#CO rough draft week 9

[hideyseek]

5, 9, 12!

crab!! hi hi hi hi hi hiiiii~! ty for quastions :3

from fanfic asks for the new year

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

aha, well. technically the first is mini heist!au but none of it is written that is in the shape of the final thing that i haven't already posted on here so i'm gonna cheat and say uh. wow huh okay then i kind of have no idea. ah! maybe my arthurcobb fic then! cos it sure won't be narrative!fic, lol!

here is a snippet from the current draft which is uhh three and a half years old (by which i mostly mean to say, there are a couple things in here i would write differently now.):

Arthur brings his coffee up to the counter where Dom has already deposited his onion rings and says, “Excuse me, can I purchase a — a temporary phone?” If he doesn't call it a burner maybe he will come off as more the kind of person he actually is. The cashier puts up a finger in question and Arthur nods but behind him Dom says firmly, “Two.”  Arthur turns, surprised. “Why — we don’t need two?” They’re traveling together, after all. Arthur’s not about to leave Dom alone, so it’s not like Dom will need his own phone. It’s not like Dom’s super functional, anyway. The three days he’d spent on Arthur’s couch before they read the news and had to leave town extremely suspiciously, he’d really just spent on the couch. “We don’t need two phones, Dom,” Arthur repeats.  “What if we get separated,” Dom points out. “How would we get in contact with each other again? You should have your own phone, too.” Arthur would rather not think about circumstances that would separate them. Dom says, “Arthur,” and it feels pointed. Something like panic hollows Arthur’s chest. Things are already out of control, apparently. Two days into being on the run and apparently Dom can call these shots but he can’t be on the run by himself.

9. Short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in January?

ahaha actually, getting this ask made me decide that i'm going to try my absolute best to finish the project i've been calling "mini heist!au" (which ... at this point ... is just an au of heist!au without any heists in it, lmao) this month! i used answering this ask as my bribe for reading through all the existing material and drawing up a revision plan / new fic story structure actually. i'm not sure i'll be able to, i suspect there are 2-4 drafts and i simply do not write that fast (at least one from scratch based on a new outline, possibly a second from scratch, and then a second/third that's just like. content/theme/cadence/character arcs etc revisions. though that might get complex enough to be two drafts). but we'll see! there are still 24 days so at this current moment i am optimistic :3

12. Will you change anything about the way you edit or rewrite this year?

YES I SURE FUCKING WILL. I HAVE BEGUN IT ACTUALLY, mostly i'm continuing to test a thing i tried in december 2023 to see if it still works for projects that aren't the specific situation of the beginning of devotion (so far, yes!) anyway the way that process goes is like this (recipe below):

first, write a terrible draft. some scenes can just be a note of what needs to happen. ideally: expend as little fucking effort on this as possible bc like. almost none of this will stay. just write enough to get the vibes of what you're going for.

second, read through that draft taking notes of what you like or don't like (or, the way i phrase it for myself to make the goal clearer "what feels like it is aligned with my vision for the fic vs what isn't") but most importantly. WHY.

for me doing this second step has 2/2 turned into "here is a rough outline of the story, completely restructured" but also, with no ending (which is fine, i just have to trust that the ending will appear when more of the draft is written).

third, compile those notes on a new draft into a narrative-order outline (linear for me).

fourth, write the new draft.

fifth, try to do step 2 again. but what i found for the beginning of devotion and therefore what i'm to a certain extent expecting, is that i will just have a bunch of Ns/dislikes and then go. ah. because the things i dislike are too granular to require big-picture story structure changes now.

sixth, copy the most recent draft into a new doc. and read through and revise directly on the page. maybe title at some point so that revision stuff is aligned with the mood/tone/content/vibes/whatever of the title. and maybe come up with initial tags and a summary here also to make sure the vibes are all aligned. hopefully the content of the ending will become clear at this point and you'll draft that for the first or second time.

seventh, idk i like to do an out-loud readthrough bc reading cadence is important to me personally. and also i am scared to lose the skill of reading aloud considering i do it about zero times a year other than this.

that's it basically.

#hidey speaks #ask game #hidey talks fic #is that my tag lol #man my paragraphs used to be so chonkyyy #but also wow im kind of emotional ... some of my older writing is so fucking beautiful #in a way i tried to train myself out of pretty hard the last two years. and now mmm. i'm better at structure but #i'm not sure i know how to get some of that lyricism back

[multiplicity-positivity]

A Day in the Lives of the Dreamland System: Living with DID

Hello! We recently received an ask with a few research questions, one of which asks people with DID to describe what it’s like living with this disorder. So we wanted to make a “day in the life” sort of post where we talk about our daily routine as a DID system!

(Note: while we are diagnosed with DID, we also have many comorbidities that affect our experience. Our life as a DID system will look different from another system’s!)

8:15 - Parker wakes up in the body when the alarm goes off. Sometimes another alter will wake up in the body, say, after a night of rough nightmares or being frontstuck the previous day. We’d guess Parker wakes up in the body about 85% of the time!

8:20 - Ralsei cofronts and gets us ready for the day. Soft brushes our teeth, takes our meds, and gets us into our work clothes. If they have time, they’ll fix a bite of breakfast for us and do some Hebrew practice (whether on Duolingo, writing the alef-bet, or saying and memorizing blessings). Sometimes Toby cofronts during this time!

9:00 - Margo switches in (that’s me!) to drive us to work. Usually I switch when we’ve changed into our work uniform. At work I’m the primary fronter. Parker’s almost always co-con, and sometimes Kip, Ghost, Cecil, or Ralsei will cofront with me to keep me company and make sure we can get through the day. Sometimes there’s special cases - last week Django cofronted with me at work which was his first time fronting in a long time! It all depends on what’s going on in our lives and what our emotional state is like. If it’s slow at work (it usually is!) I’ll hop on this blog and try to answer some asks or draft positivity posts.

5:00 - We clock out and Margo brings us home. Usually I’ve switched out between clocking out and getting in our car, leaving Parker to drive us home, but sometimes I don’t switch until we’ve been home for a few minutes. A couple nights ago I was frontstuck after work for a few hours, which was weird and stressful for me!

5:15 - Kip switches in to play with the cats, shower, then get us stoned. We’re severely mentally ill with lots of chronic pain and fatigue - drugs help us to manage our symptoms and feel calm and safe at home. During this time, Kip may do some reading (on DID/dissociation/psychology, Judaism, or something else), journalling, or play video games alone or with our wife.

7:00 - Ralsei fronts again to make dinner! Fluff never gets to eat the food they make however - if it’s a favorite food of one of our littles, they’ll front to gobble it up. If not, Parker or Kip usually front for dinner.

7:30 - Whoever fronts in the evening is entirely dependent on what we’re doing. If we watch a scary movie with our wife, Alucard will front. If we practice piano, Cecil or Basil will front. If we’re watching cartoons or playing a kid-friendly video game, one of the littles will front (most likely Ollie). Kip and Toby front to study (we’re studying Jewish texts!) and Ralsei fronts to do chores. A few of us may blog or scroll tumblr at this time, and any of us might seek out our cats for scritches and playtime.

We have to keep ourselves very busy during this time, requiring constant distraction to keep us from ending up in a bad place. If we don’t have something to do, we can get in a negative mental spiral and dissociate very quickly. GiGi or Nebula may front (the former is a persecutor, the latter is our autopilot), leaving us feeling overwhelmed and guilty, or empty and numb. Sometimes a traumatized little will front, which sends us into trauma flashbacks - we may feel nervous, terrified, anxious, sad, hurt, confused, and a host of other negative emotions. We may feel stuck in the past, hopelessly tied to our trauma memories, and unable to recognize our surroundings.

Thankfully many of us don’t hold recollection of these times, only hearing about it later from our wife or a journal entry.

11:30 - Bedtime! Parker brushes our teeth if he can remember, then it’s straight to bed. We try to fall asleep quickly - the time between getting in bed and falling asleep can be pretty dangerous for us. It’s when we’re most prone to having hallucinations, so we sleep with a blanket over our eyes to keep us from potentially seeing something frightening.

And that’s how an average day goes for us! Our DID affects every aspect of our life and really informs how we see the world and go about our day. Of course, there may be differences and fluctuations day-to-day, but this is roughly an average of how we live our life. Sometimes we have great communication and memory-sharing, sometimes it’s frustratingly difficult. It really depends on a lot of different things!

We hope some of y’all are able to find this post interesting or enlightening! Truth be told our life may seem pretty boring, but we like and much prefer it this way. ^^

Thanks so much for reading everyone! Take care of yourselves and have a wonderful day!

#osddid #dissociative identity disorder #living with did #cdd system #did system #complex dissociative disorder #drugs mention

[boinin]

I decided to try NaNoWriMo this year. It might not go very well, like I might not even make it halfway... but it's a opportunity to write more than I would in the absence of a deadline.

I'll dump details under the cut for accountability/anyone who's curious about what I'm working on at the moment, but hey: look at this year's pretty badge!

So, if you see me procrastinating on Tumblr over the next weeks... I give you permission to yell at me "log off and get writing!"

My NaNoWriMo backstory is that it was my white whale for years. I tried to hit the goal on multiple occasions, usually giving up about a third of the way in. However, thanks to an ADHD diagnosis, a very understanding partner and a supportive writing group locally, I achieved the 50K milestone for the first time in 2022.

I really want to try again this year. But the one thing that helped me over the line before (free time to catch up at the weekends) isn't a guarantee this time around, as I'll hopefully be moving house between now and Christmas. It's also a particularly stressful time at work, which doesn't help.

I decided to go for it all the same—just not for a new novel. I have so many fanfiction ideas and WIPs I want to finish, I've decided to channel my energies into that.

Here's my planned task list. I've given an indicative word and day count for each item.

There's three Halloweek fic ideas in there, that I just did not have the time or the spoons for this month. There's also some Rare Pair inspired prompts in there, as well as the last two chapters of Cassis Orange. If I achieve nothing else next month, I'm finishing CO. I don't want to let it run into next year 🫠

I'm not starting from scratch on many of these. In most cases, I have an outline or at least a rough plot in mind.

Some are works in progress. The Flower Shop AU already has 3,000 words to its name, while there's like... 11,000 words of CO Chp 9?

However, here's what my CO draft folder looks like:

In short: I do a lot of drafting and redrafting. Chp 9 is far from ready for the world.

While 11K is longer than any other published chapter, most of that count is the same few scenes, rewritten over and over. It's fine; nothing will drive me as crazy as the festival scene in chapter 7 did—but I need some pressure to knuckle down and write, without getting bogged down on editing. So, here's hoping NaNoWriMo is the kick I need to give Kunigiri their happy ending.

This has been my personal mountain. Now to lace up the boots and start climbing. I'll check in over the next few days and weeks to update on how I'm getting on.

#non bllk #personal #nanowrimo #nanowrimo 2023 #writers on tumblr #writing #fanfiction #cassis orange #boinin does nano

[pattybond]

Sketchbook Progress for week 9

When I first heard the song, without looking at the album art nor the video, I thought it sounded so familiar and I couldn’t for the life of me remember why. But when I saw that it was titled flowers it reminded me instantly of the echo flowers in Undertale. The vibe of the song is very reflective and with the water drops and the repetition It was like it was a trip back in time. But I tried to keep with the image, the feeling of the echo flowers as I started to brainstorm. I had a rough idea of what I wanted. I think that there was definitely something inherently sad about the echo flowers so I wanted a child-like silhouette laying in fetal position and surrounded by blue. I had to practice leaves again so it’d feel more natural I also water colored asui from a manga cap;) I considered using her in the pattern but her hair was going to steal the focus. I drew a rough stitch template and used that to try and ground my design in reality, really plan out the stitches in the design. The last sketchbook page is my rough draft and below the transfer onto the cloth:)

#week 9 #rough draft #CO rough draft week 9 #echo flowers #sketch #sketchbook #long post #rip #sketchbook week 9.5

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Thursday 5 November 1835

7 50

1 ½

A- at Cliff Hill - ready in 40 minutes - snowing at 8 - 1st snow this season - the ground white now at 8 ½ at which hour F42 ½°  - dusting and arranging my books till 11 ¼ then breakfast till 11 55 then went out into the Saddle room Booth and Cockroft there the former smoothing the flags to amuse himself should charge me nothing - he sent his masons home at 10 and the 3 farmyard wallers - Robert Mann + 3 came but went away before noon - saw James H- about between 8 and 9 - out in the farmyard and about till 12 20 - then note from A- Cliff Hill by Mr Washington’s servant to say she should not be at home till Saturday - the horses to be ready for her at 3 ½ pm on that day -  Enclosed a letter to ‘Mr Barker ‘ (should have been Barber) the schoolmaster at Leeds (altered the name on the address of the letter to Barber) asking him to come over on Monday -  wrote 3 pages of ½ sheet note in answer to A- disappointed at her not returning this afternoon - should ½ of us be dead of ennui on the spleen if she disappointed me on Saturday..... the letter tout ce qu’il faut [everything that is necessary] and shall be despatched tonight - enclose her a printed note and Throp’s bill, and the letter to her aunt from her sister that came last night - had kept Mr Washington’s man waiting 40 minutes - then wrote the above of today till 1 ¼ - till four and a quarter writing rough draft of long letter to Lady Stuart - had William Keighley at 2 for ¼ hour came to beg off till Monday going to A- tomorrow - said he had better go - well he could if he might be let off at noon - so he is to go to Cliff Hill tomorrow if fine - told him about the Spiggs Loose - that I should try again and put down sluice this time so that I could not obliged the Spiggs co. about the water even if I would - he seemed to think me quite right - said his brother Joseph did not at all like coming the day he came with Thwaite and Cricley Holt - and he (William) had given them up and had done with them long since - he said he should not tell Holt (my agent) but he meant to bid at my new colliery - I said I hoped it would be ready in 18 months - said I would  not have his (William’s) intention of bidding - sold him the trees he felled for me a little while ago at his own valuations - to be taken away by and by and paid for at the rent day 1st Wednesday in January - price £9.1.6. Had Charles H- about 3pm will finish at Walker pit tomorrow - will be wanted then 2 or 3 hours - then in about 4 days will finish for Mark Town at Barraclough cottage - then will take him 3 days for finish Hopkin’s cowhouse - will have all done by next Monday or Tuesday week - and then we will side up for the winter at home - he is to put Lower Place [spouts] amongst hands - next week - wrote the last 17 lines till 4 35 - then went out

SH:7/ML/E/18/0125

sometime talking to Frank in the farmyard - then went to the Conery and gave Matty Pollard 2 ½ sovereigns for Luke Greenwood’s widow for her oven 10/ gooseberry bushes etc in the garden 20/ set-stones that partly fence off the garden 10/. + 10/. a gift for her leaving the cottage to readily - looked over the cottage 2 rooms a cellar and back kitchen in very decent repair - William Pollard told me he had asked Miss Holdsworth what she would take for her 4 Godley cottages and offered her £200 - must he bid anymore? I said I should it was as much as they were worth - perhaps he might get them for that sum and I would buy them of him and give him something for his trouble - said he should have one of them if he liked, to live in at the same rent he pays now 45/. a year and each of the cottages is let at £4 - I asked what I should give him for his bargain - he said he would leave it to me - Matty said I had already promised them one of the cottages at 45/. yes! but said I, William must have a fastening penny - and there the matter ended -  I must give him a sovereign - I had not asked him to buy the cottages for me - he had heard me mention them and spoke about them of his own accord - home at 6 20 - some while with my father and Marian - sealed my aunt’s note to the Vicar enclosing him 2 sovereigns from the family towards the £14.14.0 he has paid Mr Binns for copying his likeness of Mr Sunderland to be put up at the Dispensary - sealed and sent (too) A-‘s letter to Mr Barber of Leeds, and my own note to ‘Mr Joseph Simpson, Iron Founder King Cross lane’ saying I was sorry I could not accommodate him as I did not wish to have foundry near the Northgate hotel - dinner at 7 - coffee - sat reading Michelet’s abrégé of the history of the modern ages - very good - got it when last in Paris - an hour with my father and Marian - read over the newspaper while with them and skimmed over the Gentleman’s magazine - came upstairs at 9 5 - cut open a Frenal work volume 1 and went to my aunt at 9 50 for 20 minutes then wrote so far of this page till 10 40 - Snowy wintery day till between 1 and 2 pm then damp and small snow or rain for an hour or 2 afterwards fair for the rest of the day - F47° now at 10 ¾ pm - Writing out George’s account for the last 6 weeks and looking over bills till 12 ½ - had Firth this afternoon ordered 5 yards inch bore lead pipe 14 lbs to the yard to come on Monday - the town’s inch bore-pipe Firth says is 13 lbs to the yard - he will make me pipe of any weight and lay it at 3d. a lb.

[twdsunshine]

Hiiii 🖤 I hope you don't mind me asking (I'm not trying to be pushy or anything, just curious), do you have a plan for like, what's posting when or what order you're going to be working on things? Just wondering what's coming up that I need to watch out for 😂😂 I hope that's not rude to ask.

Heyyy, sweet Anon! Not rude at all, I promise 🖤 And, yes, I do have a rough plan of when I'm gonna be working on things, so I'll give you a quick run through it if that helps.

So, Blood & Magicks is obviously ongoing. I'm halfway through writing chapter 21 at the moment, so I'm well ahead, and just kinda dipping in and out of it as I get flashes of inspiration. It's such a long project that it's currently scheduled to finish on 7th May next year which is a little insane, so that will just keep posting on Sundays for the foreseeable future.

I've been working on Broken, which I have now decided will run to 12 parts instead of 10 because I have no self-control and it keeps getting away from me. I've just finished writing part 8 of that, so I have 4 parts left to go, and I'm pretty determined to get that finished over the next week or so. That series will wrap up on 18th April.

I then have 6 drabble requests waiting: 5 Daryl x Reader; 1 Rick x OFC. I'll probably crack on with those as soon I've finished writing Broken cos I don't like feeling like people are waiting on me. Luckily, they never take too long as they can be as long or short as I like really, and they don't require much of a plot or anything. Those will just be posted as I get them done.

After that, I have two main projects I want to start on - I'm currently not sure which I want to work on first. Whichever I choose will begin posting on 25th April, most likely.

- One is the third and final mini-series in my Prison AU trilogy (following on from In Dark Corners and Wide Open Spaces). It will be called The World At Our Feet. It's been years since I wrote about Lexi and Daryl, so I'm hoping people still care enough to want to know how their story ends.

- The other is a Negan mini-series called Little Miss, which will be based on the song Little Miss by Sugarland. I haven't really done much for Negan since I've reopened this blog, and I feel like there are a lot of followers here mainly for Negan content, but I'm just finding it a little hard to write him at the moment. I'm currently doing a series rewatch, so I'm hoping when I get to Season 7 I'll find my way with him again.

There's also a Supernatural mini-series idea that I've started to write called Along For The Ride, but that's taken a back seat at the moment cos I need to rewatch a couple of episodes before I feel confident to press on with it. So, that will be coming at some point, but I'm not sure when just yet.

Aaaaand I'll be working on one-shots as and when too. I finished one earlier this week called Choices, a Daryl x Reader which will be posting on 9th March. I have another Daryl one in the works called Ghost Of You which may well be the next one I finish so will post towards the end of March. Any others will depend on what sort of inspiration strikes or possibly new episodes from season 11 because I am loving that so far.

I mean, honestly, I have a document called Fic Ideas which has 9 ideas for series and/or mini-series outlined right now. One of them is an AU which I'm particularly excited about, but I think it may be a little out there for some people. Then I have 3 other WIPs outlined in more detail, or even started, that have been sitting in my drafts for a while or have been inspired by drabbles that I want to build into full stories.

So, yeah. That got a little long, but I am always so, so happy and excited to talk about what I'm working on and what's coming up. If anyone ever wants more info about my WIPs, just holler, cos it gives me so much motivation 😊 Thank you so much for asking!!

#hana answers #writing chat

[xmenrb]

X-Men X-Traordinaire Reverse Bang

ARTISTS

What is an art submission?

An art submission is one (1) completely finished piece/work of art. 

What does finished mean?

No matter the type of art you are creating, it needs to read as a completed work. Black and white? Wonderful! Full colour? Wonderful! Just make sure that whatever it is you’re creating comes across as a completed work! 

When is the art due?

An initial draft of one (1) piece/work of art will be due APRIL 26th. Your final and completed piece/work of art should be finished/in the final stages by the Final Artist Check-In on JUNE 21st and will be DUE on the All Work Due date, JULY 19th

Art submission mediums allowed:

Aesthetic boards, animations, comics, drawings, edits, gifsets 

Art submission medium specifics:

Drawings and edits should be at least 800x600 pixels

Gifsets should have at least 4 gifs per final set

Each page of comic is considered 1 piece

Aesthetic boards should have at least 6 photos

What is due at author claiming:

A rough draft of one (1) piece/work of art you would like to inspire a fic.

What counts as an art draft for author claiming?

Drawings should at least be a rough sketch

Gifsets should have at least 2 gifs

Comics should have at least one panel

Aesthetic boards should have at least 2 photos

All art used for the author claiming can be edited/reworked and is expected to be finished/in the final stages by the Final Artist Check-In (JUNE 21st).

Can my draft art be accompanied by a summary?

We do in fact urge you to attach a short summary to your piece/work of art. It can help give your author a little direction and a better understanding of what you want/were aiming for. Authors are not obligated to write for the blurb. You will be discussing and working together after claiming to create content that makes the both of you happy.

Can my art be in a language other than English?

Unfortunately, no. We would like all work to be completed and submitted in English

How do we finish our piece/work of art?

Once you are given your author contact info, you can discuss ideas and content for the fic. Your draft can be edited/adjusted to better fit with the collaborated idea that is being created. 

Can I make more than one (1) piece of art for my author?

Absolutely!

I need to default out of this event:

Please let us know as soon as you need to do so.

AUTHORS

What is the minimum word count requirement?

5,000 words

How long do I have to work on my fic?

From when you get matched with an artist to the due date, you have 6 full weeks to work on your fic.

Does it have to be complete by the Final Author Check-In (JULY 12th)?

Your fic must be finished or in its final stages by the Final Author Check-In (JULY 12th) and is due on the All Works Due date (JULY 19th)

How do I go about writing a fic based on the art I chose?

You will be put into contact with your artist. Know that this bang is a collaboration, and the two of you will need to work together on what you would like out of the final products. 

Can I have a co-author?

Yes, but please let us know if you are writing with a co-author during the first author check-in (MAY 31st)

What if I need a beta but cannot find one?

We will be asking for betas later on in the event and will email all the authors during the first check-in (MAY 31st) to see if anyone needs one!

Can I write my fic in a language other than English?

Unfortunately, no. We would like all work to be completed and submitted in English. 

Where will I be posting my fic?

You will be posting your fic to the X-Men X-Traordinaire Reverse Bang AO3 collection, here!

I need to default from this event:

Please let us know ASAP so we can find a pinch-hitter.

GENERAL FAQ

What fandom is this event for? 

This reverse bang is specifically focused on the X-Men Alternative Timeline Movies fandom!

What if I’m participating as an artist *and* an author?

Note that you cannot claim your own art. Other than that, you’re good to go!

Do I have to have a Tumblr and an AO3 account to participate?

Authors will need an AO3 account by the due date, as all fics will be posted to the event’s AO3 collection. Artists don’t have to host their art on Tumblr, but their art needs to be easily accessible for everyone with a shareable link. 

How long do artists have to work on their pieces?

Artists will have 9 weeks to complete their art piece. You will have three (3) weeks before matching with an author, and six (6) weeks after.

How long do authors have to work on their fic?

Authors will have a total of nine (9) weeks to complete their fic. 

Is your piece/work of art due by the time author claiming begins?

The only thing an artist needs by author claiming is a rough draft of one (1) piece/work of art

What are check-ins?

Check-ins are a way for mods to ensure everything is running smoothly. Check-ins are mandatory. Check-in emails will be sent out on Mondays and need to be responded to by the following Monday. 

Can I post a WIP?

No. Your fic must be complete. 

How can I contact the mods?

You can contact us via the event Tumblr or by email, at [email protected]

#xmenrb #xmenrb2021 #x-men #xmen #x men #cherik #charles xavier #erik lehnsherr #logan #jean grey #hank mccoy #scott summers

[ryosei-hime]

Writer Tag Game

I got tagged by @ernmark

I’m terrible at tagging people in these so if you see this and want to do it, go for it!

How many works do you have on AO3?

I’m gonna start by saying that I have a larger chunk of fics on FF.net because I wrote more back when I used that instead. I also had a very long hiatus from writing fics at all due to mental health and life stuff.

Also I realized recently that a lot of my RvB fics didn’t end up on AO3 and I just left them here on tumblr which was the last time I was super active with fanfic back in 2014.

So, long way around to say, only 20 that are housed on AO3 specifically.

What's your total AO3 word count?

49,141

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Naptime is Best Time which was my most popular RvB fic. A little humorous Grimmons.

Stolitz Week Oneshots - Some of my most recent work since that event only ended recently. Very specifically I got a lot of those kudos after posting Confession which seems to be well-liked and makes me very happy.

Personal Space which is a HuskerDust chapter fic that deals with Husk’s insecurities regarding his demon form.

Sex and Therapy - An OCxRobo Fizz story in which an imp therapist buys a busted up second hand Fizzarolli Personal Companion with intents to help him professionally but uh. *points at the title* This one was very surprising to me because I don’t expect much if any attention to be given to my OC focused things. So that this one got enough to be on the top five makes me really happy.

Apologies - An Alix/Chat Noir fic that I did for a rare pair exchange. Another one that surprises me. : P Especially as I only watched the first season of Ladybug and often forget I even wrote it.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to and if the comment is longer, I definitely do. With shorter comments, it depends on my mood. I’m socially awkward and whether or not saying just thank you feels inane and unwanted as a response will vary with how I’m feeling. I definitely appreciate all comments! Even one word comments. : P But responding will vary based on my own mental processes and has nothing to do with the commenter or my appreciation for the comment. Some comments will make me particularly happy and I’ll read them over again but still not respond because I don’t have anything specific to say in response. It’s mostly a series of noises that can’t be conveyed in text.

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Oh! That’s definitely Don’t Cry Usagi. A short fic speculating the long term effects of Naru's role as victim in Sailor Moon's crime-fighting life. I don’t do character death a lot but I had this idea and it wouldn’t leave me alone.

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I think I end up with a lot of happy endings. Like there’s probably suffering along the way but in the end things work out more often than not. So, I don’t think that I can say any one fic has a happier ending than another, really.

Do you write crossovers? If so, What is the craziest one you’ve ever written?

I was probably more prone to that when I was younger. I did have one that I never posted anywhere that involved Doctor Drakken from Kim Possible attempting to use a device to access a universe in which he had been successful in taking over the world (I think this was before a Stitch in Time came out) and learn how he did it. But of course the device malfunctions and sort of scatters universes. I used pretty much all the cartoons I was particularly interested in at the time.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I wouldn’t say hate. I’ve definitely received some weird responses though. And all on FF.net.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I only very, very recently starting doing so! Because you can only write a character that’s a sexbot for so long without it coming up. It was important that the second occurrence of full on sex in Sex and Therapy (I fade to blacked the first) actually be written because there was a lot of emotion and bonding involved in it that needed to be shown. Which is why I said fuck it and did the shorter one right before it as well. I had to accept I couldn’t tell that story without sex. It’s in the title! But now I’m more comfortable writing it, so I may be more prone to do so going forward.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I’m pretty sure I had a few snatched up by bots grabbing a bunch all at once. But not by a person that I am aware of.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I’m aware of.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I attempted to do so once with a 9/Labyrinth crossover. I failed you @ernmark​. Forgive me. Actually, there was one other time where I was slightly more successful but it also never got posted anywhere or made it beyond a couple of rough drafts. It was a DBZ fic and I remember a much more talented writer was working with me and I was super grateful for their input and help because this was when I was like *maths* 13? I was super young. We were using yahoo chat to work on it together. And this much better/older writer treated me so nicely and wasn’t condescending at all. It was really nice of them. I will always remember you stranger from yahoo chat.

What’s your all-time favourite ship?

That definitely depends on the fandom. Since these are the two fandoms I’m active in right now: Stolitz is my favorite Helluva Boss ship and HuskerDust is my favorite Hazbin Hotel ship.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Okay, there are two fics I started a million years ago that I think about rewriting and finishing constantly. I even started to rewrite one of them more recently before Helluva/Hazbin took over my brain. One was Foutley’s Phone Buddies which was an As Told By Ginger fic focused on aged up Carl/Blake. The other Was Crouching Tigger, Hidden Rabbit which was a Tigger/Rabbit fic. That’s right. I ship the fuck out of Tigger and Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh.

What are your writing strengths?

Characters and dialogue. I’m someone with very low self-esteem or it used to be very low. I guess it’s gotten better but it’s still hard to say outright nice things about myself. But I’ve never had a problem saying I’m good at characters. Confessions is kind of a point of pride for me right now with that because of how much attention it’s received for being in character.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot and structure. I write primarily by instinct. And my instinct is primarily character driven. What makes it easy for me to just churn out character interactions without thinking makes it difficult for me when I have to stop and slow down long enough to figure out what’s actually supposed to be happening in the story and in what order for the best pacing. The more my wheels have to actually turn, the harder it is for me.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ll do it poorly with flagrant disregard for poor native speakers. I’m so sorry native speakers. I used bacha galupe for Angel in one recently. I didn’t even think about it. I just did it. And I’m pretty sure I learned that from the Golden Girls so how accurate it is or if it’s even spelled right is beyond me. But it’s out there now. I really only do this for words here and there though. If someone’s gonna do more than that, I’ll just write that they speak in the language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

The Animorphs! I typed up Animorphs fic in like comic sans size fucking 30 or something and printed it out. I’ll never forget. That was in the late 1990s and my grandfather had just moved up from the printer that had the edges you had to tear off. So it was on this impressive pure white straight sheet of paper. So fancy and it had my giant ass fic on it. Only the best for my Andalite OC.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

I’m still very fond of Naptime is Best Time after all these years. I think Sex and Therapy is gonna be special to me for being one of the longest chapter fics I’ve ever finished (I’ma finish it) because I’ve always been more of a oneshot person until recently. And Confessions will probably stay a favorite for a long time. So, yeah, I’ve just been happier with my recent stuff and being able to write fanfic again after so many years.

[supernaturalwritingbunker]

Published Before Editing-Dean Winchester-Chapter 1

Summary: (Proposal AU) Dean Winchester, aspiring author and assistant to one of the best Editor-in-Chiefs in the country, knew it wouldn’t be an easy job when he applied. But here he is, years later, tasked with one job from his boss that wasn’t listed anywhere in the initial job description. His morals, family relationships and his career are all out to be tested. Will he pass? Will he fail? What will the oldest Winchester son do? 

Warnings: Language, AU, John and Mary are Alive. Mary’s Mom, Deanna, is Alive. No Hunting. Boss/Employee Relationship. 

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Emily Morgan (OC)

Words: 3,844

Tag List: @elskinner45 @you-a-southpaw-doll @it-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes @jai-lynne-unknown @akshi8278​ 

A/N: Here is our first series on this blog. If you like it, please leave some feedback so we know if we should continue it or not. I know there has been a lot of AU’s for Dean with this movie but we wanted to do our own. Change it up. 

To Be Tagged: Comment, Message, Submit an Ask

Third Person POV

You know when you wake up in the morning you sometimes get a gut feeling of how the day would go? Well, this morning, no one had the feeling that today would be unlike any other. 37 year old Canadian-American , Emily Morgan is doing her normal routine of getting up at 5 AM and immediately exercising. 

Today, she’s on her exercise bike in the middle of her New York apartment, reading a long manuscript she was given the other day. Flipping the pages of the manuscript, she reads through it, and pedals on the stationary bike, part of her imagining she’s on a leisurely bike ride through Paris.

***

On the complete opposite side of town, Dean Winchester, however, is curled in his blankets, not wanting to get out of the warm comfort he was in. He opens his eyes and looks around for a brief moment, glancing around.

Flipping over to lay on his stomach with his blanket out and on top of the covers, he closes his eyes once again before he can wake up fully. Relaxing against his mattress with his pillow bunched up under between his arm and his head, he lets out a soft noise of content. 

His alarm isn’t blaring in his ear as it usually would at this hour in the morning so he tries to get some more sleep. Right away, his eyes snap back open when he realizes the sunlight is hitting him in the face.

He glances at the clock on his night stand to find the red numbers of 12:00 blinking at him. He grabs his watch to check the actual time. 

“Shit!” He says, throwing his watch back onto the stand.

The time is 6:16 AM and he has to be at the office at 7 AM or his boss, Emily, will probably fire him, despite working as her assistant for years. He jumps up from his bed and runs to his closet, hoping he still has a suit clean.

***

Emily finished her exercises not too long ago and she just got out of a nice hot shower. She doesn’t have a care in the world. Being the Executive Editor-in-Chief  for Singer Publishing, she shows up when she wants to. And that time is always 7 AM. Not a minute before. Not a minute after.

***

Dean rushes out of his apartment building in his suit, which he’s thankful that it’s 100% clean, and practically runs into on-coming traffic. Cars honking are heard behind him but he doesn’t pay any mind to the sounds. He has to get her, his boss, coffee for the morning, otherwise, she will not be a happy camper. 

***

Emily is in her nicely stocked kitchen, eating a small bowl of oatmeal. She’s dressed in a nice, light blouse, and dark blazer, with a skirt to match. You can tell she had it dry cleaned and pressed. On the counter in front of her lies the manuscript she was reading while exercising earlier in the morning. 

She takes the last bite of her breakfast before putting it in the sink, deciding to clean it when she gets home. That’s a problem for her afternoon self to worry about. 

***

Dean runs into the Starbucks closest to the publishing building. Each and every single week, Monday through Friday, and a few weekends, he’s here getting coffee for Emily so much that the baristas know him by now. He gets the same exact thing and never misses a day...except today where he is a little late. 

Groaning to himself, he dares to sneak a glance at his watch after finding a long line ahead of him.

“Dean!” He hears from the front of the coffee shop. “Hey.”

His eyes snap up to see Jo, the barista that always takes his order. She’s holding up a small drink carrier with two coffees inside. He gently pushes past everyone in line and lays down a few dollars on the counter before taking the cups.

“Literally saved my life. Thank you.” He says, softly, before rushing toward the door. “Thank you!”

Jo smiles to herself and bites her lip, checking out the handsome man in the dark blue suit. Dean runs from the shop down the sidewalk, trying to make it to the building in time. The sign for Singer Publishing enters his eyesight and he runs into traffic again, causing car owners to lay on their horns. 

He ignores them completely as he runs around another man to get in the front door. Trying to use all his speed but keep the coffees in his hand, he rushes down the hallway toward the elevator. One starts closing causing him to hit the door on the way in, almost slamming into other employees. 

He lets out a deep breath before speaking.

“Everyone okay?”

“Yeah.” One answers, looking up at him.

“Me too.” He nods and takes another breath.

***

Emily, with her purse and cell phone, is walking down the street at her normal pace. Her phone starts ringing and she smiles slightly before answering it. 

“Hello, Ash? How’s my favorite writer?” She pauses to listen to him as she glances around the street. “Of course you’ve been thinking about our talk because you know I’m right.” She says, crossing the road safely. “People in this country are busy, broke and hate to read. They need someone to say, ‘Hey! Don’t watch Dr. Sexy MD tonight. Read a book! Read Ash’s book!’ And that person is Oprah.”

***

Dean makes it to his floor with only about 5 minutes to spare. He puts Emily’s coffee in his right hand with his in the other to make sure he doesn’t spill it. The elevator doors open and he rushes to the right side of the hall.

“Cutting it close.” Amelia says, seeing him rush in while she’s on the phone.

Never stopping his steps, he speaks.

“One of those mornings.” He glances over his shoulder at her. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

Before he can stop, the mail carrier backs up into Dean’s tracks causing the assistant to slam into his back, crushing Emily’s extremely hot coffee against his own chest. ‘Ooohhhh….’ is heard around the office at the sight.

“Sweet...” Dean calls out, angrily. “Jesus!”

“Sorry.” The mail carrier mumbles as he pulls his cart away.

“Rub some dirt on it, brother.” Someone calls out to him.

He takes in a deep breath and rushes down the aisle. This day is already shaping up to be one helluva rough one. That’s for sure. And, as a Winchester, he knows rough days like the back of his hands.

***

Emily has made it to the building, still on the phone with Ash.

“Ash, the truth is all A-plus novelists do publicity.” She says, walking to the elevator and waits. “Roth, McCourt, Russo and..” 

Ash cuts her off in the middle of her sentence.

“Ash! Can I tell you what else they have in common? A Pulitzer.”  She cuts back in, still talking into her phone as she stares at the elevator doors.

***

Dean, having already taken off his suit jacket, searches for his friend among the sea of co-workers and cubicles. When he finally finds the person he’s looking for, he quickens his steps. 

“I need the shirt off your back. Literally.” He looks down at Garth.

“You’re kidding, right?” He says, looking up at Dean, noticing the large coffee stain on his white button-up.

“Yankees, Boston, this Tuesday, two company seats for your shirt.” Dean proposes. “You have five seconds to decide. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.” 

Garth stares at him for a moment, not knowing if he is 100% serious.

***

Amelia’s laughing with a co-worker when she hears the familiar sounds of heels against the floor. Her head snaps up and her eyes widen.

“Shit.” She whispers before leaning down to her computer. 

She opens up the chatroom that contains everyone in the office, besides Emily. 

‘It’s Here.’ she sends, warning all her colleagues.

Emily walks further into the offices and everyone, one by one, looks up. As she walks by their desks, she hears a small bubble pop as their message comes up. She doesn’t think anything of it. The sound is normal for her office, even if she doesn’t know why. Or that she’s, literally, the elephant in the room.

She glances around and hears people talking on the phone or filling out paperwork. This, right here, is exactly what she wants to see early in the morning. People actually doing their damn jobs. She opens up her office door to see her assistant, Dean, standing on the other side of the room, holding her coffee cup. 

“Hello, Boss.” He says, holding out the cup. “You have a conference call in 30 minutes.”

Without stopping her footsteps, she takes the cup and walks to her desk.

“Yes. About the marketing of the spring books. I know.” She sits down in her chair. 

 “Staff meeting at 9:00.” Dean continues as he walks closer to her desk.

Emily turns her chair around so she’s facing her desk. “Did you call...What’s his name? With...with the weird scar on his arm.”

“Cain.” He informs her.

“Yes, Cain.” She nods, putting her cup down on her desk. 

“Yes. I did. I told him that if he doesn’t get his manuscript in on time you won’t give him a release date.”  He nods, passing her some books that she needs. “Also your immigration lawyer called. He said it’s imperative…”

She cuts him off as she looks at her sticky notes. “Cancel the call, push the meeting to tomorrow, keep the lawyer on the sheets. Get a hold of PR, have them start drafting a press release. Ash is doing Oprah.”

 “Wow.” Dean raises his eyebrows slightly. “Nicely done.”

“If I want your praise, I will ask for it.” She bites out, grabbing her coffee.

Dean ignores her comment and begins walking to the door. Emily turns in her seat toward her computer before glancing at her cup. She raises an eyebrow and turns back toward her desk.

“Who is...Who is Jo? And why does she want me to call her?” She asks, looking at her assistant.

Dean stops in his tracks and looks at her with slight shock written all over his face. She turns the cup so he can read the writing on the side. 

“Well, that was originally my cup.” He states.

“And I’m drinking your coffee, why?” She asks, biting her lip slightly, trying to stop a smile. 

“Because your coffee spilled.” He admits.

She nods as she looks at the cup and takes a drink. Taking a hesitant sip, she reads the side of the cup, realizing it’s her exact drink as well. 

“So you drink caramel light soy lattes?” She raises an eyebrow.

“I do. It’s like Christmas in a cup.” He says.

“Is that a coincidence?” She leans back in her seat slightly.

“Incredibly, it is.” He says as the phone rings. He walks over to it as he continues to speak. “I wouldn’t drink the same coffee that you drink just in case yours spilled. That would be pathetic.” 

He picks up the phone. “Morning, Miss Morgan’s office. Hey, Dick.” 

Dean looks up at his boss to see her gesture to Dick’s office before turning in her seat toward her computer.

“Actually, we’re headed to your office right now.” Dean says before hanging up. “Why are we headed to Dick’s office?” 

Emily just turns in her seat and kisses her teeth with a smirk. Dean does the same before rolling his eyes and walking out of her office. As soon as he exits her eyeline, he runs over to his desk and types in the group chat.

‘THE WITCH IS ON HER BROOM.’ 

The sound of bubble’s popping is heard throughout the office once again. People start rushing to act like they are working as Emily walks out of her office with her coffee cup.

Dean jogs over to her and begins walking her speed.

“Have you finished the manuscript I gave you?” He asks, softly.

“I read a few pages. I wasn’t that impressed.” She says, not caring.

“Can I say something?” He glances at her.

“No.” She states.

He starts talking anyway. “I’ve read thousands of manuscripts. This is the only one I’ve given you. There’s an incredible novel in there. The kind of novel you publish.”

She glances to her left to see Garth stop in the aisle near them with a large coffee stain on his shirt. Either Dean spilled his office on him or...he switched shirts, and Emily is going with the latter.

“Wrong. And I do think you order the same coffee as I do just in case you spill, which is, in fact, pathetic.” She says, looking forward again.

“Or impressive.” Dean tries.

“I’d be impressed if you didn’t spill it in the first place.” She stops walking as she gets to Dick’s office. “Remember, you’re a prop.” 

“Won’t say a word.” Dean mumbles before walking to the office before her.

He opens the door and walks in, making sure to keep it open for her. Dick looks up from his laptop with a slight smirk as he watches Emily walk in. She nods toward him with a small smile as she tips her coffee cup to him. 

“Our fearless leader and her liege. Please, do come in.” He says, looking back down at his computer.

Emily glances around the office before noticing something new in the office. 

“Beautiful breakfront. Is it new?” She asks, knowing damn well it is.

She walks over and gently runs her hand against it.

“It is English Regency Eqyptian Revival, built in the 1800s…” Dick gloats. “...but, yes, it is new to my office.”

Emily leans against the breakfront and sighs.

“Witty.” She whispers. “Dick, I’m letting you go.” 

Dean and Dick both turn their heads to look at her.

“Pardon?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I asked you over a dozen times to get Ash to do Oprah and you didn’t do it.” She looks up at him. “You’re fired.”

Dean turns toward the office door and closes it, not wanting anyone to hear what is going on. 

“I have told you that is impossible!” Dick tries to say. “Ash hasn’t done an interview in 20 years!”

“That is interesting, because I just got off the phone with him and he is in.” She smirks slightly.

“Excuse me?” He says, shocked.

“You didn’t even call him, did you?” She questions. 

“But…” 

“I know, I know...Ash can be a little scary to deal with...For you.” She says, walking toward his desk. “Now, I will give you two months to find another job. And then we can tell everyone you resigned, okay?”

She doesn’t let him answer. Her question being one of the rhetorical style, and more of a demand disguised as a question. She takes a manuscript off his desk and hands it to Dean before walking out the door. 

“What’s his twenty?” Emily whispers to Dean as they exit the office. 

Dean glances over his shoulder, watching Dick pace for a moment before answering. 

“He’s moving.” He continues walking as he speaks. “He has crazy eyes.”

“Don’t do it, Dick. Don’t do it.” She mumbles so only Dean can hear.

Dick runs out of his office and yells to her.

“You poisonous bitch!” 

This causes Emily to stop in her tracks and sigh. Everyone in the office snaps their heads up toward the commotion.

“You can’t fire me!” Dick continues as Emily turns around and Dean leans against someone’s desk to watch. “You don’t think I see what you’re doing here? Sandbagging me on this Oprah thing so that you can look good to the board? Because you are threatened by me! And you are a monster!”

Emily shakes her head, not really caring about what he is saying about her. “Dick, stop…”

“Just because you have no semblance of life outside of this office, you think you can treat all of us like your own personal slaves.” He continues, loving the attention now. “You know what? I feel sorry for you. Because you know what you’re gonna have on your deathbed? Nothing and no one!”

Emily steps toward him and takes in a deep breath. 

“Listen carefully, Dick. I didn’t fire you because I feel threatened. No. I fired you because you’re lazy, entitled, imcompetent and you spend more time cheating on your wife than you do in your office. And if you say another word, Dean here is gonna have you thrown out, okay?” She asks, causing Dean’s eyebrows to raise slightly. “Another word and you’re going out of here with an armed escort. Dean will film it with his camera phone and he’ll put it on that Internet site. What was it?”

She looks at him, wanting to actually know the site’s name. 

“Youtube?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“Exactly. Is that what you want?” She asks, but he doesn’t answer. “Didn’t think so. I have work to do.”

She turns around and starts walking down toward her office, Dean trailing closely behind her.

“Have security take his breakfront and put it in my conference room.” She looks straight ahead.

“Will do.” Dean nods.

“I need you this weekend to help review his files and his manuscript.” She states, not letting him say otherwise.

“This weekend?” He asks, stopping outside her office.

She stops in front of him and raises an eyebrow. “You have a problem with that?”

“No. I...just my grandmother’s 90th birthday so I was gonna go home and…” She rolls her eyes and walks into her office. “It’s fine. I’ll cancel it. You’re saving me from a weekend of misery, so it’s...Good talk, yeah…”

He sighs and walks to his desk. He sits down and immediately calls his mother. He informs her of the news that was just dropped on him and he sighs.

“I know, I know. Okay, tell Gammy I’m sorry. What…” His mother cuts him off. “Mom. What do you want me to tell you? She’s making me work the weekend. No, I’m not...No...I’ve worked too hard for this promotion to throw it all away.” 

Emily walks out of her office toward his desk. 

“I’m sure that Dad is pissed but we take all of our submissions around here seriously.” He continues talking to his mother. “We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”

He hangs up the phone after quickly coming up with a lie. He looks up at her to see her staring down at him with her hand on her hip.

“Was that your family?” She asks.

“Yes.” He nods slightly.

“They tell you to quit?” She asks again.

“Every single day.” He says, grabbing the phone as it rings. “Miss Morgan’s office. Yeah. Okay. Alright.” He hangs up and looks up at her. “Singer and Harvelle want to see you upstairs immediately.” 

She growls slightly and sighs.

“Okay. Come get me in ten minutes. We’ve got a lot to do.” She says, before walking toward the elevators.

Dean glares at her back before picking up the ringing phone once again.

Emily walks into the lobby of the offices upstairs and toward the big boss’ doors.

“Good morning, Miss Morgan.” The receptionist says happily, but she just ignores her.

She opens up the door and walks in with a smile on her face. 

“Bobby, Ellen.” 

“Congratulations on the Oprah thing.” Bobby nods toward her.

“Thank you, thank you.” She nods, standing beside the chairs in front of his desk. “This isn’t about my second raise, is it? Just kidding.”

“Emily, do you remember when we agreed you wouldn’t go to the Frankfurt Book Fair because you weren’t allowed out of the country while your visa application was being processed?” Bobby asks, laying down a paper in his hand. 

“Yes. I do.” She nods.

“And...You went to Frankfurt.” He states.

“Yes. We were going to lose DeLillo to Hellhound. So...really didn’t have a choice, did I?” She giggles slightly.

“Seems the United States Government doesn’t care who published Don DeLillo.” Bobby leans forward on his desk.

“We just spoke to your immigration attorney.” Ellen speaks up for the first time.

“Great. So, we’re all good?” Emily smiles slightly. “Everything good?”

“Emily, your visa application has been denied.” Bobby says, reading the paper.

Emily’s eyes widen. “What?”

“And you are being deported.” Bobby continues.

“Deported?!”

“And there was also some paperwork you didn’t fill out in time.” He finishes.

“Come on. Come on!” Emily scoffs. “It’s not like I’m even an immigrant! I’m from Canada, for Christ’s sake. There’s gotta be...something we can do.”

“We can reapply, but unfortunately you have to leave the country for at least a year.” Ellen reveals to the woman.

“Okay...Okay well, that’s not ideal, but I can…” She thinks. “I can manage everything from Toronto.” She gestures to the computer. 

“No.” Ellen shakes her head. 

“With videoconferencing. Internet.” Emily continues anyway.

“Unfortunately, if you’re deported you can’t work for an American Company.” Ellen informs her.

“Untill this is resolved, I’m going to turn operations over to Dick Roman.” Bobby says.

“Dick Roman? The guy I just fired?” She asks, pointing over her shoulder.

“We need an Editor-in- Chief. He is the only person in the building who has enough experience.” Bobby states.

“You cannot be serious.” Emily sighs. “I beg of you.”

“Emily. We are desperate to have you stay. If there was any way, any way at all we could make this work, we’d be doing it…” 

“There is no way...I am begging you.” Emily puts her hands together.

“No.” Bobby looks up as the door opens. “Excuse me, we’re in a meeting.”

Emily glances over her shoulder to see Dean poking his head in. 

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“What?” Emily practically snaps.

“Mary from Ms. Winfrey’s office called. She’s on the line.” Dean lies.

“I know.” She sighs and nods.

“She’s on hold. She needs to speak with you. I told her you were otherwise engaged.” Dean says. “She insisted...so.”

Emily opens her mouth to tell him to leave when one of the words he says plays through her mind. 

‘Come here.’ She mouths causing Dean to raise an eyebrow. ‘Come here!’

He takes the few steps in before closing the door behind himself. He walks in before standing in the middle of the room, confused. She smirks to herself slightly before looking at Bobby and Ellen.

“Gentleman, Ma’am, I understand. I understand the predicament that we are in…” She starts before backing up to stand beside her assistant. “I think there’s something that you should know. We’re getting married.” 

“Who is getting married?” Dean whispers as he looks at her then at Bobby.

“You and I.” She smiles up at him. 

He stares at the big boss’ with slight shock, not knowing what to say. Dean Winchester...Is marrying his boss?!

#dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester love story #dean winchester imagines #dean winchester imagine #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester x you #dean winchester x oc #dean winchester x original character #dean winchester x original female character #Proposal AU #the proposal

[sydneyxbowman]

[ SYDNEY BOWMAN. 35. FEMALE. SHE/HER] is here! They’ve lived in Silver Lake for [ 1 YEAR ] and are originally from [ PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA ]. They are a [ HISTORIAN ] and in their downtime love [ LIVING OFF OF COFFEE ALONE ] and [ HUSTLING OTHERS AT POOL ]. They look a lot like [ ABIGAIL SPENCER ] and live [ IN OASIS APARTMENTS ]. 

Facts

Name: Sydney Clara Bowman Age: 35 Birthday: May 27th, 1985 Occupation: Historian and Author Current Location: Silver Lake, L.A., California Hometown: New York City, New York

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  Parents: Jason and Elena Bowman
 Siblings: Dennis Bowman Education: Northwestern University Pets: None
 Main residence: Two bedroom apartment in Oasis 

Gender: Cisfemale 
 Sexuality: Bisexual 
 Relationship Status: Single
, recently divorced Children: Darcy Abbott, aged 6

Biography

Sydney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a teacher father and a nurse mother. From an early age, she developed a strong love and passion for history, literature and art. Working hard in school, she eventually left the city to attend college at Northwestern University in the greater Chicago area. 

While there, she found her true calling in the history department and completed her undergraduate degree there. When she was done, she stayed to go into the graduate program there in history. Sydney completed her Master’s there. Upon graduation she moved to London, England to complete a lifelong dream of living abroad. 

After moving to London, Sydney got a job at the British Museum. While there she met and befriended a guest lecturer who was a renowned author and historian. Sydney told him her hopes of becoming an author herself and he started to mentor her. He got her a job at a publishing company in the city. She worked her way up and soon handed her own draft of a book about Anne Boleyn from a modern feminist perspective really taking apart the notorious reputation she got from the men of history. The book was a hit and Sydney finally found her true calling. 

Sydney wanted to write about Alice Roosevelt and started on her next book. She was in the middle of the research when she got into an argument with her publishing company and she was forced to find a new one. She was soon picked up by one in New York City and was forced to relocate. After three years in London, she bid the city goodbye though she has visited it many times since she left. 

Sydney moved to New York and finished the research and drafts of her new book about Alice Roosevelt. Right after the book was released she met the man who would become her husband. Sydney fell hard and knew he was the one. They got married and within a year, Sydney was pregnant. Darcy Matilda Abbott was born (though she lost the argument of naming her firstly after her history crush Empress Matilda) Sydney felt true love when she held her daughter for the first time in her arms. 

Sydney continued to work on her books and wrote another one on the Gilded Age and the key players in the city of New York City. The book did well again and she felt like she had done well for her name and her passion. Three books under her belt within 9 years and she showed no signs of stopping.

The marriage was good for a while, but then the cracks started to show. Sydney felt like he never valued her intellect or her career. She felt like he wanted her to be some attentive housewife she could never be. Other cracks started to show. It had always been a thorn in his side that she never took his name for the sake of her career. They had grown distant and they argued too much. They started counseling and things showed a small little light of hope. Together, they decided to move to California where she could pursue her latest project of a book on gangster and mob crime in Los Angeles from the 1920′s to the 1940′s and the tie to Hollywood. 

Sadly, their marriage was already on rocky ground and the move did not help things. He still claimed he loved her, but Sydney knew the truth. They argued too much, there wasn’t any love left. The marriage was over. She only felt anger towards him for what she saw as never accepting who she truly was. They started the process of divorce and Sydney moved from their LA home and moved to the Silver Lake area. 

In the process of divorce, they came to the agreement between their lawyers to split custody of Darcy. She was starting the first grade this year and would remain in the same school district she started in though Sydney no longer lived in it. Sydney and her husband shared even custody, shifting Darcy back and forth every two weeks. Though Sydney knew they didn’t get along anymore, they both agreed to be civil for Darcy’s sake. They would go to parent teacher’s meetings, school functions, and any personal events for Darcy together. They wouldn’t argue in front of her and they would co-parent for her sake. 

She’s currently still working on her fourth book and while she currently lives in Oasis Apartments with Darcy, she is looking for a house for them. She’s looking forward to turning a new leaf and being there for her daughter through this rough time as she finalizes the divorce. 

Wanted Connections

Publishing world connections ‘Get Back Out There’ Hookups Playdates with kids parents Fans of her books Hustling at Pool victims History Nerd buddies Friends London buddies NYC buddies Help on her book Awkward first dates back in the field again

#about #biography #bio #headcanon #slintro

[ommsims]

story process challenge

i was tagged  by @xldkx​​ to do this challenge, created by @herpixels​​​ , like a month? a month and a half? ago and it’s been sitting half finished in my drafts for nearly as long. *sigh* (regardless, i love stuff like this so even if it takes me forever to get to it, i appreciate the tags! 💕). 

i decided to answer all the qs because it took me damn long enough to get to this, so i might as well put some extra elbow grease into it (plus it was fun!). btw it’s all going under a cut b/c it is long. i apologize in advance.

1. My Writing Process - used to be a hot damn mess. literally word docs strewn throughout my pc. However, I recently switched to using Onenote (it’s what i use to organize my d&d campaign notes) and hoo-boy is it so much nicer. this is how it’s set up and it’s honestly night and day. i can have a page with outlines, a page to organize & order screenshots, and a separate page for drafting text, and i can easily toggle though them without having to switch windows? a big thumbs up from me.

When it comes to actual writing- I used to write my drafts in novel format, which i enjoyed but it made “converting” them into tumblr posts time consuming and frustrating. I ended up scrapping most of the text in the process, retaining pretty much only the dialogue. 

Anyway, nowadays I write in more of a screenplay format: dialogue only + key scene information with the occasional note to self. 

I do keep a master “arcs” page with key events and each individual character’s arc from beginning to end and secondary “outline” pages with slightly more detailed outline for each leg of the project. No screencaps b/c spoilers galore! 

My typical work flow process for a scene goes: (1) brainstorm scene ideas, (2) take screenshots, (3) organize screenshots into a rough storyboard, (4) add 1st draft of text, (5) edit photos, (6) edit text, (7) upload to "drafts” here on tumblr, (8) let sit for a bit (9) take a final look at things/proofread and edit as needed. It may sound counterintuitive, but i find it much easier to write dialogue for a set of images rather than attempt to take images based on prewritten text. I feel more comfortable editing and tweaking tone and content in the text this way. Otherwise, I get frustrated when I “can’t” shoot a scene exactly as it appeared in my head.

2. How I build my scenes - A lot of what i do is rooted in gameplay, therefore my sets are usually (a) play-tested and (b) not super pretty. I’ve certainly improved at decorating & building over the years but more often than not I download lots off tumblr and the gallery because I don’t have the patience, aptitude, or time to build all of my own sets. That being said, I frequently gut builds only to build a number of completely unrelated mini sets inside to reduce the number of times i have to replace lots. I also keep a list of “important locations” and where certain characters live / will move to, to help keep this all straight as there aren’t nearly enough lots per neighborhood or even per world in this damn game...

my least favorite part of scene building is actually decorating. lol. Don’t get me wrong, I love clutter. I honestly do. but fuck me if i expect myself to spend hours meticulously decorating a set, spend another 3 hours toggling back and forth b/w BB & live modes adjusting things to get rid of the damn routing errors. (yeah, yeah, i know i could ignore them, they’re not important, especially in those scenarios where i’m using a set for screenshots and nothing else, but idk. it really grinds my gears.) and then have to replace the lot like a week later because there aren’t enough lots in the game. *sigh*

3. CC/Pose Making - i do not consider myself to be a cc creator nor a pose maker but i do dabble occasionally. And to be completely honest i’d much rather spend my time doing other stuff, so it’s not high on my list of priorities atm. plus there are so many talented cc creators in this community; i can usually get by with what’s already out there.

4. Getting in the zone - Honestly, I do a lot of brainstorming for plot & dialogue in the shower. I don’t have any particular playlists to get me “in the writing mood” but I do enjoy listening to music as I work. Either instrumental stuff or simply artists/songs I like. If something just so happens to “fit” a scene I’m working on, one i’ve got planned, or even just gives me vibes for a certain character or group, I add a quick note to the top of said scene’s draft. Most of the time I stick it in the recesses of my brain and add a quick link when I finally get to the point of posting the draft to tumblr. For whatever reason, when I have one of those “oh this song is perfect for X” moments it’s essentially ingrained in my mind for the rest of eternity. 

5. The screenshot folder - this will most likely give some of you out there major anxiety. but i swear it’s an organized chaos. :)

yep. 32.9gb of screenshots & related things... 

So with the raws from a single random scene selected, you can see i take roughly 10 screenshots per image posted. not terrible i guess but i’m working on it. Typically I take screenshots and once I’m done editing a scene I’ll move them from the general folder to a more specific project folder.

6. Captions - I’ll answer this in three parts:

for my townie story. not really. I prefer using the text box. I tend to write (& re-write) the dialogue for each one of these scenes several times over as I add more “scenes” into my drafts. It would be incredibly inefficient, time consuming, and would waste a lot more space on my pc to have to save .psds of each image just so i could edit dialogue when I decide: “oh hey maybe so and so needs to bring up X in this scene” and then change my mind an hour later.

for niko, noor, & co. I’m a text on image type gal here. don’t really know why, but it gives the project a different energy. ironically it makes it feel more laid-back to me. which i guess makes sense, it’s a much more light-hearted “story” than my townie project. which is, imo, very soapy haha.

for legacy stuff. all text goes below the images in the text box. reasoning: it’s gameplay, I don’t brainstorm, outline, or pre-write for this. I play the game, take screenshots, plug ‘em into my drafts and write some commentary / dialogue to go along with it.

7. Editing - i am a creature of habit and have not majorly changed my editing process in probably a year and a half (when I began using reshade and had to adjust my color correcting psd). it’s a super basic system:

drag & drop my “color correction” psd.

run actions in ps. (i made my own “all-in-one” actions to really streamline the process; i have different “actions sets” for my premades’ story and for other things that get posted to tumblr. even if no one else notices it, i like the little details that keep my projects separate and “identifiable”. 

voila. all set to upload.

sometimes i crop images, add “text effects”, or do more in depth editing (i.e. editing a phone screen or adding rain etc.) but overall i try and keep it simple for myself. 

8. Throwback - i posted an image of one of the first (but never posted) scenes I’d written for my townie project up above. but as for how would i redo a scene i’d already posted. well i’m currently re-doing my townie story so i guess i’ll just say you’ll see how it’s redone when i get to part 1! 😉

anyway, no tags because i’m so embarrassingly late to this party but if you hadn’t gotten around to this tag, wanted to do it but didn’t get a tag, or started it and left it to sit and now you’re thinking “oh god that was months ago should i even post this anymore?!?” consider yourself tagged by me and go ahead and post it for all to see!

#tag train #story process challenge #it's long. it's rambly. but that's me. #this one was a challenge! a challenge but fun.

[livingthewritelife-things]

 I was tagged by @roombagreyjoy (thank you!) and I’ll tag @bluedemonsblog @milliniumfalcon and @acing-dyslexia (If you want to do it) 

Nickname(s): Ames. My actual name doesn’t have a lot of nicknames

Zodiac sign: Gemini

Height: Around 1.87m/6′2ft

Last thing I Googled: If the 2nd stimulus check would be passed by congress

Song stuck in my head: I love me by Demi Levato

Amount of sleep: 8-9 hours

Lucky number: I don’t have one

Dream job: I want to be a novelist who does well enough that I can live off what I make. 

Wearing: a black shirt with stars on it, a dark purple sweater and black pants with one purple sock and one grey sock (don’t judge) and black flats 

Favourite instrument: piano

Aesthetic: dark and regal 

Favourite song: It changes literally all the time but I’m currently obsessed with Mad Woman by Taylor Swift 

Favourite author: Jodi Picoult 

Favourite animal sound: birds singing

Random: I finished a rough draft of a fantasy novel a few weeks ago that I co-wrote with a friend and we’re really excited about it! 

#personal #tag game

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Saturday 28 April 1838: SH:7/ML/E/21/0085

7 ¾

2 40

fine but dull morning F42° at 9 and breakfast in about ¾ hour and then had William Mallinson and paid him for spouts at Little marsh, and had Mr. Bollard a civil young man (Ironmonger) about his bill from last midsummer to xmas – told him to make it out again in 3 – for Northgate Shibden hall and Little marsh – all this took me till 10 5 – then off with A- to Landymere – she rode and I walked by her side as far as the Lodge, she then road forwards and I stood a few minutes with Mr. Gray and Robert Mann who had proposed making the 3 large oblong sandstones do the draw-wall – Mr. Gray sketched and Roberts’ idea, and we were all satisfied – ordered to be done – at Landymere by the old Northowram road in ½ hour – found A- and SW. and Mr. Bentley – SW set out 1200 yards 30 yards along the hollow at 27ft. from the fence x 40 up the hill (including the present quarry hole) at 4ft. from the fence

SH:7/ML/E/21/0086

between the Sutherlands’ and Mesdames Lancashire and Brook – Bentley to come on Monday at 4pm to sign the rough draft of the agreement – terms explained to him and SW. 1200 yards as above named at 8d. per ft. of good stone – 8ft. thick? or 9ft. at present? – but no matter if thicker or thinner paid for at 9d. – the whole to be paid for in 3 years by equal ½ yearly payments – or rather 400 yards per annum to be paid for – and 4 years allowed to get it in – Road to the new road to be £5 per annum whether in one place or other – SW. to come on Tuesday and the site of the road to be settled – SW. did not think the little hole Joseph Mann is sinking, too high up in the field – 8 yards deep at present and only got down to the Crooked stone – the same beds (there will be 2) as Mrs. Aspinalls’ and Mr. Listers’ – not Bentley’s bed – A- then rode off to Holcans wood, and I walked by Wester croft and David Booths’ and Hipperholme to Hove edge to Messrs. Naylor Heap and Goodyears’ Day-quarry – mined underground like coal coming out to the Day – Mr. Luke Goodyear there ready to receive me – very civil went with me into the 3 places the 7 men (4 + 2 + 1) were working in a tram-road made of a plank deal cut into 6 and an iron edge laid on it, that the fall of a stone might not break the iron – an ass in the tram road and where one of the mines met it at a right angles an ingenious sort of platform moving on a pivot that would turn the load round into the tram road without trouble – this quarry in working 7 or 8 years – some good stone, but had not paid yet – In Mr. Macaulay’s land – Aspinall had it before at 2/6 per yard – gave it up – 8 yards of baring – the present firm took the whole field allowance being made for a ruttle (12? or 15? yards wide) – bed of stone from 2 to 6ft. thick – now about 6ft. – would not pay if not worked in this way – costs £20 a year in timber to support the roof – noticed a curious sort of white arbores cent moult-like moss or mould ramifying in places on the dark raggy or hard scaly roof – would be better for underground working if more baring – the bed of stone here is 4 yards I think he said above my bed in yew trees wood quarry – he walked with me across the Hove edge road into McAulays’ wood looking down up Southolme and at the style at the bottom of the steep past of the footpath shewed me my own bed at the bottom of a quarry hole there (close on the left going down) and his bed at the top of this hole – some talk about Mr. Richard Pollards’ stone – he had offered it to Messrs. Naylor and c° - they ought to have 500 yards at 1/. per yard, and then 2/. per yard as much as it was worth – thought of baring might be taken to A-‘s Hipperholme Lane ends quarry – would look again – I said I knew other people were thinking of the stone – mentioned my plan of laying a baring so as to make a road from A-‘s quarry mentioned also its being said in Hardcastles’ presence and mine that a road thro’ the wood would be worth more than £5 a year – (alluding in my own mind to SW’s valuation on pay Hardcastle for the damages done to his field in walling) – I had been perhaps ½ hour or nearly at the quarry – gave the 1st 4 men 2/. as a footing and the 2nd pair 1/. and of the last took no notice – arrived at the quarry about one or a little after and it was about 2 when I parted with Mr. Goodyear in Mr. Macaulays’ wood just above Mr. Sowdens’ when I saw my way clearly before me – then to Southolme – found Abraham Hemingway in his barn – went with him to see the piece (close up to Mr. Thomsons’ land) of ground proposed being given by Mr. Naylor for the bit to be taken at the bottom of his wood and top of my field to [found] his bur wall upon – Abraham thought 2 yards x 30 would be wanted – Mr. Naylor soon came to us – a very civil well mannered neat tidy looking middle aged man who was so civil and apparently anxious to do what was right and liberal that we agreed at once – but Abraham set a corner = 15x15 yards = 225 yards – the ground to be given very much more valuable certainly than that to be taken – Mr. N- agreed to give 60 yards of his against 60 yards of mine – if more wanted, I agreed to pay a [on?] consideration – SW. to measure and value and anyone else Mr. N- chose – then viewed the place where ground was wanted – told Mr. N- he should have what he wanted to make a good job – of course he would take as little as he could for his own sake as well as mine – but if he had occasion to take 2 good ash trees standing in my fence, these must be valued and placed to the account of the superior value of his land to that of mine – N- said he could give no writing – but there would be no trouble – all parties agreeable – the trustee Mr. Brook and all – and on the death of their wives, the estate must come into the market, and I should have no trouble – I said I had no fear about that – for Mr. SW. would measure and lay all down on the estate plan, and if Mr. N-‘s party should claim back from me, I should do the same from them and they might be glad to be quiet – or equity would settle the matter for us – Mr. N- expressed himself very much obliged – repeated it several times – said nobody could have behaved more handsomely – I merely said he might sometime have some opportunity of obliging me – sure he should not be slow to do it – he then mentioned Mr. Richard Pollards’ stone – Repeated the substance of all I had said to Mr. Goodyear N- thought the stone not worth more than 2/. a yard – said I had thrown a new light upon it – not aware anybody else was after the stone – mentioned no names but said other people had named it to me – mentioned also (which I had not named to Mr. Goodyear) my paying Mr. Pollard 1/. per yard for 40 yards and Simeon Shaw the tenant also 1/. per yard to keep me safe from the entrance in Mr. Pollards’ note that he must make the hole into the ground again – N- said RP. could give more title beyond his own life – but said I, his brother might sign also – it would be or might be made his interest to do so, and then all would be safe – mentioned also that I should like to have some of the ground after it was quarried and had named offering 2d. per yard to Mr. Goodyear – Mr. N- and I parted the best possible friends – he would see me again about the quarry – said I should be glad to see him at SH. then with Abraham Hemingway – mentioned Gill that I had seen this morning in the road [?] on this side of David Booths’ driving out of Goodyear’s cart – the man said he was cousin to Abraham H- and had married his daughter and wanted to take the Godley paddock – no! that impossible – could not do without it myself – he stood talking thought of setting up cart and horse of his own, and wanted a field – said I would think about it – that is, remember him if anything likely fell out – as he was so connected,

SH:7/ML/E/21/0087

I would mention to him to Miss Walker – but if he heard no more of it, he must conclude that we had neither of us anything to suit him – Inquired his character of Abraham H- it seems A- had nothing against him – a very good husband and respectable man, but 14 or 15 years older than his wife, and had as it were stolen her away, her parents being against the match – took her away in the night time – and it was clear Abraham had not forgiven this – said it was well to let them do for themselves – would not do much for them – the ash tree Abraham cut down a very good one – gave him all but about 6 or 8 ft. long of the thick part – this would cut into 4 capital axels – 2 for a large cart 2 for a smaller one said Abraham must keep this piece for me for about a year to season, and then I should not forget it, but perhaps get him to get it cut up for me and I should then bring it away – then stood talking to Abraham about the expense and profit of keeping horses – Abraham said they paid very little or sometimes not at all – for if he lost a horse or any accident happened it was long before this was recovered – Luke Goodyear said he had lost £40 last year – lost a horse worth £30 – Abraham owned he bought in his horses at under £30 on the average – but a good horse worth £30 now - £5 out of £30 down now than they would be 3 or 4 months hence – Abraham Haighs’ light bay that I have thought of worth £30 – 4 off – will grow – 15 ½ hands now – I said well! but he (Abraham) got his farming in (that ishis farm work done) into the bargain – yes! he said this was his profit – he gets his corn (3ds. [?] meal and oats) of Mr. Brook of Brighouse – calculates a horse to eat of this 8/. per week and 1 ½ st. of hay a day 1/. = 7/. per week – would not pay at all if he (Abraham) himself did not go with his horse to the delf – has seven horses – said I inquired because I thought of carting my own coal, or it would not pay –

calculates Abrahams’ horses at each 8/. + 7/. = 15/. per week and per pair 30/. + mans’ wages 15/. + wear and tear and blacksmiths bills etc. 5/. = total £2.10.0 per pair [co.]! I can manage it I think – sauntered home along the brook all the way by pinnel bridge and Dumb mill ditto to Mitham mill and home by Listerwick (the trenching in progress in Jonathan Mallinsons’ field) about 4 ½ - found A- dressing – ¼ hour with her – and she rode off to Cliff hill at 4 ¾ - had told Oddy of going with us to London – O- much pleased – promised to keep the secret till Monday – I not to go to church tomorrow but stay at home and get ready – wrote the whole of the above of today till now 6 ¼ - having just paid (per Robert Norton) George Naylors’ sawyers bill for larch rails and boards sawing – and now going down to pay Stephen Scholefield – wrote letters – had George Naylor (wright) and the 2 Manns and the gardener and paid Mr. Harper of the Stump X Inn the supper bill of 16th ultimo for Booths’ men all who had worked here – 21 of them – Paid Robert Mann, and gave Joseph £50 in a/c – had not time to settle with him and still had not done till after 8 – dinner at 8 10 – and had coffee with Mr. Gray in the dining and came upstairs at 10 pm paid Oddy her little bill she had paid for bran – at accounts and memoranda till 1 25 tonight fine but dull day or very little sun – much warmer than yesterday – not so much cold east wind – calm – F35° at 11 pm it was 7pm or after before I had despatched Sam booth with the letter bag containing my letter to ‘Messrs. Hammersley and c° Bankers London post paid’ asking them to get my passport visaed, it being my intention to embark in London for Antwerp tomorrow week and proceed thence by Brussels to Paris taking with me my niece Miss Walker and 2 servants (Susan Oddy and George Wood) – letter also to ‘Messrs. Pearce and Baxter coach-makers Longacre London Post paid’ expect being in London on Thursday evening next and immediately on arriving will send them the carriage to be examined and made ready for embarking on the following Sunday – shall be much obliged if they can provide me a neat clean chariot and good horses to do about town on Friday and Saturday’ – letter also to ‘Mrs. Hawkins 26 Dover street London Post paid’ expect being in London on Thursday evening to dinner – shall be glad if Mrs. Hawkins can take me in for 2 or 3 days – if not, much obliged to her to take me an apartment in the nearest comfortable family hotel – (myself Miss Walker and 2 servants as usual)

[shipmistress9]

FTLOAP: Chapter 33: Bring On The Fire And Bring On The Storm

Title: For The Love Of A Princess

Fandom: HTTYD

Theme: Hiccstrid - Medieval-style AU - Romance - Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Reduced to little more than a stable boy, Hiccup, despite his noble birth, has few prospects for more in life. But when he meets a girl who came to look at the horses, being a stable boy might not be enough anymore. Together, they have tough choices to make and great risks to navigate if they want to survive and be together.

Rating: Explicit

FF-net  -  AO3 -

Discord-server for discussions and questions

Prologue; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11; Chapter 12; Chapter 13; Chapter 14; Interlude 1; Chapter 15; Chapter 16; Chapter 17; Chapter 18; Chapter 19; Chapter 20; Chapter 21; Chapter 22; Chapter 23; Chapter 24; Chapter 25; Chapter 26; Interlude 2; Chapter 27: Chapter 28 ; Chapter 29 ; Chapter 30; Chapter 31; Chapter 32; Interlude 3; Bonus 1

Alpha/Co-author: @athingofvikings

. – * – _ . o O o . _ – * – .

AN: Woah, what a week! Between HTTYD 3 and RL, I've been a total mess, and am honestly amazed that there actually is a chapter to post this week. And such a long one, too. But most importantly: This is the last chapter of Part 2! (I'm strangely pleased that Part 1 ended on chapter 11, and now Part 2 ends on chapter 33.) So, yeah, this is the last chapter of this part. It contains scenes I had in my head for ages, and as it is with those, I'm not quite sure they came out as I always imagined them. But I'm happy enough with them by now, and hope you'll enjoy them too.

More importantly though: I'll go on another scheduled hiatus now. I'm sorry that there was no prior warning, but... Well, I need a little time to properly outline the events and content of Part 3, especially since athingofvikings and I are discussing what to include from HTTYD 3, expanding out details in plotting from my original outline. For my own sanity, I also want to write out a full draft and build up a buffer for the summer. Posting will resume April 5th, 2019. For everyone interested: Feel free to contact us on @athingofvikings ‘ Discord server.

This chapter's title comes from the song 'Invincible' by Ruelle. It feels oddly fitting, both for this chapter on its own and for the upcoming Part 3. ;)

. o O o .

 When she heard the voices of her ‘brothers’, Astrid was up and awake in an instant.

Shit!

What were they doing here?

Hastily, she sat up, perking up her ears. Could she’ve been wrong? There was nothing now, only the silence of the night. Had it just been her fears that had made her imagine those voices? Maybe it had just been a dream altogether? But no, there it was again. She knew Eret’s voice and Dagur’s cackling laughter too well to be wrong.

And judging by their volume, they already were close.

Within only a second, she was on her feet, frantically looking around for a place to hide, but came up empty-handed. The back of Hiccup’s sleeping stall was packed with straw bales, but they were stacked too tightly to hide between them, and it was too late to leave the stall and look somewhere else.

With her heart beating in her throat, Astrid wrapped herself into Hiccup’s blanket -- even as something like a desperate hysterical laugh bubbled up inside her. Yeah, right. Hiding the fact that she’d been lying in Hiccup’s bed, half-naked, would totally help if they found her here.

Praying to all the Gods she knew, she pressed herself into a corner of the stall, the last one that would be visible should someone look in here. Maybe they wouldn’t even come in at all? Maybe they’d just drop Hiccup off and leave?

The sound of the door opening was audible, and Astrid reflexively held her breath as definitely more than one pair of feet entered the stables. Oh, please!, she prayed. Please don’t let them find me!

“All right,” came Hiccup’s voice. “You’ve accomplished your goal and got me here without an accident. Thanks, guys. Really. But now, I’ll be okay. Shoo. Off with you.” He sounded… strange somehow, but Astrid didn’t have the nerves to further think about that. Not now!

“Are you sure?” Eret sounded worried, and Astrid pressed herself closer against the wooden wall to her back. Why couldn’t he simply leave?

“Yes, I’m sure,” came Hiccup’s dry reply. “You don't need to tuck me into bed.” He sounded closer now, almost at the entrance to the stall, and apparently, Eret had followed him there.

He’d come closer too, stood only a few feet away from her now. If he opened the stall door, there was no way… “Hic, don’t underestimate this stuff… It’s–”

“Seriously, I’m fine!” Hiccup interrupted him. “And I can take care of myself. See you guys tomorrow.”

Astrid didn't even dare to breathe. She could even see Hiccup now, standing in the open door with Eret apparently directly in front of him. If Eret only so much as made one more step…

“Come on, he's fine,” came Dagur's voice, and Astrid almost sobbed in relief. “Leave the boy to his pleasant dreams. We have another one to get into bed, after all.”

It felt like an eternity before Eret answered, Astrid shaking like a leaf, but eventually, he gave in. “You're right, both of you. All right, see you tomorrow, Hiccup.”

“Sleep well,” sounded Dagur's cheerful voice toward them, followed by an unintelligible grunt that sounded awfully like Daniel. Still not daring to move a single muscle, she listened anxiously to Eret’s receding footsteps, to him and Dagur exchanging a few words that were too quiet for her to understand. A minute later, the door to the stables finally closed, leaving her and Hiccup in relative silence, except for the snort of a sleeping horse. Astrid was still too tense and anxious to relax and approach Hiccup, when his sudden laughter caught her off guard. It started quietly, just a low chuckling really, but quickly grew into a full body guffaw.

“Oh, Gods,” he gasped in-between. “I was sure that they would spot you!” He turned toward her, apparently knowing exactly where she was hiding, and pulled her into a tight hug, blanket and everything.

Still stunned, Astrid was hardly able to react in any way, not even when he kissed her, giggling against her lips. “Tha-that was awfully close,” she eventually gasped, still shaking. Countless ‘What if…’s were whirling around in her head, and she still felt as if she couldn’t breathe freely.

“I know!” Hiccup was still chuckling, leaning heavily against her. “That would have been…” He broke off into another laughing fit. “Gods, can you imagine? That would have been hilarious!”

Hilarious? Well, that wasn't the word Astrid would have used! Alarming, maybe. Or terrifying. But then, Hiccup’s behaviour was odd, not really like him, but more–

“Hiccup, are you drunk?” she blurted out, a little incredulously, smelling the beer on his breath. The question wasn't necessary, not really. In fact, now that she thought about it, it was fairly obvious. But the words were out before she could think about them.

“Mmm,” Hiccup hummed into her hair. “Maybe a little? Apparently, Dagur thought our beers needed improvement, so...” he chuckled again, shaking his head against her neck.

Gulping, Astrid nodded. “I see,” she mumbled. That explained why Eret had been so concerned; Astrid had heard enough stories about Dagur’s brews to be a little worried now too.

But then, Hiccup seemed to be all right. More than all right, actually. He wasn’t sick or delirious, nor unstable in any way she could detect – and having been around drunk nobles since she was a little girl, she’d seen a lot of men and women who acted poorly under the influence of drinks. No, all that was different from his normal self was his obvious giddiness and how unrestrained he was. His hands were roaming over her body, never holding still; up and down her back, her shoulders, caressing her neck, her sides, pushing the blanket aside to brush along the edges of her bare breasts. The feeling very efficiently distracted her from all worrisome thoughts.

It felt a bit odd, the rough fabric of his heavy cloak and the cold leather of his vest beneath against her bare skin, but she couldn't say that it was unpleasant. On the contrary, his almost playful touches and giddy laughter every now and then finally made her relax too. Eret had been awfully close to discovering her, but what mattered was that he hadn't. So she made an effort to deeply breathe in and out, let the tension flow out of her, and leaned more comfortably into Hiccup's embrace. Being close to him, kissing and feeling him, always made her feel better.

“You're in quite a cheerful mood,” she eventually pointed out, gasping as he nibbled his way down her neck. And he really was, with the continuous giggling and grinning. She was happy to be with him too, but this still felt like something else. “Did you have a good night out?”

Again, he began to chuckle. “Yeah, we had. I...” he paused, almost choked on another laugh, then added, “I told them about you.”

Astrid froze, and her gut seemed to drop down into her feet. “You– What?” He couldn't be serious now, could he? No, surely not. Surely, he hadn't–

“Don't worry,” he interrupted her approaching panic attack, still grinning and giving little giggles but somewhat steadier now. “I just told them that I am in love with the most wonderful woman on Midgard, how beautiful and smart and brave she is, and that she loves me too.” He paused to place a lingering kiss just below her ear. “I didn't mention your name, they don't know I was talking about you, but… Gods, Daniel, he–” Hiccup broke off, his arms around her tightening. “He said he’s happy for me. Encouraged me to marry her– you as soon as possible. That he would support me if needed...”

Astrid felt a kind of pressure around her chest, as if a corset was being closed by Ruff in one of her moods. “But Hiccup,” she interrupted him. “I don't doubt that he said that, but… but he didn't know you were talking about me, that he is the one who–”

“I know,” Hiccup sighed. He retreated slightly until his eyes met hers. There was a strange expression in them; an odd mixture of hope and despair, all covered by a light haze that probably came from the alcohol. “I know that he doesn't know that I was talking about you and I know that that fact would certainly change his opinion. But…” he broke off, and swallowed before a small almost shy smile played around his lips. “But it gave me hope, you know? The hope that he'll come around? Last night, I thought that hope was lost for good, so… Yeah, it was good to hear that he doesn't think I'm a complete failure.”

Astrid features softened, and she reached up to brush a few fringes out of his face. “You're not a failure,” she whispered. “Where is that idea suddenly coming from?” She remembered how Eret the Elder, the old goat, had spoken about Hiccup in that way, and how Hiccup had reacted when she’d repeated those words. But that was ages ago. It had never come up again since then, so why did he mention it now?

But he just shrugged, and averted his eyes. “Doesn't matter,” he muttered, then pulled her closer again until his face was thoroughly buried between her hair and her neck. “All that matters is that you're here. Freya, Astrid, I– I love you. So much!”

Chuckling weakly, Astrid turned her head until her lips touched his skin. “I love you too.”

She couldn't really say how they ended up rolling around on the straw-covered ground a few minutes later. All she knew was that there was something unrestrained and wild, almost feral even, about Hiccup's actions. The way his hands roamed over her skin, searching and exploring, intense, his kisses hot and almost demanding. It left her dizzy and wanting, especially when he focused all his attention on her breasts. She'd never known how sensitive that part of her body was, but, Freya, every time his work-roughened hands palmed her, fingers brushing over or pinching her nipples, she couldn't help but moan and writhe beneath him. And when she felt the damp heat of his mouth, his wet tongue stroking, the suction, his teeth nibbling and biting, all she could do was scream.

“Quiet, you'll scare the horses,” he mumbled against her skin as she floated down from one of those intense explosions. A part of her wanted to chide him for the clearly audible smirk in his voice, but the by far bigger part didn't care.

“Y-your fault,” she panted, chest heaving. “Freya, how are you doing this? How… what…” she broke off when her words kept incoherently tumbling out of her mouth. She needed better words!

Hiccup, the intensity of his touches not dwindling in the slightest, chuckled. “It… has many names. But the most common would be an ‘orgasm’. Or a climax. Or I’ve even heard ‘little death’ for the really good ones that just knock you flat. And as for how… I'm amazed myself how… responsive you are.” He lowered his head, and drew another loud moan out of her by ardently playing her nipple with his tongue. “Seriously, I could do this all day and never get bored.”

“Uhh uh…” Astrid made, already feeling the tingles of another orgasm, as Hiccup had called it, pooling in her belly when his hand wandered down her body and beneath her skirts. Clutching at his shoulders in a desperate attempt to anchor herself was all she could do when his hand between her thighs stroked that fire within her once more. It took only a few minutes until a second orgasm wrecked her body, leaving her stunned and trembling, unable to comprehend much beside Hiccup placing soft kisses all over her skin.

“Gods, you’re so beautiful like this,” he whispered, his voice low and rough. “As if you were glowing…”

His breath tickled, making her giggle giddily, and she reached out with weak arms to pull him up and into a kiss. He complied easily and eagerly, his unusual intensity still not dulling in the slightest. Astrid wouldn’t complain, she loved how tactile he was, how his hands – his whole body, really – wouldn’t stop moving, exploring. It made her want to do the same, to feel him.

Barely ever stopping kissing him, she managed to get Hiccup out of his tunic, with his cloak, vest, and shoes having already been shed. It didn’t take much for her to get over her initial hesitation, to explore him with the same eagerness he showed, hands running over muscles and scars, gripping and stroking. Their kisses grew more heated and distracted, and everything around them seemed to fade away. There was nothing else anymore, nothing but him. And she wanted all of him.

Humming against his lips, she led her hand glide down his front, over his stomach, until she felt rough fabric. There was a last spark of shyness, but she quickly brushed it aside. This was Hiccup, and there was no reason to ever be shy or hesitant with him. She wanted to move on, to feel him, this last part of him she didn’t really know at all. She wasn’t even sure what she’d planned, whether she wanted to feel him through the fabric of his trousers, more aware of the sensation than when they were making out, or whether she wanted to let her hand slide beneath the fabric, to feel hot skin and more, things she barely knew anything about.

But before she could do either, his hand was around her wrist. With an almost pained groan and a shake of his head, he pulled her hand away, his fingers entangled with hers as he resumed kissing her with renewed vigour. The way he moved, grinding against her, and his groans and grunts quickly distracted her from wondering again. It all simply felt too good to bother, to think, and all she wanted was to follow where he led her. Especially when it made her body throb so wonderfully, made tension coil tight before it burst and washed through her in thrilling waves. It felt as if she could never get enough.

“Oh, f– A-astrid!”

She barely registered Hiccup’s muffled groan against her shoulder or how his body coiled tightly only to shudder and shake a second later. In fact, she didn’t register anything, basking in an incredible rush that left her dizzy, until Hiccup slumped down onto the straw next to her. Right now, she could completely understand that ‘little death’ nickname for this feeling. He was panting, his eyes on her still dazed as he reached out to brush her sweaty fringes out of her face.

“I still have no idea what I ever did to deserve this – to deserve you,” he mumbled, voice slurring heavily.

Astrid wanted to reply that it was the same the other way around, but when she finally managed to make her eyes focus on him, he seemed to be half-asleep already. Well, the last couple of days had been busy, it was late, and he wasn’t exactly sober anyway.

For a few minutes, she just watched him with a lazy smile on her lips. He looked beautiful, so peaceful and relaxed, the corners of his mouth tugged up in the slightest of smiled. And yet…

And yet, there had been something earlier, something that bothered her more the more she thought about it. Slowly, her smile faded into a frown. Why had he done that, not just tonight but last night, too? Everything else had been wonderful, perfect even, but this…

For some while, she went through one possible explanation after the other in her mind, not really liking any of them. And it was futile anyway. She should simply ask Hiccup what that had been about, hoping that the explanation wouldn’t be–

No, none of that anymore, she chided herself. She needed to ask Hiccup, everything else wouldn’t get her anywhere. But gazing at his sleeping face, she had to acknowledge that now clearly was not the right time to do so.

With a sigh and a slight grimace, she pushed all these confusing thoughts aside in favour of getting at least a little sleep tonight, reached for the blanket behind Hiccup to cover them both, and then snuggled against his warm chest. Tomorrow, she thought to herself. Tomorrow, I will ask him. Whenever I get the chance...

. o O o .

Fighting to keep a pained groan inside, Hiccup reached up to rub his temples and simultaneously cover his eyes from the ray of sunlight which was breaking through the clouds occasionally. Being here as part of the farewell-party for the Crown Prince was an honour, even with the official explanation simply being that he was bringing Trample, and he didn't intend to embarrass himself by letting his hangover show too much. He knew that Daniel wasn't feeling any better, but the Prince somehow managed to appear composed, so Hiccup could do the same.

And appearing composed was important in more than one regard anyway. After their fun night out last night, Hiccup was confident again that it was more than just this official reason that allowed him to be here. But it was still an official occasion – and the last one where Daniel could notice anything, no less – so Hiccup made an effort not to even look at Astrid. But he still couldn’t help but listen.

“Promise me to be careful, okay?” Astrid’s voice as she tightly hugged her brother easily reached Hiccup’s ears where he stood next to Eret, even with how low and muffled it was.

“I’m always careful,” Daniel replied, smiling encouragingly at his sister as he retreated. “You’ll see, I’ll be back before you even noticed I was gone.” Something in Daniel’s voice sounded off as he said that, but Hiccup had no time to pin down what exactly it was. It might just be him being tired anyway.

“I certainly hope so,” Dagur chimed in, his trademark grin plain across his face. Nothing seemed to be able to dull his bright mood, not even one of his friends heading off into a war zone. “Because it’s all getting real now, you know? And I can’t wait to be a part of it all this summer. Thor, it feels like forever until then!”

Daniel grimaced slightly, but didn’t comment further. He accepted Dagur’s goodbye hug with something of a forced smile, then turned to Eret. As they hugged too, Hiccup heard murmured words he wasn’t sure he was supposed to hear.

“Promise me to keep an eye on her for me.”

“I always will,” Eret replied, voice equally low. “Don’t worry. As long as we stay here, nothing will happen to her.”

Again, Hiccup noticed a grimace crossing Daniel’s face, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. He just nodded, lips tight, then turned toward Hiccup. Giving him a hug too seemed inappropriate, and with him holding Trample it wasn’t practical anyway, so Hiccup simply reached out to shake Daniel’s hand. He was relieved when Daniel returned both the gesture and his honest smile. Apparently, all his worries from the night of the grand blot had been for nothing after all – at least in regards to their friendship. “Have a good journey,” he said. “And good luck with Redpeak. I hope it all works as planned.”

Hiccup wasn’t sure how, but that seemed to have been the wrong thing to say. Daniel winced, confusing Hiccup with a strange look and a slight shaking of his head, but it was too late to take his words back.

“Redpeak?” Eret inquired, clearly surprised. “That again? I thought you couldn’t go to Redpeak this winter.”

Hiccup threw Eret a confused look. He and Daniel had talked about little else lately, including planning the last details last night in the tavern. Where else was Daniel supposed to go? “Why shouldn’t he?” he asked, clearly puzzled, then turned back to Daniel. “I thought it was your plan to get it usable for this summer? Wasn’t that why you asked to pin down which alterations would be manageable in the short time?”

Now it was on Eret to look confused, and even Dagur leaned in. “But… weren’t you lamenting about how you won’t be able to work on Redpeak only one week ago?” Dagur asked. “I clearly remember it. It was my accolade, and…”

“And you said you can’t change the plans anymore,” Eret added, nodding. “Something about logistics, and basic material already being on its way?”

Dagur nodded, too. “And that Uncle Spite would skin you alive if you postponed the repairs to his outposts. I mean, I remember how desperately you wanted to change your plans, but I didn’t think you’d be willing to risk that.”

Eret grunted in agreement, and all three of them gave Daniel confused looks.

“Erm…” the Prince made, biting his lip. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable, but then nodded. “You’re right, all of you,” he sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. “It’s just… something else came up, something… important. I don’t have as much time as originally planned after all, so going to Redpeak instead became more sensible, as it’s much closer to the city of Westhill than Loki’s Teeth.”

“Something so important that you can risk aggravating Uncle Spite?” Eret asked with a raised eyebrow. “That’s got to be quite something. Is it something you can tell us?”

Daniel looked definitely pained now as he shook his head. “No, I can’t tell you. Not yet. But you’ll learn about it soon enough, don’t worry.” He sighed again. “All I can tell you is… well, let’s just say I highly expect to see you all again long before summer, before you all return home even.”

“So, you’ll be here for Swanja’s birthday?” Eret asked, clearly surprised. “That’s new.”

It was a reasonable question, Hiccup supposed. He already knew that Astrid’s birthday at the end of the winter usually marked the day House Jag’r’s herd returned to Eastervale. It was a day he dreaded, knowing it would be the last before they had to part. But he also knew that the Princess's birthday wasn’t an important enough occasion for Daniel to interrupt his campaign preparations. Or, usually not, at least.

But against his expectations, Daniel shook his head. “No, I won’t be back by then. But I’ll be back not long afterwards. There’s–” He glanced to the side, and abruptly interrupted whatever he’d meant to say. “Uh, where is Swanja?”

Upon his question, they all turned as well to where Astrid stood behind Dagur. Or at least where she had stood until a minute ago. Now, the space was blatantly empty, and Hiccup wondered how he’d missed her leaving. Sure, he was tired and hungover and had actively tried to not overly pay attention to her. But apparently, that had worked better than he'd expected.

“Uh, I don’t know. She’d been here just now, hadn’t she?” Dagur looked utterly confused, and Hiccup had to bite back laughter at the sight. Astrid’s disappearance could be alarming, but he actually wasn’t worried. Not really.

And as if he’d been able to read his thoughts, Eret snorted in amusement. Or maybe it was just that he, too, knew Astrid well enough. “Well, if she managed to slip away, there’s only one place where she’d go. We’ll pick her up once you're gone and make sure she's all right. Don’t worry, we'll keep an eye on her.” The last words were clearly directed at Daniel who nodded gratefully.

“Thanks, Eret. I know I can count on you.”

. o O o .

Hiccup couldn’t really complain about the company, he mused as Eret and Dagur accompanied him back toward the stables. It was only logical that Astrid would go there when she got the chance. According to Eret that was what she always did, and Hiccup supposed he was right. It had been what had let to their first meeting, after all.

Besides, spending time with these two was always fun, and even with knowing where Daniel was heading, their mood wasn't down in any way. The area around Westhill and the Western Mountain Range was undeniably a war zone, but Daniel had the best protection imaginable, and winter wasn’t exactly the time where the Malarians – used to their warmer climate in the West – were most active anyway.

So it wasn’t really surprising that they were in a high spirit, possibly even more light-hearted than they had been during the past days. Because now, there was nobody around anymore from who they had to hide. It was a bit strange though, he mused as he walked ahead of the other two and tried not to be too obtrusive. They had to hide their relationship just like he and Astrid did, but for other reasons and with very different perspectives for their future. Right now, he felt a little jealous at how freely they bantered, their comments much more telling then they had been with the prince around. It stung that, even with Daniel gone, it wouldn’t be possible for him and Astrid to do the same. But on the other hand, he also couldn’t really begrudge them their time, limited as it was. At least he knew that his fate, ordained by the gods, was far better than what theirs would be. So Hiccup kept himself entertained with thoughts of their future, by remembering the images he’d seen of Astrid standing in the doorway to their home and with their son in her arms. Someday, he reminded himself. Someday, that image will become the truth. The thought brought a smile to his lips. A smile that vanished when he entered the stables.

Astrid was nowhere to be seen, but he knew by now that didn’t have to mean she wasn’t here. His eyes directly flickered to the end of the corridor, and, just like last night, he noticed that the door to his stall stood slightly ajar – despite him knowing that he’d closed it properly. His heart skipped a beat before it began to pound hard in his chest. Last night, Eret and Dagur had only been here to make sure he got here. Eret had been worried, but it also had been relatively easy to persuade him to leave. Now, however? Now, they were here to search for Astrid. If she'd just been here, for Markor or to wait for them, that wouldn't have been a problem. But if she was in his stall, that meant it was on Hiccup to make sure they wouldn’t find her.

“Milady Astrid?” he called, loud. “Are you here? We’re all looking for you.” He could only hope that would be enough of a warning, enough for her to not come out of his stall and make Eret and Dagur wonder why she’d been in there in the first place. And to his relief, everything stayed quiet.

“Huh, that’s strange,” Eret muttered, looking around the hall. “I would have vouched for her to be here.” He made a few more steps forward, before he called, “Swanja? Where are you?” But again, there was no answer.

Hiccup almost hoped Eret would leave it at that and go look someplace else, when instead he went on toward the stalls. For a moment, his blood ran cold, but he quickly caught himself again. He had to do something, or Eret would surely find her.

“Maybe she’s in the tack room?” he suggested, words directed at Dagur who nodded.

“I’ll take a look,” he said, and left for the door to the attached room.

Hiccup quickly hurried forward to where Eret was peering into Markor’s stall right now.

“Well, she’s not in here either,” Eret stated needlessly, a clear frown on his face now. “I really could have sworn…”

“Maybe in one of the other stalls,” Hiccup suggested, making a snap decision at that moment. It was bold, but certainly better than to have Eret look everywhere on his own. He stepped toward the next stall on this side of the stables, Cassie’s, even as he was still turned toward Eret. “Let’s have a look; I’ll take this side and you the other one?” He indicated to the other row of stalls, where Hunter, Crusher, and Chomp were housed. Yes, bold indeed. What if Eret instead stayed on this side, to search Squish’s stall and the empty stalls in-between? Hiccup would be too far away to intervene, to maybe stand in the way so Eret wouldn’t spot her or to insist upon searching his sleeping stall at the end of the row himself. What if–

“All right.” Eret nodded, turned to hurry over to the other side, and Hiccup bit his lip, painfully, to keep a relieved gasp from escaping him. He was keenly aware that the danger of them practically catching her in his bed wasn’t fully averted yet, but at least it wasn’t as immediate anymore either.

They went on in silence until Dagur returned from the tack room. “I’ve searched the entire thing, even looked behind shelves and everywhere. Swanja isn’t in there.”

“And she’s not here either,” Eret replied tensely as he closed the door to the last stall in his row. “Hiccup?”

Hiccup could see part of Astrid’s dress peeking out from behind the straw bale where she was hiding. “No, nothing,” he called back, firmly closed the door to his stall, and, after giving himself a second to compose his face, turned toward the other two.

Dagur gave him an amused look. “Did you expect Swanja to be in there?” he asked, nodding at his stall behind him. It was obviously meant to tease him, and luckily, Hiccup didn’t need to pretend anything to react appropriately flustered.

“Well, I don’t know,” he said, blushing. “I mean, maybe she was tired and didn’t want to go back to the castle to do whatever is on her plan for today? There is a bed in there after all, and…” he trailed off, swallowing whatever other nonsense he could blurt out. “Anyway, it looks like she’s not here after all.” He was a bad liar, and he knew that. People had told him so on several occasions. All he could do was hope that this time would be different. That they would believe him.

Eret frowned, but then nodded. “All right. Maybe she knew we would look for her here first. I mean, I don’t know why she felt the need to run off, but it’s obvious that she doesn’t want to be found easily.” He sighed, then grimaced. “But we have to find her. I promised Daniel to keep an eye on her. I mean, I know she can take care of herself, but...” He trailed off, and rubbed his tattooed chin in thought.

“I know what you mean,” Dagur sighed. “She hasn’t really been herself lately.”

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck in an attempt to appear unperturbed. He felt bad for lying to them, and even worse for leaving them worried; they meant well, after all. But even if he told them where she was, there was no way he could explain why he’d lied in the first place. Besides, Astrid hadn’t wanted them to find her, and he respected that. So he stayed silent.

“Okay, let’s see if we can find her anywhere else,” Eret eventually resigned. “Maybe she went for a walk in the forest, or sits at the swan lake. Or she might be visiting Fishlegs and Heather.”

“I hope not,” Dagur muttered. “I could go without the icy glares Heather gives me lately.”

Nodding, Eret laid his hand on Dagur’s upper arm in a comforting gesture. “I’m sure she’ll come around. But maybe we don’t need to even go there.” He turned toward the exit, but then paused to look at Hiccup. “Are you coming too?”

Hesitantly, Hiccup shook his head. “No. You know better where she might be, and I could only follow you anyway; I’d just get lost if I were to search the castle and its grounds on my own. I’ll stay here in case she shows up after all. Tend to the horses…” He shrugged. Again he hoped that the lie wasn’t too noticeable on his face.  

Apparently, it wasn’t. Eret nodded in agreement, and after they’d left the stables and the door closed behind them, he let out a heavy sigh of relief. Gods, he couldn’t wait until they wouldn’t have to hide anymore…

He wasn’t surprised at all when, upon turning away from the stable’s entry, he found that Astrid had already left his stall. He had to be more smashed than he’d thought, as he hadn’t even heard the door. What surprised him, however, was that she stood a few steps away from him. His first instinct was to go to her and take her into his arms, but there was something in her expression that kept him from doing so. It also explained why she’d come and hidden here in the first place. It seemed as if she had more on her mind than simply already missing him.

“Hey,” he began, unsure what else to say. His mind still felt sluggish. “That was… pretty risky.”

Astrid, however, didn’t say anything and just nodded. She bit her lip, obviously chewing something over in her mind, so Hiccup decided to just keep on talking until she’d made up her mind about what was bothering her.

“I mean, what if Eret had seen you? Sure, Daniel isn’t here anymore, but I didn’t get the impression that telling Eret or Dagur was what you wanted either. And surely you knew they’d come here first. I mean, not that I’m complaining. I love to have you here, and–”

“Do you?”

Hiccup broke off, and gave her an incredulous look. Where was that coming from? Scouring his mind for what he might have done to make her doubt him and coming up empty-handed, he couldn’t help but make a hesitant step toward her. “What? Of course I do!” Gods, his mind was too slow, he shouldn’t have drunk anything last night.

Astrid looked at him for a moment longer. Then she moved toward him, oddly hesitant, and stretched to brush her lips over his. Hiccup still had no idea what to make of her behaviour, so he just went along, returned her kiss and pulled her closer when she pressed for more contact. It felt wonderful, right and perfect, just like always – except that Astrid still seemed strangely tense. Or maybe he was just imagining things? His mind really wasn’t as quick as it usually was. Eventually, he gave up pondering, and pushed all distracting thoughts aside. Astrid wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, so if something bothered her, she surely would say so.

With a low moan, he gave in completely, letting her take the lead to wherever she wanted to go, returned her kisses and let his hands roam over her body when hers did the same. Gods, he loved the feeling of her small but sure hands on his skin, the light scraping of her fingernails over his abdomen, tickling, teasing, wandering further and further down until–

Grunting, Hiccup’s hand shot down to catch hers as she was about to loosen the cords on his trousers. Freya, just the light brush of her hand over his bulge had already felt amazing! But this… this was the one line he wouldn’t… couldn’t cross, the one rule he couldn’t break.

Caught between wanting to let her continue and reasoning why he couldn’t, it took Hiccup a moment to realise that Astrid had pulled back from him. But when he did, he spotted a pained expression on her face, just before she turned away from him, arms defensively crossed in front of her.

“I-I think I should go,” she mumbled, making a hesitant step away from him. “Eret and Dagur might be back any moment or… or…” she trailed off, and Hiccup could imagine all too well how she would bite her lip right now, even as he couldn’t see it.

“Astrid, wait,” he said, not really knowing what else to say. What had just happened? “What...” He reached out for her, but dropped his hand again before he could touch her. Somehow, she seemed to need space right now, even though he honestly couldn’t say why. “Why are you so upset? Did… did I do something wrong?”

For a minute, Hiccup thought she wouldn’t answer. She just stood there, back toward him and arms so tightly wrapped around herself that it looked as if she was actively trying to hold herself together. When she eventually began to speak though, her words didn’t make much sense to him at first.

“No, you didn’t,” she whispered. “It’s just… I love it when you touch me. It’s… indescribable. I want to feel you, everywhere and all the time. I can’t get enough.”

Despite the weird tension between them, a smile was tugging at Hiccup’s lips. He’d hoped that she would enjoy their physical contact and was thriving on it when she reacted like last night, but actually hearing her say it was a welcome reassurance. However, her words certainly didn’t explain her behaviour. “And… that’s bad?” he asked carefully.

Astrid shook her head, still not looking at him. “No, it’s not. It’s just… I-I want to… to make you feel the same,” she eventually burst out. She sounded strange, vulnerable. “I mean, I know I have no experience. This… it’s all so new and confusing, and I don’t know how any of this works. All I know is that you make me feel so amazing, and I just want to return that feeling. Unless… unless you don’t want me to. If you don’t want me, then…” she broke off as her voice grew more brittle with every word.

At first, Hiccup could do little else but dumbfoundedly gape at her. She thought he wouldn’t want her? That was… ridiculous! “Whether I…” he began, bewildered. “What gave you that idea? That’s completely–”

“Then why won’t you let me touch you?” she interrupted him, sounding even more vulnerable than before. “I know that I’m not any good, but I’m willing to learn. I just…” She shrugged awkwardly with her arms still wrapped around herself.

“You think...” he whispered, unsure whether she could even hear him. Was she serious? She thought that he didn’t want her to touch him? Feverishly, he tried to come up with a way to explain, to make her understand, but he could only come up with one sensible solution. It was still a stupid one, one he shouldn’t pick. Because he wanted her too much. But Astrid was hurting over this misunderstanding, and if that was the only way to explain himself…

With two quick steps, Hiccup approached her and took her into a tight embrace. So far, he’d always tried to be as careful as possible with what exactly he let her feel of his body, both because he hadn’t wanted to spook her and because he already wanted her more than was good for him, even without her body pressing and rubbing against his cock with every other movement.

But this time was different. This time, he deliberately pressed his crotch against her back, letting her feel just how much he wanted her. The unexpected contact made him twitch in eager anticipation, something Astrid apparently felt too, judging by her hiccupy intake of breath.

However, he didn’t want to upset her further, in any way. “Silly woman,” he murmured softly against her neck. “Of course I want you. Gods, Astrid, you have no idea just how... appealing you are to me.” He paused, trying to think of how to explain himself. “I… don’t know what exactly the Temple taught you, but–”

With a harsh snort, she bit out, “Assume that they taught me nothing!”

Hiccup blinked at her tone; he’d heard her annoyed, even angry, but that sounded like ages of frustration finding a target. However, as she settled back against him, she felt less tense, so that was good. It meant she wasn’t angry – or at least not angry at him!

Swallowing against the heat coursing through his body, Hiccup nodded against her hair. “Do you feel this?” he asked in a rough voice as he pressed himself a little closer, the friction making him twitch again. Astrid nodded. “When they're aroused, men get… hard. And that's what you can feel right now, me being aroused beyond being able to make sensible decisions.” He chuckled shakily. “And it's all because of you. You ask whether I even want you to touch me? Freya, yes, I want that. More than you can imagine.” Oh, yes, this hadn't been a wise idea, Hiccup thought as a shudder ran through his body. Gods, he wanted her so much… And Astrid shifting in his arms and further rubbing against him didn't exactly help either.

“Then… why won't you let me?” she asked again in a small voice, at complete odds with her tone a moment before.

Gasping out another desperate laugh, Hiccup let his forehead drop until it rested on her shoulder. “Because I don’t trust myself,” he mumbled, the embarrassing truth of those words making him glad that she wasn’t looking at him right now. “We both know that we can’t have sex just yet, but I fear that… that if we get to close, neither of us will be able or willing to stop. So it is my responsibility to make sure. And this is the rule I gave myself; that I would always keep my trousers on around you. If I don’t take them off, nothing can happen.”

In his arms, Astrid noticeably relaxed, further leaning into his embrace. “I wish you’d told me about that,” she breathed, laughing nervously. “That would have saved me quite a few hours of distress. Or the whole charade of sneaking away and hiding here, for that matter.”

“I’m sorry,” Hiccup murmured, gulping. “I know it’s my task to explain everything to you, but I’m not really doing a good job, am I? I… I’m just trying to go slowly, to not overwhelm you. There are many things we haven’t talked about yet, but I thought we would do so when they come up. But be assured, me holding back has nothing to do with not wanting you. Gods, Astrid, the things I want to do…” Hiccup trailed off, his whole body trembling with just thinking about the options. Those would be two horribly long years…

“What would you want to do?”

Distracted as he was by the images in his head, Astrid’s question caught him a little off guard. “Excuse me?”

She hesitated, then wiggled in his arms until she’d turned around to face him. There was a mix of curiosity, excitement, and anticipation gleaming in her eyes, and Hiccup already knew that it would be tough to turn down whatever she wanted. “If we could do whatever we want to… what would you do? Right now, I mean. Can you tell me? Or show me?”

“Astrid…” he began, pained, but she didn’t even let him really start his complaint.

“I get that restriction, that rule you put up, and I respect it,” she said, smiling up at him so prettily that Hiccup felt like he could fall in love with her all over again. “But I’m so curious, want to know how it all works.” She shrugged. “So I thought, maybe at least talking about it is okay?”

Hiccup bit back something like a desperate groan. Simply talking could already be enough to make him combust and soil yet another pair of trousers. But she had a point, and not talking would only cause more confusion. “You’re right,” he said in a low voice, nodding. He took a minute to think, but then decided he just as well could stop minding having to wash his clothes more regularly. This was all they could do for now, so they better made the best of it as long as they had the time.

More content now with their situation, Hiccup somewhat regained his confidence. “You want to know what I’d like to do if we could?” he asked in a rough voice.

Astrid, who apparently had noticed the change in him, just nodded mutely, eyes shining brightly.

He moved, gently guiding Astrid backwards until she hit a pile of neatly stacked straw bales. Fighting down a last flicker of nerves, he lifted her so that she sat on those bales, at just the right height. “If we could,” he murmured, his hands sliding down her legs to hoist up her skirts. “Then I’d like to take you like this.” His eyes never left hers as he stepped between her parted legs, always looking for a hint of uneasiness or discomfort. But there was nothing the like, only joyful anticipation. He made another step so that their bodies touched, his bulge against her crotch. Even through their clothes, he could feel her heat, could tell by the slide that she was wet, aroused. It made the heat inside himself burn even hotter; having blood in his head to help him think was not a priority anymore.

“If you’d let me, if it were possible,” he went on, hands gliding around to settle on her hips. “Then I’d push into you now, slow and deep, savouring.” He pressed himself closer against her which drew a beautiful little gasp from her. The sound made him buck forward, making her yelp in return and left them both gazing at each other through dazed eyes. He bucked again, deliberate now, and Astrid’s moan was almost enough to undo him on the spot.

“I would want you to feel me,” he muttered in-between panted breaths as he kept moving back and forth. “And to feel you in return, your tight heat. I want to hear you, want to taste you.” He leaned in to dip his tongue into her mouth, even as they were both too distracted to kiss properly. Astrid’s hands were on his shoulders now, clutching, pulling him closer.

Hiccup let his head drop to her shoulder as he increased the pace of his movements. One arm was around her waist, the other around her back, holding her tight as he kept grinding their bodies together, her sweet moans in his ear. “I want to mark you,” he mumbled against the bare skin of her shoulder. “And to be marked by you. I want to be one with you in every possible way. Gods, I love you, Astrid. And the day you become my wife will be the happiest day of my life.”

Astrid’s response was little more than a string of whimpers, gasps, and moans. He could tell that she was moving with him by instinct, intensifying the friction even more, and he knew that, if someone were to come in now, he couldn’t have cared less in that moment. All that mattered was Astrid, how she clutched him tightly, rutting against him until the most sinful of moans left her. Her orgasms were always beautiful, thrilling, the way she shook as pleasure consumed her. And just like last night, it was more than enough to let him tip over the edge as well. Muffling his desperate howl against her skin, he came, shuddering, pressed against Astrid as tightly as possible.

His mind had barely begun to work again, when her trembling laughter reached his ears. “Mmmh, yeah,” she hummed. “I can’t wait for when we can do this for real either.”

Hiccup couldn’t help but laugh, free and liberated, and it only took a second or three until Astrid chimed in as well. Gods, how was it possible that he was allowed to be with her?

. o O o .

Feeling much lighter than she had this morning, Astrid left the stables a few hours after she’d hidden herself there. When she reached the top of the small hill, she couldn’t help but turn to look back one last time. But just as they’d agreed upon, the doors were already closed, Hiccup not standing there to gaze after her.

It was a miracle that nobody had barged in on them, all things considered; they couldn’t risk blowing their cover now just by prolonging their farewell. It wasn’t for long anyway; she’d be back in a few hours. The thought made her smile, despite the prospect of being found by Eret or Dagur at any moment, and of getting scolded by a whole lot of people for sneaking away.

But it had been worth it. After last night, when even in his drunk eagerness Hiccup hadn’t let her touch him, she’d felt so confused, conflicted. It wasn’t that she’d really doubted Hiccup’s feelings for her… But she had wondered, had feared what his reluctance could mean. She’d wanted to give him everything, but hadn’t been sure whether that would be enough.

Now though? Now, she was appeased. Hiccup’s explanation had been logical and practical, enough to make her see reason too while at the same time letting every single one of her troubled thoughts evaporate. But it was even more than just that. She’d learned another lesson today; the lesson that she could ask Hiccup everything. And she would. They only had a few weeks left, but she intended to get as much out of those as possible, to spend every moment she could with him and to learn whatever she could.

“Thank Odin, there you are!” called suddenly a voice from behind her, and Astrid turned to give Eret a sheepish smile. “We’ve been looking for you forever. Where have you been?”

Astrid shrugged nonchalantly. “Oh, I’ve been just walking around in the woods,” she said matter-of-factly. She’d already planned ahead what she would tell him after all, had even taken a large detour on her way back to the castle to hide where she’d actually been. “The moment I return to the castle, my governess regains control over my life again, and I wanted to avoid that as long as possible.”

“Yeah, I thought so,” Eret sighed, and she could tell by the grimace on his face that he didn’t really blame her for sneaking away. “And I understand. But I’d still prefer if someone knows where you are if you need to hide. You know I’d even cover for you, right?”

“Thanks, Eret.” The smile she gave him, though be it an honest one, still felt like a lie. She believed him; he would cover for her, had already done so in previous years. He was trustworthy, more so than almost everybody else she knew. And yet, she couldn’t let him know the truth. She wasn’t even sure whether he would actually betray her trust when it came to her relationship with Hiccup. But if she told him her secret, she would effectively force him to lie to Daniel when they met come summer, and that was a burden she didn’t want to place on her friend. So she just wound her arm through his in a familiar gesture as they walked back toward the castle. “I appreciate the offer, and maybe I’ll even take you up on it. But for today, I think my time is up.”

The walk back to the castle was filled with companionable silence, a last reprieve before life came crashing down on her again. But even having her governess scold her for her sudden absence wasn’t able to make her regret or feel bad in any way. Everything was worth it when it meant she could spend time with Hiccup.

The rest of the day went just as she’d expected. After the scolding came lessons, but in what Astrid couldn’t remember, her governess’s words not even registering in her mind. Eating dinner felt… different though. It wasn’t quiet or boring with the Grand Dukes, Eret and Dagur keeping her and her father company. But Daniel’s absence seemed to hover over her like a dark cloud. It wasn’t that she was worried for him, not really. But with him gone...   

At the end of the day, she let herself fall into the soft cushions of her bed, sighing deeply. It sounded theatrically, even to herself, even though it was only halfway exaggerated. Turning her head, she glanced at the wooden horse standing on her bedside table. Ruff had seen how it had been a part of her gifts and probably assumed it came from Eret – and Astrid hadn’t corrected her. It meant that Astrid had felt free to place the figurine into her bedchamber, that she now had a physical reminder of Hiccup right there next to her bed. Which was good.

Now that Daniel had left, her life would return to its usual routine of lessons in embroidery and etiquette, painting and socialising. Maybe she would be allowed a free afternoon with Eret and Dagur every now and then, but that would be it. It was a depressing prospect, and if it weren’t for the nights with Hiccup, she might have screamed.

But at least she had those nights – for now at least.

~ The End Of Part 2 ~

. o O o .

So, yeah... Again the reminder that this story will be on hiatus now until April 5th.

Next Chapter

#HTTYD #Hiccstrid #Fanfiction #Hiccup and Astrid #FTLOAP #for the love of a princess #Hiccstrid fluff #Hiccstrid lemon #lemon #royalty au #hiccstrid royal au #medieval au #Hiccstrid Medieval AU

[steterreversebang]

Steter Reverse Bang Participant Info

Artists

What is an art submission?

An art submission is two (2) related/corresponding pieces/works of art. 

What does related/corresponding mean?

The two pieces/works of art that you submit should fit the same story/idea. The art can be two different mediums but they need to fit the same feel, theme, or mood. Ideally, the second piece of art will incorporate some of the plot of the story being written. We encourage you to discuss with your author and get creative!

When is the art due?

An initial draft of one (1) of your pieces/works of art will be due March 15th. Final drafts of both pieces/works of art will be due on May 31st.

Art submission mediums allowed:

Aesthetic boards, animations, comics, drawings, edits, fic title banners, gifsets

Art submission medium specifics:

Drawings and edits should be at least 800x600 pixels

Gifsets should have at least 4 gifs per final set

Each page of comic is considered 1 piece

Aesthetic boards should have at least 6 photos

Playlists should have fourteen (14) songs, a title, and one (1) cover

What is due at author claiming (March 15th):

A rough draft of one (1) piece/work of art you would like to inspire a fic.

What counts as an art draft for author claiming?

Drawings should at least be a rough sketch

Gifsets should have at least 2 gifs

Comics should have at least one panel

Aesthetic boards should have at least 4 photos

Playlists should have seven (7) songs and a title

All art used for the author claiming can be edited and is expected to be completed by the final due date (May 31st).

Can my draft art be accompanied by a summary?

We would urge you to attach a short summary to your piece/work of art. It could help give your author a little direction and a better understanding of what you wanted/were aiming for. Authors are not obligated to write for the blurb. You will be discussing and working together after the claiming to create content that makes the both of you happy.

Do my required two (2) pieces of art have to be the same medium?

Nope!

Can my art be in a language other than English?

Unfortunately, no. We would like all work to be completed and submitted in English

What do we do with our second piece/work of art?

Once you are given your author contact info, you can discuss ideas and content for the fic. Your second piece of art should be a bit more tailored to what you and your author agree on.  Ideally, the second piece of art will incorporate some plot or imagery based on the fic being written.

Can I make more than 2 pieces of art for my author?

Absolutely!

I need to default out of this event:

Please let us know as soon as you need to do so

AUTHORS

What is the minimum word count requirement:

10,000 words

How long do I have to work on my fic?

From when you get matched with an artist to the due date, you have 9 full weeks to work on your fic.

Does it have to be complete by the final due date (May 31st):

Yes

How do I go about writing a fic based off the art I chose?

You will be put into contact with your artist. Know that this bang is a collaboration, and the two of you will need to work together on what you would like out of the final products. 

Can I have a co-author?

Yes, but please let us know if you are writing with a co-author during the first author check-in (April 19th)

What if I need a beta but cannot find one?

We will be asking for beta’s later on in the event and will email all the authors during the first check-in (April 19th) to see if anyone needs one!

Can I write my fic in a language other than English?

Unfourtantly, no. We would like all work to be completed and submitted in English. 

Where will I be posting my fic?

You will be posting your fic to the Steter Reverse Bang AO3 collection, here

I need to default from this event:

Please let us know ASAP so we can find a pinch-hitter.

What if I’m participating as an artist and an author?

Note that you cannot claim your own art. Other than that, you’re good to go!

Do I have to have a Tumblr and an AO3 account to participate?

Authors will need an AO3 account by the due date, as all fics will be posted to the events AO3 collection. Artists don’t have to host their art on Tumblr, but their art needs to be easily accessible for everyone

If your question isn’t answered here or on the FAQ page, feel free to drop an ask here!

Your mods,

@lavender-lotion and @lacrossepapi

#steterrb2019 #steterreversebang #steterreversebang2019 #steter #stiles stilinski #peter hale #teen wolf #reversebang #fandom #steter event #teen wolf event