write Rae's POV in third person here and there, but it just doesn't flow the same way it does when I write it in first person. I think on a technical level it's about the tone of the story and how internal or external the voice needs to be, but really it just depends on how the writing flows for me.

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult? (maybe a lack of inspiration or writers block)

In the short term, I'll take my dogs for a walk. It gives me a chance away from the cognitive input, no screens, no distractions, just a chance to look at what's around me and let my mind wander. It helps me sort out tricky knots all the time!

In the longer term, I pick up a new book or two. I think of it as "recharging" my words, and diving into a good book is a great way to get the writing flowing after it's been stuck for a while.

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

My favorite part is when I really fall into a scene I love, and it all just flows. Sometimes the scenes are so vivid it's like I'm watching a movie in my head, with distinct shots and camera angles and whatever else, and it's the best feeling when I'm able to match that pace getting it down on the page.

My least favorite part isn't even really about the writing itself - it's the waiting game after posting a new fic or chapter, hoping that people will see it, like it, and maybe leave me a comment or to. There's nothing more disheartening than posting something you worked really hard on and having it met with absolute radio silence, or having a friend promise to read one of your fics and then just putting it off... and off... and off. I know that sounds a little self-centered of me to say, and I don't mean it like that, I just really want people to share my excitement about the story.

30. Do you share rough drafts or do you wait until it’s all polished?

I don't usually share rough drafts because I don't really have rough drafts. I have the outline of where the fic will go, but I write and post each chapter as I go. And even in the timeline of an individual chapter, it's really just a single draft - getting the words on the page, a couple rereads and quick grammar/clarity edits, but then it's good to go.

37. How do you choose where to end a chapter?

I usually plan out what all I'm going to cover in that chapter (I outline each chapter after finishing the prior one) and find a way to wrap it up once I've met those goals. Or, if I'm struggling to find where to end it, I try to assess whether the issue is that I have too much or not enough, and either add a scene or pare down what I've written until I can find that flow again.

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers’ reactions to certain ones?

Of the canon characters, my favorite will always have to be Angel (Warren Worthington III). He's so incredibly close to my heart in so many ways, and writing him is really cathartic - and also just really fun! This hasn't really been swayed at all: there are more characters I enjoy writing now, but he's been my top favorite since the beginning

Of my OCs, they're all fun in their own ways, but I think my top favorite is Quinn. She's got so much personality, her struggles echo my own in a really cathartic/comforting way, and the scenes just really flow when I write her. But that favorite bounces around a lot - depends on what I'm writing, what stage/chapter I'm at in the story, and what my friends have been reading of mine.

[kinetic-elaboration]

February 11: Writing Updates

I put off writing for most of the day and finally, after MUCH overthinking, sat down and finished my Hey Sweetheart fic. I'll be editing it/polishing it up the next couple of days and posting it probably last minute later in the week.

I struggled with the last scene a little, and honestly I feel like the first is still my favorite. But I also feel like, in general, my thoughts have basically moved on from this fic. Like, I wasn't going to write something better or easier later, most likely. And anything written is better than something not written that I eventually just forget entirely as if it never was.

So. I mean, I'm glad I wrote it, and I guess I'm having some regrets about not writing it faster--but all creativity is something I need to slot in around other stuff, you know? I'm glad that this fic is short and I don't need to worry about keeping it going any longer. It did what it set out to do.

On the subject of keeping stuff going, I still have my drawer fic going. I finished the current scene and I have only some very vague ideas for the next one. I'm trying really hard to keep up my streak.

The next project is going to be trying to get back into and finish an old Jonty fic from 2017, something I anticipate being very hard but I just want to... I just want to do it and get it over with, I guess. I'm not really planning on it being fun; I just feel stubborn about old WIPs that have significant word counts attached. I'm hoping to have time to do some re-reading and note-taking this week but we'll see.

[nicholsroy]

December (+ early January) updates & January goals

Blog | Monthly updates

Hello and happy belated New Year! I am back with a (very) quick (and very belated) updates post for this month, as I’m simply unwilling to throw this monthly tradition by the wayside in January. I don’t know, just seems like a shitty way to start off a new year.

December (+ early January) updates

Query letter: My query letter for LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE is technically done (finally), but I’m sitting with it for a while because I’m still not fully satisfied with parts of it. I’m considering getting a paid query critique from someone in the genre once it’s fully polished, if funds allow. At this rate, that will most likely happen either late this month or early next.

Edits: Edits are progressing at approximately the speed of molasses in winter right now (mostly because I’ve been doing basically nothing but reading over the past couple weeks), but I made some decent headway in December. According to my tracking document, the restructured Act I is currently about 65% complete. Act II is still less than 10% complete, as I originally intended to not touch Act II at all until Act I was complete, but I am blocked on areas of Act I that require supplementary research (which, yes, is because I’m procrastinating on said research), so I have tinkered with Act II in the meantime in order to continue progress. Many of the Act II scenes are in good shape and only need to be line edited and structured differently into chapters as needed.

A secret third thing: I… may or may not be working on a (short) new project for which inspiration struck about a week ago. I’m about 70% done with the draft, which I’ll most likely set aside for at least a few weeks prior to polishing and sending it out on submission. It is a short piece which will probably comprise around 2,000 words in total.

January goals

Keeping it simple for this month, especially seeing as it’s already nearly halfway over (I say “already” as though I haven’t been complaining all month about how slowly the time is passing):

Polish my query letter.

Get up to at least 75% progress on LIFE IN BLACK AND WHITE edits.

Complete supplementary research needed for some of the Timeline B (present-day) scenes in Act I (because I have really been dragging my ass on this for months now…)  

General life news (not writing-related)

Finished my 2023 reading challenge – on New Year’s Eve, no less – with 12 out of 12 books read! I’m working on a retrospective post of my thoughts on all these books (with ratings out of five), which I intended to post much sooner and is achieving a length much greater than intended (which is, truly, very me-coded).

I’m setting my 2024 reading challenge to 20 books, one of which I’ve read since the beginning of January. I am currently on my second, Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. In fact, I’ve accidentally become such a born-again bookworm that my time spent on social media, including Tumblr, has become minimal as of late. Not a bad thing by any means, but I do certainly miss my friends and fellow writers on here!

Personal goals for 2024 include, among a few other things, saving money (and, in particular, spending less of it on takeout), progressing in my career, and going on a couple of bucket list trips: namely, travelling across western and central Canada on The Canadian, and going pod camping.

That’s all for now. I hope your new year is treating you with heaping quantities of motivation and possibility – and if it’s not, I hope you’re finding ways to hang in there nonetheless.