#which hopefully helps clear the writer's block

[sinkingtime]

Remaking the DCU Gaiden 2: Electric Boogaloo

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. I do have more stories I want to add to this, but there's a particular scene transition that's been kicking my ass for a few months, now.

So instead here's a bunch of additional lore, of the "canon but probably wouldn't come up onscreen" variety.

Correction: Pink Lanterns

There are no such. They are supposed to be called "Violet Lanterns". Sorry, Violets.

Correction: Kryptonian and faux-kryptonian lasers

When Supergirl first got her ring, I had her laser it intensely with both eyes. Kinda imagined her crossing them so the lasers converge. But if they can do that, it wouldn't make sense for Wonder Woman and Superman to wrestle her and Zod, respectively; they could have easily looked to the side and killed their respective hostages.

So, in this franchise, their lasers always shoot straight ahead, relative to their skull, independently of whatever they do with their eyes.

Add a distant shot to that scene in Red, to show that one of the beams is crashing against the ring, and the other gets lost into space. Maybe two shots, to show the difference as she increases the output.

Batman's timeline

Canonically, Bruce is in his mid-fourties in Batman v. Superman, and had been operating as Batman for approximately twenty years. A little tight, but I can work with that.

From Martha Wayne's gravestone, we know they died 34 years before the movie began. Bruce would have been 10-12. He then spent about a decade and half training, studying, etc.

I'm also going to officially say it was a random crime. Thomas Wayne was generationally wealthy and a reasonably well-known doctor (heart surgeon, I think? by which I mean that's also canon now), but he wasn't involved in anything that would warrant a conspiracy against him. Still Bruce was convinced there was one, spent a long time digging, until finally he convinced himself there was nothing to be found.

In the comics, Robin (Dick Grayson) was introduced one year after Batman. So let's bring that in too. At approximately BvS-19, the Flying Graysons die after a failure of their equipment. Batman finds the sole survivor, let's say he's about 12, trying to infiltrate the lair of the gang that they both suspect did it.

The kid isn't nearly ready for that and is obviously going to get himself killed, so Batman aborts, extracts him, and brings him to the batcave to talk. He ends up semi-adopting him, whatever a "ward" is, which I assume is just adopted but no change in surname? Sure, why not. He also does take down the gang, afterwards.

Bruce Wayne lets the world think he's taking this kid in because he was there, the day his parents died. He wasn't, but it's very easy for him to fake the records. Dick also becomes a vigilante-in-training, eventually wearing a darker version of his family's uniform, both for tactical reasons and to at least try to hide his identity.

A little under ten years later, BvS-11 or so, Jason Todd steals the batmobile's tires. They catch him, but end up not beating him up, and becoming sort of friends. He's one year younger than Dick.

The year after, Dick leaves for Blüdhaven. Let's say they have a good university over there. Jason convinces Batman to let him take over the position, mostly on the grounds that it'd be suspicious if both dissapeared at the same time. Dick fakes an injury on patrol, to give them time to train him, and then leaves.

Jason lasts one month. The Joker immediately captures him and tortures him for info on what happened to "the real Robin". He says nothing, eventually dying. By crowbar, because of course.

(And yes, I know it was actually the explosion that killed him, but nobody ever cares so I won't be the one to start).

He and Harley bring the body to the top of the police station, uniform graffitied as we saw it, turn on the batsignal, then leave.

The day after, Batman breaks into Joker's hideout to beat him up. Harley's away on some errand. He didn't want to kill Joker, didn't really have a plan but sort of wanted to hear him beg for mercy. But he didn't, he just kept laughing, stopping only when he was dead. Batman left, horrified with himself.

Harley came back and found the body. The next day she takes some hostages, Batman arrives to save them, but she instead defeats him, captures him and takes him to the same warehouse. I had vaguely implied this, but she's definitely the best fighter of all three. That's what tips him off, that she could have bested him at any time, and probably only didn't to spare Joker's ego. He bets on that, gets her not to kill him, and she leaves him there.

The next day he's panicking about that, afraid she may change her mind after thinking about it. He's trying to plan what he'll do about it, but then he sees on the news that she turned herself in at Arkham and requested treatment.

Incidentally, my Arkham will be much better than regularly. Obviously the Joker/Harley thing has to happen in there, but other than that I like the idea that they have a very good track record, actually.

Anyways, over the next decade Batman becomes increasingly more brutal, as we saw. The only thing I have to add is why the inmates were killing those that had been branded by him. That was never satisfactorily explained. Apparently the extended edition adds it to Luthor's plan, but disregard that.

Instead it'll be a crime boss that's paying for those, as part of a campaign to further discredit Batman in the eyes of Gotham city. Succesful, for the record: after the Doomsday fight a few people believe he was a good person after all, but it's almost exclusively the same that believe he died that day. The general public opinion is that he was a monster, whether he started as one or not.

Anyways, the crime boss is Arthur Brown, alias the Cluemaster. Who I guess is more of a supervillain than a gangster, but pretty much all of Batman's rogues have gangs anyways. This is a "more realistic" Cluemaster, or something. The important thing is his daughter, Stephanie, who will be about 15 as of Rebirth. Batman's very much not admired so she'll never be Robin or Batgirl, but I do want Spoiler for later.

Finally, neither Bruce nor Harley knew that Joker had always known Batman's identity, until he broke into Wayne Manor while possesing her.

Languages

Linguistics in this franchise started mostly good. When Zod attacked Earth, we saw his message being transmitted in multiple languages, but it was also imperfect and could be argued to be a work-in-progress, as they hacked the internet for translations. Sure, good enough.

The amazons also make a point of the fact that they speak "over a hundred languages", or maybe "hundreds of languages", I don't remember the exact wording. But, even if the specific number is ridiculous, at least they're establishing the fact that they have put in the effort to study. So, also good.

And the New Gods that attack randomly speak english, but they're aliens advanced enough that we can grant they have universal translation. Also, I removed them entirely, so nevermind.

The one that troubles me are the Atlanteans, who also speak english without further comment, but then Mera specifically didn't speak italian, and so we have to admit it was all provincialism all along and actually everything is stupid. By the way, did anyone watch the italian dub of that? I'm curious what they did with that scene. Please tell me.

I'm going to go ahead and say scenes like the destruction of Krypton and the like are in their alien languages, translated for our benefit.

Jor-El's hologram absorbed the language from the internet, as Zod had. Slightly weaker, but it'll have to do.

For my part, I already gave Lobo a language-acquisition device; presumably most alien civilizations use something like that.

And I gave Supergirl, and other Legion-era people, english but with a weird gimmick, to hint at the changes in their society over the millenium.

Green Lanterns in the comics can speak all languages, so of course I'll extend that courtesy to all colours, and then just for fun limit it to the emotional connection, so if there were a species of people who don't have a particular emotion then those Lanterns cannot comunicate with them.

Tamaranians in the comics acquire the languages of people they kiss. I actually didn't remember that when I gave them their gimmick, but I guess I must have been subconsciously inspired by it because now I remember there was a flashback to that in the Teen Titans cartoon. Anyways, that's now canon, and it is ultimately the reason why they developed that custom.

This means Koriand'r didn't have a noticeable accent; or more specifically she speaks tamaranian, portuguese and english with perfect diction for high class imperial, São Paulo and Jump City, respectively. Also, Komand'r now speaks english with the Legion's dialect.

Tamaranian culture

Beyond the "kisses" thing, I gave them an aversion to rings, a predilection to gambling, and the expectation that the ruler is required to do the paperwork that keeps the empire running.

The last one is just an excuse to make the older sister less villainous. Their schemes are to avoid the throne, rather than claim it. I can probably cry "realism!", right? Actually being a despot presumably does involve at least a little work.

The rings I prefer not to elaborate on. They don't know what reasons there may be. That's just how they are, culturally.

The gambling could be tied to a form of honour, at the intersection of "my word is my bond" and "let's make this fair". They could also have a god or gods with domain over luck, or promises, or something like that. But mostly what I want to say is that, when their mother was pregnant for the first time, she and her husband made a bet over who'd get to name that one. The Queen won, "Komand'r" is her choice.

Finally, back to the kisses, it's important that they be non-sexual in nature. Not just "don't have to be", but rather "cannot be". Particularly given the languages thing, since that's logically going to be how children first learn to speak.

That's also why I insisted Koriand'r be unambiguously straight. She'd be ace, but she has a boyfriend, so no.

That's also why, in their aborted sex scene, she wasn't using her mouth, and wasn't going to. From her perspective, the incessant kissing they do on Earth is more like spending a few hours going "no, YOU hang up!". It used to make her laugh, but in a charming way.

That was also after an indeterminate amount of time on Earth, and intentionally trying to distance herself from her royal upbringing. Because kisses are also, partially, an expression of authority, bringing one to bed would be more of a BDSM thing.

So if he'd tried to kiss her at that time she'd have been offended, and run away. Then the next morning both would have realized what happened, go to mutually apologize and generally communicated like the responsible adults they are.

If instead he'd asked her for a kiss, which seems more in-character anyways, she'd have blushed profusely and stuttered. She would have accepted, but not before kicking any witnesses out herself. I guess that's another thing, but let's say it's royal-specific.

Tamaranian nobility and exhibitionism

The servants that watch nobles overnight are trained professionals, discreet and respectful, whose presence doesn't threaten their senses of modesty. Naturally there can be occasional abuses, but these two are both individually powerful and personal friends of the Queen, so of course they were assigned the most trustworthy. She probably knows him by name.

As for Supergirl, she doesn't know her that well, but she knows she's his friend and she knows and trusts him. Also the fact that they didn't say anything when they were assigned the same room, which signifies that they're close, presumably close enough that she wouldn't mind them maybe waking her up, and he wouldn't mind maybe taking that risk. You just don't share a room with someone you'd be bothered being there while you (or them) use the room.

They wouldn't have even thought of requesting separate rooms, of course.

That still leaves the possibility that they were maybe close enough that she should be jealous, but she never seriously considered it. She trusts Dick. And then she did walk in and find them sleeping a properly chaste distance away; in three dimensions, even. So, her final analysis: it would be fine.

It was not fine.

Lantern Culture/Psychology

Lanterns can detect when people nearby feel the emotion they're attuned to, which I alluded to with Supergirl and the tamaranian sisters, but I opted to leave that ambiguous because she didn't know how that worked.

They also have instincts vaguely in favour of their emotion. They feel people should express their dissatisfaction, or share their worries, or etc. Some let that reshape their entire personal philosophies, some fight it as an unwanted side-effect of their magic, but mostly it manifests as subtle effects on their behaviour.

This is also part of why they are not united as a nation.

That's why Supergirl spent the entirety of the tamaranian visit trying to bother Dick, but not Koriand'r because she doesn't know her that well (and because she was the Queen). And it's why she decided to bother Komand'r via kiss, after correctly deducing she was upset by her sister kissing her because it's a display of her higher status, even though their relative statuses were her choice.

That's also why Koriand'r suggested she take her vouyerism to her sister; she wouldn't necessarily think they'd fall in love and live happily ever after, but she at least thought they'd enjoy the night. That does mean she thinks her sister is gay, but I specifically want to not clarify whether she's correct, for reasons that will come up later. Assuming I ever get to write that part.

As for Dick, he understood that the entire trip was motivated by Supergirl trying to find her brother, so his instincts were fully satisfied there. And of course the happy couple are happy and a couple, so that's ok for both.

Koriand'r also assumes, correctly, that his Test was specifically about his love for her, and is immensely flattered by that; but she will never ask, because it would be presumptuous. And because she knows, better than most, that "love" need not always be romantic.

Lantern instincts also predispose them towards wearing their colours and symbol, but the magic doesn't automatically swap their palettes. If anyone wants to teach them spells to do so, they learn those easily, but both Nightwing and Koriand'r redid their uniforms manually.

Supergirl is satisfied by her logo, boots and cape being red, even if the suit is arguably mostly blue; though the fact that it's such a resistant material, presumably hard to modify, also factors in her (subconscious) decision.

Koriand'r's Timeline

(i kinda wanna make up a different possesive for tamaranians)

The only thing I have to add is that, in hers and Dick's first meeting, she accidentally kissed him goodbye, not hello. She then made a bunch of jumbled excuses, then ran away. The next day they talked calmly, agreed to go on an actual date but take things more slowly, and thus the best couple was born.

He thought maybe he looks like her ex, or something like that.

Meanwhile, in the Legion's timeline, she lived out the rest of her life in hiding. Her space surveillance systems succesfully kept any space visitors at bay; without future knowledge, humanity wouldn't develop anything that could detect them until long after her death.

She and Dick did eventually end up living together and so he learned the truth, but he kept her secret. They did sometimes argue, that with all the power she had she should go out and help the world, and conversely that he had none and shouldn't risk himself like that. But they dealt with that like mature adults, and didn't let it damage their relationship. Happily ever after!

Because the relationship was in no particular risk, he never became a Lantern, and Earth had no influence from the White War, which is why Supergirl knew nothing about that.

Reproductive biology

I mostly don't like half-human whatevers. I'll go ahead and say Dick and Koriand'r cannot reproduce, would need to adopt if they ever want kids. Same would have been true for Clark and Lois, if he hadn't died.

I would actually like to extend that to Earth's three (four?) peoples, but unfortunately we have a canon hybrid in Aquaman, and arguably also Wonder Woman. So, sure, those peoples can interbreed, but I'll go ahead and say both of them are sterile, as hybrids often are.

Also, amazons. Sometimes they are human women who became immortal, and so there's a fixed number of them. Or sometimes they're just humans, who go out to have sex for purely procreational purposes, possibly in secret. I choose neither.

Instead they will be a sort of hermaphroditic species. I'm not sure if that's the right word: sex between two of them may result in either or both becoming pregnant, but one alone cannot do it. Also per the "hybrids" clause, they can induce pregnancy on human or atlantean women, or become pregnant from human or atlantean men.

That kinda makes me want to add children to Themiscyra in Wonder Woman. But instead let's just say they didn't let Steve walk over to the nursery.

Also I guess there are three more peoples. Aquaman brought us merfolk, which is good because I want one for later, as well as crab people and some mindless monsters that apparently used to be people. So let's say the first two, but maybe not the third, can interbreed with atlanteans but not humans nor amazons, again giving non-fertile hybrids.

That kinda puts atlanteans at the "center" of intelligent life on Earth. Which feels ok, life started in the sea, etc.

And then gods are magical shapeshifters, so maybe they can reproduce with anything. They're all gone anyways, so it's probably fine.

Finally, kinda, humans in the Legion's future are all sterile, and don't have libidos as we understand them. They reproduce by cloning, with technology perfected across the centuries which ultimately traces back to reverse-engineering the ancient kryptonian colony ship.

That's convenient for their Superman-worship, since objectively speaking he died without having achieved all that much.

That also means Supergirl's brother isn't biologically related to her; the word simply shifted in meaning over time. That will be convenient when it comes time to cast him.

Supergirl's predilections

Coming from, effectively, an asexual species/society, she also was like that. After her augmentation, she becomes effectively bisexual, by way of Sense Freak. She loves her augmented senses, and exploring and experiencing.

On the non-sexy part of that trope, but also probably serving as a metaphor for the same, she enjoys experiencing different food, varied music, etc. I picture the League having a series of social media accounts, probably monitored by Chloe and/or Leslie, which she'd use to request recommendations.

(Power Girl will eventually be extra-ace, for the same reason: her super senses make it disgusting to her)

Siobhan Smythe's timeline

I have decided she will not have or get any powers. She's just her normal friend. If there were a parallel show about heroes' mundane lives, she'd feature heavily; mostly because I enjoy the idea that Supergirl refused to hide, and haven't given that level of thought to anyone else's civillian life.

Anyways, Siobhan used to get dragged all around the world by Supergirl, to restaurants, concerts, museums, etc.

A little after she disappeared, Siobhan lost her appartment, so started secretly living in hers.

When she came back she found her, but decided that was fine, and started referring to her as her roommate.

Diana's timeline

I know usually it's canon that she's a doll Hippolyta made and the gods animated, but we're not doing that. She's Hippolyta and Zeus' daughter. I don't remember if the doll bit was referenced in the movie, but if it was, let's say it was just a cover story, to avoid Hera's wrath. They didn't know the gods were leaving/mostly gone.

Diana's genuinely immortal, but amazons are not, though they'll necessarily be long lived: Wonder Woman was canonically set in 1918, I didn't make that up; her mother obviously was older than that and I had her die about a week before Rebirth.

For more specifics, I'm going to arbitrarily say Diana was approximately 50 when she met Steve. Hippolyta is obviously older but not too much, as there isn't an older sister. Let's say she was about 30 when she met Zeus. So, between 180 and 190 when she died, but that was accidental. Let's also arbitrarily say she was halfway through her life, so amazons can expect to live about four centuries, if all goes well.

Speaking of things going well, or the lack thereof: in the Legion's future, Diana died in the explosion that visibly sundered Earth and left the moon outpost as the last remainder of humanity, some 6 or 7 centuries into the future.

The amazon she romances after going back to Themiscyra isn't the one that's Donna's father (for lack of a better word). Not because anyone would particularly object, but because I said she'd die and don't want to kill off both of her parents.

The gods' timeline

They are (were) shapeshifters, immortal and highly magically adept. Per Ares' fate, we know they are all gods "of" something; they are their own magic source, which is also entwined with their life and health. I'm going to say it was a single race of gods that inspired most or all pantheons through history.

Presumably all the gods were still around at the origin of greek myth, which obviously is hard to trace for certain but a cursory search tells me between 3 and 5 thousand years ago. At that point Ares starts the "evil god of war" plot, so they were all already starting to lose faith in humanity.

Zeus at least is still around by approximately 1868, to meet Hyppolita, and then is unambiguously gone by 1914, when Ares has launched his final plan. Clearly he was second-to-last to leave. Presumably trying to get him to come along.

Other planets don't have gods, in the sense that this race of powerful shapeshifters is Earth-specific, but obviously they do in that most of them have or had mythologies and religions. Some, but not all, may also have had their pantheons inspired by ancient magical peoples, who may or may not still be around.

[sarahs-library]

Forgotten: Pretty Eyes

"You have such pretty eyes," Azriel's thumb dragged your lower lip down, his husky baritone stoked the fire of arousal coursing in your veins. "I can't wait to see you looking up at me, with my cock in your mouth."

A/N - Forgotten is giving me serious writer's block right now, so here's a little smutty snippet from the same universe before the story begins. You aren't together yet, the bond has snapped for Azriel but you remain blissfully unaware. Also I love the idea of meddling Nesta. This is also my first time publishing any smut, so hopefully it doesn't seem as cringey to you as it did to me re-reading it.

Word count: 4704

Warnings: Smut

Forgotten Part One ☪ Part Two ☪ Part Three

Your POV

Settled into the plush leather couch, you pulled the blanket up to your chin, creating a cozy nest for yourself. You balanced the book Nesta had given you on your lap, the worn cover a familiar weight against your skin. The floral sundress you wore fluttered around your legs, exposing the delicate skin of your knees, which you instinctively tucked beneath the warm embrace of the blanket. Once comfortable, you flipped open the hardcover to read the synopsis inlaid on the first page and snorted. Gratuitous smut, that much was predictable. But the story revolved around fated mates who couldn’t stay away from each other, despite every glaringly obvious reason to. Her recent recommendations had all centered on this theme, which you found puzzling. You couldn’t understand the Fae’s obsession with them, or Nesta’s for that matter.

Sure, you understood the religious aspect, most cultures had deities or worshipped magic in some form. Prythian’s Mother was no different in your eyes from the innumerable nameless gods you’d encountered in your travels over the years. But even so, the Fae's sanctification of basic biology was unique. You cleared your throat and looked up.

“Excuse me? House?” It felt strange, to address an inanimate object. You hadn’t quite believed Nesta when she first told you the House was sentient, a byproduct of her cauldron-made power. But it had seen to your needs enough over the last few months, often without prompting, that you’d found yourself creating a tentative relationship with it. “Do you have another book for me? Nesta’s been recommending so many of these, I’d rather read something different.” A moment later, a small pile of books dropped onto the table next to you. You thanked the House as you reached for the top book on the pile.

A God cursed to remain locked in his mountain hold until his soulmate frees him…You stopped reading with a frown, setting the book aside with the other before taking the next one. And then the next. You reached the end of the pile, all books about soulmates or fated mates or love pairs. Maybe the House had misunderstood you. You gathered the books up again, this time placing the one Nesta had lent you at the top of the pile and addressed the House again.

“Sorry, I meant do you have anything different than a romance? Maybe something with a bit of action and adventure?” The pile didn’t vanish, no other books appeared either. You waited for a few seconds. “House?” You knew it was close with Nesta, perhaps you’d offended it by inadvertently insulting her reading tastes.

You considered getting up from the comfy nest you’d created in the sitting room to go to the library and pick something off the shelves yourself. You eyed the book at the top of the pile again and sighed. Grabbing it you cracked open to the first page. Only then did the pile vanish, you couldn’t help rolling your eyes. In its place stood a glass filled with fruity, fizzing pink wine from the Summer Court. It knew that you preferred it to the heartier reds more commonly found in the Night Court. You thanked the House and took a sip from the wine glass before turning your attention to the book propped open against your knees.

A dull pain in your neck drew you from sleep. Your dry eyes adjusted to the low lighting as you began to sit up. You groaned and massaged the sore muscles in your neck and shoulder, cursing yourself for falling asleep in such an awkward position. The book, still open at the last page you were reading, slipped from your lap and hit the floor with a dull thud. Fae light housed in a dark glass shade flickered to life on the table next to your empty wine glass. Freeing the blanket from where it was tangled between your legs, you bent to retrieve the book from the floor. The hand you reached out stopped shy of the cover, the tips of your fingers brushing against the shadows that teeming it, burrowing under the pages.  

They didn’t shy away from your touch. Instead, they pushed the book across the floor into your open hand. You grasped at the leather-bound spine, cool shadows curling between your fingers and sliding up the back of your hand.

“Thank you.” You inclined your head and righted yourself on the sofa, expecting them to disperse in search of their master.

“Don’t tell me you’ve joined Nesta’s smutty book club too.” Reflectively you gripped the book tighter as the voice came from behind you. After months of living together at the House, you were beginning to be able to decipher Azriel’s moods. Smooth, dark, and low his tone of voice rarely gave away what he was feeling. But the slight elongation of some vowels and the emphasis on the word smutty told you he was amused. A delicate flush rose on your cheeks, and you resolved not to look at him.         

“I mostly go for the wine. But Nesta said this was one of her favourites, though I’m not sure why.” The shadows that had helped you retrieve the book began to climb up over the edge of the sofa, to investigate further as you held it in your lap. You could feel him inching closer behind you, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Satisfied with their investigation, or at whatever silent command Azriel gave them, the shadows began to return to his side. You were unsure of how cognizant they were. As one of them brushed against the soft skin of your thigh, exposed from where your dress had ridden up, you wondered if it was intentional. You were glad to not see his face. Not while his shadows snitched to him about the colour dusting your cheeks and the very long, very explicit description of the mating frenzy between the main characters you’d been reading before you fell asleep.

“Too tame for you, sweetheart?” You’d been playing this game for weeks now. Glances that lingered a hair too long to be appropriate. Comments that bordered on suggestive but still gave plausible deniability. Any excuse to touch, to feel the other’s skin as you passed a dish at family dinner or assisted Azriel with demonstrations for the priestesses.

And you hated it, the effect he had on you. You knew, somewhere deep inside in a place you didn’t want to acknowledge, that he was part of the reason you’d taken advantage of Rhys’ hospitality. Why you hadn’t been itching to leave, to find another place after you landed unceremoniously, bleeding and half-conscious, in the Night Court all those months ago.

You sighed. “No, it’s not that.” Azriel was standing directly behind you now. When you took your next breath his scent, night-chilled mist and cedar, filled your nose. “I know she and Cassian are disgustingly in love, but I’d prefer her to give me at least one recommendation that doesn’t revolve and two people finding out they are mates, and then fucking for the next 100 pages.”

Azriel made a low, humming sound. Not in agreement, but in consideration of what you said. You thought he was going to speak, grace you with a sarcastic remark. Instead, he leaned over the back of the sofa. His face was so perilously close to your neck that you could feel the hot breath he exhaled, as he plucked the open book from your lap. He retreated as quickly as he’d come; you instinctively turned, reaching one hand up to stabilise yourself against the plush leather.

His hazel eyes met yours, and the triumphant smirk he gave you ignited both irritation and something primal. Held aloft in one hand, he lifted the book to his eyeline as the shadows flicked swiftly through the pages. Landing on the passage he wanted, he began to read aloud.           

“His manhood was hot and hard and thick with lust. He pounded into her rough and ready, their gasps puffing in the air, steam rising off their skin.” Your cheeks flushed deeper. You hauled yourself up the back of the sofa, resting on your knees, attempting to use the leverage to lessen the advantage his greater height gave him. Reaching out, you tried to snatch the book from his grasp only for him to move it away just as your fingers brushed against the cover. He took a half-step back, still within arm’s length but not close enough for you to reach without losing your balance.

Azriel arched a brow, eyes alight with thinly veiled amusement as he took in your flushed face. You noticed the way they strayed, just for a moment, following the path of your exposed neck down towards your chest. A traitorous part of you preened under the attention of his gaze. Instinct prompted you to press the advantage he’d unwittingly given you, using the moment of his distraction to vault over the back of the sofa and close the distance between you. Azriel’s wings flared behind him, but he didn’t retreat from the sudden proximity, even as your hand reached up to grasp the book over his own.

Dragging his eyes away from you, he feigned nonchalance as he continued to skim the pages of the book. You realised your mistake then, calf muscles straining to keep your weight steady as you stood frozen on arched feet. His eyes didn’t leave the page even as his other hand came up to rest on your hip. The fabric of your dress felt dangerously thin as the warmth from his palm and slightly splayed fingers seeped through. Thin enough to feel the callouses on the finger that skimmed tantalisingly close to the edge of your underwear.

“The male says such filthy things.” He allowed you to pull the book down but didn’t relinquish his grip. Hazel eyes met yours, darkened even in the fae light. Slowly lowering your weight back onto the balls of your feet, you held his gaze. You were acutely aware of how little space was left between the two of you. Cool shadows brushed against the bare skin of your legs, catching on the hem of your dress and skirting at your waist. The breath you inhaled, made ragged by the proximity, filled your lungs with Azriel’s scent. Lust fogged your thoughts, quietening the voice in your mind that warned you of the precipice you teetered on. Even through the haze, you recognised there would be no going back, not once you acted on this.

“Do you like it when your lovers speak to you like this, sweetheart?” His voice, guttural and slow, seemed to speak directly to the embers now burning within you. He edged closer, enough that the fabric of your dress brushed against the scaled leather on his chest. You backed away, even as you felt your body react, but kept your eyes trained on Azriel’s face. His shadows returned to him, agitating a breeze that carried the unmistakable scent of your arousal. Azriel inhaled deeply, savouring it like a man half-drowned. His gaze became predatory as he prowled closer to you.

You felt the brush of cool leather against the heated skin of your back and the curve of your buttocks. He stepped closer, muscular arms brushing your waist on either side as he rested his hands on the sofa, caging you in. You held his gaze, even as he lowered his face close enough that your breath mingled. You tried to grasp at something, formulate a scathing remark that would disseminate the tension, that would allow you to step out of this room with your friendship still intact. All you could focus on was how easy it would be to reach up, tangle your fingers into Azriel’s hair, and bring his face down to close the distance between your lips. The corner of his mouth quirked up into a smirk and he feigned closing the distance, tilting his head before passing over your mouth and whispering in your ear.  

“You haven’t answered my question.” His breath danced over the shell of your ear, and you fought against the urge to arch your back and press yourself into his chest. His lips ghosted over the skin of your neck as he traced the curve down to where it met your collarbone.

“My preferences regarding lovers are of no concern to you.” He stilled against you.

“Is that so?” The words caressed your skin, drawled and meant to provoke as he made the return journey back towards your lips. You managed a breathy affirmation, even as he trailed fire in his wake. The barest of touches, feeding your desire for more of them, more of him. You didn’t notice the hand until his palm slid up to rest on the side of your neck, gripping your jaw between scarred fingers and thumb. His grip was firm as he pulled back to look at you.  

“Such lies from such a sweet, little mouth.” His thumb stroked a path up, sweeping across your plump lower lip. You parted them on instinct. Lust-darkened eyes met your own, and a moment of clarity passed between you both. One that spoke of more than just base needs or primal instincts. Hiding in his eyes was a promise of more. Something that neither of you were ready to address just yet.

"You have such pretty eyes," Azriel's thumb dragged your lower lip down, his husky baritone stoked the fire of arousal coursing in your veins. "I can't wait to see you looking up at me, with my cock in your mouth." His other hand moved to your hip as he trailed his thumb down, palm splayed as he traced your jaw; your neck to where the cut of your dress lay at the valley between your breasts. He toyed with the edge before moving his hand to trace down your other side, thumb brushing the underside of the swell of flesh you desperately wanted him to pay more attention to.

His grip tightened for a moment at your waist before he hoisted you into the air. You gasped in surprise at the sudden movement before he perched you precariously on the edge of the back of the sofa. The increased height made your face almost level with his, something that Azriel took full advantage of as he captured your lips with his own. Your hands moved to steady yourself on his broad shoulders, fingernails digging into the leather as you swept your tongue against his bottom lip. You opened your thighs in invitation, Azriel stepped closer so that your chest was flush with his. His hips settled between your legs; your thighs clenched on either side as he deepened the kiss. His skilled tongue stroked against your own as you moaned, breathing heavily through your nose.

His fingers tangled into your hair, pulling it aside as his other hand moved down from your waist to trace a path under your dress against the smooth skin of your inner thigh. His mouth left yours, moving to capture the soft skin of your neck, lathing his tongue against it in between delicate bites as his fingers slid higher on your thigh. You rolled your hips, trying to coax him as his fingertips grazed lace. You slid your hands over his shoulders, finding purchase as you pulled him closer. You felt him smile against your neck as he trailed kisses lower, freeing his hand from your hair, as he pulled the delicate fabric of your dress down roughly to expose your chest. You barely registered the sound of it tearing as one hand came up to clasp your breast, thumb running over the peaked nipple as he bent further to capture the other between his lips.

You groaned as he continued to nip and suckle and bite at the pert bud, hazel eyes observed your through dark lashes as you arched into him, bringing one hand up to tangle into his dark locks. He groaned against your skin as you pulled at it, moaning his name in between panted breaths.

“Fuck, Az. Please…” he sucked hard on the nipple caught between his lips, releasing it with an obscene pop and a parting flick of his tongue against the tip.

“Please what, sweetheart?” His mouth moved to capture the nipple under the ministrations of his thumb, the callouses rubbing deliciously against the sensitive skin. Words died on the tip of your tongue as the fingers dancing beneath your skirt finally brushed against sodden fabric, rubbing against the slick folds of your pussy. He grunted in approval as he continued to probe, pushing a finger into your aching hole as much as the lace would allow. You moved your hand from his shoulder, taking advantage of his bent position to trace two knuckles against the dark membrane of a wing.

Azriel’s growl was feral as he bucked his hips. His mouth left your breast to kiss up your neck, teeth scratching against the pulse thrumming at your jugular.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a wicked, wicked tease?” His lips once again met your own in a rough, opened-mouthed kiss. You purposely dragged your knuckles back over his wing, it flared out under your touch as he caught your bottom lip between his teeth. You pulled back, your lip catching before he released you. He stared at you, panting and pupils blown wide. You smirked as you put your hand back on his shoulder, resolving to explore the sensitive expanse of his wings further another time. You trailed your fingers down, feeling the hard expanse of muscles on his chest and abdomen before settling on the strings of his leather breeches.   

“I may have heard something like that before.” You pulled at the knot, struggling to undo it with just one hand. Azriel’s hand left your breast, placing it over your own to still the movements. You furrowed your brow, questioning him with a gaze as he made no move to help.

“There’s something I need to do first.” He stepped back, moving out of your reach as you planted your hands on either side of the sofa to steady yourself. His wings flared for balance as he slowly lowered himself to one knee, then the other, maintaining eye contact with you as his hands slid under your dress. Tracing up to your hips he caught hold of the lace of your panties, slowly pulling them over your thighs and past your knees to drop over your bare feet onto the floor. His eyes never left yours as he rucked the thin skirt up to your waist, leaving you panting and exposed under his gaze. His eyes trailed down slowly as if committing the sight of you to memory, taking special note of the flush on your neck and chest, littered with a constellation of bruises he had sucked onto your skin. Lower still, until his gaze came to rest between your legs, fixated on the way your cunt glistened in the fae light.

“I can’t tell you how often I’ve dreamed of this.” He ran the back of his hand down the side of your thigh as you opened your legs wider for him to nestle his shoulders between your knees. “Of how you taste, what you’d look like underneath me, the sounds you’d make when you cum for me.” He made sure to catch your gaze again as he lowered his mouth towards your slick folds. The hand that wasn't tracing your thigh moved to part your lips as his tongue delves between them. He moaned against you at that first taste. Dragging his tongue in a long sensual stroke up, barely brushing the edge of your clit before returning to tease at your entrance. Biting your lip your hands found his hair, wrenching him closer as you slid your knees over his shoulders. He cupped your arse, rough fingers digging into supple flesh as he fucked you with his tongue. Languid strokes that brushed his nose against your clit every time he pushed in deeper.

You moaned, grinding against his face, the hand not tangled in his hair circled at your nipple still coated in his saliva. His tongue slid up through the wetness to toy with your clit, circling dangerously around the edges before he caught it between his lips, suckling on it hard. You cried out his name at the delicious pressure, bordering on pain, his eyes watching you through dark lashes as you writhe and grind against him. He releases your clit, pulling back after a small gentle parting lick.

“Look at you.” His thumb moves up to trace your clit. He looked debauched, lips swollen and pink, chin soaked with your pleasure. “Such a pretty little cunt.” His thumb slides down through your wetness as he teases it through your puffy folds. “So wet for me, just begging to be fucked.” You felt your pussy clench as he traced past the hole, dipping further down in between your cheeks to toy with the wetness around the puckered ring of muscle there. He returned torturously slowly to where you needed him most, before plunging one finger deep inside of you. You moaned at the intrusion as he curled his finger up, rubbing purposely against the sensitive wall before pulling out. He added another finger to the first, inserting them at the same glacial pace, finally looking away from your face as he watched your walls stretch to accommodate his thick fingers. It wasn’t enough, you needed more of him.

“Please,” you begged, tugging at his hair. “Please Az, I need more. I need…” You trailed off as another finger slid into your tight hole, the pace still slow as he watched you grind your hips against his hand, trying to fuck his fingers deeper and faster into you.

“Whatever my beautiful-“He stopped himself, throat bobbing as he swallowed hard, eyes on your face again. “Whatever you want, sweetheart.” And with that promise, he lowered his mouth to your cunt again. The speed of his fingers increased, fucking into you with abandon as he caught your clit between his lips once more, licking and sucking, dragging his teeth gently over the sensitive nerves. He skilfully brought you to the precipice of your release, alternating between curling his fingers and lathing his tongue against your clit before slowing down. You keened, undulating your hips against his face and hand. Shadows bled out the sofa, fixing your hips down as he continued to tease.

“I need to see you cum for me.” He growled against you before pressing himself deeper into your folds. Your legs shook as his fingers fucked you harder, as his mouth latched onto your clit with a hard suck. His hazel eyes were fixed on your face, watching as you climbed towards your peak. Your grip tightened on his hair as your release built. Until finally, it snapped. Sending you careening toward the most exquisite bliss you had experienced in your immortal life.

“Azriel! Oh Gods…” Your legs shifted on his shoulders as your muscles clenched under your release, trapping his head between your thighs. He continued to lick and suck you gently as you came down from your pleasure, fingers moving at a more leisurely pace now as he watched you, eyes filled with lust and awe. You relaxed slowly under his ministrations, enough to begin to bring you towards pleasure again despite how oversensitive your nerves felt. You unhooked your legs from his shoulders as you moved your hands towards them, pulling as his leathers. He released you from his mouth, pulling his fingers out and admiring the wetness left on his hand rolling down towards his wrist. He rose, allowing you to capture his face between your hands in a searing kiss. You groaned at the taste of it, both of you mingled together on the tongue he stroked slowly against yours.

Moving your hands down you broke the kiss, nestling into his neck and tracing the dark marks of his tattoos with your tongue. Under both your hands the knot holding his leathers closed came away easily. You pushed your fingers under the tight band, grazing the head of his cock with your thumb. Azriel panted into your shoulder, his grip on your waist tight as you continued to tease the head, rubbing circles slick with pre-cum into the sensitive skin.

Azriel became rigid under your touch. You pulled away from his neck, from marking him with bruises similar to the ones on your own, to look at his face. A dark tendril curled around his ear, whispering to the shadowsinger. His face darkened and he let out a vicious curse, pulling away from you and turning his attention towards the foyer.

You could hear footsteps now, heading in your direction. Azriel was a picture, rock hard against his leathers, hair a mess from where you’d carted your fingers through it, full lips swollen and red. You looked down at yourself, bare breasts peeking through the ripped fabric of your dress, skirt rucked up still baring your cunt to the room.

“Y/N! I know you’re here. You’re keeping us all waiting.” Nesta was in the hallway now, heading towards the only way in or out of the sitting room. You slipped off the back of the sofa, righting your dress and trying to pull the ripped fabric of the bodice closed with little success. Azriel’s eyes had turned calculating, all trace of lingering lust gone as he ran through possible ways to get you both out of this situation. If you were anywhere else, he could have winnowed you away. You cursed whichever of Rhys predecessors put such stringent security measures on the House to a painful eternity in Hel.

Shadows moved to open the large windows next to the fireplace to let in a breeze, biting cold and pushed through the room as Azriel’s siphons glowed. A fire started to burn, smoking more than normal, its acrid smell filling your nose. Azriel gestured to the sofa, the blanket still coiled on the seats.

“Get under.” You moved quickly, throwing yourself down as you used the blanket to cover up your ruined dress and bruises. Azriel strode toward the window, taking one glance back as you tried to settle yourself before he slipped out into the sky and the fading light. You rested your head against the cool arm of the leather, bringing your legs under the blanket as you feigned sleep.

Nesta’s footsteps stopped at the threshold of the open door.

“Y/N.”

You let out a low groan, stretching as you pretended to drag yourself from sleep. You rose so only your face was visible over the back of the sofa, blanket clutched to your chest as you took in Nesta standing in the doorway. Her silver eyes scanned your face as her nose wrinkled at the smell of the poorly burning fire.

“You’re late.” Silver burned in the eyes she fixed on you, angered at the perceived social slight.

“I’m sorry, I was reading. Must have fallen asleep.” Your heart pounded as she assessed you. You hoped she’d put it down to the shock of being rudely woken rather than your anxiety at being almost caught.

“Everyone’s waiting in the library, let’s go.” You nodded in agreement, mind whirring as you tried to figure out a way out of the room, out of your ruined clothes with the reek of arousal still clinging to your skin, without raising any suspicions.

“I’ll um, meet you there. I just want to quickly freshen up and grab the book from my room.” Nesta’s eyes scanned you, before inclining her head and turning to leave.

“Five minutes,” she ordered as she left, “or we’ll start without you.” You collapsed back into the sofa, relief flooding your veins as you tried to calm your breathing. You hadn’t noticed the way her eyes had fixed on the dark lace half-hidden underneath the sofa before she left.

Thank you for reading, to everyone who asked to be added to the tag-list I think I've included everyone I can but some blogs I couldn't tag so apologies if that's yours.

Tag list: @kalulakunundrum @impossibelle @we-were-beautiful @going-through-shit @mulansaucey @sv0430 @naturakaashi @amygdtjhddzvb @airstrip-0 @acourtofsmutandstarlight @myheartfollower @whyonearthisyourusernamethi-blog @valencia-rou @amysangel @furiousbooklover @phoenixgurl030 @imnotsiriusyouare @i-am-infinite @cat-or-kitten @marvelouslovely-barnes @gretavanbobatea @tothestarsandwhateverend @furiousbooklover @esposadomd @meritxellao @kemillyfreitas @juneangel21 @a-frog-with-a-laptop @luvmoo @originalcrusadetrash @mandowhatnow @bangtanbecks @bookslut420 @goldenmagnolias @inkedaztec @opheliaas-stuff @spongehappy @oingo233 @unstablefemme @minicoffee00 @brujitafantomatico @thelov3lybookworm @naturakaashi @nyenye @fandomarchiveilyd @sunnysideup000 @bunnyredgirl @bloodicka @cirwin2013 @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @magicstrengthandcourage @justdreamstars @hanatsuki-hime @tsumudoll @jasontoddorjasongrace @saltedcoffeescotch @queerqueenlynn @kodokunarisu-blog @4ambagelbites @byyalady @feyres-fireheart @moonslitluna

[emersonfreepress]

help i'm alive

So! Long time, no see. 2023 was a whole goddamn lot lol

I don't have a demo update to share yet, but that's because I had to scrap nearly everything I managed to write during a very, very, very bad stint of writer's block last year. I hadn't even realized it had been a block like that until I went over my work so far last month and realized it was bad -- like, trust me; a slog to read that didn't even sound like me. It's been extremely frustrating but I've finally broken free of that and it's been easy and actually fun to write again for the first time in actual years. I just hate giving updates that have no actual news in them. And I really had nothing to share other than: I deleted thousands of words and feel so much better now 😅

Anyway, little about my demo plans have changed: I'm still putting out the Chapter 3 demos in Choicescript/on Dashingdon and then will be going dark to move things over to Twine. Where I am in the process right now is... feeling like 35% done with the overhauled version of this chapter and 50% done for the next demo update.

As far as asks, I'm... not really sure what to do?? I believe I've read them all (I love you guys), but so much time has passed since getting most of them that I'm not sure if it's, like... still pertinent??? To go back and answer them?? I suppose some of them like character asks could be, but all the nice messages of support -- that feels weird since I've practically ghosted this blog since August! Idk. Y'all tell me what to do with 'em and I'll do it. Maybe I should make a poll.

Uh... that's really all there is to say regarding the game! I've added some personal stuff after the cut, but if you're done here: Thanks for reading and sticking around. It means the world, for real.

So what has occupied my time all this time? Doctor, therapy, money, and friends. And improv! But especially the first two. There was a lot of non-writing related stuff fucking up my ability to focus and write, so hopefully with my mind and body both feeling a lot better, I can get back to being present and active with the game. I didn't realize how physically unwell I was until last year and it's been like... life-long issues I've been treating. It turns out it's not normal to feel exhausted enough to sleep at any given time, at all times, for your whole life! wow!!

I also uninstalled Tumblr from my phone back in February, so you could say I'm sort of generally focused on offline life. (And what an interesting coincidence that my writer's block dissipated shortly after that...) I also just moved!! The last two weekends have been so expensive and stressful -_- But I can't even compare the old place to the new. We're basically paying the same price for idek how much more space. The cats are so happy; which means the house humans get to be happy.

My schedule is finally freed up from constant medical shit (there was a 3-month stretch this winter with multiple doctor appointments literally every fucking week 🙃🙃🙃). My mental health is doing a lot better -- literally incomparably better compared to where I was this time last year. There's live comedy now (which I dabble in, to be clear lol), but I've finally found myself able to like... balance it all. The physical and creative energy that goes into it all, anyway. The lovely thing about improv is that you kinda just show up and do your thing -- it doesn't cut into my writing time so much as it costs energy. Unless I end up in this comedy debate show thing next month, which I am very excited to give up writing time for

So like... Life is life-ing and I'm just vibing. Or something? I'll be around.

Thank you all again so much for your interest, support, patience, and readership <3

[izels-writing]

j. potter — tutoring

Pairing: james potter x fem!loner!reader

Summary: james potter is failing potions and you seem to be his only saving grace

Warnings: nothing tbh, i may have based reader off of me a little too much so i apologize for that in advance 😭, also this is kinda all over the place but i hit a writers block and thought this was cute

james potter sat boredly in professor slughorn's office, counting the brinks on the ceiling of the dungeon. he had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes and if he waited one more second in silence, his head would explode.

slughorn, within the next minute, finally entered the office—clearing his throat and sitting in front of james with an air of seriousness. james sat up straighter, waiting for the professor to begin speaking.

"mister potter, we need to seriously talk about your grades in this class," slughorn began. he opened his desk and pulled out many of james' half-assed essays, most of them marked with d's and p's. james groaned quietly, throwing his head back.

"if i didn't know any better, i'd think you were doing it on purpose. but i know you, mister potter," slughorn continued, "i know you've always had a rocky relationship with this subject. what's been going on lately?"

james frowned. "i can't focus, okay? it's like trying to sit through a lesson in the middle of a quidditch match, i'm too...i dunno, distracted?"

slughorn nodded. "i see... have you talk to your parents about this?"

"no, and you can't tell them," james rushed out. "i don't want to worry them, they worry easily,"

slughorn sighed, covering his mouth as he reviewed all of james' essays. he thought for a moment, which only piqued james' curiosity. slughorn glanced between him and the essays, before leaning back in his chair.

"i can arrange you a tutor, one that can help you with this problem..." slughorn finally said. james lit up, hoping and praying it was who he thought it was.

"lily evans?" he asked hopefully.

"no," slughorn replied. james lost slight interest, but nodded anyway. "and if i arrange this for you, i want you to take this seriously..do you understand, mister potter? or else i'll be forced to tell your parents,"

james nodded in agreement. "of course, sir, thank you,"

if james potter was anything, he was respectful. his mother had taught him that much.

"if i may ask, sir, if it's not lily evans—who is it?" he asked curiously.

slughorn smiled warmly. "i'll let you know soon,"

——

you tapped your foot anxiously, glancing at your watch with a frown. you didn't necessarily have anywhere to be, but it sure irked you when someone was late. not to mention, you definitely felt you should've said no when slughorn approached you.

but you were ever the people pleaser.

as you turned to throw your stuff in your bag, you suddenly saw a tall, lean boy throw himself into the seat in front of you. you stopped your actions, looking at the boy in front of you with slightly furrowed eyebrows as he breathed heavily and looked disheveled.

"you're five minutes late," you commented, scanning him over as he tried to adjust himself comfortably.

"i know, i know," james sighed. "i apologize, really, i had no idea how long that other thing would take,"

you tried to be a hard ass, but the boy seemed tired as it was so you softened up a bit. you softened your expression, but not too much that he'd notice, and nodded. "i understand,"

he looked at you shocked, but you ignored his gaze as you pulled out your textbook. additionally, you pulled out a spare parchment and your secret weapon. he did the same, except he pulled out a quill instead of a spare piece of parchment.

"slughorn told me your problems. i understand," you continued. he scoffed.

"you're the smartest in our year, how could you possibly understand?" james asked.

you blinked at him. "because, i happen to have the same problem. now, i'm not sure if you have trouble focusing in general or if you just suck at potions, what i do know is that i can help—unless you don't want me to and slughorn will be forced to tell your parents..."

james looked at you in disbelief. "he told you?!"

madam pince shushed him from the other side of the library and he sunk slightly in his chair. you nodded, keeping your gaze on him.

"he did, to let me know how high the stakes were for you," you replied. suddenly you placed two metal marbles on the table in front of james, to which he raised his eyebrows at. he glanced between you and the marbles confused.

you nodded toward the marbles, "well? pick them up..."

he reluctantly picked them up, watching you as you pulled out your own set. you opened your textbook and his to the same pages, before looking at him again.

"this won't fix the problem," you explained, "but it may help. your problem is lack of concentration right? you feel like you have to be moving while sitting in that chair, like you cannot keep your mind on one thing?"

james stared at you and nodded. he had never heard someone describe it well for him, and he wasn't much a man of words so to speak. "yeah, sorta like that, i suppose,"

you nodded. "good, we may be dealing with the same problem then," you picked up your set of the metal marbles and began moving them in that hand. they clinked together and made a satisfying sound as you kept going with the motion in your hand. "do what i'm doing and hold that same hand under the table—but do not stop moving your hand and the marbles,"

he obliged, following your exact instructions. thankfully, the noise wasn't so loud that it distracted anyone else in the library—it wasn't so much as noticeable to others either.

"now, we'll read the textbook, do some notes, i'll help you write your essay and we'll see if it's easier for you, sound good?" you asked.

"yeah, yeah, sounds great," james replied quickly, a small smile blooming on his face. you didn't seem so amused, but to be fair, james wasn't sure he'd ever seen you amused.

"great! any questions?" you asked, before you started.

he nodded. "yeah, sorta. why did you agree to help me?"

it wasn't necessarily an out of the blue question. for as long as you and james had known each other (and that was used lightly), he'd never really seen you around anybody. you avoided people it seemed. you seemed to find comfort in solitude, always studying alone, eating alone, walking alone—not that you ever seemed upset about it. sure, you had friends here and there, but no one permanent. you never seemed to care much for it, you came here for academics, that's all it seemed.

moreover, he'd never really seen you display big bouts of emotion. maybe a smile or chuckle here or there, but rarely. he'd never seen you cry or laugh aloud, he'd never seen you do a lot of things. maybe you did, maybe he just didn't pay attention enough. nonetheless, he was a bit curious. you seemed to avoid everyone, him especially.

you knew the question was coming. you knew why too. it was because you weren't very social and you were often irritated. you never hung around anyone and you certainly never joined parties or quidditch games. it was difficult for you, you struggled with showing emotions and socializing with others. you couldn't control it and you certainly couldn't help it, and no one really seemed to stick around to figure you out. but that was fine, you supposed anyway.

it certainly was not fine, despite trying to convince yourself. it was a lonely way to live and your family was worried, despite them not admitting it. you just buried the lonely feelings, hoping that maybe it'd change one day.

"how do you mean?" you asked. what if you were just a nice person? would he even accept that answer?

"i mean, what's in it for you? surely you have better things to do than tutor me," james quickly said, likely thinking carefully about what he was saying because truthfully, you both knew that no, in fact, you didn't.

"nothings in it for me," you replied, shaking your head. "i just decided to help, i guess. is there something wrong with that?"

you weren't trying to be hostile. you were genuinely curious.

"no," he replied. "there isn't,"

"good, now let's start," you said, offering a small smile.

——

weeks had passed, tutoring session after tutoring session passed by quickly. you and james met on tuesday afternoons and thursday afternoons. you began to enjoy his company, even if you knew he was being forced to attend. unbeknownst to you, he quite enjoyed the sessions as well, even looking forward to them each week.

you had both figured out how to best figure out james' lack of attention span in potions and he begun to get better grades, but nonetheless you both agreed to keep the tutoring sessions going—to 'keep his grades up'.

james sighed, closing his textbook and placing the metal marbles you had gifted him on the table. "can we take a break? if i read one more word, i'll throw up on the table," he whined.

"dramatic," you replied, "but okay, ten minutes,"

"you and i should get a snack, recharge our brains," james suggested cheekily, hoping you'd say yes.

"yeah, no thanks, i don't trust that stupid smile on your face," you replied.

"you'd think after all our time together that you’d trust me by now,” james sighed, shaking his head in feign disappointment. “so untrusting, n/n,”

“n/n?” you questioned.

“my nickname for you, you like it?” he grinned.

you chuckled, smiling as you rolled you eyes at him. “okay, whatever…”

james grinned, “oh! do i get points for making wednesday addams laugh?”

you dropped your smile and glared at him, rolling your eyes playfully again. he huffed, “geez…sorry…”

“go get your snack and then come back, we’ll pick out some other potion books for review, sound good?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at him. he grinned again, nodding like an excited little kid. you snorted and waved him off, fighting and failing to hide your smile as he rushed out of the library.

within twenty minutes he was back, following you as you put books back and grabbed new ones. you and him were chatting quietly, as you walked down the aisles, mainly focusing your attention on the books you were looking for. however, you paid close attention to the subject, given it was a topic he brought up often: why you were so uptight about your studies.

“well, potter—“ you began sternly.

“hey, i gave you a nickname! where’s mine?” he asked with a dramatized frown. you rolled your eyes playfully, hiding your slight amusement.

“as i was saying, potter, i’m uptight because i like to be prepared. frankly, i hope you pass your o.w.l’s because given how unprepared you are, i am praying for the best,” you replied sarcastically, noticing as he smiled at your joke.

he always seemed to understand your jokes.

“our o.w.l’s aren’t for another eight months,” he replied, getting a book from a high shelf as you tried to reach it to no avail. he handed it to you.

“exactly! you need to study for them now! you need to prepare!” you replied, putting a book back as you spoke.

“you are so uptight,” he chuckled. “some things you just need to…go with the flow. expecting the unexpected is no fun,”

you turned suddenly, smacking a book to his chest, thinking he’d grab it before it hit him. you laughed aloud, covering your mouth to muffle it, and he smiled back mockingly.

“how’s that for expecting the unexpected?” you grinned.

“shove off, n/n,” he scoffed. “you’re so corny,”

“and prepared,” you added, swiftly turning around to keep walking.

unbeknownst to you, james smiled at you genuinely while you were turned, your genuine laugh echoing in his head. he’d certainly make more jokes just to hear it again.

——

“well, this is our last session before break,” you smiled. “think you’ll be able to handle life without me for two weeks?” you joked.

“i think i can manage,” he teased back. you rolled your eyes, allowing a smile to grow on your face.

he smiled, pulling some out of his school bag swiftly. “actually, i wanted to give you something before we left, to thank you and for christmas,” he said kindly.

you furrowed your eyebrows. “you didn’t have to get me anything, potter,”

he rolled his eyes. “i wanted to, alright? and now you have to accept it,” he smiled. he slid over the small box toward you. it was wrapped in cute christmas wrapping paper, tied with a sting into a small box.

you took it gingerly in your hands, opening it carefully. you carefully tore the wrapping off and opened the small navy blue box. as you opened it, you held back your gasp as you took in the sight.

it was a beautiful silver bracelet, with butterflies placed in between the chains. the stones that filled in the butterflies were a beautiful pink color and it shined beautifully.

“james…” you gaped. “i don’t know what to say, thank you..” you smiled, pulling it out of the box and handing it to him. “will you clip it on me?”

he nodded and obliged, taking notice to how your eyes never left the beautiful bracelet. you looked up at him, tension filling the air as you watched him slowly clipping the bracelet onto your wrist. he smiled as your eyes connected, and for a second, you felt your stomach get all jittery.

“i’ll mail you a gift, seriously, this is beautiful,” you smiled. “thank you..so so much,”

somehow, it was very easy to smile around james potter.

“you don’t have to mail me anything,” james replied.

“oh please let me,” you pleaded, “i’ll feel so bad if i don’t,”

he smiled, “fine, alright, if it’ll help you sleep better at night,”

you grinned excitedly and pulled out a piece of parchment so he could write his address for you. he did it quickly, handing it back to you promptly.

——

you hadn’t been quite sure what to gift a boy who had everything he’d ever wanted. sure, you could get him something quidditch related, but it didn’t seem personal enough. you had wanted to give him something meaningful and sentimental.

you racked your brain for hours, trying to find the perfect gift. eventually, you settled with new quidditch gloves but even then, that still felt impersonal. so, you had begun to think back to every interaction the two of you had shared and landed on the perfect addition to his quidditch gloves.

you wasn’t quite sure how you had landed on the subject but you two had, so you scoffed and leaned back in your chair.

“fine then, what’d be your wish come true?” you asked james.

“to see you make a different facial expression?” james suggested. you swatted his arm quickly, making him retract it. “ow! i’m serious! sorry, but talking to the same facial expression every tuesday and thursday is scary! it wouldn’t exactly wound me to see you smile every once in a while…”

a different facial expression.

you quickly grabbed the family polaroid and enlisted your sibling to help you take the perfect picture of you smiling. once you were satisfied, you packaged it with his other gift and wrote a little note, explaining both gifts to him.

and that left you where you were now, back in the library with james, studying out of your potions textbooks. you noticed him pull it out and open the page quickly, as he had stuck something in between the pages.

you looked at intensely, trying to figure out what it was. then you quickly recognized it.

“is that me?” you blurred before you could stop yourself.

james looked down at whatever you were looking at and blushed, though he hid it well. “yeah, one of my gifts remember? you remind me of potions class, so, i use it as a bookmark,” he replied casually.

unbeknownst to you, he just really loved staring at the photo. you had a beautiful smile and it was a shame you didn’t show it more often.

you smiled warmly. “oh okay…”

“lovely bookmark, isn’t it?” james smiled, admiring the photo. he hadn’t meant to flirt, but he wasn’t exactly regretting it.

you chuckled. “i suppose so…”

bonus;

“daddy, how’d you know you liked mommy?” you seven year-old daughter, alison, asked as you set dinner table. it was james’ turn to cook tonight, so he held your toddler on the counter by him as he pulled dinner out of the oven.

you and james glanced at each other, smiling at her innocent yet curious questions. you stood there, watching as james turned to your daughter with a smile.

“well… i remember when i saw your mommy laugh for the first time,” james said honestly. “i instantly fell in love, i knew i’d marry her some day… i wanted to hear her laugh for the rest of my life,”

alison smiled. “mommy, what about you? how did you know you liked daddy?”

“well,” you recounted, “i remember every time i spoke to him, i smiled all the time. i was so happy around him and i knew i’d always be happy around him,”

alison nodded, smiling. “that’s cute! i hope i will know when i like someone!”

you looked at james, smiling as he ruffled your daughters hair, and like always, you felt your heart flutter at the sight of him. you felt like everything in the world was okay.

you looked back at your daughter with a smile. “trust me, sweetness, you’ll know.”

[concerningwolves]

Hey! Do you have any tips for breaking writers block when you're adhd and/or autistic? Be it your own tips or a link to another post? My friend and I need help haha

Ahh sorry you got buried under spam and old ask game asks. (I... really need to sort my ask box >.<' ). But here we go, a month late, and hopefully better late than never:

Quick ideas for beating writer's block when autistic and/or ADHD

I've got this old post I wrote on writer's block and focus troubles. Ironically, this was before my autism diagnosis but the tips still happen to be things I, an autistic person, did to manage writing when faced with executive dysfunction (except I didn't know what executive dysfunction was at that point lol). I'm linking this with one important caveat, though: if you have ADHD, "stepping away" might do more harm than good; struggling to start tasks is a Big Thing with ADHD, so not starting the task at all is entirely counterproductive. (Unless you're in burnout! Here's a post about the differences between block and burnout with some ideas on what to do for each, in case that's at all helpful to you).

And here's something yoinked from another old ask-answer:

sometimes a break from more “serious” writing is what you need. Maybe try and take the characters from your main project and drop them somewhere else for the hell of it. I like to throw my characters into the MCU without warning like “lmao have fun in a strange modern world where there are gods and a guy in an iron flying suit bye.” Or, if fandom cross-overs aren’t your thing, find a writing prompt or take an idea you like and use it to form a short story with your characters instead.

Some other ideas I've seen around for writer's block with ADHD/Autism are:

Try voice recording or text to speech (i.e., absolute stream-of-consciousness unfiltered brain-to-mouth, giving yourself permission to 100% bullshit if you like, and see what rattles loose in the brain box)

Stream of consciousness writing in general, not even necessarily about a particular prompt or particular project. This one can be done in combination with:

Writing sprints! One minute timers, two minute timers, five minutes – set it for as long as you want, but when you're fighting executive dysfunction and/or difficulty focusing, the burst of urgency that comes from a shorter timer is very helpful.

And speaking of the sense of urgency: gamify your writing! There are different ways to do this, with varying elements of risk. I'll link some ways to do this at the end under "resources".

Exercise. I don't necessarily mean hitting the gym, but a quick burst of exercise prior to writing to get the heart rate up can help wake your brain up a bit. (Or, if you find repetitive exercise mind-numbingly boring like I do, the writing sure does start to look appealing lol).

Meditation. Okay, this one is sort of 🤔 for me, because I do often hear from fellow autistics and our ADHD cousins that meditation is literally impossible for us. It is for me. But! Like with exercise above, if meditation bores you instead of helping relax and ""clear your mind"", you can probably use that boredom to your advantage. Or, it might work as intended.

Change your workspace/situation/routine. Sometimes the problem is that you need new sensory input, or that your brain has gotten thoroughly bored and decided not to tell you. Use a different chair. Move to the kitchen table. Write at a different time of day. Have a different snack (or try having a snack while writing...). Basically, look at what you're currently trying, and see how you can do it differently.

It's also really good practise to get comfortable with Being Bad At Writing. Perfectionism and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria are the biggest, meanest brain weasels with the sharpest teeth. Don't let them bully you. It sucks. It takes a lot of time and effort and internal work, which is why I was loathe to include this on a post of quick solutions, but. It is important.

And getting comfortable with this doesn't necessarily mean learning how to accept critique, or accepting that sometimes you'll write things that suck. It means accepting that sometimes you won't handle critique or feedback well, and also accepting that you won't always manage to beat the writer's block or be productive. Sometimes you have to make peace with the fact that you're going to feel horrible, feel your feelings, and try to remind yourself on the other side that none of it means you're a talentless hack.

Resources

Anything with a 🪙 next to it is paid only (I've tried to limit these and find alternatives).

The resources are split into things that "gameify" writing (i.e., hack your dopamine/serotonin in ways that reaaaaallly help autistic and ADHD folks), writing programs that are designed to help you focus, writing programs that track your habits and appeal to the "ohhhh numbers going up" brain, focus-aiding apps, and some miscellaneous stuff. Under the cut to save your dashes.

"Gamifying" your writing:

The Most Dangerous Writing App – You can't stop typing before your set timer runs out, or you risk losing your work. Excellent for warming up, stream-of-consciousness, or if you're feeling reckless, working on your actual project. I did a lot of the second draft of When Dealing with Wolves on this thing (it was terrifying yet highly effective).

Written? Kitten! – Get rewarded for meeting your set writing wordcount with kitten pictures. Haven't used this one personally, but heard wonderful things about it.

4TheWords 🪙 – This one gamifies writing in the most literal sense. As in, it's an online game where you defeat monsters, explore and level up by writing words. I did the free trial a couple years back, and I've heard there are a lot of different ways you can lower the subscription cost. The only reason I haven't gone back to it is because I feel like I can't justify spending money on it when I'm doing fine with Scrivener and free resources, but maybe one day I will purely for the fun factor...

StimuWrite – similar idea to Written Kitten; the app provides visual/audio stimulation while you write, which is great for many ADHD-ers and autistics. There's a progress bar, soundscape options, typing effects and emoji reactions as rewards, among other features.

Write or Die – This is The Most Dangerous Writing App meets Written Kitten. As far as I can figure out, the basic web version is free to use; you can set the parameters like how how long you want to write for, how many words to reach, and whether you want rewards for meeting goals or punishments for failing to meet them. There's also a stimulus mode, where the nice auditory stimulus goes away if you stop writing.

Minimalist/Focus writing programs:

Focus Writer [Windows] – thoroughly stripped-down minimalist word processor. As far as I know, it has basic functions like find-replace, but mostly it's designed only for writing. Not for formatting, spellchecking or editing.

iA Writer 🪙 [iOS] – Similar to Focus Writer, it's designed to fill your screen with a simple workspace. Allows you to use markdown formatting, and has a feature called Focus Mode that blurs out everything except the sentence you're typing. (If I could find a Windows-friendly alternative to this with that same feature I would be so happy). A cheaper alternative is 1Writer, but that doesn't have the focus mode.

Typewrite Something – Absolutely bare minimum web-based typewriter simulator. Basically just a blank screen that you start typing on, and the words appear in a typewriter font. Great for stream-of-consciousness without the risk level of TMDWA because you can't backspace. If you don't like the clacky sound, turn off your volume.

Focus Apps

Cold Turkey – Block applications and websites on your laptop/computer for a specified period of time. You can even block the entire internet.

Forest – Similar to Cold Turkey in that it stops you from seeking distractions or getting distracted. Set a timer and the app starts growing a tree. If you leave the app, the tree dies. Once you have a tree, you add it to your forest.

Habit-building writing programs:

Novlr – Simple, minimal layout, and tracks your writing goals per month and day, and your daily streak. There are more features in the plus and pro versions, and you can only have five projects in the free version, but otherwise it looks like a good free alternative to the next two programs:

750 Words 🪙 – Made for free writing, but also very useful for drafting. I had it for a month or so a while back on the free trial. It tracks writing streaks and gives you fun graphs and statistics at the end of each session, including number of distractions, actual typing time vs total time and average words per minute. Also, it analyses the mood of what you wrote, which I always found delightful.

Writing Analytics 🪙 – If writing streaks, badges and analytical graphs get your dopamine going, then I really recommend this one. The writing screen itself is very minimalistic, but it still shows your writing speed (I loved watching that go up) and your goal progress. In terms of analytics, it tracks a LOT of different things, including time spent writing vs revising, average wordcounts per day/month/year, and words written vs words deleted. I used this for about a year before I switched to Scrivener, and the switch was purely because I needed something that wasn't subscription-based. (Apparently since I stopped using it there's also a new feature that lets you create private writing rooms and see other writer's progress).

Misc.

WriteTrack – Not a word processor, but it has very good tools for tracking and planning your writing. Again, if graphs going up helps your brain, this is excellent, but you can't see it in real time.

10 ADHD-friendly brain tricks for writers – what it says on the tin: ten tips for writers with ADHD; I'm particularly fond of "Put away one knife", which breaks the nebulous task of "start writing" into something really simple like just... pull out your desk chair.

[callsignthirsty]

"I bet you think you're real cute letting them put their hands all over you. We'll see how cute you look later when I get you home." with Hangman! Happy celebration!

Hey Gigi —

I know it looks like I forgot about this, but I promise I didn’t (writer’s block’s a bitch, amiright?). I hope that it doesn’t disappoint. This is the first time I’ve written anything Hangman on my own, so hopefully, he’s recognizable.

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x F!Reader Word Count: 677 Warnings: N/A (who is she?)

Smut Prompt #11

It’s an ordinary night at the Hard Deck. Nothing for the books. Just drinks and good company. Even the fact that Hangman’s eyes have been on you all night isn’t something to write home about. The intensity with which he’s watching you, however, is.

Glance. Glare. Glower.

Phoenix’s fingers feather over your exposed collarbone as she tucks loose hairs over your shoulder. Rooster’s broad hand light against your lower back as he squeezes behind you to line up for his next shot—it isn’t even a good one. Payback’s fingers linger as he passes you a fresh bottle. Bob’s arm winds around your hip to pull you out of Coyote’s way and subsequently into himself when Coyote circles the table after Rooster scratches.

None of this stops you from laughing along with your friends as the night sails on. Despite what it may look like to outsiders, you know these are innocent touches. Well, not innocent. You know what they’re up to, and you’d put money on it that Jake does, too. Practically everyone is in on the joke. But that doesn’t mean he likes it. But, you think as Rooster wraps an arm around your shoulder and pulls you in close to ask for your advice on his next shot—not that it matters, Coyote’s going to win on his next turn—, their touches are nothing compared to the electricity that crackles through you when Jakes looks your way.

You haven’t reacted to a single touch that night, but that hardly matters. Not to green eyes. Not when the entire team has spent the night repositioning you at the pool table, brushing against you. Touching you. Small, inconsequential, intentional touches that are designed to crawl under Hangman’s skin. A taste of his own medicine.

“There you are, darlin’,” Hangman drawls, catching you around the waist as you try to skirt his game of darts. He reels you in until your back is pressed firmly against his chest, away from the sticky, lingering touches of his squadmates. “Sorry, Bobby, but I’m going to have to wrap this up.” He lines up his first shot. Bullseye. “It’s past baby’s bedtime.”

You guffaw, Jake’s arm tightening around you before he throws another bullseye. “Okay, Caveman.” The quip earns you a snicker from the peanut gallery.

“I bet you think you’re real cute,” he grumbles under his breath so only you can hear, “letting them put their hands all over you.” He hooks his index finger through the belt loop on your pants, his thumb sneaking beneath your shirt to rub teasingly at the sensitive skin around your hipbones. A touch that has the little hairs on your lower back standing at attention, the smooth skin beneath his thumb breaking out in goosebumps. He stands up to his full height to line up his last shot as he says: “We’ll see how cute you look later when I get you home.”

Before you can drag him out of the bar, Bob snorts.

“You got somethin’ to say, baby on board?”

Bob’s eyes widen a bit at being called out. He reaches up with the same hand that’s holding his Coke to adjust the glasses on his nose. “No– ah– well,” he clears his throat, eyes flicking to Phoenix, “just that she’d probably still look cute, you know–”

“Bob,” Payback tries to help out by cutting him off.

“–when you, uh, get her home. She’d– I mean, she’s always cute, right?” Closer to the pool table, Omaha is shaking his head while Fanboy groans an ‘oh my god.’ “So I don’t know why that’d stop.”

A smarmy, shit-eating grin slowly twists Hangman’s lips up until Phoenix is rolling her eyes. “That’s a mighty fine theory, Bobby,” he says, linking his fingers. He turns you in his arms, leaning in close enough that his breath tickles your ear. “How about we get out of here and test it out?”

Phoenix and Coyote boo you out of the bar.

A couple of hours later, Bob receives a photo that has him sputtering, his cheeks flaming.

[book-place]

Sleep on Set

Warnings: none (I think), let me know if I missed any :)

Pairings: Ryan Reynolds x reader platonic

Request: Yoooooo could you write a Ryan reynolds x teen reader :) (maybe costars or like his adopted kid or something) maybe Ryan catches them at like 3 am doing homework even though school or filming is the next day at 7 am. Y/n is just super burnt out but trying to at least cram material

Request by: @ihatemyselfmorethanmydepression

*not my gif*

Summary: Ryan wakes up to find you still awake at an ungodly hour and demands that you go to bed

A/N: Slowly but surely getting out of my writers block

Please don’t plagiarize my work, you may reblog if you like but I’m asking that you don’t steal my hard work

Ryan let out a long yawn, trying to put a hand over his mouth to stifle it as he did so. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally wake up every trailer on set by being too loud at this ungodly hour of the night.

It was three in the morning and he honestly didn’t know why he was up. Filming didn’t start until seven and he was downright exhausted, but for some reason, he just couldn’t sleep. So, instead of tossing and turning for the next few hours, he decided to try and take a walk to see if that would clear his head and then he would be able to hopefully get in a couple hours of rest.

A frown pulled at the corners of his lips and he came to a sudden halt right in front of your trailer. There was lights spilling out from underneath the door and peeking out through the curtains.

He chuckled to himself as he came to the realization that you probably just fell asleep unexpectedly again, cuddled up underneath blankets on the couch with the television playing softly in the background.

As slowly and quietly as he could to not wake you up, he crept up the stairs and gently opened the door in hopes of turning off your lights and tv. In the past, this had happened and he sometimes carried you to bed if you were in an uncomfortable place.

Ryan froze though, as soon as he stepped in and was met by the sight of you hunched over a desk, hair askew and eyes holding dark bags beneath them.

Your head snapped up at the sound of your door closing and you froze like a deer in headlights, caught.

“Y/n?” Your costar asked in shock, eyes roaming to take in the scattered papers and textbooks that lay every which way.

“Oh, Ryan,” You chuckled nervously, placing down your pencil and clearing your throat.

He raised an eyebrow, “You better have just woken up.”

For an actor, you weren’t very good at lying offscreen, “What? Of course! Just wanted to do some homework before filming!”

“The same filming that starts in a couple hours?”

You nodded your head vigorously, “Yep! Yeah! That one!”

“So, you weren’t up all night?” He asked sarcastically, clearly already knowing the answer.

Your face fell at his tone and you dropped your head into your hands with a groan, tiredly rubbing at your eyes with the palm of your hands, “I didn’t mean to,” Your words came out slightly muffled, “But I have so much work to do.”

He sighed, walking over and offering you a hand to help you out of your seat, pulling you to your feet, “Come on,” He gently tugged at your arm, “We’re getting you to bed, kid.”

Quickly, you planted your heels into the ground so he couldn’t pull you, “But, I have so much-“ You began to protest.

“Nope,” He cut you off with a small glare, “You’re going to bed and staying in there until I come to wake you up.”

You sighed, head falling in defeat, “Fine, fine,” before following him to where your bed was.

He watched you climb under the covers with his hands on his hips, “Good night, kid.” He ruffled your hair and turned on his heel to go.”

“Ryan!” Your voice made him look back in curiosity, “Thank you.”

He smiled down at you affectionately, “Anytime, kid. But, don’t do this ever again. You need your sleep.”

With a lazy nod, you finally allowed your eyes to flutter shut and you were asleep before he even fully exited your trailer.

Instead of going back to his own though, he made some calls and demanded that filming be moved to later in the day so that you could get extra sleep.

Taglist- none yet

[lazysublimeengineer]

Blue Lock is going on a 2 week break and I've seen from this fandom on HOW OFTEN THEY GET BREAKS WHICH MAKES THE STORY DRAGGING. YET WHEN A CHAPTER IS BEING GIVEN EVERY WEEK AND IT'S NOT SATISFACTORY TO THEM, THEY YAP ON HOW TERRIBLE THE PACING AND PLOT IS.

Well, then guess what? I'm happy that the manga is going to have a 2 week break and from a writer's perspective this is quite short considering on the author's deadline every week to deliver both the art and the written dialogues in the manga.

I need to air out my opinion on this because it irks me everytime someone is yapping on the pacing yada, yada then complain when the publication of the manga gets a short break.

As a writer myself, let me tell you that artists such as including the manga writers get burned out too and prone to a mental block especially if your job is required to deliver a quality chapter every week. You have to wring out every thought, inspiration and idea inside your head to produce results which sometimes affects the quality of their works.

A 2 week break given to the author of the franchise is good because it gives him some ample time to plan out the next actions of the characters in the match and how the next 2 goals will be scored in the story. This would also help him think of the plotholes that he needed to cover or explain in the future chapters and where exactly is his story is going.

From a writer's perspective, NEL arc is one of the most challenging arcs in this story because an author needs to cover a lot of ground especially in the sequences of the matches. Sometimes some of the characters are being neglected to give shine to the most important characters in the story. Hopefully, we'd this 2 week break the author will be able to provide a clear ground and clarity on this glaring flaw of this arc. I don't really mind waiting for a bit long if the reward for it is that the author will be able to rest his mind and produce satisfying chapters in the future.

[multi-fandomedfreak]

Fic idea: How might the Sides help with writer's block?

Authors note: I wrote Janus and Remus for this one!! Which is why this took a tad longer than usual lol

⚠️ Warnings ⚠️: Remus making dirty comments

👑 Roman 👑

-Oooh writers block with Roman is ALMOST non existent

-He’s creativity after all so he would come up with the most extravagant things

-Would definitely use this as an opportunity to spend time alone with you in the Mindscape place and create whatever came to mind to help inspire you

-DAYDREAM MODE ACTIVATED

-He’ll do EVERYTHING to help you beat writers block, which also gives him an excuse to be as dramatic as possible

-Aww I also feel like the moment he has an idea he doesn’t even say anything he just rushes to the nearest writing utensil and writes it down before he forgets

-Just know asking for Romans help with writers block will have you both exhausted but happy

-exhausted mainly because of all the running around and happy that you both got to do all that together

-You definitely got an idea about what to write

💙 Logan 💙

-ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT WHEN YOU ASK HIM FOR HELP WITH WRITERS BLOCK

-Obviously calm and collected on the outside but on the inside he is so darn happy

-It just makes him feel very important and will take it very seriously

-He’ll research various topics with you, look at art/pictures, take notes of things, etc.

-Expect so. much. info dumping.

-But hey it really does help with drumming up some good ideas

-By the end of it, you’ll have like more than 5 pages worth of notes to help you with your writers block

-He’ll somehow even throw out MORE ideas as he helps you write whatever it is that you’re writing

-Literally a human grammarly so he’s always pointing out where you can improve your grammar

-Likes to compliment certain parts of your work in order to keep you motivated tho

-If you drink coffee, your both probably buzzing off of the amount of caffeine you guys drank during the reasearch

🍪 Patton 🍪

-At first he’ll ask, “what’s writers block?”

-Once you explain it tho, he’ll try drumming up any ideas on how to help

-I feel like his idea of getting you inspired will be stuff like, talking a walk to maybe help clear your head or baking/ cooking something for you

-Probably takes you to his room hoping that all the nostalgic stuff he has in it will help

-He’s trying his best lol

-He’ll probably get distracted with the things in his room and has to be constantly reminded of the task at hand

-Somehow that helps?? Like seeing him organically do stuff and not trying to help you get inspired, helps with the writers block

-With Patton it just really depends if he does or says something that somehow triggers inspiration

-Gives you cookies and milk as you work once you get past writers block

💜 Virgil 💜

-Once you ask him, you both probably sit on his bed trying to think of something

-Till Virgil suggests you listen to some music that will help you

-He puts on ALL his favorite albums

-Puts on Paramore, MCR, Evanescence, and probably the soundtrack of his favorite musicals/movies

-Probably suggests watching some movies to hopefully get inspired

-Tries not to panic when it doesn’t seem to work

-But it does work since you both end up talking in depth about the movies and songs

-It ends up being a veryyyyy long conversation since he’s very passionate about his interests

-And you love listening to him

-Once you sit down and get to work on the thing you wanna write, he’s there sitting with you to help bounce ideas off one another

-Kinda like Logan, will be vibrating from the amount of coffee he’s drank

-Once you asked him to help with writers block, he helped you through the whole day

-And I mean, the whole day

-You’re just both very relieved you finally got through writers block

🐍 Janus 🐍

-“You must be truly desperate to come to me for help.”

-Ok Loki nobody asked for ur opinion

-Will reluctantly help (he would love to help he’s just being janus. he’s actually jumping with joy on the inside that you asked him for help)

-He’ll probably try telling you stories that are completely made up to hopefully get ur creative juices flowing

-Yes he goes through the effort to make up stories to tell you

-Probably will take you to the library to help research various topics

-Why not just look it up? Bc he likes the quiet atmosphere

-Not at all bc he wants to put actual effort into helping you

-He’s gonna be a diva about it tho

-Surprisingly is very keen on helping you get motivated and when you think about giving up, he simply won’t allow it

-He gets you up and running

-Probably promises to get you something as a reward for getting through writers block

-One of the few times he’s not actually lying

-Once you do come up with an idea, he’ll probably make little sassy remarks about your work

-Know he doesn’t actually mean it, he just says it on instinct

-Oh and your reward? He can’t bring himself to give it to you in person so he just leaves it somewhere he knows you’ll find it

💚 Remus 💚

-Oh gosh, you almost regret asking him for help with writers block

-Bc he will go into gremlin mode and just do the most out of pocket things ever

-“To help your creative - and other- juices flow!!” he says

-Immediately gets hit upside the head for that little comment

-But, anyways, if you need help writing some messed up stuff or something; he’s the best guy for the job

-Just imagine him being as extra as Roman but much more…disturbing

-He won’t stop making dirty jokes/comments through the whole thing

-But he surprisingly does a good job at helping you out with writers block

-Of course you both will most likely get sidetracked bc Remus is being Remus

-Just know you you’ll be both disturbed but entertained when it comes to asking Remus for help

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hi, same anon that asked about the chapter outline thing.

Yes, it was the chapter that's incomplete.

Your answer was appreciated, but problem is, I have a pretty clear vision of how the story goes (it's also pretty short as it's only 3 chapters long) and for the chapter in question, I'm only a quarter in but I just can't get the words down for some reason. I don't think the answer was really helpful (apologies for that) as a result, so I figured that giving you more context would hopefully lead to a more helpful one.

Chapter Outlined But Still Can't Write It (Redux)

I'm sorry my original answer wasn't helpful, but I covered every base I can think of for what could be going on. I suggested difficulty finding your way into the chapter, but you've added that you are a quarter way into the chapter so that's not it. I suggested not having a clear idea of what exactly needs to happen in the chapter or story, but you're saying that's not the case. I suggested the possibility of having put so much pressure on yourself to write the chapter that you're having stress-induced writer's block. And I suggested there's something subconscious blocking you from writing the chapter (it can happen), but you say neither of those suggestions were helpful.

There are only so many reasons why we're not able to write when we want to. Lack of vision/direction, lack of planning, lack of motivation, lack of energy, mental blocks, something not working earlier or later in the story... the only other option, really, is that your writing skills are just not yet where they need to be in order to write, or to write this, in which case you can spend more time honing them. Outside of those things, I'm not sure what to tell you. There aren't any magic spells or potions you can do to fix this. I'll include some links to previous posts to see if anything happens to click, but if not, I don't know what to tell you except to set this project aside for a while and work on something else. Then come back to it later to see if whatever was blocking you has lifted. ♥

5 Reasons You Lost Interest in Your WIP, Plus Fixes! Feeling Unmotivated with WIP Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists Have Plot, Can’t Write Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality Delaying Writing Out of Fear Guide: Filling Your Creative Well

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[dynamic-k]

sighhsss... yet ANOTHER ask from me XD

This surprisingly is just one question. unless I come up with more as I write.

But when Blue and Red were looking through the public telescope, the description said something like 'thousands of IP addresses littered the sky', as well as 'wifi tunnels' etc. (I would get the quote but my internet is going to cut in like a few minutes)

Soooo... Is 'the human world' real in Super Sticks?

If so, why is Alan and Kaori still in the 'stick world'?

WAIT IS DJ HERE???

...i just thought of something.

In 'The Spark', chapter 4 is named 'Otherworldly', and there are hints of there being other worlds throughout the first 4 chapters. not sure about the 5th one, I haven't looked through it carefully

Therefore, IF there are other worlds, BOTH in Super Sticks and The Spark, CROSSOVER?!?

YOOOO- ok i need to go to sleep now. I'll think about it tomorrow and report ramble back in another ask!

Good night! :D

-R

Oh no, my plans are being predicted- /j

Okay, no, I'm kidding. XD I didn't have a crossover planned, the universes are separate. AUs!! :D Ehehehe

...But I am really glad you picked up on some Spark AU lore~~ :3 I have so SO SO MUCH to unpack there!!! ...f you ask me about it, I might go full-on essay mode with my answer- :I

[Chapter 5 of The Spark is mostly fluff, with some conversational lore that hints at future angst, but none of that alluded further to the "Otherworldly" branch of lore. :3 (I do hope you enjoy💕)]

The human world is real in Super Sticks!! I have alluded to this a few times, like how Dark was totally much better than "that Iron Man guy" he'd seen in a human movie once.

The sticks are aware there are humans, but every stick lives in the Outernet, unable to communicate with humans, unable to interact with humans, unable to prove their own existence to humans. (not like anyone wants to, though)

In Super Sticks, Alan and Kaori are just sticks and not all-powerful creators, giant humans behind a screen and whatnot. Part of the AU is also the fact that hollowheads are caused by a rare genetic in stick figures, of which the Becker family is prominent in since Alan [a hollowhead] married Kaori [another hollowhead], hence the kids are all more hollowheads and quite the unusual bunch. But, there are probably a few other random hollowheads somewhere in Stick City or in other nearby towns.

[Though, I do not personally have any plans to make up hollowhead OCs or any interactions. All I do is make the fact known that others exist, and move on with my day-]

Is DJ here? I don't think so? Maybe, but he's far off in another town? I have no clue how to write DJ!! ...Actually, wait, no I think I could pull that off, I watch enough AvG- BUT STILL! I don't have practice-

= w = Maybe some day? I'll give it a shot or something, I like exploring new things. On a good day. Maybe give me a coffee first- I haven't had one yet today, but I've been awake long enough I'm somewhat coherent for ask answering. ..Hopefully.

:3 Have good sleeperings! I shall work on the other one currently still in my inbox, and hopefully get all cleared up so I can await more asks-

Honestly, with Super Sticks somewhat being on a mini-hiatus at the moment --both due to mild writer's block on one little scene of chapter 8, and also due to a draft situation in which I can only access a certain document on my phone and still have to earn said phone back from Mom so I can continue where I left off-- ...with all that happening, these asks are really helping my brain to continue simmering the AU on a central burner in my mind stove!

Oh, Spark AU, my pride and joy, my beloved world born from a dream. That also is on a central burner. I don't often ask for asks- But uh-

WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE I LOVE RAMBLING ABOUT SPARK AU-

okaybyenow, sorryformyweirdness-

[autisticwriterblog]

Fandom 50 Post 21

My eighteenth piece of Alan Wake 2 meta. This one is about Return 8.

Return 8: Deerfest

What happened in this chapter?

After helplessly watching Scratch possess Casey and throw Saga into the lake, Alan sees the Anderson brothers wade into the water and eventually vanish. With a clear mind after all these years, Alan approaches Agent Estevez. He and Estevez discuss a plan to stop Scratch, with Alan explaining that he should be able to rewrite the ending if he can read the original story. Estevez doesn’t seem comfortable letting Alan take over, but her injury means she can’t help, so she supplies him with weapons.

With the weapons in hand, Alan traverses the woods, heading to the FBI agents’ car to get back to Bright Falls. On the way, he is attacked by Taken, but Alan fights them off—it’s no different to what he did thirteen years ago, or for all that time in the Dark Place. Reaching the parking lot, he gets into the car and drives into town.

In town, he finds the place shrouded in darkness as Scratch’s manuscript already starts bleeding into reality. Alan is terrified about walking into the altered reality after spending thirteen years trapped in the Dark Place, but he must do it. So, he forces himself to enter… and emerges in a brightly lit Bright Falls that looks nothing like he expected.

The town celebrates an eternal Deerfest, with everyone wearing deer masks. Everyone is very excited about Alan Wake’s newest book, ‘Return’, and Alan hears people talking all about his book as he passes them. Eventually, he finds a cutout of himself holding a copy of the book, so he picks it up. At which point, the townsfolk turn hostile, and Alan flees for his life.

After blocking a door to stop them following him, Alan walks along a path until he finds the Valhalla Nursing Home. Recognising the windows of his Writer’s Room on the top floor of the building, Alan approaches, but he must take a diversion through the Wellness Center. Inside, Scratch appears and chases Alan, who manages to get outside without being caught. At which point, the doors to the nursing home fling open and Rose yells for Alan to get inside.

Once safely inside the lit building, Alan talks to Rose Marigold, someone he knew thirteen years ago. Rose insists she has received lots of messages from him and followed all of Alan’s instructions for helping the hero of the story. But when Alan tries to explain that he hasn’t done that, Rose mistakes him for being secretive and ‘plays along’. Afterwards, she encourages Alan to go upstairs, so he does just that.

On the top floor, Alan bumps into Ahti, who he isn’t remotely surprised to see. Ahti unlocks the door for him, and when he enters, Alan finds himself in the Writer’s Room. He finds an echo of himself and Saga discussing the ending to the story; using this information, Alan sits down and begins to write, whilst waiting for Saga to hopefully escape the Dark Place and appear via a puddle of water.

My Thoughts

This is another Return chapter in which we play as Alan, this time because Saga is a bit indisposed by being chucked into the lake by Scratch. We follow Alan as he makes his way to Bright Falls in an attempt to fix everything by rewriting Scratch’s ending.

I love it when Alan mentions that the Andersons performed in his musical in the Dark Place, because Estevez lacks all context (and even with context, it would be hard to explain “so, when I was in the Dark Place, this strange man called Warlin Door put on a musical about my life, and young versions of the Anderson brothers performed alongside their long-dead bandmate whilst playing a very catchy song called ‘Herald of Darkness’.” so I can see why he doesn’t elaborate further) and clearly has no idea what on earth he’s talking about. I don’t blame her for feeling less confident about their plan after hearing him say something so random.

It's very nostalgic walking through the woods as Alan, which he himself seems aware of. Just like thirteen years ago, he’s fighting monsters in the woods while looking for a woman who fell into the lake. Things have come full circle for him.

When I first played the game, I got stuck trying to escape the Dark Presence in the Wellness Center and got killed about ten times before I figured it out. I still get tense during that part of the chapter, and not for the reason the game intended. But, once again, my poor sense of direction is a me problem, not a fault of the game.

I love seeing Alan interact with Rose and Ahti; Rose because it’s the first time in thirteen years that they’ve spoken to each other (despite what Rose believes), and Ahti because they’ve never interacted outside of the Dark Place. Ahti’s little speech about water is also very pretty.

This chapter also contains the final Koskela brothers’ commercial, and it is heartbreaking. Ilmo presents it alone because Jaakko is dead, but Ilmo hasn’t adjusted the script, and the camera keeps cutting to where Jaakko should be. He wears a deer mask like everyone else and although it hides most of his face, it’s still obvious how much emotional pain Ilmo is in. Even Scratch’s fake reality can’t fix him.

[warmaidensrevenge]

Moving on

Pairings: Joseph Quinn x plus size reader x Evan Peters

If you want to read my other work you can find it HERE

A/N: Hey everyone. I am back. Still working on some fics and it's taking me longer to come up with endings. Seems like I'm at a writers block for two of my fics. If anyone has any ideas to help I would really appreciate it. Update: life sucks but I'm doing better. I have a trip coming up to see the love of our lives and I'm so nervous. I think I might be too in my head to comprehend that I'm going to meet Joseph Quinn. Hopefully things will get clear when I do. Anyways, this is a request I had sitting in my inbox forever. Thanks @generouspuppypuppy. It is different from your exact suggestion. But I still hope you like it. Thanks for reading. As always feedback is greatly appreciated and ask/comments are always welcomed. Kay love ya bye.

Word count: 3,250

I do not give permission for my work to be used or published anywhere else. Please be respectful to all creators.

Warnings: 18+ hurt/comfort, cheating, heartache with a happy ending.

Summary: One mistake, time apart, new love and a baby.

🖤

You sat there in disbelief in what you just heard. You were just so happy this morning. Your boyfriend of 3 years just got home from filming. He had gotten a part playing a new character on Stranger Things named Eddie Munson. After 6 long months Joe was home. And he was sitting across from you on the couch, telling you he cheated on you with his co-star Grace. The moment you heard it, all the air was sucked from your lungs and your heart sank. Not knowing what to say so you just sat there. 

" Love. I'm so sorry. I never meant for it to happen." Joe grabbed your hand.

That's when you finally looked at him. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy. With tears rolling down his thin cheeks. It's been a while since you've seen him in person, and all you could think of was how skinny he was. 

You felt tears fall and you looked away from him to wipe them away. 

" Love…please say something." 

You didn't look back at him. You pulled your hand away and went to the room. Joe followed. 

He watched you grab your duffle bag and started shoving things in.

" No." He said, grabbing your hands. " Please. I can fix this."

You jerked your hands away and continued packing. Joe sat on the bed and cried harder. His eyes follow you back and forth throughout the room. He tried to talk but you weren't listening. Once you had everything you went to the door and stopped. With your back towards him you sniffled.

" I'm gonna stay in a hotel…I need time."

He stood up and started for you but you practically ran away. Joe caught your eye as you closed the door. 

"Love?"

" Goodbye Joseph."

His heart sank. You never called him by his name. The only time you had was when you first met. That was almost 6 years ago. He noticed you immediately while he was on the set for Howard's End. He honestly thought you were so beautiful. He remembered seeing you in a lot of small stuff. Mostly just plays. But he thought you were talented. And he was in love. Though at the time he thought being from 2 different countries that your paths would never cross. But boy was he happy to be wrong. Your part in the show was small. Which surprised him but the few lines you had were well done. His part was small as well so you guys spent a lot of time together. Before he knew it he lived part time in the US. He started off as your roommate. Then that turned into dating. 3 years later and he was never happier. He was ready to get married and start having kids. But he fucked all that up. A drunken mistake caused you to leave him standing in your guy's home all alone. He knew you all too well. When you were hurt or when you guys argued, you shut down and walked away. Later coming back to figure things out. And though he was breaking down, he hoped that tomorrow he would get to talk to you. But that's not what happened. One week went by and then another. He hadn't received word from you. On the third week he came home after a meeting with his agent and found that all your things were gone. Your side of the closet was empty. All your drawers were emptied and your side of the bathroom sink was bare. Joe leaned on the wall and sank down to the floor. Burying his face in his hands.

He cried harder than ever. " What have I done?" 

A good 20 minutes passed when he finally calmed down enough to call you. He went to the living room and saw an envelope on the coffee table. Inside was your 1 month move out notice. Joe's heart shattered. 6 years of friendship, 3 years of a life together and it was over just like that. That wasn't going to happen. You were his everything. So he called you. You had agreed to meet him later on and he had hope.

When he arrived at the coffee shop you were already there. The moment he saw you he could feel your heartache. You had a frown fixed on your lips and dark circles around your eyes. 

What have I done to you my love?

He approached you and you quickly glanced at him. Then looked at your cup of tea. He sat down and took off his jacket.

" I took the liberty of ordering you tea." Your voice was lifeless and distant.

" Th-thank you."

You didn't look at him but gave a thin lip smile. He took a sip of his drink. When he put his mug down, that's when you pulled out a magazine from your bag and set it in front of him. Turning to the page you wanted him to see.

" I got this that night I left…it says there that you and Grace admitted to having a crush on one another."

Joe felt the blood drain from his face and his heart started to race. You finally looked him in the eye and all he saw was sadness.

" I thought we had an open door relationship." 

" We-we do." He stuttered.

" If that's true then why did I hear about this in there and not from you?" 

" I-I…"

You sighed and brought your hand up to wipe tears away.

" Joseph, I love you. And I came here for that reason and that reason only."

Joe winced hearing his name. All he wanted right now was to hear you call him Joey.

" What can I do to fix this? There has to be a way."

You shook your head. " There isn't."

" No! Love please."

He reached for your hand and to his surprise you didn't jerk away. Instead you just stared at your hands for a minute.

" The only way you can fix this is if you could go back and have one less drink. Or if you left early and came home to me." 

" I…" his voice trembled. " So this is it? You're going to let one mistake throw everything we worked for away?"

You pulled your hand away and met his tear filled eyes with yours.

" It wasn't me who decided that for us. That was you. Not being honest with me from the start is what broke us. How can we be together now? I can't trust you…I love you. I really do. But I can't be with you anymore."

He watched you get up and grab your things.

" Take care of yourself Joseph."

He hung his head. " I love you Y/n. And I always will."

" I will too."

…

A year went by and you got the role of a lifetime. Starring in a new show called American horror story. Acting side by side with Evan Peters. He was amazing. His range inspired you. You guys had worked so well together that in seasons to come you and Evan were offered roles as each other's love interests. After the break up you and Joe kept in touch. When Stranger Things season 4 came out, Joe didn't expect the amount of fame that he would get. Suddenly his life was turned upside down. It was incredible, but overwhelming. He did so much and traveled everywhere. He was happy, but very lonely. Since you there had been a few flings. But none that he wanted to pursue. That was because he had already found the nice girl he was looking for. He knew that you had moved on, however he couldn't. Seeing you with Evan was awful. You looked at Evan the way you used to look at him. Which hurt him more than words could describe.

Evan was ring shopping. TMZ had caught up with him outside a jewelry store. Not wanting you to find out that he was in fact buying you an engagement ring, Evan went to the store next door. Evan knew from the first kiss you and he shared that he was going to marry you. At that time you were still hurting over Joe. Rightfully so. So he chose to be your friend and help you through the pain. And once you were better he asked you out on a date. First it was weird for both of you. But at the end of the night you kissed him. After that you guys became inseparable. 

Now it was a year and a half  later and Evan was ready to make you his wife. 

Joe and Jamie were both good friends with you and Evan. So when Joe and Jamie received an invite to watch season 3 of American Horror Story. They were excited. Joe hadn't seen you in months and knowing that you and Evan were together, he was going to try and talk to you. Maybe he could get another chance.

When he and Jamie went to your loft, he was extremely nervous. Then you opened the door. You looked more beautiful than he remembered. You greeted them with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. That's when Joe saw the worst thing ever. He saw a beautiful diamond on your ring finger. He was in such a state of shock he froze there in the doorway. 

" Common Joey. " You said with a smile. 

You grabbed his hand and pulled him along to join the party. Turned out not only was it a watch party, but an engagement party. You had said that you didn't want any presents or anything like that. That's why you disguised the party. You wanted not only to share the success of the show but to celebrate the happy news with everyone you loved. 

Joe was wrecked. He tried his best to fake a smile. But as the night went on his heart broke over and over again. He saw how truly happy you were and part of him was happy for you. But he couldn't help but remember when he made you that happy. He sat there watching you with Evan. Seeing that twinkle in your eyes again. He wanted to drink. But since the break-up he stopped. Jamie was talking to your brother Bill when he saw Joe in his head. 

" Hey Bill. Are you on good terms with Joe?"

Bill looked at Joe and nodded.

" Is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

Bill looked at you and you were cuddled up with Evan on the couch. Laughing away.

" Yeah. Let's go out to the terrace." He said.

Jamie got Joe and went to join Bill outside. They all lit up cigars and started talking. Bill had a heart to heart with Joe. And he admitted that he always thought he would be going to yours and Joe's engagement party. Joe was grateful for the conversation. He and Bill were on the outs after the situation. However, Bill forgave him once you did. Joe always thought of Bill as a brother he never had. Well the whole Skarsgard family was on a whole nother level when it came to famous family's. But all of them were close. And Joe loved that. He loved how family oriented you were. And the fact that Joe's mom absolutely loved you. She had never liked any of his previous girlfriends. But the second she met you she immediately approved of you. Maybe it was because you weren't selfish, or full of yourself. Sure you looked nothing like the women he had dated before. But you were still very beautiful. You were kind and very humble. Everything about you screamed wife material.

As he stood there burning out his cigar, he regretted the 3 years he waited to ask you to be his wife. He regretted his mistake and losing you. So he decided to put the plan to win you back aside and apologize to you. Jamie had to leave early due to an early flight. So he left Joe to grab an Uber. The party started to simmer down and Joe was going to leave. But he asked if you would walk him out. Which you happily agreed to.

You guys silently walked down the hallway to the elevator.  Joe pressed the down button and smiled half heartedly at you. The doors opened and he held out his arm for you to go in first.

You smiled sweetly up at him. " Thank you Joey."

Joe felt his heart flutter hearing you call him that. A nickname you gave him a long time ago. Once you were both in you reached over and pressed the ground floor button. It was quite a ways down but the silence you shared was nothing but comforting. It always was. 

Joe cleared his throat. " Did umm did you have a good time?"

You looked away from the red numbers that said the floor you were on to him.

" I did. I'm so happy you and Jamie came."

" Me too…just wished I could have brought you a present."

You scrunched your nose a little and let out a nose laugh. 

" Joey, you being here was better than any present you could have given us. Besides, we don't need anything."

Joe nodded and looked at the numbers counting down. That's when he noticed the music. The song was an elevator version of Dreaming of You. He looked at you and saw your head slightly nodding to it. It's been so long since the last time you and he randomly dance somewhere. Those times were usually abrupt but so special to him. Every time he swore he fell deeper in love with you. Now not being any different. He grabbed your hand gently and twirled you. You laughed softly and beamed at him as he pulled you into his arms, swaying you back and forth. For a minute you guys danced until the doors dinged and opened. Joe reached for the close button and continued to dance with you. 

In a whole year, this was the first time you and he were alone. And he wasn't ready for it to be over. 

" Love, I'm really happy for you."

Your smile got bigger and your eyes were just slits. Joe's heart melted all over again. 

" Thank you Joey."

He twirled you once more, pulling you closer than before. 

" Love, I know that I've apologized countless times for my mistake. But what I failed to do was apologize for not saying that I would never do that again…I did not apologize for breaking your trust and for ruining our future. I never apologized for the tears you shed because of it or the hurt and betrayal you felt…for all of that, I am truly sorry. "

You were quiet for a moment and both of you stopped dancing. You then lifted to your toes and placed one soft kiss upon his cheek. After, you planted your feet back to the ground. 

" I've forgiven you a long time ago Joey. There's no need sorries again."

Joe hung his head. "I-I know. I just…I just need you to know if there was anything I could do to take it back, I would have done it in a heartbeat." 

You cupped his face causing him to look at you.

" I know you would have Joey. And I love you. I promised I would always love you. No matter what happens from this day forward. I want you to be happy. I want you to move on and forgive yourself."

He nodded and felt tears coming. " I love you y/n."

You kissed his cheek again and gave him a hug. When you tried to create some distance between you two he squeezed you gently once more before taking a step back. 

" I better let you go. Your fiance might worry that I've stolen you away."

" Can't have him thinking that."

Joe gave you a half smile and pressed the button to open the doors. He took one last look at you and waved.

" Travel safe Joey.

He gave you a nod and took his leave. 

I will love you forever. He thought

…

That night when everything was cleaned up you and Evan changed into your jammies. Evan was getting the bed ready when you left for a minute. When you came back you were holding a single vanilla cupcake. 

" What's this?" Evan grinned sitting down on the bed. Holding his hands out for you.

You blushed and went to him. Sitting on his lap. 

" It's for you….there's a surprise inside." 

You lifted up the sweet treat and peeled back the lining. 

" Take a big bite Eban."

Evan chuckled. He absolutely loved when you called him Eban. When he first met you, you thought his name was Eban. And he just thought it was so adorable that for 3 months he let you call him that until someone finally corrected you. But after that he insisted you keep calling him that.

He kissed you briefly and then took a very big bite. When he looked at you, your eyes were wide and started to fill with tears. He quickly cupped your face.

" What's wrong pumpkin?"

You laughed a little and sniffled. 

" Eban, I'm pregnant…and according to this blue filling." You lifted the cupcake showing him. " We're having a boy."

He stopped mid chew and mumbled a 'w-what?'

" I…you know how I don't have normal menstruation?"

He nodded.

You looked down and brought your hands down to rest on your thick thighs. 

" Well turns out I'm four months pregnant. We couldn't tell because I'm…well big… and umm remember the one month where we thought I had a bad case of the flu?"

Evan started to chew. " Mmhmm."

You met his gaze. " Morning sickness."

Finally getting the cupcake down he licked his lips. " Pumpkin, you're not joking are you?"

You gave him sad eyes and frowned, shaking your head.

" Oh My God!"

Your eyes widened again and he pulled you into a kiss. After, he kissed all over your face and your neck.

" Baby, baby, baby! You're having my baby?"

You giggled and squirmed when he kept kissing your ticklish spot on your neck.

" Y-yes…. Eban…y-yes."

" Oh pumpkin. I can't! I'm so…fuck! Kiss me baby."

You laughed again before you did. 

" Mmmm….yes… you're making me a daddy baby?"

You smiled against his lips. " Yes I am Eban."

He kissed you over and over again until he abruptly stopped.

" Shit pumpkin. Do you want to get married before or after the baby comes?"

You gave him a tender kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck. 

" Hmmm. Do you think if we have an officiate come this weekend, it would be too soon?"

Evan kissed you once more and slid you off his lap and went searching for his phone.

" What are you doing, Eban?"

" I gotta call our moms. They are gonna be so happy."

Your eyes followed him and he paced calling everyone you and he knew, to tell them to come over on Sunday for a wedding. After every call he would come to you and smother you with kisses. About an hour later he finally came to lay down. He put his hand on your belly and started running his thumb back and forth. 

" Can…can I make love to you?" He asked in his sweetest voice.

You leaned in and before you pressed your lips against his you whispered.

" Always."

…

@salenorona23

[reyesstrand]

weekend wip game

thanks for the tag @welcometololaland (and thanks for thinking up this game lola!) @alrightbuckaroo @strandnreyes @theghostofashton <333

rules: list your wips below (if you only write one fic at a time, feel free to include future wips/ideas!) then answer the following questions. then, tag as many people as you have wips (or more).

1. wip list:

active wips: food fic

future wips: pottery au; aftermath of the solving of gabriel’s murder

2. which of your wips is currently the longest?

food fic, mainly because it’s all i’m working on ajdnskdn

3. which wip do you expect will end up the longest?

food fic will span from 1x05 to tarlos’ honeymoon, so likely this one

4. which wip is your favourite/the most enjoyable to write? why?

when it isn’t giving me a headache, definitely food fic. i love getting to look back at canon and extrapolate on moments we’ve seen (and include scenes we didn’t) focused on the idea of food as a love language. however the pottery au probably has the most little random snippets i’ve deposited into my notes app that bring some serious joy

5. which wip do you find the most intimidating to write? why?

pottery au, simply because full-on alternate universe fics are kind of out of my wheelhouse, even though i love reading them

6. which wip do you experience the most self-doubt about? why?

probably the gabriel murder aftermath fic, because i have a very clear idea of the sort of tone i want to develop through the story and worry about perfecting it

7. which of your wips will you seek out a beta/sensitivity reader for? why?

food fic will have a beta (if they still want to even though they offered truly six months ago 😭😭😭😭😭😭) and i’m grateful because this i’m pretty sure the fic will be 20k+ and having a pair of skilled eyes look it over will be so helpful.

8. have any of your wips been struck by the curse of writer’s block?

…….have i mentioned i started food fic six months ago 🧍‍♂️

9. which wip has your favourite oc? tell us about them?

i’m very boring and unfortunately don’t have any at the moment!! hopefully some will come to fruition with pottery au once i actually try tackling it

10. which wip is the sexiest?

food fic, because cooking is sexy and tk and carlos agree and also because it has the only real “explicit” sex i’ve written. HOWEVER….i would be amiss not to mention pottery au, where the moodboard centred around this photo:

11. which wip is the angstiest?

probably will be the gabriel murder aftermath fic….shes gonna be moody!!! but also food fic has a lot of the boys and their unhealthy coping mechanisms. so both?

12. which wip has the best characterization (in your humble opinion)?

i’m going to say food fic only because i’m writing from a place of knowing the entirety of canon so far, and can use that to go back and write them as their baby season one selves. also, since it’s fairly introspective for both of them, i think this is my clear answer

13. which wip has the best scene setting (in your humble opinion)?

i’m….going to say all three, in their varying states of completion. it’s something i feel most comfortable with as a writer and i think it’s something i tap into easily, and i think each has examples of this

14. which wip have you worked the hardest on?

food fic. it’s kind of become my baby

15. which wip do you have the highest expectations for? why?

….food fic, only because i’ve been working on it for so long and it’ll be the first thing i post since may. so. i feel a lot of pressure to make it “right”

16. do you dream about any of your wips?

only if i’ve been writing/plotting right before bed

17. do any of your wips have particular complexities that your other fics don’t?

hm….i guess food fic only since it’s truly following the whole development of a relationship, and trying to capture where they’d be emotionally at a certain moment in the grand scheme of things is complex. pottery au also fits here, though, since i know it’ll need some planning that i don’t always think about, since i tend to write canon compliant as opposed to au fics

18. which wip is the funniest or has the most humour?

i don’t think i’m very good at humour 😭😭😭 but i think most light-hearted, maybe, would be pottery au? food fic has some bright spots too, though

19. do any of your wips contain outside povs or a deep dive on a character other than the main ship? how are you finding that process?

ooh okay, so there’s at least one instance of this in food fic where we see owen observing the boys, and it’s something i love tapping into because thinking about owen with his boys always makes me 🥺🥺🥺 like he’s just so happy for them and sees their love for what it is and i enjoy whenever i can explore that, even if only for a few paragraphs. i think gabriel aftermath will explore more of gabriel/his relationship with carlos in SOME capacity, though i truly haven’t even explored it yet. it makes me excited though!! introspection is my favourite <3

20. tell us one thing we don’t know about one or more of your wips.

hmmmmmm i’d say that food fic was originally a 5+1, then a 7+1, but i couldn’t figure out what the “+1” would be/how i would phrase it, and i decided i liked connected vignettes following the trajectory of their relationship better. also that seeing a singular photo of ceramics on pinterest inspired the pottery au….tarlos brainrot will always take over at the most random times!

((sorry for not following the rules here)) i’m no pressure tagging @carlos-in-glasses @birdclowns @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @paperstorm @heartstringsduet @rmd-writes @louis-ii-reyes-strand @carlos-tk @redshirt2 @tailoredshirt @beautifulhigh and open tagging whoever would like to play <333

[alj4890]

L-O-V-E Part 3

(Liam x Riley) along with their daughters Charlotte and Hope

Masterlist

@gkittylove99 @kingliam2019 @texaskitten30 @yourmajesty09 @mom2000aggie @twinkleallnight @lodberg  @amandablink @neotericthemis  @mm2305 @sfb123 @tessa-liam @thesvnsins @krsnlove

A/N for this part, I want to delve a bit more into the relationships before the night of the ball.With Riley determined to not do anything to draw unwanted attention, Liam will have his work cut out for him. Plus, I wanted to show more of Charlotte and Hope's relationship. we will pick up at the end of the dinner from the previous part. For some reason the writer's block hits hard with this storyline. Hopefully I will wrap it up quickly within the next part of two.

"Let's have a slumber party!" Hope exclaimed after they left everyone else in the drawing room.

"How old are you again?" Sean teased.

She glared playfully at him. "I didn't invite you."

"Then it's not much of a party." He quipped back.

"Who's invited?" Bartie asked.

Hope's eyes met his for a moment. She smiled and slowly shook her head.

"Sorry boys. But tonight is all about me and Charlotte."

"It is?" Charlotte beamed at her.

"Yep. We haven't had an all nighter since you were in New York." Hope linked her arm with her sister's. "Now it's my turn to ask you all sorts of questions."

Hope gestured around the palace. "Especially now that I have a visual of where you grew up."

"And what are we supposed to do?" Sean asked.

"Go to sleep." Hope commanded. "Stay up. You're both adults. Do whatever you want."

Sean glanced over at Charlotte. When her green eyes collided with his dark brown, he felt his heart flip once more.

Hope couldn't help but notice. She also couldn't be more pleased.

Which was why she needed a night alone with her sister. She wanted to make certain Charlotte liked Sean as much as he appeared to like her. Plus she had a few questions of her own about a certain lord.

Bartie chuckled softly. "Come on, Sean. We'll leave the princesses to their slumber party. I'll show you the palace's billiards room. We need to be prepared to face off against some of the guests. They'll want to challenge a newcomer."

"Then they won't know what hit them." Sean bragged. "My skill with a pool stick can't be matched."

"That's the truth." Hope added. "Sean lulls people into believing he sucks, then once they start putting money on the line, he takes them for everything."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "You do?"

Sean's cheeks flushed. "I only do it with jerks. I--I don't try and take advantage of everyone."

Hope worried she'd just made her best friend look bad.

Charlotte's smile made the two pause.

"Uh oh." Bartie teased. "I know that look."

"Would you mind teaching a few nobles and one diplomat a lesson for me?" She asked.

Sean blinked. "You want me to do that?"

"More than anything, I would love to see them knocked down a peg or two." She explained. "They try and bully me every visit into giving in to their demands."

"What demands?" Hope asked.

Charlotte hesitated. Her bright green eyes lowered as she plucked at her skirt.

"They want me to accept their marriage proposals." She mumbled.

Sean's fists clenched.

Bartie noticed his reaction to that and wondered if there could be something more to this American.

Charlotte cleared her throat. "I know this sounds awful, but I would love to see them embarrassed."

"Then I'll make sure you have a front row seat while I beat them." Sean eyed Bartie. "You want to help me make them think I can't play?"

"You bet I do!" Bartie draped an arm along his shoulders. "Let's go perfect our act." He bowed to the princesses. "'Night ladies."

"Goodnight." Hope took her sister's arm and tugged her down the opposite direction.

Charlotte looked over her shoulder at Sean.

He glanced back at her and gave her a reassuring smile.

She returned it and then continued on her way.

****************

In the main drawing room...

"I think I'll turn in." Hana stood and embraced Riley. "I'm so happy to have you back with us again!"

Riley hugged her tight. "I've missed you." She included everyone else in the room. "I've missed all of you so much."

"I'm just glad you're back where you belong." Maxwell jumped to his feet and engulfed them in a bear hug, causing both ladies to giggle. "It hasn't been the same without you."

"I think I'll get some sleep too." Drake stretched and set his glass down. "We can visit some more tomorrow, Brooks."

Olivia got up and followed them out wishing her and Liam a good night.

Once alone, Liam refilled her wine glass.

"Whoa!" She smiled at him. "Not too much. I'm a light weight now when it comes to drinking."

He chuckled, refilling his own before sitting down beside her. He held his glass up.

Riley tapped her glass against his. "What are we drinking to?"

"To having you back here." He smiled at her. "It's something I've hoped for."

Riley felt her heart lurch.

"Liam." She sighed.

"Yes?"

She bit down on her bottom lip while studying his still much too handsome face.

"Thank you for welcoming me back here."

He reached for her hand. His thumb brushed against her knuckles.

"If circumstances had gone differently," he lowered his eyes to their hands, "there would be no welcome back. This would have been your home from the very beginning."

Riley nodded quietly.

"I don't belong here." Riley argued. "I never did."

Liam lifted his eyes to her face. "Now though, I want Cordonia to feel like home for you and Hope."

No matter how sweet that confession was, she couldn't give in to it.

"That's not true!" Liam exclaimed. "You--"

"I don't." She stated in a hard tone. "Too much happened for this to ever truly be a second home for me."

Riley took a deep breath to try and calm down. "But I do want Hope to feel that way about Cordonia. I can see how crazy she is over you and Charlotte."

She doubted anyone would be unable to resist the father and daughter's tender, earnest charm.

"Nothing has made her more excited than finding out about you two." Riley continued. "Her internship at The Met hasn't even come to mind ever since you showed up at our door."

"We feel the same way about Hope." Liam told her.

"I know." She smiled at him. "I'm happy to see that the man I met twenty years ago is still here."

"He is." Liam scooted closer to her. "And he still feels just as strongly for you as he did then."

Riley held up a hand to stop him from kissing her. If it wasn't for Hope, she would have given in to her weakness when it came to Liam. She didn't think she had the willpower to keep fighting against him when he looked at her like he did all those years ago. And when he said things like that...

"Liam, we can't just go back to how it was before your coronation."

"We can." He insisted. "There is nothing standing in our way."

"Just my damaged reputation." She pointed out. "I don't want Hope to be known as the princess with a slutty mom."

Liam winced over her choice of words.

"I'm not going to ruin this for her." Riley pulled her hand away from his. "And I know that if you think about it, you'll want to do all we can to protect her from any heartache."

She got to her feet, smoothing her skirt down. "I think I'll head to my room."

Liam stood up and reached for her.

"Liam, don't--" she mumbled while sinking closer within his arms.

"Look at me, please." He pleaded.

She tilted her head back to meet his steady gaze.

"I'm still in love with you." Liam confessed. "I never stopped."

She shook her head, trying to deny what was between them, what had always been between them.

He lifted his hand to cup her cheek. "I think we can find a way to be together, if you'll only give me a chance."

"But Hope--"

"Hope will be protected." He promised. "I'll protect both of you." He swallowed nervously. "Please my love, give me this chance."

Riley blinked back tears. "Liam, I can't go through that again. Being forced to leave and denied my fairy tale ending with Prince Charming...it killed me."

"Prince Charming became king." He pointed out. "The man who wears the crown has the power. I intend to use it for those I love."

Riley broke away from him with a shaky breath. "I don't know if I can do this."

She whispered an apology before escaping to her room.

Liam sat down on the arm of a chair, folded his arms, and pondered what should be done to reassure her.

******************

"I think we now have everything we need." Hope plopped down amongst the pillows and blankets she'd set up for their slumber party.

Charlotte had called down to the kitchens and had a number of junk foods and desserts delivered to Hope's chambers. She set them on a table near them before properly sitting down.

Hope watched her with a great deal of fond amusement as her sister made certain her nightgown and robe were set demurely over her legs.

"How do you manage to look like the portrait of perfect princess even when relaxing?" Hope asked.

Charlotte colored some. "Do I look like a snob?"

"No!" Hope shook her head. "Not one bit. I'm just amazed." She gestured to her own plaid pajama pants and oversized t-shirt. "I don't think I'll ever look as put together as you do."

She then pointed at the carefully constructed bow Charlotte had made to tie her robe closed.

"Even I can't do that on a Christmas present, much less on a robe."

"I suppose I could teach you the secret princess ways of tying bows." Charlotte teased.

Hope burst out laughing. "Something tells me that even with you teaching me, I'll never get it right."

"Of course you will!" Charlotte argued. "You're my sister and that means you are already the best at everything."

Hope hugged her. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

Charlotte's smile became puzzled. "With what?"

"With you!" Hope squeezed her once again. "If anyone had told me before meeting you that I had a princess for a sister, I would have been terrified of meeting you."

"You would? Why?"

"Because! I'm nowhere near what one would think is right for a princess."

"Nonsense." Charlotte's eyes narrowed in anger. "I dare anyone to say differently."

Hope giggled. "You really are the best, you know that?"

Charlotte focused on her. Her anger giving way to simple happiness. "I think that actually applies to you."

"Okay, we're going to stop now before we start crying." Hope ordered. "We're going to gorge ourselves on unhealthy food and talk about boys."

Charlotte laughed, reaching for the tray that held the goodies she'd had sent up.

"I'm excited." She admitted. "This is my first slumber party."

"It is?"

"Yes." Charlotte noticed the shock on Hope's face. "Not that I didn't have friends growing up, more that I never had any overnight guests of my own, save for Bartie."

"How come?"

Charlotte's nose wrinkled. "As a princess, well...a lot of nobles encouraged their children to befriend me. I never quite knew if it was me or my position they really wanted to be friends with."

"Oh." Hope munched on some popcorn. "I'm sorry. I wish I had been here to help you through that."

"I'm just glad you're here now." Charlotte sighed as she reclined back on a pillow. "Especially with what is ahead of me."

"What's ahead of you?"

"Marriage. The people are wanting me to settle on a suitor."

"But, you're so young!" Hope exclaimed. "You haven't hardly had a chance to experience life."

"Yes, but stability must be maintained."

"I can't believe Dad would want that for you." Hope grumbled, wondering at what he might demand of herself.

"He doesn't!" Charlotte quickly replied. "He doesn't want me to rush into anything I'm not ready for."

"Good. Then you don't have to sweat it."

"I want to give our country peace." Charlotte countered.

Hope frowned some in thought. "So you don't have to marry just yet, right? You only need to be engaged?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Are you dating anyone?"

"No. Not exactly. Mostly I have men attending events and trying to court me."

"Do you like any of them?" Hope asked.

"There are some polite ones."

"Yeah, but are you attracted to them?"

"Not particularly." Charlotte replied.

"Does it have to be a noble you marry?"

"No. Our grandmother was a commoner."

"That's what Bartie told me." Hope perked up. "So if you met a normal, average guy and fell in love, you could marry him?"

"Yes, of course."

Hope grinned at her. "What do you think of Sean?"

Charlotte's dreamy smile let her know she had fallen for him.

"He's terribly charming."

"He is?" Hope tilted her head in thought. "I guess he is."

"And very handsome."

"You think?"

"I don't think, I know he is." Charlotte admitted with a blush. "You won't tell him I said that, will you?"

"Of course not! I'll take your secrets to the grave." Hope crossed her heart. "I think he is falling for you."

"What?!" Charlotte sat up, whirling towards her sister. "Truly?"

"Uh huh. He doesn't just go out of his way to impress just anyone. I can tell he really wants to with you." She giggled. "You saw him at dinner. He lit up every single time you laughed at his jokes."

Charlotte blushed. "He is humourous."

"This is perfect!" Hope reached for a soda. "My sister and my best friend falling in love!"

"Do you really think he likes me like that?" Charlotte prodded. "I had considered asking him to be my escort to the ball."

"I think he would be over the moon if you did." Hope told her.

Charlotte beamed at her. "Then, I think I shall ask him tomorrow."

Her happiness dimmed with a thought. "Oh! But I want you to have an escort too!"

"Well, if you go with my best friend, perhaps I could go with yours." Hope offered.

"That would be perfect! Bartie will make certain that your evening will be amazing! He puts a great deal of importance on people enjoying themselves to the fullest." Charlotte explained. "Father said he inherited that trait from his Uncle Maxwell."

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Hope asked.

"No." Charlotte couldn't help but smile over her sister's interest. "He's been waiting on the right woman to come along."

"Really?" Hope bit down on her bottom lip. "Is he a flirt? Like a kiss a girl in dark corners then leave her hopelessly in love with him for someone else kind of flirt?"

Charlotte laughed, shaking her head. "In our world, that kind of behavior with a young lady of the court would have him already engaged to be married."

"So, if he did perhaps kiss a girl, then..?"

"Then she must mean a great deal to him."

Hope couldn't stop the smile forming on her lips.

Charlotte knew there was more to that smile than simple curiosity.

"Tell me everything!" She pleaded.

[asknarashikari]

Buffabuttface Fell in a Ditch Preview: Part 3: (I'm still thinking of the appropriate name for the title)

i(These new DGP staff members introduced in the previous chapter finally meet Keiwa and Neon, as well as some insight on they were recruited.)

DGP Staff Recruits #1, 2, 3, and 4: *are all stacking up cards in the DGP saloon and no. 1, 3, and 4 are all bantering about stupid nonsense while #2 is just chuckling in amusement*

Keiwa: I checked the cells…so you really did lock him up behind bars in a ditch. -_- *enters the DGP saloon along with Neon and walks up to Ace*

Ace: Indeed I did, he’s been stuck in that ditch in his own cell for at least a week now and there’s no escaping for him either. ;)

Neon: Wow, that long…no wonder he smells like shit. Good riddance to him… -_-’

Keiwa: So you were actually serious about punishing Buffabutt…you’re actually taking responsibility for it…

Ace: I’ve still got a long way to go to make it up to you, we still need to figure out how to revert those Stage 2 Jyamatos back into humans again…not to mention how to fix the mess that Buffa had left us…we need to bring back the victims he killed too, on top of the victims that lost their lives in the previous games… -_- *shakes his head in disappointment and exasperation*

Ace: I wanted to be fair and thought I could keep Buffa in line but…it’s clear that allowing that loose cannon to become a rider again was a major blunder on my part. But you have my word, Tycoon…he’s going to spend his life in that solitary confinement cell for both his past crimes and his failures to cooperate with us. He’ll never be let out and become a Rider again, not without my approval that is and only when it’s really necessary. But I do hope to keep him in that cell as much as possible to reflect on his actions…for always and always and always.

Keiwa: … *slowly nods in understanding*

Keiwa: It’s going to take some time to forgive you for allowing Buffa to become a Rider again in the first place, but I’ll trust you on that…and you better prove yourself, Ace.

Ace: … *nods back*

Neon: … ^_^

(Of course…this is just the preview. There’s already more currently being typed in the actual chapter, which isn’t even incomplete yet.

Speaking of which… oh boy, I think I’m struggling. It’s going to take a god damn while to finally finish making Part 3, trying to come up with ideas for the dialogue and exposition, as well as making it sound interesting and not feel rushed. That and having motivation is another important factor too, is this writer’s block? I want to be ambitious and I confident I know what I’m thinking but I also can’t help but be self-conscious about being misunderstood even though I really shouldn’t give a damn what other people might think.

Also, the fact that drafts in AO3 automatically get deleted within a month if you don’t post it…it puts me under a time limit and it’s makes it a little stressful, hampering my motivation even more. It’s been a while since I’ve even typed up a story ever since…freaking Wattpad which I kinda stopped using and now I remembered the hard way how difficult creating a story can actually be. I might’ve been a bit overconfident, I knew what I was getting myself into when making a draft but then the moment I become stuck… crap. I seriously wonder if you or Franzfan23 sometimes feel this way whenever having an idea for a story or chapter that you just couldn’t finish.

So…sorry. Hopefully I’ll manage to finish Part 3 of Buffabuttface Fell in a Ditch within a month or so… ^_^’)

Ooh it looks good so far! I look forward to reading it!

As for the other thing… yeah, I know that feeling. Writing longer format fics can be daunting when you’re not used to it. I’d only written a few fics when I got the idea for Hidari Shoutaro’s Home for Technically Non-Existent People so it was quite a challenge working on it.

If I can offer you some advice, the two things I found most useful when writing the aforementioned fic was 1) outlining everything first and 2) working offline. 

Outlining just worked for me, it helped organize my thoughts in a way that made sense to me, and I could see how the general plot was going to go without getting bogged down with details. I could rearrange things as I worked on it and change things up as I worked on it or the actual story. I actually had the outline for the fic done before I started working on it, lol. 

And working offline meant I didn’t have a time crunch as opposed to just posting straight on AO3 would. Of course, that also meant I had a backup of my work offsite (and offline, since I actually worked on it using good ol’ Microsoft Word), so if I had been working on it during say the time AO3 went down during the DDOS attack, I wouldn’t have lost anything. 

(It probably also helped that I had a large portion written before I started posting at all XD)

But yeah, just keep working on it! You can do it~