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the-writing-mobster · 4 months

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Where I can read your fics? They seem pretty interesting!

Thank you for the ask, love! Fic links, anyone?

You can find all of my fics on Ao3! I need to make an actual like... Official link post, don't I? I used to have one pinned but other things take priority.

So I guess I'll sprinkle the links to my fics here for your immediate viewing pleasure instead of sending you on a wild goose chase ;)

IMPORTANT NOTE — A lot of my fics are locked so only people with confirmed AO3 accounts can read them. This is because of AI scraping, obvs. TMDG is the only one that I think is unlocked since it's fairly new. But it'll eventually get locked as well.

| The What Do You Want Duology | 🥀 💀 |

(YWIW, the sequel, still lies unfinished, unfortunately, but WDYW is completed and currently under revisions!)

Summary (for those still not in the know):

Frisk spent most of her life fighting to survive in a cruel world where her only upper hand was her soul's Determination and her feminine charms. After angering the most dangerous man in her life, she is thrown down into Hell to be ripped apart and destroyed by the demons said to inhabit it. With her soul refusing to give up, of course she survives.

However, when she is taken hostage by the infamous Gaster brothers, she finds herself trapped in the strange, abyssal gaze of Sans the Skeleton. With political and sexual tensions on the rise, can these two work through their differences? Or will they forever be asking each other, "What Do You Want?"

—

| Baby Face - UF Highschool AU | 💖 🤘🏻 |

Technically an au based off of my characterizations of the UF characters in wdyw. This one is tooth rottingly sweet and set in a surface Ebbott City in the 90s. Inspo was movies like Clueless & the documentary Kid 90. I actually loved this story so much I completely reworked it and turned it into an original novel.

Important to note that this fic isn't really a romance. It's more about platonic love and friendships than it is about Frans romance.

Summary:

Seniors should not date freshmen. No matter what. Not even if the freshman is hot. Not even if the freshman says it's ok. Not even if the freshman makes moves. That’s the mantra Sans lives by, and even though Frisk, one of the cutest girls according to all of his friends, catches a crush of epic proportions on him, he makes it a point to keep his distance. She’ll thank him later.

Sans is in a rock band and Frisk has a big ole unrequited crush on him.

—

| The Most Dangerous Game | 💙 🔪 💔 |

The dreaded serial killer dead dove fic we've all been raving about recently!!!

It's important to note that this one isn't a romance. They are (albeit obsessive) enemies through and through.

Summary:

Frisk Starling should've been used to cases like these. After all, it was her duty to investigate. Give the victims their voice back, catch the sick freak who did it and give the broken families the justice she couldn’t have for herself.

That is until a string of murders throughout the tristate area begin to appear. Women used like toys, mutilated and disposed of for the cops and journalists to find with only the tiniest slivers of useless evidence and the glaring fact that all the women...

Every…

Single…

One…

Look almost exactly like her… Frisk begins to wonder if maybe… the monster she's hunting down has turned her into the hunted.

And God, does she make the most exhilarating, delicious prey yet…

—

Honorable mention One Shots:

| The Witch, The Judge & the 3 Card Gamble | ♠️♥️♣️ |

Probably my best prose ever. Genuinely.

Summary:

After suffering a gruesome bullet to the ribs, the vengeful Witch hovers over a dying fire, praying her campsite isn’t spotted by vagabonds who’d surely make her pay for existing…

But as a shadow blots out the stars if not for the two red pricks of light glaring her down, she fears her true nightmares have come to claim her after all; The Grim Reaper, the judge of her fate.

And she doesn’t like her odds.

—

| We'll See - Christmas Rom Com | 🎄 💕 |

I wrote this as a secret Santa present to @themsource. It is very cute and fucking funny if I do say so myself. It puts the comedy in Romantic Comedy.

Summary:

Sans has some inhibitions about Christmas, clouded with cynicism and bitterness. But if there's anyone to make him have a change of heart, it's Frisk; Ebbot City's own Little Miss Mother Teresa.

—

☣️ HONORABLE MENTION SMUT ONE SHOTS ☣️

| French Kisses | Smut | 🫧💓 |

Summary: Sans has landed a well-paying position as a senior accountant and Frisk has a few ideas on how to reward him — one of those ideas involves a French Maid dress.

| The Librarian's Assistant | Smut | 📚💓 |

This one was pretty steamy...

Summary: Frisk's days working as a librarian can get pretty quiet and repetitive... Until a new patron with an obvious infatuation with her starts becoming a regular visitor.

Eventually she can't help herself...

I hope you are satisfied with my thorough answer! If you do end up reading, I'd love to hear from you again on your thoughts! 🫶🏻🫶🏻

‼️ Also — join my discord for readily available updates and fun discussion! DM me for the invite since those invite links expire ‼️

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lotr-sesa · 4 months

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Lord of the Rings Secret Santa 2023 Masterlist!

To date, we have FORTY stories and two pieces of fanart. The mods would like to thank all the writers and the pinch hitters, and also extend a special heartfelt thanks to those who filled prompts without signing up with prompts of their own. Thank you! ❤️

All the links in the masterlist go directly to the work on AO3. Go, read and enjoy, and please don't forget to leave kudos! And if you received something, please thank your writer or artist!

A long Journey Home by Plant_Murderer for octopus_fool

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationships: Éomer & Théodred, Éowyn & Théodred, Théoden & Théodred, Thèodred/OC

Characters: Théodred, Gríma, Théoden

Summary: Thèodred, now older and called Aldred, thinks back on the events that led him to be mocked and scorned in the home of his birth as he rides through night to get home.

A star docks at Balar by Kirta for Plant_Murderer

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Elrond & Elros & Elwing, Eärendil/Elwing

Characters: Elwing, Elrond, Elros, Eärendil

Summary: Vingilot docks at the Isle of Balar near the end of the War of Wrath, brilliant with light and the gleaming of crystal dust undimmed by the scars of battle. (in which Elwing is fully prepared to carry on the family tradition of rules-lawyering)

Aftermath by ingenious_spark for silvergreyleaf

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Characters: Maedhros, Eluréd, Elurín

Summary: Maedhros searches for Eluréd and Elurín in the aftermath of the Sack of Doriath. He cannot allow Celegorm's last act to be this tragedy.

All day I had the feeling a miracle would happen... by I_did_not_mean_to for cilil

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationships: Irmo & Námo & Nienna, Námo/Vairë

Characters: Irmo, Námo, Nienna, Vairë

Summary : Right after the beginning of everything, it soon turns out that "everything" is not quite...what it was promised to be. Námo, Nienna, and Vairë struggle with their purpose on account of a certain lack. For once, Eru actually intervenes positively. Enter Irmo, stage right... Welcome to my reimagining of canon. No warnings--it's all very tame!

And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? by I_did_not_mean_to for Melkor (Melkors_big_Tits)

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con

Relationships: Manwë & Morgoth, Manwë/Morgoth, Morgoth/Oromë, Morgoth/Tulkas

Characters: Morgoth, Manwë, Oromë, Tulkas

Summary: This is Melkor, Cílil, and my little person. Please heed the tags and take care of yourselves-this is your official warning not to proceed without asking yourself long and hard whether you really want to do that.

Anoint My Love, Under the Sky by Maironite (noxeos) for Anonymous

Rating: Mature

Relationship: Arien/Eönwë

Characters: Arien, Eönwë

Summary: Telling her that he worries for her, that he craves her full attention is selfish - not in his nature. Eönwë is there to guide them, to protect them, to fight for them. He is his Order firstmost, and his own person secpond. Manwë's Herald has no time for matters of the heart, no right to claim a specific person. And yet-

Athelas by nyctophilic0vitnir for atamascolily

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Characters: Éowyn, Aragorn, Théoden, Éomer, Daisy Baggins, Celandine Brandybuck, Elendil, Isildur, Eärien

At the Mirrormere by Caiti (Caitriona_3) for Jarakrisafis

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationship: Aulë/Yavanna

Characters: Aulë, Durin, Yavanna

Summary: Family is found and created in many ways, and a son will always seek to match the example, the legacy of his father.

Basic Instinct by BaccaratBlack for Anonymous

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Eönwë/Gil-galad

Characters: Gil-galad, Eönwë

Summary: During the War of Wrath, Gil-galad seeks comfort where he can find it. He?s simply not prepared for the peculiarities of his Maia comrade.

Berry cakes and elfling plagues by GoschateWabn for Lost_inMiddleearth (between_thepages)

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Erestor/Glorfindel

Characters: Glorfindel, Erestor, Elladan, Elrohir, Elrond

Summary: The (failed) attempts of lord Glorfindel of the golden flower to propose to head councillor Erestor.

Budding Romance by ingenious_spark for Lost_inMiddleearth (between_thepages)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationships: Elrond/Gil-galad, Celebrían/Elrond, Celebrían/Elrond/Gil-galad

Characters: Elrond, Gil-galad, Celebrían

Comparative Studies On Eldarin Cultures Across Aman and Middle-Earth by maironite (noxeos) for sallysavestheday (illustrated fic)

Rating: General Audiences

Characters: Silvan Elves, Avari Characters, Laiquendi Characters, Noldor, Sindar, Vanyar, Falmari

Summary: An artistic rendition on the various different ethnicity amongst Elves

Dawn Comes For All Of Us by maironite (noxeos) for Anonymous

Rating: Mature

Relationship: Fingon/Maedhros

Characters: Maedhros, Fingon, Sons of Fëanor, Fëanor, Nerdanel

Summary: And would have Maedhros ever imagined to get such life, a life he still felt that deep down he did not deserve. But loving someone wasn't only about whether or not you felt you deserved it, it meant becoming the best version you could for them and Fingon, his sweet loving Fingon had awaited ages for his return. For Maedhros to put back together a sense of identity not tied to the cursed stones, not tied to a bloody oath, not tied to a doomed legacy. Until he could stand on his own two feet and accept love in his life once more without the broken shards of a looming tragedy awaiting in every shadow. It's the Winter Solstice in Aman. and Maedhros' family is here.

Excerpt from Flora and Fauna of the Third Age, Volume 1: Flora by Galadriel for atamascolily

Rating: General Audiences

Characters: Alphros, Original Characters

Summary: A page taken from celebrated non-fiction author Barahir Elfwine IV's botanical guide, Flora and Fauna of the Third Age, Volume 1: Flora. This exclusive excerpt concerns the habitat and history of the mysterious simbelmynë.

Finding Our Way by Melusine6619 for likethenight

Rating: Not Rated

Relationship: Imrahil/Legolas

Characters: Legolas, Imrahil

Summary: After getting to know each other, Legolas and Imrahil confess their feelings and take a first step together.

Forged by Jarakrisafis for Tathrin

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: character death

Relationships: Celebrimbor/Narvi, Celebrimbor & Sauron

Characters: Celebrimbor, Narvi, Sauron

Summary: In the ashes, what is left?

Geriatric Gas Giant by I_did_not_mean_to for cilil

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Eönwë/Gothmog, Eönwë & Manwë, Eönwë & Finarfin

Characters: Eönwë, Gothmog, Manwë, Finarfin

Summary: Yes, that was a weak pun-ny title...sue me! Here we go, friend, I am a woman of my word. Firebird à la sauce Twilight... I am afraid I'll end up insulting and offending everyone, but that's a risk I've got to take :D

Haladriel Fill by nyctophilic0vitnir for Anonymous

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationship: Galadriel /Halbrand

Characters: Galadriel, Halbrand, Sauron, Finrod, Felagund, Celeborn

I Do Wander Everywhere by Empy for facethestrange

Rating: General Audiences

Character: Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot

Lanternlight by Empy for Anonymous

Rating: Mature

Relationship: Bard/Thranduil

Characters: Bard, Thranduil

Summary: Thranduil pays a late visit to Dale at Yule and Bard receives more than one gift.

Letters from the eve of despair by octopus_fool for Kirta

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Characters: Fíriel of Gondor, Faramir (son of Ondoher), Artamir

Summary: On the evening before riding to battle, Faramir and Artamir write each other and their sister Fíriel letters in the knowledge that they might not see each other again.

Life just over there by oakenting for Anonymous

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Elwing/Maedhros

Characters: Elwing, Maedhros

Summary: Sometimes you just have to break out of the life you live and do something stupid. Elwing goes to meet Maedhros, and they connect.

Limit Testing by cilil for Melkors_big_Tits

Rating: Explicit

Relationships: Morgoth/Sauron, Gothmog/Morgoth

Characters: Morgoth, Sauron, Gothmog

Summary: Melkor suggests an experiment - testing the limits of physical pleasure. His two favourite servants are more than excited to participate and fulfill their lord's wishes.

Middle-Earth's Greatest Tourist Trap by octopus_fool for Adsters

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Characters: Hobbit Characters, Sauron, Original Baggins Character(s)

Midwinter by Lost_inMiddleearth (between_thepages) for sallysavestheday

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Éomer/Lothíriel

Characters: Lothíriel, Éomer

Summary: It is Midwinter in Rohan, and Lothíriel, recently wed to the King, joins the celebrations for the first time.

Mission Impossible: Dragonhoard by GoschateWabn for octopus_fool (fanart)

Rating: General Audiences

Character: Ravens of Erebor

Summary: In which the ravens of Erebor would like their share of the treasure, thank you very much.

Ode to a Nightingale by ohboromir for Anonymous

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Aragorn/Arwen

Characters: Aragorn, Arwen

Summary: An unkempt stranger pays a visit to the Elven-Queen of Gondor. Neither of them are disappointed.

Old friends by silvergreyleaf for Anonymous

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Celebrimbor & Narvi, Annatar/Celebrimbor

Characters: Narvi, Celebrimbor, Annatar

Summary: Narvi has died of old age and learns of the fate of Ost-In-Edhil in the halls of Mandos. Enraged, he seeks out his old friend. A conversation ensues.

Out Of Love Cometh by chiliadicorum for Anonymous

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Irmo & Námo

Characters: Irmo, Námo, one sleeping Elf

Summary: The Valar have decided to invite the Elves at Cuiviénen to move themselves to Aman, but Námo didnt say a word during their entire council. Irmo seeks him out afterwards to find out why.

Parure by Empy for Anonymous

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Gimli/Legolas

Characters: Gimli, Legolas

Summary: A series of vignettes. Legolas does his best to court Gimli properly.

Perfect Moments by Lillithsea for Anonymous

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationship: Maglor/Turgon

Characters: Turgon, Maglor

Summary: Turgon falls in love with his cousin, almost without realizing it.

Sharing is caring by I_did_not_mean_to for Anonymous

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationship: Caranthir/Haleth/Caranthir's Wife

Characters: Caranthir's Wife, Caranthir, Haleth

Summary: Here is my tiny take on Haleth/Caranthir/Caranthir's wife.

Songbird by facethestrange for oakenting (Fanart)

Rating: General Audiences

Character: Disa

Summary: Sometimes Disa likes to go outside to sing and make some winged friends in the process.

Spinning by I_did_not_mean_to for BaccaratBlack

Rating: Mature

Relationships: Curufin/TurgonCaranthir/Turgon

Characters: Curufin, Turgon, Maedhros, Fingon, Celegorm, Caranthir

Summary: Here is my take on your beloved having a little bit of fun! I love you dearly, and I hope you'll like this :D

The Edge of Flames by BaccaratBlack for Anonymous

Rating: Explicit

Relationship: Elwing/Maedhros

Characters: Elwing , Maedhros

Summary: After ages together as unlikely companions on Elwings lonely isle, she has her ways of both comforting and haunting Maedhros.

The Egg is the World by cilil for GoschateWabn

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationship: Eönwë /Gothmog

Characters: Gothmog, Eönwë, Sauron, Morgoth (Mentioned), Manwë (mentioned)

Summary: When Gothmog's attempt at helping with brooding and hatching their precious egg ends with Melkor and Mairon discovering and seizing it for their own collection, Eönwë fearlessly marches on Angband alone to retrieve it - by any means necessary.

The hands of a healer by GoschateWabn for Plant_Murderer

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Arondir/Bronwyn

Characters: Bronwyn, Arondir, Theo, Aragorn, Sam

Summary: The moment Bronwyn touches the cursed swordhilt, she and Arondir are whisked away to the battle at Weathertop, where another cursed blade has just done it's damage.

The quest for a book by GoschateWabn for Anonymous

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Ori /Original Female Character(s)

Characters: Ori, Original Female Character(s)

Summary: In which Ori makes a friend at the library.

These Our Braided Lives by sallysavestheday for Anonymous

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Gimli/Legolas

Characters: Gimli, Legolas, Thranduil, Thranduil's Wife

Summary: Legolas and Gimli among the Elves. The challenges and delights of marrying into the Greenwood, in a chain of drabbles.

This is Our Place by tehhumi for Anonymous

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Relationship: Fingolfin/Maglor

Characters: Fingolfin, Maglor

Summary: Two regent-kings glare at each other from opposite sides of the lake. There's nothing more to it, just cold calculated politics. (That's a complete lie)

When the Hurly-Burly's Done by sallysavestheday for Kirta

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Elrond & Gil-galad & Celebrimbor

Characters: Elrond, Gil-galad, Celebrimbor

Summary: Elrond and Gil-galad and Celebrimbor picnic on the edge of the world.

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mothman-can-write · 6 months

Text

Bootstraps and Spider Bites

Blackhill Punk band AU - M/E

Maria has been getting by on her own. She's got a stable job, she's got an apartment to herself, and all of the alone time that she wants. But she's never been able to say no to people, and everything falls apart at the seams when Tony asks her to look after his band during her scheduled moping time. Her history with the scene is suddenly much closer than she thought she'd left it. Natasha isn't fond of new people. She's got a close circle that she doesn't intend to expand any time soon, and the temporary manager than Tony has picked for them just doesn't sit right with her. She doesn't think she can be blamed for trying to keep her family safe if they're going to be living on top of each other for the next two months.

Read it on Ao3 :)

#blackhill #maria hill #natasha romanoff #punk au #fic links #Bootstraps and Spider Bites

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angst-is-love-angst-is-life · 3 months

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arrowverse oliver/kara?

For this

An old OTP I won’t lie (it’s because of a fic that changed my life ok)

The conditions: NO FELICITY BASHING. You’d be surprised how many there are and I HATE I HATE

Anyways go read this

You’ll see why I’m obsessed

#fic recs #balance of two lights #my beloved #top five favorite fics no contest #kariver #superarrow #kara danvers #oliver queen #arrow #supergirl #ships #ship bingo #asks #anon asks #fic links #fanfiction links #ao3 links

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scaryscarecrows · 2 months

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What was everyone’s reaction to seeing Jason break down for the first time?

There are three ways this can go.

Canon. The Mall. They have bigger shit to worry about at the time (hint: it's Bat-shaped and has fists), and then either fuck off out of town or end up killed by Deathstroke, depending on your interpretation of 'the Knight's favorites are missing'. If they survive, they...honestly still have a lot to process, to be honest.

2. Semi-canon. They avoid Deathstroke and find Jason later.

3. Canon is for suckers. Circumstances may vary, but something like this.

#asks #the squad #arkhamverse #scaryverse #jason todd #fic links

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1moreoffkeyanthem · 3 months

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Oh look she’s Stanposting again.

Specifically in the vein of how every time I write him, he is the EPITOME of the inherently gentle character who is definitely CAPABLE of causing harm, but would never hurt a soul. Unless you hurt someone he cares about.

Especially when it comes to Kyle.

So here’s some of the lines I’ve written across various stories that reiterate that aspect of his personality, both his own thoughts and other people’s perspective of him.

Oh boy this is gonna be a doozy.

From The Webs In The Rafters:

•(Now, Stan was a gentle soul. Always had been, always would be. He never initiated conflict, saved the birds that flew into windows before Cartman’s cats could get to them, and played guitar for the cows they drove to the sale barn. He was a lover, not a fighter, but,

There was a singular exception.

When Kyle was hurt, his gentle nature flew out the window. He wanted to punish the person responsible. Stan clenched his fists so hard they could practically break stone, he shed angry tears, and he had to fight harder than ever to uphold his values. He didn’t like to cause harm, but those who harmed others deserved all the fucking harm he could deliver unto them.)

•(Kyle let out a long, breathy laugh. “Dude, be cool. And you wonder why Cartman calls you my guard dog.”)

•(It was terrifying to see. When a characteristically gentle person broke like that, the whole world seemed to shatter.)

•(Kyle practically read his mind. “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?”

“With my bare fucking hands.”)

•(Stan was a real nice guy, but that only made it scarier when he actually got mad. Butters had known him for over half his life, but it would always be jarring to see his friend jump from his default state of gentility. When it came to Kyle, though, he was a wild card. It was terrifying.)

•(The man who did took another step toward the Spider, brandishing a two-by-four studded with nails like it was a sword. God, if Stan’s anger had been directed at him, Kenny would’ve withered where he stood, and he wasn’t one to back down easy. Apparently neither was Craig. He just…stood there, as Stan growled.)

From While The Dew Is Still On The Roses

•(“Drag him behind the fucking horses.”

The order shot a cold spear of dread into Kyle’s heart. His Stan wasn’t violent if it could be avoided. In the years since they had met, he hadn’t seen this side of him, or heard the curses of angered humans from him. He could feel his husband trembling, shaking in anger and fear as he held him.)

•(The door to the carriage opened, Stan wiping his bloodied knuckles off on his tunic. His eyes were dark, almost vacant until they settled on Kyle again.

“My- my dearest-“ the king croaked out, trying and failing to lift his head. “-what did you do?”)

•(Kyle looked Stan up and down, noting bruised knuckles. “Damien?”

“Is in the dungeons.” His husband finished. “There was some… questioning.”

He fought the instinct to sit up. “Did you kill him?”

Stan raised an eyebrow. “What variety of creature do I portray? Of course I didn’t; that decision is yours and yours alone. You know me better than to jump to that conclusion, my love.”)

From And The Lightning Cracks The Sky

•(“Don’t you fucking touch him!”

Kyle was still at the apartment, right? This person couldn’t get to him. Then again, he HAD summoned magic fire that refused to be put out. Kyle wasn’t safe.

“Please.” Stan didn’t give a shit if he got incinerated. He just didn’t want the forests to suffer. Or Kyle.)

•(Stan. His gorgeous smokejumper with the heart of healing water to Kyle’s fire, scrambling up and coming to his defense despite being shell shocked at this scene. “This guy SHOT you?”)

From Reckless By Nature

•(Stan froze, spinning around with a clenched jaw and a murderous expression. “Cartman. Jar. Right the fuck now.”

“What? He’s not even here!”

“But I AM, and I maintain the right to enforce Jar Laws on his behalf.”)

•(Above all, if ed jokes got made, even though Kyle had been better for a long time and generally didn’t care, his relentlessly protective partner DID, and had enforced that amendment. That was a bad one. Kenny knew that if Stan would’ve been around, Cartman would’ve been in critical condition.)

From In The Truly Gruesome

•(Stan Marsh wasn’t a violent person. But nothing would compare to the world ending rage he’d fly into if he ever lost Kyle.)

Lmao I love how TWITR has the most in that genre of Staniel. To be fair, it WAS befitting of the situation.

So that’s today on Stanposting! I love that sweet boy!!!

#south park #stan marsh #lmm voice: look at my son #I love him being so pacifistic until Kyle’s in the picture #it’s worth noting that all my Stan’s are BIG BOYS! like they’re tall and strong and could def hurt someone #but he’s such a sweetheart that rarely happens #like that’s my BOY!!!#the guy ever #style #headcanon #fic links #fic excerpt #my shit #ao3 #ao3 shit #TWITR especially like oh boy that’s one of my favorite examples of this #sorry for linking my shit it will happen again

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captainbobbin · 7 days

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what do you think about the concept of haunting the narrative? like a character's whole thing being how Not There they are and yet they still influence how the story goes. it makes me think about a lot of things personally, like how people who aren't in my life anymore still affect how I act and the things I like, they haunt the narrative of my life basically. (sorry if this is strange new/old thing came up in the current hyperfixation that still has me in a stranglehold that made me think about it)

SORRY I meant to answer this far sooner - I've been rotating the answer in my head a lot haha! Gonna do a read more as I am sure I will ramble.

So I wanna say that I try to make sure that in all of my longfic series there is an overarching sense of that exact feeling, of there being someone unseen that we hear about and sense and we see their aftermath even if we don't 100% see them, or at least don't see them right away.

In my Stardew Valley Withstanding The Tide series, its most definitely Elliott's biological family. For context: Elliott, the writer, finds himself having to take care of his friend, Braeburn's, farm after a series of horrible incidents lands them both in trouble of various kinds, physically, financially, and emotionally. Elliott struggles deeply with his worth and his ability and if he and Braeburn are even friends because he simply cannot grasp the idea of him being worthy of someones time, space or energy. For the entire first part of the series we don't get a lot of information about Elliott's past at all, but I really wanted there to be a sense of 'oh this man has such a warped view of himself and there was absolutely a reason for it'.

As the second part of the series, Redamancy, goes on, we get more and more information until we meet Elliott's mother in the flesh, and I really wanted it to feel like a solid heart-stopping moment. Like this mythical, foreboding woman that has twisted Elliott's sensibilities and has only been passively mentioned is suddenly here and she is just one normal human person but she is terrifying because of the way she has had her claws sunken into what is essentially our protagonist for not only his whole life but the entire story so far. I think I even have him describe her as a hydra after the cliffhanger haha. Elliott's father is absent from the story, but that only really adds to the grief he feels; is it better to have someone you have removed from your life be entirely gone, never to return? How do you describe the feeling of knowing that someone who ought to have loved you is still just out there somewhere, living their life, unburdened by what they did to you? I write from my own experiences and I really hope that it shows - the abstraction of familial ties makes a person both desperate and terrified to form new connections to people. Elliott's familiy and their mixed intentions and twisted expressions of 'care' are things I really wanted to hang over him, even if it isnt explicitly talked about in the first half of the series.

For my DQXI Open Wounds series, there is just so much dread hanging over Hendrik, but the most obvious haunting of the narrative is by that of Norberto. For context: the world has ended and Hendrik is tasked with guiding The Luminary through the wreckage so that things can be made right again, and along their journey they reconnect with The Luminary's missing friends. However, Hendrik has secrets of his own, and has been in a state of grieving for practically his entire life. Norberto, a boy he had grown up with and idolised, vanished into the night without warning, and ever since then, Hendrik has carried the weight of that very personal loss in his heart. So as he and The Luminary make tracks across the ruins of the world - ruins that Hendrik had part in making - he thinks of Norberto. Norberto who has to be dead, he has to be, he must be dead and gone, something out there killed him because he was so good and just vanished. He never wrote. He was never heard from again. Norberto is long dead and Hendrik adored him, has never gotten over him, has never loved another. Hendrik has long lost his faith and struggles with the idea of there being an afterlife anymore, if there ever was one to begin with, but he wants so badly for Norberto to be out there, somewhere, up above, looking out for him, waiting for him, guiding his hand as he marches through the land in search of light... only to find Sylvando. Sylvando, who left in the middle of the night nigh on fifteen years ago and has changed his name, taken up a new profession, and is ecstatic to see his old best friend again. Hendrik, naturally, is torn apart. Someone who mentally he had envisioned as this unshakable, wonderful young warrior forever gone has been alive this entire time, and now lives as a travelling entertainer. He's different. Vastly different. Everything is upside down. Hendrik's worldview is shaken so many times over, people he thought he could trust have betrayed him and this boy, this person he had internalised as an angel sat on his shoulder, is now in front of him, laughing at him and being a bit of a dickhead. Hendrik already has so much grief, has seen so much loss - having Sylvando in his life ought to feel like a win, but he cannot help but just be so upset by all of this.

There's other characters thematically haunting the narrative of course - Jasper, Mordegon, the other sentinels of course - but I really wanted this harsh tone of Norberto being seperate to Sylvando, to Hendrik's own focus on this boy having haunted him for his whole life. But at the same time it is him, and he's the same, but he isn't. Would Hendrik have behaved the same if he had known the truth? About anything? How would life had been different if Sylvando had at least said goodbye? Is it too late? Were they doomed from the start? Does Sylvando even give a shit about what he's done - does he even know what he's done? Hendrik by nature is a stern and quiet character that broods and self-flagellates and struggles socially, so to be met with someone who is his equal in many ways and yet his opposite, one who he has such a history with, one who knows how to love and love so openly.... Hendrik has been carrying around a ghost for the last twenty years, only to find out that its body was still wandering around out in the big wide world, laughing and smiling and celebrating while he mourned.

And of course for my KH Left Foot Over The Right series you know it's Xemnas. I think he's mentioned in every single chapter. While Xehanort was the one who caused such ripples in the universe and put so many horrible plans into action, Xemnas is the one who had such a personal, intimate stake in Saïx and therefore Isa, let alone poor Terra. For context: Isa wakes up newly reformed and overwhelmed by humanity, crippled by guilt and unsure of what to even do with himself - Terra recognises him and their two groups come together as one as they try to figure out a new life together. Memories of Saïx and Xemnas haunt them both. Again, like my Open Wounds series, I really wanted this separation of Who They Once Were and Who They Are Now; that the past is the past and who they used to be are dead and gone and they're different now, it's a new life, change happens and this is real and things can be better - but I really hope that in my lfotr series that it's obvious that Xemnas is ingrained so deeply into everyone's psyche, not just Isa and not just Terra but the kids and Lea and everyone else; the amount of damage he did, whether conscious or not, is unavoidable and everyone is living in the aftermath of it all. Xehanort's war, the Realm Of Darkness, Nobodyism, they're all fresh and still healing and it is a lot. There are a lot of moving parts in the KH series canonically and every little thing has meaning and can cause other things to happen. Ansem The Wise, Eraqus, the entire Organization, they each influence the story, let alone the main cast of Sora and co; I find the side characters and their influence over the canon story far more interesting! Saïx canonically does so much behind the scenes that we never fully see, and he has been my special interest for eighteen years now haha - he has simply gone through so much and to suddenly be thrust back into a position where he can not only see the aftermath of everything he's done, good and bad, but feel it truly for the first time in his entire adult life? It's hard. Existing is hard. Learning is hard. Healing is hard.

Lfotr, to me, is fully about healing and how vicious is can be. While ofc there's other themes and feelings I want to portray, the path of becoming yourself and coping and reaching out and connecting is my main focus. There are good days and bad days, times when your history is a little too close for comfort, moments when the future seems far too big and far too open. Again, I write from personal experience and use my fics as a way to kind of channel my thoughts. After going through intense periods of trauma and hardship, sometimes you behave in ways you don't want to, sometimes you think in ways you know aren't healthy, sometimes you find solace in strange places and sometimes you latch onto people a little too much because they give you hope. Terra and Isa have both been impacted by what Xemnas has done, and I hope the flashbacks and memories of both him and Xehanort really make it clear that after going through so much for so long that the impact was deep and irreversible. Isa's body will always have memories of Xemnas and what he did, how he was, what he wanted. And Terra's body will always love him, despite everything.

There is also, of course, The Presence in the Realm Of Darkness :) Haunting the narrative, hm....

Life is made of cycles and patterns and things coming back - but it's also made of change and things slowly, almost unrecognisably shifting until its too late. I really hope that in my writing (or at least my longfics where I have time to ramble lmao) that the feeling of the past and its effects prevail, and I really want there to always be a sensation of a bigger, wider world being out there beyond the words I write. I want the characters I portray to feel real and human (where applicable) and for it to really seem like they've lived lifes full of lots of different feelings and memories and that all of them still bear scars in some ways.

The absence of a person can be as impactful as their presence. Sometimes even moreso. The actions of one person, the presence of one person, the smallest and most simple aspects of a person, it can all feel so grand when you focus on it - and can feel even more grand when, suddenly, they're not there anymore. I think very much that my work feels rooted in a human angle of grief - I find it very tricky to write fluff you know! - but I think our experiences around sadness and heartbreak and change help ground us in reality, and that's certaintly the vibe I would like my fics to have. Even if I am writing about yknow disney werewolf keyblade wielders and fantasy clown knights fighting dragons lmao

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