#directly after that i wrote my favorite joke of this whole fic

[runawaymarbles]

20 questions for fic writers!

tagged by @chubsthehamster- thanks!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

32, unless you count the book covers. I've got 106 book covers

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

487,170

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Whatever I get stuck on at any given moment. My most recent ones are 9-1-1, Inception, ATS and Hawkeye, but my repeat fandoms are Spn, X-Men, The Old Guard and Black Sails.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I'm copying chubs and doing my personal favorites, because my top four kudos'd fic are all for the same fandom (The Old Guard) and written within like three weeks of each other.

The Scroll of Saint Barnabas (9-1-1, Buddie, 15k): recency bias, but I had a lot of fun with this one. I also probably drove my girlfriend*and cousin insane during the writing process. Sorry about that. The basic premise is: we all know how time loop fics go, but what if after the loop is broken the character has PTSD from all the things that nobody else remembers? And also what if you get a knotted dildo hooked onto your permanent retainer? *though we've now established consent and parameters for whether we can have sex if one of us is stuck in a time loop. It's always important to have these conversations in advance!!!

What The Moon Was Saying (Spn, destiel, 16k.) It's about Dean rescuing Cas from the Empty, technically, but it's also about Dean working through things he refuses to think about directly, and it's also about the perspective of dead characters who aren't all-knowing and have no clue what happened after they died, and it's also about Inanna's Descent into the Underworld and how many jokes about Sumerian mythology I could fit in there that probably nobody else is going to think are funny but I think are funny, and it's also about what issues Orpheus would have had if he'd succeeded. The central thesis statement is that Margaritaville is thee Dean Winchester Mental State song.

The Mixtape, Or: Six Things You Learn in Thursday School (Spn, destiel, 6k.) I always had this idea that I was going to write a fantasy book of some kind, where the first part would be about the founding of a religion and then the following parts would jump ahead a few hundred years and see how that religion and that original story change in the telling. Instead of writing that book I wrote 6,000 words about a post-apocalyptic religion whose foundational text was the Winchester Gospels, except they don't actually have the Winchester Gospels, so they're relying on collected ephemera and thirdhand accounts. It is also about both academic and online discourse.

The House on Graymalkin Lane (X-Men, background cherik, 92k.) My nice little outsider-POV x-men haunted house fic. It started out as "the x-mansion would be a bonkers haunted house" and then it turned into a love letter to the original timeline (we barely knew ye). It's about the mortifying ordeal of being in high school and also about how all my grandparents died at once and I had a lot of complicated feelings about that.

The Ill-Made Knight (X-Men, cherik, 1.5k) OK so you know that trope that's like "if anyone is going to kill me I want it to be you"?? it's that, but instead of being used as a statement of everlasting love and devotion, it's being used as psychological warfare. And also kind of a statement of everlasting love. But in a fucked up sort of way. Because Cherik.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I didn't used to but I do now because I always like it when people reply to mine. Sometimes I miss them and respond years later but like... I got there eventually?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

the whole estate of mortal man. (Black Sails, silverflint, 40k.) Silver is immortal but has a very impermanent self. Flint is mortal and has a very permanent self. There was only one way that was ever going to end and I stand by it.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Of recent ones, I guess The Most Fun A Girl Can Have? (Kate/Yelena, 8k.) They're having a pretty good time for most of it.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

Not since like, high school.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope. Hats off to smut writers, you're doing God's work. It's very difficult.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I haven't, unless you count every Marvel fic being a crossover. And Good Omens show/book. But that seems like a cop-out.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Some very kind people translated The Punishment of Sisyphus (Black Sails crackfic) and Antebellum (Black Sails, Anne & Eleanor fic) into Russian, Stalefish (Old Guard, Nile-centric) into Polish, and Kidnapping for Dummies (Old Guard, Joe shenanigans) into Spanish. I can only read the Spanish one.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yessss. The #ImmortalHusbands Conspiracy (The Old Guard social media fic) with @phoenix-acid. That was very fun.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Why would you ask me this. This is cruel. I can barely pick a top 5.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

The Marvel pirate AU, probably. It's almost a complete story on its own as it stands. There's about half a next chapter written and I could probably us that to tie things up, if I cut out a bunch of things, but I'd have to reread all my research. I did way too much research for that.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character voices? I hope it's character voices. I watch a lot of youtube compilations before writing anyone to try and get a handle on how they talk.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

The actual romance part of a romance. What do you mean they have to get together after I've set everything up so that they get together? Ridiculous.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I've never done it before, but I respect people who can pull it off. I do really hate that trope though where a multilingual character calls their love interest pet names in their mother-tongue, when they are never shown using it that way (or mixing that language and English in a conversation) in canon.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

....percy jackson and the olympians.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Since I listed five favorites up there I'm switching this with the kudos question. Fic with the most kudos is Kidnapping for Dummies (The Old Guard, 3.5k)

Tagging @monstrous-femme @thegeminisage @bomberqueen17 @ellelans @annerbhp @significanceofmoths and anyone else who wants to do it. say i tagged you. nobody will ever check to find out.

#fanfic #writing #op #ask meme

[set-wingedwarrior]

Fault

Mandatory Episode 8 aftermath fic, because how could I pass the chance to make my favorite girl suffer?

Jokes aside, I actually wrote this right after watching the episode, I guess I needed to process it as well. It's not very long, but I like how it turned out. I might even write a tiny sequel from Blake's pov, who knows. Enjoy!

(Shout out once again to @phoenix-fell for proofreading, you're amazing!)

AO3

-----------------------------------

Yang’s heart stopped.

Silence filled the room as she felt her legs give in and collapse to the floor.

Oh, who’s she kidding, the whole place could have been chaos, with Neo- the Cat- whatever that was now directly talking to her, or even attacking her, and she wouldn’t feel a thing.

Ruby was gone. First Raven, then their mom, and now her sister. She just looked her in the eyes and threw her life away.

She couldn’t breathe. She tried to but her throat was clenching, the air just wasn’t filling her lungs. Her head felt light and heavy, her vision blurred as she gripped at her own heart. It wasn’t beating. It was beating too fast. She felt nauseous. She wanted to throw up. She couldn’t even let air pass through her mouth. 

…ang!

Something shook her. Or maybe it was her own body trembling, she could see her hands spasming to grip the ground. When did she lean on the ground?

Something touched her face, moved her to sit up, but she couldn’t see. All she saw was Ruby’s apathetic and yet pained face, as she drank that cursed tea and told her goodbye forever.

Why didn’t she stop her? Why didn’t she jump and throw that damn cup away? How could she just let her do something like that? She just stayed there, still, and watched. She failed her.

Yang!

It was her fault. It was all her fault. Everybody left her, whatever made her think Ruby would have been any different? She did all she could to make her happy, to always support and be by her side. Was that her mistake? Was she cursed to have everybody close to her just disappear? Should she have just stayed home instead of reaching her in Haven all those months ago?

Or what if what she did just wasn’t enough? She should have been a better sister. She shouldn’t have let the loss of her arm make her so apathetic with her, make her lose sight and strength to keep being there for her, Ruby was more important! More important than her loss, more important than her happiness-

More important than her feelings for Blake.

Was that it? Did they distract her too much? Was letting herself and the Ever After indulge in them a mistake? Would it have been better had she repressed them and spent more time with Ruby? Would it have been better if she never confessed on that bridge?

Was it all her fault?

“Yang!”

She gasped for air and Blake herself suddenly appeared in her line of vision. She had one hand on her shoulder and the other cradling her cheek, drying tears. Yang hadn’t even noticed she was crying, but now she could feel her eyes burning.

She tried to divert her eyes, but Blake guided them back to hers, familiar amber comforting her just a little bit, “Look at me and take deep breaths, like this.” Blake inhaled deeply, holding it for a second, before slowly letting the air out. Yang did her best to copy her, even if sometimes she could feel herself choking. “Yeah, like this, you’re doing great, baby.” Yang would have blushed at the pet name, were it not for the blood not flowing correctly through her body. She still found comfort in the sweet words and caresses as Blake gently brought her back to her. When her focus returned, she could see Blake saw it too. She gave her a small smile, “Welcome back.”

Yang might have been back, her breathing more regular, heartbeat more stable, but the pain didn’t subside. It was all still there.

“Ruby- she’s-” unable to contain herself - because how could you lose your sister and not lose a little bit of yourself? - Yang sobbed. 

Blake pulled her into a strong embrace, letting Yang hide her face and tears in her neck, holding her trembling body against her own. She was shaken too, little jolts of her body proving that, but she was still trying her best to support Yang, be the strong one for once. Yang let her do it, let herself fall apart, even if she didn’t deserve it. Wasn’t that why Ruby wasn’t there anymore?

“It's all my fault! I should have been a better sister, I shouldn’t hav- I’m so sorry!” Yang cried, loud, incoherent words, uncaring of where she was, of who was watching her.

“We’re going to find her, it’s going to be okay.” Blake said, gently stroking Yang’s hair

“You don’t know that!” Yang snapped, pulling away from the hug. Blake wasn’t phased though, she knew it was Yang’s pain projecting.

“Yang,” she spoke her name gently “we know there’s no death in the Ever After. And Ascension might not even work on us. Ruby’s still out there, and we’re going to find her. We will go to the tree, and get our lead- our friend back. I promise.”

Yang didn’t know if Blake wanted to convince her or herself, but it didn’t matter. Yang wanted to believe in her, in her words; what other choice did she have?

So she nodded, took one last deep breath, and picked herself up. She had a sister to save.

#rwby #rwby fic #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #ruby rose #bumbleby #rwby9 #fanfiction #rwby spoiler #rwby spoilers #my fic

[ezralva]

I've been following you for a coupla years now ever since your xicheng era. It's interesting to see whenever you get into new fixations, it introduces me to lesser animes or BLs or new ships that otherwise I would never think of and more often than not I got hooked to them thanks to you 😁 I'm very shy and awkward so mostly in fandoms I'm in im just a silent enjoyer and follower. I'm so happy when you started posting and reblogging jjk because it's a fandom I've been silently lurking for years and moreover because you like stsg and also chousou because they are one of my favorites too. I pretty much enjoy reading your posts and your reblog tags, they are funny! May you share how you got into that? Because you mention one time that you regret those who drew you into jjk 😅 is it something to do with big fandom?

Ps. I like your fic so much, it's like a healing session after chapter 236, I thought i'd let you know here because i'm too shy to comment directly on the fic

Omg this is so sweet of you, anon, thank you! I hope y'know your kind words just made my whole day <3. Wow if you've been following me that long then you shud go off anon so I wud know who you are ^^ but I get it! I enjoy being silent lurker and follower too from times to times.

Also wow I'm amazed you've put up with my everchanging fixations that long lol I know I'm annoying that whenever I'm into new fixation then I wudn't shut up abt it for a while and too lazy to ever make sideblogs. Anw, I don't really remember when I said that ahaha I'd most likely just joked or be sarcastic when I wrote that. I did feel so much pain knowing my otp is a doomed ship but it's nothing I didn't know before I even started jjk. Moreover it ended in a good note for me what with the latest chapters of them so it's all good now. The abundant loveable characters of jjk making it easy to explore other dynamics and ships too. Even dynamics I'd usually nvr entertain so it's been an eye opener experience! I don't regret a thing. Glad to know we share similar tastes :)

but yea I'm really not good with big fandoms overall and am usually content with the tiny corner of my own. My last experience with big fandoms, before I switched completely to obscure fandoms, were too unpleasant that I didn't wish to ever repeat it. But I'm more adept with curating what I wanna see now so I won't get put-off or get bored quickly. Tiny fandoms are nice and comfy but they were oftentimes unsustainable for me due to the lack of interactions. Still, I'm so happy to hear my shitposts could actually introduce you to new fixations!

Abt how I get into jjk. Well, unlike any other animes mangas I'm into, I actually have irl friends and coworkers that are fans of jjk. 3 of them are close to me (one of them is my spouse lol) and had literally pestered me to try it for long so they'd have someone to talk with. So I'd known about it since around 2 years ago when the movie came out. I was curious bcs it was such a hype around me even though they were all adults who usually didn't even watch anime so there must be sth different abt it. Yet I kept putting it off cz I was just not into supernatural fantasy shounen. I decided this year would be a good time to start since with season 2 the hype around me was too high that I just got swept in it, naturally. I cudn't tamp down my curiosity any longer plus I got time now during this break so why not, right? The thing is my irl friends arent into simping let alone shipping (at least not that I know in public, who knows what they might be doing in private) so I keep that side here ofc!

Awwwh thank you so much for letting me know you like my fic! Ch 236 was indeed devastating for a while tho it was still a HE in some aspects (for me). It's an outlet for me to pour my HCs for the characters that stuck with me. I hope you know that even if it's just excited emojis, a comment in the fic worths a lot for authors cz it let them know not just abt whether their fics are being read and liked, but how their works actually affect the readers, it's a potent drive for authors and feedbacks are helping authors so you don't need to be shy 😉

#ask #fandom #long post

[endlessnightlock]

25 Dialogue Prompts: 6, 16, 25 ❤️

16. “I didn’t think you would notice, much less care.”

This is a prequel to another fic I wrote. If there is interest I'll reblog.

Katniss stood, lemonade in hand, amongst the crowd of unattached ladies assembled for a story from Lord Odair. She wasn't paying their host much attention-he was telling them something or other about their neighbor's gamekeeper and the time he mistakenly let their geese loose inside Trident Hall. The other young ladies offered Lord Odair sympathy for the mess it had caused, but Katniss bit back a laugh. Lord Odair was a notorious prankster and not above stretching the truth when it served him. Katniss would have to hear, Sir. Abernathy's side of the tale before passing judgment over which landowner was in the wrong.

Discretely Katniss patted the back of her coiffeur, hoping the intricate braids her borrowed maid, Delly, plaited around her head would stay in place for the evening. Her faithful Madge hadn't been able to journey with them to Trident Hall this time due to a family event. Katniss missed not just her skill in dressing and hairstyling but also her friendship. She trusted Madge with anything.

Katniss glanced around the ballroom. The room was crowded with friends and neighbors from the county of Panem and neighboring counties. The Everdeens traveled a long way to be here and planned an extended stay for their trouble.

"Ms. Everdeen?"

Drat. Apparently, tonight wasn't just an occasion for friends and neighbors but enemies as well. Enemies may be an exaggeration, if she were honest. A better term would likely be a massive annoyance in the form of Lord Peeta Mellark.

She couldn't stand the man after he'd made a joking offer of marriage to her last season. Everyone knew she was an old maid, that her younger sister Primrose was the Everdeen sister eligible men had eyes for. Katniss couldn't forgive Lord Mellark for shaming her in such a way. The only thing that would have made the whole situation worse was if he'd asked for her hand publicly.

Pasting a smile on her face, Katniss greeted the irritatingly handsome man waiting at her side. Lord Mellark bowed, bright blue eyes nearly twinkling in the candlelit ballroom, decided mirth turning his lips up in the corner. How he loved to tease her-it ate at her the way nothing else did. Not that she would let him know.

"How do you do sir," she asked politely, "are you enjoying the ball so far?"

"Very much. Yourself?"

"Yes, the company has been excellent. Until this moment, of course."

Lord Mellark smirked. "I could say the same, but I am a gentleman and would not sully your delicate sensibilities in such a way."

Katniss rolled her eyes in disdain. "I assure you that I am no delicate creature. Sully away, my Lordship."

"Not a bad offer, Ms. Everdeen. I'll keep that in mind, for later perhaps. You are looking quite beautiful in that green gown. It's too bad you are so mule-headed because you are the loveliest creature here. You are always so to me."

Katniss gaped at him, the audacity of his words besting her for once.

"Green, it is your favorite color," Lord Mellark went on, focussing directly on her, something like fire in his eyes, "and you wear it as often as possible."

"I didn't think you would notice-"

"I have."

"Much less care."

Katniss was surprised to see the constant defensiveness Peeta wore like a cloak melting away. "Katniss-if I may be so brash-I remember everything about you. Every smile you gave me before deciding I was some sort of cad, every conversation we've had where passion or humor lit your eyes and made me want to kiss you senseless. Please," Lord Mellark glanced around to make certain no one was paying them mind, "give me a chance to explain what happened last year."

"Stop," Katniss whispered, stomach plummeting to the floor. She couldn't go down this road of heartache with him again.

"I can't!" Lord Mellark exclaimed, louder than he should have. He backed away from her, his expression pleading. "After the ball, meet me in the third-floor study. Please consider it."

#endlessnightlock writes #regency au #everlark fic #everlark drabble #katniss everdeen/peeta mellark

[explosionshark]

Okay as promised here's my more thoughts to follow in the Buffy update, A+ series had a great time. "Innocence", "Passion", "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "Becoming" so great, Buffy gets so much good everything for all the big Angel fallout Sarah Michelle Gellar is just always nailing it. Also actually warmed up to Cordyxander wasn't expecting that. Gonna admit wasn't super into Spike at first but I'll tell you into the second half once he was in the wheelchair loved that guy, dunno just wasn't really buying the hype they tried but after taking him down a few notches my kinda guy. RIP Jenny but she got a lot of great stuff loved her, RIP Kendra kinda wish she'd got a bit more for her death. Also I remember back in What's My Line I thought oh a cop who just starts blasting in a school of course she's an assassin but then they do the same thing in Becoming just as regular cops incredible. Also wow they went real hard on the queer coding with Buffy coming out to Joyce in Becoming (this was also a great scene), also a hard unsympathetic turn for Joyce especially in 3x01 with her blaming Giles for Buffy following Joyce's ultimatum, wasn't expecting it so much. Giles also, lotta great stuff, shocker Anthony Stewart Head does good work I know but he was so good in Passion and I Only Have Eyes For You. I didn't think I'd get so into the whole AngelxBuffy romance considering y'know I already knew how it goes but nah its still real good even with that foreknowledge. Also shout out to Willow just having to double as a teacher for the latter half of the series since Jenny died incredible stuff, and good for her getting into the witch phase which is what I mostly knew about her from second hand knowledge, besides that finding out she was gay in the evil mirror verse was part of how she found out she was gay herself.

Also I forgot about that joke about how David Boreanaz can't do an Irish accent and man he can really not do an Irish accent, I remember an episode of Angel where his pre Vampire memories took over or something and they just had him do the American accent, shout out also to Angel being dead and still in the opening credits for series 3 (I've watched one episode so far) really selling me that he's dead forever guys. Also gotta say despite I Only Have Eyes For You being real good, kinda sketchy the whole I dunno if the student being in a relationship with his teacher was handled particularly well. Like I get it yeah for the comparison between Angel and Buffy but directly bringing that in makes that a bit sketch as well, like I'm not gonna complain about age differences with vampire/human romances because its a staple, you can't get away from it they're vampires but if you're directly bringing in the comparisons y'know.

Also glad you mostly enjoyed the song recs, I've been listening to Rise Against since you said The Weight of my Pride is like them meets Fightstar (who I will also get to but I am incapable of checking out music in a way that isn't listening to they're entire discography in a row before trying out another one), they're so good I haven't clicked this hard with a band since I got into Dio and REO Speedwagon, its just banger after banger.

Also gonna go read HerInsectReflections' essays on series 2 like you recced. Will read your Common Ground fic when I get to around about Faith's heel turn I think.

Final last second thought the theme song seems a bit different for series 3? Dunno if I like it as much I'm sure it'll grow on me

Yeah! Definitely read the @herinsectreflection essays, they're really incredible. In particular I think you might enjoy skipping straight to the one she wrote for "I Only Have Eyes for You" since I think it does a really good job dissecting and contextualizing the teacher/student and age gap stuff in that episode while still acknowledging what sucks about it.

I know I've said before that my favorite episodes of Buffy are the ones that are really about other episodes of Buffy but I really mean it and I think you probably know exactly what I mean about that by now. As such, I'm really excited for you to get further into s3 and start getting to the Faith stuff. Very enmeshed with the Angel/Angelus arc.

Anyway fully agree re: Kendra. The show really did her dirty. It's got to be acknowledge that the one way Buffy fails egregiously and repeatedly throughout all 7 seasons in with race. Characters of color and black characters in particular are rarely seen, usually only fulfilling temporary roles, lack the depth and interiority of white characters and are usually victims of some sort of stereotyping. It's a bummer and I wish I could say it gets better but it really doesn't. Huge L!

Re: Spike - honestly yeah, for me he's best when he's kinda just being the buttmonkey.

I think the season 3 theme might be where they ditch the scream? I prefer the scream tbh. But when I watch with my best friend she does it for me, which is very sweet.

Thanks for checking in again! Love your updates! Glad you're having a good time!

#replies #Anonymous

[r0b0tb0y]

2022 Fic Roundup Meme

Word count for the year: 45k. would've guessed even lower!

Number of stories posted to Ao3: just eight - keeping it small and manageable this year

Pairings written for: Six - not bad with eight fics!

Fandoms I wrote for: Star Wars TV (Andor, Mando, Kenobi) and Our Flag Means Death

Most popular story: Eleven ways Cobb Vanth thought he was going to die (and how he didn't actually die) - multichaps always do well :)

Story I'm most proud of: Eleven Ways had some really wonderful sequences and phrasing. I wrote rhyming poetry in The Keeper! The brevity, pain, and growing-popular fanon in the glory of it all was lost on me is really precious too.

Funniest: I was not very funny this year! Eleven Ways has a few good jokes and the entire premise is silly, but The Code probably has the most lighthearted premise and banter.

Kinkiest: there's more freak shit in my WIPs at the moment. It's probably Eleven Ways because I'm transparently horny for cyborg attachments, even if Cobb doesn't use his directly in the sex scene. The Keeper heavily implies Stede is fucking a were-squid, too.

Saddest: ALL OF THEM. THAT'S ALL I DO. glory is immensely, wrenchingly fucking sad and I had a lump in my throat writing it. I hope for someone who reads it, it's ambiguous for a while that Brasso is talking to Cassian after learning the news of Scarif.

Least popular: it's before things end because I posted it last week. I can't imagine it'll ever go big because it's 200 words about a throwaway character, but I wanted it to exist.

Favorite opening line(s): "The desert rippled with panic when the boy woke up." from dead lifeboats in the sun- I really loved writing Obi-Wan's Force sensitivity giving him a kind of synesthesia that was tangled up in the environment.

Favorite closing line(s): still, always, and probably of all time: "By morning, the Marshal of Mos Pelgo was gone. The town moved on." I've never written something like that, where the characters walk out of the story and we stay behind. The ambiguity of it (did Cobb die? did he retire from marshaling? did he run away with Din?) and the closure revealing this is actually a very slow painful breakup with Freetown was such a great final twist of the knife for me. Keeping in touch with my gunslinger roots by giving him the Shane moment.

Top scenes from anywhere you would choose to have illustrated: @guachemole made a beautiful fanart for Eleven Ways that I think is incredible, and couldn't have picked a better scene for it. There would be some really gnarly kraken revenant horror for The Keeper. crywolf was inspired by a fanart that @blxcksqvadron did.

Story I haven't yet written, but intend to: I've been working for what feels like the whole year on a Cobb/Cassian fic that ties into Flying Blind. It's got the best title ever so I have to finish it.

Fic-writing goals for 2023: I'm keen to do another multichap. Definitely some more Brasso/Cassian. Mando season three will probably give me more specific ideas.

#ask memes

[k-evans-reads]

For the fic writer ask game...14, 23 and 32!

14. Do you have a personal word minimum that you hold yourself too? Why or why not?

We used to try to have a threshold for word count back in 2020, but after returning from our hiatus in June 2021 we threw that to the wind. It just made it seem tedious and we wanted to avoid including certain things for the sake of bulking up a chapter. Now we tend to only check our word count if we’re deciding whether to split a chapter into multiple parts or if we just went on a writing binge! Sometimes it’s fun to see how we wrote 7k in a few hours!

23. What's your absolute favorite trope to write?

🌯: Honestly, from our “tropes” (single parent, slight enemies to lovers, and arranged marriage), my favorite is probably enemies to lovers! It makes writing Sam and Chris’ dynamic SO much fun.

✨: I so agree that enemies to lovers is fun because I like changing one specific strong feeling into another one. I also really enjoyed the arranged marriage trope we did for The Outsider because I found it an interesting and fun challenge to have to create a relationship inside of a marriage that already exists - I found it super challenging and fun and makes you come at relationships differently! 

32. Copy and paste your top three favorite lines/jokes/sentences you've ever written. What fics do they come from?

We sincerely could NOT pick any chunks, so we're doing chapters instead!

🌯:

Chapter 5 of Playing With Fire - this one is one of my favorites because of the way we opened it! It flows directly from the last chapter, just with a different POV. Add in some cute parenting moments with Hazel, a lot of backstory, and how much we worked on it, it just means a lot to me! I also distinctly remember writing the last half to "Come Back, Be Here" by Taylor Swift lol.

Chapter 12 of On Deck - I absolutely hold this one close to my heart. So so so many of the details in this were things I've realized my parents did for other people going through tough times, and it means a lot to me to recognize that and put it into action, even fictionally, for other people. When you add in the fact of the close relationship we had with our own "Sammy", it just is very personal and important to me.

Part 2 of Chapter 8 of The Outsider - This one is so so so near to my heart. I wanted to make sure we did it right and gave everything the weight and justice it needed, and I felt like we did it well. It was very therapeutic for a variety of reasons and just one I think about a lot.

✨:  

Chapter 47 of Higher Love - I love this one with my whole heart. I remember sitting on the couch crying while writing it because I was just feeling all the feels of this one and so much was coming together for this chapter. This one truly means the world to me. 

Chapter 5 of On Deck - Since one of the prompts was what favorite line or joke, I have to say I just really love this opening and their banter back and forth! Sam and Chris have such natural chemistry and just tease each other a lot and I love how it turned out! I love banter and I joke around a lot with the people in my life so this was just a favorite of mine. 

Chapter 6 of Playing With Fire - This one has Chris and Ellie’s first date and I honestly just love that whole scene. We haven’t really written a lot of ‘first dates’ in our stories since Chrickie were co-stars and friends, then Sevans it was obviously much different so I just liked this dynamic. It just felt very fun and natural. 

#asks #ask game

[dinogoose]

Here’s the first 911 fic I have ever wrote. Made this out of spite and because I like it. I want more gay people, so many that I am drowning in them. Warning this fic is kind of bad, I am not the worlds greatest writer, and don’t have a ton of experience so feel free to offer tips,

also this is a Lucy X Lena fic :):

“Lucy, come on I don’t want to.” Buck says exasperated.

“It doesn’t matter what you want. You owe me! I had to listen to you talk about Eddie for three hours yesterday.” Lucy says. Buck knows he does owe her. She’s been honestly a really good friend to have. After they got past the whole kissing thing, Lucy explaining that she just was drunk and misread a few signals, and Buck telling her that it was the same on his part. Now they laugh about it because after these past few months just the mere thought of kissing the other would be the worlds funniest joke.

“Okay fine… you’re… right.” Buck says like the words physically pained him. She smacks him upside the head.

“Perfect. Get dressed Buckley you’re my wingman tonight. See you at 8.” Lucy says as she slips her shoes on and walks out of Bucks apartment.

-

Listen, Lucy is a very confident, self-assured woman. But right now? She is nervous. Her hands are clammy and the room feels way too small. She takes a deep breath, looking at her self in the mirror.

“You can do this. You can get back out there.” She says at her reflection. Nodding once at herself she grabs her keys and exits her apartment. She ends up giving herself another pep-talk in the car, but by the time she’s pulled up to her and Buck’s favorite bar she feels much better. Walking in she immediately spots buck. As much as he complains, he is still always there for her, and Lucy is very grateful. The bar isn’t too crowded as it’s still early so they have time to pre-game.

“There you are! I was worried you weren’t gonna show.” Buck says as she slides into the booth. He passes her a beer and looks around.

“So see any hotties that catch your attention?” He asks lowering his voice suggestively.

“First, never say hotties it’s creepy. Second, yes I actually did.” As she says the second part she can feel her face heat up, and is glad for the awful lighting. Buck claps his hands a little too loud and leans in.

“Really? Who? This is so exciting!” Lucy rolls her eyes but leans in as well.

“Brown hair, sitting at the bar, talking to the bartender.” She tells him, praying he isn’t obvious while he takes a look. But of course he is, as he dramatically turns in his seat and stares directly at the woman. Then he dramatically gasps and turns back.

“I know her! Dude that’s Lena, she’s a firefighter at the 136!” Buck thankfully says this at a lower volume as to not draw attention.

“Wait really? Can you introduce me…?” Lucy asks feeling a little shy.

“Of course I can. That’s why I’m here right?” Buck says getting up.

“Oh we’re doing this right now?” She asks apprehensive. I mean yeah this is what she wanted but Lucy has always been impulsive so maybe this is just a bad idea.

“Come on Lu! No time like the present. If you two hit it off, I will make a smooth exit and give you time to work your magic.” He says winking as he extends a hand out to her, helping her up.

“Okay, okay you’re right let’s do this.” Lucy walks with him and as they approach the bar the gorgeous woman, Lena, notices them. She looks Lucy up and down. Lucy can feel her whole body heat up. Then, Lena turns to Buck her face lighting up with recognition.

“Firefighter Buckley, to what do I owe this displeasure?” She asks smirking, clearly being playful. Lucy laughs at this as Buck scoffs.

“Well Firefighter Bosko, I wanted you to meet the newest probie at the 118. This is Lucy Donato.” He says as he gestures at Lucy. Lena looks right at her and smiles wide. Lucy can feel something blooming in her chest. Quickly she composes herself and sticks a hand out.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, firefighter.” Lucy tells her. The brown haired woman extends her own hand out and shakes Lucy’s with a firm grip.

“I always enjoy meeting drop-dead gorgeous women.” Lena tells her gently dropping her hand. Lucy’s face burns and she is about to flirt right back when she hears buck breathe out a laugh.

“That’s my cue, goodnight ladies.” He says slipping away. Lucy is glad he was here, but now she wants to completely focus on this goddess in front of her.

“Can I buy you a drink?” She asks taking a seat next to her.

“Sure, as long as I can buy the next round.” Lena tells her. So they spend the next few hours drinking and talking. Lucy tells her about how she became a firefighter, then started at the 118. Lena tells her about how she met the 118 during the tsunami, and even about how she was briefly at the 118. They even talk about stupid stuff,

“How in the world do you believe in the full moon! That is so clearly a made up superstition!” Lucy says, tipsy, and leaning very close into Lena.

“It’s not made up! Come on you’re a firefighter you have to believe that stuff. It’s like, written in the guidebook.” She tells her laughing this big beautiful laugh. Lucy laughs with her and they both drink their drinks. Honestly she has never felt this kind of chemistry with another person before. It’s kind of scary, but also completely exciting. Finishing her drink Lucy looks up at Lena.

“Do you want to go get ice cream with me?” She asks smiling.

“What, right now?” Lena asks turning to look at the time. Lucy nods still smiling as she gets off the bar stool, slightly unsteady, and offers a hand out. Lena returns the smile and takes her hand.

“Alright, let’s go get ice cream.” The brunette says laughing.

#lena bosko #911 show #911 fox #evan buckley #lucy donato #911 fanfic #911 fic

[more-stuff-of-pi]

I’ll Fight For You

a/n: lmao i swear i’m fine, just needed good ol’ kiri to assist me in a v self-indulgent fic. also, sorry for taking forever to write something yoinks

notes: did i read through this after i wrote it? nope. we’re fucking rolling with the audacity of not even a single ounce of beta-ing. requests are open :) find my masterlist here

pairing: kirishima eijirou x fem!reader | genre: angst (w/happy ending) / hurt/comfort | warnings: abusive mother (mental/verbal), a father who doesn’t intervene | word count: 2,018

Your boyfriend was practically vibrating with nerves as he adjusted his hair in the mirror. It was artfully piled on top of his head, his dark roots making a sharp contrast against the vibrant red.

“Ei,” you smiled, “you’re gonna be fine.”

He worried his sharp teeth against his bottom lip, frowning all the while. “But what if they--?”

“They’re going to love you, Ei. Probably even more than they love me,” you joke, coming up behind Eijirou’s monstrously large form. Hero work had been both kind and harsh on him but he made it look effortlessly good. You gently slid your arms around his waist as you angled yourself so that you could still eye his reflection.

“I’m just… worried, is all.”

You cock your eyebrow. “About what, Ei?”

He incredulously meets your gaze through the mirror. “What do you mean, about what?!”

It dawns on you a little bit. “Oh, well, she’s not going to be mean to you, Ei. She knows how to play nice when it counts. And you, good sir, count.”

“That’s not as reassuring as it is worrying, you know.”

“My mother is just a little intense, babe, it’s nothing I’m not used to. Like I said, she knows how to tone it down in front of others. I’m sure tonight will be fine. I probably just exaggerate everytime I whine about her, so she’s probably not even half as bad as I make her sound,” you shrug, leaning more into Eijirou’s side.

“Baby,” he sighs, twisting a little to look directly at you, no mirror this time. His eyes are sad yet firm as if wishing you to understand that there’s no need to defend yourself with him.

You squeeze him tighter before letting go and walking to the door. “C’mon, we’ll be late if we don’t leave now.”

❁

You always forget that you don’t really ever exaggerate your mother’s behavior towards you until you’re around her again. Everything as far as introducing your boyfriend to your parents has been going incredibly smoothly. Your dad enthusiastically engaged Eijirou in hero stories, talking about Red Riot’s  most recent media appearance where he was dressed in pajamas and carrying tubs of various ice creams you both had wanted to try when he dropped everything to prevent a construction beam from falling on clueless bystanders. Only one tub of ice cream had survived and luck had it that it was your least favorite flavor combination. Your mother praised Eijirou for his success and his coupling good looks at which she winked, making your boyfriend flush both at the phrase and the uncomfortable comments your mother directed at him. You winced at that, having forgotten to prepare him for the habitual talent your mother had of sexualizing anything, especially if it would ‘embarrass’ her child.

Your mother had made off handed comments throughout the whole night that you seemed to be the only one to pick up on. Your dad might have noticed a few but, as usual, he only looked at you apologetically, never interrupting his wife to stand up for you.

As much as you loved both of your parents and as much as they had their good moments, this fucking sucked.

“--not that she’s any good with that quirk of hers, of course,” your mother snickered as she brought the glass to her lips. You had become a good actor over the years in order to avoid your mother’s bullying over your ‘sensitiveness’, but something about her dismissing your hard work always immediately dismantled whatever mask you had thrown on. To cover what you know must be a crestfallen look, you give a laugh, something that could be called half-hearted at best. Your eyes remained trained on your food. “Oh come on, Y/n, that was funny.”

You chuckled again, hoping to force some genuineness into it. “Yeah--”

“No, it wasn’t,” Eijirou immediately cuts you off, voice straining with anger. You felt your face drain of blood as you noticed how tightly he was gripping his chopsticks. He was fuming. You don’t think you’d ever seen him angry before. The thought scared you. “That was just mean.”

Your mother quirked an unimpressed, subtly pissed brow at your boyfriend. “Don’t be sensitive, Eijirou. House rules: if it’s mean but funny, it’s okay.”

“As long as you get a laugh from it, it’s okay to abuse your child?” He spits at her like venom.

Your mother sets her glass down, eyes narrowing. “Excuse me?”

“You heard--”

You slap a hand over Eijirou’s bicep, squeezing so hard you wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up bruising. “It’s fine! Nothing I’m used to! I grew up on the ‘if it’s mean but funny’ rule, so it’s fine.”

The look he gave you was of incredulous anger. “No, it is not--!”

“Please, Ei. Please, just--,” you averted your eyes, ashamed of your own familiar defeat. “Just sit.”

Shamefully, you slide back into your seat, nervously smoothing out a napkin back onto your lap. Eijirou still stood beside you, staring daggers at your mother who effortlessly returned it. His fists were balled, the veins in his hands flexing with the effort of restraining himself. His jaw snapped shut with an audible clamp as he resolved himself to sitting back down.

Your dad clears his throat, more so than necessary as if the harder he did it, the better he could dissipate the tension. “Done, everyone?” No one answers him. He takes that as the go ahead to begin clearing dishes, desperately jumping at the opportunity to escape your mother’s impending tantrum. You loved your dad very much but, god, he was nothing if not a coward, always leaving you to fight your own battles. You don’t think you’ve ever won.

Your mother returns her cold attention to you, the ice starting to thicken and your mother’s hollow kindness starting to retreat along with her patience. “What are you even doing to help train your quirk, sweetie?”

Taken aback, you met her gaze. “W-what do you mean?”

“I mean, I don’t ever see you doing anything at all to help. You do realize that training takes work, right? What does it take? It takes--,” your mother trailed off, flourishing both hands to motion for you to finish the sentence.

“Effort--”

“Effort!” She clapped with your word. “It takes effort! And I only want the best for you, sweetheart, which is why I’m just asking what you’re doing. From where I stand, it doesn’t look like you’re doing anything at all to help improve yourself! As your mother, your concerned mother, I’m just looking out for you, sweetheart.”

Your mind is reeling at her words. You so badly want to defend yourself, assert all of the effort that you have painstakingly put in-- but you are reminded of the precise way your mother is able to leech any ounce of power or confidence from you. You would think that was her quirk if you didn’t know any better. “Mom, I am putting effort in, I train almost everyday--”

“Do you really?” Her voice drips with venomous shock. “It certainly doesn’t look like you do,” she gestures vaguely at you, eyeing your body with a vulture’s gaze. “Maybe you should consider morning and night. Oh! And a diet change, too. You know, since the popular heroes have a specific look to them and I just want to make sure that you can fit that. Since it’s your dream to be a popular hero. Like I said, you have to be willing to put in the effort. Oh, sweetie, don’t look at me like that. You know the difficult position I’m in! Trying to encourage you and help you achieve your dreams while not seeming too enthusiastic. You’re putting that stress on me, sweetie, I’m only trying to help.”

It really was incredible how quickly your mother could erase any confidence you had. Normally, you would stand beaming, more than happy to assert yourself and stand up for yourself and others. All it took was a couple words from your mother, and you turned into a dog with its head down and its tail between its legs, fearful of its master.

Your gut sank and hatred swirled throughout your body for both yourself and her as you once again let her have power over you. “You’re right. Sorry, Mom--”

“Do you know where your daughter ranks as a hero?”

Stunned, you both glanced at Eijirou, having almost completely forgotten that he was there. Throughout her tirade, you had felt a tragically familiar loneliness, used to having to defend yourself when no one, not even your other family members, would. Used to always submitting and used to the shame that always accompanied your forced silence.

“What?” She spat.

“I asked if you knew your daughter’s ranking. I just was wondering, is all. It would make sense if you weren’t aware that she ranks in the top 30 since you were asking about the effort she puts in. I would think that that accomplishment -- at such a young age, too, might I add -- was evidence enough of the countless hours, blood, sweat, and tears that she has poured into this. The effort she’s painstakingly put in. You’re right that being a hero is her dream, and she’s a damn good one, too. Saved my life more than once with ‘that quirk of hers’,” he sneered bitterly. “And, on top of that, she’s so beautiful through and through that sometimes it’s all I can do to stare at her in awe. Your thinly veiled shaming of her appearance is never the result of a mother’s so-called difficult situation, only the result of your own insecurities.”

Eijirou suddenly stands, having finally had more than enough for one night. “The only gratitude I will ever have towards you is for bringing this wonderful woman into this world. I hope one day you’ll actually realize how amazing your daughter is and how proud of her you ought to be. Because I am. I am so incredibly proud of her and her accomplishments and the results of her efforts.”

“And who’s to say that I’m not proud of her, Eijirou?”

He scoffs. Eijirou, the kindest, most patient man you know, scoffs in your mother’s face. “Haven’t you ever heard that actions speak louder than words?”

Your mother gapes up at him, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. In that moment, she resembles a fish and you couldn’t be more pleased with that comparison.

“He’s right, mom.” You rise to join him. “I know you love me. I have no choice but to believe it because I think it would destroy me if I didn’t. But maybe someday I won’t constantly have to defend myself to you and you’ll accept the things I say without dismissing them. You always say you admire me most for my assertiveness but you shut me down anytime I use it to stand up for myself against you. And that makes you nothing but a hypocrite.” You stare her down, reveling in the confidence Eijirou gives you in this thing against your mother. For the first time, you are not alone as you fight this battle. For the first time, you have help. And for the first time, you feel like you’ve won. “Now if you’ll excuse us.”

You take Eijirou’s hand and lead him out of the house, leaving your parents to stare after you in shock. As soon as you make it out, cold air hits you like a slap in the face that harshly wakes you from a daze.

“Holy shit, Ei, did I just stand up to my mom?”

He laughs and squeezes your hand. “It was pretty manly, too.” You laugh breathlessly, still in disbelief as you push your other fist against his arm. “And you know,” he continues, “that I’m the best judge of that.”

“That must mean a lot,” you grin, swinging your linked hands between you as you walk further from your parents’ home, feeling the fullness of a good meal and a battle won.

taglist: @samwrights, @mayaoliviee, @luluwiie​, @gigglyparker​ (i thought i would tag you since you commented on the draft that i posted of this, hope you don’t mind <3)

#i'll fight for you #kirishima eijirou x reader #kirishima x reader #bnha x reader #hurt/comfort #abusive mother tw #tw abusive mother #mha x reader #bro this fic lowkey fvcking sucks lmao so sorry that this is the first thing you see from me in a while #like it just feels really rushed which it probably is but it's incredibly self-indulgent and it fulfills my purposes so it's good enough #for me that is

[theminecraftbee]

let's say.....4 and 9 for black box?

hello cee. you know, it's been almost a year since i wrote black box. `wild to remember that i met you like, maybe only a week or two after i posted that. friendship... also wild to think how much i've written since then...

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

Okay, for this one I actually have a really stupid favorite piece of dialogue. Like, I know there's all the emotionally devastating bits, but my favorite line of dialogue is actually a joke. It's from the bleak part of the fic but it IS a joke! (I say that like the whole fic isn't bleak but YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.)

anyway it's this bit:

135

134

136

135

136

137

137

“One… one hundred-thirty eight.”

YES

138

134

139

138

133

idiots lagging

140

"idiots lagging" is, for no good reason at all, one of my favorite stupid jokes i've made of all time. Also, fun fact: the idea that Techno and Chat would eventually count together as a comforting gesture/form of bonding had been one of the earliest images i conceived of in the fic. Like, from VERY EARLY that was the plan. So the execution of an idea I'd had from early makes me happy.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

...sort of? Never really after I started writing it, or at least, MOSTLY not after I started writing it? Like, okay. In the original version of the idea, the thought was "I want to force Techno and Chat to directly bond", funnily enough. The whump was like... okay, so how does Techno and Chat bond? Well, probably if Techno was put in a situation where he had no one else to talk to, they'd be forced to. And people keep on saying the prison will be for Techno...

At one point, the trajectory of the fic would have probably been less whump had someone, at some point, not suggested that they were considering using a regen beacon to prevent the prisoner from being able to damage themselves to escape the prison via hunger. Obviously, they spawn trap the prisoner instead, and frankly, I've never found anyone else who wrote this into the prison before I did, and Black Box is big enough that I genuinely don't know if this was something Sam or Dream actually suggested on stream, if it was something someone in Technocord suggested might be a plan back when I still actually hung out in there, or if I thought someone had suggested it and I just. Made it up. Because later examples of the beacon have a high chance they originated with me. But like... genuinely, the fic would have probably been REALLY DIFFERENT had that aspect not come into play, because the beacon is what made a lot of the other details come into play.

(If you want a fun hypothetical, though - what would Black Box be like if I'd actually known what the prison would be like? I wrote this like, I think three weeks before it was revealed to us at least? I started it before Tommy escaped exile, for goodness sake! You can tell when I hastily wrote in new details as the Bedrock Bros arc continued! So it would be a drastically different fic if I weren't riding that wave of hypothetical. It would probably still start from the same core of 'Techno and Chat as the key relationship in the fic', but it would definitely be... different. Really different.

...I think I've mentioned before that some of that's why the sequel's been hard for me, actually. Because that prison's different. Really different. And so is the tone Techno took when interacting with it. I know that shouldn't affect my AU, but...

What a different fic Black Box would have been, had it been written anytime other than December of 2020.)

(send me a fic and some questions and i'll answer them for you!)

#answered #ihatethefall #ask game

[reddie-is-my-life]

Hi

I’m not sure if any of the people that follow me are even active anymore but its been a couple of years since i posted on this account. I’ve written a couple things throughout the time that I actually posted on this account which is what this post is about. I was scrolling through my wips and turns out I have a not completed fic that could really be considered a drabble. Anyways, I wanted to post it just to say i did. You don’t have to read it. Or you can. Its up to you. I wrote this in 2018 so if you do decide to read it don’t be harsh. Thank you.

The thrum of the music under his feet guides him further into the pack of bodies grinding against each other. The smell of sweat, weed and alcohol curls around him making his nose scrunch up from distaste, the further he walks into the house. Someone in the crowd bumps into him slamming their shoulder into him, making him stumble slightly before someone reaches out to steady him. He decides to not acknowledge the hand considering the owner of said hand is the one to blame for his presence at the party. The same hand leads him into the open kitchen where all the liquor is lined up on the counter.   

“Come on Eddie, I know you don’t wanna be here but at least don’t look like a 5 year-old that got their favorite toy taken away from them,” Bill pouts already reaching for the bottle of whiskey.

“Oh, I’m sorry for being so petulant. I should’ve realized that it was hurting your feelings Billy. I also didn’t realize that your favorite toy was a party filled with people that don’t care who sees them wasted and filled with idiocy ,” Eddie snaps back. 

Bill only raises his shot of whiskey in the direction of the other boy before tipping it back. Swallowing he takes a moment before he responds, “You seem snarkier than usual, something up?”  this time he takes a step closer as if it’ll block the dark room, loud music, and the dozens of people surrounding them. 

Even if Eddie wanted to talk about it, he sure as hell would never hold a heart to heart conversation with Bill in front of so many people. Instead he shakes his head and reaches for the cooler filled to the brim with beers. Expertly popping the cap off with his car keys he turns to Bill again finally meeting his expectant eyes, “It’s nothing, I just have a small headache is all,” it wasn’t a complete lie, he did feel the beginning fingers of a migraine graze his head. Ignoring it he decides to change the subject before the other man decided to pry more, “So what’s the deal with this guy? He’s got a pretty nice house to be someone of the middle working class.”

It was true after all, no one with decent money income could afford a sleek looking chandelier hanging in the middle of what looked to be the living room. The couches seemingly pushed next to the walls giving more space for people to grind against each other. The couches were filled with people either shotgunning or just full on making out. The sound system though, playing songs that made him skeptical about the type of music the host listened to, seemed mighty expensive even from his vantage point in the kitchen. The place itself was big, the open kitchen looking out into the living room and what seemed to be a room with a pool table, leading into a hallway Eddie was sure was a couple bedrooms. He wondered if the rest of the place would look just as expensive as the part that was filled with people. Maybe he would sneak away and explore the rest of the house if Bill got caught up with someone else. 

Bill nods his head in agreement, “Yeah, it is a pretty damn good house. The guy that invited me here, Ben,” he takes a second as if remembering the man. And if he’d be damned he thinks Bill is blushing lightly ,”he’s, uh, best friends with the host. Said he was a radio host or something and he had his own show even. He also said he would be here but I haven’t seen him yet,” he looks around the room but it’s no use due to how smokey and dark the whole house is. 

Looking at his friend more closely he realizes that he is indeed blushing like some schoolgirl with her crush instead of a 25 year old man. He wonders when Bill met this so-called Ben and when he had formed his crush. But more importantly he wonders why in the world Bill never even mentioned him to him. Eddie was surely privy to this information, he was his best friend after all. Perhaps Bill finds you annoying now. Maybe Bill doesn’t even want to be friends with you but is too nice to tell you directly so he brought you to the party you didn’t want to go to so you would leave him. Perhaps Bill finally sees you for who you really are. You dirty-, “Hey Bill, do you happen to have a crush on this Ben fellow?” 

“Uh, w-w-why wouldd you say that Ed-d-die?” Bill's stutter comes out clearly, making him flustered and proving his hidden secret. Instead of coming clean he reaches for his third shot. Swallowing it cleanly only slightly wincing he takes a look around the dark room again as if someone will appear and save him any second from the questions Eddie is surely going to press him with. 

Eddie moves to the side when someone comes up behind to get something to drink but pulls Bill right along with him. Deciding to at least ask, without intention of harm he opens his mouth, “Come on, Bill. You don’t need to lie. I am your best friend for a reason. You can tell me these types of things,” he laughs ruefully at that, “actually technically you can tell me anything, that’s what comes with being best friends. A small dumb crush definitely falls in that category.”

Bill winces at that and a sad glint fills his eyes along with disappointment but before he can answer him someone calls his name out. He turns along with Eddie to meet a guy smiling and walking towards them, “What’s up, Big Bill? What are you doing huddling next to the drinks? Don’t you know this is a party?” Eddie watches the man come closer and notices how Bill lit up with excitement as soon as he recognizes him. So this must be Ben. He would let out an appreciative whistle if the man weren’t so close and Bill wasn’t so infatuated with him. The man - Ben - was handsome as hell. His light colored hair was styled to look as if he hadn’t done anything with it but it wasn’t a lazy look, it looked rather sophisticated. The beard that adorned his face looked sharp and regal, complimented even by the small scar that lay on the corner of his top lip. God damn, a scar has never looked so right. His build was leaning towards gruffer and broader. His arms seemed to bulge even from Eddie’s vantage point. It was all on top of legs fit into jeans that seemed to only highlight the fact that his arms weren’t the only thing taken care of. Though the man would look intimidating with a face and a body like that but his eyes were kind and his tone was playful. 

He takes a second to catch on to the nickname and is soon distracted by that rather than the man standing across from him, “Big Bill?” he whispers quietly turning to face Bill.

Before he can say anything about the nickname he receives a hearty laugh from Ben. Facing him again he waits for his answer, “Ah, you haven’t met Richie yet then. He gives everyone a nickname. Or at least everyone he likes. I’m Ben or Haystack,” He says extending a hand to shake. 

Though Eddie finds it strange to shake hands as if in a business setting instead of a raging party he shakes his hand, “Eddie or Eddie.”

Though it wasn’t a joke, Ben still lets out a smile at his response. His brown eyes twinkle before turning to Bill. He goes to touch him before seeming to think better of it and turns to Eddie again, “You wouldn’t mind if I took Bill from you would you? At least for just a little bit.”

Raising his eyebrows he shakes his head, “No, no, not at all. You guys should go dance.”

Bill clears his throat before responding, though Eddie sees right through it. Almost as an afterthought it comes to him that Bill usually clears his throat when he plans on what to say without having to worry about his stuttering. Guess Ben makes him nervous, “You sure Eddie? I can stay if you want,” but from the way he was looking at the other man he doubted that it was something he wanted to do.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll go find something to do. Maybe even find the host to tell him how shit his beer is,” he cracks a smile at that, urging his friend to leave him in the kitchen and dance with the handsome devil that clearly seemed interested in him too.

“Alright, just give me a second,” he tips his head back taking the shot in his hand before turning and taking another one. He shakes his shoulder at it and turns to face the other two, “Alright, let’s go dance.”

Eddie almost expects a high pitched giggle from his friend for a second by the way he grins so widely. He makes no reaction outwards but inwardly he’s utterly confused. Bill wouldn’t be acting this way if it was just a small crush. He wonders when Bill met Ben once again before he notices that his friend has turned his head looking at him briefly making Eddie smile and pumping a fist in the air before he turns around once again saying something in Ben's ear that makes the bigger man face him smiling widely. He lets out a quiet sigh, confused as to when Ben had made an appearance in Bill's life enough that he would look like - funnily enough - he was given his favorite toy. 

Before he figures out what he wants to do while he waits for Bill to come back - if he even comes back - his eye catches on someone walking up to the counter looking more than enough wasted that he feared that the second they got their hands on another drink they would puke all over Eddie’s shoes. Deciding not to even chance the thought of it or at best try to hold a conversation with them he walks towards the pool table. Sidling up to a corner of the pool table he takes into account the people surrounding it. Most seem pretty similar to each other making commentary on the play going on in front of them. Yet, he focuses on one of the players, while most people around the table - hell even the other player - are more drunk than not, he seems perfectly sober. 

His moves are crisper than the other guy who is moving around slowly. He watches as the small bun on the man's head bounces around a little as he jumps up and down from seeming excited on his clear victory. His actions lead to a couple curls coming out and framing his face. Eddie looks at him closer and notices that the man has a shocking color of blue eyes that pair nicely with his sharp cheekbones and jaw. Strangely he remembers Ben and thinks how complete opposites these two are. While this stranger is just as attractive as Ben he falls on the opposite spectrum. Pool table guy has such a pale color of skin he kinda looks like a ghost in the soft lighting hanging above the table. The light casts shadows on his face making him seem sharp and cold, while his electric blue eyes set off a vibe of mysteriousness making him that much more intriguing to Eddie. 

As he finishes off his beer he watches as the handsome stranger takes the final shot landing him the victory that was obvious as soon as Eddie walked over to the table. He watches in something close to amusement as he celebrates around the table before bringing the other player closer and clapping him on the back. The only response he gets from the drunk player is a couple grunts in disdain with the occasional mutter that the game was unfair and he demanded a rematch. Handsome stranger only chuckled in response before letting him go. And suddenly driven by who knows what force Eddie spoke up, “I’ll do the rematch for him, considering it wasn’t a fair match between a drunk man and a sober one.”

Both men turn to look at him but he focuses on the blue eyes of the handsome man. They seem to stare at each other for eternity before the other man breaks the silence by breaking into a smirk, “It wasn’t my idea to play the match. It might actually be an unfair match to me considering I had to drag it out way more due to consideration of this poor drunk man, isn’t that right, Zach?”

The drunk fool- Zach, didn’t let out a reply instead opting to slump further into the chair he had let himself fall into. It seemed to Eddie that he was getting ready to fall asleep in the chair. The host surely must care about the random people falling asleep in his property. He turned his attention back to the other man before cocking an eyebrow. With a small jerk he silently questioned if he would take him up on his offer. Said stranger only seems to smirk even more before heading to one side of the table.

As Eddie grabs his pool stick the stranger talks to him again, “So, cutie what’s the name to the face?”

“Don’t call me that and it's Eddie. And you would be?”

“Richie Tozier at your service. Seriously though, anything you want,” he finishes with a wink. A fucking wink, how cheesy could this guy get? God could only do so much for someone Eddie supposed, good looks, bad personality. 

Eddie scoffed instead of deeming him a response. Setting the balls into place he felt as Richie watched him. Looking up at him he met his gaze allowing only the smallest bit of discomfort set into him before he spoke again, “So, do you not drink?”

If Eddie hadn’t been watching his reaction closely he wouldn’t have noticed how Richie’s smirk faltered for a second before righting itself quickly. Only faint curiosity crossed his mind soon fading away because even though he was intrigued in Richie he didn’t want to actually get involved in anything with him where he would care about him in any way. Richie seemed to ponder the question for a second before answering, “I do drink, just didn’t feel like drinking yet, plus weed is sufficient enough to last until I decide I want a drink,” he shrugs.

Only raising his eyebrows slightly he gestures for Richie to begin the game. He watches as the other walks around the table before setting the white ball down. Just as he’s about to lean down to perfect his shot he looks at Eddie, “What about you Ed’s? I saw you put the beer bottle away but I doubt that you’re drunk.”

He observes as Richie lines up his shot before deciding to respond, “Again, my name is Eddie, if you already forgot. E-d-d-i-e. And secondly, I don’t really enjoy the idea of me passing out on an uncomfortable wooden chair next to a pool table surrounded by people I don’t know,” he pointedly looked at Zach quickly passed out on the chair already.

“Mmm, we’ll have to see about that, won’t we.”

Lining up his shot, Eddie hums low in his throat right before the balls fall into the pocket. The game continues as the silence covers them like a fog. The small clinking of balls against each other along with the loud music playing from the living room do nothing to hide the hot gaze of both men as they move around each other. Brief touches of hands, shoulders and hips go throughout the game with the occasional smirk thrown at each other. Eddie though usually not one to find interest in a random stranger that quickly can’t help but feel curious toward the curly haired man. As the game comes to a close, Eddie sinks the final shot winning but only allowing himself a small humpf of victory before looking at Richie. 

Even though they’ve basically been eye fucking each other the whole entire game Richie places his hand on the small of Eddie’s back steering him towards the drinks, “I think i need a drink,” Richie offers offhandedly. 

Eddie silently watches as Richie makes up a concoction of tequila with orange juice stirring it slightly before tipping it back. Slightly covered in sweat Richie’s neck shines faintly under the faint light filtering from the small light on top of the stovetop. Watching as his Adam's apple bobs as he swallows, Eddie also swallows along with him suddenly hit with a dry throat. He reaches for the whiskey Bill had been drinking earlier before pouring up a shot. Taking it straight, he tries to clear his thoughts so he won’t end up in bed with the man that’s staring at him currently. That’s not how it works dumbass, you should definitely not be drinking alcohol. 

He swallows.

“Holy shit, Ed’s didn’t know you had it in you. I would’ve thought you would go for another weak beer,” Richie smirks.

“Shut up prick, you don’t know shit about me.”

“Maybe so, but by tonight I’m hoping I’ll know a couple more things about you,” and once again he winks but instead of making Eddie's eyes roll it makes his stomach turn in excitement. 

“Sure pal, whatever you say,” he deflects.

Richie only laughs in reply before pouring up four more shots and gestures to two of them looking at Eddie pointedly. Eddie lets out a scoff before stepping closer and taking one into his hand. He makes eye contact as he tips it back and if the eyes aren’t deceiving him Richie’s eyes darken a shade. He smirks before bringing the shot glass back to the countertop, “So?”

Richie lets out a dark chuckle before taking both shots one after another. The only reaction of the burn is a slight twitch in the corner of his eye before he stares at Eddie in amusement. Eddie takes the remaining shot before heading over to the group of bodies grinding against each other. He briefly glances behind his shoulder making sure the other man still has his attention directed towards him.

And that’s it. Thanks.

#Reddie #it 2019 #it 2017 #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #ben hanscom #beverly marsh #stanley uris #mike hanlon #bill denbrough

[wannaliveattheholidayinn]

Ok, But Seriously, I Have Thoughts

I have... really mixed feelings about this episode, so I'm gonna talk about those feelings. And if my feelings about zep as a show and this season come out during that... so be it. (Seriously, this got long. I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry). Also spoilers for the new ep below the cut, but y'all should've been able to guess that

- I... Zimon seriously deserves just so much better. We saw them as a couple together for three episodes, and they honestly weren't explored enough. Zimon... and this is a very personal opinion, but they really do strike me as a couple who never fully leave the honeymoon phase... like ever. Like, of course, they'll fight and disagree on a lot of things, but they also can have adult children, and just kind of act like newlyweds even if they've been married for over twenty years. And again, I know that's a very personal opinion, but I mean... we all knew c/arkeman was gonna be endgame, and it just feels like zimon was never given an actual chance.

- However, I do very much appreciate that their breakup was not messy, there's still clearly a ton of respect for the other on both of their sides, and that Simon is okay.

- "We didn't belong together." No, you fucking did.

- I am not going to stop writing Zimon fanfic either. In fact, this might spur me to write more and work harder on writing Zimon fanfic.

- Rose. Fucking. Deserves. Better. I'm not even gonna elaborate on this one. We all know it.

- Despite the fact that I fucking hate c/arkeman and that it was very, very rushed... I'm giving acting and singing props to Jane. I Melt With You is a song that's extremely personal to me. It helped get me through a point in my life where... I was constantly feeling at war with others, myself, and even felt unsafe in my own home (something I still feel today, no matter how irrational I know it is). I just generally feel a strong connection to every version of the song bc of that, whether it's the original or the Bowling for Soup cover (that was in Sky High!), and... Jane just has a way of making me feel safe when she sings. So, I really, really loved her cover.

- Um... yeah, I'm gonna be real, I don't like the idea of Max having powers. I don't know, I just think it kinda changes the whole original concept of the show, and I'm not a big fan of that...

- Simon! Simon working on changing SPRQ Point!!!!

- I do not really like how they handled Simon's racial bias/systemic racism in coding storyline *after* episode six (aka it only really being mentioned in passing, not being further explored, etc.), but,,, credits due where it's due I guess? I like how they handled him going to Danny Michael Davis, and how DMD listened.

- Sidenote, I kinda find it weird we as a fandom don't refer to him as Danny... it's Danny Michael Davis, DMD, or fucking Willy Wonka jokes. Makes sense I guess.

- Um... the writing was just... so lazy. Yeah. It's... really sad, I think that the show would've benefitted from even one less ep. But on the other hand... lazy writing is lazy writing.

- I think it would've been better - honestly - if Zoey's feelings of loss hadn't been connected to Max in a romantic way, but in a platonic/familial way. We didn't see a ton of their friendship, and yeah,, I hate Max, but there are a few moments there where you can see a legitimate friendship that's really sweet. I also think if they had maybe explored Zoey's fear of losing Simon as well as Max and centered the finale more on Zoey telling Simon about her power, it would've just been a lot better.

- But... honestly, after I just aired out all my issues with this episode (and the season too kinda),,, I honestly liked it. I hate that Zimon broke up and I just generally hate cl*arkeman but... this ep had some really great moments. Zoey and Mitch were beautiful to see again. Mctobin, Davidemily, and Mo x Perry were all absolutely my favorite parts of the episode. Hell, I'll even admit I... well I don't wanna say laughed considering I was so close to crying, but I let out a weird, breathy noise resembling a laugh when Zoey just blurted out she and Simon had broken up.

I don't want to say it was a bad episode, because I did honestly, enjoy ~parts~ of it... but... it wasn't even that cl/arkeman happened, I knew it would, but how it did... it just honestly (my g.od i need to stop writing that word) seemed like they were trying to kill off or like... fucking quash *any* hope Zimon shippers may have had,,, and the writing was just so fucking lazy, I just...

I started the show after dance one night because my teacher showed us the Help! number bc he was an extra in it. And I had already been intrigued by the few ads I had seen for it. So, my mom and I watched it, and we loved it. So we kept watching. And it was good! It was really good! Sure it could be cheesy, but... that didn't matter. I latched on...

I don't know if, ZEP is gonna get renewed, and if it is, I don't know if I'll watch it if/when it does. I latch on to shows really fucking hard when I do latch on. It's why I keep rewatching The Good Place and why I'll never forgive Freeform/Disney/Marvel for canceling Cloak and Dagger. The way I latch onto things is probably a bit unhealthy. And the fact of the matter is, despite everything, my overwhelming feelings about ZEP are positive. And I latched on. I'd honestly do it all over again.

I have a lot of feelings about this fandom and this show, both positive and negative. Still, I love it. Unconditionally. Ultimately, I don't care if Zoey ends up with Max or Simon (though, seriously, she and Simon are made for each other). It's a good fucking show, ships shouldn't be everything that matters.

I began lurking in this fandom when I was fifteen. I began posting fanfic for it when I was sixteen. I'm almost seventeen now. I was planning to get Tumblr when I was seventeen. I also knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I hadn't made my presence here known if it didn't get renewed.

I want to thank @simon-haynes because, uh, holy fuck, I adore you. Running a blog for fandom is something I couldn't even fathom, especially when a large portion of the fandom doesn't like your ship. I legitimately can't believe you followed me.

Thank you to @jennakang. You are, honestly, one of the best writers I've ever read from. You were so incredibly supportive of my writing on ao3, despite the fact you didn't know who I was, and that really meant the world to me. Thank you so much for your contributions to the fandom. Also, uh, fun fact, I was the anon who, after you expressed the want to write the quarantined Zimon fic, sent in that ask that was like "please do!" and also "hope I'm not being pushy about this". I don't know if you remember that at all, but your response meant the world to me.

And uh, lastly @myheartissetinmotion. Um, wow. I know we barely know each other, but I can honestly say, you have been my anchor for this whole show. I love both your Tori content on TikTok as well as just zep content you do on there, and how you wrote her into zep on ao3. I personally like to think of you as the pioneer of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Tok. You were pretty unbiased when it came to ships on there, and that made me feel safe in a place where there were virtually no zimon shippers. Your content was funny, and I always found myself laughing or screaming "accurate" at it. I know, I'm the nuisance who every few months DMs you about something zep related, but I hope you know, you made me feel both seen and somewhat appreciated in this fandom. I cannot thank you enough, Isabella 💗

I know Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist may not be ending. But this still oddly feels like the end of an era. I'm not leaving the fandom, I plan to keep posting fanfic for it and everything. I just want everyone who may be reading this to know I love this fandom and I would not take any moment here back.

Also, this is me formally asking for a link to a Discord group chat since I know it exists but I'm too scared to actually ask any of you for it directly.

#zoey's extraordinary playlist #zep #zep spoilers #uh... #zep fandom #zep discourse i guess #zoey clarke #simon haynes #max richman #leif donnelly #tobin batra #mo zep #mckenzie zep #perry zep #david clarke #emily clarke #maggie clarke #mitch clarke #zoey x simon #zimon #mctobin #mo x perry #david x emily #anti zomax #jane levy

[achliegh]

Bronze

Alright, I had this wonderful idea come into my head about Clayton, honestly he deserves his own fic. So here is his version of events! Lots will tie together with Golden so I recommend you read that as well. But you don’t have to of course.

Explaining:

Before Letter is the present.

Letter is updating the lives of the people back home, of whoever wrote it mostly.

After Letter is memory.

The first few letters will be very awkward because writing letters and not being sure what to talk about and what not to talk about is hard and confusing. Stick with me! Yes, this prologue is just a letter.

TW/CW: Discussions of death, miliatry training, smut, cringy jokes, underage drinking, dumb choices, swearing, hospitals, injuries and death caused by someone close, domestic abuse, blood, unfair treatment from police, false alligations.

Beta: @walking-crisis

Some Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Chapter 4:

Survivors Guilt

Whiskey Lullaby

“Can you at least tell me what happened?” Clay was getting restless, he has noticed a few odd things since he has woken up.

No higher up has come to see how he is doing.

No doctors or nurses have come to check on him while he is awake.

His guy, Grev, is always in the room. Sitting in the same chair. Looking at the same book or newspaper.

It made him think about his training, maybe he was a POW and didn’t even notice.

“I can tell you what happened if you think you can handle it.” Grev looks up from his newspaper with a playful look. Clay rolls his eyes.

“I think I can handle it.” He looks down at his hands and mentally prepares himself for something terrible. Being in a hospital reminds him of his ex when she threw shit at him after he broke up with her.

“You know your friend, Bryan? Well, it turns out he was struggling with an undiagnosed mental illness, the pressure of the job and the conditions you were living in caused it to increase in its severity.” He pauses and folds his newspaper over his arm to look Clay directly in the eyes. “He was convinced he was the next target for the mission and decided to take out your whole team. Execution style. There were no survivors.” The music in the background coming from an unknown source sunk into his body.

“Whoa… I-” Clay feels guilt just filling up his body from his toes to his chest like tar, dragging him down.

He was the only one who survived.

Clay,

Ifuckingmissyou,youfuckingdickhead!IhateyouIhateyouIhateyou!

Please come home…

Please.

Love, Reg

Ashley gets in the truck and gives Clay a sweet kiss on the cheek, catching him by surprise. She was in a good mood, but he knew it wouldn’t last long after they had a talk. He really hoped she wouldn’t somehow convince him into sex after the talk but knowing her she fucking would. He just turned the radio up to keep her from talking about anything.

Pulling into his driveway he was getting sweaty. He was nervous. He should have done this in public. He knew she would lash out but he really wanted this to be just between them. Walking into the house he feels her arms wrap around his waist and she nibbles on his neck. He gently gets out of her grip and turns around to look at her. Thanking the good lord that his parents were gone. The radio in the kitchen was on the same station as it was in his truck.

She is looking at him like he is insane. She may be skinnier and not as built as clay but he knows she has some power behind her words… and a good throwing arm.

“Ash-” She cuts him off by pulling him into a rough kiss, again grabbing her shoulders he pulls away and keeps her at arms length away. “Can you let me say what I need to say?!” He huffs annoyed.

She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, then gives him a ‘get on with it’ motion with one of her hands. He lets go of her shoulders and takes a deep breath. Before he can even get a word out she interrupts him.

“I knew you weren’t manly but… all this ‘I want to talk about my feelings’ shit is getting annoying.” She examines her nails and shifts so she is slouching, leaning onto one of her hips. “Get on with it!” She snaps at him.

“I want to break up.” He speaks fast and jumbled but knows she got the message from how her face goes through many different emotions. Shock, confusion, thinking, to anger.

“EXCUSE ME! You.” She gestures up and down at him and takes a step forward. “Want to break up… with ME.” She gestures to herself. Laughing annoyed she puts her arms to her sides and starts flexing her hands. Clay backs up to hit the little table they have next to the wall phone that his mom sits at in a fancy chair to talk to his extended family.

“Yeah, I do.” He stands up straight and looks down at her as she gets right in his face. What he didn’t think about is that his mother's favorite item in the house was also on that table. A glass lamp that cost ‘an arm and a leg’. It’s a heavy son of a bitch too, so when it suddenly was being thrown at his face, he was so shocked he just stood there and let it shatter. Falling backwards taking the table down with him, he sees stars popping in his vision.

He feels blood dripping into his mouth and nose but he is so dizzy that any movement made him feel sick. He saw a blur move closer to his face.

“You’re nothing more than a criminal anyway.” She stands back up and uses the phone on the wall to call 9-1-1. Putting on her best sob, he hears her screaming into the phone before everything goes black.

Waking up he is in a hospital room. Monitors hooked up to him and he can only see out of one eye. He freaks out for a moment trying to reach his face but his arm is handcuffed to the bed… he realizes after a moment that it is gauze that is blocking his vision and he calms down.

“Good morning.” He jumps a little and looks over to see Sheriff Johnson sitting in the chair next to his bed. Fuck. He stands up and walks over to Clay, slapping a folder of pictures in his lap. Confused Clay looks up at him.

“I want a Lawyer.” He knows better than to try to talk to Sheriff Johnson without legal help. The death stare he gets from the sheriff is one he will remember forever. He could hear his mom and dad… and Eloise maybe outside the door trying to be let in but the officers at the door were denying them access. The sheriff walks away and talks to the officers real quick.

Hours later of nurses poking at his face and him getting medication. The family lawyer finally shows up. After hours of looking at the pictures of Ashley’s “bruises” which were really just red marks on her pale ass skin from him holding her away from him. The lawyer said some lawyerish stuff and finally got the police and Ashley to drop the charges.

Clay was exhausted, falling asleep before he even saw his parents that day.

Waking up a second time in the hospital he looked down to see his wrist was no longer attached to the bed and his parents were sleeping in the chairs next to his bed. Clay isn’t much for crying in front of people, even while sleeping. The only person he has ever been comfortable crying in front of has been Leo. But Leo isn’t here right now… and Clay really needs to cry.

So, he did. Silently. In the hospital bed next to his parents sleeping in chairs.

#leo knut #clayton bruss #finn o'hara #logan tremblay #thomas walker #noelle tremblay #james potter #sirius black #remus lupin #sweater weather #lumo

[homebody-nobody]

you’re a part of me

(WHAT?? Jax wrote ANOTHER fic?? THREE FICS?? in TWO WEEKS?? I know, I’m shocked too. We’re gettin closer and closer to bein a Real Fic Writer lads.) How many juke first kiss fics will you write, Jax? all of them. as many as I want. I dunno. you're an adult obsessed with a tweeny-bopper show. shut up. who even has the patience for 5 +1s in this house it's 3 +1 and only barely bc I don't know how structured fic works so it's not even separate like it's supposed to be. anyway enjoy some dumb teenagers falling in love if the dialogue is cringe sorry lol I was trying to stay in the tone of the show and may have gone a little bit too disney channel (Also if you see typos/the same adjective used twice in one sentence/paragraph, no you didn't I don't edit it makes me nervous)  ------------------------------- (ao3) ------------------------------ '... Luke has thrown out any semblance of personal space. He orbits around her just as closely as the others, no longer threatened by or hyper-aware of the consequences of his proximity. Basically, he’s getting entirely too comfortable.'

(3 times Julie and Luke almost kissed and 1 time they did) ------------------------------------ Luke is overly physical. Theoretically, Julie already knew this. She’s seen him with the boys, the way he lives in other people’s space, hanging off Reggie and lurking next to Alex, not caring where his lanky limbs or knees or elbows end up, even if it’s in other people’s ribs. He was never like that with her, too afraid of the crushing disappointment that came when she phased through his hands. But now, there isn’t the strange, tingles-up-her neck way-weird, way-wrong sensation that came when she accidentally brushed through him. So even though Julie’s used to keeping a respectful distance, Luke has thrown out any semblance of personal space. He orbits around her just as closely as the others, no longer threatened by or hyper-aware of the consequences of his proximity.  Basically, he’s getting entirely too comfortable. 

She notices it the first time during rehearsal, when they’re hashing out the particulars of a melody -- Luke wants it to go down, and Julie thinks it should go up. She plunks herself down at the grand piano to prove that her idea will sound better, fanning the half-finished sheet music out across the top, pointing out the measure they’re arguing over, smudged and crinkled from repeated erasings. 

Luke narrows his eyes at her from across the room, his face set in his trademark (adorable) grumpy expression. “It just sounds better!” she argues. “Listen.” She puts her hands on the keys, left hand hitting the chord, right dancing over her proposed melody. “So please, keep chasing me…” she sings, building to the last word and sliding her voice over an intricate run ending in a step up. Looking up, she tilts her head, her wild hair piled into a tenuous bun, curly tendrils framing her face. Luke’s stomach does an interesting flip. “See?” 

He stands up, swinging his guitar strap down across his chest before walking around her, putting his right hand over where hers had just been on the paper. He stands just behind her shoulder, sending goosebumps down her spine. “It should go down,” he insists. “It’ll flow better with the next line and then the break before the chorus makes more sense. Listen.” He puts his foot up on the bench and swings his guitar back up like it's an extension of him, playing a riff and singing the line they’re arguing about before dipping in to the next. “So please keep chasing me,” he sings, his voice gracefully stepping up and then back down, “Cause even though I’m runnin’, I know you’re the one I need.” 

“You’re making it too simple!” she cries, slamming her hands down in her lap and turning to face him. She opens her mouth to continue the argument, but when she looks at him, she starts, finally realizing just how close he is. The toe of his sneaker brushes her leg, and he leans over the sheet music, closing her in against the piano. His dark eyebrows pull together, mouth slightly pinched as he concentrates, solid and strong and very much in her space. “Um --” she says. 

He shrugs, shaking his head a little bit. “What,” he says, not understanding what she’s having a problem with. Julie’s eyes drop to his mouth, close and stupid kissable, and he notices the motion. The air crackles as both of them unconsciously draw closer, song forgotten, focused only on each other. Luke leans in, half an inch, and Julie’s breath hitches in her chest. This is stupid. She knows this is stupid. Luke is dead. Full ghost. Not real. Well, real, but not a viable option. He might have a physical presence now -- a very strong, very warm, very attractive physical presence -- but that doesn’t make him any more possible. And yet, here she is, pulled into him like he has his own gravitational field and she’s helpless to it. Luke licks his lips, and Julie tilts her chin up, fractional motion tiptoeing toward something irreversible and dangerous. 

Just as she’s about to step over that uncrossable line, there’s an almighty crash. Both of their heads whip up in time to see Alex topple off his stool -- he’d fallen asleep as they were arguing. The noise wakes Reggie, whose head was lolling against his amp. “I didn’t do it!” he yells, flailing into sitting up straight. 

Julie clears her throat and turns back to the keyboard, stretching her hands over the keys. “You’re, uh --” she says, glancing at Luke out of the corner of her eye to find him smirking in an infuriatingly adorable manner. “You’re right. It should go down.” He stands up straight, mildly surprised at his easy victory, and backs off from the piano to show Reggie the chords. They sketch out the verse and Alex adds a backing beat, the moment forgotten. 

That is, until Carlos comes in to nag her to eat. Alex poofs out and Reggie dives behind his amp. Since the whole discovering-corporeality thing, they’re not totally sure if Julie’s the only one who can see them still, and they’d rather not have to explain to Julie’s dad what three teenage ‘holograms’ are doing living in his garage. Carlos delivers his message and then darts back inside, eager for dinner, and Julie stands up from the piano, gathering the half-finished song and tucking it into the folder she keeps her in-progress projects in. 

Reggie emerges in a comic mess of limbs and grins at her, Alex poofing back on to his stool. “I’ll be back after dinner to finish this,” she says, hoping they don't notice the shake in her hands as she tucks the folder away. Luke pops his chin over the edge of the couch, behind which he’d taken cover. 

“Hey Julie!” he calls, and she turns back to look at him. “Just remember; KISS.” 

Her brain short-circuits, heart tripping over itself as she remembers his eyes on her, his shoulders and his hands and his stupid concentration face. “I, uh -- What are you --” she sputters.

A shit-eating grin spreads across Luke’s face as he puts his elbows on top of the couch and pushes himself up. “Keep it simple, stupid.” 

Julie practically runs out of the garage. Alex raises an eyebrow, his gaze arcing from the door to land on Luke. “That was uh…” Luke schools his expression into one of false innocence. “Bold.” Luke rolls his eyes and brushes him off, but Reggie gives Alex a knowing look. Their friends are idiots. 

It happens again one afternoon when Carlos has a baseball game and Julie has the house to herself. Or, so she thinks. She’s lazing around on the couch, avoiding her history homework spread out on the coffee table, Adventure Time babbling on the television. She’s slowly working her way through a bag of gummy bears and m&ms (her favorite candy combination),  wearing an enormous hoodie that used to be her mom’s, home alone; life is fantastic. Until -- 

“Oh, sweet, cartoons!” Luke poofs into existence directly next to her on the couch, and she starts violently enough to shake candy into the couch cushions. Some of it lands on his chest, and he holds up a green gummy bear with a wistful expression. Julie just stares at him, still mildly in shock, definitely still annoyed, and really not in the mood to endure his moping about food when she was having a perfectly nice time by herself. 

“Hey,” he says, either ignoring or unaware of what he’s just done to her heart rate and her peaceful afternoon. “You think now that I’m corporeal --” (he over-pronounces the word, having just learned it from Flynn days before) “I can eat like, regular human food?” It isn’t until he looks to her for an answer that he realizes what he’s just done. “Oh, sorry,” he says, that same stupid-ass grin settling on his face, not sorry even a little bit. “Did I spook ya?” 

His glee at the pun, which he definitely stole from Reggie, sparkles in his gray-green eyes, and Julie’s heart, which had just started to recover from his sudden appearance, trips over itself one more time. Emerging from the shaken-up snowglobe of her brain, she blurts out her first thought. “You’re the worst,” she says, even while thinking the opposite. 

He looks genuinely hurt for about half a second before turning the gummy bear towards her, too, and speaking for it. “You should be nice to Luke,” he says in an absurd voice. “He’s so handsome and talented!” He laughs at his own joke and pitches his voice up to continue with the bit, but she snatches the candy out of his hand and pops into her mouth, grinning. He feigns shock. “That bear could have had a family, Julie.” 

“If they did, they’ll all be happy together in my stomach,” she says, eating another one to punctuate the statement. Luke laughs, and the sound has a heart-stopping melody of its own. It’s comfortable, the relationship that they’ve developed with each other. He always laughs at her jokes and is the first to offer her a compliment after rehearsal, and she loves his dorky sense of humor, even when she gives him a hard time about it. They write music and goof around, and even with the (very strong) undercurrent of romantic (she hopes) tension between them, a friendship sits comfortably on top. He’s only been in her life for a short time,  but she can’t imagine it without him. Her feelings for him endanger that, so she does her best not to let it show. He asks her what she’s watching, and she explains the basic premise of the episode so that he can understand what’s going on. 

She’s hyper-aware of him as they watch the show, and  she envies the ease with which he occupies her space, his shoulder brushing hers, their knees occasionally bumping. He slouches all the way down on the couch, one foot kicked up on the table, turning the remote in his hands and messing with the battery cover, completely at home. (He’s always fiddling with something -- a pen, his necklace -- or bouncing his leg, or clicking a guitar pick between his teeth. It’s a habit that’s mostly adorable and only sometimes annoying.) If he notices her staring at him, he doesn’t say anything. 

It takes a couple more episodes, but she finally relaxes, and the distance between them -- already spare -- vanishes, her shoulder tucked under his, her head angled toward him, their feet bumping on the table. Half her attention is on Finn and the land of Ooo, and half on the boy beside her, who doesn’t seem to give any indication that he’s thinking about this as much as she is. Luke has a way of pulling her in until she’s closer than she ever planned to be, like she can’t help but touch him. Ever since the night they played the Orpheum, he’s become magnetic, his presence a force she can’t resist. If she tilted her head down, just a fraction, it would be resting on his shoulder. What would he do? Would he shrug her off, or rest his head on hers? She watches his hands play with the remote, imagining what his strong, slender fingers would feel like laced with hers. She’s had crushes before, of course -- she liked Nick all the way from seventh grade up to this year -- but nothing so real and powerful as this. 

“Don’t you think Finn sounds just like Reggie?” Luke asks, pulling her from her thoughts. She looks up at him, and he looks down at her, and -- oh. 

He’s very close. 

His eyes always remind her of an overcast sky, swirling with unknown depth, and they widen when they meet hers, filled with awe. Blood rushes in her ears, muting the TV, tuning out anything that isn’t him. Her heart is beating so hard and so fast she wonders peripherally if he can hear it, and then that thought fizzles out with the rest of any kind of logic when his gaze drops to her mouth. He’s going to kiss her. He’s going to kiss her!! Panic and elation and anticipation all scramble in her chest. She’s never kissed anyone before, and even though she’s never asked, she knows he probably has. What if she’s bad at it? She’s half freaking out and half telling herself to shut the hell up as he turns his entire body towards her, his hand reaching up to hold her face and -- 

The front door slams open, announcing Carlos and Ray. “Mija!!” her dad calls. Luke jerks back from her like he’s been burned, eyes filled with absolute terror, before he disappears. 

“JULIEEEEE!!” Carlos hollers, launching himself across the living room at her and landing on her stomach, knocking the air out of her. Her arms come up around him automatically, despite all the sweat and the diamond dirt sticking to it. Feeling mildly shell shocked and like she’s been hit by a hell of a lot more than her little brother, she barely listens as Carlos and their dad babble over each other in an attempt at telling the story of Carlos’ game-winning home-base slide. She’ll be happy for him once her heart rate slows down. 

Luke stays away for almost a full twenty-four hours after that particular mishap, long enough she almost asks Reggie and Alex if he talked to them about it. There’s about a thousand reasons not to, but mostly, she doesn’t know if she can even explain just what happened. She does tell Flynn, who launches into a very confusing monologue that starts with her admonishing Julie for thinking anything good can come from involving herself with a literal ghost and ends with her gushing about how many cute love songs they could write together, zero percent of which makes her feel better. 

The only reason he doesn’t continue avoiding her is rehearsal, which, of course, he would never miss. She’s hoping to talk to him before they get started, but then the bus gets stuck in traffic and all of her boys are already set up with their instruments and having an impromptu jam session by the time she gets home.  “What --” she hisses as she heaves the doors shut behind her. “Did I tell you guys about playing in here without me?” Alex shrugs and apologizes, and she can’t really be mad at Reggie, at least not for long. 

But Luke -- he barely looks at her, nervous fingers dancing across a complicated riff even as the other boys stop playing. It takes a second of silence before he looks up to see the rest of his band staring at him. “Oh,” he says, the phrase ending in the discordant sound of fingernails on steel strings. “Yeah, right. Sorry.” 

They get started, but nothing sounds right. Luke rushes the tempo and refuses to make eye contact with anyone, spinning off into fancy riffs that have no place in the song they’re working on. Reggie keeps trying to keep up with him, tripping up Alex and frustrating Julie, and when the song grinds to a cacophonous halt for the fourth time, she stands up from the piano. Reggie takes a step back. 

“What is your problem?” she practically yells, stomping over to Luke. He’s been surly and unusually stubborn, and the shift from his usual cheerful, passionate demeanor builds her own stewing anxieties to a dangerous head.

“It’s not my problem you can’t keep up,” he says, and then, after watching the words register in Julie’s expression, immediately regrets it. Alex’s eyebrows shoot up and Reggie makes a very soft ‘ooooohhh’ noise under his breath.

“It’s not keeping up if you can’t hold a steady tempo,” she says, too upset over his refusal to cooperate to catch the reaction from her bandmates.

“Okay, so maybe I was rushing,” he admits, trying to walk it back. But Julie’s on a roll, and once she gets started laying into him, she very rarely lets up.

“Thank you!” she yells, the sarcasm clear in her tone. She’d been especially fond of the product so far, a song she thought embodied the perfect blend of Luke’s harder edge and her singer-songwriter roots. His sudden, uncharacteristic left turn is as much an interruption in their rehearsal as a knock to the tenuous pride she’d been building in the piece.  “And what are all those riffs you’re tossing in? You have to hear how they don’t fit.” 

“Oh come on,” he says, proud in his ability and therefore less willing to step down. He rolls his shoulders back and moves toward her, the challenge set in his spine. “I was shredding and you know it.” Luke is sweet and kind and silly and compassionate, but he’s also a musician, and a lead guitarist at that. His ego, though it rarely becomes an issue, is far from insubstantial. 

“If you want a solo, fine!” she cries with exasperation, her hands flying through the air like they always do when she’s upset. “But you have to say something so we can give you room for it!” Her annoyance has turned down the sensitivity on her Luke-nonsense monitor, caught up enough in the trouble that she can’t see that he’s riling her up on purpose.

“What, you afraid of a little improvisation?” He’s smiling now, and his obvious glee, such a stark flip from where she thought this was going, throws off her tirade. He starts walking toward her, and his newfound physicality gives him an ability to fluster her to a much greater degree than before.

“No --” she stammers, stumbling backwards, distracted out of anger by his sparkling eyes and the power in the body approaching rapidly. “That’s not what I --” There it is again, that power he has to turn the rest of the world into radio static, her vision blurring and her hearing dulling until it’s just Luke filling up the world in front of her. 

“C’mon Julie,” he says, and right now she hates his stupid smirk and the stupid way he rolls her name around in his mouth before letting it out. “you have to take risks once in a while.” She’s backed up against the piano now, her hands wrapped tight around the lid, and he’s still pushing it, strong and warm and undeniably, frustratingly male in her space. 

But Julie isn’t one to let him intimidate her into silence, no matter how cute and well-muscled he may be. She takes a breath and looks him in his ridiculous sparkly eyes, poking him in his absurdly firm chest.“I am not afraid of taking risks, mister,” she says, “Let’s not forget who performed in front of her entire school to get back into the music program --” 

“My idea,” he scoffs, not backing up. Why isn’t he backing up.

“Or who fronts a band of actual ghosts!” she continues, her voice increasing in volume again, and the speed of her heart tripping over itself could be from the argument or the boy who’s collarbones are less than a foot from her face. Both are entirely possible. 

“Less ghost now,” he reminds her, tilting his head, his weight leaned one one leg, his hand resting on the head of his guitar, relaxed when they’re supposed to be arguing. 

“You just get to poof out after we perform!” she says, only about two-thirds of her mind still focused on the fight itself, the other third completely wrapped up in the feeling of Luke in front of her. “I’m the one who has to stick around and ask questions!” 

“So you’re saying you take chances,” he says, diabolically diplomatic instead of challenging. He leans forward, putting his hands on the piano behind her, caging her in with his arms. She refuses to back down again, even though his face is now inches from hers. “You’d take a leap of faith?” 

“Yeah,” she says, only half-certain, because she’s not totally sure they’re still talking about music, and her heart is in the base of her throat and her stomach is somewhere around her shoes, and suddenly her hands are sweating when they definitely weren’t a minute ago. This definitely isn’t an argument about the song anymore. 

“Oh yeah?” he says, and there’s the challenge again, except this one sounds more like a dare, and he’s definitely looking at her lips this time, not even trying to be subtle about it, and her hands are braced on his forearms and when did they get there? And Luke is warm and when she looks up, his eyes are on hers, and despite all that bravado and provocation there’s still a question there, and all she would have to do to answer is lift up on her toes and finally, finally press her lips against his, and -- 

Alex coughs. The oxygen goes out of the room like someone opened an airlock, and Julie feels herself sink, just barely, back down on her heels. The world fills back in, colors and sounds suddenly too bright, too abrasive. Tearing her eyes off Luke, she glances over his shoulder to where Reggie and Alex are, still with their instruments, watching them intently. Alex looks politely put out, his eyebrows tilted up with incredulity, like he's asking if they seriously just made him watch that. Reggie, on the other hand, hides nothing in his expression, shock and amusement there in equal parts as he glances between Alex and the two of them still tucked close against the piano, jaw askance in a surprised smile. 

"Are you done?" Alex asks, in a tone that sounds less like a question. "It’s not that I mind…" he gestures between the two of them with a drumstick. "This, but like, time and place, dude." He's not talking to Julie. Luke clears his throat, appropriately chastised, but still looking smug as shit. 

"Um, sorry," she mutters as he returns to his spot next to his amp. 

Alex shrugs. "Not your fault," he says, "from the top?" 

"Uh," she says, frozen for a moment in embarrassment and confusion. She looks to Alex, and he gives her one of his soft, kind smiles, the sort that makes her feel like everything is going to be okay. “Right, okay,” she finishes, as her hands twitch and she settles back into her body. Rushing back around to the bench, she flexes her hands over the keys, curling them into fists and then back out again when they tremble. “From the top.” 

The rehearsal goes -- okay, after that. The magic is missing; therefore, while she usually feels inspired and courageous and empowered walking out of the garage, she just feels exhausted and drained. She eats dinner with her family, and her dad definitely notices that she’s uncharacteristically quiet, but saves asking about it until after Carlos is safely sequestered with his iPad. “How ya doin, kiddo?” he asks as she helps him clear up the dishes. “Everything okay?” 

Julie looks at her dad with mild alarm, wondering what exactly he knows. He does his best, he really does, but it took him a while to even notice she was in a band. Not to mention, he still believes they’re holograms. “Um,” she says convincingly. “Yeah?” 

He smiles kindly, in the way that means he’s very politely calling bullshit. “Alright, mija. What’s going on?” 

Heaving a sigh, Julie keeps her eyes on the dishwasher she’s loading, trying her best to plan an escape route out of this conversation. “I promise, Dad,” she says, “It’s nothing.” and then, what she thinks are the magic words. “Boy stuff.” 

But Ray’s been prepping for this, had conversations with Rose about it before she passed, while the cancer slowly ate her alive. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to be there for her daughter through the time in her life a girl needs her mother the most, and she wasn’t about to let him hide behind toxic masculinity and leave Julie to figure it out on her own. “Okay,” Ray says, trepidation clear in his voice but also not unwilling to approach the topic. “What’s his name?” 

Julie almost drops the pot she’s scrubbing. “Does it matter?” she asks, her voice crawling up several octaves. 

“Just trying to learn who is in my daughter’s life,” he answers diplomatically, sitting down at the counter to make it clear he’s not letting her out of this one easily. 

“I promise, Dad,” she says, doing her best to frantically dodge the interrogation she knows is coming, regretting she brought it up at all, cursing herself for being so obvious. “It’s dumb. You don’t even know him.” 

Ray nods slowly, pretending to believe her. Julie goes after the pot a little harder, because maybe if she just finishes the dishes she can go upstairs and bury herself in her bed and not have to have this conversation anymore. “It’s not that guitarist, is it?” he asks, and her spine goes stiff as a ramrod. Ray’s her dad, but he’s not blind. He’s seen the way they look at each other when they perform, the way the boy follows her around the stage like a puppy, desperate for her attention, disappointed when she jams with the other members of their band and not him. He’s an excellent musician, but Ray knows too many stories of near-legends gone sour with misdirected young love. 

“No!” Julie cries immediately in an obvious lie. “Of course not!” She turns, half-laughing, explanations falling out of her mouth “We’re just friends,” she insists, lacing her fingers in front of her and nodding exaggeratedly. “Just friends. Only friends. Uh-huh. Friends. And!” she continues, gesturing widely, “he doesn’t even live here! So that… wouldn’t even make sense!” she laughs awkwardly. “So no way. That it’s him. No way it’s him.” 

Ray sighs out a laugh that Julie’s too panicked to hear and leans forward on his elbows. “Alright, nina. Just be careful, okay?” She’s nodding along, edging her way towards the stairs. “You and your band…” She looks like Rose, in that hoodie that practically swallows her, hair piled messily on top of her head. Her mom was also a terrible liar, he remembers fondly. “You have something special. Don’t throw that away for a boy.” 

Julie nods rapidly and then bolts, thundering up the stairs before throwing her bedroom door closed behind her and diving headfirst onto her bed, burying herself in decorative pillows. How does everyone  know?? First Flynn and then Reggie and Alex and now her dad? Is she that obvious? (Um, yes.) She flops onto her back, staring up at the colorful tapestries slung across her ceiling, the string lights and posters and art. Usually, she loves her room, the feeling of her creative mind as a space she can inhabit, exploring her heart and the things she loves without having to shut out the outside world. But tonight, she feels trapped in her own head, so she grabs her notebook and squeezes out the window, perched on the roof outside her room. 

The evening air is cool and crisp, the gentlest bite warning the oncoming winter, as much as there is a winter in LA. She spends a while scribbling down half-baked lyric ideas and doodling angry black scribbles around the edges of the pages when nothing comes out right. It’s harder to write on her own, now, without the steady pulse of Luke’s genius behind her, the electricity that flows between them as they create impeccable harmonies. Sometimes, it feels like music belongs to the both of them together, a joined force, like they’ve given up their individual melodies for something greater. It’s thrilling and terrifying all at once. 

Eventually, she just ends up holding the notebook open to ‘Perfect Harmony’ with one hand, the other arm wrapped around her legs, her chin propped on her knees. She still hasn’t shown it to Luke, afraid of how real it feels, how clear it makes her feelings for him. Also, it’s a ballad, which they haven’t even approached yet, and she has no idea how Reggie and Alex will feel about such an explicitly romantic duet. She’s thinking that maybe she might be able to vague it up, maybe even make it a solo piece, when Luke appears next to her, like thinking about him draws him to her. (Which might actually be true -- she hasn’t examined that very closely.) 

“Hey!” he says cheerfully, all awkwardness from the evening’s rehearsal ostensibly disappeared. He plucks the notebook out of her hand, using the other arm to hold back her immediate demands for its return. “New stuff?” he asks. This is not normally such a grievous invasion of privacy. Ever since they started writing together, their songwriting journals have become common property, and half the pages in hers are marked up with his handwriting and vice versa. 

“It’s not ready yet!” she cries, pushing against the (stupidly strong) arm he has across her collarbone, willing to climb bodily over him to snatch the notebook back. Luke’s face very slowly falls as he reads it, the lyrics sinking in, and her protests trail off as she stops scrambling to grab it out of his hands. 

He stands suddenly, pacing across the roof. “Did you --” he starts, breathing shallowly, his tongue tucking his teeth between his lips, nostrils flaring before he speaks again. “Why did you copy this out of my songbook?” It’s not accusatory, only a question, born of true confusion. 

“I didn’t,” Julie replies without skipping a beat, equally baffled. 

“I wrote this after the garage party,” he says. “How is it in your notebook?” 

“I wrote it at school before the garage party,” she replies, doing her best to keep down the memory of the Luke in her imagination and the song coming to her fully formed in the form of a Patrick Swayze-esque daydream. She didn’t even tell Flynn about that part. 

“At school…” Luke repeats, studying the lyrics with a furrow between his eyebrows, and as much as Julie is also reeling from shock at the mystery, it’s kind of adorable to watch him try and solve it. “This doesn’t make sense,” he says, looking up at her, signature grumpy expression in place. He tilts the notebook flat, like he’s presenting it to her, hoping she has the next steps. Like he’s reached his conclusion, and it’s that he’s confused. 

“It doesn’t,” she says, and it comes out as half a laugh unintentionally, just looking at his ridiculous, adorable face. 

“Why are you laughing?” he demands with exasperated urgency. “This is super weird!” He rushes over and collapses next to her, a mess of flannel and limbs and beautiful dumbass. He shoves the notebook back into her hands as she folds her legs underneath her, relinquishing her grip on her knees. 

“Yeah,” she sighs, unable to wipe the grin from her face. “Yeah, it is.” Luke looks like he wants to ask her what she’s smiling at, but then he starts smiling, too, because her happiness is his happiness. Julie’s already past the strange coincidence, lost in the joy of his gray-green eyes and the feeling of him next to her. She’s too used to strange, to the ever-changing rules of the afterlife and the constant uncertainty that Luke and her boys bring to her life. Yes, it’s strange, but she’s in a ghost band and her crush is dead and still manages to look at her like that so she has a certain level of perspective when it comes to things like this. 

“What are you --” Luke tries to say, but her eyes are on his and they’re warm and brown and kind and he’s finding it a little hard to form sentences. 

“This is ridiculous,” she says, and he’s nodding without knowing what he’s agreeing to. “We wrote the same song on the same day,” she laughs, and he nods again, half-listening, half lost in her. She’s excited now, about the possibility brought on by magic and her connection -- their  connection -- souls tied together with passion and music and love. “That’s impossible!” It cements something for her, the feeling of coming together, of sliding into place. They’re so solid, tight, together, on the same wavelength… musicians have put it a thousand ways throughout the years, to communicate the feeling of a co-writer, a bandmate, a partner, reading your mind, singing the next line, playing the next riff that was just in your head. Julie and Luke get the added bonus of being inexplicably spiritually linked. Nothing can break that, or replace it. She’s not scared of it, anymore. 

“Impossible,” he echoes. He always feels a little bit stronger, a little more alive whenever he’s with Julie like this, just the two of them, hanging out or writing music, and he’s in her immediate proximity, soaking in the warmth of her brown skin and brown eyes and the chaotic energy of her wild, incredible hair. She pulls him in, without knowing the power she holds or the light that she emits, casting a golden glow over everything around her. 

“Luke,” she says, and he tunes back in, realizing that he’s steadily leaning toward her as they sit on the roof, Julie cross-legged, Luke angled toward her, one leg stretched out, his elbow propped on his other knee. “Are you listening?” 

“Um,” he swallows, “Yeah?” but he’s looking at her lips, not her eyes, and he’s thinking about kissing her, just once, just to see what she tastes like, remembering the smell of gummies and m&ms, hoping she’ll be just as sweet. She doesn’t say anything, mostly because she forgot what she was going to say in the first place, watching his eyes watch her mouth, breathing him in. He’s too close again, closer than any friend or bandmate should be, and there’s no mic between them, and the door to her room is closed, and there’s no bandmates or brothers or dads, and her heart pounds in her chest. 

When she tilts her chin towards him, she feels ready, finally, knowing what he means to her. Only a breath separates them, but they both stop, waiting for the inevitable interruption, the door slamming open, or someone calling up from the yard below, but it doesn’t come. Realizing what they’re both waiting for, they breathe out a simultaneous laugh, their foreheads dropping together. The tension fades, and Julie’s smile feels uncontainable, demanding every inch of her face as this beautiful, goofy, genus, talented boy adores her while she sits there, falling in love with him. 

It’s easier, this moment, than the one before, because it feels less laden with the weight of someone pulling away, unsure or unwanting. This moment is comfortable, joyful, the two of them acknowledging every minute of want and disappointment and hilarious misfortune over the past few days, acknowledging what they would have asked for instead. And when Luke finally reaches up, pulling her in gently with his hand on her neck, his thumb sliding over her jaw, it’s with confidence and tenderness, reassured that she wants this, too. Julie leans easily into the touch, and when their lips meet, the spark and rush is better than any performance, any screaming crowd drowning in lights. They kiss each other, moving together, leaning in as one, harmony made in the movement of mouths and the press of lips, and this moment -- it’s perfect. 

#jatp #juke #julie and the phatoms #julie x luke #luke x julie #jatp fic #julie and the phantoms fic #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #my stuff #homebodynobody #julie molina #luke patterson

[liya4kar]

Liyada’s Fics Masterpost

It was time I wrote a Fic Masterpost.

So for everyone who is interested by my fics, firstly I invit you on my AO3 where you can litteraly find everythng, especially since I don’t post the fics directly on Tumblr. 

And if you want the details, here we go!

Also here the plan, because the post is really long lmao-

I/ Pokespe

1. Multi-chap fics

a) Three Years

b) The Magical Dexholders

2. AUs

a) Yorozuya no Lack-chan

b) Legendary Dexholders

c) Blonde Family

d) Yokai AU

3. Stand-alone OS and Drabbles

a) OS

b) Drabbles

II/ Other fandoms

a) Champion (Marvel)

I/ Pokespe

1. Multi-Chap Fics

a) Three Years

This one is my baby, the one I had been working on for 2 years and a half, the one I progressed the more in, and also the one I haven’t updated in a year even if I have 6 chapters ready to post, cause I’m lazy af. Also the ones where you can very easily see how much my writing progressed since I started writing for Pokéspe.

Warning: Graphic Description of Violence, Major Character Death (though this one is complicate and don’t fully apply)

Genre: Angst, Adventure.

Words Count: 69,567

Statut: In Progress

Characters: The whole Spe cast up to SM.

Relationship: Background Frantic, Entourage, Agency and Laverree, a lot of other friendships.

Summary: Some secrets should never be revealed. Or should they?

After a strange explosion, X and Y fear the apparition if a new threat for Kalos, and decide to get themselves implicate. But things are not as simple as they look, and nothing will go the way they want. And as those attacks take bigger scales and start to involve a large number of people, they would have no choice but to find the motive behind them to stop them; even if it means getting back on some bitter memories from three years ago they all would have preferred to forget...

List of chapters: Part I: Kalos

1. The Explosion

2. The Lumiose Badlands

3. Shalour City

4. The Attack

5. Next Action

6. Lumiose City

7. Blackout

8. Chase in Lumiose City

9. The Next Day

10. Couriway Town

11. Sunrise

12. Tic Tac

13. Terminus

Part II: Unova

14. A Day in Driftveil City I

14.5. A Day in Driftveil City II

15. Welcome to Unova I

15.5. Welcome to Unova II

16. The Twist Mountain I

16.5. The Twist Mountain II

b) The Magical Dexholders

This one is purely self-indulgent fic, where I basically write the dumbest thing that get in my mind. Aka some Dexholders become Magical Girls or Boys, but they’re dumb, but it’s okay because the bad guys, their friends and their world in general is dumb.

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Parody, Humor, Friendship

Words Count; 27,944

Statut: In progress

Characters: The whole Spe cast up to SM, and some OCs

Relationship: Diamond & Silver, Blue & Yellow & Gold & Platinum, Green & Crystal & Pearl

Summary:

It’s an emergency! The Darkness Power Of The Terrible Evil has invading the Pokespe world and take over the region of Kanto! Some magical fluffy creatures needs help in order to stop the Darkness Power Of The Terrible Evil!

The day Dia met a strange professor fan of Magical Boy and a strange pink creature, he knew his life would never be the same...

In the meantime, Blue and Yellow have to face a terrible threat to get back their home, but get new abilities in exchange.

List of chapters:

1.  A story is not interesting if nothing go wrong in it

2.  If you are a Magical Boy, don't forget to take an insurance for building destruction!

3.  If the authorities say that a radioactive cloud did magically stop at the border, you can totally trust them!

4.  You can’t be a protagonist if you don’t have an ultimate move, a dark past or a secret identity!

5.  No matter how good it looks on TV, sh*t stay sh*t!

6.  An homage to a work becomes a fanfiction when it becomes an important part of the plot, you moron!

7. If you update on the 1st April everyone's gonna believe it's a joke, even if it isn't, so update on the 31st March!

2. AUs

Those fics are not multi-chap fics, but more like OS and drabbles that are related between each others.

a) Yorozuya no Lack-chan

Heavily inspired by Gintama, AU where Lack did not get back in Interpol and started doing odd jobs instead. Serie of Drabbles.

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Parody, Humor, Friendship

Characters: Lack-Two, Whi-Two, X, Sun

Relationship: Lack-Two & Whi-Two, Lack-Two & X, Lack-Two & Sun

Summary:

When Whi-Two bumped into Lack-Two after months, she was not expecting him to went from Interpol officer to dog walker. And neither that he’d get her, and this guy from Kalos, to join he’s odd jobs agency.

List of chapters:

Dogwalker Lack-Two in action!

The Blazing Begining of Odd Jobs Yorozuya no Lack-Chan! 

b) Legendary Dexholders

In a world where being a legendary Pokémons can be boring, the legendary Pokémons decides to have a little bit of funs. Shenanigans ensue.

Aka the legendary Pokémons decides to become humans, and of course they happen to be our favorite DHs.

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Friendship, Family, Supposed to be comic at first but also goes on the character study sometimes

Characters: Silver, Giratina, others for next OS.

Relationship: Implied Preciousmetal, Blue & Silver

Summary:

When Whi-Two bumped into Lack-Two after months, she was not expecting him to went from Interpol officer to dog walker. And neither that he’d get her, and this guy from Kalos, to join he’s odd jobs agency.

List of chapters: Giratina

c) Blonde Family

In which Yellow, Pearl, Bianca and Y are all cousins. Shenanigans enssue.

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Family, Comedy, Crime

Characters: Yellow, Pearl, Bianca, Y

Relationship: Yellow & Pearl & Bianca & Y

Summary:

Family reunions are rarely all peace and calm. But when, out of four cousins, you have three Dexholders and a clumsy professor assistant, things are bond to be messy.

List of chapters: To be a cousin, Don't listen others confessions or you'll end as responsible as them

d) Yokai AU

What if yokai existed in the Spe universe? 

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Supernatural, Friendship, Adventures

Characters: Pearl, Schilly

Relationship: Pearl & Schilly

Summary:

Pearl had first seen them when he was four years old. And he had learned to live with this world only he could see, to maintain his balance of a normal life.

He had just not expected one of his junior to also see them.

List of chapters: Chilling Party

3. Stand alone OS and drabbles

a) OS

Here you can find the 1K+ words stand-alone OS. Links are in the tittles!

A Good Christmas Movie is Made of Hot Chocolate and a Fire-Breathing Cat

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Horror, Parody, Christmas, Hallmark Movie, Specord Winter Writing Event 2020

Words count: 4093

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Y, Sun

Relationship: Implied Laverree and Delivery shipping, Y & Sun

Summary:

Everything is perfect in Y's life. Too perfect, like in a Christmas Hallmark movie. Now, with a fire-breathing cat name Sun, it's up to her to find a way out of this Christmas hell.

One-shot wrote for the Winter Writing Event on the Specord, with the prompt X & Sun, Horror and Parody, My Life is a Hallmark Movie and PMD, and Chuck E Cheese's Ball Pit.

Celebi-rities in Distress

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: Parody, Friendship, TV Show

Words Count: 5017

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Sapphire, Lisia, Ruby, Emerald.

Relation Ship: Background Franticshipping, Sapphire & Lisia, Ruby & Emerald

Summary:

Sometimes, it only takes a silly TV show, weird games and arrogant prissy boys to make a new friends.

Or how Sapphire became friend with Lisia to teach Ruby and Emerald a good lesson.

Bonding on the Grand Line

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: One Piece AU, Pirate

Words Count: 2948

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Pearl, Cheren, Sinnoh and Unova Gym Leaders

Relation Ship: Pearl & Cheren, Mentionned Commoner Shipping, Past Pearl & Diamond & Platinum, Mentionned Cheren & Black

Summary:

In a world where Gold Roger is still an unknow name, Pearl and his crew left North Blue for the Grand Line. But are they ready for everything waiting them?

Of Swords & Of a Gun

Warning: No Warning applies

Genre: AU, Angst, 

Words count: 4209

Statut: Two-Shot, in progress

Characters: Pearl, Cheren, Sinnoh and Unova Gym Leaders

Relation Ship: Soudo & Bede, Bede & Rose, Soudo & Schilly, Schilly/Hop, Bede & Schilly & Hop

Summary:

In a world where everyone has a Sword, Bede is an abnormality who has a Gun.

In a world where the Tsurugi family is the best blacksmith clan of Galar, Soudo fails to meet people's expectations.

In a world where they have to fight and find their places, will the two of them discover why they exist? Maybe the answer had been in front of their eyes since the beginning.

Pallet Association

Warning: Graphic Description of Violence, Major Character Death <3

Genre: Cyberpunk AU, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Kanto Week, Angst, Dystopia, May be a bit OOC for certain characters

Words count: 3637

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Prof. Chen

Relation Ship: Green & Blue, Green & Blue & Red & Yellow, Green & Prof. Chen

Summary:

In Pallet City, one of the biggest megalopolis in the world, the Pallet Association controls everything. Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green decide that it needs to change.

But Green may have forgotten to mention a few details to them.

(This OS have two alternative endings because I couldn’t picke one)

Storytelling

Warning: No Warning Applies 

Genre: Fluff, Domestic, Comedy,  Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Johto Week

Words count: 2843

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Silver, Gold, Crystal

Relation Ship: Silver & Crstal & Gold

Summary:

Silver has apparently never heard a fairytale of his whole life, so Gold and Crystal decide to give him an express fairytale class. Turned out that it was a really bad idea.

Festival War

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Comedy, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Hoenn Week

Words count: 2843

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Emerald, Latias, Ruby, Sapphire

Relation Ship: Franticshipping, Emerald & Latias, Emerald & Ruby & Sapphire

Summary:

It's the summer, it's time for festivals, but with the Hoenntrio and their love for bets and contests, it could only go wrong.

Family Business

Warning: Craphic Description of Violence, Minor Character Deaths <3

Genre: Angst, Villain AU, tw: Drugs, Weapons, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Sinnoh Week

Words count: 3596

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Platinum, Diamond, Pearl

Relation Ship: Implied Entourage

Summary:

Because she was the heir of the Berlitz family, she will continue to develop their wealth and their power, no matter what it takes. No matter if the path she’ll take was full of blood and corpses and crimes.

Parent-Teacher Reunion

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Comedy, School life (but it’s still in the canon universe), Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Unova Week 1

Words count: 2638

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Cheren, Black, White, Bianca, Iris

Relation Ship: Agency Shipping, Cheren & Black & White & Bianca & Iris

Summary:

Did you ever wonder how was Black's school life? Well, welcome in this parent-teacher reunion where Cheren have some things to say about his childhood friend... 

Crimes Movies are Sad Except When Everyone is Dumb

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Crime, Comedy, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Unova Week 2

Words count: 5565

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Whi-Two, Lack-Two, Hugh

Relation Ship: Whi-Two & Lack-Two & Whi-Two

Summary:

It was a normal day for Whi-Two. A casting, a murder, two former classmates coming from nowhere... ... Wait, what?

Strength

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Character Study, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Kalos Week

Words count: 2198

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: (Malva’s) Delphox, Trevor, Furfrou, Floette

Relation Ship: Delphox & Trevor, Delphox & Furfrou & Floette

Summary:

Delphox was strong. Malva was strong, too, but Malva's had lost, so Malva was weak.

Delphox had lost too, but she could not admit she was weak too.

No, she was strong.

It was the boy who was weak.

Treasure

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Negative Spe AU, Adventure, Friendship, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Alola Week

Words count: 1649

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Sun, Moon

Relation Ship: Sun & Moon

Summary:

Sun always liked helping at the soup kitchen, seeing the smile and laughs of everybody around him, but the lunch breaks were always the best moment.

Too bad that this girl decided to ruin this one.

The Child of the Outdoor

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Character study, pre-canon, Pokespe Amino Festival 2020: Galar Week

Words count: 1317

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Schilly, her Pokémons

Relation Ship: Schilly & her Pokémons

Summary:

Schilly always loved outdoors. It was joy, fun and great memories. It was her Pokémons, too.

Professor Santa

Collab with @coppertrapinch for the Specord Secret Santa Event! (Check her work she’s amazing!)

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Comedy, Christmas, Specord Secret Santa Event 2021

Words count: 3623

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Prof. Oak, Prof. Birch, Prof. Samson Oak, Prof. Rowan, Prof. Juniper, Crystal, Gold, Sapphire, Trevor, Soudo, Schilly, Prof. Magnolia

Relation Ship: Prof. Oak & his need for a break

Summary:

Something was bound to go wrong with Gold organizing a party... but a Secret Santa on top of that? Poor Crystal was just too stressed at work... it was time for Professor Oak to step up to the plate. Can the renowned Professor save Christmas in time without gaining another wrinkle?

...No. No he cannot.

The Christmasly Idiotic Adventures of Pearl and Lack-Two, or the time when two idiots stopped an evil organization while being on a gift hunt

Warning: No Warning Applies

Genre: Comedy, Christmas, Specord Secret Santa Event 2021, Crime (??), Adventure

Words count: 5326

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Pearl, Lack-Two

Relation Ship: Pearl & Lack-Two

Summary:

Pearl liked Christmas. Really. Well, except when some (false) "Gift Fashion Specialist Journalist" disturbs all his plans and ruins his gift hunt. Why do he has to get a present for such a brat anyway? 

Screw up Secret Santa! This year, we're gonna kick some ass for Christmas!

b) Drabbles

Ok no big presentation here cause it’s only very short drabbles (>1K words)

Valentine Day 2020: Laveree Shipping

Valentine Day 2020: Entourage Shipping

X teachs incorrect French words to Gold

Crystal is scary and very powerful

Soudo and Chilly don’t like they English localized name, and Marvin is too young for this

II/ Other fandoms

a) Champions (comics)

Heat-Haze Days

Warning: Graphic Description of Violence, Major Character Death <3

Genre: Angst, inspired by the Kagepro song “Kagerou Days”, Time loop

Words count: 4213

Statut: OS, Complete

Characters: Miles Morales/Spiderman, Kamala Khan/Miss Marvel, Sam Alexander/Nova

Summary:

It was a normal summer day, everything was fine... But the heat of haze had decided otherwise, and it was up to Miles to try to find a way out. 

#fic #pokespe #marvel champions #Liyada's fics #fic masterpost #trainer red #trainer green #trainer blue #trainer yellow #trainer gold #trainer silver #trainer crystal #trainer ruby #trainer sapphire #trainer emerald #trainer diamond #trainer pearl #trainer platinum #trainer black #trainer white #trainer cheren #trainer lacktwo #trainer whitwo #trainer x #trainer y #trainer sun #trainer moon #trainer schildemilia #trainer schilly #trainer sou

[ivory-line]

2020 Fic Roundup

Welcome to the final day of 2020! I’m so glad you could all join me here at the end of a year long dumpster fire. I’ve spent a considerable amount of my time writing which is something that has brought me joy and frustration, often in equal measures. A good deal of it has been fan fiction, some of it original. I recently took a look in the shadowy corner where my WIPs reside and was alarmed to see they were wielding knives. I appear to be engaged in a hostage situation, though it’s not immediately obvious which of us is the captor. I’m not too worried about it, I’m sure it’ll resolve itself with time.

Well, anyway. My point is I have exchanged a large amount of lovingly crafted collections of words and every single one of them has strangely, wonderfully culminated in a love story. I, like many of you, have spent this year writing long form love letters. I’ll be compiling a list below in descending chronological order of the stories I’ve told this year, all the times that I’ve thought about love and felt compelled to share the feeling.

There’s a Joke Here Somewhere (and it’s on me) Rated E | 3602 words | WIP

This is my entry for the GO Events Mystery AU Event. The tone I’ve used here is different than my usual one in that it’s a bit more somber. It’s a murder mystery set in Oklahoma featuring Crowley as a Northerner and Aziraphale as an Okie. I’m trying my hand at angst and enjoying it immensely, but I promise a happy ending.

Yellow Grass, High Tide Rated M | 42,700 words | WIP

This fic is my baby, my pride and joy. Another GO Event entry, this one is an enemies to lovers seaside neighbors AU. It features footnotes and attempts at humor. Crowley builds a life he chooses, gets a cat, and falls in love. There’s plenty of bicker flirting, old married couple energy, and of course our sweet bastard Aziraphale.

Lavender and Honey Rated E | 916 words | Completed

My second ever attempt at writing smut. It’s short and sweet featuring sleepy sex. Sometime in the future in the South Downs Crowley talks Aziraphale into giving sleep a try. It’s very cozy and very loving.

A Soft Yellow Light Rated G | 1,281 words | Completed

What can I say about this one besides it’s Soft. Crowley shows up at the bookshop suffering from a spot of insomnia. He cuddles up with Aziraphale in the back room and Aziraphale holds him through the night, a soft and steadfast guardian. I wrote this when I was feeling sleep and touch deprived myself. Just a calm and muted tone.

A Little Spilled Sauce Never Hurt Anyone Rated T | 500 words | Completed

A short, silly fic where Aziraphale comes home to find that Crowley has botched spaghetti.

House Calls Rated G | 497 words | Completed

Aziraphale finds a book in his shop that belongs to Crowley and goes to his flat to confront him about his claims that he doesn’t read. It’s kinda silly getting together ficlet.

When is a Snake not a Snake Rated G | 1,187 words | Completed

So this fic spawned from a very goofy discussion on discord about whether or not Aziraphale has ever eaten snake. Here I posit that yes, he has and he feels terribly guilty about it. Crowley finds the whole thing hilarious. This is also when I figured out how to do footnotes, a momentous occasion indeed.

Matching Pieces Rated E | 3,115 words | Completed

My very first time writing smut! I spent days blushing in front of my computer screen and cringing whenever I typed dirty words. It takes place directly after the church scene in 1941. Aziraphale tends to Crowley’s burnt feet and in the resulting tension they end up sleeping together. It’s bittersweet hurt/comfort and Crowley leaves the bookshop with mended feet and a bruised heart.

Little Secrets Rated M | 2,030 words | WIP

Sigh. This is an AU I started where Crowley is a rich playboy heir and Aziraphale is a journalist. I posted the first 2 chapters and wrote 2 more and decided that my story would be better approached from a different angle. I intend to do some rewrites and when I do this will be a fucking while pining fic.

5 Times Aziraphale Discorporated Crowley (Plus One Time He Didn’t) Rated T | 5,706 words | Completed

What it says on the tin. This started as a writing exercise to practice writing fight scenes that grew a life of it’s own. I promise it’s not as bad as it sounds and the violence is at a T level, but it does get angsty at parts. The ending of this fic is one of my favorite bits I’ve written this year and never fear, our boys are happy and in love in the South Downs.

Living in Lightning Rated T | 7,015 words | Completed

I’m not sure if this counts but I wrote the last chapter this year so I’m including it. The first chapter is the night at Crowley’s flat before their trials where they practice impersonating each other. The second chapter is a love confession after The Ritz. The last chapter is their life in the South Downs. I’m really fond of the final chapter and it’s something I would love to expand upon.

Allow me a moment to assault you with sap. I am so eternally thankful for all of you. Being able to connect with people through fandom has meant so much during this isolating year. If you’ve engaged with me, or my work, in anyway I want you to know it means a lot to me and I really can’t thank you enough.

#good omens #my fic #long post #wow laying it all out like this makes me realize just how much i’ve done this year #i love all of you thank you for both reading and sharing fics with me