#with the other chunks of the chapters I've already written

[kallypsowrites]

I have two full chapters of a Pride of Wolves completed now and a third nearly completed so good progress!

[midnightwind]

and to think I'm still considering extending the intro blurb to cover Rook reaching the ritual site...

[milaswriting]

Update. — 3rd October 2024

Well, helloo. If you're following me and reading this then...you must really hate me for my lack of activity on this blog. I apologise for that. Doing a masters degree really kicks my ass, and leaves me with no time to write. But Golden has never been dead or abandoned, it's very much always at the forefront of my mind.

And, for that pure reason, I know it's a story I haven't been 1,000% happy with so the story is going through some major changes. Probably, the first is that it's being rewritten. A (somewhat) new plot written with whole new software—we're making the move to Twine.

My reasoning; I've spent over a year learning the coding which makes me want to rip my hair out. I get to have a lot more ownership over my work, the customisation options are stellar, and you guys will get to read it for free.

The reasons for rewriting has been because I want to fix the cringey writing from when the story's first demo was released. It's mostly from the earlier chapters, but then the thought of plot changes came to me and I wanted to implement those. Realistically, the majority of what's being rewritten is what I had planned for book two—so I'm just bringing that forward. I'll update the synopsis closer to the release of this rewrite.

The changes (which can be subject to change): I'm getting rid of the university idea (though you can still choose careers that are related to those degrees from the options that'll be given) (e.g., if you liked the nursing student option, then your MC can work as a nurse). I'm thinking that the MC will already know about the supernatural world to some extent—there'll still be a lot of suspense and mystery and things to unravel, that was always going to remain. And, in this rewrite, my thought is that the MC and the gang will be working at a multi-agency organisation — called The Everbrook — where the aim is to bridge the gap between humans and supernaturals. To make the world run smoothly, so to speak.

The ROs are the exact same! No changes to that—the only change is that them and the mc will somewhat know of each other already. The genre is the same. MC is still as they are, a Lehsian socialite with a pretty (yet peculiar) birthmark. The parents will have much, much less of a role, but they'll still be mentioned here and there.

This seems like a load of word vomit, but I feel like these changes will improve the story. I'm hoping that it'll make MC less of a spare part in the story, allowing them to have more autonomy in the supernatural universe, especially with their enhanced skillset.

I've done the customisation in terms of the UI layout for Twine already, and it should be mobile friendly too. With that done, I've started writing and I'm a few thousand words in. A lot of what I've written in the ChoiceScript version can still be used, but also getting back into writing a story from scratch is something I'm looking forward to.

I feel like this is a bittersweet thing because yay to a new and better story, but also the time it's going to take to get it out. I'll debate whether to release the whole ten chapters, or do a few chapters at a time, like splitting it up into chunks (releasing three chapters now, and three chapters later on).

Another reason as to why I've taken so long to mention this, other than learning code and the rewrite, is just the whole process of this being a little nerve-wracking. The whole thought of a rewrite of something I've put so much effort into is scary, but it'll be worth it.

I'll accept any questions you've got, and I'll create an FAQ regarding all of this too. But, most importantly, you're in the loop of how this is progressing. I really appreciate everyone's kind words about this story: loving the ros, re-reading it, still sticking by my writing—it means a lot. So, thank you and I hope the future of this story is what you want and more.

PLANS.

Finish introductory scenes.

Finish chapter one.

WORD COUNT.

2.2k (rewrite)

[nonclassyparty]

tins without labels - prologue (j.wy)

summary: Jung Wooyoung's life was always somehow intertwined with your own. from living in the same neighbourhood as kids to attending the same college; fights, bickering, bruises, teasing comments and tears. Wooyoung and you were never complete strangers but never friends either. Always somewhere in between, growing up with each other but never actually knowing one another. The relationship takes a confusing turn in your third year of college after an injury that places your football career on hold. Lonely, lost and confused, you find yourself at your first college party in the presence of none other than Jung Wooyoung asking him to show you what exactly have you been missing out on. playlist // my main masterlist // moodboard (tba) // click to donate to Palestine

pairing: jung wooyoung x reader warnings: none for this chapter i think! word count: 9.3k taglist: just reply or inbox me if u'd like to be added c: a/n: pls don't say damn when u see that i started another story. listen LISTEEEEEN. i know what u all will say..."bree should u rly be starting another series when u havent finished or started the 4757 bajillion ones that u already posted?" the answer is YES. let me explain myself briefly, this summer has been rly hard for me bc i lost someone who was incredibly important to me and i just can't write...i just can't! everything looks like shit!!! im halfway done with soot and something just isn't letting me continue. i can't write pretty on the outside or literally anything else i've started bc its all simply too sad. writing is draining to begin with despite how much i love and enjoy it but writing angst is k wording my mental health lol! so....i present to you this series, mostly dedicated to myself literally no one asked for this, i just feel like its something i need to write and always wanted to so here i go! it will be a little heartwarming series with lots of humor and coming of age shenanigans and huge chunks of it written from personal experience and i hope u guys read it and like it. i had a lot of fun writing this prologue. (p.s. i literally know jackshit about football/soccer so if by some chance someone that reads this knows their football shit....just let it go pls lmfaoo)

(prologue; when we were kids)

and I couldn't find the words, i couldn't think of what to say and all that I can do is stop and think about the days when all we used to dream about was meeting after school

6 and 8 years old;

Your mom helped you build the snowman.

An entire morning of running around your front yard, laughing and playing in the freshly fallen snow, seeing the air you breathe out in front of you that you pretended was cigarette smoke to make your mom laugh as the cold nipped at your cheeks.

The snowman was almost twice your size (which wasn't a lot, you were a fairly small child) with pebbles stuck in as his eyes and teeth pulled up in a big grin. Your mom found a small bucket in the old shed behind the house which she placed on his head as a makeshift hat and because you didn't have any carrots, there was a small twig stuck at the center of the snowman's face to serve as a long crooked nose.

(The snowman didn't have any arms, a detail that went over your head at the time.)

After admiring the big statue in the farther corner of your front yard for awhile, you finally retreated into the house with your socks wet along with the majority of your hot pink snowsuit. As you kicked off the damp clothes and exchanged them for warm, dry ones and fuzzy socks and then settled in front of the TV in the toasty living room with a mug of cocoa - you couldn't help but feel that it was a happy day.

Which is why when, in the late afternoon, once you looked out of your window to see what once used to be your snowman is now nothing but a big pile of disheveled snow with his plastic hat rolling around the sidewalk and two boys running away down the street with shrill laughter echoing after them, you simply couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Mommy!" You screamed out, running outside your front door in fuzzy socks and your sweater, as dramatic as you were. But you were six and your life still ended and began with coloring books and favorite toys, so a snowman that you made with your mom getting destroyed, surely felt like the end of the world.

Once your mom stepped out after you, about to scold you for walking outside into the cold air with no jacket on, you burst into crocodile tears as you pointed to the spot where your snowman once stood.

"Oh, no." She breathed out with a sigh before grabbing her jacket and slipping into whatever shoes were available by the door (they were your dad's old tennis shoes) and walking across the front yard to collect the small bucket from the sidewalk.

All you could do was stand and watch as you wailed so loudly after your snowman that the entire neighbourhood could hear.

"Honey, it's okay." Your mom tried to soothe you as she walked up the steps to your house, carrying what used to be the snowman's hat. "It's just a snowman, we'll make another one tomorrow!"

But you were inconsolable, bursting out in another wave of loud cries as you stomped your tiny foot and pointed to the house across the street.

"They ruined it! W-Wooyoung ruined it!" You sob, waving towards the boy's house with all the anger a six year old could possibly muster. You knew it was him, recognizing the ugly red jacket he wore this entire winter and his even uglier looking friend, Chanwook.

You weren't friends with Wooyoung. He was older than you and all of his friends were mean. You once tried to play with them when you first moved to the neighbourhood but they didn't want to play with a girl. You cried about that too.

They often teased you. Wooyoung said your crooked teeth made you look ugly!

She sighs again, "And that was very mean of him. But, Y/N, we'll just make another snowman tomorrow."

"But-" You start again, tears still sliding down your face. 

"We'll build him in the backyard where we have a fence, so no-one will be able to touch him." She offers with a smile, hoping you'll finally be consoled enough to walk inside and be safe from the harsh cold.

"But I won't be able to look at him from the window." You tell her quietly, voice going hoarse from the crying and bottom lip already wobbling as another wave of tears began to sunk in. She gives you a sympathetic smile.

"We'll get him a prettier hat and we'll use two long branches to give him arms!" Your mom offers again, trying to butter you up so the tears would stop. "We'll get a carrot for his nose and big pretty rocks for his eyes!" Once she realized it was working, she continued; "And we'll take a picture of you with him so you'll always get to look at him, even when he melts away!"

You peer up at her with a hiccup, finally bribed enough; "A picture?"

She nods, holding the door wider for you to finally walk inside as you inch towards the door, fuzzy socks now soaked, "A picture. We'll send your dad to the mall to develop them."

So, you finally walk inside the warm house again, changing your socks and immediately going to your father's home office to pester him about the camera and just how long will it take for a picture to be developed.

-

"-Y/N, we'll just make another snowman tomorrow!" 

Wooyoung heard your mom tell you as he peers at the exchange from across the street, through his bedroom window, freshly changed into dry clothes after a long hard day of playing outside with Chanwook and now, warming his frozen hands on the radiator.

When Wooyoung saw the snowman parked in the corner of your front yard, just a step away from the sidewalk, he and Chanwook thought it would be funny to ruin it. 

The thing was ugly and had an even uglier bucket at the top of it's head, perfect to kick around the street!

He didn't think too much about it, if he was honest. Just saw a big lump of snow he wanted to kick at until it collapsed, so that's what Wooyoung did. It was just a silly snowman.

Besides, you were already six years old. Far too old to be making a stupid snowman. You should've been going sledding with the rest of the neighborhood kids on the small hill just a couple of minutes away from your street. Wooyoung was mature now, so his mom allowed him to go without a chaperone this year. You were always so childish, no wonder your mom didn't let you go with them. You cried over everything.

But he didn't expect you to cry over the stupid snowman!

It was just a snowman. It would've melted anyway when the weather got warmer! Or gotten ruined by someone else! 

The brief fear of your mom telling Wooyoung's mom about what he'd done struck him. He'd positively get grounded for ruining your dumb snowman if she found out and then the rest of his winter break would be spent inside of the house.

You could always make another snowman. A better one. And since you're such a crybaby, Wooyoung would make sure to tell Chanwook that they won't be touching that one. Leave that ugly snowman alone.

Just so you wouldn't cry anymore.

-

10 and 12 years old;

"It's a shame your mother is dead, maybe if she was still around she would teach you how to act like a girl!" 

Your face flushed in anger as you stared the other boy, Beomseok, his chubby fingers still wrapped around your pencil case which was how the argument started in the first place.

He was in the same class as you and a typical bully. Bigger than the rest of his peers and always using it to his advantage to intimidate and tease them. Today, he took your pencil case and when you asked for him to give it back, he only gave you a gnarly smile and started running around the classroom and eventually out on the halls, screaming taunts at you. It would be a lie to say that you didn't scream some pretty mean stuff back but in your defense, he deserved it.

Now, you both stood as if you're ready to duel as the rest of your classmates and even some upperclassmen gathered to see what the commotion is all about, your fury rising so high that tears spring in your eyes at the mention of your mom as you observe his smug smirk. Obviously, from a very young age, you were bad at managing your anger.

"I hate you!" You scream out, voice high pitched. Then you jump on Beomseok with your full weight, successfully pulling him to the hard hallway floors as your hands curled into tiny fists that started colliding with his face.

And Beomseok, for all his intimidating build, talked an awfully big game just to end up bursting into tears as your fist collided with his nose. He was bad at fighting, you notice, if he could be beat up by a lanky girl almost two times smaller than him.

"I just-" Punch. "-wanted-" Punch. "-my pencil case-" A slap. "-back!"

"Somebody help!" He screams from under you, whining under each attack but his classmates were too busy cheering you on to come to his defense.

Once you start harshly pulling on his hair, two arms wrap themselves under your armpits and pull you off of your classmate. You're standing again and are turned by your shoulders to come face to face with your teacher, screaming at you.

"Is this a proper behavior in school?!" and lots of "Your father will hear about this!"'s and "You're going to the principle's office!" as she started pulling you by your arm down the corridor that was still filled with students.

"Everyone to your classrooms! Now!" Your teacher screams from the top of her lungs as she tugs on you and you follow after her with a frown on your face.

Stupid Beomseok.

-

Wooyoung's stomach hurts from laughing, clapping Chanwook's shoulder who was almost sitting on the floor due to his own fit of pure glee, as he watches Kim Beomseok roll around the floor in pain, clutching his nose. 

There's scratches and bruises already forming on his cheeks, little bit of blood mixed with a lot of big, fat tears. It's hard to feel even slightly bad for Beomseok, when Wooyoung heard how he torments his classmates along with the younger kids during recess. Did it count as bullying if the bully is the one getting bullied?

Maybe he finally got what was coming for him, nobody usually stood up to him and Wooyoung least expected you to be the one to put him in his place.

He deserved it, Wooyoung thinks, after what he said about your mom.

Wooyoung remembers her funeral three years ago, he remembers how much you cried and how you didn't leave your house for a month that summer. He even rung the doorbell to ask if you wanted to come out and play one time which he never did because you were a child and he was much more mature than you, you two had nothing in common. But he felt sad for you.

Your mom was nice, she always brought Wooyoung a chocolate when she'd come for a visit.

 Sadly, they discovered she had cancer when you were only seven and Wooyoung was nine. By the time they discovered it, it was already too far along and your mom passed away on a summer evening while you were outside playing hide and seek. 

Wooyoung remembers feeling so bad how they always made you the seeker that day because you were the youngest kid in the neighbourhood and far too easy to convince that it was simply always your turn to look for the other kids.

Your dad opened the door, smiling sadly at Wooyoung and saying that you weren't feeling well enough to come out and play. Wooyoung didn't try again after that.

The teacher is pulling you by your elbow through the crowd, yelling at the top of her lungs for everyone to head to their classrooms since class should start in a couple of minutes. You silently follow her, face twisted into an angry grimace.

Your hair has fallen out of your ponytail, long strands sticking to your face and Wooyoung is pretty sure that your shirt got ripped during the brawl. 

Wooyoung might've been laughing a bit too loudly because with angry eyes and cheeks flushed, your head whips towards him just as you pass by him.

Wooyoung opens his mouth with a smile, to say something like "Good job, Y/L!" maybe. He doesn't get the chance to.

"What are you laughing at, Jung?" You ask loudly and Wooyoung's laughter immediately dies down.

"Wha-?"

And it's then, that your foot meets Wooyoung's shin in a harsh kick that makes him yowl in pain and makes Chanwook burst into another wave of laughter as his hands grab at Wooyoung who doubles over in pain.

"Y/N!" The teacher screams out again, pulling you back by your shirt and going on another rant, filled with threats of calling your dad to school and something else he can't process at the moment.

Wooyoung is too busy feeling the pain and anger that fills him up as he rubs at the place your sneaker covered foot meet his leg.

"Y/N, you psycho!" He yells after you who is still getting dragged away. You don't even bother to look back at him.

(He still collects your pencil case from the floor and throws it on a desk that a classmate of yours says belongs to you before exiting the classroom and going to his own. Wooyoung tells himself it's for no other reason but just so your dad won't have to buy you a new one. He has enough on his plate already.)

-

14 and 16 years old;

Wooyoung has a girlfriend.

You don't know why that's something that bothers you so much.

Maybe because you don't understand what a girl could possibly see in Jung Wooyoung to willingly let him hold her hand or...God forbid, kiss her. Ew.

That's a lie, maybe even a bad attempt at coping on your part because there's a general consensus in your high school that Jung Wooyoung is good-looking. 

You didn't even think he was ugly when you were younger, when he was pulling on your pigtails and teasing you for playing with dolls. He was cute for an annoying kid back then too with his chubby cheeks and bowl haircut.

He was especially cute now, a recent discovery of yours which you have no one else to thank except puberty. It did wonders on your hormones and it did wonders on Jung Wooyoung too. 

His jawline got sharper the more baby fat he lost and lips grew fuller. His boyish smile was very attractive, even his smile lines were captivating. Wooyoung grew taller as well, not by much compared to the other boys in his grade but he was tall just enough so you'd have to look up to him when you argue but not enough to be intimidated by him.

So, yes, you supposed you'd understand the appeal if it weren't for his stupid mouth and mean words more often than not, directed at you. You threw shots back as well, sometimes even started an argument first if you were feeling particularly annoying but maybe that sums up why you're so bothered.

He started dating Chaeyoung at the beginning of this summer and since you have the fortune (read: misfortune) of living in the house right across the street from Wooyoung's, you were an unlucky witness to most of their dates.

And he was so sweet to her. He'd buy her cheap flowers and ice cream, they'd walk around the neighbourhood holding hands, they'd take Wooyoung's younger brother Kyungmin to the playground in the evenings. Wooyoung would smile a lot at her and Chaeyoung would always smile back.

You even saw them kiss. Just once.

When you were folding laundry in your bedroom, you looked through the window just in time to see their lips connect on Wooyoung's front porch. You quickly looked away, feeling shy and embarrassed, not understanding why you were blushing or feeling so sad all of a sudden.

Why was he so nice to other girls but never to you? You shouldn't think too much about it, the problem isn't you. Chaeyoung wasn't just some other girl but his girlfriend. Of course, he'd treat her special.

Whatever. You scoff as you watch Chaeyoung run to Wooyoung across the quad as you adjust your sports bag over your shoulder. 

She jumps into his arms and you can hear his loud, annoying laughter even to here as his arms wrap around her and he picks her up from the ground.

"What are you doing?" You almost jump out of your skin at the sound of Ryujin's voice as she nosily tries to follow where you were staring at.

Ryujin was the first friend you met since you started high school two weeks ago. She might be the only friend you have for awhile since you haven't really been trying to even get to know your classmates as you were too busy trying out for the girls football team.

You don't remember when you started actively playing football exactly. You always played it for fun with the boys from the neighbourhood (Wooyoung included)  but maybe it was around seventh grade when your dad pestered you into trying out a sport because he didn't know what else to do with you so he packed you up and sent you to a sports camp for two weeks one summer, that you started actually playing.

You went there only caring about your iPad and came back saying you'll be a professional football player.

Your dad doesn't want to say it but you know he thinks it's a fickle dream that will fizzle out with age.

Thankfully, Ryujin shared the same love for the sport as you so for now, you were relieved and content to spend time with her. She was nice.

You didn't need anyone else but maybe it would've been nice if someone who was older, who you were familiar with even if you always fought, would give you a couple of words of useful advice. Regarding the new teachers and subjects and all.

High school was scary.

"Nothing." You answer quickly, turning your back to Wooyoung and his girlfriend and fully facing your new friend.

"Nothing?" Ryujin gives you a suspicious smile, eyes darting over your shoulder once more before she ruffles your hair. You yelp. "Do you have a crush already, Y/N?"

You gently shove her away with a huff, fixing your bangs, "Don't be stupid. These boys are all ugly."

A crush. As if!

She laughs at that, throwing her arm around your shoulder as she directs you both to the field where practice was held, already yapping about her own crush.

-

"Hey, isn't that your neighbour?" Chaeyoung nudges Wooyoung with her elbow, nodding somewhere behind Wooyoung. He cranes his neck to follow the direction before his eyes land on you.

He snorts, "Yeah."

You were standing in the middle of the football field, sweaty and red in the face from all the running, with your hands on your hips as you paid attention to what your coach was yelling towards your teammates across the field.

The school's jersey seemed far too big on your lanky form and your hair was a mess, always slipping out of your ponytail. You were much smaller in build than the rest of the team and it looked funny to Wooyoung.

He didn't expect you to be into sports, let alone a sport like football. In fact, Wooyoung is surprised that you don't burst into tears when you start arguing with the makeshift referee played by another student. It's what usually happens if you spend longer than a minute arguing with Wooyoung.

And then he ends up being the bad guy for making you cry but no one ever mentions that you sometimes provoke him first as well but can't take it when it's dished right back.

Since you're such a crybaby.

He watches with an amused grin as you bare your teeth at the referee, who is really just a senior that thought it would be a fun time but now he has to stand arguing with you. And to Wooyoung's further amusement, the older boy who is almost two heads taller than you, looks like he's about to shit his pants in front of you.

Hm. Maybe not such a crybaby when it's anyone else but Wooyoung.

"I think she has a crush on you."

He turns to look at his girlfriend with a confused look, growing further confused when she smiles teasingly at him.

"Who?" He asks and she gives him a knowing look before nodding in your direction again. Wooyoung splutters out a surprised laugh, "Y/N?"

"Yeah." She nods excitedly, giggling, "She's cute."

Wooyoung scoffs with an eyeroll, "She's a kid."

A kid who might have a small crush on Wooyoung but still, a kid nonetheless.

He'd be stupid to say he didn't notice that you sometimes stare at him a little too much but what the hell is he supposed to do about that. You just started high school, you probably weren't even aware of what you were doing. It was a childish crush because at the end of the day that's what you are - childish.

Chaeyoung giggles again, the sound is soft and sweet, leaning her head against his shoulder. 

"It's kind of sweet." She sighs dreamily and Wooyoung snorts because nothing about you was sweet, "You're her handsome neighbour, the only guy who's always been close to her since she was a kid, she probably starts those childish arguments with you so you'd give her attention and then writes about you in her diary and-"

"Y/N is the last person to have a diary, first of all." Wooyoung interrupts with a snicker before looking down on his girlfriend who is teasing him, "Second of all, you sound ridiculous."

Chaeyoung lifts her head up from where it rested against him and looks at him seriously, her lips pressed together. Then she starts imitating Wooyoung's last sentence in a deeper voice that sounds nothing like him, "You sound ridiculous-ah!"

She squeals when Wooyoung pinches her at the waist lovingly and it turns to tickling her as he presses kisses to her cheeks.

As they continue to exchange kisses between hushed giggles, the conversation about you is forgotten.

-

18 and 20 years old;

From the moment you opened the door to greet your date, you knew that the whole night would be a complete and utter disaster.

Maybe you watched too many teen movies that romanticized prom night so much that even you ended up believing and looking forward to the glorified fantasy of it but boy, were you in for a rude awakening.

Your prom date was a boy from your Calculus class named Eunwoo. 

To be completely honest, you were convinced for the entirety of your senior year that you wouldn't have a date for prom at all because not much has changed since freshman year.

You still had one good friend (two, if you count Ryujin's friend that says she likes hanging out with you) and your focus was always on football. Add schoolwork and keeping up your good grades and you truly didn't have much time left for socializing.

So when Eunwoo pulled you aside after your football practice and asked you if you wanted to go to prom together with a handsome boyish smile on his face, your excitement for that night skyrocketed.

Eunwoo wasn't exactly a friend but he was nice to you during class, maybe you were wrong but his niceness sometimes even bordered flirting. Already, you were daydreaming about a possible boyfriend to spend your last summer with before you start college.

With a date or without one, you spend the bigger portion of your senior year saving up money for prom night or should you say prom preparations.

Makeup was never your strongest suit, in fact, it wasn't a suit of yours at all. You never wore it. You never did your hair either. 

Even on the rare occasion that you went to a high school party, you never wore anything else aside from jeans and T-Shirts. You were an athlete and you committed to the bit entirely, always being ready to sweat and opting for comfort of loose clothes above anything else.

But you wanted to look nice for prom, pretty. Not because of Eunwoo but for yourself. Prom is only once and you wanted to make sure you do it with confidence. 

All your saved up allowance went on the hair and makeup appointment along with your dress that Ryujin helped you pick out. The dress was quite simple in your opinion, a dark red one with a square neckline held up by two thin straps that clung to your curves and flared out at the bottom.

With your hair pinned up in an up-do with two curled strands framing your face and glitter on your eyelids, you thought you looked very pretty, beautiful even. Hell, it was probably the best you looked in your entire eighteen years of life. You could even put up with the painful heels for the sake of it.

Your dad made you pose over the whole house while you waited for your date to pick you up. First a photoshoot on the stairs, then one on the front porch, then a little in front of the living room fireplace. 

He seemed so excited with his camera hanging around his neck as he followed you around the house.

It was one of the moments you wished your mom was here for but nonetheless, it was much fun with your dad only as well. You were happy.

It all went to shit though once you opened the door for Eunwoo and he started laughing in your face.

"Oh my God!" He laughs, almost doubling over at the apparent hilarity of your appearance, "What are you wearing?!"

You laugh nervously, ignoring your father's glance at you from the sheer embarrassment, "What? Is it that bad?"

"No, no." Eunwoo shakes his head, wiping a stray tear that escaped while he was laughing, "It's just not like you, at all."

"Oh." You give him a sour smile, your fragilely built ego shattering completely. "I was just...trying something new I guess..."

He snickers with a headshake before offering you his hand, "Come on, let's go take a photo?"

After a small moment of hesitation, feeling your cheeks burn from the humiliation, you let him grab your hand and step out on the front porch. Eunwoo places a hand around your waist to pull you closer as you both smile at your dad's camera.

A couple of photos later, you both head towards Eunwoo's car as your dad waves you goodbye. You give him a small, almost sad wave back as Eunwoo opens the door for you. You ask him;

"Do I really look funny?"

"No, you look pretty no matter what." He answers, helping you with your dress. "It's just doesn't suit you I guess, it's not like you."

"Ah..." You say staring at the dashboard as you watch him round the car to get into the driver's seat. You glance back at your dad just to see him get back into your house and for a split second, you want to call the whole thing off and go back inside with him.

Of course this doesn't suit you. You were the girl guys dapped up in the hallways, the girl that was always covered in hoodies and sweatpants and never wore makeup. You must look stupid, all dolled up like this. What were you thinking.

Prom celebration is usually held at a hotel not far from your high school. The ballroom is enormous, with vast marble floors and high ceilings illuminated by golden, shimmery lights. It looks straight out a fairytale with colorful dresses worn by pretty princess and handsome princes in their extravagant suits. Only, you don't feel like a princess at all.

Eunwoo and you find your table and you briefly say hi to Ryujin and her date. Ryujin tells you how amazing you look and you give her the first (and possibly, only) genuine smile of the night.

"So," Eunwoo starts the conversation a few minutes after you settle down at your table with drinks, "Did you decide where you're going for college? Any scouts?"

"I'm leaning towards SNU. Their Women's Football Club is really strong and I feel like they actually get proper investments and budget." You tell him and he grins interrupting your next sentence.

"See, this is why I like you. It's hard to find a girl who knows about sports and is so chill about everything."

Your mouth stays parted, the rest of your sentence (which was really just saying that the fact the male football team was hot contributed to your decision as joke) went unsaid as his words registered. Every "compliment" Eunwoo gives you is starting to come off so backhandedly that you're beginning to realize that while he thinks he has you all figured out - he doesn't actually know you at all.

You give him a fake laugh and pray to God it doesn't sound fake enough for him to notice as you take a sip of your drink.

An hour later, your heels are killing you so much that you've completely given up on dancing. You observe Ryujin on the dance floor with her date, still going at it and sigh with the silent question of when it would be your turn. Instead, you're stuck to the sidelines with shoes that feel awful on your feet and a date that can't stop talking about how it's attractive that you're a "girl that actually eats". Eunwoo's compliments are becoming weirder by the second.

"Should I just take you home?" Eunwoo asks with an amused smile as he observes you taking off your heels for the tenth time since you sat back down.

"Ah, would you mind?" You give him an apologetic smile, feeling like a burden and a not-so-much-fun date, "I'm sorry, Eunwoo, this is unfair to you-"

"Nah, I had a fun time." He shakes his head, downing the rest of his drink, "Next time, just be yourself though, yeah?"

The weirdly phrased statement makes you pause. "What do you mean?"

"You know, you don't have to dress like this!" He laughs, playfully playing with the thin strap of your dress. You subtly move away from his touch. "It's not like you at all. I don't know if your friends talked you into it just to fit in but you shouldn't let them push you around like this."

He's so wrong that you can't speak for a moment but even if you could, you feel like trying to explain yourself to him would be far too exhausting and would lead to nowhere. Nor do you want it to lead anywhere anymore, if you were honest.

"Girls like that are so exhausting." He gives a tired sigh. "Outfits and makeup aren't the only thing in the world."

"Girls....like that?"

"You know! Like, the touchy-feely shit. Everything is about color-coordination and nail polishes with them. God forbid their hair is out of place. What a headache!" Eunwoo runs a hand through his hear before giving you an award winning smile. "That's why I'm glad I got to hang out with you! You're real."

"I'm....real?" You ask with a cocked head as your eyes start to narrow. He's too busy thinking that you like what he's saying so he continues.

"Yeah. You know, you keep it real. You're not caught up in that frivolous, girly bullshit. You're so chill, Y/N." He keeps smiling at you like he just gave you the highest form of compliment he possibly could.

But you can't bring yourself to crack a smile even if someone held a barrel of a gun to your temple at the moment. In fact, you feel like throwing up. You should've know from the start, from the moment he was so unreasonably impressed with your lack of makeup at the beginning of the year.

Eunwoo was one of those guys.

"Um," You slide your heels back on and grab your clutch, "You know what, you stay. I'll go."

"Wait, what." His brows raise in half confusion and half surprise as he watches you stand up from your seat.

"Yeah, I'll walk home."

"Wait, Y/N. Why would you walk home? I already said I'd drop you off-"

"No thanks. I don't want to get in a car with a sexist."

"What?!" Eunwoo reels back, "What the fuck are you talking about?! I'm not a sexist! I respect women!"

You huff, turning to him with a glare. "You respect women who are "cool" and "chill" and basically act like men. You should've just taken one of your dudes to prom if these are your opinions. I'm out."

So, that's how you find yourself in your pretty dress sitting in one of the plastic chairs of a convenience store with a popsicle in your mouth as you watch the cars drive by. You were too embarrassed to arrive home so early, you hyped up prom night so much to your dad - you'd rather lie and tell him you had a good time.

If the night couldn't possibly get any shittier, while you eat away at your cherry popsicle feeling undeniably sorry for yourself, you hear a familiar laugh followed by sounds of shoes scuffing against the pavement towards the convenience store.

Of course. Of fucking course, Jung Wooyoung would show up now, when you needed him least.

You try to make yourself seem as small as possible in the plastic chair, hoping he or his two friends wouldn't notice you (which in retrospect was a dumb hope, you were sitting right by the entrance in a fucking prom dress).

Ever since Wooyoung graduated high school two years ago, you only saw him in passing. He'd come home for Christmas holidays or a week or two during the summers and you'd only catch him skunk out of his house and into his dad's car if you were lucky. Unlucky, that is of course.

Maybe you were hoping he wouldn't even recognize you and although it would kind of hurt (as embarrassing as that is to admit), you feel like it would be a better option.

But since you were on a roll tonight, obviously this is just another thing that doesn't go your way.

"Nice dress, Y/L/N." You hear Wooyoung's voice speak, followed by snickers from his idiotic friends and his own attempt at stifling his laughter as they walk past you and into the convenience store, the small bell above the door signaling their entrance.

That ends up being your last straw. 

You don't cause another fight or yell something back after him, no, you don't have the energy to do that tonight. Instead, you feel like you will cry.

Tears are already burning at your eyes and your bottom lip wobbles, you're not even aware that your eyes follow Wooyoung through the display of the store, watching him as he picks up a pack of beer and heads for the cashier.

He got even more painfully handsome than he was when you'd see him every day before he graduated. His hair was double toned, the top of it black and the bottom strands bleached, brushing the nape of his neck.

You think you could even see a tattoo peaking under his shirt as he moves.

Jung Wooyoung was so not your type. Not that you really knew what your type was but all the guys that you found cute in your high school years were athletes, jocks who were organized and dedicated to their routine which in your opinion showcased their maturity, got good grades and were respected by their peers. Wooyoung was really the complete opposite of that so it was hard to explain why you so weirdly hung up over his approval.

He's still laughing about something with his friends, it would hurt so badly if it was about you, as his eyes dart through the display and connect with your own.

Wooyoung does a double take before his big smile slowly slips and dare you say, eyes soften as he looks at you and his lips part as if he wants to say something. 

It could all be in your head though and you're feeling even worse now that he caught you staring at him like a total creep, so you throw your popsicle in the trash and get up with a sigh, slipping back into your heels and deciding to just go home.

-

"Hey, Y/L/N! Wait up, I'll give you a ride home!" Wooyoung calls out after you, the plastic bag swinging back and forth in his hand. 

He can hear Chanwook's hushed objection which Wooyoung chooses to ignore, instead focused on walking closer to you. You couldn't make it far since you were basically limping in your heels.

"No thanks." Wooyoung hears your response and rolls his eyes. He hasn't spoken to you in the last two years at all but he can see that nothing has changed much - you were still too stubborn for your own good.

You didn't even bother to turn back and look at him, instead you hitch your dress further up and continue up the street and away from the convenience store.

"Y/N, come on. Quit being a brat and just wait for me to bring the car around."

"I said no!" You yell over your shoulder and let out a small yelp when you stutter a bit on your feet. To Wooyoung, you resembled Bambi right now.

"I'm trying to help you!" He yells back, still following you, "Just let me drive you back-"

"Wooyoung, seriously, fuck off!" You turn to face him with red cheeks and teary eyes (maybe that's why he's insisting so badly to drive you home, you simply look pathetic), "I don't need your fucking help!"

Wooyoung reels back at your tone and harsh words and then a wave of embarrassment washes over him when he hears Chanwook and Eunhyuk laugh behind him, at the fact that he just got told off by his little neighbour.

The embarrassment is followed up by anger that prickles at his skin like needles, he scoffs and if there's one thing Wooyoung will be - it's petty; "Fine! Limp home in your stupid heels then, see if I give a shit!"

You don't give him a response and Wooyoung doesn't bother to look for it either, instead turns around on his feet and heads towards his car (his dad's car). But not before telling a laughing Chanwook to shut the fuck up.

But once he's in the car with the keys in the ignition, he stares at the steering wheel in obvious contemplation before letting out a small groan, "Fuck."

Wooyoung turns to Chanwook, "Sit in the back, please."

His friend looks at him in surprise and confusion. "What?"

"Just sit in the back, will you? Please." Wooyoung repeats, avoiding Chanwook's eyes but feeling his stumped stare.

"Wooyoung, you cannot be serious." His friend laughs in disbelief as if reading his mind, looking around before giving Wooyoung another incredulous look, "She just told you to fuck off!"

Eunhyuk is quiet in the back which is a huge relief for Wooyoung, he really didn't need to defend himself to his other friend too.

"I can't let her go by foot in the dark, you've seen her! She can barely walk!" Wooyoung says defensively to both of his friends as Chanwook moves to the back with a huff.

"And that's your problem...how?" Chanwook, like the annoying pest he is, asks.

"It's not...." Wooyoung trails off, trying to look for an excuse as to why he was going out of his way to give you a ride home. "But...but her dad would kill me if he knew I saw her and didn't drive her back. It's only right."

Chanwook smacks his lips obnoxiously loud, "Sure."

Wooyoung doesn't even need to turn around to know that his friend is giving him a very bold side eye right now.

Eunhyuk snorts but doesn't say anything else. Wooyoung is thankful for that at least.

"She probably won't even want to get in the car." Chanwook comments quietly as they reach you on the sidewalk. He ends up being ignored.

Wooyoung rolls the window of the old car down so he can talk to you, he has to say you're walking at an impressively slow pace. "Y/N, get in the car."

He hears you groan dramatically from the outside, "Jung, you're not my dad. Stop telling me what to do."

Wooyoung ignores Chanwook and Eunhyuk's snickers in the back once again, he grows even more irritated, "I'll call your fucking dad right now and tell him you're walking home alone this late. How about that?"

You turn to him with your glossy lips twisted into a scowl, "You wouldn't."

Always ready to prove a point or in this case, lie straight out of his ass, Wooyoung makes a show of stopping his car next to the sidewalk and fishing his phone from the pocket of his jacket before opening up his contacts and beginning to scroll. He doesn't even have your dad's number.

But Wooyoung is a professional bullshitter so he keeps pressing random buttons with a straight face and presses the phone to his ear before turning to you with his brows raised-

"Okay, fine!" You exclaim with an angry huff and start rounding his car as your cheeks flush a pretty pink color. Wait, pretty-? You open the door and angrily plop into the passenger's seat with a glare directed towards him, "Fucking snitch."

Wooyoung ignores you, locking his phone without another word and beginning to drive away.

There's an awkward silence in the car, only sounds being made are those of the plastic bags filled with beer that keep rustling in Eunhyuk's lap.

"This isn't the way to our street." You say and Wooyoung might be crazy but you almost sound a little nervous at that. He glances at you before it dawns onto him. Of course, you'd be feeling nervous.

It's nighttime and you're in a car with three dudes older than you who you don't know that well. Wooyoung didn't even bother telling you about his plan before he started driving. A curse runs through his head before he clears his throat,

"I'll just drop these two off at a party nearby and then drive you home." He murmurs, chest constricting a little when he sees you cross your hands over your chest, a gesture which makes you seem smaller.

"Wait, wha-" Chanwook, gosh he was really pissing Wooyoung off tonight, starts from the backseat. "Woo, I thought you were going too-"

"I will." Wooyoung interrupts him with a clenched jaw as he pulls up to the house where the party is held, "I'll drop Y/N off and then come back, it won't take more than fifteen minutes. Now get out- Wait, give me that bag right there."

Eunhyuk hands him one of the plastic bags and Wooyoung fishes through it and pulls out two blueberry ice creams out of it before giving the bag back to Eunhyuk. Which he bought for himself, of course. Not because he saw your popsicle melting on the pavement or anything.

Chanwook watches with a dropped jaw before huffing, Wooyoung hears him murmur, "Doing it for her dad, my ass-" 

"I'll be right back!" Wooyoung announces loudly, far too loudly, and Eunhyuk slams the car door shut so Wooyoung can drive away.

When he pulls away, the silence in the car is almost stifling so Wooyoung offers you the ice cream, "Here."

You look at him like a second head just popped out of his shoulder before looking back through the window and ignoring him completely. Wooyoung lets out a small groan. So stubborn.

"Oh my God, just take it." He says, placing the ice cream on your lap as he continues to drive. He bites back a smile when he sees you stare at the ice cream on your lap for a long second before grasping it and opening the wrapper so you can eat it.

Wooyoung really doesn't know what he's doing right now.

He doesn't know why he bought ice creams for you, he doesn't know why he insisted on getting rid of his friends first before dropping you off home, he has no idea why he keeps glancing at you every couple of seconds from the corner of his eye and he especially doesn't have a clue why he takes the longer route home.

When tomorrow comes and he wakes up hangover from the party and probably in someone else's bed, he'll give himself the same excuse he gave the boys. He wanted to make sure you got home safely because it's the right thing to do. There was nothing else to it.

But in this moment, right now, in the stifling silence and the breeze that flows through the opened window's because the air conditioning isn't working - Wooyoung notices things that he feels embarrassed to notice, or maybe he noticed them before but never allowed himself to appreciate them until tonight.

Like, how nice your bare neck and collarbones look now that your hair is pinned up in soft curls. A thin silver necklace graces your neck. Or how the two curled strands at the front frame your face prettily. Your eyelids are painted with something shimmery which Wooyoung doesn't know the name of and your cheekbones are a soft peach color intentionally placed there beforehand. 

Your glossy lips wrap around the ice cream cone and you bite off a huge chunk. 

"Why are you staring at me?" Wooyoung can decipher the question even through the mouthful of ice cream as you give him a slight glare.

Because you're pretty. Is what he wants to say, honest and bare, but he obviously can't because you're you and he's Wooyoung. "Because you have ice cream on your nose."

His hands tighten against the steering wheel when he sees you quickly look to the side and wipe at your nose self-consciously. You blush a scarlet red from the embarrassment. Great, now he feels like an asshole.

Wooyoung clears his throat, "Why did you look so sad? Back there, in front of the store."

He has no idea why he's trying to make conversation with you. You two never do that, never did. The closest thing to a conversation between Wooyoung and you would be the arguments you'd have in the middle of the school hallway when he'd tease you for your braces.

Those came off as well, by the way, he can see the pearly white teeth perfectly aligned now as you speak. No longer crooked. Maybe he'd like to see them pulled up in a smile but that's borderline wishful thinking now. You smiling at Wooyoung? Yeah, right.

"No reason." You tell him quietly, slumping in your seat as you continue to eat your ice cream. You sigh with an eyeroll, "Just...prom sucked."

Likely thing to happen.

The key is to go to prom with your expectations so low that you can only go up from there but Wooyoung had an inkling feeling that having low expectations wasn't in your nature.

Besides, you were a jock. He remembers even when you were a freshman, you were already running with the popular crowd without even being aware of it, with the athletes and the cheerleaders. Prom night is sort of a pinnacle of the high school experience for people like you.

Guess it's a bummer that you look like you had a shit time.

He hums, "At the end of the day, it's just another Friday night. Nothing special. So even if it sucked, you'll get over it."

Maybe he wasn't the best at giving advice or comforting people.

You side eye him and he pretends not to see it before you quietly add, "I don't usually spend a year worth of allowance on just another Friday night."

Wooyoung cracks a smile, teasing you being a second nature even if you barely spoke since he graduated, "What? Did you expect a prince charming to sweep you off your feet so you two can dance the night away or something? I didn't know you were into that corny shit, Y/L/N."

He hears you scoff, cheeks still red as you roll your eyes, seriously annoyed, "Whatever. Forget I said anything."

Wooyoung's gives a forced snicker just to annoy you before his smile drops again and his eyes flutter shut for a moment out of pure frustration at his own stupidity, internally cursing himself. If shooting yourself in the foot was a person - it would have Jung Wooyoung's photo and name posted under it.

Why can't you just be nice to her?

The air in the car turns even more awkward and Wooyoung shifts uncomfortably in his seat while you continue to eat your ice cream in silence as you stare through the window.

He slows down in front of your house just when you're finishing your ice cream.

You crumple the wrapper in your hand, place the second ice cream on the dashboard and grab the small bag laying on your lap before grabbing the door handle.

"I hope," Wooyoung starts and when you turn to look at him, he's overcome with a sudden coughing fit which is really just awkwardness and the need to fix whatever the fuck he broke a little even more tonight, "Uh, hope you took some good pictures tonight at least because..."

He trails off, feeling like it was his first time flirting with a girl. Wait, what the fuck. He was not flirting with you. Not even a little bit. Wooyoung was simply trying to pay you a compliment. Simple as that. It doesn't have to be anything more. You don't even need to be friends to pay someone a compliment, in fact, Wooyoung is positive that regular archnemeses complimented each other at least once.

Unfortunately, compliments aren't the norm between the two of you, so whatever nice thing he says feels wrong.

Your brows raise.

"You know," He trails off, scratching the back of his neck in an attempt to seem cool and collected. He nonchalantly adds but his side glances might give him away, fortunately you're too much of a ditz to notice, "You look good."

You stare at him for a long moment, seriously it's so long that he almost changes his mind and adds an insult just so you two would be back in those familiar waters of bickering and teasing each other but then your eyebrows fall back down and a scowl overtakes your features.

"Yeah, right." You mumble and Wooyoung almost feels insulted for some reason but then you continue, "Thanks for the ride."

And then you're out of the car and already moving across your front lawn before Wooyoung can snap out of it and remember to turn the car back on.

-

19 and 21 years old;

"10 more minutes! Y/L/N stop arguing with that asshole and get back into your position before you're out of the game completely!" 

Your coach is red in the face from all the shouting and you know what's good for you, so you keep your mouth shut as you run to your spot, thoroughly ignoring the glare your team's captain shoots at you from your right.

The 'asshole' that your coach is referring to is the referee who didn't count a player from the rival team almost breaking your leg by bulldozing into you - as a foul.

"-stole Eunha's position from her and can't even play properly." You hear a snicker behind you and don't even have to turn to know who it's directed at.

Despite it being only your first semester, you haven't made the greatest impression on your teammates (nor did you try all that much to change that impression). 

So for the time being, when there was no rival team, you were the collective enemy in the changing rooms and on the practice field. A freshman who kicked their friend from the spot she had since she started college. A freshman who thought she was better than the rest of her team. A freshman who didn't know how to behave at times. A freshman that made them run extra laps because she was bad at remembering all the new rules at times.

And now, a freshman that was playing badly and fucking up things for the rest of them.

"Y/N!" A hiss from your right is heard and your eyes zero in on your captain, Jihyo, who is staring at you. "Focus."

You swallow harshly and give her a quick now before focusing your gaze to the front.

In high school, you weren't used to losing. You were a winner, it's what you prided yourself in. Failure wasn't an option when it came to football.

But turns out in college, when all the other players are as good as you, winning isn't as easy.

In fact it’s a lot harder than you thought it would be. Nearing the end of the first half the score sheet is still empty and it annoys all of the players and the fans as well. The weirdest thing is how ball is not even on your team's side of the field most of the time; your defenders did not have a very entertaining start of the game in comparison to defenders from Busan, who already look out of breath from all of the attacks to their side. Not to mention that they keep teaming up on you specifically.

You can’t pinpoint what exactly is wrong and why there was no goal to this point; half of you thinks it’s because you didn’t blend well with the team. 

"Run, run, run!" Yeonjin shouts, when Sinb loses the ball and Busan’s midfielders rush to their side.

The spike of adrenaline energizes you and your eyes zero on the ball, running after it. Mina’s figure passes from your left and both of you corner the midfielder, successfully getting the ball to your side. You have it and quickly pass it to Yeonjin, seeing her signal for the ball. You watch her run off when a body collides with your own and the impact is so strong, you lose your balance, falling down.

‘What?’ You ask yourself in disbelief not understanding how you're sprawled across the grass again, slowly standing up. At first you're shell-shocked but now anger fills you to the brim when you see that it's the same girl who intentionally collided with you the first time, watching you with a smug smirk and then you're just  ready to fight.

 You push back at her and get even angrier when the bitch doesn't fall. 

"Are you going to go tattle to mommy?" She asks with a mocking concern and you can’t hear anything; you even forget that you are in the middle of the game because your anger turns your vision red. 

With a loud groan, you launch towards her and grab her by the shirt, screaming to her face that 'she's a cunt'. There are hands around you, pulling you away, trapping you and not letting you go even when you try to break free.

Jihyo's face is in front of you and you can't register what she's saying but you can see her turn red from how pissed off she is. Maybe it's better if you're not listening to her, if you can't hear anyone actually...but then-

"Hey, number nine! You better not fucking cry!"

At first, you think the loud yell came from somewhere on the field. You thought another player from the Busan team was talking shit. And then,

"Number nine! Crybaby!"

There's some laughter in the audience and it's then that you realize the voice is shouting from the fucking bleachers.

A teammate is already pulling you in the opposite direction but your eyes are glued to crowd sitting on the sidelines, the annoying voice insistently yelling. Crybaby. Crybaby. Crybaby.

The worst part is that the voice sounds so painfully familiar, you just can't put your finger on it. Who.

You're about to let it go. You're about to be the bigger person and not act like a total brute on the field, just let it go Y/N. But then-

"Hey, hey crybaby!" You stop in your tracks, head whipping to the direction the voice was coming from and eyes coasting over the bleachers. "What kind of hill did you roll down from that you don't even know how to push someone back properly?!"

Finally, you spot it. Him. In a red hoodie, making sure to stand out in the sea of blue. It's no wonder the voice sounded so eerily familiar, you've heard it screaming at you for the majority of your childhood and a good chunk of your teen years. 

Because he rolled down the same hill as you with only a street separating you.

When he realizes that you've caught onto him, he gives you that smile. That grin that never led to anything good, pearly white teeth gleaming under the lights of the bleachers as he taunts you.

You blood pressure jumps so, you take a deep breath and....scream;

"Jung Wooyoung!"

[ckret2]

So, uh...

How far are we from the next angst chapter? And how many chpaters/seasons do you plan on making (give or take)?

Asking for a friend.. 👀

Next angst chapter is... not far. :)

I can't answer the second question. Let me illustrate the problem.

Don't bother counting the blocks/color chunks, I didn't, this is just to illustrate the concept.

The chapters I've written, I've written. I know how many of those there are.

The chapters I've plotted, I have detailed outlines for. I know exactly what will happen in them and what order they happen in, and I might be able to guesstimate how many chapters they'll be.

The plots I've heavily developed are "episodes" where I have a really good idea what happens in them and a preeetty good idea what order they happen in, but I do NOT have a detailed outline, which means A LOT could change.

The FOG OF WAR (undeveloped plots) contains all the "episode" ideas I've had that I know I want to write, but I have NOT developed them in detail, I DON'T know what order they're in, AND MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF THEM might change. I have a few developed plots or plotted chapters that are floating in the fog of war because I don't know when they'll happen yet. I do not even know how many episodes are currently hidden in the fog of war. It's possible I haven't even thought up all of the episodes I'll put in this fic—I have several character development goals that I don't currently have an associated plotline for them to happen in. It's also possible I'll cut or combine some of the episodes I've already thought of.

I do not know how big the fog of war is. It's possible that it's about the size I've drawn it above. It's also possible that it's...

... like this.

What I do know is we're gonna be here a while.

As for "seasons," I'm only able to divide up a season 1 from a season 2 because there's part of the story with an EXTREMELY STRONG "season finale"-tier plotline, before and after which the story and its possibilities change drastically. The "season" division isn't a measure of length, but of plot stakes. There's a possibility there won't be a similar shift from a season 2 to a season 3+. The seasons could have any length relative to each other.

[rimeswithpurple]

Thank you @roomwithanopenfire, @talentpiper11 & @blackberrysummerblog for the tags! Everyone had a bit of a lie in this morning, the Little Purples and I went to see a Shakespeare on the Bluff performance of Much Ado About Nothing last night. I'm honestly surprised they made it through the whole thing since they didn't follow any of the plot, but they were very excited that the audience was encouraged to cheer, boo or shout out. Littlest Purple had the best time booing at the villain and even yelled "no" when Benedict proposed to Beatrice and that earned her a laugh from everyone around us.

I got quite a bit of drawing done! The line work on my COAR artwork is done and I'm so thrilled with it. I'm a sucker for detail and I had a lot of fun getting the Oxford shoes just right. I'm finishing up art for chapter 2 of my COBB. I have to stop myself from illustrating every scene, my partner has written so many scenes that beg to be illustrated! I've also been playing around with a fandom tattoo idea. The bun Baz looks so lonely and I really should get him shaded in too!

Side note, I've found myself listening to @youarenevertooold's podfic for Bazlow's Hierarchy of Needs every night when I sit down to draw. It's so funny and a chaotic Dev really is the best kind of Dev! If you haven't checked it out, you definitely should!

Simon's birthday is such a fun time of year and I loved seeing everyone's posts! I thought I might include some fun facts about my birthday spread below the cut, in addition to the tags

-I keep a journal of my baking and I had jotted down my pie in the sky idea for this year's birthday bake just hours after posting the butter cake last year. I never expected to be able to hit every item, but I surprised even myself and the only thing I didn't do was add flecks of edible gold paint to the petit fours

-I already have next year's bake plotted out and I think it's even bigger

-I had asked for a Fortnum & Mason hamper for my birthday after having read Snow for Christmas. I've given them as very special gifts in the past, but Daphne's love of it reminded me that I love it too!

-The pouring fondant for the petit fours can sense your fear and it's unforgiving. You have to commit to pouring it evenly and quickly because you only get one shot. My family was delighted to eat the rejects

-My hands were red for two days because I foolishly didn't wear gloves when I was making the wings and tails

-I mixed in little chunks of almond paste with the sour cherry scones and it was the best thing ever

-The checkerboard cookies were a reference to the battenburg cake I made last year

I have so much fun doing these birthday bakes! I love that it brings other people joy and the lovely comments I get mean the world to me! Although, I think from now on I may only do birthday bakes for Simon and Baz

Now, on to the tags!

@messofthejess @valeffelees @artsyunderstudy @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @youarenevertooold @bookish-bogwitch @facewithoutheart @thewholelemon @larkral @run-for-chamo-miles @fiend-for-culture @cosmicalart @mooncello @that-disabled-princess @cutestkilla @noblecorgi @iamamythologicalcreature @best--dress @emeryhall @ileadacharmedlife @drowninginships @supercutedinosaurs @whatevertheweather @rbkzz @ebbpettier @theimpossibledemon @katatsumuli @thehoneyedhufflepuff @theearlgreymage @theotherhufflepuff @onepintobean @orange-peony @hushed-chorus @fatalfangirl @ic3-que3n @bazzybelle @nightimedreamersworld @martsonmars @aristocratic-otter @shrekgogurt @monbons @alexalexinii @prettygoododds @ivelovedhimthroughworse @raenestee @skeedelvee

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

2025 TBR 📚

thank you @evilovesyou for tagging me! loved your post, lots to discover there...

BOOKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON MY NIGHTSTAND

shuggie bain - douglas stuart

i'm about halfway through this novel that i've been dying to read for a while now. i read young mungo, stuart's second novel, last year and it was an instant favorite of mine. and now i am absolutely devouring this one. it's set in glasgow, following the life of shuggie as he grows up with a mother that struggles very heavily with alcoholism. the hard life, described with love, without looking away from all the ugly parts, is what captivates me.

ulysses - james joyce

it is a huge goal in life to finish ulysses. i started a while ago (like.. 1,5 years ago) and now i'm about 1/3rd of the way through. i really enjoy it, but i don't have the proper brain for it every night. i know i will finish it eventually, because when i do have the right brain, i enjoy it a lot

after the revolution - robert evans

this is on my phone, for when i'm on the go and didn't bring a physical book. it's written by one of my favorite podcast hosts ever, and so far it's an interesting look into his brain tbh. it's an imagination of what the us would look like in the future, maybe fifty years from now, after a huge revolution has taken place and the country is split into warring factions. relevant... perhaps. (you can download it here if you want bc he is just like that)

BOOKS THAT I WANT TO READ AGAIN

i think i want to read the song of achilles again at some point. but i don't know. i think at this point in my life i'm so excited about reading new books, that i don't want to reread things just yet! but i have a few books i read when i was a lot younger and would like to read again, which will genuinely feel like i'm reading them for the first time. like some of the vonnegut ones i read almost ten years ago, or brideshead revisited, which i read before i was as adept as i am now at properly sussing out all the queer signalling.

BOOKS THAT I HAVE HAD FOR AN EMBARRASSING AMOUNT OF TIME WITHOUT FINISHING/READING THEM

books that i have started for a long time but haven't finished: ulysses huehuehuehueue buuuuut also lanark by alasdair gray. i've read it almost all the way through three times now lol, once for school and then twice since. i am captivated by this author's writing, since one of his other novels (something leather) is one of my favs of all time, but this is a brick of a book, set in a new world with a lot of unfamiliar scenes described in complicated language so... yeah. not an easy read. but i am determined to, at some point, read it all the way to the end.

as for the books that i've owned for ages but haven't read: the beat hotel - barry miles. i had a huge beat generation phase as a teen and i am actually still set on reading up on all of them. i have books that i bought back then and just never read past the first chapters. no idea why. third one in this line-up is a swim in a pond in the rain, which is basically literary theory poured into a nice book. it analyses scenes from russian literature. i once read a good chunk of it and loved it!!! and then i stopped lol. i had a major reading slump after 2019 ngl, which i'm only just coming back from. (so far i'm back up to speed when it comes to fiction, but non-fiction still needs a push, clearly)

BOOKS THAT I ALREADY OWN THAT I AM EXCITED TO READ

here's three, even though there are a lot more. my bookcase is a mess. but this year stephen fry is coming to my city to do a reading about mythos, so i will probably be reading that one first. i own troy, which i will probably read right before or soon after mythos. been loving all the books that help me brush up on my greek mythology. demon copperhead has been on my list for a while, and now my mom randomly found it in a little exchange library at the station. i think it'll be similar in vibes to shuggie bain, which i'm excited about. then i recently bought never anyone but you in a small indie queer/feminist bookshop in utrecht, nl. it's about the life of claude cahun and suzanne malherbe, two real historical figures from ww2 era france, who lived a beautiful, vibrant, artistic, but hard queer life. i already read a graphic novel about claude last year, so i'm excited to read this novel, which i assume will focus more on their love story.

i also wanted to mention some tbrs that i don't own and will probably download somewhere, because this year i want to focus again some more on politics and brush up on my knowledge and history of anarchism etc. so here's some of my (urgent) tbrs:

tagging.......... anyone who likes to read!! perhaps @persephoneflouwers @moonbeamalice if you feel like it <333

[altraviolet]

Hello Violet!!!

So I've been wondering about The Echo Garden, when you started it did you have a plan in mind? I think you get these sorts of questions often but, did you ever intend for it to get this big? And one final thing, when you went into The Echo Garden did you edit it as you go or did you write the whole thing out and then edited it? I love your work by the way, keep it up!

Hi potato-sauce!

[googles "potato sauce" to see if that's a thing, finds Czech recipe. oh hell yeah, that looks really good]

:D

>did you have a plan in mind?

I had the very rough plan of "Soundwave needs to go from not feeling to feeling, and then on the side I need to develop Soundwave/Rodimus in a realistic way against the backdrop of the Lost Light." Sub plans included "make the other alt-dimensioners each have a problem that SW solves" and "make the LL bots have different reactions to SW" and "uhhhhh he needs a hobby. crystals?"

My method of writing is more "discovery" than "planned," or at least it was until the end of the fic. Until, say around ch 40ish, I had Vague Ideas for what needed to happen in each chapter, and so I'd write them [aka each ch needs to complete X goals to push the narrative forward], and then as I went, my brain somehow magically sewed almost everything up together. Once it got towards the end of the fic, I could 'see' where things needed to end up. But even then, things were quite fluid when it came to sitting down and typing up any given chapter.

>did you ever intend for it to get this big?

No. I had no intentions at all. I didn't even have a GUESS or a THOUGHT it would get this big. The pairing was SO weird, I thought maybe 2 people would read it. Maybe. One of them has been with me since the beginning, and the other is a friend. I was SO sure everyone would go "pff weird" and skip over it. I was really nervous posting it, actually.

Keep in mind that the pairing is fairly well-known now, and that also a lot of people extrapolated soundrod from Cyberverse. so it doesn't feel weird now. BUT IT WAS INCREDIBLY WEIRD when I posted Ch 1

>when you went into The Echo Garden did you edit it as you go or did you write the whole thing out and then edited it?

I wrote it out over the period of 4 years and posted chapters as they were finished. anyone who read along as it was being posted would never know when a chapter would drop xD I tried very hard not to let too much time elapse between chapters, but sometimes there were large gaps. and other times I'd post 3 chapters within a week. I got too excited to dole them out more slowly, haha. I was bursting to share :D chapters usually came out on Sunday nights or around USA holidays, because I needed some temporal distance from my job in order to get my brain working

I don't think I could've finished the fic if I had fully written it out and then posted it. the comments I got while it was an ongoing WIP helped boost me and made me feel so happy, and that what I was doing was important and worth my time, and worth something to other people. without comments, the Echo Garden probably never would have been finished. that's why I always tell people to comment! especially on ongoing WIPs that you love. it's so encouraging and helpful for authors to know that their hard work is being enjoyed!

anyway I wrote each chapter and then edited the HECK out of it and then posted it when I was done. I also wrote a lot of things out of order, so sometimes when I got to the next chapter, I could grab a chunk of writing from my 'already written scenes' doc and then write around it to sew it into the existing story

the only editing I did after the fic was completely done was going through and fixing grammar/related mistakes. there are a couple things I would change, structurally, if I were going to go through and really edit it, as one should do with a novel. technically, the version on AO3 right now is the first draft! the fic could be edited further, but I'm going to let it stand where it is =)

thanks for the ask! cheers :)

[thedawningofthehour]

HOLY CHAPTER JUMPSCARES, BAT FAI!!!

I really did not expect a chapter today? I know some people already started winter vacations, but I was expecting a Friday or a weekend.

Ouch, as much as I want Donnie home by yesterday, even I think it's better for Splinter to solve his problems before then.

As much as I love Cass, part of can never forgets that she's doing all this willingly, Draxum modified her memories of Donnie, but that's as far as it goes. Everything else is 100% her, and I must admit that a very petty part of me expects the truth to hit her like a heavy truck.

Fuck You, Draxum. You inconvenient goat.

FINALLY LEO WILL DO SOMETHING!!! Part of me keeps forgetting Leo's leg, which FAI, is a very dirty move, I know fight scenes are hard, but come on! Leo deserves to split some ass! Maybe when Donnie comes back he can make him a brace to help him out.

Raph With armor!!! I'd be so excited if it wasn't for the fact that I'm pissed!!!! Why Draxum's Side has all the good stuff!!! I know it's because of Donnie, but come on!!!! I've been making a fanfic in my head for a year where Leo puts together his own band of rebels with the help of Kitsuné, Alopex, Angel and Fugitoid, it's super self indulgent full of magical girls and video game shit, oh, and musical numbers. And that's what helped me the most Cope with this.

OH COMO ON!, I really thought Raph would see Donnie's mask! He was so close!

Wow, that's different, the fact that Cass uses Donnie's original mystical weapon is interesting, I had also forgotten that Draxum took Raph's tonfas! FAI please, at least let them have their Ninpo weapons!!!!

Wait, part 1? FAI, normally I restrict myself from demanding quick chapters, but what's the chance of a new chapter before the end of the year?

I thought about waiting until the weekend, but meh. It doesn't seem to make a difference in readership anymore and I was hoping for a pick-me-up.

I really didn't want to neuter Cass for this. She's a sympathetic character but she is doing things objectively for evil, without really much of a justification. That's how she is in canon and I didn't want to woobify her. She has a lot of rage in her. Living with Draxum has been good for her in some ways and bad for her in others.

I know it's been a year for us, but in-fic it's only been a little over two months since the Book 2 finale. I'm actually cheesing Leo's recovery like crazy-a human would take months to even start trying to walk again, realistically Leo should be rolling around in a wheelchair. It's honestly bordering on unbelievable that he can walk across Manhattan like this. (I mean, he shouldn't be, but it's Leo)

Raph's tonfa will be returned to him-like the crystal Donnie stole from him, Draxum is very pleased by how adept Raph is at using them, and he'd be stupid to not let his son's bigass bodyguard use the best equipment he has at his disposal to protect him. And he always intended for the turtles to have them. He's just holding them for now, until he trusts Raph a little more.

And yeah, I figured we might as well add in the leftover weapon. Just languishing there like the third starter Pokémon no one wanted. Even a Gale who's more comfortable with magic and his own magical abilities would still prefer his tech, and Draxum and Tigerclaw don't really have fighting styles that suit it. But Cass also prefers pole and staff weapons, so it just fit.

I didn't want to promise anything because I know how I am, but I'm hoping the next one won't take too long. It'll be a lot shorter and I have a good chunk of it done.

And then I have part of the chapter after that written, because...well, you'll fucking see.

[kimmiessimmies]

The Mighty Excel Timeline

Well, part of it...

Because some people seemed interested in my Excel timeline after yesterday's SQOTD, I took that as a cue to tell you all more about it! What do you mean no one asked? 🤔

This is part of the Excel timeline, blurred because of MAJOR spoilers.

Most of the columns are pretty self-explanatory.

In the "Story" column, I type up the basic outline of that chapter. What is this one about?

In the "Scenes" column, I make notes about specific scenes I definitely want to include in this chapter. Usually, these are either random ideas that popped into my head, a line of text, or full-on detailed scenes I already conjured up while lying in bed or going somewhere on my bike (my main means of transportation).

In the " Title" column, I jot down possible titles, but these are not always set in stone yet. Wistfulness, for instance, had five other titles first. Other titles are definite immediately, like Release. There was no title more fitted than that one for that chapter.

The "Events" column is usually empty, but when a particular event is taking place, like a graduation, a wedding, or a festivity, I note it because I might want to incorporate it into the chapter.

The "Age Up" column exists because everyone in Honeycomb is created by me, and even though most of them are now background characters, I still like them to grow and age with the passing of time, so I make a note of who to age up when

The "Other" column is for noting things I wish to remember but that don't fit anywhere else.

I use colours to track my progress: green is finished; written, shot and published. Blue is written and shot but not yet published. Usually I only have one chapter in this stage, but I'm a bit behind on updating my timeline and the chapters both in blue here are Wistfulness and Bestseller. I've had Bestseller ready to go for ages, but other things took priority. I also use pink (not this pink, a much more muted colour, lol) to indicate written but not yet shot.

This timeline goes a loooooooong way down; this is really just a fraction of it. I add to it and adapt it constantly. I've completely redone a large chunk of it recently because of two stupid idiots in my story who messed everything up. And it's a butterfly effect, too. Changing something in this part of the timeline affects other things taking place much later, so sometimes there's a lot of adapting to do.

That concludes the essay no one asked for. 😊 Questions? Please ask!

[asleeponelmstreet]

Burnt (part 3)

Part 1 Part 2

Something is tainting your memories, so you turn to your knives as a distraction.

Tags: Blitzø x female reader, Alastor x female reader, a little bit of smut, but also lots of plot, oral (female-receiving), slight bdsm, slight non-con if you squint but also not, daddy kink because Blitzø, this is just a teaser for the smut to come, there will be smut, and it will be kinky as hell, implied drug addiction

wc: 4,158

Ugh, sorry it's been so long! I've been so busy that I haven't had as much time to write. And honestly, this chapter was a lot harder for me to write. Probably because it was all from scratch. Rough drafts for the first two chapters and several later chapters were written months ago. But I wanted to add this in. Don't worry! My goal is to not have as long of a gap between chapters from now on. I already have a rough draft for a decent chunk of the fourth chapter as well as several future ones written out. Enough of my groveling, let's get to the good stuff.

You can also read this on AO3 here if you'd prefer.

Minors DNI!!!

“On the bed,” the voice whispered against your swollen lips. But you wanted to fight back a little, so you reached up to grasp his chin pulling him for another searing kiss. He complied, kissing back only for a moment. A string of your saliva still connected you as he broke away. “Now,” he growled.

Much better. Your eyes raked over his half-naked body as you walked backward until your legs hit the edge of the mattress. You liked what you saw standing before you. His pants hung low on his hips, exposing where red skin met white scars on his torso. Those lean muscles drew you to the prominent bulge restricted by black fabric.

“What next?” You asked, baiting him. “Daddy…”

“Fuck.” He groaned before striding towards you and clutching your chin in his grip. “Lie back, bitch.” His other hand found your shoulder, firmly pressing you down until you bounced against the sheets.

Caging you in with his arms, he hovered over you. Red irises glowed in the darkness as he scanned your body. Watching as your breasts heaved under his heavy-lidded gaze. Heat swelled below your stomach and your breath quickened in anticipation. He captured your lips in another kiss, prying your mouth open and making you surrender to him.

A hand moved from where it was gripping the sheets beside your face and found your breast, groping roughly before tweaking your nipple with his sharp nail. You whined into the kiss, and he repeated the motion on the other before trailing down your abdomen to the last scrap of clothing left.

Your breath hitched as he slipped a finger under the waistband of your panties and snapped it back against your tender flesh hard enough to leave a mark. You let out a yelp, even though you could admit it was pretty hot. He beamed at you even as you were growing impatient. “Fuck, Blitzø. Stop playing with me.”

The imp shook his head as he tried to contain a chuckle. “Not so patient now, huh? Fucking brat.” He lifted your hips off the bed to yank them down your legs, leaving you completely bare. “Now, for the fun part,” he said as his hands cleaved your knees apart, spreading your thighs and exposing your throbbing sex.

He grazed his knuckles on your inner thighs before spreading open your folds. His eyes bore into yours as he flicked his forked tongue against your clit. “Blitz!” you cried out.

“That’s my name bitch, don’t wear it out,” he snarked before sealing your aching nub with his lips and sucking. His teeth grazed the sensitive bundle of nerves, making your eyes shut in pleasure. The image of the black heart-shaped skull on his forehead that the two of you shared framed between your quivering thighs imprinted on your mind.

You lost yourself in the feeling of him devouring you. Two fingers collected your arousal and sunk into you, quickly finding your g-spot.

As you threw your head back in ecstasy, you felt something shift. A vibrating sensation joined the mouth on you as static filled the air. You blindly reached out your hands to grab Blitzø by the horns, but instead you found cartilage covered in fur. “Look at me,” a new voice commanded – this one sounding disturbingly like it was being broadcast on an old-fashioned radio.

You jolted but a hand came to your hip, keeping you firmly pressed into the mattress. When you finally felt brave enough to open your eyes, the imp you had once loved had been replaced by none other than the radio demon. Somehow, Alastor was still sporting his signature grin as he gorged himself on your soaking cunt. His handsome face dripping with your juices as radio dials whirred in his pupils.

“Good girl,” he praised, clearly satisfied with your wide-open eyes. Your hips bucked as you struggled under his grasp. It egged him on. His tongue lashing at you as fingers prodded faster and deeper into you. The tension that had been building at your core hurdled towards your peak.

You screamed as you reached your climax. Tremors wracked through your body as you rode out the blissful feeling of that wicked mouth on you. And then he was gone. You startled awake. Alone in your bed. The twisted sheets around you were soaked in sweat… and something else even more shameful.

Fuuuuck. Eager to get out of the bed where you dreamed up that twisted scenario, you threw the blankets back and searched for a change of clothes. Your mind set on finding something to make you forget about that dream nightmare.

You watched as the knife soared through the air before finding its target. Sinking into the lavender skin between Valentino’s eyes. It was a picture of the bastard, of course. It was not as gratifying as it would have been to slice the oversized moth but satisfying, nonetheless. You had torn the photograph of the overlord out of a magazine you found in the hotel’s parlor.

Trudging up the slight hill, you retrieved the knife from where it was buried in the beat-up chair you had discovered gathering dust in a closet. You didn’t think Charlie would notice it gone. The red armchair furnished the Hazbin Hotel before it was remodeled. It somehow survived among the rubble left by the battle with the exorcists. But you would see that it didn’t survive your wrath.

You pulled out the other knives seated into his chest and crotch, revealing the scraps of flimsy paper that remained. You had begun your assault with his wings and skinny limbs, wanting to maximize his use and elongate the pain. He deserved it. For all the damage he had done. For all the souls he devoured. For Angel.

The photograph was torn to shreds so it was time for a new victim. Crumpling what remained into a ball, you hurled him aside with the picture of Mammon you annihilated earlier that morning. Slicing into the king of greed had felt just as good and reassured you that your aim was still perfect – even if you hadn’t thrown a single knife since moving in with the princess.

You picked up the magazine you had haphazardly tossed to the ground, flipping through the pages in search of a new target. You knew taping a page out of a magazine to a chair wasn’t the best setup for practice, but you were in a rush to find a good distraction. Your head still in a haze from what woke you this morning, refreshing this set of skills had been the first distraction that popped up in your mind. You needed this. So did your beautiful knives, having been neglected for too long.

An advertisement for VoxTek Enterprises caught your attention. Why would anyone be motivated to buy tech from an ad that merely depicted its CEO and founder? Vox must be a self-absorbed asshole!

You ripped the page out by its seam before realizing what you were doing. While aiming at Mammon, you thought of Fizz refusing to see you after the fire. You thought of the bruises covering Angel’s body after a long day at work when shooting at Val. There was a clear reason for your last two choices, but who was Vox for? You shuddered at the thought before brushing it aside. You would pretend it was only because you found the blockheaded overlord annoying.

With a new victim in your sites, you walked towards the hotel. This time you created more space between you and the chair than you had for the last round. A slight challenge would force you to focus, especially since your mind had been muddled with thoughts of the radio demon.Curling your toes into the soles of your shoes as if you could grip the dirt beneath your boots, you grounded yourself. You effortlessly shifted into a fighting stance while maintaining your balance. A slight breeze tickled your skin as you took in the peacefulness of your surroundings.

You always felt the most centered during times like these. The calm before the storm unleashed by your rage and power. That’s the real reason you sought out some target practice if you were being honest with yourself. You needed the fight to feel like yourself. Having abandoned it to aid Charlie on her mission, you were left feeling like a stranger in your own skin. 

Since you weren’t about to wake up Angel at five in the morning for some hand-to-hand combat or even a turf war, this shitty makeshift setup in the fields behind the hotel was the next best thing. And you could admit to yourself, that your ego needed this. After turning into a blubbering mess yesterday, you needed to reassure yourself that you were still deadly. 

Narrowing your focus to the knife in your hand and the distant target, you inhaled deeply. With a steady exhale, you let the knife slide out of your fingers and watched as it soared through the air. Your whole world centered on the knife as it made an impact, plunging between the spindly legs of the overlord. 

With a satisfied smile, you prepared yourself to replicate it. This time through his right eye. You weren’t exactly sure why you were driven to skip straight to the good stuff, but it felt right.

Everything around you slipped away again. Even the faint sounds of the wildlife surrounding you came to a halt. You aimed and pulled your arm back like before, but a faint buzzing sound crept up on you. A chill ran down your spine as you realized what it heralded. Before you could bring your hand down, fingers wrapped around your wrist and held you in place.

“And what do you think you’re doing, my dear?” He whispered, so close that static tickled your ear and danced across the nape of your neck. You could even feel his stomach pressed against your back since the radio demon was directly behind, mirroring you if it wasn’t for the extreme height difference.

“Let go,” you said to him through gritted teeth. He only inhaled sharply in response. Eugh. He was smelling you. What a freak. Your thoughts immediately jumped to regret. Thinking you should have probably showered before changing into your leathers. You hoped he wouldn’t scent the sweat and arousal from earlier this morning.

He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth before responding. “Not until you answer my question.”

“Get your fucking hand off of me,” you spat as you thrashed against him, struggling to escape his embrace. “I’m not afraid of you.” A lie.

“Oh, but you are.” His other hand curled around the nape of your neck, roughly pulling you backward and forcing you to look up at him. The twisting position was straining, and you wished you had the guts to truly fight back. But no matter how tough you were, he unnerved you, unlike any other sinner. With other overlords like Vox, you merely felt disgusted. But with Alastor… he was a creature like no other.

“Why would I be afraid of you?” It’s not like I have a soul.” You grumbled that last part. If you did have a soul at one point in your life, it could never go to Heaven, and you had snuffed it out like a flame years ago. Even if you did, you had never heard of a sinner owning a Hellborn demon before. Had you?

“You don’t?” The question was almost mocking, but you ignored him. You had stopped your efforts to escape, waiting for him to let down his guard or loosen the constraint he had you in. “If you’re not afraid of me, why are you trembling?” You hadn’t realized you had been shaking. You dropped the knife letting it clatter to the ground between you. That’s when he finally released you from his grip, allowing you to move several steps away before facing him.

“Don’t feel special,” you were going to leave it at that, but you continued with an excuse. A real one. Even if it wasn’t the only reason you were shaking in his arms. “Sometimes, I get a bit shaky. It got so bad when I was younger that my mother used to motion to me to keep my fork steady at the dinner table.” Why were you explaining this to him? And why mention your mother? Even the thought of her concerned eyes as she watched you attempt to eat without spilling made your chest tighten.

“I bet your target would disagree,” he said gesturing towards what remained of the chair.

“That’s different. When it comes to my knives, my mind is quiet. Same with guns. And hand-to-hand combat. Or anything to do with fighting.” Stop rambling, your thoughts screamed.

He hummed to himself thoughtfully. “Are you going to answer my question?”

Exasperated, you threw up your hands in the air. “Isn’t it obvious?! I’m throwing knives.”

“Do I need to remind you of the rules here at the Hazbin Hotel?” You rolled your eyes at that. Yes, technically, weapons were not allowed at the hotel. Before you arrived, it had been a much stricter rule but after the exorcists attacked, the new building was filled with weapons for defense. Others even had their own weapons: Alastor had his staff, Vaggie had her angelic spear and Angel had his tommy guns, even if he did hide them from Charlie. In your defense, everyone in the hotel was just about as deadly without weapons as they were with them.

“You know those rules are outdated. And I’m not even a guest.” You argued, folding your arms over your chest.

“Then, what are you?” He inquired.

“I-I help out.” Satan, why did you stutter? Probably because even though you had set out to help with the hotel, in the weeks since you moved in you had done nothing. You barely got out of bed that first week. You had felt so empty even with the promise of a purpose. Since then, you acted like a guest. Participating in Charlie’s exercises with Angel and the rest of the staff – excluding Alastor, who usually just watched from a dark corner – and generally just fucking around.

“And what exactly do you ‘help out’ with? What is your job title?” You stared blankly at him. He had you stumped. You should probably ask for a specific job from Charlie soon. To give your life meaning obviously, not just to get Alastor off your back.

You shrugged, trying to shake off the shame that flooded your body. Redemption was a lot further away than you thought. “I’ll figure that out.”

He chuckled and you fell silent, looking down at the knife that lay at your feet.

“You’re very talented.” Another compliment from the radio demon. That was the second one in two days. It was an effort to keep your mouth from gaping open. You didn’t want him to see your shock, but you knew from the smug look on his face that it was written all over your own… no matter how hard you tried to hide it.

“Thank you,” you said sheepishly as you refused to remove your gaze from the ground. You pushed the knife around with the tip of your boot. If you weren’t already red, you would certainly be blushing a deep crimson.

“Where did you learn to throw knives like that?”

“What kind of question is that? I live in Hell. Of course, I can throw a knife.” You rolled your eyes. “Duh.”

“That kind of precision is unique for an imp.”

You wanted to roll your eyes at that too, but you had already met your quota for this conversation. Throw in some cystic acne and you would revert to your moody teenaged self. “Imps can fight.”

“Not like that.”

“Fuck, old man. You can’t say things like that.” His eyes widened as if he was shocked that you bit back a little. Part of you enjoyed seeing him taken aback. Maybe, that’s why you decided to tell the truth. “If you absolutely must know, I worked as an assassin for a few years.”

“Were you any good?”

“At the killing, yes. But we ran our own business, and it was a fucking mess. I thought for a while that we had run it into the ground.”

“We?” Oh. You realized what you had implied and inwardly cursed your lack of filter.

“My friend and I,” you said, feeling weird about calling Blitzø your ex. “Apparently, it worked better without me. After I left, I started seeing billboards all over the city for his new and improved hitman service.” Even if it wasn’t your dream, it still hurt.

The look in Alastor’s eye told you that he sensed there was more to the story. More to your friend. It was almost sympathy if the radio demon could feel sympathy. Whatever it was, you hoped he would drop it. He looked like he would, but then he asked, “Why him?”

“Why who? My friend?”

“No, your target.” He drew your attention back to the present moment.

“Oh, Vox. He’s my latest. I had already obliterated Mammon and Valentino. I just picked a random picture out of the magazine.” You didn’t want to admit that you briefly thought of the radio demon when you had chosen to target the flat-faced corporate overlord.

“I understand Val, given your close relationship with our resident effeminate fellow. But then why Mammon?”

“Can’t I just hate the king of greed?”

“You can, but I was watching. You picked him first and it appeared… deliberate.”

“Let’s just say that I know on a personal level, he’s one of the worst kinds of demons.”

Alastor looked like he wanted to ask more, but you had avoided enough of his questions that you didn’t want to deal with it anymore. “So, if you don’t mind. I’d like to return to my target practice in peace.”

“Very well,” he began to walk back towards the hotel before adding. “I’ll see you in a few hours for another one of Charlie’s delightfully charming exercises.”

“You don’t even fucking participate!” You yelled at the back of his fuck-ass bob. A low chuckle accompanied by a faint crackle of static his only response.

Later that morning, you found yourself teetering on the top rung of a ladder while Angel stood at the base holding it steady. Ever so carefully, you placed a playing card on the top of the tall tower of cards that the group had been working on for the last hour. It was supposed to be a team-building exercise that followed a brief lesson from Vaggie about the power of working together towards a common goal. You understood what they were aiming for with this lesson and assumed it would benefit the hotel to have everyone working together. But you couldn’t help but wonder if Charlie was running out of ideas. How was this supposed to help sinners get into Heaven?

Two other ladders surrounded the comedically large playing card structure. Husk stood on one with Charlie keeping it steady as Lucifer stood on his tiptoes on the top of the other with support from Vaggie. It was a bit of a surprise to see him. He moved into the hotel a little while before you, but he was always holed up in his room. Likely working on his latest rubber duck invention. A particular quirk of the King of Hell that you found very surprising. Nifty was also there, banished to the sidelines after she knocked over the first tower halfway through while she was chasing after a nasty bug with her needlepoint. And not surprisingly, Alastor merely watched from a seat at the bar, taking in all the “entertainment” playing out before him.

Angel handed you another playing card to add to the outrageous pile and as he did, he threw a sly smirk Husk’s way. “You look good from down here,” your friend hollered.  The winged-cat demon growled in response, not wanting any of the attention that Angel gave him.

“Knock it off, Angel.” Charlie scolded. “We want our friends to be comfortable around us when we’re working together.” She was clearly trying to tie the lesson about teamwork in with one about Angel’s incessant sexual harassment.

“Don’t worry, Charlie. I’ll make sure he’s comfortable.” The lilt to his voice suggested he wanted to make the bartender a lot more than comfortable. In an instance, Angel let go of your ladder and strutted towards Husk with determination. “Are you sure you don’t want me… underneath you?”

It all happened so fast after that. Charlie chided him for not supporting his partner, but then let go of her hold as Angel neared. Husk didn’t notice as she moved to hold your ladder in place of his. She was clearly hoping the spider would at least support Husk’s ladder as he harassed him, but he didn’t. Husk let out a groan in frustration as Angel tried to sweet talk him before pounding his fists against the top of the ladder. That’s when the whole thing started to slant. Almost in slow motion, the ladder came crashing down to the floor and knocked over Lucifer in the process. The king of pride somehow fell forward into the tower, sending everything tumbling to the ground. Remarkably, your ladder was the only one left standing as the dust settled on the pile of cards, ladders and demons strewn across the floor.

“I’m fucking done,” Husk said, dramatically dropping the cards that remained in his hands before leaving the scene of the crime for the safety harbored behind the bar top.

“Yeah, I’m over it.” Angel added, puffing his chest out and crossing his legs casually as he sat down next to Alastor. The radio demon looked annoyingly delighted by the disastrous outcome of this silly little exercise.

“You know, what?! FUCK IT! I should’ve known you guys wouldn’t be able to work together on this.” Vaggie fumed, but her girlfriend moved close to her.

Placing a hand on the former exorcist’s shoulder, the princess tried her best to calm her down. “It’s alright, Vaggie. They worked together for a while and that’s all that matters.”

“And we got it like really tall before it got knocked over,” you said, trying to salvage a shitty situation. “I feel like that’s an achievement in and of itself.” You climbed down the ladder, joining everyone else on the solid floor.

Vaggie mumbled some Spanish curses under her breath before storming off in a huff. Before Charlie could follow, you stopped her.

“Hey, can I talk to you about something?”

Charlie’s head bobbed between you and the door Vaggie slammed behind her before deciding. “Uh yeah, for a minute. She probably just needs time to cool off. What’s up?”

“I enjoyed today’s lesson,” you started. It wasn’t exactly a lie since you had found yourself having fun at certain points. “But I wonder if were approaching this the wrong way?”

She rubbed at her shoulder, looking a bit nervous. “I’m glad you enjoyed it!” She blushed, but clearly something was on her mind. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” your words trailed off as you thought about the best way to put this without offending her. “I agree that teamwork is important. But I wonder if it would help to mix in a few lessons that focus more on the individual – since it’s an individual’s journey along the path to redemption. You said that not even the angels seem to know what it is that gets someone into Heaven, so what if its slightly different for everyone? Since everyone is their own unique sinner, what if their path to Heaven looks different as well.”

Charlie’s face brightened. You hoped it was a sign that this was going better than you thought it would. “I actually love that idea!” She said, excitedly. “Though, I’m not sure what that would look like. Do you have something in mind?”

“I was in and out of group therapy and rehab all my adult life. We did tons of exercises that I think we could adapt to fit our goal of redemption. Could I maybe pitch you a few options tomorrow and if you like one, we could do it the next morning?”

“Yes! Yes! A million times, yes! I should probably go check on Vaggie now but just let me know when you’re ready.”

A part of you wanted to stop her once more. To ask her for Asmodeus’s phone number, but you decided against it. What would you say to him? Or a better question, what would you say to Fizz if you spoke to him? But Charlie was out the door before you could muster up the courage to change your mind.

Hope you enjoyed! It's actually funny. Two of my best friends read the little smut scene out of curiosity while I was proofreading it. They're not familiar with either show, they're just horny and in love so they thought it would be fun. I cringed so hard, but their reactions were priceless. She's very prim and proper and hates words like pussy and cunt so she struggled but couldn't stop reading. My favorite comments were: Male friend: His skin is red? Female friend: Yeah, he's a demon. She watches this shit all the time. - M: His name is Blitzø?! What kind of name is that? - F: You said there's two guys? Me: Yeah, just wait. M: Oh, I think I found him. - F: You know I hate the word clit. Me: I use cunt later too. F: *shudders* - F: Folds!? Me: I thought you stopped reading it. F: I did, but I couldn't look away. - After they finished reading... M: Do you want feedback? Me: On the writing, yes. On my choices in men, no. M: *looks at me way too seriously* It's very well written. F: I can tell it's very well written, and I don't want to offend you but that's just not my thing. 20 minutes later, she returned... F: I really hope I didn't offend you. I know you're a good writer, it's just those words *shudders* Me: I'm not offended!

So... what did ya think? Hope you're not as grossed out by the words clit and cunt and folds as my friend. Luckily, her partner didn't mind. I don't know why but the scene with the knives was really hard for me to write. And honestly, the short little smut scene, too. For all the smut I read, I've surprisingly written very little smut. But I'm hoping to get better at it. There will be more smut to come. That was just a little teaser. And it will mostly be kinky because Blitzø exists and because well, I'm kinky. Anyways, hope you like it!

tag list: @sirens-and-moonflowers @whoknowswhoiamtoday @kisskissshutmydoor hopefully y'all are still interested in this story!

[99corentine]

Corentiiiine!

First of all I want to say that I love love love Gol Hah Dov! Definitely one of my absolute favourite fanfics of all time. I'm on my 5th or so reread at the moment and love it just as much as when I first ready it. The way you write the relationship between Miraak and Chrysanthe scratches that fated-enemies-to-lovers itch perfectly.

I loved GHD so much that it has inspired me to start writing my own Miraak/LDB fanfic, I have read most of fics available but want more! I have been planning it for ages (an embarrassing amount of time and many, many notebooks in fact) but have just started writing it out officially. The first chapter is very nearly done, and I have plotted up to the final act, but I just wanted to ask how you found the writing process and managed to keep motivated? I haven't evenn published it yet, but I'm already worried that it won't hold up to the other fics out there, especially one as amazing as GHD. I also fear I have bitten off quite a lot with the amount I want to write, and keeping momentum may be difficult.

Thank you again for sharing Gol Hah Dov with us! I look forward to reading Tooth for a Tooth, Tavstarion is another favourite ship of mine and if it's anything like your other fics I'm sure to love it!

Hello, and thank you so much for such wonderful words! I too have been re-reading GHD as I'm proofreading it one last time at the moment, and it's been interesting to see how my writing style and preferences have changed over the course of the story. I'm very proud of how it turned out, and endlessly bowled over by how many people have come forward to tell me they liked it. My dumb self-indulgent story about a 2011 game! It's crazy that it's had so much attention.

You can never over-plan for a story, so having a number of notebooks worth of planning is a great start! I would say you'll want to write the first few chapters before publishing it, just to assure yourself that you're going to keep writing - I have written loads of stuff I was sure would turn into an epic longfic and I never made it past chapter one or two, sometimes it's just like that. When you're confident you'll keep going, publishing it will then motivate you to do more.

I've covered a little of my writing process in this guide I knocked together (which you may have already seen). I'd say specifically for writing motivation, these three things work for me:

Absolutely DO NOT discuss the plot or story arcs in great detail with anyone, as mentioned in my guide this will demotivate you to actually create a finished piece of writing. Holding onto that cool plot thing you want to show to the world and what people's reactions to it might be will fuel you to Write The Thing

Sometimes it's hard to get stuff down on paper, and when that happens eventually I just brute force it: sit down, no distractions, no phone, and force myself to write something, anything, even if it's garbage. I kind of hold myself hostage sometimes, e.g. I'm not allowed to watch this TV show/play this game/do this other project until I've worked on this one

It's helpful to break writing down into smaller chunks. You mentioned you've bit off a lot, can you break it down into story arcs or segments? If you do you'll be writing not to the end (a distant and unattainable-feeling finish line), but just to the end of the next story arc, which is less daunting.

As for quality, I wouldn't worry about that because you'll improve over the course of your story. I loved the events in the early chapters of GHD (scary Miraak is my favourite Miraak) but I think the writing of the later chapters is much, much technically better, because writing so much made me improve. We're also our own worst critics, of course! So your writing is likely better than you think, and it can only grow.

Best of luck to you with it! A longfic is no easy endeavour (and Tooth for a Tooth is probably going to be enormous too...) and it takes a lot of patience and perseverence, but I believe in you!

[sawrinwrites]

March Content Plans (Long Update)

As it is now the 25th here in frosty England, it has officially been 2 months since I published my first piece of fan fiction. In that time, I've released:

A one-shot containing my first ever attempt at both monster smut and an explicit F/F sex scene (which is currently my most popular work????)

A low angst (I know, I can't believe it either) romantic one-shot from the POV of a golden retriever

4 chapters of an emotionally intense story that is so far from my usual writing style I have to re-read earlier chapters to remind myself how to write it (a deliberate stylistic choice but boy, am I paying for it)

3 chapters of what was meant to be a fun side project and is quickly turning into something deep and dark and wonderful in its own right

All in all, that's 4 bodies of work spanning 57.7k words released over a period of 9 weeks (not including the 15-20k which got rewritten / replaced / outright cut). Which is, for me, insane. It's also a pace that I won't be able to maintain going forward, so for the sake of setting expectations (my own, more than anyone else's), here's the current plan for March:

The Monsters At My Side And In My Shadow Ch 1-3 update Given that this has gone from "werewolf smut hiding in a multi-chapter fic" to "multi-fic exploration of abuse with a healthy dollop of smut", I want to revise what's already been released to better align with what I have going forward. There won't be any plot / event changes, scenes that get altered will be getting either an expansion or a rewrite, depending on the work needed (which will include adding more smut-adjacent content because it's currently lacking and I want it to be better).

Untitled - An Ember POV Story to Celebrate 1yr Since The Bees Kissed (March 25th) @reeves3 put the idea in my head and now I have a collection of outlines covering various points in Yang and Blake's relationship all told from the perspective of the Best Girl. They won't come out in chronological order as I'm looking to line them up with various events, but the current plan is that March 25th will cover the introduction of a new member into the Xiao Long-Belladonna pack.

Additionally, I'd like to release the following chapters but I am forcing myself to accept that these will likely get bumped to April:

The Monsters At My Side And In My Shadow Ch 4

Shattered Divinity Ch 5

There's a few reasons for the (temporary) slowdown in content:

I am supposed to draft 1 - 3 OC novels this year (the mistake of mixing alcohol with an empty resolutions boards and the word "bet") and I need to dedicate more time than I have done to those projects to have any hope of doing that.

Rather than wait for the fan fic writer's curse to hit, I've gone and done it to myself by buying my first house. The offer got accepted yesterday, so now I have to deal with the joys of legal and financial paperwork. And start prepping for a move. And every other stressful time consuming thing that comes from this period. Don't get me wrong, I am fucking ecstatic, not least because it means me having an actual bedroom for the first time in almost 4 years, but the next steps are going to take a chunk out of my usual writing time.

@kaelidascope is about to drop a veritable feast of content. Look, I'm not subtle about how much I enjoy her work. She's my favourite fan fic writer. She's probably one of my favourite writers period on account of the emotional damage and veritable joy Mightnight Menagerie has brought me. And I'm not just saying this because she's been exceptionally complimentary of my own work (which, by the way, I am still freaking out over). She is one of the main reasons I started writing fan fiction. If it wasn't for the original Beestfic, I'd never have written The Hunt. Which means I'd never have had the concept ideas that initially led to starting The Monsters At My Side And In My Shadow, and without that fic, I wouldn't have had the 3 experimental scenes between Yang and her grimm which ended up inspiring the idea to write Best Laid Plans from Ember's POV. So I will be setting aside some time (translation: every waking moment I have during release weekend) to thoroughly immerse myself in the relaunch. Also there's two Menagerie chapters due and the previews are already threatening my analytics brain and unfortunately it takes time to launch that kind of assault on AO3's comment section.

So yeah. A few things going on in March. I'm gonna try and do this as a rolling monthly thing going forward in lieu of trying to have a timed release schedule. Hopefully the April one will be a bit lot shorter.

[valeria-garza-enjoyer]

Your writing style is absolutely phenomenal! Wow I don't think I've ever been so engrossed in a short story before! It's amazing and I love everything you write!

TYSM !!!! i feel like a little bacteria exponentially growing bc this fic started with a little one off chapter that was kinda short and as the brainworm grew i wrote more and learned how to more efficiently use rhetoric like repetition and similes and i cant help but want to keep tinkering with previous chapters every time i write a new chapter.

its kinda why ch 4 took so long bc i had so many hurdles getting the thoughts onto my doc properly, which is also my problem again with ch 5. ch 5 is theoretically about half way done, and its hard to explain the problem im having without spoiling it, but the main chunk of what i have written just feels rushed and quick to me. Like i want to sit on it and expand the narrative but i dont feel like i could give it justice. This is also why the rape scene is kinda sorta just mentioned in ch3 and doesnt go in depth like other scenes do. I dont feel like i have the depth and true capability to give that anguish words so i tried to keep it in the same tone and almost fluffed up/poetic prose. if i could go back right now i think id try to expand it more but for my abilities i like how it came out.

so yeah thats ch5 and some other thoughts rn BUT i can say im about halfway done with the valeria/reader separate fic. idk if i said this in the last ask but it uses the headcannon of the broken rosary and her upbringing so theres that crumb if i didnt already give yall that :3 i think im leaning towards more fluff/silver lining ending which means id give it a second chapter for pacing but yeah that should be up on ao3 in the next few days if i dont forget.

i love every ask/comment i lets me know yall like what im writing and im not alone in my insane love for this collection of pixels made by infinity ward. ALSO i am planning on cross posting all of valerias florecita here one day. maybe when its done idk (i dont like saying that bc i dont like the thought of this thing being done. like wdym this behemoth of a fic is done? I spent so much time and energy on it what do i do now??)

[corishadowfang]

Do you have any notes or extra details about the most recent chapter of Fallen Stars that you’d like to share? (If not, any clues for what’s to come?)

YES LOTS ACTUALLY but the big chunk of that is going to be shared after the next chapter, haha. Basically I like...had A LOT of foreshadowing and setup for the whole "Brain becomes a Darkling, dies, and is resurrected" thing, and I wanted to create a post kind of going over everything that I can remember (there's...a lot, and my memory is sometimes fuzzy, aha, so there might be things I miss). Buuuut some of that stuff ALSO relates to next chapter, so I can't talk about everything yet. (Though if you want a hint...I kind of jokingly nicknamed chapter 8 "Foreshadowing: The Chapter," and some of that is more for stuff next chapter...)

THAT SAID--I CAN still give some little tidbits about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff for this chapter:

Brain's death scene has actually been written for...a couple of months, I think? Which is weird to say, because I wrote it during one of the other climax chapters, so story-wise it hasn't been that long since it was written...

(You know that post where it like...has this picture of a writer crying and then grinning evilly as they inflict a scene on their readers that also made them cry? That's me with this. I've been sitting with this in my head for over a year and with it in a document for a few months, and now I finally get to make it everyone else's problem, haha.)

There are three lines that hit pretty hard when writing them. The first two are from Brain's death: the almost "Love you" and Skuld's "Please don't die" after he's already dead. The third was "What am I supposed to do if it's not my fault?" which is the third time I've written something for this story, felt like something slammed me in the chest, and just had to sit with it and go, "Alright, we're unpacking that later."

For this chapter, I specifically left out end notes/opening notes (beyond the content warnings and summary) because I was trying to make everything feel very...quiet. I wanted to let the impact of the moment kind of sit with people, so I tried to pull myself out of the chapter as much as possible.

I decided to get a little meta with this chapter, haha. So stories are kind of a Big Thing in Fallen Stars--how people become legends, and how those legends affect and control people (including those they were based on), and how Brain's and Skuld's stories have kind of already been written. Except, of course, Skuld changed hers. Brain's death was planned from the beginning, so both in and out of universe he was doomed by the narrative. And then Luxu comes in--who is both the narrator, and a character in the story, and kind of like...a bridge between the two. So when he asks Skuld if she wants to change fate as the narrator, he's basically giving her the ability to affect the narrative like...in general. I kind of wanted to show that through additional "Content Warning" at the end; it changes from "Major Character Death" to "Temporary Character Death" to kind of signify that Skuld is actively taking back control of her own narrative.

Kind of less a note on the chapter itself and more a kind of funny post-canon thing, but I like the idea that eventually Brain and Skuld get to the point where they're able to like...make jokes about the situation, i.e. stuff like:

Skuld, frustrated because Brain stole the last cookie or something: "I'm going to kill you."

Brain: "You did that already."

Onlookers don't know if they're joking or not.

[dragonnarrative-writes]

1, 3 and 34 for the writer ask game!

Hello my friend! 💜

Do you prefer writing one-shots or mulit-chaptered fics?

Well... I think right now I prefer writing multi-chaptered fics, but I have a few one-shots in the works.

I like a long story, and I like the way the physical break between chapters changes how I read and write stories. As much as I hate a cliffhanger, I love the way a page break adds to the tension of a story.

I also like multi-chaptered fics as a writer because it lets readers interact with me and influence the story. The Gaz and Soap interludes in Slasher Handler came from asks, and they helped me flesh out their characters in my head and decide where the story is going. @mi-i-zori had a huge hand in helping me decide how I want Simon and Bambi to interact in Transferrable Skills.

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

Whoo. This will be long!

First, I do an "Okay So...!" summary. Basically, I ramble in the discord or write in a physical notebook anywhere between a sentence and (checks notes) 1500+ words. It's a bit unorganized. Some of it is quotes, a lot of it is "script" format dialogue, most of it is rushed transitions. There's a lot of placeholder text that represents its own couple of paragraphs.

(For example: I'm working on making the idea from this post into a one shot. That bit of ramble is 222 words. That part of the story that I'm actually writing became 1931 words. It's gonna be a long-ass project.)

From there, I workshop with friends and my partner. If I'm rambling directly in discord, I'm rolling with some of what my friends are telling me. My partner asks me the really annoying necessary questions, like "why this scene?" and "does that help get you to the smut?" and "are you letting your blorbo be a blorbo or are you trying to force a story you don't want to tell?"

Then I write a first draft. Sometimes the first draft is the only draft, but that's not the case very often anymore. I try to let myself be wordy and imperfect. Get the more detailed idea out in chunks of a few paragraphs, then reread and put in more details.

If there are multiple people in a scene, then I start with dialogue and inner thoughts, then physical actions. In this chapter of Autumn Embers, I wrote the dialogue between Gaz an Wildfire without any direction, then added in the handshakes, Wildfire arching an eyebrow, stepping to the side of the walkway, etc.

Then I let my partner read it! And he points out all of my typos.

Then I shuffle paragraphs around, and fill in spots that become a bit awkward, and then I show my partner again. And then I share it in the discord. Then I unashamedly BASK in the endorphins I get from my friends interacting with the story.

Then I rinse and repeat! Eventually, I identify where the chapter breaks are going to be, if I haven't already.

I do most of my writing in Scrivener, which allows you to write documents within documents and move them around. Sometimes I have chapters already separated. Sometimes I keep a long "working document" and then break it into chapters.

Tagging the people who I riff with often: @sentientcave, @gemmahale, @mortuarywriting, @mi-i-zori, @cordeliawhohung, @cosmicpro, and I'm missing so many other people who's blogs I can't recall off the top of my head or don't know if they'd be okay being tagged.

34. Five years from now, where do you see yourself as a writer?

Five years from now I'll still be writing fanfiction, though I'll probably have moved to other fandoms by then. I think I'll probably still write CoD, since I still love all of my past blorbos.

I think that by 2029, I will also be finishing up editing an original novel that I want to publish, if I'm not already publishing the second one. I've already written most of 3 novels, and plan to do another one next month.

I do not see myself writing full time, or relying on it as a source of income. I wouldn't be opposed, but I want my writing to be for me, first and foremost. When it's a job, it becomes about what other people want, and I don't think I'd be ready for that by then. Still, it would be fun to get the original stuff out there.

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