#and i have changed my goals for this fic from 'funny crack ship fic' to 'trauma doesn't go away just because you ignore it

[kaz-of-ketterdamn]

Seven Devils (In My Heart)

A/N: First of all, I am really excited about this event, and I can't wait to check out the other works in this collection as well as the art and edits people made on Tumblr! Next, I want to give a huge shoutout to my beta reader, @infinite-cats on Tumblr, for helping me with this fic! Thank you @grishaversebigbang for creating and running this event! The title is from “Seven Devils” by Florence + The Machine. Without further adieu, enjoy the story!

Corporalki: @infinite-cats

Summary: Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Wylan, and Nina hadn't seen each other for years after they broke into the Ice Court, retrieved Kuwei Yul-Bo, fought to get Inej back, and drove Pekka Rollins out of business. They never spoke about what happened--not to anyone--and they never planned on it. The truth was, even though they had told each other they would stay in contact with one another, they had long since forgotten about the promises they’d made to one another when their emotions were running high after everything that happened. It isn’t until Inej catches word of unrest in Ravka that she returns to Kerch, where she plans to inform Nina of the new development, that the group, at least some of it, is together again. While Inej had planned on leaving again as soon as she’d spoken to Nina, her plans change once she catches wind of a new threat here, in Ketterdam. With danger surrounding the group, they are drawn back together, and while facing this new obstacle, hidden feelings come to light and many truths are revealed.

ao3 link: Seven Devils (In My Heart)

Chapter 1:

Kaz

It was a dreary day in Ketterdam--more dreary than normal, anyways--and Kaz Brekker stood in his office on the top floor of the Slat, looking out the window, towards the harbor. It was something he did frequently, staring at the ships. He liked to document which goods were coming into the city, which were moving out, and who was responsible for the exchange of goods. Kaz had learned how to identify ships by their sails and match them to a merchant a long time ago, and it always proved useful when deciding which goods were worth stealing and which to leave be.

With a groan of frustration, Kaz resigned himself to the fact that it was too foggy to get a good look at any of the ships. Then, he walked back over to his desk and sat down to relieve the pain in his knee, which was always worse when the weather was humid like this.

His eyes drifted away from the parchment before him and back to the window, and a small part of him hoped that one day, when he was looking out at the ships, he would see hers ; that she would come back to him. He didn’t know exactly what he had felt for In--no, the Wraith , he chided himself--disrupting his own train of thought. He only missed the Wraith, he told himself. He missed having eyes and ears around Ketterdam and an assassin he could trust. That was all. Nothing more, nothing less.

He shook his head, dispelling all thoughts of his former colleague from his mind, and when he finally tore his eyes away from the window, he looked down at the large stacks of paperwork on his desk, grabbed a quill, and began to scribble words onto the parchment. There was work to be done, and he would just have to make do with the fact that he no longer had the same level of surveillance he once had, just as he had done for the past few years.

Inej

Inej danced through the crowded streets of Ahmrat Jen, the capital city of Shu Han, unnoticed by those around her. Normally, she used the rooftops to move through cities, but the yurts in Shu Han made that difficult, so she resigned herself to the streets. She headed north, towards Ravka, and as she wove in and out of throngs of people and walked along hidden trails, she felt a pang of nostalgia. It reminded her of her life in Ketterdam, when she worked for Kaz Brekker. Now, she worked for no one. Then why did she still hear Kaz’s voice whispering instructions, meticulous and concise, whenever she closed her eyes? It felt like she hadn’t been able to get away from him--not really--and it infuriated her. It wasn’t that she hated him, it was more complicated than that. Even though she was miles away from Kerch, she still thought of him; no matter how far she traveled, she remembered him, and she hated it because she had promised herself she would give up this lifestyle. The kind where she snuck around, hidden in the shadows, using a knife to get what she wanted. She had wanted to be rid of this way of life so badly, but how could she be when Kaz was constantly invading her mind?

She no longer observed cities for their money, and she no longer had to murder anyone because they were a threat to a power-hungry boy; her goals were much better, at least in her opinion, than Kaz’s. But that didn’t change the fact that her methods were the same. She used the skills she had learned in Ketterdam to help women and children escape abusive homes. She used them to punish those who helped themselves to the pleasures of another’s body when it wasn’t theirs to enjoy, scoundrels who deserved no mercy but still escaped the authorities. Yes, she thought to herself, what she did with her skills now was much better than what she had done for Kaz. But it bothered her that her mind always connected the skills to her time with Kaz; it made it so much harder to move on and justify her actions. They might be for the greater good, but murder was still murder, and she wondered if she could ever forgive herself and the man who encouraged her to explore this part of herself.

Inej blamed Kaz for what she had become. She’d done it in Ketterdam, and she still did now. It was much easier than facing the truth, but her time away from him had proved what she didn’t want to admit: part of her craved this lifestyle. Not the killing, but the adrenaline rush, the feeling of purpose it gave her. She’d been able to give it all up for a period of time. She traveled the world, explored the sea, and reconnected with her Suli beliefs, but after a while, she fell back into old patterns. And Kaz was no longer around to blame. She shook the thoughts from her mind and pulled herself back to the present. She looked at the watch on her wrist, and when she saw the time, she quickened her pace; she had a lunch to attend.

Kuwei

Inej walked through the door of the modest cafe he had chosen as a meeting place, and the corners of his mouth quirked up, the way they always did when he was right about something. “I see you received my message,” he said, arching an eyebrow as Inej took the seat across from him. “I take it you’re intrigued?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t,” she replied.

“Good,” Kuwei smirked. Inej stared at him, undoubtedly waiting for an explanation, as he pretended to look over the menu.

Inej arched an eyebrow, fully aware that he wasn’t actually planning to order anything. When she’d had enough of his games, she said “Enough stalling; tell me what you know.”

“So impatient,” Kuwei chided, clicking his tongue. “But fine, I’ll tell you.” Inej nodded, ready for him to begin.

“I’ve caught wind of unrest in Ravka,” he started. “There is talk of a Sun Summoner going up against the Darkling. Grisha were already ostracized before they began to fight their own kind, but now that there is conflict amongst themselves, many people see it as an opportunity to destroy the Grisha once and for all. People hunt them down; if they’re lucky, they’ll kill them. If not, they’ll hand them over to the Darkling.”

“What do Ravkan politics have to do with me?” Inej asked, crossing her arms defensively.

“They might just be Ravkan politics now, but if the rumors are true, the Darkling plans to spread his influence to other countries. Some people have faith in the Sun Summoner, but most are preparing for a reign of darkness. The people near the northern border of Shu Han are already moving south, and it’s safe to assume many Fjerdans are moving west. At some point, these supposed Ravkan politics are going to affect all of us, and, though I don’t say it often--or ever, for that matter--you are one of the few people I care about. You and the other Ravens who--”

“Crows,” corrected Inej.

“Fine, Crows ,” scowled Kuwei, “who helped saved my life,” he said flippantly with a wave of his hand.

“That isn’t caring about someone,” Inej replied. “That’s just feeling like you owe them--us--a debt.”

“You would know,” Kuwei smirked. His smirk was different than Kaz’s smirk, Inej noticed. His was more playful and mischievous. It held a certain level of innocence she’d never seen in any of Kaz’s words or actions. Sometimes she wondered if he had ever even had it or if he was born with the knowledge of how cruel the world could be. “But back to the topic at hand,” Kuwei said, dragging Inej from her thoughts. “The unrest in Ravka is already starting to spread, and it won’t be long before we are affected. Long story short, I’m planning to leave, and I think you should, too.”

“Where do you suggest I go?” Inej asked, deciding to amuse him.

Kuwei gave her a pointed look. “Back to Ketterdam, of course,” he said, as though it were obvious.

“Very funny, Kuwei,” Inej scoffed. “Why would I go back there? There’s nothing for me there,” she said, willing her voice not to waver.

“If I’m not mistaken, there’s a Grisha there you care about. It would be a real shame if she were to suffer just because you couldn’t work up the courage to go back there.”

“I’m not scared.”

“Try telling that to your face. You look terrified.”

Inej glared at him; if looks could kill, he would be dead on the floor. Much to her annoyance, he didn’t seem the least bit perturbed. If anything, he looked amused. “So, where are you planning to go?” Inej asked after she finally accepted that he wasn’t going to crack under her gaze. Kuwei didn’t answer, opting to give her a knowing look. No, thought Inej. It wasn’t possible.

Inej was about to ask him again, more firmly this time, but it was as if Kuwei were reading her thoughts, for he replied before she had the chance. “I’m going to Ketterdam. In fact, I was hoping you could give me a ride.”

Inej

Of course he wanted a ride. Of fucking course. She’d been a fool to think he’d only requested to meet to give her information. Nothing in this world came free; she knew that better than most. Perhaps she’d been caught up in the notion of reuniting with a friend--albeit not a particularly close one, but a friend nonetheless--that she had forgotten that she would have to give something in return. He’d already given her the information he’d promised, meaning he’d held up his end of the deal, and if Inej walked away, she’d be burning a bridge she’d rather keep intact. This manipulation wasn’t cruel, but it was entirely self-serving on Kuwei’s part. Kaz would have been proud.

Inej mulled her options over in her mind for a moment before answering, but she knew she was only delaying the inevitable because if she said it out loud, it would be real.

Then, as all things do, the moment passed. She looked up at Kuwei, who had a knowing look in his yellow-gold eyes that made Inej want to gouge them out, and gave the tiniest of nods.

“I’ll do it,” she said.

Kuwei smiled widely, showing his shiny teeth for the first time since the meeting had started. “Excellent,” he said, and Inej had the sinking feeling that this was only the beginning of her troubles. “So,” Kuwei asked lightly, “when do we leave?”

#grishaverse big bang #grishabigbang #gvbb #gvbbcreation #inked thorns

[beckytailweaver]

Avatar: The Last Airbender (fic stuff)

Since I’m trying to work on something (ANYTHING!) and I seem to be in an Avatar mood of late, I’ll throw this up here.

These are fics, potential fics, and mostly-concrete ideas that have existed in the back of my closet for a very long time, since the good old days of watching ATLA when it was shiny and new and cool. Most of them are also so old that LOK didn’t exist yet or was in its infancy.

Note: These are mostly gen fic. If pairings come up they are not the central goal of the piece; they will be mainly canon as it existed at the time the fic was outlined. Treat them like the scenery (no ship war drama allowed in my workroom, that’s what stopped me participating in the fandom years ago).

I’d kinda like to put some feelers out and see what folks think would be most interesting to work on.

Read on:

The End of the Circle Post-canon continuation, my oldest ATLA fic, conceived and outlined before comics or LOK existed. Does some headcanon worldbuilding based on what was available at the time of the original series. Dragons and spirits and legends coming to life, oh my!

Status: outlined, some scenes written, firm endpoint, world built.

Summary: Roku warned Aang that he could not die in the Avatar State, or the cycle would end. Azula’s lightning killed Aang in the Avatar State. To their good fortune, Katara’s spirit water was able to bring Aang back to life, but there are Consequences—for the Avatar and for the world.

Wild Fire Canon AU/semi-rewrite. Also born before LOK was a thing so Druk doesn’t exist. It borrows some concepts from the idea of Toph and her badgermole family. It breaks some TLA canon around the edges but it’s all in good fun.

Status: outlined, many scenes, ending fully plotted.

Summary: The young Fire Prince was burned and disowned by the Fire Lord, cast away and abandoned on the hostile shores of the Earth Kingdom before his kindly uncle could aid him. Disfigured, angry, and lost, young Zuko finds solace in the wilderness when he is taken in by a most unusual protector: A dragon.

Phoenix Legacy Not-a-time-travel “time travel” fic. It was born after seeing Season 1 of Avatar LOK and...kinda liking it but not? (I mostly lost interest in LOK after S1.) And wanting to add some more classic feel to the season. No information from subsequent seasons was used to outline it (thus there is no Druk) but recently I have gone back and “fixed” Zuko’s daughter (giving her the correct name and appearance), and added her nameless daughter (Iroh II’s sister) for lulz. Basically a rewrite of LOK Season 1 with a TLA character along for the ride to shake everything up, because at the time I was disappointed that there was only Katara and no other Gaang members out there kicking the new Avatar into shape.

Status: outlined, a few scenes written, ending plotted; not to be a rehash.

Summary: A phoenix cannot die by fire—it can only be reborn. When Ozai claimed the title of Phoenix King, he had no idea what sort of spirit he might be invoking. When he lost his ancestor’s war and his crown, the spirit’s blessings were unknowingly conferred upon his heir: The hapless Fire Lord Zuko, determined to bring his nation to peace. Seventy years later, there’s a tragic explosion in a tea shop in Republic City, and exiled traitor Fire Prince Zuko wakes up to an unfamiliar world full of unfamiliar faces. The last thing he remembers is an Agni Kai under a Comet, catching lightning to protect a friend.

The Prince’s Prisoner Another ficling born before the comics or LOK were really a big deal and/or I didn’t know about them. Basically during TLA S1, rather than fleeing Prince Zuko’s clutches, Aang decides to remain his prisoner. The original reasoning for this was a kind of modified Peggy Sue: Aang effed up his final battle with Ozai for reasons, his soul is sorta sent back in time to do-over from his iceberg wakeup. The problem is that this is not a perfect process and he doesn’t actually remember everything, only some very important faces, feelings, and concepts. The idea of Zuko as a dear friend/teacher/trusted person is one of these things. Thus, in defiance of all visible logic, Aang trusts S1!Zuko with his life and keeps his promise to go with him. In spite of his Water Tribe friends continuously trying to rescue him, Zhao continuously trying to capture him, and Zuko himself continuously trying to avoid being befriended by his ticket home. (”I’m your prisoner, not anyone else’s.”)  Intended to be a funny and heartwarming friendship/journey story taking a different angle at the series.

Status: tentatively outlined with very few scenes skeleton’d out, season 1 definite, endpoint undecided but can continue throughout the series. The premise mechanic is a bit flimsy; it’s less concrete since it’s supposed to be fluff, angst, and friendship.

dragon!Zuko AU fic Everybody has to write one of these, it’s like a law. Here’s mine: Ozai’s cruelty during the Agni Kai with his young son invoked the wrath of Agni, bringing down a magic from a time before memory and no one knows if it’s a blessing or a curse. When Zuko’s face burned, the fire didn’t stop there, and when the flames went out a young dragon was left on the floor of the arena. Uncle Iroh came to his rescue before the rest of Court could gather their wits, and then had to get him on a boat and out of the Fire Nation before Ozai could decide whether to make him into a pet or a trophy. Part 1: Rather than going on a mission to hunt the Avatar, Zuko and Iroh are on a road trip to keep Zuko alive and secret from the world (Ozai wants to usurp his brother’s title of Dragon). Iroh and his crew end up raising this stubborn angsty dragon prince; since he can’t turn back into a human he has to come to terms with being a dragon most of the time (which can’t talk), and he can often be Very Dramatic about it. Part 2: Years later, there’s rumors of the Avatar’s return and Zuko (who has sort of learned to take a human shape again) sees an opportunity to spare his own life and go home by offering his father a bigger prize than a dragon’s head...

Status: very general outline, some scenes conceived and a general plot/endpoint. Part 1 is in the 3 years pre-canon, Part 2 is during canon, including the grumpy dragon hiding out in Ba Sing Se.

Years Gone/Avatar kids AU S1/pre-canon rewrite. Some whim of fate cracks open Aang’s iceberg three years early (a storm, a passing boat, pure chance?) and he tumbles out into the world in the same year that Prince Zuko was banished. Despite befriending some Water Tribe children who would love to go adventuring with him, he’s got to get home to the Southern Air Temple and that’s where he runs into young, angry, raw-wounded Prince Zuko on his first visit. The tiny chase ensues up and down the entire temple. Aang will of course be friendly but escape. And this begins a probably-ill-advised adventure with a lot of kids who are entirely too young to be camping across the world on a bison (but it’s exciting!), chased by another kid entirely too young to be leading a manhunt. The Comet is three years away so there’s plenty of time for adults to tear their hair out over this. Zuko is a tiny ball of determination, rage, and tears. Aang feels bad for him and tries to make with the befriending even as he’s dodging the fire tantrums. Occasionally during adventures Zuko just gets scooped along for the ride in Appa’s saddle, no one’s sure how these weird truces get called, but Iroh sips tea and directs the crew on a new heading and they’ll pick up their prince at the bison’s next stopover most likely after the kid pendulums back the other way and remembers he’s trying to nab the Avatar again. So Zuko spends 50% of the time yelling and chasing the Avatar and 50% of the time sitting in Appa’s saddle learning tentative smiles and being offered berries and seal jerky, all the way from the South Pole to the North. (It’s slightly terrifying to realize that Aang and Zuko are currently the oldest kids in the party and are actually in charge of this terribly irresponsible expedition.)

Status: general outline, a couple of scenes written, particular S1 plot points, no endpoint yet. Possible bonus content: Toph and/or Suki come along for the ride because why not.

The Blacksmith of Ba Sing Se This is a very old Lu Ten Lives! story. Lu Ten always knew Uncle Ozai envied him, but secure in his position he didn’t really care about it until he took an arrow in the back during the final battle of the Siege of Ba Sing Se. With unknown assassins among his own ranks and no safe place to retreat in the melee, the wounded prince decides to fake his own death by hiding in the rubble, and then swapping clothes with a slain Earth Kingdom soldier half crushed in the ruin. At first, it’s only to get to safety until he can get to the bottom of this. But Lu Ten is picked up by the EK medic teams after the surprising withdrawal of the Fire Nation troops, and ends up spirited away into the heart of Ba Sing Se—where he discovers that it’s hard to escape. He also discovers a whole new world, and a whole new perspective, and, keeping out of the authorities’ notice, eventually manages to make a life for himself as Chang the Blacksmith, a humble craftsman with a wife and kids. This...is much nicer than war, death, and Court politics. Years later: refugee Zuko walking home from his job at Pao Family Tea Shop runs across a little boy crying over his broken toy in the dusty street...

Status: nebulous outline with a few particular sketched scenes. Takes place mostly in Ba Sing Se, outcome indeterminate. It could be mixed with the Lineages concept from below.

Lineages / not Ozai’s kid AU Not really a concrete plot so much as a campy idea from long before the Avatar comics blundered through Ursa’s backstory. There was a phase in the fandom (I think the Search comics drew off of that) where it was popular to imagine almost anyone else than Ozai as Zuko’s Secret Real Dad (the boy deserves a better father) and Iroh was often selected as primary candidate. (I know, Iroh is already the real dad and stepped into Ozai’s cold empty shoes like a pro.) Me, deciding that I had to be different, decided to offer up Lu Ten on that altar. Justifications: Iroh and Ozai looked to have a pretty extreme age difference and there was no solid age for Lu Ten at the time of his death, but his picture looks mature enough. Deals with family secrets and the political issues of muddying the lines of inheritance in the middle of a war. Also takes a crack at Ursa having a clever hand with Azulon’s last will and testament on Ozai’s behalf, with provisos.

Status: nothing really more than a vague concept without enough plot to stand on its own. Without a viable framework, it could work better/well folded into The Blacksmith story, above.

I’m open to opinions and/or asks about these. Trying to get a spark going! (I need to be working in a fandom, ANY fandom at this point! ^_^;; )

#atla #avatar #avatar tla #the last airbender #atla fic #fic ideas #stuff becky never got around to writing #but wanted to #except atla fans back in the day could be kinda really scary #sad to say the zutara battleship drove me out of those waters #don't hate the pairing just misliked the attitudes and actions of people involved #there was no chill and it made me sad #but I'm willing to try again!

[charminglatina]

Riverdale Couples and Ships as Romantic Tropes (Part II). 🌹

Here is Part II of the list!

#11. Bughead (Jughead Jones & Betty Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: CHILDHOOD FRIENDS ROMANCE)

Childhood Friend Romance

Childhood Friend Romance is a part of romantic plots, when characters develop romantic feelings for someone who they spent their childhood years with. Often the pair will see each other as Just Friends (and may even deny accusations that they might have a different type of relationship); then, when puberty hits or when they meet again after being apart for some time, they will realize that the other is all grown up. If the pair goes through a Puppy Love phase from the very beginning, a Childhood Marriage Promise may be involved. Resistance to see a childhood friend as a potential romantic partner is known as the "Westermarck effect", a theory that claims that people who grew up together before the age of 6 are likely to become hardwired to think about each other Like Brother and Sister, with a Stupid Sexy Friend squicked reaction to the notion of romance. (Other studies question this on the basis that though few of the people they examined had major romantic relationships with childhood friends, many had crushes and romantic feelings that just didn't make it.) Subtrope of Childhood Friends. See also Patient Childhood Love Interest, a subtrope common in Harem Series. Compare also with High-School Sweethearts. Often benefits from First Girl Wins.

#10. Veggie (Reggie Mantle & Veronica Lodge; ROMANTIC TROPE: SLAP-SLAP-KISS)

Slap-Slap-Kiss

"[Punches Hiccup on the arm] That was for kidnapping me. [Kisses him on the cheek] That was for everything else."— Astrid, How to Train Your Dragon

This trope is nothing but universal in romantic stories. It frequently brings to a close the Will They or Won't They? phase of a Romance Arc. When a male and female character spend a lot of time bickering, it is all but inevitable that sooner or later he will interrupt her in mid-rant by suddenly grabbing her and kissing her. (Less frequently, she grabs and kisses him.) The kissed one rarely resists, and usually responds wholeheartedly. Usually this is triggered by their hostilities reaching a climax that results in an exchange of slaps, followed by a moment where both stare at each other in combined confusion and shock, after which they dive into the kiss. Either way, the kiss prompts both to realize that they've been in love all this time — the rationale being that they wouldn't argue so much if they didn't give a damn about each other. Normally results in some kind of permanent change in their relationship. The concept is related to the theory that hate is not necessarily the opposite of love so much as its twisted twin; its opposite would be apathy. Ergo, lots of contained emotion towards a person might be translated into lust given the proper catalyst. Pulled off successfully, it can be... quite satisfying. Otherwise, not so much. This trope is a major factor in Foe Yay shipping, since such arguments between those characters in the actual shows are often similar to examples of this trope (or even get Why Don't You Marry It? reactions). It should be noted that in Real Life it's not exactly a sign of a healthy relationship, with the exception of a little roleplay between consenting adults. Note that this trope is mostly Exactly What It Says on the Tin. If there is no kiss, that's Belligerent Sexual Tension. Dating back at least to William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Compare "Shut Up" Kiss, Love at First Punch, Belligerent Sexual Tension, "Take That!" Kiss, Vitriolic Best Buds, and Destructo-Nookie. Often considered in similar terms to Foe Yay. Tsunderes are often involved on at least one end. Kiss-Kiss-Slap is this in reverse (kissing, then fighting).

#09. Jarchie (Archie Andrews & Jughead Jones; ROMANTIC TROPE: HO YAY)

HoYay

Homoeroticism, yay! Those moments of plot, dialogue, acting, etc., that fans delight in interpreting as homoerotic. It probably originates from the old days, when the homosexuality taboo was serious enough that every gay pairing was considered a Crack Pairing, so when authors wrote same-sex characters as very intimate with each other, audiences largely accepted that they are just very good friends, and moved on, or when authors wrote outright references to homosexuality, most just laughed at the sheer absurdity of the thought. With the gradual dissolution of homophobic moral codes, more and more writers have been able to publish and share their work uncensored, changing media forever. Nowadays, Yaoi Fans and Yuri Fans willingly interpret any interaction as potentially gay, for characters without canonical orientations and even for those specifically stated by their creators to be straight (in which case the author may be very annoyed by the fans' insistence otherwise). Cultural differences also have their say here. The level of accepted physical intimacy between close friends and adult relatives is hardly constant across various eras and nationalities, so, for example, the hugs and kisses which seemed mundane for an antiquated reader may appear blatantly erotic in the eyes of a contemporary one. In particular, the concept of Romantic Two-Girl Friendship — and Romantic Two-Guy Friendship — highly intimate yet platonic, only began falling out of use in the latter half of the 19th century. When this is done intentionally, it's Homoerotic Subtext, or possibly Implied Love Interest or Ship Tease. In the related trope called Foe Yay, even rivals or mortal enemies can get this treatment by fans and writers alike, especially if they have a more friendly past together, or one is inordinately obsessed with the other. In Fan Fic, this is the direct cause of many a Slash Fic.

#08. Choni (Cheryl Blossom & Toni Topaz; ROMANTIC TROPE: OPPOSITES ATTRACT)

Opposites Attract

"Strange extremes meet in love's pathway."—The Scarlet Pimpernel

Strong relationships, in both TV and real life, thrive on how each member compensates for the other’s weaknesses with their own strengths, and vice versa. A Motor Mouth just isn’t as funny if he doesn’t have the Straight Man to torment. Similarly, only when a sweet, shy person is paired up with an equally jerkish one is their kindness and shyness made all the more noticeable. It is all but guaranteed that the characters’ differences will cause more friction than harmony between them. That’s what gives the Odd Couple its fuel for Slap-Slap-Kiss, Will They or Won't They?, and Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other situations. Bickering and mushiness in one package. What’s not to like? The Odd Friendship also has elements of this, but tends to focus on how the differences make them see each other, and maybe the world, through new eyes. Perhaps the serious one is Not So Above It All, or the Shrinking Violet has an inner strength they never knew they had. A Moe Couplet also does something similar to this, focusing on how each half of the couplet brings out the other's endearing or nurturing traits. Opposites attract has become so widespread in buddy cop shows, in the form of Serious White Guy meets Loud Black Guy, that it branched off into its own subtrope. About the biggest challenge in creating a day-and-night dynamic is to keep the attract and repel cases relatively balanced. When the pendulum swings too far toward the repel side and the characters seem more interested in torturing each other than helping out, it’s no longer cute to watch; it’s just masochistic. The key (both in fiction and in Real Life) is to watch the pair's goals. If they want the same thing but use completely different methods to achieve it, it's this trope. If they want different things entirely, it's a divorce waiting to happen. If you add a third-party mediator for balance, you get a Power Trio. Contrast Birds of a Feather. Compare Too Much Alike.

#07. Cheronica (Cheryl Blossom & Veronica Lodge; ROMANTIC TROPE: VILLAINOUS CRUSH)

Villainous Crush

"Just fear me. Love me. Do as I say, and I shall be your slave."— Jareth the Goblin King to Sarah, Labyrinth

This trope applies whenever a villainous character has romantic and/or sexual feelings for a heroic one. If this crush takes a turn for the perverse (and most such crushes tend towards this), this can lead to tropes like I Have You Now, My Pretty, Forceful Kiss, Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me, And Now You Must Marry Me, Scarpia Ultimatum, and Go-Go Enslavement where the villain tries to force their desires upon the character, although none of those require a Villainous Crush. Additionally, the villain may become a Stalker with a Crush. If the crush itself is a motivating factor in their Start of Darkness, then it's Love Makes You Evil. This trope isn't always negative, though. This trope can conversely be a very humanising trait for an Anti-Villain. The heroic character may become a Morality Pet, and can be fairly certain that their villainous admirer will never harm them or allow harm to come to them, barring certain exceptions. They may even step in to protect them from other villains who have fewer compunctions. Taken all the way, it may become Love Redeems. If the feelings are mutual or an actual relationship develops, then it's Dating Catwoman instead. When this is purely subtextual, see Foe Romance Subtext. The specific variant when the Evil Empress captures the hero to seduce him is Villainesses Want Heroes. Not to be confused with Foe Yay, which are purely audience reactions.

#06. Archosie (Archie Andrews & Josie McCoy; ROMANTIC TROPE: BIRDS OF A FEATHER)

Birds Of A Feather

Grace: My mum always said opposites attract. Rich: That's magnets. We're people.—Skins

Relationships, particularly romantic ones, tend to thrive when the people involved are similar. People are simply more likely to get along if they share common interests, values, beliefs, and goals. Thus people with similar personalities will often flow together easily, whether romantically or not. The dynamic of this pair differs widely from Opposites Attract pair. Their personalities can often be interchangeable and both of them can have a same role if they are a part of a group. However, their common obstacle is having a harder time to compensate for each other's weaknesses. Be warned, writers: while often Truth in Television, this trope can sometimes be seen to create a poorly written Love Interest who just happens to be a Gender Flip of the main character. When the commonalities are much fewer but still create a bond, see Commonality Connection. Contrast Too Much Alike.

#05. Beronica (Veronica Lodge & Betty Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: ROMANTIC TWO-GIRL FRIENDSHIP)

Romantic Two-Girl Friendship

"It was perfectly acceptable at Baker & Inglis to get a crush on a fellow classmate. At a girls school a certain amount of emotional energy, normally expended on boys, gets redirected into friendships."—Middlesex

At the beginning of adolescence, there is a time when friendship is emphasized, usually junior high/middle school. These friendships can have very strong emotional bonds, and, when two girls develop a close bond, it will almost appear to be a romance. They hold hands. Getting together to do something is a "date." Fights are treated as a "break-up." They're willing to sleep next to each other in the same bed (and maybe even cuddle). They're also sometimes capable of moving and speaking in perfect unison. They may not actually be in a romantic relationship, but it is emphasized in such a way that if they were, you'd assume it'd look this way. In the Western world, this was far more common up until the late 1800s, and applied to both men and women, even into adulthood. It was referred to as "romantic friendship." This practice waned at the turn of the 20th century as adults, particularly men, did not want to be mistaken as homosexual. Note Generally, it still only occurs between young girls, where it is more socially acceptable and not indicative of sexual orientation. In Japan, this is known as "Class S" and is far more common than in the West. Due to the influence of Western female literature,Note the Japanese developed a belief that young girls are expected to have friendships with each other that emulate boyfriend–girlfriend relationships. This is considered a temporary but wonderful part of adolescence, which they can later "graduate" from to "real" relationships with boys. To remain in a "Class S" relationship past middle school is seen as a sign of immaturity, although it is expected that these friendships will continue into adulthood without the romantic elements. The possibility of one or more of the girls involved in a "Class S" relationship being truly invested in the other romantically is usually ignored. If the romance starts to become too passionate, parents may try to intervene to separate the girls. This should never become physical that way; it would "corrupt" the Incorruptible Pure Pureness, which is then traded in for marriage. If the girls do cross the line into sex (or even passionate kissing), they are no longer this trope, instead becoming Schoolgirl Lesbians, and are treated differently. Compare Heterosexual Life-Partners, where it just doesn't seem as romantic but remains a tremendously important personal bond, above and beyond a genuine romantic relationship. Also compare Experimented in College.

#04. Varchie (Archie Andrews & Veronica Lodge; ROMANTIC TROPE: UPTOWN GIRL)

Uptown Girl

"She's a rich girl, she don't try to hide it, Diamonds on the soles of her shoes. He's a poor boy, empty as a pocket, Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose."—Paul Simon, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"

You know the story. It's a love story. Our lovers are from different worlds — one wealthy, one not. The poor girl has fallen in love with the Gentleman Snarker, or the Unlucky Everydude secretly courts the daughter of the richest man in town. And she loves him too. Maybe it was Love at First Sight. Maybe she has a habit of slipping out to the seedier side of town for a night of fun. Maybe they've been friends their whole lives and the difference in status never really mattered. Will their love be enough to let them be happy together?

In any case, this is usually played out in one of three ways:

The poor guy and rich girl mutually fall in love, and neither one cares about their differences in wealth. People around them, however, do, and conspire to interfere with True Love.

The poor guy falls for the rich girl, even though he knows that she's out of his league. Undaunted, our hero engages in some Zany Scheme to get her to notice him or be impressed by him. This usually ends with the girl revealing that she doesn't care if he's rich or poor, and that she loves him for who he is.

The poor guy and the rich girl fall for one another, but he doesn't know she's rich at first. When he finds out, he's either intimidated by her wealth once he finds out, or else doesn't think he's good enough for her. As before, she doesn't care about such things, and has to convince him that he's the one she wants.

When the rich girl wants nothing to do with the poor guy, but slowly warms up to him, it's a different trope entirely. Note that the roles aren't locked by gender: a working-class girl who loves a rich boy also fits this trope, as do two lovers of the same gender. A relationship variant of the Odd Couple and quite often overlaps with Nobody Thinks It Will Work. Also often leads to cases of I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me, either with severe case of insecurity (like the third type above), or simply the poor guy being constantly feeling lucky and appreciative that someone so rich could fall for him. If it's not just the fact that she comes from money, but that he feels like she's above him, she's a Peerless Love Interest. Compare with All Girls Want Bad Boys, which often follows the same socioeconomic groups (or the inverse, if the girl is The Ingenue and the boy is an Gentleman Snarker or Spoiled Brat). Can overlap with Single Woman Seeks Good Man as it is the guy's personality that wins her heart (as is the case mentioned above). Not to be confused with the Brittany Murphy film Uptown Girls, which doesn't use this trope. Not to be confused with City Mouse either. This is transitioning into Dead Horse Trope territory, since interclass marriage is no longer shocking, and the expectation that men should be the breadwinner in the family is much weaker today than it used to be. On the other hand, it may become an Undead Horse Trope with the emergence of culture wars and new waves of social stratification. For the non-romantic variant, see Interclass Friendship. For the version endemic to India, see Type Caste, although that trope is not restricted solely to marriage and relationships.

#03. Falice (FP Jones & Alice Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: UNRESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION AKA UST)

Unresolved Sexual Tension (UST)

"To repress one's feelings only makes them stronger."— Yu Shu Lien, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Two people are obviously attracted to each other, but some element of the story is keeping them apart. This tension is frequently referred to as UST in fandom, where it is pronounced "oost" or Yu-Ess-Tee. Also known as "Long Unresolved Sexual Tension". Belligerent Sexual Tension is a way to keep the UST by having the couple fight each other too much to actually get together. They Do is when it gets resolved (Literally Falling in Love might help). Shipping Bed Death and Strangled by the Red String are when it gets resolved badly. Compare All Love Is Unrequited, Will They or Won't They?, Just Friends, Moment Killer (a staple of a UST relationship), Maybe Ever After (a more uncertain version), Cannot Spit It Out. Contrast Official Couple, when the couple is already together, and Friends with Benefits, where the primarybond in the relationship is sex.

#02. Barchie (Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper; ROMANTIC TROPE: WILL THEY OR WON’T THEY?)

Will They Or Won’t They?

"Pam is very attractive, no question. If I didn't have an award show to host, I could easily see having two or three seasons of will-they-won't-they sexual tension that ultimately goes nowhere."—Conan O'Brien, Emmy 2006 opening skit, after crashing, The Office (US)

Two characters, often combative but with obvious Unresolved Sexual Tension, resist going into a full blown relationship for a rather long time. Usually the two characters will be presented so that "they will" is the conclusion to root for; only rarely is the question of whether the writers think they should in any real doubt. Actually ending the dance is a tricky business. It is difficult for shows to recover from the loss of a major source of dramatic tension represented by an unrequited relationship. Many shows Jump the Shark or suffer Shipping Bed Death when the two characters finally get together. A common problem is that the show suddenly becomes about the relationship rather than remaining true to its original premise. Sometimes an attempt is made to introduce a new source of dramatic tension, but it is frequently cheesy and lame. To avoid this, many shows choose to answer the question and end the show nearly simultaneously via a Last Minute Hookup. Of course, the opposite can also occur. Shows can go out of their way to avoid resolving the relationship, making ever-more-desperate narrative leaps. In longer-running shows, they may even have the characters hook up for a little while, only to split up over and over again, until by the time they finally let the characters get actually, technically married, the show has lost its viewership anyway. Belligerent Sexual Tension is often a victim of this. Sometimes a Love Epiphany can be used to have a character realize his/her feelings, but still not resolve the question, just add a new dynamic to it. A fundamental Shipping-inducement strategy. See also Almost Kiss, Held Gaze, Relationship Upgrade, Moment Killer, Everyone Can See It. When a series ends without even a hint of resolution to will-they-or-won't-they, it's No Romantic Resolution. If it's more ambiguous, it's Maybe Ever After. Contrast Friends with Benefits, where they definitelydo it, but without the emotional baggage. Compare Just Friends and They Do. Contrast Platonic Life-Partners and Ship Sinking — they won't. See Just Eat Gilligan if it's a major plot point. See also Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario when they separate for some dramatic reason, spend a time apart, then reconcile (usually with a kiss, which breaks the Will They Or Won't They)

#01. Jeronica (Jughead Jones & Veronica Lodge;  ROMANTIC TROPE: BELLIGERENT SEXUAL TENSION AKA BST)

Belligerent Sexual Tension (BST)

"Wonderful girl! Either I'm gonna kill her, or I'm beginning to like her!"— Han Solo about Princess Leia Organa, A New Hope

There's a couple, usually a sometimes sweet, sometimes grouchy female (Tsundere) paired with a secretly-kind jerk (Jerk With A Heart Of Gold), who are not able to admit their feelings. At the top of their lungs. Despite the conflict, there is an attraction. This is usually obvious to everyone around except the couple. Confront them with the obvious, they'll deny deny deny. Sometimes they will progress to admitting their friendship but insist they are Just Friends. Eventually, they can admit their feelings to practically anyone except their loved one. It ends up where both characters dance around admitting their feelings as if the words "I love you" are some sort of death curse, much to the frustration of the audience and the other characters. Older Than Steam, since this is used in Much Ado About Nothing, and has varying degrees of popularity at different times. If there is a Love Epiphany with one of these characters, expect it to change nothing, at least in the short term. This can even be true in established long-term relationships; see Like an Old Married Couple. If the whole relationship is defined by the belligerence, it can become The Masochism Tango. If a pair of outright enemies has this sort of attraction, it's a case of Foe Romance Subtext and when it ultimately goes from subtext to text, then it's Dating Catwoman. See also Slap-Slap-Kiss, No Accounting for Taste, Well, Excuse Me, Princess! and Defrosting Ice Queen. If we're lucky, at the end we may get to see a moment of Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other. Expect this couple to be either extremely popular or completely hated by the fandom. For the platonic version, compare Vitriolic Best Buds and With Friends Like These.... Not to be confused with Hate at First Sight, although it may overlap.

#barchie #jeronica #bughead #varchie #veggie #archosie #choni #beronica #jarchie #falice #cheronica #riverdale #gifs aren't mine

[marvelhead17]

Miracle (Original Female Character x Cable)

Chapter 18

Summary: “How did you fix it?” he asked. “Ask Ellen the Teenage Warhead,” Wade shrugged as he stood up, “As for baby Hitler he ended up having a diaper change, funny story I was actually going to call Cable since he was so keen on killing Russel, I thought this would be like taking candy from a baby, if that means replacing it with a bullet that is,”

Warnings to cover the whole fic: Graphic depictions of violence, use of weapons, mild to strong language, mentions of rape, mentions of pregnancy and miscarriage, referenced torture and psychological abuse/manipulation, nightmares and night terrors, sexual humour, sexual content.

Word count: 2k

Morning

Nathan bolted from his bed and leaned over his toilet, nearly hitting his head on the edge of it, before throwing up the contents of his stomach from last night. He clutched at his stomach and threw up a second time, the acid burned his throat terribly, and then he flushed the contents away and held his pounding head in both hands.

Fuck, how much did I drink last night?

He shook his head and stared at his reflection in the blue-tinted toilet water, he scoffed as he noticed the aging lines and silver flecks in his hair that made him look considerably older.

“Have we learned our lesson?” He turned to see Hayden standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

“And what lesson would that be?” he retorted.

“Knowing your limits, and knowing when your friends are trying to help you,”

His eyes suddenly widened, “Did I- that woman, did she-”

“You passed out from being so intoxicated, so she tried to steal your wallet and I kicked her skinny ass out to the curb, literally,”

“Thanks for that, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” he rubbed his temples in attempt to soothe his aching head.

“You’re not old you know that right?” He looked up at her. “Not only was the man a disgusting pervert, but he was also a drunk dumbass, I wouldn’t take anything he said seriously,”

                      Nathan just shook his head and made an attempt to stand up; she leaned down to help him up.

“I mean it, you’re not old. Not Senior Citizen old anyway,” he stood on his feet, “plus you’ve kicked more ass in your life than that guy ever could, and you’re still kicking ass like you’re twenty.” She gave a small smile. “If anything the whole silver fox look works for you, like George Clooney-”

“Who?” He frowned.

“Um, well never mind who he is. Point is: even if you are old, you’re not so old that you haven’t got a chance with women in this time. You’ve just got to work out who wants you for your money and who wants you for, well you.”

“It wasn’t just what that creep said, my ex- she, Chet is closer to her age, so I guess it just triggered my insecurities,”

“Insecurities? You?” she scoffed in disbelief.

“Hey, everyone has something about them that makes them insecure, it’s human nature,”

“Well that’s her loss,” she smiled. “Any woman would be lucky to have you.” He looked away from her and smiled to himself. “C’mon, we’re getting some solids in you, now. Otherwise your hangover is really going to be a bitch.” She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him out his room to the kitchen.

                                                          * * *

  She took the blender and put it into its place before grabbing a few items from the fridge and then placing them around. “I know you’re really into this protein shake stuff, but is it really that good?” she asked as she cracked some eggs and let the insides fall into the jug.

“If you have the right stuff, yeah,” he said from behind the counter, watching.

“Well, all I know is that these things help with a hangover, whether they’re any good together or not is going to be your call,” she shrugged and threw the peeled bananas into the jug next.

“And what about the prick, he was pretty wasted when I saw him last,”

“Wade? He was practically sober by the time we made it home,” she threw in the watermelon, blueberries and added plain crackers.

“What the hell are you putting in there anyway?” he cocked his head.

“I’m calling it: ‘Instant regret’,” she put the lid on and blended the things together, it turned purple from the blueberries and watermelon, and then she poured it into one of his shake bottles. “Drink,” She put it in front of him.

  “You sure it’s not going to kill me?” he raised a brow as he sniffed it.

“We’ll have to find out, just drink,” she tilted the bottle as he held it hesitantly to his lips, he slurped the drink down and frowned, “You need to finish it,” she tilted it more and he swallowed the thick sludge.

“Jesus,” he coughed and closed his eyes. “That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had in my life,”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled and washed the bottle and jug, he touched his temple and felt the throbbing begin to slow, his body felt like it wasn’t as sluggish anymore. She turned around, “So it worked huh?” she smirked.

“Lucky for you, or I’d have kicked your ass,”

“I’d like to see you try,” she crossed her arms and gave him a playful smile.

“Speaking of asses,” Wade interrupted unexpectedly, “You two need to get yours over there, some shit is going down, again,” he left the room and they looked at each other before following him.

                                                       * * *

  “So the plan is to stop the shipment of the drugs from the warehouse to the harbour, they have a lot of high tech whatchamacallits and doo-hickeys that they can used against us so we have to be careful,” Wade said as he made doodles in crayon on a large piece of paper.

“You mean you have to be careful,” Hayden corrected, “And since when is X-Force a drug busting unit?”

“Since the drugs contain shit that is causing latent mutant genes to come out of people,”

“More mutants, so what’s the problem then?”

“The problem dear Haydes, is the fact that it’s coming out too quickly and causing the people to die almost immediately after taking the shit,”

“Well that’s cleared it up, when do we leave?”

“Now,” Wade said, “We take this route here, you and Cable will enter from behind,” Wade stifled a giggle rather poorly at his own joke, “Dom and I will come at the entrance,” this time he couldn’t hold his laughter back.

“Enough with the double entendre ass-hat, we have shit to do,” Nathan grumbled.

“Woo, alright, alright. So the goal is to not let anyone escape, even if you have to kill them, otherwise all their buddies get the news and they move elsewhere, it took months for me to find these guys. They have a huge shipment to send out from their warehouse this afternoon, if we stop them today then it’s all over with,”

                                                    * * *

  “Alright, Dom and I are heading in, what’s it looking like back there?” Deadpool said in their earpieces.

“Not a soul in sight, everyone must be inside,” Cable informed.

“They’re fresh tracks from a sixteen-wheeler, the warehouse is large enough to hide it away, they must have a lot of product to ship out,” Hades added, her violet eyes taking in the surroundings.

“They have a passcode for entry; Dom’s working on it,”

“Got it,”

“Lady Luck does it once again,”

“Wait, I think we need to go inside too,” Hades said.

“We’ll be fine, and besides you guys are fall back for if the bad guys try to run,” Deadpool assured.

“I can see about forty bodies in there, there might be more that I’m not seeing yet, it’s too many for two people,”

“Relax Jonesy, I have Lady Luck here,”

“Fine,” she sighed irritably. “C’mon,” she gestured to Cable and he begrudgingly followed as they moved closer to the back entrance.

“How can you tell how many people are inside?” he asked her quietly, his cyborg eye glowing orange as he looked at her.

“I’ll simplify my answer to being basically superior to normal humans, being superhuman in a sense,” she shrugged and then turned her attention back to the door, “Can we just focus on the mission?”

“Alright,” he nodded in saying this.

  As they settled down the doors opened and gunshots were heard firing throughout the warehouse, at least half of the men that Hades had said would be inside were running out and to motorbikes that were parked nearby, she stood up and yelled at Deadpool through the earpiece.

“I told you so!” she raised her handgun from its holster and fired shots at some of the men and they fell to the ground, Cable followed and shot a small group into the bushes with his gun.

“Just, don’t let them get away!” Deadpool yelled back.

“Should’ve disarmed their bikes while we were here,” Hades remarked to Cable irritably as the five motorbikes that were parked drove away, they had been fighting off the men who had returned from being blasted away by Cable’s gun.

“Hey asshole, they’re getting away on bikes,” Cable said as he shot one of the motorbikes closest in the wheel with his handgun, causing it to crash violently enough for the rider to be killed instantly against a nearby cement wall.

                        “I’ll get them, you handle the pricks coming out now,” Hades nodded to Cable who only frowned but then nodded, she turned on her heels and started off at a jog before gaining incredible speed as she sped away as a glowing violet blur.

He stared in fascination at her agility, the motorbikes were fast but she caught up with them somehow, he watched as she knocked three of the guys down with strong punches before the fourth realised and sped up even faster.

“Focus, Old Man! Now is not the time to be bird-watching,” Deadpool said as a he shot a criminal down that was about to hit Cable with a crowbar.

“Shut up, you used tampon,” he grumbled before shooting three guys down within seconds of each other.

“I may or may not have turned those guys into roadkill,” Hades said over the earpiece, Cable could hear her breathing slightly quicker than normal, as if she had a brief jog. “I’m on my way back.”

  “Well I think that went pretty well,” Deadpool said proudly as he stood on a pile of dead bleeding thugs. “Captain Morgan, anyone, no? Alright then, let’s go home.”

“Anybody want a ride?” Hades asked with a smirk as she pulled up on one of the motorbikes and parked herself, her hair blew in the light breeze that had been coming in.

“Looks fun, but Dopinder would be so disappointed if at least two of us don’t take a ride with him, right Dom?” Wade said as he removed his mask.

“Oh yeah, of course,” she nodded at Wade, he put two fingers in his mouth whistled loudly and Dopinder came around the corner in his yellow cab, “See ya guys back home,” she saluted as they both climbed in and the cab sped away.

  “What the hell was that about?” Nathan asked as he turned to Hayden.

“Wade is full of shit, it could be anything,” she shrugged, “Guess you need a ride, unless you want to attempt hitch-hiking in your full glory tin man state,” she gestured to his metal half.

“I’m driving,” he said in a grumble as more of a statement than a suggestion.

“Fine,” she climbed off for him to settle himself in the front half of the seat, then she sat behind him, he felt his throat growing dry and coughed. “Is something wrong?” she cocked her head to the side near his.

“Not at all,” he swallowed lightly while shaking his head.

“Dammit, there’s no way I’m getting a grip back here, you don’t mind do you?” she asked as she placed her hands on his hips and gripped them lightly, he froze briefly but then shook his head.

“Better hold on tighter, I like to ride fast,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t waver; she nodded and wrapped her arms around his waist, practically hugging his back into her chest.

He revved the engine and drove out the gates as the sun lowered itself over the horizon, he felt his heart racing from the contact and from rush of air as they sped off on the motorbike.

_______________________________________________________________

>> Chapter 19 <<

#cable #nathan summers #colossus #piotr rasputin #deadpool #deadpool 2 #wade wilson #fire fist #russell collins #marvel #marvel fanfiction #fanfiction #writing #original character #hayden jones #hope summers

[disregardcanon]

end of year writing meme for 2018! feel free to piggyback if you’d like to and please tag me if you do! i’d love to see what everyone did ficwise this year :) 

Total Stories Written: 31

Total Words Written:  122741 Average Words Per Story: 4,000 Shortest Story: femme fatale 389 Longest: born to live, made to die wip currently at 20,826 Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted?

less for sure. i wrote more original stuff this year (i got 20k done for nano! woop!) but over all i didn’t write as much. i’ve been busier and there’s been a lot more happy stuff going on outside of school, so that’s good. 

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write most?

pairing: snaibsel from number of stories, tododeku from how many words were written about a pairing

genre: um. is “coming of age story/gender bend” a genre because i wrote that the most

fandom: bnha

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January?

well i didn’t even know that spop was a thing in january so rewrite would have been a surprise except that it’s so up my alley that i would just look at and say “that tracks”. maybe all the bnha gender bends? i would have been shocked that i made myself ship kacchako when i first started bnha in june probably  Did you take any writing risks this year?

i started a long fic for fma that i’m still working on, which is pretty big for me. i also started a series about gender bent bnha characters, which is pretty controversial.  Do you have any fanfic or general writing goals for the new year?

finish up some more of those bnha gender bends, finish the bnha yj crossover, and hopefully finish more original fic. 

From the past year of writing, what was your… Best story of this year:

born to live, made to die has to be it. everything has just kind of come together in that one and i’ve grown so much as a writer working on it. 

Most popular story of this year:

gimme a boost over heaven’s gate, the au where tahani and eleanor meet on a trashy day time tv show and fall in love and decide to become better people together 

Personal favorite:

ad astra per aspera for sure. projecting all my own feelings all over the place? exploring ochako as a character? having her make out with my butch lesbian bakugo? accidentally becoming a kacchako shipper? that fic is very important to me. 

then after that is probably heavy is the head that wears the cowl. i love getting back into jaime and bart’s heads every single time that i do it and this one was a real treat. working through their reputations, writing some stuff about their relationships, and getting to juxtapose them and then bring them back together was fantastic. it was some of my best work this year not gonna lie. 

Most under-appreciated: i’d say hers, not his just because it’s 18k for a popular pairing and only has 35 kudos. i worked very hard on that fic and it’s for tododeku! tododeku! i know that fics for large ships can slip through the cracks but it still kinda ticks me off. 

Most fun to write:

two badass lady veterans was certainly a joy. i LOVE writing middle aged women realizing their sexuality and falling in love, and writing penelope as an emerging bisexual woman learning with her daughter is such a joy. the alvarezes are all super fun to write and jill is such a good character too. 

gimme a boost over heaven’s gate was super fun too because tahani’s pov is a delight and i love every member of the good place cast. 

gotham nine nine was super funny because it’s all of the b99 folks and their super villain SOs or one night stands from the dc universe 

Story with the single sexiest moment:

break a leg probably? that was the only smut fic i wrote this year. 

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: i didn’t really write anything holy shit level of terrible this year. born to live, made to die has its moments and the premise of passing on a parasite is that one for all is sentient and isn’t good, so maybe one of those? 

actually just realized that the most disturbing thing that i’ve written this year is a wip that i’ll probably post in a week or two. so. there’s that.  Most challenging to write:

either born to live, made to die because of the crazy intricacies of balancing so many povs that sometimes blend into each other and trying to keep up with my own complicated plot or hers, not his because that fic shifted into an 18k monster that looked nothing like my original vision for it. 

Biggest disappointment: maybe riza get your gun? i expected to enjoy the gimmick of mixing riza hawkeye’s character with annie oakley a lot more than i did.  Favorite character to write:

i really enjoyed writing catra and the entire cast of the good place. and honestly... writing bakugo is a joy. what a delightful dick. 

Favorite opening lines:

The people love Kid Flash. (heavy is the head that wears the cowl) 

 One For All is a blessing until it isn’t. (passing on a parasite) 

Bakugo Katsuki is six years old and she hates this stupid game. She hates this stupid boy and his stupid house and his stupid, shitty face. She wishes her mom hadn’t dragged her over to his stupid, shitty house in the first place. (knights in shining armor)  Favorite closing lines:

She'd have to come out and figure out everything surrounding that, all the problems that she never confronted because she had never seriously considered stepping out of the closet because she was afraid of how people would react. But she's thinking about it now. What if she didn't care what people thought as much? What if she just let herself be? She thinks that whatever she'd let herself be, it's someone who likes looking up at the stars, laying next to Bakugo Katsuki. Acknowledging that Ochako herself is fierce and beautiful, nuanced and complicated, and that no matter what, she enjoys this girl's company, that she likes her in ways she's never really wanted to. Maybe she's ready to try something like that. The only way to the stars is through difficulty, after all. (Ad Astra Per Aspera) 

For a moment, they’re just a pair of dumb teenage boys, laughing about shitty shit jokes so that they don’t cry. Really, when it comes down to it, they’re just two kids suffocating under the weight of their masks. (heavy is the head that wears the cowl) 

She’s Todoroki Sango. She can fight her own battles. She can slay her own demons, and she can end up happy too. (Hers, Not His) 

Other favorite lines:

Now that they are all grown and there are no more curses, kissing doesn't have to mean true love or death do us part if they don't want to. (Dream Boy) 

She’s Dr. and she’s Mrs. and she’s a young girl in Estonia and she’s an old psychic and she’s alone and she’s together and she’s an almost mother and she’s old and she’s young, all at the same time. Persephone Poldma is everything and nothing all at the same time. (wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff) 

Really, getting pushed off the side of a bridge by a super villain is perfectly fine when Wonder Woman flies off the edge and catches you in her arms. (Wonder Women)

She just needs the idea to be planted in his mind.

The soil is less hostile now, nourished by guilt. Perhaps it will grow this time. (Born to Live, Made to Die) 

“They’re friends,” Deku says, “if they break up, it could mess up the whole equilibrium of our friend group. Our fragile friend group ecosystem may be destroyed!” Was she being overdramatic? Yes. Did she care? No. (gays of a feather)

Then, she whispers the next part into Adora’s ear, “I can rewrite her memories too. I could let you two have that fairy tale romance that you always wanted. All you have to do is say yes.” Adora sees the image in her mind clearly, she and Catra dancing at a ball, Catra dapper and charming in a perfectly fitting suit. There’s a tension to their dancing- they were enemies in the memory, but Shadow Weaver changes the picture.  (Rewrite) 

#sunkelles writes #writing games #writing memes #end of year writing meme #end of year writing meme 2018

[guidingthulite]

A, B!!!, J, L, N, P, Q, R, S, T, Z!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLS TELL oof i love ur writing!!

OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN THANKS EMY!!!

aaaaa you love my writing? i’m so happy to hear that

A: Your current OTP.

HAMAHAYA. HAMAHAYA BIG TIME. And also lowkey Ishimondo but HamaHaya is my main one!!! I love them so much and I have so many headcanons and stories for them!!! That’s kinda why I want to put them on poly relationships? Like I want these relationships to be explored but I can’t take them away from each other

B: A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind.

I haven’t considered Yuuichi ² (and i refuse to call it any other way) but man did you change my mind. Did you.

Also there was this one time I just liked MasaHika as a BROTP but then @producktions and my brother came and… I surrendered :’D

J: Name a fandom you didn’t care/think about until you saw it all over tumblr.

Oh, Voltron definitely! I saw all this fanart, and fics and stuff and all I knew it was filed under ‘gays in space’, but then @justanothermatsugirl and @srta-double invited me to watch and… Porntron came to be. And Porntron is the best thing. Ever.

L: Your favorite fanartist/author gives you one request, what do you ask for?

It depends? I usually try to make both of us happy when it comes to requests, for example, if that person likes, say, HamaHaya but I feel like I want HamaKura I will ask them for HamaHaya anyways because 1. HAMAHAYA and 2. Maybe they will put more feel into the art!!! And what is most important of art is the feelings that it is put into it! Best art is the art you can tell the author put all their heart on~!

but if i could choose anything, give me the hamahayakuraminamana, you cowards

N: Your favorite fandom (for the people; not the thing you fangirl over).

Um… Is it normal I want to say the MOTHER fandom on 2014? Especifically on DA. It was like a tiny family… Everyone knew each other. Everyone was nice with each other. It was so nice. But now everyone parted ways and I have no idea where everyone is. Most left DA (and so did I) and I can’t help but wonder where they are. But my current fandom is really nice too… It’s like a family, too… Sometimes.

P: Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

Lately I’ve been thinking about a Go Ares AU a lot and hamano goes to tengawara for obvious reasons but that’s kinda boring so I gotta think about something more interesting >:3c

Kind of a joke AU, but still:

Have you guys ever heard about ~LA FERIA~? It’s like this weird Spanish thing we have. Everyone dances and sings these lame guitar songs which are mostly like aAAAAaAAAaaaYYYYYYYY @loreprotectionsquad can confirm BUT! that’s not the interesting thing! The interesting thing about Feria is that we basically get a mini amusement park on our town, just because! 

So my brother and I thought about some Go kids there and it just…

Hamano gets Kurama a giant Snake plush and he tries to ride on a… Ride with it and it almost slips out but he clings to it and manages to save it. Hamano thinks it’s adorable. Kurama swears he’ll kill him if he tells someone. Hamano promised Hayami he’d get a plushie for him too, but he is unable (because you can only win one plush per day) so Hayami gets a dolphin plush for him. Imagine Hayami walking around with two overly joyful boyfriends clinging to their giant plushies. Goals.

Kirino and Shindou ride on the ferris wheel which they don’t set up anymore, but still. and Ibuki tries to climb it but fails (?

Shinsuke rides on some dinosaur themed train, and there’s clowns with balloons and stuff you can snatch from them. He gets a plastic axe. Which are super hard to get i need to tell you the story of how i got one when i was like 8. it was so stupid it’s funny He somehow convinces Tsurugi to ride too, while Tenma and Aoi look at them. They have become the ultime balloon snatchers. No one can stop them. Aoi and Tenma are so proud.

Taiyou comes, sees Tenma and waves at him, approaching him. Then all of the sudden, Fuyuka comes rushing after him, and tells Tenma that ‘Taiyou should be in right now, sorry for the inconvenience’ and picks him by the stomach (you know… like a kitten, with her arm around his torso? you get me, right?) while Taiyou tries to escape, but fails.

Kariya and Hikaru try to hide from Hiroto and Midorikawa, who have come with them, but Kariya wants some time alone, while they want to take pics of everything they do, basically.

Something about Yukimura and Fubuki was mentioned, along with Kishibe and Aphrodi, but I don’t remember ;v; Also, Amagi going with Mahoro and Yukie, and all of the third years (Minamisawa as well, for some reason) going together too.

My brother kinda dislikes Galaxy (except Tetsukado, Kusaka and Konoha) so I’ll do their stuff myself.

Minaho and Manabe compete to see who will get more plushies. They only get one keychain working together. They give it to the first team member that they see because they don’t know who should keep it.

But that was after the previously mentioned day, so the Second Year Trio got them plushies instead (they got the hang of one game and they WILL make the most of it. And, they have to help a boyfriend out, right?

So they spend the rest of the festivity together. And they have fun and stuff.

There’s one ride with horses. Konoha spends 98/100 there. Otherwise, she wouldn’t come. It’s so noisy, and crowded…

Kusaka comes and goes to check on her. He can’t ride on most… Rides (this is redundant) anyways. He’s too tall.

Tetsukado and Hamano competed to see who was better at Duck-Fishing. Let’s just say that Shinsuke and Hamano’s boyfriends came home with lots of plushes and prices…

Sakura aced all the games. How did she manage, no one knows (she was, in fact, the first one Minaho and Manabe offered the keychain to. But she rejected it and got two super sparkly keychains for them instead. Minaho and Manabe offered it anyways in exchange but she said that it was nothing and that they should keep the one they got.

Matatagi showed his brothers the place and rode on some rides (seriously how is this so redundant). Eventually they joined the Plushie Fest. Matatagi’s brothers cheered. He, not so much, not when he had to carry around giant plushies for the rest of the day, as his brothers were too busy exploring around.

I think that’s all??? Am I forgetting someone? except zanakurou but i don’t know what to do with him. he dances sevillanas. i don’t know. sorry darling

Oh, yeah, and there’s also this AU my brother and I made in which Kurama is a time traveler and quite literally Hamano and Hayami’s son (he has a big sister named Estrella but that’s for another time) and he has come because their parents were too slow too realize they had feelings for each other and he fears for his existence and his sister’s (???

Q: A ship you’ve abandoned and why.

Can you believe I used to ship Min/////a/kura? But, to be honest, I didn’t know what that was. I just found some comic of them and I thought it was cute. Then I got more into InaEle, and well…

I’m saying that one because I can’t think of anything else XD

R: A pairing you ship that you don’t think anyone else ships.

The Kurama multiship fest, which I will proceed to explain, even though the first one is sorta popular, but still:

Hamano and Hayami, because I saw HamaKura and I thought it was really cute! (when i got used to kurama, at first i didn’t like him but i found hamahayakura and i went ‘eeeeeeeehhh’ but you already know that story) then I thought of HamaHaya + HamaKura and Hayami just got into the package for some reason XD

Hikaru, because I was salty I didn’t ship him with Minamisawa and I wanted to ship him with someone but I didn’t know who, then he had a little scene with Hikaru on the games (when they go look for Shinsuke or something) and a lightbulb light up on my head

Tenma because, honestly, how can you have someone you ship with everyone but not Tenma? Plus it’s cute. 

Tsurugi because I saw somebody posting drawings of them and I went ‘hey they cute’ and that’s all. also the fandom team might or might not had something to do with it

Kariya because they had this scene when they went to China on CS that i don’t even remember but what i do remember is my brother asking me why i wasn’t saying anything about the ship, and i went ‘well, i don’t, BUUUUUUUUUT’ and so it started.

Minaho because, and listen well because this one is weird, I was in class, and I was bored, and I decided to make quadrants for some InaEle characters, I started by Minaho and went ‘huh so, Moirail, Manabe, Matesprit, Manabe, Kismesis, Manab-wait’ so I decided to crack it up a bit and now it was ‘Moirail, Hamano, Matesprit, Manabe’ but I wanted to give him a Kismesis (that could’ve been perfectly Matatagi, but I didn’t think of that because I’m dumb) (also read: a love rivalry more or less) so I gave him Kurama. THEN I played BigBang and they had a small interaction and since back then I couldn’t even read Hiragana I don’t know what they said but Kurama made a sad face afterwards so I take it as I was right

Fei because Kurama learns Bouncer Rabbit on Galaxy (actually the two-people version. He does it with Hamano because I’m obvious) and also Fei stole his number, now Kurama has to steal something back (???

Taiyou because on my CS game Kurama, Taiyou and Hikaru always do hissatsus together on the random thing (that makes also Sakura and Matatagi do Butterfly Dream together all the time for some reason. Which is funny because I lowkey shipped it before starting Galaxy) so I got used to seeing them together.

Ibuki because my brother always calls them losers (he’s a bit mean sometimes, but I love him ;v;) so I started relating them n stuff.

Hakuryuu because my brother and I have this thing called the ‘Spammer Club’ which is for characters that say other character’s name a lot. We have Hakuryuu (who we jokingly call churugispammer) Miyasaka, Ibuki, Hakuryuu and Kurama got in too for some reason. So yeah. It happened. N stuff.

Also I brotp him with Kinako, but I brotp Kinako with everyone.

S: What’s a headcanon you have?

Hmm… I headcanon that out of the Second Year Trio, only Hamano has siblings (2 sisters, him being the middle sib- and no that’s not me self projecting ok) 

Hayami has mentioned more than once on the games that he wants to be a scientist, and I headcanon that it’s because his mother is! Which also means she’s super busy most of the time. So Hayami is quite dependent, but he can’t cook for his life. Hamano is surprisingly okay at cooking, and he’s learning to bake.

Also, Hayami really likes penguins for some reason.

T: What are your favorite male/male ships or female/female ships?

Ack, that’s a hard one ;v;

- Male/Male - (to keep things fresh from 3 diff fandoms each)

Hamano/Hayami (Inazuma Eleven)

Ishimaru/Oowada (Danganronpa)

Killua/Gon (HxH) 

Shu/Valt (Beyblade Burst)

Hau/Gladion (Pokémon)

- Female/Female -

Diana/Akko (Little Witch Academia) (i gotta continue it sob aaa)

Ootani/Anna (Inazuma Eleven)

Moon/Lillie (Pokémon)

Z: What’s a ship that you want to ship publicly, but everyone on tumblr hates it so you keep your mouth shut about it?

Ahahah, what are you talking about [hides my polyship mess under a rug] it is not much that they hate it, just that no one is interested XD

#alma's nonsense #hah... #this was... a thing... #yes... a thing...

[muzzmurray]

year in fic review (2017)

You can find all of the fic mentioned below on my ao3 account, savedby. If you’re looking for my football fic edition, you can find it here.

Year at a glance: Total number of completed stories: 32 Total word count: 77707

Overall Thoughts:

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d predicted? I wrote way more than I realized for this fandom, um, wow. There were a couple of months where I was writing like four or five fics and I have no idea how that happened.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Oh, the Vegas Golden Knights! Because when they signed two, I was joking around on twitter about how I could ship them now, and my friend was like ‘well, why don’t you’ and then that evolved into Sabaton and by extension into the Bold in Gold series, which was one of the most rewarding parts of my year for sure.

What’s your own favorite story of the year? these tornadoes are for you, which was Nick/Bob and written for the Cannon Fodder exchange. The combination of magic realism, humor and their general softness was really nice to write, and @frecklebombfic did a beautiful podfic of it.

Did you take any writing risks this year? Purely in terms of style, I wrote descent, in second person, which I know tends to polarize opinions. I love it, for whenever I want to write something that feels more immediate and intimate. I actually tried to rewrite it in third person, because the friend I was writing it for told me she wasn’t a big fan of second person, but it just wouldn’t work. It had to be written exactly as it is.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I’d like to finish this chaptered Mcdrai magic AU fic that I’m working on and I’d like to continue writing the Vegas Golden Knights as their narrative unfolds, so the Bold in Gold series can become a sort of written history of the team and its fandom. Ambitious, but. We’ll see. I’m already working on the next part.

From my past year of writing, what was…

My best story of this year: armet. I think this was in the works the moment I realized that there was a possibility that Flower might go to Vegas and it ended up becoming exactly what I had hoped it would be.

My most popular story of this year: i still get jealous of your old boyfriends, judging by kudos, which is actually funny to me, because for the longest time I really hated what I wrote for that fic and I ended up posting it after having it written for a period of time.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: foundations, my Marleau/Thornton fic. I mean, it’s a niche pairing and a character study, so it’s probably as good as it’s going to get, but it’s basically peak me and my love for old men and their narratives.

Most fun story to write: world i can call mine , which was my Pod_together project with @frecklebombfic . Having her input on it was so essential (as it was in many of my fics this year) and I had such a fun time discussing Auston, Zach and Mitch, and poly with her. And her podfic ended up being perfect. It was just a great project.

Story with the single sexiest moment: Man, I don’t know, I’m an ace essentially floundering in the world of smut. But I did manage to post, like 4 explicit stories this year, which just goes to show you that you can be anything you set your mind to, kids. As it is, I’m nominating this line from wake me up come tomorrow

Oscar does, adds another finger only when he feels Adam completely relax into the first. He fingers him slow and easy, watching his face as it relaxes from discomfort to pleasure. Adam makes these noises too, cut off moans, helpless and involuntary. Oscar adds a third finger and he whines, high in his throat.

Most “holy crap, that’s wrong, even for you” story: circumstance, which I hadn’t realized was still posted on anon until right now. So I’m owning up to it, I suppose. I’m not ashamed of it, because it still makes me laugh a lot on re-read, but please heed the warnings.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: your morning cup, my Tim Horton character study. I didn’t even really know anything about him when I decided I was going to be writing this fic. But as I researched and wrote, the story ended up being one of the most important things I wrote this year.

Hardest story to write: something like hope was an exercise in frustration, until I figured out how to frame it with quotes from Pekka’s Players’ Tribune article.

Biggest disappointment: I don’t really post things I’m actually unhappy with.

Biggest surprise: I was most surprised by how well fandom received Sabaton, because I figured it was something so niche that only a few people would actually click on, but it became one of my most popular stories. I’m really grateful for that.

Highlights + Wrap-up:

Favorite Opening Lines (4):

From tomorrow is going to be pretty pawsome

Ryan is halfway through his breakfast when he hears his front door opening. It’s 9am and he’s not wearing pants, so if he’s going to be robbed, he’s pretty much defenceless, unless he pelts the robber with some granola.

What still gets me is how real this ship became as the season progressed.

From Sabaton

There’re a few things Vadim expects to see when he lands in Las Vegas. His new teammate holding up a big sign with his name on it, decorated with footballs and pucks and glitter, isn’t one of them.

Am I still prissy about how badly they treated Shippy? Yes. Absolutely.

From LXXXVII

Sidney Crosby isn’t high on the list of people that Vadim expects to see in the hotel bar in Pittsburgh before the Knights game against the Penguins, and yet, there he is. Crosby is wearing a pair of thick rimmed glasses and a hat, presumably as some sort of disguise. It only makes him stand out more.

He also seems to be getting closer, swapping stools whenever Vadim glances away, until they’re sitting elbow to elbow.

Ridiculous Sid is my favorite plot device and he was in full effect in this fic.

From your morning cup

Strictly speaking, there’s never been a hockey player called Tim Horton.

I just liked the way this commands attention when you read it. I think it when you have something so niche, you need the first paragraph to grab your attention, and I think I did well here.

Favorite Closing Lines (5):

From dust in your veins

Then, Geno pulls him into another kiss, desperate, his chest shaking under Sid’s hands and Sid thinks that maybe he won't have to separate them after all.

That he can have this – his heart beating rapid fire in his chest, and Geno’s steadying palms on the muscles of his back, and the ghost of ice above them both.

I love the removable heart AU (not to be confused with the escaping heart AU) because it just works so incredibly well for those sports narratives.

From knight

“You know, it’s actually a pun, because I used to play for the London Knights and-”

“Oh my god, please stop.”

From we were a house on fire

“I want.”

“It’s been years.”

“Want still.”

“...yeah, okay.”

“Like that?”

“Yeah. Just like that.”

I love how deceptively simple this is, with no dialogue tags, but it feels like it packs a lot of punch, cutting through the complexity of their situation.

From descent

The streets of Edmonton turn slick, coated with fallen snow. Daylight is scarce, and cold besides, and you wear a jersey that doesn’t mean much to you and you watch out for the boy that means everything.

At night your curl around Connor in your bed. He always runs hot, burning in your bones and warming you from the inside out.

He presses his mouth to the nape of your neck, and you blink, mind muddled with sleep, and you realize you don’t know which one of you is the one doing the protecting.

Ask me sometime about my thoughts about enforcers and their relationships with star players, and why end up romanticizing them so much.

From armet

“Fleuuuurrrryyyy,” the fans scream, without a hint of mocking, echoing off the concrete of the building,  “Fleuuuurrrryyyyyyyy!” and it’s all he can do to smile through his tears, waving at these people who have crucified and martyred him over the years, but have loved him through it all.

His crease hasn’t changed. He pats the pipes, feels them steady beneath his palm, familiar. His teammates are all on the ice now, circling his goal, and he catches sight of Nealer coming forward with the puck. His face is grim and determined, and Flower remembers he’s got something to prove too.

He gives Nealer a sharp nod and crouches. Smiles.

He’s ready.

Flower’s game against the Pens in Vegas was emotionally devastating and I can only imagine how it’ll be when they play in Pittsburgh.

Favorite Lines From Anywhere (6):

From be your spine

The Bruins seem just fine without him, which is just a metaphor for his life, really. He notices the absence of Boston, but Boston is too big to notice he’s gone.

He limits his texts to Tuukka, and eventually they taper off, growing sparser and more impersonal as months go by. It’s understandable. Anton feels the absence of Tuukka like a phantom limb, but Tuukka is too brilliant, too beautiful, to be affected by Anton’s absence.

My first fic of the year was a homage to the journeyman player, the one who isn’t a star anywhere, the one that’s expendable. And this was one of the lines that summarized it pretty well.

From teddy bear

“I just want to be a cool dad, like Bozie! You’re the lame dad, Zach is the big brother figure and Leo is the grumpy grandpa. We all have roles to play!”

Matt bites back his first comment, and the second one. They’re both swearwords.

This whole sequence between Mo and Matt still makes me laugh really really hard.

From foundations

The Sharks are Joe’s team by virtue of wanting him more than anyone else did, but they aren’t his team like they’re Patty’s, who’s left pieces of himself in every crack in the Shark Tank concrete and who wears the jersey with more pride than anyone Joe’s ever known.

This fic hurts more now that Patty got traded.

From heart like a home

Roman is still sprawled across PK’s bed, entirely naked, reading one of PK’s magazines. His tanned skin glows in the soft yellow light of the bedside lamps. The sight never fails to make PK’s mouth go dry. As if sensing his gaze, Roman looks up, arching an elegant eyebrow, a stray curl falling across his forehead.

I want to eventually try to capture the various details of Roman/PK in a longer fic but for now this image of naked Roman will have to do.

From these tornadoes are for you

Bob is standing at the stove, muttering something to himself. He still looks like he did last night, little bolts of lightning racing across his skin, and when he turns around his eyes are still glowing pale in his face. It’s a little disconcerting, but Nick goes with it.

“What are you doing?” Nick asks, walking next to him to look at the pan and wincing. He’s careful not to touch Bob, doesn’t know what it’ll do to him. “Was this supposed to be scrambled eggs?”

I really enjoyed writing the whole scene of Bob releasing his magic in the woods, but what made me happiest to write was the morning after and how all that magic becomes somewhat of a hindrance.

From i still get jealous of your old boyfriends

“Are you telling me that Connor McDavid’s favorite show is My Super Sweet 16?” he asks incredulously. Mitch grins at him.

“Oh, no,” he says and Auston lets out a sigh of relief, “it used to be his favorite show. I think his favorite right now is Extreme Couponing.”

Connor and Extreme Couponing is the greatest love story I’ve written this year.

Fic Goals for 2017: I want to finish off the four WIPs that I didn’t manage to this year. Beyond that, I don’t have any particular expectations. I hope I can continue to enjoy writing in this fandom and that people will continue to enjoy my work.

year in fic review (2016)

#personal #writing

[idreamofdraco]

After that answer to the anon about lucissa you got me wondering if you'd ever write anything family centric as opposed to couple/shipping fic. If so, could I prompt you for a Draco and Lucius post with either 12 or 29? Would be super interesting to see your take on thier interactions as father and son as you say you usually write his parents out!

I write gen or family-centric fics when the inspiration strikes! I just gravitate towards romance because I lack it IRL (and it’s more popular, let’s be real here), lol.

Here’s a gen Malfoys-centric one-shot I wrote last year that might interest you. And here’s a gen Weasley twin fic I wrote a couple months ago, though I wouldn’t blame you if you care more about Malfoys than Weasleys. ;) Everything is post-war and everything hurts.

I went with 12. “I think we need to talk.”

Draco spent most of his time sitting in the labyrinthine garden behind Malfoy Manor. Sometimes he strolled, navigating the paths and the secret passages he’d adored to hide in as a child, racing away from his mother when she determined it was time for supper or a bath. But mostly he sought a bench within the garden’s depths and sat for hours that passed like minutes.

He let the wind stir his thoughts in meandering directions in a way he had never let his thoughts meander before. His aunt Bellatrix had begun teaching him Occlumency at the age of fifteen, but Draco had been naturally gifted in the art. He’d spent his entire life compartmentalizing his thoughts, organizing them into neat categories that shaped the way he viewed and understood the world. That skill had been more than beneficial to him by the time war was waged—it had been lifesaving.

All his life, Draco had heard stories about the Dark Lord and his quest to rid the world of impure blood, to return magic back to the hands of wizards. True wizards. Wizards like Draco and his family. Not pretenders who sullied themselves with Muggles, diluting their perfect blood until it was dull as mud. All his life, Draco had wished he’d had the chance to pledge his allegiance to the cause like his father had, to pledge his life in service to the Dark Lord Voldemort’s noble goal.

Funny how when made into reality, dreams could actually reveal themselves as nightmares.

Draco didn’t like to think about the war, but the way he naturally organized his thoughts caused him to chase the tails of memories until a cascade of them fell over him, drowning him under their weight. If he accidentally reached into the Hogwarts box, he might find himself tumbling into the Potter box and then the War box and then the Battle of Hogwarts box. And then he’d be barraged with images of classmates and family friends dying around him as he failed over and over again to capture Potter, to end the war in the Dark Lord’s favor, to earn some glory for himself. As he failed to make his parents proud.

He’d be trapped in boxes if he let himself think that way.

So instead he cleared his mind and let the balmy summer breeze tease the hair at the nape of his neck, caress his cheek, and swirl his thoughts into eddies that collapsed and reformed too quickly to allow Draco to fixate on just one. He breathed with the wind, letting himself exist outside of his identities and allegiances for the first time in his life.

He wasn’t sure how long his father sat next to him before Draco realized he was there.

Lucius seemed to hold his breath, waiting for Draco to say something first, but Draco just stared into a hydrangea bush, caught by the way the wind kissed the petals.

“I think we need to talk,” Lucius said finally.

“Do we?” Draco’s voice cracked, rusty from disuse.

“Your mother seems to think so.”

“You don’t?”

Lucius frowned, but Draco hardly noticed. A box had opened in his mind, and a memory snuck out.

“The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy,” Potter had said, and, suddenly, all of the eyes in the Great Hall turned to Draco as he shoved through the crowd, looking for his parents.

The Elder Wand. Draco didn’t know what that was. He owned a wand no longer. The hawthorn wand he’d owned since the age of eleven was clutched in Potter’s grubby fingers, pointed in the Dark Lord’s direction. His mother’s wand, which she had given to him to use after Potter had stolen his at Easter, had burned with the Room of Hidden Things thanks to Crabbe.

The tool that signified Draco’s power was gone. He had certainly never wielded something called the Elder Wand.

“...and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy,” the Dark Lord said.

Draco froze in fear at the casual mention of Draco’s death. Everyone’s attention turned back to the spectacle in the center of the room, and he used their distraction to move through the crowd again, to continue searching.

His mother found him first, her arms wrapping tightly around his neck, suffocating him in her trembling grasp. His father joined them moments later.

“We should go,” his mother whispered, trying to remain unnoticed as Potter and the Dark Lord exchanged more words. “Before anyone notices. We should leave.”

Draco tugged on his mother’s hand, urging her toward the Entrance Hall, the great oak doors, the grounds—to freedom.

But his father hesitated. He opened his mouth to speak and was interrupted by a blast of red and green light. Draco and his parents turned, struck dumb by the golden flames that erupted in the center of the Great Hall where the Dark Lord and Potter’s spells collided.

And then the Dark Lord fell backward, his body meeting the flagstones with a hideous, final thump.

“I do. Of course I do,” Lucius said, and Draco blinked, trying to remember what they’d been talking about. “I failed you. You and your mother both.”

Draco finally looked away from the hydrangeas, only to be met with the sight of his father rubbing his palms along his thighs; his hair combed—barely—but in disarray; a thin, pale beard obscuring his chin and jaw; dark circles under his eyes.

A mess. Lucius Malfoy looked a frightful mess. His appearance might have suggested the Dark Lord still lived, sharing quarters with the Malfoys as he had months ago in the war’s wake.

Narcissa Malfoy had strapped herself in the armor of her appearance, and Lucius Malfoy had shed it entirely.

Lucius’s icy gaze, the one Draco had inherited from him, pierced Draco in the area of his beating heart. The bothersome organ pounded in his chest, bringing him back to life in a way Draco had not experienced in years.

His eyes stung, and he turned his head away, far away, to keep his tears from his father’s notice.

“I’m the one who failed. Maybe everything would be different if I hadn’t—”

“No, Draco.” Lucius’s voice was gruff and firm. The first hint of anger Draco had heard from him in months.

Lucius grasped Draco’s shoulders and forcefully angled him until they were facing each other and did not release him afterward.

“Buf it I hadn’t Disarmed Dumbledore, the Elder Wand—”

“No. Don’t even think it. There is no use thinking of what could have been.”

Lucius pulled Draco into his arms, his embrace hard and confining, not soft and comforting. But that was just what Draco needed at that moment. He needed someone to keep him together, to keep his pieces from shattering into even tinier shards. He buried his face in his father’s shoulder and cried as silently as he could. His shoulders shook in his agony, and his father held him tighter, shame a faraway emotion as Draco released the tension he’d been hiding and holding for months.

How many times since the war had Draco examined his memories, analyzed his every action, wondering what other tiny, meaningless moments had changed the tide of a battle? If he had known that letting Snape Disarm and kill Dumbledore in his stead would have won them the war, Draco would have swallowed his pride and let Snape have the honor. Either way, he’d been spared the horror of murdering someone in cold blood, but at what cost? What did the future hold in store for the Malfoys now?

“I’m sorry,” Draco said, his voice muffled. Sorry for losing them the war, sorry for causing the Malfoys’ ruination. Sorry for not being able to save his parents after his father’s own failures.

“There is nothing to be sorry for,” Lucius said, his voice cracking, as if holding back his own tears, which was impossible. Lucius Malfoy never cried. “You’re my son.”

He said it as if that was the only thing that mattered, as if that absolved Draco of everything. Maybe it did.

The garden was the only place Draco felt safe. The only place that stood outside of time and memory. The only place he could think without obsessing, exist without guilt, feel without pain.

But in his father’s arms, Draco found forgiveness.

#draco malfoy #lucius malfoy #my stories #ask idod #ask things #meme things #Anonymous

[guiltybystanders]

This was meant to be a text post, now it’s a ficlet oops

What I think Lotor will be in future seasons: Evil. (Maybe a redemption arc for his generals, but he’s still a Bad Dude.)

What my Dream Lotor™ would be: A third option (worse than the immediate freedom of Voltron, but better than continued enslavement/imperialism of Zarkon.)

(Accidentally wrote a mini fic about “what if Lotor wasn’t a completely garbage dude?” oops too bad he’s trash, if only)

Lotor, half Altean, half of the race that his father has just decided to raze to the ground, sent away to the edges of the galaxy where he sees the height of the Galra’s cruelty in conquest. (The Galrans rage for their home destroyed, seemingly hacked apart by Voltron, following the orders of the Emperor they think Voltron tried to assassinate, taking out their sadness and anger on the local populations with mindless violence.) Lotor, who grows up with the soldiers sneering at him, even if he is the prince, because of his pointy ears and long, white hair. Lotor, feeling lost and angry and like he doesn’t have a place, who genuinely hates the harm Galra imperialism is doing to the universe. Lotor, who mourns the death of Altea even thought he never went there himself. Lotor, who feels an ambition growing in him, who has decided he will use the power and privilege of his birthright to tear down the very empire he was born to inherit.

Lotor finds his generals slowly. One by one, he convinces them to join his cause. First was Acxa. Sentinels bring her in, having caught her stealing supplies from the base. She struggles against their grip, despite her injuries. She spits at his face when they say his name. Her family might be killed for this, and she knows it. 

“She took down three sentinels before we caught her,” they tell him. 

“Interesting,” he says. “How would you like to come work for me?” Everyone in the room protests, but none more than her.

“I’m no Galra,” she hisses at him. The supplies, his sentinels tell him, were meant for her mother, a native inhabitant of the planet.

He leans over and whispers in her ear, “Neither am I.”

Zethrid is wasted doing mindless heavy lifting on some base in the middle of nowhere. She may not be a tactician, but he’d have to be an idiot to not see her warrior spirit simmering just below the surface. 

“Who is she?” he asks the general giving him a tour.

“Her?” The general waves a dismissive hand. “Nobody. Just a halfbreed we use for menial labor.” Her nose flares and her ears twitch and she grits her teeth, but she doesn’t say anything. She can’t afford to.

“Hmmm. Interesting. Have her transferred to my ship at once.” The general splutters, face coloring at being told up by this brat, this little upstart with pointy ears and long, white hair with nothing going for him beyond his royal parentage. “Is there something wrong?” Lotor asks with a smile. “You said yourself she was easily replaceable.”

When he gets back to his ship, she’s waiting for him, strong enough to break someone in half but never given enough power to be allowed to do so. He promotes her to Sargent on the spot. Her smile, glinting back at him, is more deadly than he could ever hope to be.

No one seems to realize Narti is really the one in charge of the base. She places her hands on the backs and arms of the people making decisions and they do what she wants. No one seems to have any memory of her when he brings her up. When they scan the room, their eyes jump right over her, as if she wasn’t there. She stands in the corner and pets her cat and watches him wherever he goes. He can tell that if she wanted him gone, he’d already be off the base. He approaches her the night before they leave.

“Come with me,” he says, “and you won’t have to hide the fact that you’re the one with the power.”

She tilts her head at him, stroking her cat, and that single gesture conveys it all. It says, “Why come take orders from you when I can be in control of everything here?”

“Because,” he answers, “I’m going to destroy the Galra Empire.” She doesn’t react, but he thinks she’s considering. “Think it over. We leave tomorrow if you want in.”

He doesn’t even realize she’s on board until after they’ve broken from the atmosphere of the planet they left behind and he sees her next to Acxa, rubbing behind the ears of her cat.

Ezor is charming and sweet and funny and no one realizes she’s made off with the money of half the squadron until a varga after the fact, time she used to get far, far away from them. Though the other patrons of the bar didn’t seem very fond of her, they don’t sell her out, far too happy to see Galran soldiers lose their money. Lotor makes sure to track her down alone, lest any of his men want recompense. 

He finds her by her shadow, which she casts despite being seemingly invisible.

“Incredible,” he tells her. “What you could do with a power like that.”

“You saw what I can do with a power like this,” she says, “and you’re not getting your money back.”

“Actually, I was looking to give you more money.” She squints at him, suspicious. “I was rather hoping you would come to work for me.” 

“Are you joking? I’ve been notified by the Galra a thousand times about your gross nationalism and racial purity crap.”

“And I’m the spitting image of ‘racial purity.’” She cracks a small smile at that.

“Very sweet of you to offer, but I’m going to have to decline. People around here might not like me and my heritage very much, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to up and enslave them.”

“Ah, but my plan is to stop that very enslavement.” She cocks her head at him, motions for him to continue. “The Galra Empire needs to burn. My goal is to make it a controlled one.”

She laughs at him. “Ten out of ten delivery, though a tad too overdramatic. But you’ve piqued my interest. Go ahead and tell me your grand plan.”

With his four generals in place, other people like him, people shunted aside and ignored and abused by their nationalistic empire, they get to work. They start loosening the laws on enslaved planets, slowly but surely improving condition of living. They allow the governments of the planets they conquer to stay in place, leaving them with whispers of future alliances when Lotor’s power is more consolidated. Acxa fiddles with the wording on a document that will outlaw slavery for five months straight. Zethrid builds houses and resettles towns on the planets they land on. Narti touches the arms and backs of visiting general, plants thoughts in their heads of giving rights to their conquered lands. Ezor spies on their enemies, slipping in and out off chambers unseen, reporting back the information they need to know. Lotor fights alongside his own soldiers, protecting them and bolstering their spirits and never asking them to do something he wouldn’t do himself. He builds up their love and respect for him, until they are loyal to him, not the Galra Empire. He looks into tax policy, works on lowering the income gap between Galra citizens and winning over the common people by growing the middle class, setting it up so that when he outlaws slave labor the average Galra citizen won’t uprise over price hikes. He makes his ship a true meritocracy, burying the class distinctions his father clung to even before his transformation and allowing members of any planet to serve in his crew. 

When his father falls ill and it’s finally his time to rise to power, Lotor puts down a rebellion by quoting the tenants of his own Galran heritage, and gives a speech to the people who had pushed him aside in the past. He hears them chant his name and knows, at least for now, they’re on his side. He smirks, because he’s just been given the reins of the very system he wants so badly to destroy. He knows he must move slowly, or else his newfound power will be ripped away from him before he can do any good with it. But still, he and his generals are in place. They’ll bide their time, making small changes that will better the quality of life for the planets they’ve invaded, getting the populace on their side through taking away the inordinate power and privilege of the military elite and giving it to the people. To appease the angry traditionalists and high ranked generals he’s pissed off, he’ll kill Voltron as a symbolic act, killing the destroyer of Daibazaal and ending the justification of their war. When his power is consolidated, he’ll replace the slavery on Galra run planets with high taxes on the reinstated, autonomous local governments. Then, he’ll gradually lower the taxes, and when enough time has passed, negotiate the freedom of the colonies to be their own independent states.

This way, his way, the Galra Empire will be destroyed. It will take years, and in that time many people will die because of the unfair subjugation of the very empire he leads, but when it’s over, there will have been no more wars, no more bloodshed, and the Galra, on whatever planet they have finally decided to call home, will still be left with allies so that the average citizen, brainwashed by propaganda, will not have to suffer for his father’s sins. He may not give the immediate freedom of Voltron, paid for by sacrifice (a freedom that will probably empower the citizens of non-Galran worlds more than his own, slow way) but he won’t continue his father’s bloody, mindless quest for power either. He will chose a third option.

#voltron #vld #vld3 #vld3 spoilers #vld lotor #lotor #vld acxa #acxa #vld ezor #ezor #vld narti #narti #vld zethrid #zethrid #voltron: legendary defender #voltron: ld #my writing #writing #fic #i don't normally write personal posts (and this may be fandom but it has my writing so it's personal) #so time to watch this get like 0 notes but it's ok because I had fun doing it

[xxcaptaincanaryxx]

The Ice That Melds Us Ch. 1

This is set in the recent episode of LoT, spoilers obviously!

(This also on ao3)

Also we are pretending for the sake of this fic that they have to follow original season 1 time rules so the whole going back in time isn’t an option to get out of the Legion of Doomsworld.

I kinda hate myself for writing this lol, but it came to me…

I apologize in advance.

Any and all review are appreciated. Dis.-I don’t own Legends or you would have seem shit like this on Tuesday ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

“- I know you loved her to pieces,” Amaya’s frozen form shattered to pieces and on to the ground. The bits made a small pile, except for a few which slid away.

Nate let out a gasp as Sara heard herself let out a small cry of shock. The team stared at Amaya’s crumpled form and her killer, their former teammate, future teammate to his perspective?

Leonard had just killed Amaya.

No. Snart did. Captain Cold. If this man hadn’t yet truly joined the team, then he has not realized his potential. But is he too far gone. This isn’t the man she could of had a future with, wanted a future with.

Sara subconsciously began to twist the ring on her finger. The ring symboled what he had meant to her, and so much more.

“Well if you want something done right,” came in that same smug drawl. Pleased with himself over his kill. This was not him.

Sara continued to stare at the pieces of Amaya that remained on the ground. They were beginning to melt; a silent tear slid down her cheek. Sara’s face began to harden as she closed everything out.

Before completely shutting everything out she heard Damien respond to Leo- Snart. Something about commending him on a job well done. The bastard who killed her sister with the bastard who broke her heart and just killed her friend.

“You bastard,” she spit at Snart, “I’ll kill you all!” Her emotions were getting the better of her.

“Actually i believe that’s my line,” Thawne said zooming in and taking the spear from the crook’s hands.

It was over, she had no control. The assassin watched with wide eyes as the speedster dropped their last hope for recovering their world in to the depths of destruction.

A flash of light spread across them.

Sara looked around her as nothing had changed. Thawne’s men began to rush into the room, surrounding them with guns.

Damien and Merlyn made a threatening pass at Thawne. The enemies of her enemy, who also happened to be her enemies. She had to make a choice. The man had killed her sister, but her team came before her revenge.

“Except their not alone. I say we go down fighting,” Sara strutted down the stairs with a faux determination and strength. She glared at Thawne as her team threw in quips of encouragement.

This was all a facade of strength, and Thawne knew it.

“Don’t,” the speedster began, “Even if you survived my men you’ll never survive me. Not without powers or weapons.” He calmly stood their arms crossed, smugness radiating off. Sara’s blood was boiling, but he was right.

And he knew, she knew, he was right.

As he began approaching her team, Sara realized that she needed to begin making a plan. She was the Captain and she had to lead this mission. She had to lead the team to safety. But how?

“And the truth is I don’t want to see anymore of you dead,” Thawne breathed out as he began to stride towards Nate.

The spear was out.

“Not out of sentiment of course,” he patted Ray.

They can’t travel back in time because of the possible worse repercussions, and that is assuming they’d find Rip and the Waverider.

“No, no… Quite the opposite,” he patted down on Ray. Towering over him as a threat. Not so subtlety letting everyone know who is in control. Think Sara, think. Thawne finally began to approach her.

“But because it is… So-,” he took a breath staring into her eyes menacingly, “Delicious.” He evilly smiled down at her, but Sara couldn’t take the bait. She looked up at him, but unbeknownst to the speedster her mind was somewhere else.

“Knowing that you’ll be forced to live in a reality that I- that we- created…” Sara’s eyes followed him, but her mind wandered. As the conversation in the room continued, Sara continued to think.

They need to change the past without time travel; she realized it was the only way to reset the timeline back into the original path. The original world.

Something significant. A death of someone from the past. Someone who was here, but who was not from the correct present timeline. The assassin’s heart sank in realization.

“You’re just gonna let them walk,” Snart’s cold drawl drew her out of her thoughts. It was not him she reminded herself, dreading what she was about to do. She turned to look at him, but he was looking at Thawne. Gone was the recognition he once had of her, gone was the comforting playful snark, gone was the feelings…

If she did this, would they forgive her. Would she forgive herself. None of it would matter because no one would remember, but the assassin felt like this is something she could never redeem herself from. Feelings. Mick would hate her. The team wouldn’t be able to look at her.

But she’s the Captain, an assassin, a killer.

“-And the fact that I could kill any of you at the blink of an eye.” Thawne sped away.

The Legends and what remained of the Legion of Doom stood motionless in the room.

“Well then,” a sharp drawl came from Snart getting ready to turn as if to leave.

Sara still turning the ring on her finger mumbled, “Even the best laid plans…” She was staring straight ahead into space.

Emotions were running high, and words could not describe the tension in the room.

Snart turned too look at her in confusion along with everyone else in the room. Merlyn, Darhk, the Legends. The blond got what she needed, all attention on her.

She drew a quick breath clicking her jaw trying to push her emotions aside.

“I am so sorry,” she said word by word very slowly as tough as she could, but her voice had cracked as she apologized to no one in particular. To everyone.

Her eyes betrayed her mind as they welled with tears. Her gaze met Snart’s and he felt something tug at his chest seeing her in pain. Time seemed to stand still as the almost lovers stared each other down. His confusion was only aroused more when-

*bang* *bang*

In the blink of an eye the assassin pulled out a gun and shot Snart in the chest two times.

Sara let out a little slob as she looked into the ice blue eyes of Snart before he clumped on his back to the floor.

Merlyn and Darhk were so shocked, but had fled the scene abandoning the crook. They knew the assassin did not make empty threats, and as far as they were concerned, she was ready to deliver asap.

Jax and Ray were staring at Sara with open mouths. Nate would be lying if he wouldn’t of been slightly pleased given he had just killed Amaya and never known the original teammate of Leonard. Together they were all speechless, and truthfully afraid.

Mick had a blank expression on his face, he just stared at Leonard.

“What-” Jax tried to say, a tear falling from his eye.

“I know,” Sara said calmly, but strongly.

Sara knew this would happen, but she needed to save everyone else. She rushed over to his crumpled body. Snart was breathing raggedly, but was not dead yet.

“I am so sorry,” she repeated softly as she cradles his head. The team was off to the side, frozen, watching in confusion and disbelief.

Leonard looked up into her eyes. He wanted to be angry. This woman just killed him, but the pain he felt in his heart and he saw in her eyes scared him more than his death. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

Is she crying for me?

He let out a chuckle, but blood began to fill on his mouth. Sara pulled him closer into her, lightly caressing his cheek.

“What’s so funny?" she managed to say.

He coughed some more blood before gathering the strength to speak. “Well, this beautiful assassin just shot me… Twice. And here I am dying… And all I can think about is how can I take her pain away…”

Sara laughed a little hysterically tears still glittering her face. A small grin forming on her at how he managed to throw snark in his charm. Or was is charm in his snark? A small smile formed.

He smirked at her smile. His heart tugged. “There’s a smile I was lookin-” he began to have a fit of bloody coughs.

“Hey, hey,” she stroked his cheek and cropped hair leaning closer to him.

“I’ll see you soon,” she whispered as she saw his glimmering eyes start to close. Sara closed her eyes to the world and gently pressed her lips to the crook’s. When she pulled up, his eyes were still closed and he let out his final breath. Leonard Snart, Captain Cold was dead.

Sara looked up at the team as a bright white light, like the one that had passed when the spear was destroyed only stronger. A bright blinding white light that emerged out of Leonard Snart began to sheet over the city and the world.

___________________________________________

Timestream

“Captain, it seems a new aberration has emerged.”

“Captain,” a young Rip Hunter sauntered into his new time ship mumbled to himself in awe. Here he would start his new journey all on his own becoming the greatest Time Master. That was the dream.

“Captain? Would you like the details?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you-”

“Gideon,” the AI provided.

Rip grinned. “Where are we headed?”

“According to my calculations, I believe the timeline was originally altered in 2013 Central City.”

“The goal?”

“To prevent Leonard Snart from joining a group of criminals from the future.”

Rip’s grin widened, “Set the course.”

Rip jumped in his chair and pulled the lever.

“This is gonna be a long ride!”

___________________________________________ ___________________________________________

Alright. That’s all i have for now… Thanks for reading! Ask really nicely and I might continue this, thats assuming anyone likes this lol.

#captain canary #legends of tomorrow #leonard snart #sara lance #legion of doom #cc fic #captain canary fic #white canary #captain cold #mick rory #amaya jiwe #foxfire #mixen #rip hunter #ray palmer #jax jefferson #stein martin #malcolm merlyn #arrow #the flash #supergirl #olicity #westallen #snowbarry #rogue canary #lot

[theonceoverthinker]

Marital Bliss? : Prologue

Summary: Angered by Rumple’s last-second clause to her curse and her mind changed by a passive aggressive move on her mother’s part, Regina decides to marry him off to his archenemy, Killian Jones. Twenty-eight years later, and the couple are living a happy life together, but when Rumple is awoken from the curse, what will it spell for their relationship?

Disclaimer: I don’t own Once Upon a Time or Once Upon a Time in Wonderland or any associated characters.

 A/N: So, it’s been over two years since I first published this story, and finally, I decided to bring it to Tumblr!

Now for a bit of context! A few years ago, I came across a few posts joking about Rumple and Killian’s relationship and pretending it was romantic. I thought they were funny, but mostly shrugged them off. However, after a night out with a former Once buddy (who is still a buddy buddy and the best buddy to ever buddy) where we roleplayed Rumple and Killian bowling together in a comedic setting, Afterwards, I began to get curious and looked into the Golden Hook tag. Needless to say, I had a very fun time (Read: I read almost every fic in the tag). After about an hour of browsing and reading, it became my favorite crack ship! I think, just as characters, they have some of the best chemistry on the show, and arguably have one of the most important relationships given how they are foils to one another in many respects.

I’ve seen a couple of users come up with the idea of Hook and Rumple being married under the Dark Curse (Specifically, "He Asked for Comfort” by Crysania and "Fool's Gold" by Akaiba, both of which can be found on tumblr and AO3), but I wanted to expand on the basic premise and delve more into how it would affect the two going forward for the series after. My plan is for the story to be spread all the way from before the First Curse to the end of the Frozen Arc.

As I said before, I’ve been working on this fic for a little over two years. Obviously, if I only had one chapter (and a short one at that) to show for it, that would be pretty pathetic. I actually have fifteen chapters at the time of this posting. However, while of course you’re free to check out the rest of them on either my AO3 or fanfiction.net accounts (ProtoChan is my username), I’m currently re-editing every chapter so I can get them in their best form, so if you’re interested, I’d appreciate if you just be patient with me so you can get the best reading experience! Thanks!

This fic has been a real passion project of mine, and given the unorthodox pairing, especially given the fandom neck of the woods I’m usually in, it’s been a fun writing challenge! I write for it everyday in some capacity and it makes me feel so good having something I can consistently do. I hope anyone who reads it has a good time!

Without further adieu, please enjoy!

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                                                   Prologue

“My Queen!” Regina’s slave’s sky blue visage plastered itself over every mirror in the Queen’s chambers; there were panicked features everywhere she looked. He appeared a little after her now late father’s corpse had fallen cold on the floor, just as soon as Regina had finished gathering the dust that surrounded her feet and placed them into something she could carry. 

A slammed door in the face was the response the Magic Mirror received to his cry for answers. Regina wasn’t in the mood to give him what he wanted, though really, when it came to her servant, she never was.

This time though, she shared in his panic and despair. How could she not?

Daddy is dead.

The thought struck once more, like a bell that was repeatedly chimed on the hour at a church.

Her father was now dead, his body that was once so open and comforting was now still as a stone, and it was all thanks to her.

All magic came with a price. That was the mantra that had been ingrained into every step of Regina’s magical training since the beginning. It made sense that the price for her revenge would be as steep as it was, and Regina felt silly in hindsight for thinking something as relatively small as her steed would suffice in its place. The casting of the Dark Curse was to be her Magnum Opus, so to speak.

…That didn’t make crushing her father’s heart any easier.

The fact was, like it or not, the deed was done and Prince Henry was no more. Regina’s adrenaline had all but run out and the guilt was beginning to settle like sand on the ocean floor after a hurricane. She decided that needed to get him out of her thoughts, for if she didn’t, he would remain there, trickling doubt into her mind like rain on a roof. If he stayed in there long enough, she feared she would end up taking the his advice, and talking herself out of ultimately casting her curse like a fool. The last of the ingredients needed was said to arrive in just a few hours, and there was little preparation to be done elsewhere. All that sat before her was time, time begging to be filled.

The Evil Queen had taken to pacing across one of the castle’s many long hallways, her form moving back and forth gracefully across the floor. It wasn’t much, not as conventionally distracting as having her way with her prized Huntsman, but it kept her heart racing and her anger sharp, the latter of which she could never have during sex. Wax dripped down the candles lined up along the walls of the scantily lit space and the only sound present was the sound of the tapping of her shoes as she treaded the stone ground. Regina had soundproofed the hallway beside her bedroom as well as banished all mirrors with a wave of her hand. Though her guards were no strangers to her fits of rage, she’d rather not have anyone hear her right now, just in case her latest murder plagued upon her heart too much for her to mask the guilt.

Regina tried to focus on her triumph. Here she was, The Evil Queen, mere hours away from casting her curse. At last, Snow White would pay for Daniel’s demise, and the fates would regret the day they ever frowned down on her. She had prepared the location, and had stolen nearly all of the ingredients she formerly needed other villains for, the last of which was presently en route to her castle. No, after the failure that was her first attempt, she would not waste time with underlings at her side during what was truly only her moment of victory.

Or rather, she wished she would not have to.

Unfortunately though, to even attempt to cast the curse this time, she had had to reach for the help of one other monster, one who unlike the others, wasn’t as easy to rob of his contribution.

Rumpelstiltskin.

In that moment, one of her problems was solved.

No, don’t think of Daddy. Don’t even think of your victory. Think of that imp instead. This is his fault after all.

The late Henry, whenever Regina thought about him, ushered love into her heart, and unfortunately, accompanying that love was a sickly sense of doubt.

Rumpelstiltskin, on the other hand, she could let consume her thoughts.

He didn’t fill her with doubt like her father did. What he did fill her with was venom, venom as repulsive to the soul as the monster’s visage was to the eyes.

“Comfort! He wants comfort,” Regina called out to no one in particular, nearly in hysterics as she circled the room once more. “I’ll give him comfort,” she mumbled.

Regina hardly understood it. Well, she did understand it, but she wasn’t exactly happy about her circumstances.

The cost of the curse was bad enough. Now though, the casting of the Dark Curse was set to take place this very evening, and yet, somehow, at the very last second, Rumpelstiltskin, the weasel that he was, got to put in a clause for comfort, wealth, and anything else he wanted that was accompanied by the word “please.” Regina wanted to believe that the deal would amount to nothing, but she, despite her protests, knew better than to assume as much when it came to her mentor.

How did he get the upper hand? I’m the one casting this curse here! He’s the prisoner, rotting behind bars!

She wished that Rumpelstiltskin was guilty of this insult alone, but it was clear once and for all that this just wasn’t the case. This was merely the golden straw that broke the crowned camel’s back, so to speak. When Rumple had first came into her life, he was almost equal parts a fairy godfather and a frightening new threat at the same time. After all, his ways, vicious as they were, were what ultimately led to her mother’s banishment from her realm. How could she not see him to at least some degree as someone to be trusted, especially once he began to teach her magic? However, it had become clearer as the year leading up to her curse had progressed. Regina had begun to see the push and pull that was her mentor’s handiwork as harsher and harsher decisions made with her goal still unresolved, and not from a lack of trying. Like the piece of the tapestry that at last revealed the grand design, this one confrontation finally showed off the imp’s true abilities and intentions. He made her his pawn for reasons unknown, and that fact shook every fiber of Regina’s being to the core with boiling resentment.

Once again, that little Imp has taken influence over me. This was supposed to finally be my moment of triumph, where everyone was to fall prey to me and me alone! But still, even as I am about to accomplish my greatest feat, he crawled his way back into power.

Maybe there’s still a way that I can make him pay…

Regina’s musings, while only in their infancy, were put on hold. A door slammed open. A guard, cloaked in dark armor and metals of the earth, as all of her knights were, approached. Regina greeted him with a steely, unforgiving glare.

“My Queen,” the guard started, his voice stiff with obedience. “We have urgent need for you in the dungeon. In your absence, a man appeared in the throne room right before the throne itself in a cloud of purple smoke. We moved him to the dungeon until you could come and see him, but I wish to note that he was gagged and tied up when he appeared. He attempted to fight us off, but we rendered him unconscious swiftly. He was no match.”

In a huff, Regina rushed into the dungeon, only raising a flawless eyebrow upon glancing at the person of focus in the back of the cell.

Well, at least my guards are honest.

Just as the guard had said, a man was incapacitated and tied up right on top of the bed in his cell. What the guard had neglected to point out, however, was the identity of the prisoner. Had it not been for the unusual mode of entry into the castle, she may have just shrugged him off as an ally of Snow White’s. This man, however, was not just an ordinary peasant.

This was Captain Hook.

Also known as Killian Jones, he was the infamous one-handed and one-hooked pirate of legends, known for terrorizing the seas on his ship, the Jolly Roger as well as his quest to seize the Dark One’s life.

Until this moment, he was also her employee.

Yesterday, she had sent Hook to go kill her mother, and bring back her body. However, if the sight before her was any indication, it looked like he had failed at his task.

I should have known better than to trust others to take care of my dirty work.

Regina walked towards her prisoner, a fireball emerging from her right hand, as she glared at him. She never did enjoy incinerating inanimate objects. All it made for was a mess and a waste of possessions.

Humans, even unconscious ones, on the other hand, made for much more amusing targets.

Oh pirate, you’re about to learn what happens when you let down your queen!

Just as the Regina was about to prepare a roasted pirate, she stopped in her tracks, for something had caught the corner of her eye.

A white envelope with a small red heart upon the seal was popping out of Hook’s jacket pocket, standing out from his all black clothing. Regina extinguished the fireball, and gently took the letter into her hand. She broke the seal, and opened the envelope.

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Dearest Regina,

Has your disappointment with you life grown to the point where you truly wish to end my life?

If you do, I suggest trying harder.

I take pride in not making things easy.

May I suggest coming by yourself next time?

Minions can only be counted on for so much.

Anyway, take pride in your power now, but know that we’ll be reunited just as soon as this curse is lifted.

In the meantime, have fun with this little present.

I’m sure you can fit him in there somehow.

Best of luck!

Love,

Mother

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Regina clenched her free fist, and glowered at the letter before her. Now her mother was mocking her? Reminding herself of the company in the dungeon, she did her best to hide her rage. Once again, Cora escaped retribution, still one step ahead of Regina’s wrath.

Just like Rumpelstiltskin…

Regina’s attention was drawn once again to Hook’s unconscious body as it laid before her. She remembered when the two of them first allied against her mother. Regina was so sure Hook would be capable of a much better job with the promise of revenge on Rumpelstiltskin upon her mother’s death, considering his almost obsessive passion when it came to killing The Dark One. She even had him kill his own father as a test of his abilities when dealing with matters of the heart, and he did it!

And look at you now as you lay bound, gagged, and with every bit of dignity taken away from you.

What a miserable little worm. If Hook couldn’t take down Cora, what hope did he have in taking down…?

Regina froze in her tracks, an evil grin quickly appearing on her face.

Hmm. How funny.

I come across not just one person that I hate, but two. Two souls who can’t stand one another, and here I stand, on the crux of altering their very fates.

Perhaps I can get my revenge on this failure of a pirate and Rumpelstiltskin all in one fell swoop.

The only question was how. She couldn’t make Rumple suffer; that was part of their deal. Comfort. As for Hook, well, a one-sided hatred hardly changed anything for either of them. Hook’s soul was already tortured by hating the Dark One. How could she make it worse?

Hmmm…

Regina decided to cast the curse so Snow White would suffer. The only thing was, the girl would be deprived of her memory after the fact. However, in order to ensure Snow’s pain, she would still suffer from the absence of love, but also the feeling that love was supposed to be there.

That got Regina pondering.

…Could the opposite work too? How would it feel to have love, but to wonder how that love could be, to have something feel weird, almost wrong about it, but not wish to do anything to stop it?

Why not stick two souls who repel each other at every turn…together?

At the very least, it could be worth a laugh.

“I promised Rumpelstiltskin comfort, and what could be more comforting than the company of a loving husband,” Regina mused, sarcasm practically dripping off her tongue.

“Guards,” Regina called, her voice harsh and a stark contrast to the otherwise silent room. Immediately, the two guards in the prisoner’s hallway were at her side. “You are to ensure that our newest guest stays exactly in place. Make sure that he remains alive and in captivity until the curse is cast, unless you want me to make you the ants beneath my feet in the next world.”

Can I even do that? Who knows!

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the guards chorused before situating themselves outside the cell doors.

“This,” Regina said, ecstasy appearing on her face, “will be rich.”

Regina started for the dungeon’s exit. There was no further need for her presence there. Her shoes began to click against the stone once more as she began to depart from the damp, dark, depressing corridor.

Then, something stopped her. It wasn’t a guard and surely not her father.

What it was was a nagging notion. It was the threat of a loose thread, and it all stemmed from the very cell next to her newest captive.

It was the cell that contained Belle.

Capturing The Dark One’s beloved was a victory that gave Regina much pride. It was a victory of hers that while never expressed to him, would be a cause for despair that would loom over her monstrous mentor for the remainder of his days. She may have lost her love, but up until she spied upon the Dark Castle and seen them together, she assumed he never had any at all. Then the plan struck, and it had all felt right. Even before she fully understood Rumpelstiltskin’s dark shadow over her in its entirety, she did have her suspicions that he saw her solely as a pawn to at least some degree. Well, if she was to suffer for her stable boy, then he would suffer with the absence of his maid.

Regina stared into the door of Belle’s cell. Belle was asleep on her cot, the sole sheet that rested above her clutched tightly within fists for warmth. All of the cells were kept cold to torture her victims. The low temperatures would keep those she had deemed worthy of being her prisoners weak and at the same time, make sleeping a challenge. She never made the cells too cold to the point where they would kill the captives before she could, but never allowed them to stay warm enough where they could be called comfortable. With time, it drove more than a few of the captives mad from being forcibly kept awake with nothing to occupy the misery and pain that many hours the days supplied. Belle had been resilient. She complained about her conditions, but never brought forward any information on her lover in hopes of bringing her torture to a premature end nor had she gone insane herself.

What should I do with you, child?

As long as Belle was within the confines of the Enchanted Forest, she’d be included with the curse. Of course, Regina could control the girl’s fate, just as she planned to do with everyone else. She’d come up with a couple of plans for Belle, but nothing had felt quite right.

But upon thinking about Rumple’s love life, Regina had started to question her tactics. After all, Belle and Rumpelstiltskin had True Love. It wasn’t strong enough to break the Dark One’s curse, sure, but in a new land, one where her mentor wouldn’t have magic to hold onto like a crutch, their love could grow to be so.

Regina had read enough magical texts to know the one threat to her victory.

True Love’s Kiss.

She supposed she could keep the two lovers apart, but with both Rumple’s new clause and her familiarity with the tendencies of lovers to end up together, Regina began to doubt the practicality of that move. Besides, if Rumple were to ever discover her deception, he would give her more trouble than even Snow and Charming could.

No. It wouldn’t do at all.

She began thinking up another plan for Belle.

The thought of simply killing Belle came up, but the notion brought with it too many unpleasant memories of an equally kind heart that not one hour ago sat in her hand, unwilling to be crushed, but done so regardless. Her stomach churned as she relived seeing a familiar set of eyes lose all semblance of life. Even the idea of having a guard perform the action was enough to make her queasy.

No, there has to be another way.

Perhaps I should just leave her out of the curse altogether and be done with it?

Time was running short. Virtually all of the Enchanted Forest was to be consumed by the Dark Curse.

That wasn’t about to stop her though. Regina had just the thing to make that problem but a tiny detour in her grand scheme.

Jefferson’s Hat.

Her decision final, Regina got right to work. With a call, another guard was at her side. She led her silently into Belle’s cell and ordered the guard to gently take Belle into her arms. She had no doubt that if Belle woke up, she’d be able to render her unconscious once more, but she’d prefer to reserve her magic for the time of the curse and even with the assistance of her guard, Regina preferred to spare herself another hope speech that Belle had made a habit of giving every time she visited.

I almost pity my guards for having to deal with it on a daily basis.

Regina and her guard, with Belle-in-hands, made their way back to Regina’s private chambers. Regina opened her armoire, careful not to look towards the left side, where a mirror that told her a very unsatisfying truth once stood, and took out a box. Inside it, there was a black and orange top hat. Some would call it audacious in its design and impractical to say the least. However, much like herself, beyond appearances was where its true complexities waited to be found.

Without another moment to lose, Regina cleared off the center of the room and dropped the hat.

Alright, now just as Jefferson did it.

Regina gave the top hat a spin, and stepped back. Just as it had on her last trip, a purple swirling vortex emerged from the hat’s surface. Wind blew around the room, darkness took over what used to be eloquent castle walls, and papers flurried through the air like leaves during autumn.

“Excellent,” Regina commented. She signaled towards the guard with her head. “Into the hat, with the girl,” she ordered. The guard, who to her credit only gave off the impression that she was somewhat shaken, nodded.

“Y-yes, my Queen,” she spoke, aged and obedient, before jumping into the portal. Regina waited a moment before following.

As she landed, Regina decided to use a small bit of magic to ease her fall. The guard, not given the same luxury, seemed to be in quite a deal of pain, but kept to her task, and Belle, as it was, was still somehow asleep.

I’m beginning to think that the wrong princess got the nickname “Sleeping Beauty.”

Regina looked around. The duo and Belle found themselves in a circular room with all manner of doors positioned among the edges. Each door had a unique design, associated closely with the foreign worlds they led to. Regina had studied the hat after locking Jefferson in Wonderland, and her independent pursuits alongside the knowledge that her mentor had given her allowed her to conclude that almost every door would lead to a land unaffected by her curse.

Now the question begs: Where should I put her?

The problem with most of the lands in the hat was that getting back to the Enchanted Forest was all too possible. Knowing Belle, she would be crafty enough to easily find a way to return to their realm, possibly even before the curse was cast, and Regina wasn’t about to have that. No, the clichés of romance were not to win the day, not on her watch, at least.

Regina analyzed the doors, taking into account their strengths and weaknesses. She knew one place where Belle was definitely not going to end up was in Wonderland. Regina didn’t even spare the Looking Glass more than a passing glance before looking to the next door on the right. All Belle would need to do was say one unintentionally useful word to her mother and she’d find a way to use it and make her daughter’s life hellish, even more than she already had.

As Regina continued to go over the doors, she became increasingly displeased with her findings. They were all upon the Enchanted Forest’s border, and with a few hours until her curse was to be cast, Regina simply didn’t feel safe with any of the choices, even with a guard left at Belle’s side. After all, she had put up with Rumpelstiltskin somehow for months on end. Regina had a feeling that one guard, especially a recently injured one, wasn’t about to deter her.

Finally, though, fate seemed to smile upon Regina.

Out of the corner of her eye, ironically enough, directly next to the Looking Glass she earlier denied, Regina saw an emerald green door. The door was built as to look like a curtain, and had two symmetrical handles with the letter “Z” inside an “O.”

“Oz,” she mused. Regina had never been there before personally, but had had read books about the world. She knew that it was a mystical land that while home to exceptional magical artifacts, was very difficult to get in or out of. There were rumors that one could only get to Oz from other realms by means of cyclones. The odds of that happening within a few hours were negligibly low.

“Perfect,” Regina whispered, a positively wicked grin appearing on her face. “Guard,” she called. “Drop her in here.”

“Of course,” the guard replied, opening the green door. 

Beyond the passageway, there was a dark, grassy field in the midst of a forest, with nary a soul in sight. The leaves on the trees blew softly and a light but present green glow was visible across the landscape, the only sign of any intelligent life.

Regina gestured for the guard to vacate her arms of Belle. The guard gave a curt nod and softly dropped her on the ground, careful to keep her in her sleeping state. Regina placed a hand on the guard’s shoulder right before she crossed the border into the world herself, lest her guard be victim to the hat’s rules of passage.

“The same amount of people that go through have to come back. No more, no less. It’s the hat’s rule.”

Speaking of…

She looked out into the horizon, and upon noticing several distinct bright yellow lights floating a small ways past the clearing, gestured for her guard again.

“Grab a single firefly and bring it back through the portal before the girl wakes. That will close the portal and prevent her from coming through,” Regina commanded.

“Yes, my Queen,” the guard repeated as she had what Regina predicted must have been at least a hundred times before. Regina, still inside the hat, stood and watched as her orders were acted out. When the mission was successfully accomplished, the guard came back through the door. As soon as she and the firefly passed through the threshold, the door slammed shut, and Regina imagined that it disappeared altogether from the other side. “It is done, your Majesty.”

“Very good,” Regina praised as the two left the black and orange vessel.

And indeed it was. To add icing to the cake, as soon as Regina and the guard came back into the room, another guard came by to announce the early arrival of the final ingredient for the curse.

Regina smiled cruelly and transported herself to where the ingredient was said to be. In under an hour, birthed through the rage of a father lost, she had accomplished quite a lot.

Vindication for the sins of her mentor.

Retribution for a job poorly done.

Catharsis from a world that rarely offered her anything outside of pain.

Soon, her ultimate revenge against Snow White would be complete, and despite the forces of the universe fighting her at every turn, she had all the cards in her hand.

Payback, as all who ever slighted her were soon to find out, was going to be a bitch.

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Yeah, so I’m not much of a braggart, but this chapter is an AMAZING improvement over the original! It’s amazing what two years of experience can do for a writer.

Thank you for reading! If you would like to review, I would appreciate it a lot! I love interacting with other fans, so go ahead, I don’t bite…much! XD

Anyway, have a great day, and I’ll see you in Chapter 2!

#golden hook #captain crocodile #once upon a time #ouat #regina mills #rumplestiltskin #killian jones #rumple #captain hook #au #canon divergence #fanfic #fanfiction #marital bliss