#although I really wish I could remember who wrote that fic

[bealovesmarauders]

cardigan / james potter

⋆ ࣪.      ⁺⑅     ⋰˚     *.ﾟ    .˳⁺⁎˚     ˚⁎⁺˳ .    ༺ ˖

james potter x fem reader 

angst

word count: 1.1k

in which james knows she’s the wendy to his peter, but she keeps slipping from his grasp

but i knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss, i knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs

a/n: sooo i was originally gonna make this a folklore love triangle series but i wrote this oneshot cause its all i had energy for and i actually love it kinda but i hate it at the same time since it’s so so rushed- i really wanted to get something out for you guys. i don’t even really know how to categorize it because there’s not even that much dialogue or characterization, it’s more just my interpretation of a cardigan james potter fic. this isn’t proofread haha so i sincerely apologize for any errors. i might make an august and a betty oneshot as well but this is what i have for now because i’m super burnt out! thank you for reading, i love and appreciate you all <3

requests are open!

⋆ ࣪.      ⁺⑅     ⋰˚     *.ﾟ    .˳⁺⁎˚     ˚⁎⁺˳ .    ༺ ˖

she’s walking along the side of the road when it hits her. it’s late, rainy. the faint glow of streetlights above her provide all the light she needs. but the darkness, the lack of laughter- his laughter- is what makes her remember.

it wasn’t always lonely with james. he’s always emulated love and light. at one point, she thought he was overflowing with it. love poured out of his words, his mouth, his lips. stars spilled from his eyes, that ever-present twinkle. his hands made magic. everyone who’s met james has always known this. but she, naively, thought there was enough of his love to go around.

it had run out in august. the apologetic phone calls stopped coming, and so did he. there were no more pebbles thrown at her window late at night, no more secrets shared in the stolen hours that james spent in her bed, sneaking back out of the window at dawn as if he was never there in the first place. she would watch smiling from the windowsill as he climbed down the lattice, nimbly jumping the last few feet and blowing her a quick kiss. and as the sun rose, she would observe silently, wondering how lucky she was to be in love with a boy like james potter.

but she doesn’t watch the sun rise anymore. how can she, when it is what reminds her the most of him? she doesn’t do a lot of things anymore. she’s quieter now, a shell of a girl. she doesn’t talk for hours on end now, playing with the cord of the landline, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. softly-whispered “i love you”s are reserved for diaries and love letters he’ll never read now, not james on the other end of the phone. and try as she must, she can’t stop remembering the sound of his voice: warm dark roast, the texture of crushed velvet armchairs. the way he talked too fast sometimes, words jumbled together from enthusiasm. the way some of his words were thick over the phone, muffled by pillows pressed against his face, and others were so thin you could hear their hearts beating through the line. 

and then all of the memories and sacred words shared, were gone in the span of a single song.

the streamers had adorned the school gym. her favorite song was playing- how could she not dance? and james wasn’t there yet, although he’d said he would be. sure, he had a tendency for being late. but he loved her- right? later he would argue that she danced with that guy from math class just to make him jealous (which, admittedly, was not a difficult feat- james was infamous for his protectiveness)- but in reality, all she wanted was a chance to spin in her highest heels. to shine.

but james was arrogant, too. he’d danced with lily evans just to spite her back, and when she’d spotted him from the far side of the gym, she’d fled. she saw it in his face- the way something had changed. and so she walked home on cobblestone streets, holding her heels in her hands, wishing she’d never needed to shine in the first place.

she can’t forget any of it. not when he came to her door, that night of the dance. standing in the soft light of the porch at midnight, a frown muddling his features, a bouquet of flowers in his arms. lilies and hyacinths and daisies, her favorites. in fact, all three are planted in her garden. she often dreamed they’d get married there- a backyard wedding, with friends and family and florals everywhere. she would wear a flower crown with her veil, and james would have some sort of pretty boutonniere. but that image had been fleeting, drifting from her mind as she’d accepted his apology, and given one back. he’d pulled her into a deep hug, but she remembers him turning around to walk home. he’d given her a smile she couldn’t quite decipher, a look of bittersweetness and sadness and love all at once. his dark brown eyes bore into hers, but the usual smile-crinkles on his face were gone, and his curly hair fell flat, illuminated by the streetlights. 

she’d known, then, that he wanted more. but up until summer, she’d still thought that was enough.

they’d gotten into another fight in july. she can’t even remember what it was about now. she can’t remember a lot of things. but she’s never forgotten his words.

“i’m only seventeen, i don’t know anything, i’m sorry, i-”

her response had been bullets, words ricocheting off the walls. “you don't know what, james? if you love me or not?”

of course he had. he was james potter, after all- the type of boy to stop the car on the side of the road to pick flowers, the type of boy to wear red converse and learn how to braid hair, the type of boy to know if a girl was the one on the first date. he wasn’t the kind of person who stood there, tongue tied, eyes brimming with hurt, and stayed silent.

but humans are messy, complex, inexplicable. they constantly change, and he had changed right before her eyes. the shell of the boy he used to be, with no reason other than the summer sun.

so then came august, inevitably. a blur of strawberry blonde sand and salty waves, long legs twisted in bedsheets and sunkissed skin fading into memory. james had laughed away his emotions; she’d cried them all out, every last teardrop. they were right back at square one, two sides of the same coin. and now here she is, under the same sky he’d kissed her for the first time under, wondering how on earth anyone could ever stop loving james potter.

because the truth was, he was her neverland. that childish grin of his, the way he could transport her back in time by weaving a daisy crown or putting on a nostalgic song on his record player. but he’d always thought she was his tinkerbell, forever by his side and sprinkling fairy dust wherever she went. he could patch her broken wings- he knew he could. but the thing about wendys, true wendys, are that they grow up without notice sometimes, and oftentimes they possess a sense of vulnerability that peter pan will always shy away from. 

she was magic, but she was also james’s cardigan. whenever he put her on, called her his favorite, the warmth of their relationship seemed to ebb away. moth holes appeared- tattered sleeves grew tight- and time passed. but he always came back, and she always let him back in. the wendy to his peter, forevermore.

#james potter my beloved #james potter #james potter x reader #marauders #marauders x reader #james potter x fem!reader #james potter x female reader #james potter x female!reader #james potter fic #james potter oneshot #the marauders #the marauders fanfiction #marauder x reader #james potter imagine #james potter fluff #james potter angst #james potter fanfiction #james potter drabble #james potter drabbles #james potter headcanon #james potter is the sun #james potter blurb #dead gay wizards #marauders era

[pjshermann]

Harold Headcanons

He always wanted to become a writer. His ambition to study law was something that came later in life, in his adolescence. But ever since he was a young child, he loved to write. He’s proud of his work as a law professor, but the real pride of his career are the books he’s written.

After adopting Jude, he went to visit his parents’ graves and told them about his new son. He wished they could have gotten to meet Jude before they passed. He’s knows that they would’ve loved him. -

Before he went grey, his hair was a very dark, almost jet black colour

You have @bombaciouscaboose to thank for this one, but I headcanon that after Jude’s attempt, while he was still unconscious, Harold would sit by his side and read from the Torah or recite prayers. He was never the religious sort, but he found himself turning to prayer after nearly losing Jude

Besides his insatiable sweet-tooth, his favourite kind of food is anything and everything Italian.

His first date with Julia was inviting her over to his place and cooking her dinner. The food was a disaster, but they had a great time regardless, eating takeout in Harold’s living room

Keeps Jude’s law graduation photo on his desk. Both at his home study desk and his office desk at his university. (I actually wrote a fic about this teehee check it out on my ao3 PJShermann)

When Laurence had his twin daughters, he gave both of them the middle name "Harriet" after Harold. Harold cried when he found out.

When he and Laurence were in law school, they had made a similar pact/plan to what Jude and Willem had made for the Camino de Santiago pilgramage route, only theirs was the Via Francigena pilgramage route. The year they were meant to take the trip, was the year Jacob fell ill. They never went.

Speaks a little Russian, because he learned from his grandparents. Though now he can only remember a few phrases and lullabies (one of which he sang to Jude when he had his episode) because he stopped speaking it after they passed.

Actually doesn't really care much for gardening, but Julia wanted a garden in their house, so he helped her plant one and contributed to it's maintenance. When Jude comes along, although he's happy enough to delegate the maintenance to him, he hangs around outside while Jude gardens. He finds that it's during this, and while Jude is cooking, that Jude seems his most peaceful, most relaxed, and he's more likely to hum or sing quietly to himself, so Harold likes to be around to be able to witness it.

Out the four boys, the one who reminds him the most of Jacob in terms of his personality, is surprisingly, Malcolm.

Got his love of writing from his biological mother. Though he hardly knew her since she died when he was too young to remember and Adele was a constant mother-like presence throughout his life, his father gave him his mother's old journals, within which she wrote almost every day, up until the day she died. When he wrote his first book, after his father read it, he'd said to him "You write like your mother did".

Liesl was the one who first asked him out, instead of the other way around. They met through a high-school friend of Harold's, whom Liesl was cousins with. Their first date was to see the opera The Tales of Hoffmann

Get's his affinity for petnames from his father. He used petnames often for Jacob (Buddy, sweetie, my darling) but with Jude, he didn't use them simply because (without knowing really why) he felt Jude might be uncomfortable with them.

He kept a collection of all of the little knicknacks and gifts his grandfather used to give to him. It's why he usually gives Willem a little toy or trinket on his birthday.

On November 10th, the anniversary of Jacob's passing, he takes a long trek around the city and doesn't come back until very late. Part of the reason why he's so ecstatic around Thanksgiving is to deflect from the knowledge that it's the month that Jacob passed in.

Was on his high-school's tennis team as a teen, and they went all the way to nationals (Though they ended up losing then)

When he first met Willem, he hadn't remembered him from the men's suit store he frequented and Willem worked at, until Willem mentioned it to him.

#a little life #a little life play #harold stein #jude st francis #een klein leven #a little life book #headcanons #a little life headcannons

[baxteravenue]

Off The Record

Summary: A lot can happen in a week when you get sent to Louisville to spend some time with Jack Harlow in his home city and interview him for the magazine you work for. 

A/N: Longest fic I’ve written and some of you may not like it but that’s fine I wrote this for me and whoever wants it. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed writing. 

With the rise of Jack Harlow almost every major magazine company wanted an interview with him, you knew that your magazine company would eventually get its turn to interview the enigma of a rapper that was Jack Harlow… you just didn’t expect it to be you. 

You were on a red eye to Louisville, and although you had the choice to sleep you chose to open up your journal and write down some more questions you wanted to ask Jack. You’d be spending the week with him and didn't want any moment to get awkward, so you were collecting as many questions as you could ask him to fill in any silence.

What was the best part about growing up in Louisville? Boring.

If you could be any Peaky Blinders character who would you be? Random.

A song you wish you wrote? Okay.

Lil Secret or Side Piece? That could stir the pot.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts as we are now being prepared to land into Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport where the local time is 7:32 AM.”

You slide your journal back into your backpack, making sure you had everything you needed before departing your plane in search of your luggage. Your phone hadn’t stopped buzzing as soon as you took it off airplane mode. 

“Hello?” You answered.

“Y/N, you good? You got there safely?” Your boss asked, almost yelling over the phone, “Remember you’re meeting him tonight at 8 at the restaurant in the hotel at 8.”

You nodded, looking over all the passing luggage watching for yours. “I know, I know. Trust me Terry, I will be there and I will discuss his schedule to make sure we get everything.”

You knew how much was riding on this piece, it was one of your magazine’s biggest issues yet and god help you if you messed it up. 

“Alright, please call me right away after the dinner to let me know how it goes you know---”

“Found you!” You yelped, grabbing a hold of your beat up light pink luggage that looked like it was on its last leg, “Sorry Terry, I just was looking for luggage. Look everything will be fine, you can’t hover over me, you know how I get it and it doesn’t help that you assigned me to this guy who seems to have the whole world either wrapped around his finger or at his neck!”

This is not what you wanted, you were doing so well but Terry always knew how to somehow work up your nerves and never in a good way. 

“Alright… I’m sorry kid. Look, I know you got this, it's why I chose you so just call me at the end of the seven days. Good luck.” The phone goes silent and you know he’s hung up. 

You sigh, you really need to get some sleep or else you are sure to scare Jack Harlow off at dinner and that’s what you did, drifting off into a slumber as soon as you reached the 21C Hotel. 

You woke up to your alarm clock from your phone blaring, letting you know it was now five in the afternoon and that you had to get up. You didn’t have a difficult routine, you weren't someone that had a million steps in their self care routine but one thing you did need was clean hair. 

After your shower and everything you had almost an hour and a half until dinner and you were already getting a bit hungry so you decided to go for a walk to not only let your hair dry but get something simple that wouldn’t fill you up but keep you satisfied until your dinner. 

“Uhm, I’ll take a double chocolate fudge on a waffle cone,” You smiled at the man serving your ice cream. 

“You liking Louisville so far lil lady?” He asked, making you laugh.

“I look that out of place?” You looked down at yourself, “I think I could pass for a local.” 

He laughs along, nodding. “Your accent, you got a little Kardashian going on.”

“Oh wow,” You grabbed the cone paying the man. “You’re on the nose but I can’t lie, that's a bit eye opening.”

“It’s all good sweetheart, you enjoy your time here Louisville gots a lot to offer if you let it.” 

You let the man’s words ring through your ear as you ate your ice cream on your walk back to the hotel stopping by the waterfront and taking in the view. You couldn’t post any pictures while you were in Louisville to keep the issue a surprise but that didn’t stop you from taking them. You had brought your film camera to take some candids and what not for the issue.

Your earphones were blaring as you got into the elevator ready for it to take you to your floor before a hand made its way in between opening it trying to open it back up. You quickly pushed the open button not wanting this man’s hand to get crushed. 

“Thank you.” The familiar voice and face of Jack Harlow had come into your vision. “I don’t know what I’d do without my hand.”

You laughed, “Uhm it’s fine.” 

He gave you another look, before smiling. “Hey you’re Y/N Y/L/N, right?”

You nodded, “Yeah sorry, I didn’t want to make it awkward if I just introduced myself and stuff, I was gonna wait for dinner.” 

“No it’s cool, I recognized you. I stalked your twitter since your Instagram is private.” He spoke before, shaking his head, “That’s weird… I mean like I was researching you? Which doesn’t sound that much better either.”

You laughed, making him laugh. “I suppose that's my job not yours.”

“I had to know who I was going to spend a whole week with, I was just about to go up to your floor and ask if you were ready for dinner.” Jack smiled, as the door opened letting you both off at the same floor. 

You looked down at your outfit, it was insanely casual but he didn’t look much different than you. “Aren’t we eating at the restaurant downstairs? I think I need to change.”

He shook his head, “Mm no. Neelam, my manager set that up but I thought we could go eat at this pizza spot that I’ve been going to for the longest, they have the best deep dish I’ve ever tried.” 

“Best deep dish? I doubt it.”

“I’m not joking around, c’mon we can eat some pizza and go over what the schedule will look like for the week and I can tell you some stuff that you can write about.” Jack smiled, “C’mon.”

***

“My mom bought me late registration and from there on it was just like I knew, so you know.” 

Jack is a robot reading a script when you talk to him over pizza, all the stuff he’s saying you have heard millions of times over the course of different interviews. You frown and Jack catches it.

“You don’t like the pizza?” Jack asks, holding up the menu, “They’ve got other things?”

You shake your head, “No.” You take a bite, “The pizza is delicious really, it’s just you say the same thing a lot.”

Jack looks confused, “I’m sorry?”

“I’m here for a week Jack, we’re going to have to get deeper than the same three topics you recycle in every interview you do.” You bite at your tongue, hoping you didn’t just mess this up.

It’s silent for a bit and you feel like you have.

“Okay…”

You give him a look.

“Okay, go ahead ask me anything, but right now make it not as deep but not as repetitive, I’m a human Y/N I’m not going to open up to you right off the bat and I’m sure you wouldn’t either.” Jack says and you nod understandingly. 

“Dog or cats?”

“Really?” Jack tilts his head, “That’s the question you choose?”

“Answer Mr. Harlow.” You smile, taking a sip of your Big Red. 

“Dogs,” Jack responds, “I’d say neither but if I really had to choose I’d pick dogs because I grew up with one and parents still have her.” 

You nod, “Tacos or pizza?” 

Jack looks around, “That’s just cold.”

You giggle. “I know my answer.”

“What’s your answer then?” Jack leans over.

“Mmm-mm.” You shake your head, “This isn’t about me.”

“Okay but I’m asking, if you want me to open up this has to feel like normal conversation with two sides.”

He’s right, so you answer. “Tacos.”

“Manager!” Jack turns around making you almost leep over the table to pull his body back.

“No Jack, no!” You laugh. “Now answer the question!”

“Pizza… Obviously.” Jack takes another bite, “Traitor.”

“I never said I loved pizza. Plus I’m a Southern California girl, tacos were the meal of my adolescence.” You smile, “Alright next question… When was the last time you laughed until your cried?”

“Ooh that’s a good one,” Jack smiles while diving into a story about him giving his friends ranch soda and by the time he finishes you’re in tears as well. 

You wipe away the tears, trying not to mess up the mascara you have on. “That’s horrible, like just bad. It reminds me of the time I ate a bard jelly bean and projectile vomited all over my little brother.”

Jack throws his head back laughing, “Now that’s just wrong.”

The rest of the questions flow so easily as you and Jack go back and forth, eventually Jack joins in asking you questions as well. By the end of the night the two of you are full on pizza and laughter. 

“This was nice, I didn’t expect to get along so well with a person who’s going to write a story about me.” Jack smiles. 

You nod, “I didn’t expect to have to throw away all my real questions and ask you Hinge questions.”

“I knew those sounded like dating app questions.” Jack laughs.

You giggle too, “Oh yeah all of them.”

“Well still, you’re very nice Y/N I’m sure you’ll get something out of me.” Jack nods. 

You yawn, “I’m sure I will.”

“You tired?” Jack asks.

“Mhm, I got in really early and I guess I’m still a bit jet lagged and all that.” You, try your best to not yawn again but you still do, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine Y/N, we can meet up again tomorrow and I’ll show you around and what not but for now we can head back to the hotel and get you some rest.” Jack is sweet and very caring, it’s a side that he doesn’t seem to show often.

The two of you take a sprinter van back and not meaning to you fall asleep on the comfy seat, you’re too deep in sleep to wake up and that’s when you feel someone lift you up. Your eyes blink open, not wanting to get kidnapped but your nerves calm down as you see it’s Jack. 

“S’all good Y/N,” The door to your hotel opens, and the soft feeling of the bed feels like heaven under you. 

“Sorry.” You mumble into the pillow.

Jack just chuckles, “Goodnight.”

The door closes and locks and you’re out for the rest of the night. 

***

The next day Jack takes you around the whole city of Louisville, he even invites his best friend Urban who you recognize from multiple interviews. 

“Okay so you’re telling me you used to do girls in this park? Are you sure that’s something you want to share?” You laugh as Jack and Urban tell you about their side missions at their childhood park.

Jack nods, “I was fuckin’— we were fuckin’ like deers here.” He thinks for a moment, “Of course like late at night when there’s no children around… of course.”

“Oh, of course.” You agree, smiling. 

You quickly find out that Jack open ups more with Urban around, cracking jokes amongst other things. Urban is as laid back as he seems online, and even funnier in real life. He takes notice of your camera. 

“That’s a nice camera, that’s the Olympus right?” Urban asks.

The three of you are sprawled out on a thin sheet in the middle of the park, you were messing around with your camera getting ready to take a picture of the park. 

You nod, “Mhm. It’s the Olympus Epic Point and Shoot. It was the very first real camera I got and I take it everywhere when I don’t need my fancy one.” 

“Do you like taking pictures?” Jack asks, “Are you supposed to take pictures for the spread?”

“I don’t have to, you’ll obviously head to LA to shoot the cover and all that so they’ll take some editorials and stuff… Trust me I had pitched a more intimate set of pictures, I thought it would add character to have a bunch of candids of you in your home city.”

“I think that would be cooler than just doing a photoshoot,” Urban agrees, “But Jack is a camera whore so you know up to him.”

Jack shoves Urban and you laugh as they begin to play fight rolling around on the grass like children. You take out your camera snapping two photos of them, the snap of the camera making Urban’s head immediately turn. 

“Don’t steal my job, girl.” Urban shakes his head, “Why don’t you pose for the camera?”

He pulls out his camera and you shake your head, “No absolutely not.”

As much as you wanted to be photogenic you just weren't, and as much as you wanted to be confident and cool, you just couldn’t. You, however, couldn't quite say no as Jack pulled you down next to him.

“C’mon Y/N smile for the picture.” Jack says to you and you just shake your head as the two of you simultaneously put bunny ears behind each other’s head. 

Urban snaps the picture, moving closer to you and snapping another one. “That one’s gonna be nice.”

You smile, and then ask, “If you could be any Peaky Blinders character, which one would you be?”

Jack gives you a confused look, “What’s Peaky Blinders?”

It’s how you end up at Jack’s childhood home, in his living room watching the first season of your favorite show ever.

“So he’s like a gangster?” Jack asks, grabbing a handful of popcorn from your lap.

You nod, eyes focused on the show even though you've watched the show over a million times. “Right now he’s only just started I guess, he has the respect from his surrounding areas and he can get what he wants but as the show goes on he gets bigger and more powerful.”

“And what about Grace?” Jack looks over at you, “I mean, c’mon you know he’s trying to smash…  but she’s the enemy.”

You laugh, “He most definitely wants to smash.”

“I can’t believe I’ve never watched this show.” Jack says, “It’s really fucking good, I’ve always loved this kinda stuff, you know gangsters and all that.”

You nod, “Me too. When I was younger my room was full of posters from Goodfellas, Casino, Scarface, A Bronx Tale…” Jack looks at you like you’re the most interesting person in the world and it makes you stop in the middle of your sentence, “You know just the essentials.”

“Your room sounds way cooler than mine,” Jack looks up, “You wanna see it?”

“Sure.”

Jack’s parents aren’t home, both of them are at work, his little brother doesn’t live at home anymore either so it’s just the two of you, alone. You feel younger again, like you’re back in high school sneaking into your crush’s home. You follow Jack up the stairs and his room is the first to the right, you grin as you walk in.

“Were you filming videos that needed to be edited in here?” You laugh as you're met with the craziest green color painted on his walls. 

Jack laughs along, “Yeah I don’t know what I was thinking…”

You look around so more, spotting the posters he had. Rappers littered his walls, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, Kanye West… along with a lone Spider-Man poster and on top of his bed, on his ceiling is Lauren London.

“I also loved ATL.” You turn to Jack who’s shaking his head in embarrassment, “You were right.”

Jack looks at you confused, “About?”

“My room was cooler.” You smile.

“Don’t get too cocky now.”

You laugh, pulling out your camera, “Do you mind?”

Jack thinks, does he want his childhood room on the internet for the world to see? He really doesn't but something about you wanting to take a picture makes him want to let you. He nods, “But only for you right?”

“Of course,” You snap a picture, “I wouldn’t dare ruin your street cred.”

On day three Jack takes you to Waterfront Park, a place that always held a festival he enjoyed going to and was now going to headline in only a few months. 

“Are you excited? You know, to headline and to release your album?” You lean on the rail, looking up at Jack. 

Jack nods, “I’m too fucking excited. Shit doesn’t even feel real sometimes. I used to dream of this life and now I’m really living it, getting to work with my idols and everything… I’m just proud of myself, proud of my team.”

“You should be, you’ve accomplished so much in the last two years.” You agree, “And from what I’ve seen and read you’ve been working on this for a while. Working from the ground up, it really pays off huh?”

Jack looks down at you nodding, “It does.”

“You’re not what I expected at all…” You blurt out before you can stop, “That’s not… Uhm that’s…”

“It’s fine, I guess I could say the same about you.” Jack nods, a small smile playing on his lips

You look down, smiling at your feet but quickly wiping it off as you remember what you’re actually here for. You’re for work and work only. 

Jack lays his hand on your shoulder, “I’ll be right back I’m gonna take this call real quick.”

As soon as Jack is a good distance away you let out a breath you had no idea you were holding in. “Fuck.” You mumble, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” This was not actually happening, it could not be, but it was because you could feel the sloshing feeling in your stomach and when you pressed your palms to your cheeks you could feel the heat radiating off them. There was just no way.

Jack jogged back, a smile on his face. “You want to take the night off and head to a party?”

***

Jack had been introducing you as his friend from LA to his friends, not bringing up the fact that you were a journalist. They were all sweet, even the girls, but you still had the feeling that they were talking about you as you stood next to Jack engaging in conversation with his childhood friends.

You shift your feet every few seconds, feeling the unwelcoming feeling of anxiety creeping up. “I’m gonna use the restroom.” You tell Jack before making your way to the restroom away from the crowded room and loud music. 

You cool your hands down under the cold water, trying to calm yourself down before things can get any worse and luckily it works. You stick a gum in your mouth and smile at yourself in the mirror, before frowning. “I should have just gone back to the hotel.” You mumble.

There's three girls leaning against the wall as you exit the restroom, you give them a small smile before trying to make your way back to Jack.

“Hey you’re Jack’s friend right?” The blonde one at the end asks before you can fully get away.

You turn not wanting to be rude, “Mhm.”

“And you’re not together or anything right? Like it’s strictly friends.” 

You have to force a smile, “Oh yeah. Just friends.”

They all nod and you take that as your exit, you’re halfway away when you hear them. “See told you, I’m gonna make my move.”

Jack smiles as he sees your back, wrapping his arm around your shoulder. “You having a good time?” He says as he leans down to your ear.

You nod, “Your friends are nice. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Of course,” Jack says, “You’re really cool Y/N I can see me and you still being friends after this week.”

You laugh, “I feel like this is your way of trying to get accepted on my Instagram account.”

“I want to see all 876 pictures…” He pauses, “See how many you have of your pretty face.”

You feel your heart skip several beats and you feel even more stupider for it. This is your job, he is your job, at the end of the day you will go home and write this piece and he will go on with his life. But you can’t help but hope he feels the same way, the same sloshing sensation you have in your stomach whenever he smiles at you. 

You shake your head, “You’d hate my Instagram.”

Jack looks down at your lips, you catch it and then back at you. “Doubt it.”

You’re sober, so fucking sober but you feely woozy and dizzy, like you just chugged a bottle of tequila. “Jack-”

“So you just weren’t going to say hi?” The same blonde girl who had asked you if you were with Jack cuts you off.

You take several steps back, taking the time to find the nearest exit to get some fresh air. You sigh, taking in the scent of wet grass as you stand in the dark of some random person’s driveway. “Get the story and go home. Get the story and go home. Get the story and go home.” You keep repeating to yourself like a mantra. 

You order a lyft back to the hotel, texting Jack on the way. 

YOU: Hey, I wasn’t feeling too good so I just dipped. I’ll see you tomorrow for the studio session though :)

JACK: You didn’t even say goodbye? 

JACK: I hope you feel better, I’m going back too. Do you need anything I can stop by CVS or something?

YOU: I’m fine, just going to go to sleep. Goodnight Jack.

JACK: Night Mrs. Shelby ;)

You smile to yourself reading the last message. 

***

“You sure you’re good? We can always do this another day, I have Netflix loaded up in my room and we can finish another season of Peaky Blinders.” Jack asks as the two of you walk into the studio. 

“I’m fine,” You say walking into the studio ready to sit down and just observe, “I’ll just be over here.”

Jack is confused on why you chose the farthest place away from him to sit  but he doesn’t say anything about it. “Okay.”

You find it fascinating watching Jack in one of his elements, mixing, recording, and overall just being the boss of his own music. Jack plans on releasing the album title through your piece, you laughed when he first told you it. Come Home The Kids Miss You, an ode to his fans and all the comments he receives on a daily basis.

“Y/N!” Jack calls out to you, making you lift your head from your notebook, “You mind helping me with something.”

You hesitantly get up, moving over to him and his group of producers, “What do you want me to do?”

“It’s real easy, promise and if you feel too uncomfortable feel free to say no but you’re the only girl in here and I just wanted to get a voice sample of you saying two words for my next single. You mind?” Jack has a smile on his face that you can’t quite say no to. 

You shrug, “Sure? What am I saying?”

“That’s my girl.” Jack says excitedly, leading you into the booth and putting  a pair of headphones on you, “Alright I’m gonna tell them to replay the line before you say it just so you can get the vibe okay?”

You nod, watching as he thumbs up one of the sound guys. 

You might be the man, well, that’s unless I am/ Okay, I’ll confess I am/ Go ahead and get undressed, I am/ Okay cool, you on Sunset…

“All you have to say is I am, that’s cool?” Jack asks.

You nod, “Just I am?”

“Just I am, you got this Y/N… I’ll step outside. It’s whenever you’re ready.”  Jack says.

You give them a thumbs up and they replay the piece. 

“I am.” You say into the mic, shrugging.

You can see Jack shaking his head on the other side of the glass, before hearing his voice in your headphones. “Hey Y/N, that was okay but maybe a little more sensual you know?”

Sensual? Fuck. “Okay, just play it one more time?”

They play it again and you say the same thing, “I am.”

Jack shakes his head again and you see him whisper something to the sound guy, he nods and steps out and then Jack steps into the recording booth, “You good?”

You frown, “I can’t do this… I’m not a voice girl. My words don’t actually come out good in person, that's why I write them.”

Jack smiles at you. “You get in your head a lot, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” You look down at your feet. 

“You read books? Do you get them, like you picture them like movies when you read?” Jack asks randomly.

You nod. 

Jack walks out of the booth and he writes down something on a notepad. You watch as he scribbles and brings it back into the booth, “Here read this and just do what you think might work. Say it how you picture it in your head.” Jack hands you the notepad and exits the booth and then the room. 

You look down at the yellow paper, reading it over. 

“Holy shit.” You let out a nervous laughter, feeling your cheeks heat up as you read what he wrote.

Jack Harlow had made it to LA just to see Y/N, he was so excited and had been texting her all day. They had been texting, messaging, calling, every day since she left Louisville. Anyone who wasn’t blind and maybe even they could see that there was something going on between them. He wants her and he can only hope she wants him back… He’s been waiting for what feels like years and when he asks her if she is dressed she says no, she’s teasing him, he asks her if she's on Sunset? Is she?

You replay the lyrics in your head before leaning into the mic, you feel a more playful voice come on. “I am.”

YOU: You can come back in now.

You feel wild, and your heart is beating at a million miles per hour and when Jack walks back into the studio and then the booth you do what your heart tells you, disregarding your brain, you jump up and kiss him. 

You have no time to regret it because he’s kissing you back with just as much want that is behind your kiss. “Did you,” Kiss, “Write,” Kiss again, “Jack Harlow,” More kisses, “Fanfiction for me?”

Jack pulls away, his lips are red, tinted with your lipstick, “What the hell is fanfiction?”

You shake your head, “Doesn’t matter.” You say pulling him back into the kiss. 

It’s wrong, you know it’s wrong but you can't stop. Jack isn’t stopping so why should you? Maybe you should stop because you’re going to get fired? You’re not going to get fired for kissing someone. You will if they find out you kissed the person you’re supposed to be interviewing. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This feels nice though, Jack’s lips are soft. 

Jack pulls away, looking back down at you. “You’re thinking really loudly baby.”

Baby… Oh you’re fucked. 

“Sorry, I just.. I’m… I’m not sure why I did that?” You step back.

Jack looks almost hurt as those words come out of your mouth, “Huh?”

“Fuck.” You mumble, “I need to go.”

“Go? What are you talking about?” Jack asks, following you as you leave the booth and the studio. “Y/N!” 

You turn back, “I’m sorry Jack, I should have never kissed you.” You try leaving but his hand is gripping yours before you can.

“Don’t.” Jack says, “Don’t leave, I meant it. What I wrote, there is something going on between us. And don’t say you don’t see it or feel it, because if you didn’t you wouldn’t have kissed me.”

You stay quiet.

“Y/N, I like you. Like I actually like you. Don’t go. Please.”

THREE WEEKS LATER…

Jack Harlow, Louisville’s Very Own.

Written By: Y/F/N Y/L/N

You frown, reading your article for Jack… it was good, everyone had been praising you for it. They even added some candids you had taken of Jack for the spread.

Next to the line, Jack Harlow is not as predictable as many people might think. Although Harlow says he’s never watched Peaky Blinder, after a season one watch party he feels he most alike with Tommy Shelby, but after getting to know him it's clear he’s most like John Shelby and if you watch Peaky Blinders and are a fan of Jack Harlow nothing can quite be more clearer than that, a picture of Jack posing next to a random Cillian Murphy cut out that the two of you had randomly stumbled upon. 

Your job was done, the article was done, the magazine was published and printed and was now in stands all over. Jack had been promoting it, posting the cover on his Instagram, filming videos for the youtube channel. You wondered if he had read it. 

You don’t think he did, if he did he’d call. He hadn;t called at all since you left, you knew that was our fault. After he told you he had liked you, asked you to stay, practically begged you. You just left. The week wasn’t over but you couldn’t stay after that, not after you had crossed that line. 

His name was still in your requests, and feeling reckless and maybe a little hopeful you accepted it, following him back. 

In only two minutes you were getting a message.

jackharlow: Now I can see all the pictures of your pretty face

yourinstaname: i miss you

jackharlow: Are you in LA?

yourinstaname: are you?

jackharlow: I am.. 

yourinstaname: im bout to slide ;)

jackharlow: Dork

yourinstaname: come pick me up

jackharlow: on my way baby

jackharlow: loved the article btw 

yourinstaname: i can kiss you now without feeling guilty 

jackharlow: Good… and also you’re never writing a story about me again bc I’m asking you out.

yourinstaname: i resign from the jack harlow writer club

jackharlow: And you enlist in the jack harlow kissing club as the only member 

yourinstaname: duh

#jack harlow #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow blurb #come home the kids miss you

[the-badger-mole]

Avatar: The Final Conflict

This story was originally posted on FFN in 2012. At this point, I had been writing fic for a few years, and I was beginning to figure out my style. I think it shows here. This story was the first time I remember making a conscious effort to balance my dialog with action and description. It's the sequel to A Word Between Friends, but I actually started writing this story first. I had been drafting parts of this story since the finale in 2008, which probably accounts for this fic being among the few where I don't steer Aang into his worst traits. It didn't occur to me to connect it with Word until I wrote a particular scene in chapter three that references a scene at the end of chapter 3 of Word. Both stories can be read independently, but I do hope that if you haven't read Word, you will.

Excerpt:

Iroh poured another cup of tea for himself and offered some to Pakku. The elderly water bender shook his head and politely declined.

"I’ve had quite enough, thank you,” he said. “Does she know I’m here?”

“I didn’t tell anyone I was expecting you,” Iroh assured him. “Although I don’t know why you don’t want her to know. After all, this is her future.” Pakku sighed and sat back in his seat.

“I realize that,” he said, suddenly feeling drained. “But I didn’t want to offer this to her until I was certain it would be there.”             Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully and set his tea cup down.

“This is a great opportunity for Katara,” he said. “I would never stand in her way, and I’m sure Zuko will support her, when the time comes.”

“The time is now,” Pakku reminded him. He closed his eyes wearily.  “All this governing and politics business- it’s a game for the young. Old men like you and I are getting pushed aside, and I’m not complaining, but I wish I could have prepared her more.”

“I’m sure you’ve done your best,” Iroh said confidently. “Katara is one of the finest water benders it has ever been my pleasure to encounter. And I’ve seen you in action.”

“Katara is my best student.” Pakku smiled proudly. “I’ve never had anyone catch on so quickly. She’s creative and she has a stubbornness about her that I rarely see in water benders. She won’t allow herself to do anything but succeed. It has served her well, and I’m sure it will continue to serve her well as she continues to grow into her abilities. However, her abilities as a bender are not what I’m worried about. She is young. There are some who won’t like this.”

“Yes,” Iroh agreed. “But as you said, this is a young person’s game. The Council  and the leaders of the Water Tribes may have some objections to it at first, but Katara has proven herself not only a skilled warrior, but a stirring leader. As a diplomat, admittedly she has some learning to do, but she’s still more qualified for this than just about anyone.”

“Do you really think this will work?” Pakku asked, opening his eyes to look at Iroh.

“Do you really think Katara can handle this?” Iroh countered, taking another sip of tea. Pakku didn’t answer him for a long time. Then a smile slowly spread across his face.

“I think Katara could bring nations to their knees if she set her mind to it,” Pakku said. “But don’t let her know I said that. I have a reputation to uphold.” 

“It seems we have our decision

#atla #zutara #avatar: the final conflict #ffn cross posting #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

[firstelevens]

hi zainab!!!! 2, 3, 6, and 29 for the fic writer ask???

Hi Mak! Thank you for sending these in!

2. Do you read/reread your own fics?

Yes, because I am absolutely my own biggest fan!

On a much more practical note, sometimes I reread because it's part of a series and I'm checking a canonical detail (although if it's in the Bake Off AU I'm better off just asking @sesamestreep, who is the official lorekeeper and knows that universe's canon better than I do.) Other times, there's a fic where I just really like what I did with a character's voice or the general tone of a scene and I'll go back just to get a feel for what I did the last time.

3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written?

I mean, the Bake Off AU has my whole heart and there's so much of me in it that it will always be special to me BUT!!! I really love the Thunderbolts-era epistolary fic counted days, counted miles because I think it's an exercise in me managing to show writerly restraint, which is a skill I'm still working on. (And also I got to come up with so many fun spy tricks for hiding letters; it was great.)

6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

How fortuitous that you picked this question when I have reread wish that i could wind (like a spiral stair through time) FIVE TIMES in the past month. That fic is a work of art. I am also never far from rereading and never ever watch the ten o'clock news, which is Emma's phenomenal Psych AU of Rogue One which is just so wonderful and funny and it continues to hold up. Oh also! There's don't read the last page, which is a Brooklyn Nine-Nine fic that is short and sweet and just so warm and cozy and I go back to that one a lot just for the mood of it.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic.

Okay so this question reminded me that there's a 1200 word scene from the Formula 1 AU that was originally going to be the epilogue but got canned which SUBSEQUENTLY reminded me that there's a whole scene that I wrote for the Bake Off AU that got cut from Chapter 6 because things ended up going another way!

The beginning will looks familiar if you remember anything from that chapter, but then there's a sharp left turn that involves the lost plot point of Becca Barnes creeping on Joaquín's thirst trap and restaurant review filled Instagram in order to figure out where Bucky could go for dinner. I was sad to lose it tbh but the restaurant still made it into the fic as the place where Sam and Bucky go out on their definitely-not-a-date in Chapter 10.

A peek at the alternate timeline under the cut!

Bucky is starfished on his bed, trying to muster the energy to get up when his phone rings. His eyes are squeezed shut, but he opens one to peer at the screen. He only answers because it’s Becca, but he’s too tired to do more than grunt into the phone when he picks up.

“Good day, huh?” she asks, laughing when he just groans in response.

“Hope yours was better than mine,” Bucky says, when he finally manages to talk. “How’s day shift treating you?”

“I’m discovering that there’s this thing in the sky called the sun, and it provides light? And makes people happy? Do you think other people know about it? Should I be telling them?”

He laughs tiredly. “You can use all this newfound energy to make a TikTok about it.”

“I’ll get on that,” Becca says. “What about you? You okay?”

“Yeah,” says Bucky, bringing his hand up to his face. “I just need to lie down for a while.”

Not that lying down for the past half hour has helped, but he’s got high hopes for that sixty minute mark.

“No, what you need to do is eat something,” Becca says, sounding remarkably like their mother. “Tell me your head isn’t hurting right now.”

Bucky freezes, his fingers still pressed into his temples. “It’s creepy when you do that, you know.”

She laughs. “I know. Hey, why don’t you go to that place that you and Steve went to all the time, the one with the waffles?”

The last time Bucky had been there, four years ago, he’d spent the entire evening bickering companionably with Sam while Steve dealt with a work emergency. It had felt remarkably like flirting, and he’d even thought about asking Sam to get a drink sometime—and then Bucky had been eliminated after the next day’s Showstopper, and that put an end to that.

He shakes his head to clear it. “I’m tired, Bec, and they pick us up at like, six AM. I think I might just grab something from the convenience store.”

“Buck, I spend half my time listening to newborn babies cry and that is still the most pitiful thing I’ve heard this week. You are not eating yogurt for dinner alone in your hotel room.”

Bucky huffs. “Well, I’d grab a random stranger off the street to join me, but I’m not looking to get murdered today, Rebecca.”

He can hear the sound of Becca typing, doing the thing where she studiously ignores his asshole behavior until he comes around and starts acting a more like a person. It’s annoying how well it works. 

After a minute or two of typing and what he assumes is scrolling, she lets out a, “Huh.”

When he waits for her to elaborate and she doesn’t, Bucky sighs. “What is it?”

“Do you know a Joaquín Torres?”

It’s far from the question he was expecting but Bucky answers in the affirmative. “He’s a baking consultant on the show.”

More typing. “Does he have good taste?”

There’s a tiny, childish part of Bucky that wants to say no, because Torres is chirpy and bright-eyed and his unfailing enthusiasm is exhausting at times, but that would be a lie. “Yeah, he knows his stuff. Why?”

“He lives in Atlanta; he posts about a lot of local hidden gems. There’s a Tunisian restaurant a couple blocks from your hotel, apparently? Kind of looks like a hole in the wall but he says the food is amazing.”

“I don’t know, Bec. It’s late and eating out alone is depressing.” His limbs feel heavy, and his shoulder is starting to hurt from having the prosthetic on for so long, and he knows that food would make his headache go away, but he just can’t drag himself off the bed.

Like Becca knows what track his mind is on—and honestly, she probably does—, she chooses this moment to go for the knockout. “Come on, Buck; it’s my job to look out for you, and you’re too far away for me to drag you out to dinner and make sure you eat. Throw a girl a bone here.”

She’s too powerful for her own good.

Bucky drags a hand down his face, sighing again. “You know, I hear some people don’t let their baby sisters tell them what to do all the time.”

“Poor them,” says Becca.

“Poor them,” echoes Bucky, and asks her to text him the address.

When she does, he looks it up and realizes that it really is only two blocks away: completely walkable, even in Atlanta’s late spring heat, and only a little further than the convenience store where he’d planned to grab his apparently pathetic dinner.

It’s only when he gets to the door of the restaurant that he remembers it’s a Saturday night and he probably should have thought to make a reservation. The place only has a handful of tables to begin with, and they’ve all got people at them. The host already has an apologetic look on his face as Bucky walks in, but they both turn in surprise when they hear someone inside the restaurant call out to him.

“Bucky!” says Joaquín, as brightly as ever. “Come sit with us.”

Because the universe has a sense of humor, ‘us’ is of course Joaquín and Sam, who are having dinner together. Alone. On a Saturday night.

It can’t be a date, Bucky reasons. No one would invite a random acquaintance to third-wheel their date, right?

He realizes that he still hasn’t responded when the host assures him that of course they’ll be able to add another place setting to the table, and before he knows it, Bucky is being whisked over to their table.

Whatever mood had settled over Sam after the signature today seems to have dissipated, and he turns to Bucky with a grin on his face. “I hope you trust Torres over here, because he ordered way too much food for us and didn’t let me see the menu.”

Joaquín shrugs. “I come here a lot,” he says. “Not enough people know about it, but it’s amazing.”

“Which is why he’s on a mission to be their one-man marketing team,” says Sam. “We got here half an hour ago and he’s already posted on Instagram like, ten times.”

Bucky thinks of the sound of Becca on her computer as she’d talked to him earlier, how she’d pivoted from suggesting the diner he’d probably have ended up at to this specific restaurant, and suddenly, this coincidence feels markedly less like a coincidence.

He’d probably feel more annoyed about it if he didn’t spend the meal close enough to Sam for their shoulders to constantly be brushing. Torres is right; the food is great, but if anyone asks, Bucky’s pretty sure the only thing he’d be able to recount is how many times Sam touched his arm to ask him to pass things, or dished some more food onto his plate, or gently nudged him while telling Joaquín stories of their time filming season two.

When the check comes, Bucky insists on paying, to make up for crashing Sam and Joaquín’s dinner, and as they stand on the sidewalk outside the restaurant, Joaquín offers to drop them off at the hotel on his way home. He’s about to accept when Sam waves it off. 

“I think we’ll just walk back,” says Sam. “It’s so nice out, and the hotel’s probably closer than your car is.”

There’s a moment where all three of them silently commiserate over the trials of city parking, and then Joaquín says he’ll see them tomorrow and heads off.

Bucky glances sidelong at Sam, whose eyebrows are knitted together as he looks down the street towards their hotel. He can see the entrance from where they’re standing, but Sam gently touches his elbow and nods down the street to their left—the long way, Bucky realizes, a moment too late.

#bisamwilson #zainab does ask meme things #thank you for these Mak! #I had COMPLETELY forgotten that I had this little bit of the Bake Off AU lying around; I hope it's an entertaining what if

[bonesandthebees]

i loved starman SO much . you did an incredible job writing the atmosphere and rising tension for it and it's still my favorite horror fic in the fandom. what was the inspiration behind it? what're your tips for writing the atmosphere of your work? :0

aaaa thank you so much that makes me so happy to hear!! I'm so proud of starman so I'm so happy that there are people who still enjoy it :)

the inspiration behind starman was partly that it was originally posted as part of a challenge/prompt event we did in a discord server I'm in. it was supposed to be a horror fic and we used a randomizer to figure out which characters it had to focus on, and by sheer chance the randomizer spit out wilbur, tommy, and dreamXD. so I knew right off the bat I was doing an eldritch/cosmic horror kind of thing with dreamXD being involved.

along with that, a few years before I participated in this challenge I had taken a trip to visit family in oklahoma. now I'd been to oklahoma several times before, but it'd been many years and it was my first time going there as an adult. the first thing I noticed while I was there was how unsettling it was to be in such an endlessly flat landscape after having grown up surrounded by mountains and hills my entire life. it made me feel like i was being watched. since I was really into cosmic horror at the time, I ended up spending that trip writing an original horror story about a giant eye watching over a small oklahoma town. so then fast forward several years to the randomizer throwing out crimeboys + dreamXD as a prompt, and I immediately thought back to that original short horror story I'd written during my oklahoma trip and decided to rewrite it as a fic.

of course there's inspiration from annihilation with the colors and the weird blood and all that. also there's the obvious inspiration from house of leaves with the formatting towards the end. I got the idea while I was in the middle of writing the fic, and while my immediate reaction was "I don't think I can actually do that on ao3" I then thought about it some more I was like "wait holy shit I might be able to make that work" and I'm so happy I did.

so that's where I came up with the idea! as far as tips for the atmosphere, I tried to focus on making the town feel restrictive and small. even though we go to several locations (wilbur's house, the gas station he works at, the cow pasture, the field he and tommy lay down in) it all circles back to the church. and I had a very specific color palette in my head while I was writing it, with the town itself mostly being described in shades of green/yellow grass, blue and white skies, and brown dirt roads. this was to contrast with all the bright unnatural colors associated with the eye to make it feel even more jarring and wrong. but to be fair a tool like that would be far more effective in a visual format rather than written format lol

there was also the game of being very careful with where I chose to fuck up the formatting. the formatting itself helped a LOT with the atmosphere because a jarring format shift like that can really fuck with a readers head. I had silent rules for myself about how I would integrate it more and more as the fic went on, and what kinds of descriptions would lead to a format shift. I wanted it to be gradual to give the readers that sense of looming dread as it became more and more common, because then they knew the end was near

overall I just tried to describe things in a way that emphasized the isolation wilbur felt from everyone around him (besides tommy). he'd grown up being the only person who could see the eye, and that alienated him from everyone else. that was one of the major things I tried to focus on, although keep in mind I wrote this in february of 2022 so I barely remember what my thoughts were while I was writing it. I wish I could give more specific advice but yeah it's just been a long time. hope that helps though!

#ask #starman waiting in the sky #bones writes

[phiralovesloki]

20 questions for fic writers:

Tagged by the wonderful @idoltina!

If you're looking to check out any of my fics, everything is currently locked. That just means that if you go to my page, phiralovesloki, it'll say I have 0 works unless you log in. If you log in, you can see everything, no problem.

how many works do you have on ao3?

51

what's your total ao3 word count?

622,639

what fandoms do you write for?

I used to write for the Legend of Zelda fandom, but switched to OUAT in the mid 2010s (I took down all my LoZ fics, it's just OUAT on Ao3). I am technically still writing for OUAT but my document history begs to differ.

what are your top five fics by kudos?

With Affection, You'll Know It's Him, Rescue Me, Wishing for You to Find Your Way, and Coming Home to You.

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

I used to! Eventually, I got overwhelmed by life and stopped responding. I do read every comment I get, and each one is very lovely!

what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

No Time Like the Present, which is I think technically canon compliant if you really squint at it. Essentially, there's a weird crossing of the time streams in Neverland, where S3 Emma bumps into S6 Hook and they have a really weird conversation because she doesn't realize he's in the future. The result is that when she finds the engagement ring in S6, she misunderstands his reluctance/caginess. I tend to write happy endings only these days (which LoZ-writer me would be really surprised by!), so this is probably the only angsty-ending I've got.

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Like, all of them minus the above? Probably Tell Him, because time travel shenanigans end up fixing a lot of ridiculous BS from S4 through S6.

do you get hate on fics?

Not usually. I've gotten a few comments over the years that haven't been very nice, but they can be boiled down to the affectionately named Charminator (who would scour FFnet fics and criticize their portrayals of David, it was very weird!), and the one time someone did not like that I wrote a completely AU fic where Leopold and Regina, two background characters, were happily married.

do you write smut? if so, what kind?

I don't know what "what kind" means, but yes, I write smut! I've got some fics that consist of plots that are excuses for smut. I used to accept kinky smutty prompts in my inbox, although I took them down several years ago, sorry.

do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?

So, funny enough, when I was a wee lil fic writer, writing in notebooks after my parents thought I was asleep, I wrote crossovers between the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and the Belgariad (@optomisticgirl). No true crossovers since then.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not quite. I've had a fic reposted on Facebook without my permission or knowledge, which caused a great deal of fandom drama when I found out about it and asked to have it removed.

have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes. I forget which one, but someone years ago asked if they could translate one of my stories into Russian, and I said it was fine.

have you ever co-written a fic before?

Uhhhh ... I don't think so? (This is genuinely me not remembering.)

what's your all-time favourite ship?

I don't love this question, not because I don't understand where it's coming from (I do!), but because I feel like ships are often like books or movies or TV shows or even foods. Different things hit the spot differently, even if you love them equally. I think Emma and Hook from OUAT are definitely the pair that ate up the most brain space for me. But I've got a steady rotation of LoZ ships as well, including MaLink which is the one that originally got me writing fic. And Link and Midna also wrecked me emotionally and primed me for Captain Swan (and that's the basis for the OUAT Zelda AU that will never get finished at this rate). These days, thanks to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, I'm also just very certain that those versions of Zelda and Link belong together and I shrieked when we got to Hateno Village in TotK and found out that they're COHABITATING (there's only one bed!!!).

what's the wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Omg, same answer here as Tina, why don't you just @ me next time.

I've actually got 3, one of which is the Zelda AU that is almost 100k words long and is maybe halfway done. One of my new year's resolutions is to find the time to work on it.

Another one, which I really wish I could finish, but I don't see it happening, is a canon divergence where Emma returns from the Wish Realm without regaining her memories/Savior-ness. She's desperate to get "home" and strikes a deal with Rumple, where in order for him to send her back, she has to make Hook believe she's in love with him again, and then break his heart.

And finally, I have a modern AU where Emma fake dates her ex-best friend Killian in order to secretly date Neal, who's come back into her life very suddenly. This one is never getting finished specifically because 1) too many Captain Swan shippers are flat out uncomfortable with the Emma/Neal bits even though it would be a CS story, and 2) I am actually hoping to someday rework the main gist of it into an original contemporary romance.

what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and plotting. Are you stuck with a plot point? hmu

what are your writing weaknesses?

Everything that's not dialogue and plot. My writing isn't flowing or descriptive or beautiful or anything. Sometimes I feel like I'm just writing down what's happening, what the characters are feeling, and what they're saying, and that's basically it. (LOL props to @lifeinahole27 who let me know that I fucking forgot to finish my sentence, oops!)

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for fic?

I can only speak English so I don't feel comfortable writing in another language for fic.

first fandom you wrote for?

Zeldaaaaaaa.

favourite fic you've ever written?

(Strong Bad voice) My fics are like my childrens: I love them all!

I think Powerful Magic is probably my favorite that doesn't get a ton of eyes on it.

tagging: @spartanguard, @iverna, @eirabach, @initiala, @lifeinahole27, and whoever else is up for it! If I've tagged you and you've done this or you don't want to do this, no worries, feel free to ignore. If I didn't tag you, but you really wanted to be tagged, then I'm tagging you and you can say so!

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

Mean Girls 2024 reviewed by this random girl with weird thoughts

(Although I think my thoughts for this aren’t that weird).

Spoilers!

THE GAY ENERGY. THE QUEER GIRLS ENERGY. How many girls are smitten with Regina?? Cady had heart eyes the first time she saw her, GRETCHEN is… oh my gosh. Plus all the random girls in school.

I feel like lots won’t bring this up cause sadly Rise of the pink ladies were not that well marketed (PLEASE WATCH IT AND WATCH IT NOW!!), but when I saw ARI NORTATOMASO in the classroom I was like CYNTHIA’S DESCENDANT ??!! >:0

CANON LESBIAN JANIS!!!!! Finally!! But I am not sure how I feel about just giving her this random girl as her date to the spring fling.

I kinda wish to get more scenes with Cady and Janis. Idk personally ever since I read this chatfic from 2018 where they got together over this conversation I’ve kinda had a thing for them

(I’m not joking when I say this fic has been a huge inspo for me to start writing fics of my own. Like. Thank you person who wrote it. You’ve orphaned your account now but this fic will always be in my memory)

I’m not saying I needed them to be gfs in the movie just that I wanted some more moments :>

So the movie lacks a lot of the iconic moments from the 2004 film, but it’s supposed to be an adaptation of the musical anyway. Also if they just said every iconic line again it would just feel like an exact copy of the movie and that wasn’t the point.

Cady’s songs lack a bit for me. In the musical, she sang so loudly and expressed so much, but she sings so… quietly… here. I guess it’s a sort of choice for her character, and maybe this worked better for the movie format - musicals become different on stage and in movies, you can’t always be as theatrical on film as you can on stage. But, I just didn’t feel her emotions at all in the same way.

REGINA AND JANIS’ SONGS, THO? YEA. THEY SLAYED. I do feel sad they cut Gretchen and Karen’s parts out of Meet the plastics. Also that they cut Damian’s songs… Stop is literally such an important song because it gives advice not only to Cady but also to everyone watching?? I remember hearing it in 2018 and I personally felt like it could help me to not send too many texts to people, because when people didn’t answer I got nervous and sent even more. But then… some songs maybe don’t work as well in movie format, I don’t know.

Also because Janis is canonically gay now, I’d rather be me is officially a queer anthem!!!!! 😁😁

Not sure how I feel about changing ”Janis is a space dyke” to ”Janis is a pyro-les”. It doesn’t sound as good in the song lol. But, in the musical, Janis’ sexuality was more ”up to interpretation” and so got called that because when asked if she was a lesbian, she replied ”I AM A SPACE ALIEN AND I HAVE FOUR BUTTS”. An incredibly funny line and really had the early 2010s random humor going for it. But, when wanting to make her explicitly gay, they needed something better, and I understand that.

Now, many people see Regina as a closeted lesbian herself. I get it, since she has no chemistry with any boy and it seems like she just dates them for publicity. No boys except for Damian have personalities (did Shane even have a line?? He was just. There.) But, I am a bit insecure. Because at times it seems like she was one of those homophobic girls in middle school. I’m just gonna go from this movie alone, as I feel like in the Broadway show and in the 2004 movie that’s other kinds of discussion (the 2004 movie especially feels more like she actually was homophobic tbh). In the 2024 movie, Janis came out to Regina, and Regina put a rainbow pin on her stuffed animal as an ”ally”. Also Regina and Janis kissed. Regina did it to see how her boyfriend reacted, and it was at the expense of Janis. Regina then had her stuffed animal with a pride pin talk in a mocking voice and it was clear this was to make fun of Janis. Janis then got so mad over this that she set Regina’s backpack on fire (ok Ámbar Smith whatever works for you). From this story, I am a bit unsure if this came from a place of Regina maybe wanting to tease her boyfriend and then it got out of hand, or maybe she was curious about kissing Janis but she was like 12 and repressed those feelings. Because she supposedly wore a Pride pin as an ”ally”, that’s much more than what a homophobic would do - but, her bullying of Janis definitely contributed to homophobia. Regina is a mean girl, so we should not excuse her actions even though she is slaying. Closeted lesbian or not, she did some homopbic and harmful things.

Regina in this movie sometimes felt like she was just doing a bunch of things without care. In some ways, I think Regina is just living on some sort of cloud and there was all this anger inside of her and she didn’t know what, and it’s possible she just does not know how to handle all the popularity because she’s like 16. So she hides behind a lot of layers and just does stuff for the thrill of it, maybe trying to get some sort of enjoyment in life, but nothing is enough. And eventually she snaps and watches the world burn. Maybe this is why all the songs she has in the movie, including the ones that originally had more singers, only had her singing now. Showing that, even when she is around people, she is alone… (yes, the other girls sing in world burn but they don’t sing to her in the same way) and she has not found her real place in the world and she acts like she knows it all but she doesn’t really. And everyone keeps telling her how great her life is. If her life is so great, why does she feel so unsatisfied?

They didn’t ruin Revenge Party which I appreciate. I also loved that they added the deleted lines from the musical. I wish that Cady has more power in her voice when she shouted ”ONE CANDY CANE PLEASE” but oh well.

The way they all reported on the incidents at North Shore high like it was national news… like, my schools has meme accounts and stuff, but never that we reported on the stuff like it was celebrity gossip lmao. Then again I don’t even live in America so idk what’s going on over there.

I do like how Janis and Damian are the narrators. It’s possible a lot of things that happened was their overexaggerated retellings of what actually happened. Maybe this is just them telling freshmen about tales everyone tells them as they start high school.

School buses keep being the top 10 scariest jumpscares. Laughed out loud tho that instead of focusing on Cady and Regina’s argument, they just argued in the backround and then Janis finished up her song as Regina just gets hit by the bus in the background

I’ll probably have more to say in the future.

#mean girls #mean girls the musical #mean girls 2024

[loregoddess]

2, 3, 8, and 19 for the fandom game, for any fandom(s) you feel like talking about :)

(for 3, fic and/or meta posts, can't actually remember if you've posted straight up fic before haha)

2. My favorite fic from the fandom that I’ve read

I haven't read a ton of fic sadly (although I haven't read a lot in general the last few years due to college making me read So Many academic papers and books that I got burnt out and haven't quite recovered my love of reading. Yet). Although, my friend @lookerdewitt has written literally some of the best fic I have ever read, so I would probably say one of their fics.

3. My favorite fic from the fandom that I’ve written myself

I have actually sort of written fanfic (both legit fanfic, and also a few "thinly veiled technically fanfic if you changed the names" for a fiction writing class that I had to write several stories for and wanted to see if I could get away with it), but I haven't actually. Shared those fics with anyone? Partly bc I have historically almost never finished any fiction writing project that I have started, ever, and partly bc I'm just shy about sharing my writing in general.

I have been working on a LoZ fancomic idea for the past uhhhh four or five years (technically last decade since I first came up with the idea in late high school and then had it sit in the back of my head for several years bc all I had was a setting and a handful of characters), and I have never in my life stuck with a project this long, so I guess that would be my favorite from my personal works bc it's apparently something I care about enough to not abandon entirely. I've actually made a decent amount of progress on my "detailed outline" recently, so here's hoping I can stick it out and actually get to the script and then to drawing pages one day.

For meta posts I think my favorite is actually my analysis of the Octopath 1 cast and how the major antagonists in each of their stories acts as a mirror and foil to each character. I really enjoy analyzing stories in general, but I so rarely write it out, so I was happy to actually do so for once. Gave me a lot of confidence for all the other meta and headcanon posts that I wrote afterwards.

There's also a Legend of Dragoon meta post sitting partly-finished in my drafts where I analyze themes surrounding each dragoon spirit and its wielders, which I haven't finished bc I only remember to work on it when I'm doing my yearly replay of LoD, and also bc it started looking like it might need to be a series of posts due to uh....length. Like I make a lot of lengthy posts, but each dragoon spirit's analysis was about a short essay's worth of words, and there are eight spirits soooo....hopefully I'll finish that one day, bc it's an analysis I've spent years thinking about.

8. Is there anything I wish people would write more about in fics? (A dynamic, an exploration of an arc, just a character that doesn’t get much screentime, etc)

I'm always a sucker for post-canon healing/recovery/rebuilding arcs. Can't get enough of them honestly (when I have the motivation to read). There's something so fascinating about looking at a character who Went Through Some Stuff, but the main narrative didn't look at the effects of that, and so a dedicated writer took up the challenge of trying to explore what comes after.

Most of my favorite characters are weird side characters who don't get a lot of love from the writers of canon or fans, so I'm always glad to see stuff for them as well.

19. Favorite headcanon

Oh hmmm, there's a lot and it depends on which media we're talking about, so if you're curious about a specific game let me know. Off the top of my head though hmm...

Okay I have this headcanon that Milo TriStrat snorts when she laughs genuinely. Like sure she's got the ladylike proper, cute laugh that's part of her spy job and totally fake, but when she is being fully honest and laughing for real, she snorts.

#space-spring #ask game #I still don't have an ask tag #the fact that I got an idea in high school wrote a short blurb that I didn't feel was going anywhere and shelved said idea for uh #close to a decade before I suddenly all at once had a plot to go with the setting and characters like #never throw out your old stuff I guess you never know when it'll come back to you

[hiccanna-tidbits]

AKGHBKUEFYDGJ when I tell you I just BARELY got all my submissions from last year's Hiccanna month in in time for this year's Hiccanna month--

Truly I have levels of procrastination inside me that most college students can only dream of.

So anyways, here's a moodboard for a fic I wrote a full-ass year ago. A moodboard that I made...last week XD Better late than never, I guess?

The fic is We're at the movie scene where everyone drowns, and it's also posted both on my AO3 Infrared_Ultraviolet and my ff.net Infrared-Ultraviolet! Go check it out :3 Hopefully I'll have the time and energy to write more full-length one-shots for Hiccanna month this year, but we will have to see! I'm a working woman now earning the big bank so I can continue to pay my internet bills and maintain the fandom lifestyle XD

Anna gets to have terrible insomnia because she is my beloved projection blorbo and she gets to deal will all of my issues for me <3 But hey, it's not like it doesn't have canon basis! We see that she does in fact have trouble getting up in the morning (enough to make it a running gag!) and is pretty bleary and out-of-it when she does, which could easily be the result of not running on much sleep and (unwillingly) staying up late. We can also see pretty consistently that she's not what would be considered a "morning person" (although I have my doubts such a thing even exists in real life). Anna's pretty heavily ADHD-coded, which often has insomnia as a side effect because your brain will not turn off ever, least of all when you need to sleep. Things like time blindness when you get super into doing something right before bed or existing anxiety and/or paranoia that's exacerbated by the ADHD really do not help, either.

Anyways, I'm here to tell you that the fear of forgetting your sleep meds when you're going on a short trip/crashing at a friend's house is very, very real. Especially since you often don't realize it until everyone else is already dozing off and no one wants to take you to the pharmacy to buy more XD At that point, your options are a) start taking shots in hopes the alcohol drowsiness will put you to sleep or b) lie awake and get bored and angry and hate your life and also have no one else to talk to because everyone else went to sleep in under 5 minutes. Yes, it really is that bad.

The one upside is that there IS the possibility you will get to watch your crush sleep in a non-creepy way (like you didn't seek them out like a stalker--you just can't go the fuck to sleep and they happen to be 5 feet away!) and fawn over how cute they look doing it XD Which is the only thing that gets Anna through the night, I'm pretty sure!

Although being alone with the stars and the creature noises doesn't sound half bad, if you HAVE to stay awake XD Better than staring at the wall of your room, anyways! Still praying for Anna to get that Starbucks the next morning, tho ^^;

Man, I really wish my college campus had had a duck pond with amusing but occasionally aggressive geese. We had some pretty insane squirrels, but staring down a squirrel is just not the same as being chased by a hissing goose. This is something that I think should happen to everyone at some point, to keep humanity humble. Also being followed around by hungry honking geese while you try to evade them and go to class sounds like the exact kind of college shenanigans I needed in my life! Instead of the depression-laden mess it actually was ajnsdlkuhkuedgh

I love the idea of Anna kinda inadvertently memorizing Hiccup's freckle patterns and finding little designs in them, like constellations <3 She pays WAY too close attention to him, and it shows XD I remember back in college I was gone af for this one guy, and I noticed he had this freckle pattern on his cheek that kind of looked like a baseball diamond. And I adored the fuck out of it ;____; If anyone replaced him with a clone who didn't have that little baseball diamond, I would catch on SO DAMN FAST. I imagine Anna would do the same thing with Hiccup XD Ain't nobody swaps Hiccup for a doppelganger without Anna being ON THE FUCK TOP OF IT.

Pretty pleased with how this one came out! I kind of wanted to do a juxtaposition of dark pics with well-lit pics, and I think the end result turned out pretty decent! Also ended up with a green, orange/brown, purple, and black color scheme, which all go together surprisingly well :O

Any modern AU Anna would also definitely own that exact greenish-blue sweater. Just sayin!

As always, pic credits available upon request!

#hiccanna #hiccannamonth #hiccannamonth22 #hiccannamonth2022 #aesthetic #moodboard #hiccup x anna #anna x hiccup #hiccupxanna #annaxhiccup #hiccup #anna #hiccup haddock #princess anna #rotbtd #rotbtfd #modern au #college au #camping au #httyd #frozen #crossover

[mazoie]

Happy New Year's!!

I wrote an iruazz fic just for new year's, since i'm so generous it's on my A03 (Android_User) as 'Flowers in the Night Sky' :D i'll put it here too cuz why not (there will be a sequel btw)

"Oh, come on Azzy dear, let your mother come with you!" Amaryllis complained. There was a school event going on, as well as parents being encouraged to join. Alice dreaded whenever the invitations reached her.

"Mother, I've expressed very clearly that I'd like to keep this affair classified. I don't need you messing up my plans." He groaned. Although his words only seemed to make Amaryllis more ecstatic. She poked at him in a playful manner, now wearing a familiar condescending, grinning look.

"Huhu, what kind of plans do you have in mind, Alice?" He could feel the haunting energy radiating from his mother as shivers ran down his spine.

 Alice flustered, turning away, "They're not important. I'm just going there with Iruma-sama."

His mother laughed at her son's reaction, "Oh, but alright," Amaryllis sighed in fake despair. She wished she could cause mischief with the 'Iruma' that he spoke of so often, but that time would sadly have to wait. "Go have fun, dear." Alice who was already out the door, waved goodbye and began flying to Babyls.

'I was almost forced to bring her along...I've got to be more careful. For Master Iruma's sake.' Alice resolved, arriving at the school. He couldn't see Iruma in the sea of demons, until he saw the shine of bright blue hair shouting his name. Excitement filling him to the brim, Asmodeus went over to him. He was sitting at a picnic table, and likely inviting him to sit as well.

"Heya, Azz!" Iruma greeted with a smile, patting the spot across from him. "Hello," Alice bowed, returning his grin and sitting, "I hope you weren't waiting long, Iruma-sama."

The boy sitting opposite to him shook his head, "I only got here a few minutes ago, it's really fine," He cringed, remembering something. Alice noticed, taking on a sympathetic look. "Are you feeling alright?"

Iruma shook his head, smiling wearily. "I'm fine, don't worry. Grandpa made me use the carriage, heh. So I'm pretty early."

Alice nodded, internally smiling to the mental image of Iruma arriving in a carriage flustered, using his school bag to cover his face. "What do you wanna do first?" Iruma asked, looking around the bright festivities around him. It caught Alice off guard, so he had to think for a few beats of silence.

"I—"

A loud bang erupted, interrupting the two. "Looks like they started the fireworks show," Iruma laughed dryly. The pink-haired demon nodded, tempted to share his inappropriate smile. The festival was supposed to last until midnight, since school would resume the next day at 6am. It made Alice nervous, since Clara said she wouldn't be able to come earlier that school day. On the inside, he was ecstatic.

"I suppose so," Alice smiled brightly. Iruma's stomach growling made them look in the sky for a second firework, before looking at each other for less than a second and bursting into laughter.

"Sounds like you're hungry, Iruma-sama. How about we go to some of the food stands?" Alice suggested, getting up. 

Iruma nodded, smiling. "Food sounds good!"

They walked to and bought out almost all of the food-related stands there were at the festival before Iruma was full, enjoying themselves each step of the way. The shorter male tried to help get Alice over his fear (in his words, 'disdain') of fish, to no avail. He tried feeding him some of his grilled salmon he'd gotten earlier, to which Asmodeus declined almost straightaway.

"Apologies Iruma-sama, but I don't think I should..." Alice laughed, Iruma joining soon after.

As they saw the different attractions, they slowly grew apart, deciding to split apart to see separate things and go report back to the other as soon as demonly possible. 'How noble of Iruma-sama, not being afraid to take charge in seizing what he wants! Oh, how I'll miss him.' 

Alice wandered the stands by himself, uninterested.

He skimmed past stands with games and events he'd much rather do with Iruma than by himself. Shooting games, fishing games, devidol-inspired games and such. Eventually, he strolled down an alley—much to the dismay of his instincts. Alice's boredom was truly getting to the best of him.

He'd probably subconsciously wandered down this specific alley since as Alice crept closer, he began to hear voices from further down. 'Weird,' he thought to himself, growing cautious.

Alice Asmodeus decided to go check out two hushed voices in the back of a dark alley late at night.

"Gaap--like--" So Gaap is here? Who's talking to him?  He scooted closer.

"Sorry, I just--love--" And closer.

"I--too, Agares--" Agares and Gaap? So it's the two of them. He finally neared the corner, being able to hear their full sentences.

"I'm glad. I, uh, it's embarrassing but I thought you didn't like me back." Wait...what?

"Don't worry about it! Though, I wonder what made you think to tell me here." Alice decided to leave, since it wasn't his business. But seeing the two confess to each other...

Now he had a plan.

"Hello, Iruma-sama!" Alice greeted, waving him over. "I hope you've been enjoying yourself! Is there anything else you'd like to do here?"

Iruma nodded, beaming. "Do you think the fireworks show is still going on? It sounds like a lot of fun, and we heard it earlier! I hope we didn't miss it." He rambled, unknowingly going just as Alice had hoped.

He put his hand on his chin briefly, to give the impression he was thinking. Although it made Alice feel bad that he had to lie to Iruma, he knew it was for the greater good. As he was startled by distant booms in the sky, Alice took Iruma's hand and started searching for a good viewing spot.

"Azz, what, uh, what exactly are you doing?" Iruma asked, being dragged across the school grounds.

"Apologies, Iruma-sama, but I have something important to tell you," He paused, feeling himself flush as he realized the severity of what he was actually about to do. "And I need to say it...privately. If you don't mind."

Iruma stayed silent the rest of the walk, sending Asmodeus mixed signals. He didn't know about the butterflies stirring in the shorter male's stomach that dried his mouth up and clogged his throat. 'What is he trying to say?' Iruma thought to himself, biting the inside of his cheek. 

"...We're here." Alice mumbled with his eyes unintentionally closed, fidgeting with his red fingernails. After opening his eyes again, he saw Iruma staring at him with big, expectant eyes. 

Alice melted.

"Now, the thing I wanted to tell you-" He stuttered, almost jumping at the sudden noise of a firework blasting off and interrupting him. Asmodeus tensed as he opened his mouth to continue speaking, but when he saw the glittering excitement in his eyes while watching them bloom, he relaxed.

'This is a pretty extensive firework.' Alice thought offhandedly. An idea popped into his mind, making him all the more embarrassed. 'With the next big one, I'll just get it over with. Saying it to him without him hearing would put me at ease, at least for a little while.'

Before he knew it, a gigantic firework lit up where they sat, as well as the sky. Alice took a deep breath, and prepared himself.

"Iruma-sama, I," He pushed the words out, no matter how flustered he'd become. "I like you. I admire you so much, and for a long time, I've always thought that it's gone past the lines of friendship. I know that you probably just think of me as your, uh, friend, but I just wanted you to know that I'm in love with you, Iruma-sama."

Unexpectedly, a red-in-the-face Iruma turned to him, seeming speechless. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, fishing for the right words to say.

"Azz, I—"

He was interrupted by another bright flower, blossoming in the night sky.

#asmodeus x iruma #iruma x asmodeus #asmodeus alice #mairimashita! iruma kun #m!ik #gay #agares x goemon #goemon x agares #archive of our own #fanfic #wholesomeness

[sasusc]

WIP Challenge

Tagged by: @mistressheroine, which I need to thank for tagging me. I've been too busy to really write but I forced myself to open a doc and wrote 1300+ (and still going) words to a WIP. Although it helps that I'm working alone today and don't have to supervise anyone.

• in a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

• post a snippet from one of them. snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. we’re posting progress here. if you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

• after you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. you must then write 3 sentences in that file. if the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

• that’s it! you can invite others to join in, or just post.

File names:

Bethyl Mika Judith Escape Take 2

Family Made

Secrets, Merle's

Kink Sequel

Omega-verse Ch7

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

He flinched as he felt Beth's hand touch his arm.

"Sorry," she whispered quietly.

"I'm fine. 'Sides, your Daddy is busy with Bible study with Merle." He chugged from the jar, trying to drown out the conversation he had overheard.

"Never took Merle as the religious type."

"He's had too many close calls with death not to believe in a God. Ain't one for church…Dixons never were…but Merle says… Fuck, if I remember what that asshole says. Full of bullshit." He wished he had another cigarette…or maybe something a bit stronger to get high. Anything to distract him from that.

He watched as the girl took the jar back from him and placed her lips on the rim. She swallowed a couple mouthfuls. Her face scrunched up at the taste.

"I'm glad you and Merle came back. It was wrong for Rick to deny Merle. He's your brother. He's family whether we like it or not."

He snatched the jar and chugged as much as he could. Brother. Yeah, right. He threw the empty jar and watched as it shattered against the wall. Beth flinched next to him. 

"Fuck that. Family don't lie to you your whole damn life. Let you believe something." He smashed a fist down on the concrete they were sitting on. It hurt his knuckles, but it was a welcome pain. 

******

I'm tagging @whovianlili and @rckyfrk and anyone else who wants to do this.

#the walking dead #twd #bethyl #daryl dixon #beth greene #otp #fanfiction #writing challenge #wip fanfiction #current wip #wip ask #fanfic

[teecupangel]

Hi there!! I haven’t been in reading ac fic for a few months (I got very burned out, and I had low spoons and the only thing my brain could concentrate on was my fav movie, Tron: Legacy, so I watched that 20 times and then went through the Entire Ao3 Tag, front to back, back to front, I think I’ve read all of it at this point), but!! Today I started to slowly get caught up on your fics. I am now up to date on Eagle of Alamut and absolutely I am in love with it so so so much. I just. Ugh. Everything about it is so good. (I also love that you have it tagged as probably not a slow burn and it’s 60k+ and they haven’t met yet lmao. It’s a slow burn, but not because they are dancing around each other but cause they haven’t met yet lmaoooo).

I then read The Assassin, The Ghost, and The Heir, which was. Really good lol. I haven’t played GoT yet (I want to tho), and so I think the characters where a bit hard to follow for me personally, but I love all the moments with Darim and Desmond, and I loved Darim’s pov a lot.

And I’m probably gonna put Beloved Moon on my kindle to read, tomorrow?? Or maybe tonight who knows, I am in a reading mood, and my insomnia has been acting up so I’d probably have an update for you at like. 3 am lmao. (You might not remember me, but I was that anon who read The King, and the entirety of fiat mihi in one day, back before it had Altair’s pov chapter. So yeah. I read Fast. Oof).

I am, right now tho, rereading The Second cause it’s one of my all time favorite fics ever. And then I might reread Project Eurydice, cause those are also some of my favorites of all time, lol. A lot of your fics are on my favorites list 😅🥰

Ahhh, anyway, all this to say thank you for making such amazing fics!! I love them all so much, my favorite trope is time travel fix it, and you always do it so well <3 <3 <3 I’m also just giddy that my dumb adhd brain is letting me read AC fic again, and I guess I wanted to share, oof. Sorry for rambling at you, and I hope your week goes well!! 🖤🖤🖤

I’m glad you’re feeling better and please focus on your health first. My fics will always be there for you whenever you feel it. :)

Oh man, the ‘slow burn’ in Eagle of Alamut. Yeeeeaahhh… I’ve had comments about how it should count as a slow burn already. XD

I still remember I read one that was like: ‘this is hardcore slow burn, other slow burns wish they were this slow, and slow burn goals’ and I’m like “It’s… I mean… it’s not like I’m sure yet just how fast and how hard Altaïr is gonna fall in this one but… uuuhhh…”

I promise, if it takes a while for Altaïr to fall, I’ll change the tag to “holy shit it is slow burn i’m so sorry” XD

(But, teecup, when will Altaïr appear?) Uuuhhh… I might… be planning to do it… in a specific special date? Maaayybbeeee???

I’m glad you enjoyed The Assassin, The Ghost, and The Heir, I really enjoyed writing Darim’s POV and his interactions with Desmond (if you can, you should play GoT. It’s a really good game… although I don’t have any leg to stand on with my opinion since I grew up watching Kurosawa Akira films so the bias is definitely there. Even the PS4 version is so beautiful. If you can’t though, watching let’s play with or without comments is an alternative you can look into :) It’s very old timey samurai movie vibe).

Oh man, then I hope you enjoy quickly reading all the fics you haven’t read yet, hahahaha.

Aaawww, I’m so happy to read that and it always makes me smile knowing you guys reread the fics I write. The Second is probably one of my personal favorite Yew Branches but that’s mainly because it’s the first one I wrote and I had so much fun writing Desmond getting such a loving family. (Also, I’m a sucker for Darim and Desmond interactions of any kind XD)

Oh, man. Project Eurydice. Ngl, Old Master is still one of my favs mainly because it’s a 50k fic all posted in one chapter and it’s the only fic that AO3 was like “hey, dude, I know you’re trying to update but I can’t, there’s too much, you’ll be seeing this error-try again later page a lot, sorry, man”. It’s the main reason why any fics that exceed 30k get the multichapter fic treatment. (sometimes, I do still think if it should be better if I edit it to be multichaptered instead). I had hoped to write a new fic set on that one around Ratonhnhaké:ton’s birthday but April was… well… March and April were not cooperating with me this year. Maybe some other time. We’ll see XD

Feel free to ramble all you want here in my ask box or even in AO3. I always try to answer them with a bit of a ramble of my own XD

#ask and answer #no but seriously #i made a promise to myself never to delete any fics #even if i am no longer in that fandom or i don’t like it anymore #because they might become my dark history but they are my history nonetheless

[rhube]

You gotta be real careful if you're gonna BOTH trash the source material AND say you're gonna write a fic with better plot and dialogue.

'Cause, we all critique the things we love, but the people who wrote the source material got paid for that. They have met a bar many fanfic writers have not. Some of us also get paid to write IRL - and some who don't get paid write AMAZING things anyway - but as a rule, I approach fanfic reading with a pinch of salt, 'cause most of it... it's not professional standard and that's OK, right?

But if you really lay in thick about how you hate the source material AND think the writing is bad, so you just HAVE to write fanfic to do a better job...

I mean...

You better be writing some stellar fuckin' fanfic, you feel me?

And as a rule, I tend to find that anyone who's got good at writing has developed some respect for others who are professional writers - not because we like everything every other professional writer produces, but because we know what it takes to get there.

And quite apart from all that... you know most people reading fanfic are in the fandom because we *love* the source material... right? We might have some significant issues with it. We might disapprove of things said or done by the creators. We might have written lengthy critiques. But all of that comes from a place of passion about *something* in the source we really liked.

So, I'm just saying, if your opening notes say you hate the thing we all love, and that the writing is terrible, AND that you're gonna do better... even if you're Willy Shakespeare, you have set yourself up for a fall. I am probably not gonna give as much salt to you as I would most fic writers if your writing is missing something.

I wish I could remember who I first heard this from, because it's so helpful, but when you see something you think is bad writing become successful, try not to get bent out of shape about the injustice of it. Instead, ask yourself *why* it was successful. Because it's not *just* nepotism/privilege etc (although that often plays a part). If it's successful, it means a lot of people *did* like it enough to buy it. There was *something* there that was worth having. And it may be something your own work lacks.

I first heard this said about Twilight, and that tracks for me. Because I tried to read the first book and I didn't get past the first ten pages. I don't think it's well-written. But the writing meets a publishable bar a lot of fanfic doesn't, and I'm not mad it's successful. Stephenie Meyer tapped into a BUNCH of tropes a lot of people really fucking like - and some of those *I* like. That's why I tried to read it.

I can learn things from Meyer's success, instead of resenting it.

Instead of starting by saying the source material sucks and you're gonna do better (insulting the creators and fans and bigging yourself up), why not just say 'I always wished they had done THIS; so I wrote it!'

There's nothing wrong with writing fix it fics or AUs or 'what if canon, but scientifically accurate' or whatever it was you didn't like - these are among the many great ways fanfic writers try to improve on things they didn't like in the source material. But you can do that without insulting eeeeeverybody, you know?

Whatever other flaws a creator has (probably many, they're human - unless they're chatgpt, in which case why were you supporting theft by reading it? Don't read AI-written fic) they still created a world and characters that captured people's imagination and hung together well enough for people to want to write more in that world. That is a legitimate skill. It's the main thing that makes fanfic writing much, much easier than original fiction writing - I say this as someone who writes both. Quite frankly, this is why I've only published short fiction and non-fiction myself: I have never finished writing an original fiction novel. It's a huge amount of work. It is SO much easier playing in a world someone else made.

There is some great writing in fanfic. Some of it is better than the source material. All of it is based on a foundation someone else laid. A foundation that could only be laid with hard work, experience, and skill.

Respect is cheap, you know? And it makes it easier to learn from those who have gone before.

[These points do not apply to critiquing bigoted content in source material or bigoted behaviour by creators. I'm sure many fanfic writers are much better people than some who have gained great success. You don't have to respect any of that - I don't. I'm specifically talking about notes that say the source writing is bad and they hate the work AND the fanfic writer is gonna do a better job across the board. That's the point at which I start giving the side-eye.]

[ohcaptains]

JESUS.

FUCKING.

CHRIST.

SO-

I just finished reading the Abby fic you wrote about her being sorry

god i wish i could remember the name of it, im sure it was something beautiful but i don't feel like going back now because im in the middle writing this ask

I-

I have no words.

(and despite not having any words, i continued to write blabbering paragraphs after paragraph about this)

I think that fic genuinely broke me.

I had a a cathartic experience I swear to you, on everything hshsh

I had to stop at one point just to compose myself because several times I just started sobbing?? I promise it was the best kind of sob I've experienced

Although this has got to at least one of the first times that I've cried from fluttering, blossoming overwhelming feelings while reading and taking it all in

i was so immersed, like being submerged into the ocean that is Abby.

i want to let this work consume me whole.

it's so utterly beautiful and breathtaking, it's dizzying and it feels like all the air being knocked out of your lungs, reads like the loveliest fucking thing.

all the descriptions??

halfway through i realized it was you, after noticing the ohcaptains blog name at the top and i lost my mind even further, if that was even possible.

it all made sense, why it was such a damn elysian piece of fiction, why it was able to extract and pull such intense feelings and emotions from me

i remembered the eddie series you had written a while back, in the summer, in the height of my stranger things hyperfixation and it all connected and tied in.

thank you thank you thank you.

that's all.

i love your writing and i hope you keep writing like this, never loose your spark and your passion for it :)

i hope this didn't come across as weird 😭 i swear i surprised myself with the sheer ability of that fic to get such reactions from me

ill see you around

who knows what else sort of masterpieces you can make ;)

i actually don’t know what to say to this lmaoooooo the way i stared and re read it over and over again to make sure u were actually saying what i thought u said 🥹🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧🤧 stop it. from the bottom of my heart, thank u sm<3 thank u for taking the time to tell me this !!!! & i really hope u enjoy the other writing i put out<3 thank u thank u thank u

#apricxtt #ask #lovely people #THE LOVELIEST PERSON

[youaremy-dreamgirl]

Punch Drunk Love - Chapter III

Heartbreak

Pairing: Jinki x reader (and some brief Minho x reader)

Genre: angst

Word count: 1.7k

Summary: Jinki has some thoughts (and feelings!) about you and Minho being together

A/N: well this wrote itself and now I have a chaptered fic, something I've never thought I would do! Make sure to check chapters I and II of the Punch Drunk Love series to catch up on these three before diving into this mess lmao.

Series Masterlist -- Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Chapter V | Chapter VI

-------------------------------- ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ --------------------------------

Jinki sighs as he closes the door to his room. He should have seen it coming, honestly; he knew Minho liked you and that something had happened between you two the other day, but he still wasn't prepared for this whole thing to be right on his face.

He chooses a song and turns up the volume right as he hears Minho's bedroom door close, taking a deep breath while doing so. He has no reason to be this upset -and he definitely wishes he wasn't-, but what was he supposed to do, when all he's ever wanted was what Minho was having right now?

He can't forget the after-party of his musical's opening night and that breaks his heart. The show was a success, so logically everyone was cheerful and happy, but the way you praised his performance had him feeling weirdly proud of himself, your words filling his heart like no one else's. He could blame it on the booze but really, deep down, he already knew he liked you, although he couldn't bring himself to make any move, afraid that you'd turn him down.

But the night went on and suddenly you were there, smiling at him and asking for the nth time to dance; he had turned you down every time, and every time you had pouted, but this time you laughed and stayed by his side. The place was so loud he could barely make out what you were saying, so you leaned closer to his ear, once again congratulating him on his excellent singing. He smiled shyly and turned his head to thank you, only to find you turned yours too and now your faces were incredibly close. You stared at each other for a moment, both your breaths stuck in your throats, but when he leaned in and kissed you he felt you tense up, so he took a step back and mumbled an apology, quickly leaving and getting lost in the crowd. He left the bar soon after, embarrassed, not sure he'll be able to face you again that night.

Talking to you the next day, you admitted you had drunk a lot and didn't really remember much about the previous night, so before doing anything stupid, he decided to let it go... although the memory of the kiss -of finally kissing you, even if it was under those circumstances- still lingered on his brain.

But the truth is, you've lied. You remember; god, you remember everything. The issue with bars is that alcohol plus dim lights plus loud music do not make a good match, because based on your recollection of the facts, it was you who leaned in for the kiss -not him-, only for him to break it and take a step back apologizing. You remember clearly how he disappeared and how you stood there, a sudden and poignant ache in the middle of your chest you didn't know how to handle.

To you, opening night was when you realized you liked him more than just a friend. Watching him singing about love and acting out a romance made you yearn for that kind of affection, but soon you realized it wasn't the abstract idea of love you craved, it was with him, specifically, that you wanted to experience it. You were surprised at your own thoughts, when did that happen? You couldn't deny his good looks even if he wasn't your type, and on top of that, he was one of the best friends you've ever had, so sweet and caring. You spent the whole play daydreaming, going back to every time you've interacted and picking your brain to see if he showed any signs of wanting something more than friendship (and if you've been too blind to see it). Was he just as nice to you as he was to everyone else, or was there something different about your relationship? You didn't have to wait long to get your answer though, him fleeting the bar after that fateful kiss was enough proof of how wrong you were.

So now here you both are, tangled in a complete misunderstanding that resulted in you forcing yourself to move on and having sex with non-other than his roommate while he is trying to drown any sound from the room next to his and stop the tears in the corner of his eyes from falling down.

It is just his luck to hear a moan from you right when one song faded and the next one was about to start, his jaw clenching and his eyes closing shut. It isn't fair, what does Minho have that he doesn't? You barely even know him. He turns around in his bed and covers his head with the bedspread, groaning, hoping the night would end already.

**

He wakes up and the first thing he hears is you giggling. Great, you spent the night. He considers feigning a cold or anything that would make him not leave his room, but he's too hungry to skip breakfast. Soft footsteps approach his door but they stop, and seconds later he gets a text from Minho. "Hyung are you awake? There's food"

He groans, sitting up on his bed and ruffling his hair. "I'll be there in a sec" he sends back, against his better judgment. He gets dressed and leaves his room, and the first thing he sees when he enters the kitchen is you sitting on the table.

"Hey Jinks" you greet him, looking up from your phone and flashing a sleepy smile "there's coffee over there" you signal behind your back with your head. You are dressed in Minho's clothes and he bets you even smell like him. Fucking great.

"Great, thanks" he mumbles, walking past you with his head hanging low. He gets a cup out of the cupboard and hears Minho entering the room while he's pouring his coffee.

"Morning hyung!" he yells, but lowers his voice before speaking again "Babe, I'm gonna shower real quick, ok?"

You hum in agreement and you kiss, or at least that's what he hears. He puts the cup down a little too forcefully and some hot coffee spills on his hand, making him curse out loud.

"Are you ok?" you ask

"Yeah yeah, spilled some coffee" he says, turning around to face you. Minho's gone and it's only the two of you now. His heart skips a beat and he realizes he definitely can't be in the same room as you, not when you are looking so radiant. He darts past you but you are quick to grab his wrist, making him stop.

"What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been avoiding me the whole week" you tug at his wrist to make him face you "You can't even look at me right now"

"I'm just tired" he lies

"Sure" you reply, scrunching your eyes. "Is this making you uncomfortable? Me being here?" you ask, and he can tell you are worried by the tone of your voice.

He takes a deep breath. He can't think of what to say without admitting his feelings for you, and the more he delays his answer, the more anxious he gets.

"It's ok, I'll leave" you spit out, collecting your phone from the table and getting up.

"I- I don't-" he sighs. Fuck, you're angry now. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you"

"That's not what I asked, but ok" you take a couple of steps but stop, turning around "I thought you'd be happy for me. We are friends, and friends are supposed to be happy for each other"

"You're right"

"Then what's wrong?" you ask softly.

He can feel himself starting to shake, and closes his hands in fists to control it. You notice, and insist "Jinki, talk to me"

He hesitates for a moment, but finally speaks. "I can't be happy for you when I wish you'd be with me instead" he blurts out, looking down to avoid your eyes.

You open your mouth, a confused look on your face. It only lasts for a second before you let out an exasperated scoff.

"Really? Now you like me? When I'm dating someone else?"

He raises his eyebrows. "You are dating?"

"That- ugh, that's not the point, don't dodge the question"

"I've always liked you, Y/N" he sighs

"Yeah, right, you've always liked me, that's why you ran away that night after we kissed"

"You said-" he purses his lips, lowering his voice "you said you didn't remember!"

"Of course I remember, but what did you want me to say? You literally disappeared after I kissed you"

"YOU? You kissed me?" he whispers, pointing at his chest "I kissed you!"

"What? That's not how it happened!"

"What do you mean 'that's not how it happened?' I was there!"

"So was I!"

You look at each other with furrowed brows, dumbfounded. He pinches the bridge of his nose, letting out a breath before speaking again.

"Y/N, I kissed you but you... you froze" he shrugs "I said I was sorry and left because I didn't know what else to do... I thought you rejected me"

"That's... Jinki... that's not..."

He's getting dizzy and can feel his heart beating out of his chest, and by the look on your face, you must be feeling the same.

"Please tell me it's not too late" he begs

"Are you kidding me?" you whisper, pointing to the bathroom door, just when you both hear Minho stepping out of the shower "We can't do this right now. I can't-"

"I know. I'm sorry" he apologized, turning around and scurrying to his room.

You stand there, unable to do anything but stare at the empty space where he used to be, until Minho shows up, towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey... everything ok? Where's Jinki?"

"He...uhm, he went to his room" you shrug

He nods, grabbing your hands; before he can say anything, you pull him closer and hug him tightly. He hugs you back, kissing the top of your head.

You look up at him, resting your chin on his chest "I have to go home now" you pout

He pouts back. "I know. Let me change and I'll drive you"

"Sure" you smile.

He kisses your cheek and leaves. You stand there, breathing deeply and biting your lip.

This is a fucking mess.

#shinee x reader #jinki x reader #onew x reader #minho x reader #shinee fanfic #jinki fanfic #onew fanfic #minho fanfic #shinee angst #jinki angst #onew angst #minho angst #shinee #jinki #onew #minho