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#i was never really planning to post this but i have two wips i'm really hoping to finish and post soon and
forcedhesitation · 8 days
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*wheeze* slowly, but surely, working on art of them all
#bg3#myart#wip#I want to make every tav/companion pairing I have a dedicated. fancy piece.#these started with a concept for a wyll drawing that was very...storybook! inspired.#I would have been done all the linework for these two pieces by now had my weekend gone better :/#I was violently unwell for...about a week and a half? chronic illness bullshit. had started to feel better friday of last week...#...unfortunately fate had it that the weekend ended up being particularly stressful. so the pain returned anew.#it was. somewhat better today. but still not enough for me to really be productive in my free time :(#I will try to complete the linework tomorrow if all goes well. I really would like to start colouring them!#I have delightful colour schemes chosen...#gale/illamin piece has already been sketched in a notebook. once I finish these two- I will begin lining theirs!#illamin's connects to cadence's because they're intertwined like that. but I have yet to finish planning out cadence's piece.#I've gone back and forth on who I should romance with him...the thing with any of the companions is that they are all written to be-#-immensely compatible with each other. so writing a tav FOR a specific companion is a bit hard. often the tav could fit with any of them.#hell. I'm STILL working out details of jantar and corydalis' story & characters. because I can't be normal about this.#that aside- I DO have other. finished pieces...finally.#well. I had some long before... but I didn't want to post them because I wasn't happy with them.#so I went and finished new stuff that I DO like.#4. technically 5 drawings. all horror/horror adjacent in theme.#my extremely detailed hux painting is also NEARLY done. after months upon months of work.#and I continue to slowly chip away at the big scifi themed dbd piece I've had in progress.#I really never run out of things to draw and it's a bit torturous because I never have the time or energy to draw everything...
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an-inky-fingered-lass · 4 months
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be the stillness of the moon
An alternate version of my fic, whistling static when the young learn to fly. Rated T.
Read on ao3.
He found her out on the porch, back against one of the cabin walls and one knee tugged to her chest.
Hunch proving true, Coulson snagged a familiar, heavy woolen blanket on his way out and eased the door open, letting it squeak just the slightest bit.
“Hey.”
May was staring off into the distance, the slope of her shoulders letting him know she’d heard and acknowledged his presence. She was still in pajamas, the soft, worn fabric not nearly warm enough for this kind of chill.
Phil made his way over carefully and settled down onto the wooden bench, noisy steps and his shoulders soft and easy. “May.”
“Wanted to see the sky.”
Her voice came out just below a murmur, but Coulson exhaled quietly -- relief and surprise both.
“One of those nights, huh.”
It took a long second, but she nodded. Coulson slouched comfortably, wedged his shoulder against the wooden slats of the cabin. Their cabin.
“How long’ve you been out here?” It was light, but the edge of concern appeared without his permission. It was alright.
May just shook her head.
She’d been off the last few days, snappish or a different sort of silent than usual. He’d kept an eye out but let her be, knowing she would bring whatever it was up if she needed to, and also that sometimes all he could do for her was give her the time and space she needed to deal in her own time, her own ways.
It had been months now, settling into this little cabin and building the kind of peacefulness he’d barely ever dared to imagine; enough time for him to recover his strength somewhat, for that barely perceptible air of tightly wound exhaustion that had surrounded May for years to begin to dissipate. They’d been able to start settling in, building the routines that they both, May especially, needed.
So much of it still felt new. They had thirty years between them, plenty of those spent living in close quarters and through the kind of hard years that taught you the most about a person, but it was still…different, when it was just their four walls; a smaller space, none of the responsibilities that had been a distraction and a stressor and a sanctuary all at once.
He’d gotten to hear May laugh, really laugh, for the first time in so long. He felt more like himself now than he had in years, settled and steady in his own mind and skin. They were still bound to have bad days. Always had, even back when they’d been barely more than kids, only beginning to learn what it would mean to live the life they’d chosen. May was still so used to shouldering everything on her own, and despite contrived appearances to the contrary, Phil actually sucked rather magnificently at the whole talking about it thing. They were working on it, like they were on everything else. It was still hard, sometimes.
“Wanna tell me what’s up?”
“You don’t have to stay,” May said quietly. “I’ll be fine in the morning.”
Okay, not an answer, but not a no, go away either. The fact that she wasn’t claiming to be fine now said…a lot.
“I’d like to, though.”
May blinked at him, genuinely surprised.
“If that’s okay?”
It took another moment, but she nodded. Phil tapped the blanket in his lap, drawing her attention to it, before he lifted it up, gave it a flap and wrapped it carefully around her shoulders. She had too many old injuries to be out in this kind of cold, and the weight would help. “You in pain?”
He saw her hesitate, falter. They’d had the be honest talk a few weeks ago, both of them equally as bad about powering through pain when they no longer needed to. It had taken May literally collapsing on her bad leg after pushing it for weeks for that to happen.
“Some,” May said finally, and Phil breathed out another little bit of worry. “Just stiff. I’ll take care of it later.”
Phil gave the blanket another pointed flick until she bundled herself up more securely, a little of the tension bleeding off her shoulders as she did. They had a few hot water bottles bundled up in one of the kitchen cupboards. He doubted she’d be up for a massage any time soon, but he could go dig those out in a bit, boil some water. As much as he wanted to, he knew better than to suggest going inside just yet.
The stars were bright, this far away from any light pollution. May loved it out here, despite the cold, the endless depth of the sky stretching on and on and on. Phil squinted habitually at his watch (he wasn’t wearing one) and then up at the moon, digging up rusty memories and figuring about three a.m., the angle of the waning crescent.
Pine was sweet in the air. It was still so easy to remember a world cracked apart. Phil swallowed against swelling relief, not for the first time, the reminder of more than he could have ever wished for.
May exhaled softly, letting something go. Phil took the cue and broke the silence, taking a leap.
“You went to see Robin and Polly today?”
May shook her head. “Didn’t go. Drove halfway there and turned around. I called Polly to apologize, made up some excuse, I don’t know.”
Oh. “You didn’t say anything.”
“Couldn’t.”
Phil took a slow breath, making sure he would sound the way he wanted to. “Daisy’s not upset with you, you know.”
There was a long, trembling pause. May’s voice was quiet, when she finally spoke. “She has every right to be. It was stupid of me to yell.”
Their pseudo-daughter (when had it gotten so easy to think of her like that?) was sound asleep in the little room off the hall (officially declared hers whenever she wanted it), here to stay with them the two weeks until Mack called her in to report for her new team’s first official mission. May had come home struggling, hiding it well enough that even he’d missed it at first, and it had been over…nothing, really. Daisy had stared after May’s retreating back with nothing but concern, reading the real reasons for her old mentor’s sudden lashing out in her rigid stride, the harsh lines of her back and shoulders. She knew May so much better than Phil thought either of them realized, these days.
He took another breath, still tempering his tone. “Stupid is the idea that you don’t deserve to be loved.”
May actually startled, turning around to stare at him with a look that tried its hardest to be a glare but fell quite a ways short. “I…what?”
Phil shrugged, keeping the movement gentle and easy despite the ache pulling tight in his chest. “C’mon, May. It’s not like I don’t have some idea of what’s going through your head. But it’s stupid. And I’ll keep saying so ‘til you believe me.”
“This isn’t about…” May closed her eyes with a growl, letting her head thud back against the paneled walls. “I don’t know how to do this, Phil.”
“Do what?”
“Live. Like this. Just be, I don’t know, a person. ”
“May…”
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” May turned to stare at him, implacable. “I’m not the person I want to be, not… I’m working on it, but it’s not worth it if I’m hurting you— if I’m hurting everyone along the way.”
Phil shook his head, bewildered. “Where is this coming from?”
May just shook her head.
“Is this about--”
“It’s not about anything,” May snapped. He just blinked at her. There’d been no real heat in it.
May shook her head and looked away, propping an elbow on her good knee and letting her shoulders slump, palm bracing her forehead. Phil could feel her retreating, slipping farther and farther away.
He sighed and scooted closer before he could think for too long about it, rubbing a hand softly up and down the length of her spine. May wasn’t tense, didn’t flinch. Phil exhaled softly.
“Hey.”
May leaned slowly against him, her head still bowed, and he shifted to better settle her weight against his shoulder, breathing gentle and steady.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
He shook his head, knowing she could feel it. “What’s eating at you?”
It’d been so long that the unspoken things just kind of spoke for themselves. May’s snappishness over the past few days hadn’t been the kind of snappish she got when she was pissed about something -- this sort of scattered lapse in control was the exact opposite of shutting down, of keeping everything contained the way she was wont to do. She was doing her best to let him in now because she was in a place to accept support without depending on it, because grounded and self-reliant when it came to emotional stability had always been May at her happiest.
The kind of trust in the trying had carried them through more hells than he could count. It’d been a constant in his life for so long. He’d never taken it for granted. It still meant the world.
She was on the side of the hand he could feel, and the blanket was soft under his palm as he rubbed careful circles over her back.
“I walked the perimeter,” May muttered at last, muffled. Phil just nodded. He’d noticed the mud earlier, caking her boots.
“Checked all the weapons, the locks, the go-bags. Just sat there taking the gun apart, putting it back together. I haven’t gotten like this since that stupid detail in the Alps, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Too stressed,” Phil offered softly. The frustration in May’s scoff came through loud and clear.
“With what. ”
They were opposites, in this respect. He needed time to unwind if he didn’t want to start losing his mind, always had been that way. That was why field command hadn’t bothered him, why Director would have always been a little bit miserable. The weight of it all, he’d learned a long time ago how to carry.
May could handle anything while she was in the middle of it, would take the weight of anything and somehow still manage to stay centered, steady. It was once things slowed down that she’d get wound tighter and tighter, frustration usually the first thing to break the dam. She’d never really thought that was a valid reason to struggle, either. May knew all of it, and still thought she ought to be better than all things that made her human.
“Too much, too soon?”
May scoffed harder.
“What happened today?”
“Nothing. That’s the point.”
Phil just waited.
May straightened a little, after a while, pulling away and scrubbing her hands over her face. She looked away for another long moment.
“Nothing happened. It's just me.” The anger there was a clear mask, now, something heavier underneath. Bitterness?
He stayed quiet long enough to be sure she wasn’t planning to say anything else just yet. “Kiddo loves you, Mel.”
May looked more tired than ever, looking back at him.
“She misses you, wants to spend time with you. There’s no version of that where it’s a bad thing.”
There was another long silence. Phil kept quiet until he felt the air start to unravel, the weight slowly dissipating. May grappled silently with herself, motionless at his side.
He could feel the moment she decided to speak. May didn’t look at him, the words just barely there.
“I see myself hurting her.” Pause. “You. Daisy.”
Phil made a soft sound before he could stop himself. May shook her head in response without looking up.
“I know. I know it’s just… there’s no meaning to it. It’s not… but I…
“There’s nothing to fight here,” May said softly, as close to helpless as she ever let herself sound. “Just…”
“Yourself,” Phil said softly.
May nodded. “And that’s what I wanted. I need that, need to deal with… but I’m no good to be around like this.”
“What if we want to, though?”
May just looked at him, frustrated and desolate. After a split second the look vanished; she was unreadable to him, for a moment, blank.
“May. There’s nothing you could do that would make us-- make me want you far away,” he said quietly, steady, and watched the mask begin to crack. “If you need some air, some time to yourself-- that’s different. But, May, nothing is going to make me want to give up on this. I don’t want anything more than to see you happy.”
He watched her swallow, struggle a second to speak and then decide against it.
“We need you,” he said gently, because he was trying to say, do you understand how much you are loved? and sometimes that was the version of it May understood best. “Me, Daisy. We all do. You are so loved, Melinda, you know that?”
May pressed the heels of her hands hard into her eyes for a second, dropping her hands back into her lap as she lifted her head to stare out at the night.
“I love you,” Phil said, and watched the tears well up, the way May closed her eyes tight. “Melinda, hey. Look at me?”
She did, finally, and he reached out to cup her cheek with the hand he could feel, wiping away the tears trickling down her face. May had been fighting this for so long, but now she just looked at him, unblinking and vulnerable, her hands folded together in her lap.
“You’re gonna be able to hear it without crying,” Phil said quietly. “Even on bad days. It’ll take time, probably, but we have time, okay?”
It hadn’t been a hard thing for her to say, the first time. She’d just waited for the right moment. None of that was a surprise, once he’d gotten his wits back enough to stop gaping in the hall like an idiot. He needed words, sometimes, to understand, so that was what she’d given him.
It was still different when it came to herself. It wasn’t hatred May carried for herself any more, hadn’t been for a while; there’d been a quiet morning and a good hike and in far fewer words she’d told him that much herself. It wasn’t quite peace yet, either, but in so many ways it was forgiveness. He’d watched her fight for it for years, these hard-won inches of kindness, had realized a while ago that that was something he still needed to learn for himself.
May’s strength had never begun or ended at her ability to beat people to a pulp. That had never been the part he was in awe of.
Thing is, strength has never been known to make anything any easier -- not unless you’re moving house with a grand piano. It’s just a promise you’ll make it through.
“It’s okay,” Phil said, steady. It wasn’t so gentle, this time. Melinda needed certainty almost always more than she ever needed gentleness; he’d never entirely gotten over the surprise of realizing that was something he could give her. “You’re not alone, alright? We’re here. We have time.”
They’d lived so many lives, so many years spent choosing the world over theirs. Years of sacrifice, years sacrificed. They were never getting any of that back, but this was still a gift. Nothing had ever felt so much like hope to him as it did to be able to say that so easily -- we have time.
May didn’t say a word, but she leaned forwards to press her forehead into his shoulder, one arm reaching out to hold on tight.
He held her until she stopped shaking, until her breathing settled back to steady.
After a long time, May pulled away, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Eyes red, she managed to look disgruntled enough that Phil had to bite back a laugh.
“Lighter?” he suggested gently.
May grumbled. “Headache.”
She’d hated to cry since he’d known her. Claimed she had since she was a kid, that it always just left her feeling worse than before, wrung out. He’d said lighter because he could hear it, though, the edge of strain gone from the way she breathed whether or not she’d admit it. He would never manage to explain to her the relief it was, May allowing herself to unravel this far without so much of the old pain behind her eyes, him being able to just hold her without any terror gripping at his chest, so he didn’t try.
They sat there in silence for a few long, slow moments. Once the sense of ease had settled, Phil got to his feet, holding out a hand.
“Stars’ll be there tomorrow,” he said with a little grin, as May blinked up at him. “We need to sleep, Mel.”
May hesitated, but grabbed his hand. She didn’t wobble, as she stood up, but she didn’t quite succeed at hiding a wince, either. They wrapped arms around each other, familiar movements (except now they were just old, not recently injured), and made their way a little creakingly towards the door.
And paused, just inside the threshold.
A lamp was alight. Daisy’s dim outline was at the stove, but they could see her grin as she turned round at them, visibly chewing over potential remarks and discarding most of them.
“Morning,” she landed on, cheekily, and he heard May groan, struggling to extricate herself from her blanket and his steadying arm without the considerable indignity of toppling over.
“Why are you awake.”
“Were we too quiet?” Phil asked, grinning back at their girl.
“Mm-hm.”
May limped over towards the little counter and Daisy moved to meet her, holding out a mug and a hot water bottle. May accepted both.
“I’m sorry,” Phil heard her say, quietly, as he made his way over to sprawl over the couch. Daisy’s answering tone was soft, genuinely warm.
“S’all good, May. I know… but I think I know what you were trying to get at, maybe. We can talk about it later?”
May nodded. Phil smiled a little at the relief bleeding off her shoulders. She couldn’t exactly reciprocate, with both hands full of recently boiled liquid in various forms, but she leaned into it, when Daisy wrapped her in a brief hug. The look that passed between them said more than words ever could. Daisy’s smile was soft, as she pulled away, and that was that.
“AC?”
He grinned up at her as she came over, delivering another mug. Over at the counter, May braced herself against the scrubbed wood and took a sip from her own, looking up with one eyebrow raised.
“Bitter.”
From May, that was the highest compliment a mug (or a maker) of hot cocoa could receive. Daisy grinned over at her.
Phil took a sip in his turn, and wow. “Bitter,” he agreed. He figured he sounded only a little bit dismayed. He caught the pointed look May sent him. Not a little, then.
“Good.”
Daisy edged very obviously away, gathering up a mug of her own. “Uh. Don’t taste mine.”
May eyed her for a second. And lunged.
Daisy yelped, evading; May feinted neatly (Phil recognized the move and grinned) and wound up with two mugs in her hands, Daisy flailing. “May-- ”
They’d figured before that Daisy still couldn’t outclass May when it came down to raw speed, not in this case without quaking either her or the cocoa -- how that was still true given the amount of pain May’s stance said she was in, he didn’t know, but neither of them had spilled a drop. Phil just sighed. May took a sip.
“Daisy --”
“It’s just a little sugar-- ”
“This is not a little --”
“I’m young, my metabolism can handle it--”
“It’s the middle of the night--” May stopped. Glared. “Are you calling me old.”
“Nope!” Daisy said, as brightly as humanly possible. “Never! C’mon, it’s almost morning, mom, it’s like a once a year thing, we’re already up, you need to get warm, c’mon drink yours and gimmie!”
Mom. No one so much as blinked. May might have maybe handed over the mug with less grumbling than she otherwise would have. Maybe. Phil grinned to himself when he saw her scrub at her eyes behind Daisy’s back, just out of the corner of his eye.
“You’re coming on a run with me tomorrow.”
“Sure.” Daisy bundled towards her, herding towards the sofa. “First you need to get off your feet, sit, please, you’re freezing.”
They wound up all bundled up on the sofa together, sipping mugs of cocoa and tangled up in all the blankets in the house. Phil started telling stories, because there was cocoa and why not, dredging up some Daisy had never heard before and that May would have grumbled at, at length, on almost any other day.
Daisy’s ringing laughter filled every corner. The world closed in around them, just for a little while, a little circle of warmth, safety. Family.
May just listened, leaning against him again with Daisy’s head on her shoulder, eyes soft and content.
She was the only one of them who hadn’t gotten any sleep at all, but it was Daisy who dozed off first, her cheek still on May’s shoulder and no tension at all between her brows. May lifted her mug into the coffee table and slipped a pillow beneath her cheek but otherwise wouldn’t move, hands feather-light as they brushed a strand of Daisy’s hair gently out of her eyes. Her eyes were wet again, but she just looked at him, aching and steadfast in the darkness, the gentle light of a waxing moon.
They didn’t say a word. They didn’t have to.
They would all wake up the next morning groaning, lower backs yelling obscenities and Daisy’s neck stiff from being bent at a near-right angle for far too long. For the few hours of darkness remaining, they all slept peacefully.
May awoke with the first rays of sunlight, blinking her eyes open to find her family huddled comfortably around her, upturned faces washed in gold.
They were at peace, safe and warm. All of them bore ghosts in their shadows, stubborn and lingering; some things would still hurt, come morning. Light tumbled shyly through the window, growing in strength until it sprawled, defiant, into every corner of the room.
The day was going to be beautiful. May exhaled, soft and slow.
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sungbeam · 1 year
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𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 : a series!
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[7 OF 11 NOW CUFFED!] ; it's cuffing season! — and the boyz are in for quite the adventure as they learn to juggle school, work, friends, and love.
starring: the boyz, f!reader
genre: college au, fluff, humor, comfort, assorted pairings
word count: 216k/?? // at least 20k+ words per part
**note: the main plotline (the 4 szns) can be read completely as stand-alones. all other spin-offs can also technically be read as stand-alones, but some might require context from the main plotline. (all prev yns will appear as __!yn)
+ ADD THIS TO YOUR LIST (taglist form: open)
a/n: i'm very excited for this series tbh and i really hope i retain the strength to finish it 🤧 a great way to help me out tho is to blow this post up by reblogging, esp since tumblr gatekeeps the actual fics when they're published :')
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SEASON ONE: PARTY PEOPLE — jacob b.
yours and jacob's mutual friend kevin is convinced that you're meant to be, even if he only just met you. (trailer, 34k)
SEASON TWO: FLIGHT RISK — eric s.
you and eric met on an airplane, and that's where you thought it would end, but clearly the universe has a different plan in mind. (trailer, 30k)
SEASON THREE: OFF THE RECORD — j. changmin (parts 𝐈, 𝐈𝐈)
everyone thinks changmin is cute and harmless, but you know that's not who he really is. (trailer, 36k)
SEASON FOUR: AIN'T NO ROMEO — l. hyunjae
your best friend hyunjae ain't no romeo, but you're still in love... so let's hope he doesn't find out you wrote a whole play about him! (trailer, 30k)
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— spin-offs & side adventures.
RHAPSODY ANONYMOUS — k. sunwoo
you never thought your humble, little podcast would ever touch somebody's soul like it did one kim sunwoo's. (trailer, 28k)
RESCUE PROTOCOL — kevin m.
another summer break, another annual trip to the lake! except, it seems like when you and kev get there, you'll have to make some tweaks to the original rescue protocol. (trailer, 29k)
AT YOUR CONVENIENCE — k. younghoon
neither you nor younghoon were party people, but you did find love in the convenience store down the block. (trailer, 29k)
HOT COMMODITY — j. haknyeon
no matter how many times he's been to this restaurant, haknyeon swears he's not just here for the cute waitress. (trailer, __)
PINKY SWEAR — c. chanhee
you and chanhee are far from the years of pinky swears, but here you are, still lacing fingers after all this time. (trailer, __)
THE REVEAL — l. sangyeon
does sangyeon really have a secret girlfriend? well... let's find out. (trailer, __)
CLASS(Y) ACTION — l. juyeon
nothing is more cutthroat than the legal sphere, and sometimes we have to find allies in the strangest places—even if he spills coffee on you. (trailer, __)
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EXTRA/"DELETED" SCENES
section under construction.
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EXTRA, EXTRA CONTENT
— QUIZZES!
lmk what u got for a free smooch and a cookie 🤸‍♀️🥰
which love in unity boy will you be cuffing this year? (uquiz)
which love in unity boy will you be cuffing this school year? (**NEW & IMPROVED VER)
love in unity trivia !! for the main plot only (uquiz)
— ALT. READING ORDERS
if u want to read this series in timeline order, this is how it should be done: jacob/younghoon, eric/haknyeon, changmin/sunwoo, hyunjae/chanhee, sangyeon, kevin, juyeon
if u wanna read sungbeam's favorites: [under construction]
— SERIES TAGS: general series. any wip can be searched via "wip: _____" (usually just the initials, except for party people); or "the (member) fic™"
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nyxronomicon · 3 months
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CAPTURED. WITH JING YUAN. I NEED TO KNOW.
this was supposed to be porn but i wrote almost 3000 words of plot and they don't even kiss! anyway just bc i like you here's the entire wip
send me a wip and i'll post something about it!
jing yuan x stellaron hunter!reader
cw: enemies to lovers vibe (though i never got to the lovers part lol), lots of swearing, reader is sarcastic & pessimistic, mentions of suicide (falling to death)
.
Captured. It was honestly kind of embarrassing. Of course, the same fate has befallen Kafka and Blade, but that was expected. Your role was to stay unseen, to let them distract the general while you carried out your part of the plan.
That soft smirk on his face when you literally bumped into him. You instantly wished you were paying more attention to where you were going rather than making sure you weren't followed. Then maybe you could have avoided getting caught. Although he looked a little different from the photo, this was undoubtedly Jing Yuan, the General of the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Oh?" He chuckled. "And who might you be?" The iron grip on your wrist suggested this was a rhetorical question, not that you were going to answer. He just smiled, your silence answering the question just as well as your words could have.
"I'm afraid I'll have to take you into custody." His smile was almost apologetic. It was infuriating. He was infuriating. You opted to continue your silence, seeing how this was uncharted territory.
He was gentle with you despite the fact that you were an intergalactic criminal. It was odd, to say the least. This wasn't the first time you were caught like this, but it was by far the most pleasant. He simply boarded a starskiff with you, taking you to aeons know where. You weren't even cuffed, not that there was anywhere you could run to at this point.
You watched your captor as the starskiff glided through the air. You'd seen pictures of him in the briefing, but none of them did him justice. He was incredibly hot, his long silver hair flowing gently in the breeze, framing his strong jaw and that stupid smirk he still wore. Your eyes trailed down his form, noting muscles that could only be maintained with daily training. Despite the situation, you couldn’t stop yourself from thinking about how attractive he was.
Maybe if you hadn't chosen this life, you could have found someone noble like him to spend your days with.
You shook off those thoughts, reminding yourself that you weren't bound and could make a run for it as soon as you docked. You needed a game plan. You didn't really know where you were, but you could get help from HQ if only you could escape. So as you felt the starskiff slow and the cloud knights busy themselves by hitching it to the dock, you jumped off the boat and ran.
You bolted down the only path you could find, but were quickly met with a dead end and the voice of the general.
"You didn't really think it would be that easy to escape, did you?" He chuckled. You looked over the ledge to the fall below, not realizing he'd approached you from behind until you felt his body against yours. He grabbed your wrists in one hand, easily restraining you with his strength. Not that there was much of a point in making a run for it again.
"I guess I should have figured there would be nowhere to go from here." You finally spoke.
"Don't worry." You could hear the smile in his voice as he firmly pushed the back of your head with his spare hand, forcing your gaze down to the foggy abyss. "Falling would be a fate far worse than what we have to offer here."
"Is this not a prison?" You hissed back at him.
"It is. But at least you’ll live. And I promise this is better than the other prisons you’ve been to." So he did know you. He didn't just stumble upon you by accident, he was looking for you. It was no wonder how he captured the other two so easily.
-
General Jing Yuan had thrown you in a cell days ago. You hadn’t spoken to a soul since, only knowing the hands that brought you meals three times a day. Admittedly, the cell was much nicer than any of your past prison stints, although the others had their gaps in security that this one just didn’t seem to have. Even if you made it out, Jing Yuan made it clear that you’d need a starskiff to get anywhere.
You were stuck.
Not knowing the status of the other Stellaron Hunters made this all worse, and none of them knew what happened to you, either.
Not that they could help you if they did.
You sighed.
The silence of the cell was deafening.
You heard footsteps. The droll pacing of whatever poor Cloud Knight guarded these cells, most likely. You laid back on the hard cot trying not to think about how dismal the situation was.
"Bored already?" A familiar voice spoke through your cell door. Your eyes darted to the small opening where you could see locks of silver hair spilling over Cloud Knight armor.
"Did you come to keep me company, General?" Your voice was hoarse. Apparently, that happens when you don’t use it. "Pretty sure that’s against the rules." You watched the window, your only glimpse of the outside world.
"Is it?" He chuckled and leaned down, his eyes finding yours through the bars. "Luckily, I’m the one making the rules here." He sported another infuriating smirk.
"Fuck off." You scoffed, looking at the ceiling.
"Come now," He tsked at you. "You’re leaving me hanging after I came all the way out here to visit you?"
"You just want to know what the Stellaron Hunters are planning, right?" You sighed. "I’m not a snitch."
"I never accused you of such." He was so nonchalant. You wished there was a warning in his file about how punchable he was.
"Then what could you possibly have come here for?" You glanced back at the window momentarily before looking up again.
"Kafka seems to have escaped." Jing Yuan smiled.
"She did?!" You immediately sat up, staring at his infuriating grin.
"We were wondering if you have any information to offer. We can make a deal." He was completely unreadable. He seemed all too casual about this, but he was like that about everything, from what you could tell.
"What kind of deal?" You knew you shouldn’t even ask, but you were feeling lonely and bored with no one to talk to, so you just wanted to extend the conversation.
"So you have information that might be valuable to us, then?" Jing Yuan stood again, his chest taking up the window as it did when he first spoke.
"I might." You said too much. Still, you didn’t really plan to say anything more.
"Good." He chuckled. "We’ll keep you here a bit longer, then. And how stupid do you think we are? Let Kafka escape?" His laugh was heartier now. "Yeah, right."
Shit.
"You lied." You hissed, trudging up to the little window to get a good look at him.
"You trusted me." That fucking smile was maddening. You wanted to strangle him. "That was your first mistake." He paused for a moment, clearly imperceptive of the growing fury on the other side of the cell door. Either that or completely apathetic. "Well, I guess your first mistake was watching your back instead of your front." He sauntered down the hall with one last quip. "Made my job a lot easier, though."
-
Time didn’t really mean anything to you anymore. You could count the meals, but there was no point. Jing Yuan visited you occasionally, but there was no pattern to it from what you could tell. He mentioned a while ago that Kafka and Blade were gone, so you were all alone here. Today felt especially quiet until you heard the familiar gait of the general.
"I’m tired, Jing Yuan." You said when you heard the footsteps stop at your door. You didn’t even need to look to know it was him. "How long have I been here?"
"Do you really want to know?" He was already bent to look through the window, seeing you laying on the cot like usual. You thought for a minute.
"Yes." You looked at him through the window, seeing an empathetic smile. Something about it always ignited your anger again. He was holding you here for no reason. He never even questioned you about your activity. You couldn’t even remember what crime you committed other than being a Stellaron Hunter.
"Its new year’s today." He watched your expression carefully. Two months. You’d been in captivity for two months. "I thought you might appreciate the company."
"Liar." You’d taken to calling him a liar whenever he extended an olive branch. It was more of a reminder to yourself not to take him at face value.
"C’mon." He chuckled. "That was one time. Can’t I feel a little empathy for my favorite prisoner on a holiday?"
"Favorite prisoner?" You scoffed. "What kind of title is that?"
"You don’t like it?" He tilted his head, reminding you how badly you wanted to strangle him.
"Yeah. I love being reminded how trapped in this hellhole I am." Your voice dripped with sarcasm. He chuckled again, each time it got more grating.
"I brought you something." Jing Yuan was as unreadable as ever.
"How generous of you." You sat up on the cot, hoping it was something to eat other than dry rice.
You watched as the general pulled out a pair of fancy handcuffs with a wide grin, holding them in front of the window. They were intricately carved, but still unmistakably sturdy.
"You’re kidding." You sighed.
"I’m not." Jing Yuan always seemed so amused, you wanted to wipe that smirk off his stupid face. Was he purposefully trying to anger you? There’s no way it wasn’t intentional at this point. "The fireworks are in an hour. I thought I’d take you to the roof to see them."
"Pass." You scowled.
"I thought you were dying to get out of here." He grinned. "This might be your last chance for a while."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"You’re wanted on a lot of planets. That’s gotten your case caught up in quite a bit of bureaucracy. It could be months before there are any changes to your situation, and it’s likely it’ll only get worse." He lowered the cuffs out of your view, looking directly at you through the barred window. "I’m afraid this will be your last chance for fresh air for a while."
You looked at him, weighing your options. As much as you loathed the thought of spending the new year with him, you felt like you were going insane in that room. Maybe later you could headbutt him or something just for the satisfaction.
"Why are you doing this?" You finally asked, wondering if he had an ulterior motive.
"It would be a shame for you to miss the new year." He simply smiled. What a stupid reason. There was a dash of melancholy to his voice that you couldn’t quite place, like maybe taking you out like this would mean more to him than it did to you.
You wanted to reject him on principle, but he was right. You hadn’t been outside in two months and you were desperate for a change in scenery. He seemed so empathetic towards you, maybe you could even inspire him to do this again. Or give you better food. Aeons, the things you’d do for better food…
"Fine." You muttered. You could hear the metal latches shift as Jing Yuan unlocked your cell door. This was the first time you’d seen it open since getting thrown in here. He casually walked over to you, opening the handcuffs. You stood, begrudgingly allowing him to cuff you.
The metal was cold on your skin, a sharp contrast to the heat of his body. You hadn’t been this close to another person in months. It was like you forgot what it felt like to touch someone. The brush of his fingers on your skin… you hated to admit it to yourself but it felt really nice. Warm. Inviting.
He finished cuffing your hands behind your back and wrapped a hand around your elbow. "Shall I escort you?" He chuckled, his good spirits as infuriating as ever.
"I can walk just fine." You tugged your arm away from him.
"So be it." He shrugged. "I’ll note that there are Cloud Knights stationed throughout the jail, so there’s no point in trying to escape."
"Yeah, yeah." You rolled your eyes.
He tried to make idle chatter on the way to the rooftop, but you were busy taking in the new scenery. The halls were empty and labyrinthine, and even as you tried to memorize the route, it got jumbled in your mind.
You arrived at an elevator, which Jing Yuan called using his fingerprints. Just another insurmountable barrier to your escape.
"You're not listening to me." He said when you got in.
"No." You scoffed. "I don't really like you."
He feigned offense at your words. "I'm your only regular visitor and you don't like me?" The general pouted.
"You're the one who locked me up." You sighed, leaning against the elevator door. "You don't get to be my friend and my captor."
"I see." He laughed that infuriating laugh again. It was like everything you said was a joke. Like he never took you seriously. And yet…
You stomped on his foot. As he recoiled away, you closed the space between you, getting in his face.
"Is this a fucking joke to you?" You growled. Despite having him cornered in the elevator, he was still taller than you. Stronger than you. And he knew it too with the nonchalant smile he wore, even now. "What am I, your little trophy prisoner? The Stellaron Hunter left behind?"
"The Stellaron Hunter left behind…" Jing Yuan repeated your words. "I guess Elio knew this would happen to you, too." The elevator door opened to a small room.
"Whatever the reason, it couldn’t be helped." You shrugged. His tone made you more irate than usual. Maybe you were feeling defensive. The thought had crossed your mind many times in that cell, but you remembered Elio’s words. His gentle tone, his unshakeable confidence, and an intimate focus on you and your worries accompanied them. In time, you will know that this, too, is destiny’s plan.
"Do you really believe that there’s nothing they could do?" Jing Yuan spoke, unlocking the door in front of him. He opened it, the soft natural light spilling in. The air smelled so different, so fresh. You almost wanted to forgive the general for dragging Elio through the mud.
"Maybe they’ll pluck me right off this rooftop. I’m sure Elio knows we’re here." You hissed, glaring at him as he held the door open for you. "Maybe I’ll jump. Destiny is a cruel mistress, as they say." You smirked, wondering what would happen to Jing Yuan if you died because of such a frivolous activity.
He laughed.
The fucking General of the goddamn Xianzhou Luofu laughed at your escape plan.
The sound grated on your ears. Did he have any idea how annoying he was? It was so patronizing how little he thought of you. Just the idea that Destiny’s Slave would come back for you was funny to him, and you were facing a life sentence if not the death penalty! How sick and cruel destiny was to make you spend what could very well be your last moments outside with a man like him.
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farfromstrange · 3 months
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Lizzi’s Valentine’s Special & Follower Celebration
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Dear Everyone,
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and I thought, since this silly little blog hit over 1.1k followers yesterday, I want to give you something special.
First of all, though, I want to thank you. I’ve been on here since (and I checked with the archive) July 19, 2022. I can't believe that it has been almost two years. I started watching Daredevil after watching Spider-Man: No Way Home in December of 2021 and hearing Matt Murdock say, "I'm a really good lawyer," after catching a brick. So, I started watching the show, and that was during a time I was really miserable. Mentally and physically, I wasn't in a good place, but after watching Daredevil for the first time and falling in love with Charlie Cox as a genuine person and an actor, it felt like I found a reason to keep going.
I started writing fanfiction again, which I kind of neglected because I felt like this hobby of mine wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't inspired at all until I watched the show. If I hadn't, I probably would not have gotten back into writing and using it as an outlet for my feelings, and I probably wouldn't be where I am today. Thanks to Charlie's portrayal of Matt Murdock, and watching his interviews, I felt like I could do the things that I love again and follow my dreams. He's the reason I chose to major in English. And while I owe him that much, I owe you guys here on Tumblr and AO3 even more.
When I first posted here, I didn't think people would even be interested in what I had to say and write. But then more and more people started visiting my profile, you guys started following me, and it kept me motivated to keep writing, even when I'm miserable, and I sometimes only post once every blue moon.
I feel so honored that you guys chose to follow a silly little blog run by a silly little 20-something-year-old whose first language isn't even English (but made it her entire personality), and who chose to write about traumatized dark-haired characters portrayed by Charlie Cox. I'm overwhelmed by the love you continue to show me, and every time one of you chooses to reblog or comment on one of my works, saying that it resonated with you, I feel like I'm doing something right. I'm sharing my ideas, my own experiences, my wishes, and even my deepest, darkest dreams through my writing like it's a fucking diary, and you eat it up every single time.
I'm just so glad that this community exists, as chaotic as it sometimes is, and that you chose to stick around, even when I suck at keeping promises sometimes. You keep teaching me new things about who I am, my writing, and how important it is to put myself first. I don't know if you've heard it lately, but you guys are incredible and I appreciate the hell out of every single one of you.
Thanks to Tumblr, I made lifelong friends (especially looking at you, @blackshadowswriter) and found like-minded people that made me feel less alone. That alone was worth making this account and continuing to post on here.
You may think that I'm being dramatic, but for someone who has never really experienced the kind of validation this community gives me, I want to celebrate this milestone. It means more to me than I can even put into words. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I love you all so much! Please, don't ever forget how amazing you are.
That being said, I've got some exciting things planned.
The other day, I found a folder in my Docs titled "the vault". I completely forgot about it because I usually keep my WIPs in a different folder. As it turns out, I made that folder for fics that I originally never planned to post, or ones that I'd finished but wasn't happy with. It’s many, but it’s a few. Some are deeper than others. I also jotted down rough ideas and outlines last year that I stuffed in there, some of which I've actually shared with you but never started working on. Until now. And the contents of that vault are what I want to give to you now.
INTRODUCING: The Vault
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6 stories from the vault. 1 bonus fic. 7 days.
I went through a myriad of emotions while I wrote these. For some, I actually bled my soul onto paper. For others, it was merely a brain fart that led to their existence. They're sad, horny, and at times angry, but some of those were originally written for me, and only me. Those that weren't started as a few sentences in a folder before I forgot they existed. Either way, I don't want them to catch dust. And I wouldn't want to share them with anyone else.
Starting February 14th, I will be posting one fic every day until February 20th. My “The Vault” works are Matt Murdock x Reader works, but I've made an exception for the bonus fic. I won't tell you what they are about, but I will give you a list of installments and what kind of fic they are so you know what to be excited about (and maybe which ones are not your cup of tea).
-> The number at the end tells you the date I will be posting it on, but I put it in chronological order as well.
INSTALLMENTS:
1. If You Need To Be Mean (angst, hurt/comfort) 14.
2. Mismatched Bridesmaid (fluff, smut) 15.
3. Weed Cookies (humor, fluff, cw: accidental drug use) 16.
4. the grudge (songfic, angst, hurt/comfort, cw: death of a parent) 17.
5. Halloween (Smut) 18.
6. I Want To Fuck A Priest (Smut, cw: priest!Matt) 19.
BONUS:
7. Now That We Don’t Talk (Part 2 of Is It Over Now?) -> Frank Castle x Reader (smut, angst) 20.
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A few more words: You are free to send me an ask if you want to know more, but be prepared that I won't be answering in much detail. I don't want to spoil the fun. I would, however, not mind talking about them as vaguely as possible (if you’re interested).
Thank you all. For everything. And I hope you stick around to read these little gems.
With love from yours truly,
Lizzi <3
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anogete · 3 months
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Hi. Update of random shit in case anyone cares.
The scary test I was stressed over in the fall when I was posting my last fic? It was the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) exam. Yes, I passed it. The designation requires a bachelor's degree, so I had to go back to school to finish my last 10 classes. Then I had to take 7 more classes that are pre-reqs for the exam. Then I spent probably 700 hours attempting to cram everything you could think of related to personal finance (my god, there is a metric shit ton) into my head. The designation also requires 5,000 hours of experience in the planning field (which I thankfully already had). By the time I passed the test, I was no longer proud of the accomplishment, just relieved to have it behind me.
Work was intensely busy in November and December. I got little reading and no writing done.
I have a WIP featuring the Darcy/Rumlow pairing that has been languishing on my computer since 2020. To be honest, I've mosty forgotten what the conflict driving the plot was going to be. I think I was trying to tie it into the events of Wandavision. Took place after the show and had Monica Rambeau and Darcy kinda sorta working together and trying to figure out what, if anything, crossing the barrier that Wanda had thrown up did to them. Of course, Rumlow is alive and scarred and back with the good guys. And also really annoyed that his recent gunshot wound stuck him on desk duty watching the nerds complete their physicals as part of employee onboarding. Darcy doesn't want to have gym class with Rumlow, and Rumlow doesn't want to be there either but he's also kinda into the sassy brunette who tried to sweet talk him into passing her without making her run a mile. In the chapter or two I did write, the banter between Darcy and Rumlow was so fun, so I'd love to go back to it and try to move it along.
I got sucked into reading Draco/Hermione fanfic recently. Blame those damn Snow edits from the latest Hunger Games movie. Guys, I have never read those books or seen the movies, but blonde Tom Blyth is looking like the fanfic Draco of my dreams. How dare. This rabbit hole led to me deciding I needed to write a Dramione piece. It's maybe 6 pages and has gone nowhere even though I have a vague idea of the plot. My muse is struggling.
I found my old folder of all the fic I wrote in the past 20 years. There are still a couple hockey fics I haven't posted to AO3. There are also Anita Blake fics (I was a hardcore Anita/Edward girlie) and Harry Potter fics (don't cancel me but I used to write Snape/Hermione; NO student/teacher stuff though). I think I have an old Doctor Who fic featuring Nine/Rose (yes, I'm a Nine girlie). And a very old Forgotten Realms fic that paired Catti-Brie up with Jarlaxle. Look, I don't know. It was ages ago. With the exception of the hockey fics, I do not think any of these are of the same quality I've posted on AO3, but I've been toying with the idea of trying to clean them up and posting them so more of my work is archived together instead of spread over various fan sites. Does anyone have any interest at all in reading this shit? Like, at all?
I decided 2024 is going to be my book binding era. I bound isthisselfcare's Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love a couple weeks ago. I did all the typesetting with the help of some macros. Printed it, folded the signatures (the booklets that comprise the book), sewed them together with waxed linen thread, glued the text block together with some mull, and used chip board and book cloth to make the case. It feels and looks like a book, y'all! I could do a better job with lining the signatures up when punching the holes for sewing and with the measurements on the case, but overall I am pretty proud of it. If anyone is interested, I can link a nice tutorial series on TT and/or post progress pictures I took during my book binding experiment. I have to say, it's exciting to have the ability to put my fav fanfics on my physical bookshelf.
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bebepac · 30 days
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Six Sentence Sunday 03.31.24
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Is it me you're looking for? Yes, I know I've been M.I.A. for a bit, but you guys I'm really trying to upper level adult here. I have decided I'm going to buy a house. So I have hired a realtor and have started the process. When my lease is up again, I WILL be moving into my home.
Let's see if I remember how to set one of these up!
Original post 03/31/24 at 8:02PM EST
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Chapter 9: Riley Brooks's Day Off
The Series: Life of Riley Book 2
The Book: TRR
Pairings: Liam x Riley (Liam x F!MC)
Status: Still in the writing process
Since the challenges Constantine had been coming up with weekly for the suitors were getting a lot of publicity for the crown, the suitors met weekly for a meeting with a PR specialist to make sure they had the crown’s best interests in everything they did. They also passed out weekly itineraries of what the Suitors would be doing. Did it ever reveal any events they would be participating in? No, but that their sponsor would be revealing the new task and prize for that week."
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Riley thumbed through the itinerary, once than again looking confused.
“Is something wrong Lady Riley?”
“Jenna, my booklet seems to be missing a page. I have nothing for Friday’s itinerary .”
“Actually no you’re not. None of you are. Since I've just been brought into this role, I know you ladies are going through a lot being thrust into the public eye in this magnitude. Lady Riley, you for example, you are coming to us from America and have no experience with dealing with the nobility on a daily basis, and are completely learning how to navigate court successfully from scratch. I recognize this to be quite the experience. The potential reward of all of this is indescribable, but you all need breathing moments for mental and physical wellbeing. We are building in “off days” to your schedule to do what you want with it, a recharge day of sorts, or a mental health day if you will.”
“Well if you’re weak you need days off. I will spend my time training.” Olivia chimed in.
“If that is how you want to spend your day Olivia, there are no wrong answers, it’s free to do whatever you want, as long as you enjoy it.”
That evening:
“Of course, you would have an off day when I’m out of the country.” Liam sounded genuinely disappointed.
“I know I thought about that too.”
“Take it as an opportunity Riley, do some exploring, sleep in a little bit, we both know you like your sleep. Relax. You know, life moves really fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
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“You’re completely right Liam. Thanks.”
“Sounds like you have a plan.”
“I do.”
When she hung up with him, she called Maxwell.
“What’s up Little Blossom?”
“I need your help.”
WIP 2
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Part 3: Spice Spice Baby
Series: Not officially one: Previous Parts include: Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
The Book: TRR
Pairings: Liam x Bebe (Liam x F!OC)
Status: Still in the writing process
I have never required that much sleep. There has always been something so peaceful about the world at night for me. I glanced at her once more before getting out of bed. She was soundly sleeping and didn’t even stir from her slumber as I rose. A good mattress will do that, and honestly I think she needed the rest. I slipped on my pajama pants and walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.
Night time was when I did my best thinking, and the thought crossed my mind that the two of us would be able to pull off this ruse with my coworkers. Bebe really did seem invested to make “us work.” Or maybe she was invested in the paycheck.
“Was my snoring keeping you awake?”
Bebe was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, resting her hip on the frame, her robe loosely tied.
“You don’t snore.”
“And you,” she gently tapped my nose with her pointer finger, “are a liar.”
“I wasn’t lying, I didn’t hear you snoring, or if you were, you weren’t disturbing me.”
“Why are you up, Liam?”
“Why are you up, Bebe?”
She quirked her eyebrow at me, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I rarely sleep through the whole night, I’m always up for a bit.”
“Why?”
Her stare from across the room was almost piercing my soul.
“Therapist was not one of your duties I'm paying you for in our contract.”
She looked surprised, but more importantly, hurt by my remark. In a split second I had turned her into a business arrangement that she was a prostitute, that I was paying for a service.
“Oh, well you’re paying me a handsome sum, therefore I feel like I should be anything you need me to be at the moment. I’ll just….”
I had hurt her feelings, and snapped at her, and I didn’t even know why, and the look in her eyes, I didn’t want to ever see that again.
“Life.” I called out to her before she was out of the room. Bebe immediately stopped and turned to face me.
“I can relate to that. Do you mind if I just sit up with you for a bit then?”
“No, not at all.”
Bebe settled into the couch next to me. She didn’t say a word, but I found her silence and non-judgment strangely comforting.
WIP 3
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Part 4
Series: The Vampires Live On
The Book: TRR
The Pairing: Liam x Riley (in this decade Gabriel x Alice in the past)
Status: Still in the writing process
“We’re here.”
“I really didn’t think it would be this clean here. I know what you said, but looking at the other graves along the way here, I expected the same condition.”
“You know, I can be very persuasive, and keeping in contact as the groundskeeper’s changed over the years, very important in this. “
“I didn’t think they would be buried side by side.”
“Because that didn’t matter here, and since he died, protecting the two of you, his family wanted nothing to do with him.”
“Poor Max. He was such a good sweet guy. What we were, or not completely, never mattered to him.”
I placed the small flower arrangement into the vase at his grave.
“I have missed you dear friend,”
“I’m going to give you some time alone with your sister and friend.”
“You can stay.”
“No, I’ve been with you for an eternity, you have not had any time with her or him since that night. I want you to have some time alone with them. You deserve that.”
“Thank you, Liam.”
Even though the space around her grave was clean, I found myself picking up and pushing the few leaves and debris away to make her area more pristine.
I sat down in the grass in front of her grave and closed my eyes, letting the emotions of finally being here with her again wash over me.
“Hi Clara. I have missed you so much.”
WIP 4
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Chapter 17: Finale Part 4: The Wedding
Series: The Rotten Apple 🍎
The Book: TRH & Beyond
Pairings: Eleanor x Nico (Elle x M!OC) / Liam x Riley
Status: Still in the writing process
Final exams for Liberty had ensured that she wouldn’t be able to come to Greece early to take part in some of the pre-wedding festivities that Elle had planned. Elle felt guilty that Liberty would be missing her graduation from the Crown Academy to come to her wedding; her father had wanted to pull some strings for Liberty, but Elle declined, citing the importance of her education, though she did want her there.
Elle smiled as she panned the camera around the back yard.
"I really wish I was there Ellie."
"I really wish I was there. Libby! Look at you in your cap and gown. Father and I stepped away for a bit to watch the live feed of the baccalaureate."
"Thanks Ellie."
"For what?"
"Just making an effort. I can't wait to see you and everyone."
“Does that include Michail? He looked so sad when I told him you would not be here tonight.”
A slow smile crept over Liberty’s face.
“He looks sad?”
Elle laughed, “You’re clearly not about that.”
“Did he dance with any other girls?”
“Just one.”
“Who?”
Elle’s smile widened.
“Only me, when he could pull me away from Nico, all he talked about was you. He really likes you Libby.”
“You think so?”
“I know so, and he can’t wait to see you tomorrow and neither can I.”
“Neither can I!”
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saikolikes · 5 months
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Aki’s P5R  fanfic recs! (part 2)
Hi and welcome to another one of my recs posts! As you can see, this is part two: part one of this post can be found HERE and includes fics I bookmarked between April 2019 and December 2020. This second post will deal with everything I bookmarked during 2021 and 2022 (... so yes, part 3 is bound to happen some times in the future)
Here a brief disclaimer:
Everything in here is spoiler for either P5 vanilla, Royal, or Strikers;
I won’t report the tags, as it would take too long, so if you’re interested in a fic, please open the link;
Fic recs obviously reflect my tastes and preferences. For example, I love suffering and I don’t like fluff or domestic works, so browse this list knowing that;
The stark majority of the works here is shuakeshu
If you want more recs you can find them in my bookmarks, most of them are public!
MY ONGOING RECS Again, I don't read a lot of ongoing works (although, admittedly more than in the past) and these are the ones I'm subscribed to that I'm adoring!
The Lovers, Reversed by salexectria, Terra5 (E) | Royalty a/b/o AU | akeshu | series in three parts, ongoing "A Thief is caught stealing from the Northern King, and is sentenced to death for his crimes. The Alpha Prince intervenes, but at what cost to them both?" What I love about this AU is the amount of politics and worldbuilding put into it, as well as the uniqueness of double povs who constantly switch from Akira to Goro creating one back and forth that acts literally like poking into their minds. Plus the slow burn and the pining are just on point.
never die when I'm dead by threerings (E) | Royal & post-Royal | akeshu | series in 2 parts, ongoing Two one shots featuring one of my absolute flavors of this ship: sad, intense and unhinged
IDC FOR UPDATES I resolved to defeat my abandoned-wip trauma one excellent fic at a time so here's a list of works that haven't been updated in a while or the author straight up confirmed they won't keep writing them, but they are so good you just have to read them and let them remodel you. Do it. Do it now.
the year of the knife by theexistentiallyqueer (M) | No powers AU | shuakeshu | 2 chapters "The plan for Akira's junior year of high school was to keep his head down and his nose clean, but he hadn't counted on his new high school having more trouble than it was worth--and he specifically didn't plan on Akechi Goro, the haughty, machiavellian vice president of Shujin Academy's student council, dragging him face-first into political scandal and a series of encounters that would change his life." Please let teq bring you through a journey of spot-on characterization and stunning prose that will rewire your brain chemistry completely. Their take on machiavellian Akechi is really good, and the snark Akira spits in this fic is really something I cherish.
kiss & cry by MajorGodComplex (T) | Figure skating AU | shuakeshu | 2 chapters "Goro’s first thought when he hits the ground is some combination of the words ‘shit fuck hell fucking bullshit bitch fuck motherfucking hell.’ His next thought is wondering whether Akira Kurusu, senior debut, constant thorn in Goro’s side, and the only person anyone this season seems to talk about, is also trying to land a quad axel at the moment." I don't know what to tell you, the prose of this one is so witty and funny you just have to read what's published of it as of now!
honeybrains by succubused (T) | Time loop | shuakeshu | 4 chapters "a chronicle of the twenty-fourth time akira kurusu lived through the month of january 2017" What can I say, I am really a sucker for time loops and this fic took me by the heart. Tagged as character study and with rights because the characterization here is very interesting!
in the snow globe by aminami (E) | Time travel | shuake | 1 chapter "It’s your heart,” Joker says like it’s the most obvious thing. “Your desires, your hopes, your fears. I’ll carry them with me always. My little snow globe." This fic will hurt you so badly but it will be so worth it, I swear. It's just so melancholic and tender and angsty and it carved a place in my heart.
my love has never lived indoors by rhodophytae (E) | a/b/o | shuake | 1 chapter "Ren Amamiya knows he's an alpha, and he's comfortable with that, but he's pretty sure that being an alpha is, well...different for him than it is for other people. He resigned himself a long time ago to the fact that he'd probably go his whole life without finding anyone else like him. And then he meets Goro Akechi." This fic has such an interesting take on omegaverse! Paired with a stellar characterization and delicious pining, it's no surprise it's a fic I will never forget.
GENERAL RECS The fics I’ve enjoyed the most and that I go back to reading sometimes.
how joker and crow survived the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 by shntlvs (T) | Royal | shuakeshu | series of 2 works "Escaping from Maruki's false reality gets interrupted by the Coronavirus pandemic." Could you have ever imagined reading a fic centered around the pandemic? Me neither, but this one and its sequel work so well and have very compelling bits of characterization for the boys. Unexpected premise, but I utterly loved it.
straw house, straw dog by caelam (T) | 3rd sem | gen | one shot "In the saccharine utopia of Maruki’s reality, Goro Akechi’s mother is still alive." I admittedly don't read too many fics with mamakechi so I won't claim to be an expert, but this one really left me impressed with how clear and tangible the tangle of feelings is.
Knight of Pentacles, King of Spades by Naometry (M) | Medieval AU | shuakeshu | 11 chapters "“Hifumi passed on your greetings,” Akira Kurusu says, fury simmering beneath his conversational tone. “And I’m polite enough to give you my own in person. So greetings, General Goro Akechi. I am the man who will kill you.”" I started reading this fic for the war captive trope but this story has so much more to it than just that. Nao's superb skill with writing violence and viciousness will have you thrust into a cruel world where two boys seem to be bound to kill each other... unless?
Ripples by Riona (T) | gen | canon compliant | one shot "Ten people know exactly who the news is talking about, and now they’re going to have to deal with that." A peek into the heads of 10 of Joker's confidants upon learning about his death. The fic I would never imagined myself reading, but I did because it was recced to me, and now I'm recc'ing it to you, too.
When Your Eyes Meet Mine by seths_dream (E) | no powers AU | shuake | one shot "The way the bellboy lingered on him made his heart jolt, made him think that maybe, maybe the bellboy was looking at Goro the same way Goro was looking at him." I've lost count of how many times I read this fic because the horny is just so juicy, it's unironically one of the fics I come back to when I need to remind myself how to write horny stuff. (the same author also wrote this delicious pegoryu that you have to read)
a study in what not to say by succubused (T) | 3rd sem | shuake | one shot "Akira has finally had enough of Akechi's bullshit; they resolve it the only ways they know how." If you like the boys being really nasty to each other, this fic is a must. It has excellent dialogue, dynamics, and a tad of homoerotic wound tending which can't hurt no one!
MY ALL-TIME FAVOURITES The fics that rewired my brain chemistry, took my heart out, slapped it, put it back, and left me a whole new person.
27 steps to seduce a crow by relationshipcrimes (G) | Royal | shuakeshu | one shot "A handy bullet-pointed list on how to flirt with, seduce, and keep your local Akechi Goro." Still to this day, I think of this fic in terms of Goro's characterization. If I have a thing for post-canon shuake chasing each other, it's probably due to this one.
The Brigverse by TzviaAriella (E but most works are M) | Pirates AU | akeshuake | series, ongoing I admittedly don't care that much about pirates but the og fic from this series (A Brig Too Far) was being passed on so much that I gave it a try and. Oh boy. Not only is the characterization impeccable, the story compelling, and the action thrilling, but at least one scene and/or line from each work in this series has altered my brain permanently. I am a new person after reading Brigverse.
wild and free by bangandawhimper (E) | a/b/o | shuakeshu | one shot "Akira Kurusu hasn’t always been an omega. But now everyone he meets in this city assumes he’s an omega. He’s treated like an omega. He feels like an omega. He knows he feels like an omega because he remembers what it was to be an alpha." This work might have my favourite take ever on shuakeshu omegaverse, it's so fitting for them, so thought out, and the characterization is so on point... my god. Read this fic now.
The Diamond Chest by kinneas (E) | post-Royal | shuakeshu | 3 chapters, complete "Who says you have to see Morgana speak in the Metaverse before you can hear him in the real world? Not the few hundred officers who arrested Ren in Sae’s Palace two years ago, that’s for sure." Honestly everything kinnes writes is gold but I'm shouting this fic out because I reread more than a few scenes from this fic more than once, and it's a 100k-words baby. I am a sucker for heist stories, I am a sucker for dealing with trauma in very tangible ways, and I'm a sucker for kinneas' characterization of the boys.
before midnight by specterthief (Not rated) | 3rd sem, canon compliant | gen | one shot "“I—” Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Sumire sets down her chopsticks and rubs her face with both hands. “Um—who told you I was going to training camp?” (On January 9th, Sumire goes home.)" This is the stellar Sumire characterization fic you're looking for. Read this. Read this right now.
I HOPE THIS DOESN'T AWAKEN SOMETHING IN ME (DELUSIONAL) I clicked on these fics solely due to my trust in the authors/the summary/one rec and now I find myself with a new kink. Thanks.
Containment Breach by salexectria (E) | Space pirates AU | akeshu | one shot Akira gets stranded on an abandoned spaceship seemingly infested by a terrifying creature. He finds the lonely survivor of the crew and they begrudgingly start to work together to contact help and survive. I am just going to say that I clicked for salex's name, I stayed for the stellar characterization, pining and top-tier bantering, and got overwhelmed by the tentacle sex. (/pos)
it takes two by lumensd (E) | 3rd sem | akeshu | two-shots By all means, this series has some things I usually am not interested in (phone sex, degradation) but Jay is so skilled and his akeshus are so fucked in the head that now I've signed up for the masochist Joker agenda. Hurray!
i dream of you draped in wires by rime (E) | 3rd sem | akeshu | one shot "Maruki's Shadows don't want to fight; they just want to collect data. Wait, are those cat ears?" You would think a work with the tag "catboy shibari gunplay fuckordie" can't be too serious. Wrong! Excellent character study attack 🔪🔪🔪 (from the same author there's also this P5 vanilla fic that is excellent)
Darken my doorway by EnlacingLines (E) | 3rd sem-post canon | akeshu | one shot ""I don’t need to test my theory. You should be thanking me, really. Opening this door for you.” “A door to what?” Akira says, exasperated by just how self congratulatory Goro still sounds.“ Submission.” Or: I am a firm switch shuake shipper, I don't vibe with too-extreme dynamics *proceeds to go ballistics over this fic regardless*, *awakens to the wonder of d/s a lil fucked up dynamics*
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ladydorian05 · 25 days
Text
Fuck it weekend because this is a whole fic
BI BUCK IS CANON!!!!!!
I started writing this fic before the episode aired. This was inpired by this post.
I don't know what this is, but it's the first thing I've written in a while so, hope you like whatever this is.
Big shout out to @made-ofmemories for beta reading and helping me write some parts of this.
Also, special thanks to @wikiangela @daffi-990 @thewolvesof1998 @hippolotamus @your-catfish-friend @theotherbuckley @exhuastedpigeon @wildlife4life @pirrusstuff @neverevan @giddyupbuck @bidisasterbuckdiaz @jesuisici33 for still tagging me in the weekly wip games even if I haven't been that active in a while (also, consider this your no pressure tag❤)❤❤ (and I'm sorry if I'm missing people I lost the list of people that used to tag me) I hope This will be my come back to writing.
Eddie's UNO Reverse
AO3
Summary:
“You know, he’s different, not only because he’d be the first man I’d try to date in, let’s just say a while. Spending time with him feels good. Like-” Eddie pauses, purses his lips the way he does when he’s thinking about something and then he says it. “Like he sees me.”
And just how the fuck is Buck supposed to take that? Here’s Eddie, literally contemplating a future with a man he just met, a complete stranger, and saying all of this to Buck’s face!? He’s really going to consider a stranger over the person who has known him for years, to the person who can basically read his mind with just a look! To the man who actually sees him because he’s known him for the better part of half a decade and now that he can be honest to himself, the man who’s been helping him raise the most amazing kid in the world!?
He hasn’t been hyping himself up to ask Eddie out on a date for weeks just for a stranger to come waltzing in and steal his partner right in front of him. Not again.
Or the one where Eddie speaks with Buck about Tommy the same way Buck talked about Natalia. And Buck doesn't take it well.
Word count: 3k something
Tags: Jealousy, Eddie's pettyness backfires (in the best way possible), getting together. It gets a bit spicy.
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“I didn't expect to get along with Tommy so well, he's been nice.” Eddie comments as he lets his duffle bag drop to the floor next to the door.
“Yeah, he seems like a cool guy.” Buck follows him inside, he leaves his own bag next to Eddie’s and makes his way to the open space that makes up the kitchen area of his loft. He watches as Eddie opens the fridge and grabs two beers.
They just came back from the basketball court, they invited Tommy to hang out with them once things settled down after the cruise rescue. They all promised to make an effort to hang out more, and apparently Hen and Chim’s old teammate made a good impression on Eddie.
”We made plans to go to next week’s baseball game, said he had an extra ticket.” Eddie passes him his beer, their fingers brushing.
“Really?” Buck takes a long sip of his beer, hoping that he sounded normal and not upset. It was his idea to invite Tommy to their regular basketball hang out in the first place. He wanted him to feel included, to let him know that they appreciated that he placed his career on the line to help them get to Bobby and Athena. And well, even if he’s no longer with the 118 he should still be considered a friend, family. He just never considered that he’d be the one feeling left out.
He might not be a big baseball fan but they could have asked even if just to not be rude.
“You know, I might just try something with him,” Eddie says, far too casual. Buck chokes on his beer, thumping his fist against his chest twice before he regains his composure. “It’s been almost a month since Marisol and I broke up, so might as well.”
“What?” Buck croaks, carbonation from the beer still burning at the back of his throat.
“I mean, we have a lot in common. He says he’s good with kids, has been in the army, he’s a widower like me, he likes sports, has a good sense of humor, since he was a firefighter and now a rescue pilot he most definitely won’t have a problem with my crazy work schedule. Plus he’s nice as we previously stated and he’s not bad looking.”
“I guess.” The fact that Eddie is considering dating a man doesn’t come out of nowhere, they’ve had more than one conversation on their interests and on Eddie’s part on how he’s never felt like he could act upon those feelings or even mention that he’s interested in men before. The wonders of going to therapy.
Still, this is the first time he ever mentioned wanting to go on a date with a guy. With Tommy. He’d say yes, of course he would. Who wouldn't say yes to Eddie!
“You know, he’s different, not only because he’d be the first man I’d try to date in, let’s just say a while. Spending time with him feels good. Like-” Eddie pauses, purses his lips the way he does when he’s thinking about something and then he says it. “Like he sees me.”
And just how the fuck is Buck supposed to take that? Here’s Eddie, literally contemplating a future with a man he just met, a complete stranger, and saying all of this to Buck’s face!? He’s really going to consider a stranger over the person who has known him for years, to the person who can basically read his mind with just a look! To the man who actually sees him because he’s known him for the better part of half a decade and now that he can be honest to himself, the man who’s been helping him raise the most amazing kid in the world!?
He hasn’t been hyping himself up to ask Eddie out on a date for weeks just for a stranger to come waltzing in and steal his partner right in front of him. Not again.
“What do you mean he sees you?” Buck asks, placing his beer on the counter.
“You know, like he understands the struggles and sees beyond what I let people see.” Buck sees him shrug his shoulders as if what he just said is the most obvious thing in the world. “Well, any other person that's not close to me.”
”Eddie, you’re sounding crazy right now.” 
“What? Why?” Eddie asks. 
“Why? You’re really asking why?” He raises his eyebrows incredulously at his best friend.
“Yeah, you just agreed that he’s a nice guy.” Buck watches as Eddie also leaves his beer on the side and crosses his arms in front of him.
“But you just met him.”
“Yeah, but there's the fact that we almost died together in that hurricane and he also risked his job to help us rescue our friends, that says a lot about him. To me it says he’s loyal.”
“There were 3 other people on that chopper that almost died with you and that you’ve known for years.” Buck takes a few steps away from the counter and starts pacing as he speaks, he needs to move or else he’s going to, to… Okay he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he doesn’t move but he needs to just not stay still. “How can you say that someone who you’ve met twice and only really spoken with once ‘sees you’?”
Why does this whole situation feels familiar? It’s like a deja vu. Like Buck’s heard something similar before, like he's had this same conversation in the past but different.
And then it hits him.
He’s taken back to a couple of months ago, when they were standing at a graveyard.
‘There's something... different about her. I-I feel like she sees me. You know? Like she-she really sees me for who I am and what I've been through.’
Oh.
OH.
He said the same thing about Natalia after just one coffee date. And Eddie, Eddie just listened to him, he let him speak and didn’t question his reasoning. However wrong it turned out to be.
And here he was, criticizing his choice to find happiness, ready to try and live his life without caring what anyone may think of him for dating another man.
All because he's jealous, because the man in question isn't him.
Shit.
“Oh my god, oh my god, Eddie. I’m an idiot, I’m such a hypocritical idiot! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”
“Wait what? Buck-”
“No, no, I am. I said the exact same thing to you about Natalia months ago and you just listened to me and-and supported me.” He stood still for a moment once the realization hit him, but now he was back to pacing.
“Buck.”
“You didn't question me like I was doing a moment ago. It doesn't matter that my relationship didn't go anywhere, because that's just me, forever cursed to fuck up and act on impulse. But it doesn't mean it'll be the same for you, if you say he sees you, he sees you, that's fine I believe you.” He knew he was doing that thing when he talks and gestures with his hands that most of his teachers used to find kind of annoying, but he just could never control it. Even less so now that he’s sure Eddie must think he’s a horrible friend for not being happy that he’s putting himself out there trying to find a romantic partner.
And he really is such a horrible friend, he should be putting his feelings aside and encouraging Eddie to look for happiness. He must do that, he’ll fix it, from this moment on he’ll be all in.
“Buck.”
“I'll support you, even if it kills me inside I’ll deal with it. I’ll be your wingman. My jealousy is my problem. I want you to be happy even if it’s not with me, even if I stay your friend and nothing more for the rest of my life I’ll learn to deal with my feelings I swear, Eddie. And-”
“Evan!” The use of his name and the weight of Eddie’s hands on his shoulders stops him abruptly from continuing his pacing. “Hold on, I'm the one that should be apologizing.”
“No, why? I was the one being-” 
“Evan, I’m sorry. I- I said that on purpose to mess with you a little, I didn’t think it’d upset you this much. I’m so sorry, it was such a stupid and petty thing to say I just,” Eddie sighs, “You actually just voiced just about everything that went on in my head when you said that about Natalia, with the exception of you using nicer words than I would have, had I voiced my thoughts back then.”
“You- back when- what?” He feels Eddie’s hands leaving his shoulders, missing his touch for the few seconds it takes for them to move to his face.
“Okay, Buck. I need you to listen closely, I do like Tommy, he seems great and when I got invited to the baseball game I did consider trying to have something with him. That was before, before I learned that you were jealous, that maybe I could have a chance, because he’s no Evan Buckley.”
“But if- you were jealous back then, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well, it had been a while since you told me you were Bi and I told you that I’m also into men even if I don’t really like labels. When our relationship stayed the same after that and when you started dating Natalia I just thought that maybe you didn’t feel the same way or weren’t into me like that. And so I- I invited Marisol on a date.”
“You’re kidding, right? Shit, Eddie. We’re both a pair of idiots.” Buck huffs in exasperation. “I tried to make it work with Natalia for the exact same reason.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck.” They stare at each other for a moment, processing all that has been said in the last fifteen or so minutes, before bursting into laughter. “So, we could have been dating since last year?”
“Guess we’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for then.” Eddie smirks and Buck becomes very suddenly aware of just how close they are. One of Eddie’s hands has moved to cup the back of his neck, fingertips brushing against the soft hairs at the nape, the other has started to trail down Buck’s arm. All he’d have to do is tilt his head just a little bit.
Eddie beats him to it.
The kiss is chaste, barely more than the press of Eddie’s lips against his own before they pull away again. 
“Sorry, I just- and you-” Buck worries at his bottom lip, tasting the bitter malt of Eddie’s preferred beer brand that lingers there as his best friend fumbles with his words. “You have no idea for how long I've wanted to do that.”
“I can guess.” Buck whispers before capturing Eddie's lips again. in a deeper kiss. Having no more reasons to restrain himself he pours all of him into the kiss.
It's messy and kind of uncoordinated but so good. He's not sure  who deepens the kiss first or when it happens, but figuring out the details is not high on his list of priorities when Eddie is licking into his mouth like a man starved. It's messy and uncoordinated, teeth colliding when Buck tries to suck Eddie's bottom lip between his own with a little too much enthusiasm and Eddie returns it by smiling into it, but it's perfect. And Buck wants more. His hands wander, leaving their anchor on Eddie's waist in his mission to map out every dip and ridge of his body, keen to touch everywhere he can in a way he's never been able to before.
Buck leans down a bit until he can get his hands on the back of Eddie's thighs and lifts him up, his legs immediately going around his waist most likely on instinct, he takes a few steps until he reaches the counter behind Eddie and places him there.
“Oh shit.” Eddie pants, breaking the kiss. Buck takes the opportunity to lavish his neck with kisses.
“Buck.” He moans as Buck sucks on a spot just below Eddie's ear. “Hold on, Buck. We're going too fast.”
He stops immediately, he would never do anything or go further than what his partner would allow. Even back in his wilder years, he prided himself in always making sure his advances were wanted.
“Sorry, sorry. You're right. Too fast.” He takes a deep breath and lets his forehead rest on Eddie’s left shoulder as Eddie cards his right hand through his product free blonde curls. Eddie taps his back twice, it’s all the indication he needs to understand that Eddie wants to get down from the counter. Buck takes a step back to give him just enough space for that, not wanting to actually leave too much space between them. He really wants to stay as close to him as possible right now.
Once Eddie’s feet are back on the ground they stay still for a moment, their foreheads resting against each other.
“Just for the record,” Buck says, breaking the peaceful silence between them, “I love you. I’m in love with you.”
His words are rewarded with Eddie’s blinding smile, the big unrestrained one he’s only seen when they’re either alone or when they’re with Chris. That one smile that reaches his eyes and lights up his whole face. He loves that smile, he loves everything Eddie.
“Then, just for the record.” Eddie chuckles. “I love you too, Evan.” He can’t help but lean in and capture Eddie’s lips with his own again. His hands that were previously on Eddie’s hips, playing with his belt hoops, pull him by them so that they can be as close as humanly possible while still being clothed.
Eddie is sucking Buck’s tongue into his mouth and god damn it if they don’t stop right now he’ll have to take the longest cold shower known in history. The fact that he can actually feel Eddie’s hardness against his own doesn’t help at all.
“Slow.” He manages to break the kiss with a wet pop. “We agreed on going slow.” He knows he sounds wrecked and so out of breath and really, if they hadn't agreed to take their time he’d already be guiding Eddie towards the stairs to his bed.
They take a moment to get their breathing back to normal.
“Yeah, you’re right, we’ll go the pace we feel like going.” Buck gives him a questioning look at that. “Hey, I reconsidered and slow is for people that need to know each other, to figure out if they’ll work out. I’m completely sure we don’t really need all that time. We’ve been partners for years, we were just missing the kissing part and… the other stuff too.” Eddie says that last part at the same time as his hands trail down the panes of Buck’s back to land on his ass.
“We’re going to be so bad at slow.” Buck groans.
“I know.” Eddie snorts. “We did transition from enemies to friends in the span of one shift.”
“Alright, alright. Are you hungry?” Buck watches as Eddie gives him a once over and he already knows that whatever Eddie is about to say is going to make the situation going on in his pants worse.
“Starving,” the little shithead has the gall to smirk. “But I can go for a pizza or chinese.”
“Jesus, Eddie.” He pushes away from his laughing… boyfriend? Okay, mental reminder to talk about relationship labels later. “You’re killing me. Just for that, you’re stuck ordering our food, meanwhile I’m going to take a shower.”
He starts making his way up to his loft to grab comfortable clothes to change into after his shower.
“Leave some of that cold water for me, babe!” Eddie calls from the kitchen, his voice laced with mirth.
“Shut up! And that’s not how it works, that’s for hot water not cold! You can’t run out of cold water!” He knows he completely failed to sound annoyed, he’s just too happy to be anything but elated at the turn of events.
He confessed to Eddie, he told him that he loves him and Eddie said it back. He’ll be walking on cloud 9 for the rest of the month. Hell maybe even for the rest of his life.
After dinner and with Christopher spending the night at a friend’s house, Eddie decides to stay for the night and it’s only after they’re both tucked into bed that Buck remembers the catalyst of the night’s events. 
“Eddie?” He gets a noncommittal humm in response. “What about your date?” 
“What date?” This time Eddie does answer sounding so sleepy and confused.
“Your date with Tommy.” Did he forget? He gets that a lot of things just happened tonight but to completely forget what started it all?
“Oh yeah, about that, it was never really a date, I did say he invited me, but I never said it’d be just the two of us. Chim is coming too.”
What. Did. He. Just. Say.
It wasn’t a date!?
“Don’t you think you should have started with that!?” 
“Sorry, love. Think about it this way, if I had mentioned that Chim was also invited, we wouldn’t be here now. Who knows how many years it would have taken for us to finally get together.”
“Then why didn’t you guys invite me?” His bottom lip just out in what is definitely not a pout and the rough pad of Eddie's thumb traces over it.
“Buck you don’t like Baseball, you’d be fast asleep during the first inning.”
“Still, you could have asked.”
“Next time. I promise,” Eddie says, his hand has moved, no longer tracing the plump line of Buck's lower lip but now trailing a lazy line down one of Buck's arms under the covers. 
“Are you still going?”
“I plan to. It’s a free ticket after all.” Eddie shrugs one shoulder and Buck takes the momentary pause in Eddie's movement as an opportunity to lace their fingers together. “But before that, I plan on taking you out for dinner this weekend. Would you like that?”
“I’d love that.”
“Alright, then it’s a date.” The end of Eddie's sentence is slurred with sleep, his eyes already closed. 
Buck gives Eddie's hand a squeeze, their fingers still interlocked and watches the corner of Eddie's lip quirk up in the ghost of a smile before he lets his eyes slip closed, mind filled with thoughts of their date. Buck can’t wait.
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fiveredlights · 13 days
Note
Okay I need to know things from literally ALL of the wip’s 😂
But I guess the ones that intrigue me the most are the post AUS2024 fic, the alternate Vegas 2023 story and the lmao daniel retirement fic!!
But like I said, I want to know all things lol! You are like one of my favourite authors ❤️
P.S. please feel no pressure to update, write or anything. Take your time
beth you ask and i will dutifully answer, gonna put everything under the cut because this is a long post 🫡
snippets: ausgp 2024/you're on another path
so fun fact about this one i wrote it post quali, and i had planned to post it after the race was done so i a "pre-wrote" two endings. i wasn't going to because i was gonna be like "oh max will win but something bad might happen to daniel" so i had this ready to go:
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and i was sitting in the grandstand watching max's car explode in the pitlane and all i could think about was "did i do this. again" and honestly who knows.
Daniel’s already lying down face first on the bed when Max makes it back to their hotel room. He’s been doing it a lot recently after races, opening the door to their hotel room and just starfishing on the bed, unmoving until Max gently coaxes him to actually sleep. 
God, if his twenty-something year old self could see him now. 
Yeah, you’re back at the team you started with—no not HRT, that’s gone now, yes the Red Bull—not junior—sister team. The Red Bull seat? Yeah, not yours anymore, and it’s looking like it’s gonna stay that way. No, no podium at your home race, more like qualifying P18 because you were an idiot and drove over track limits. Points? Well, you had a good chance but I guess luck just wasn’t on your side yet again. 
Oh, and that young and upcoming driver from the Netherlands? Yeah, he’s your boyfriend now—surprise, you’re gay! And he’s a three time world champion, but that’s probably not important. 
Any one of those things would’ve sent Daniel into hospital, but all of those things combined? 
Early death. 
snippets: las vegas 2025/bonus fic reimagined
(i'm going to assume you mean las vegas 2025 and i'll give you both)
Max isn’t winning right now. 
He couldn’t really tell you why. 
Plenty of pundits, fans, strangers on the street have stopped him and asked him to dissect why he hasn’t won a championship in the past two years. He gives them a hastily PR trained and approved answer that seems to be more conscious in his mind now than before and cracks a well timed joke he’s sure his teammate would be proud of. 
Then Daniel comes along and will say, “Max already has three, he’s got to leave some for the rest of us!”, and the conversation will usually move on quickly after that. 
He knows that Daniel isn’t the sole reason for his non-winning ways right now, but when the eventual news of their relationship happens to drop, there’ll be dissections for days on if Daniel plays a part in Max’s performance right now. 
The last time Max hadn’t won a championship was when Daniel Ricciardo was with Red Bull, surely there’s some connection there?
snippets: las vegas 2025/don't read the last page
(Max is italics, Daniel is not.)
Max 🩵
July 31, 2025
...
I may have accidentally 
I swear it was an accident 
Like I pinky promise swear to our first born child
Don’t bring Matilda into this
Did you murder someone
What
Why is that your first thing
You are making a big deal out of it
Like bigger than the podcast you did in January
So I have to assume you murdered someone
Okay well it’s not murder but nice to know you think I’m capable of it
Daniel
I forgot to take off my wedding ring and wore it in the paddock and people saw and I got asked about in the press conference 
They definitely thought I was just engaged so I guess that’s just a silver lining
And you have a bet with Lando over when I was going to accidentally do this
Which is rude because I would never do the same to you Maxy
You literally have a bet with Fernando over if I’m going to slip up and say husband in an interview
How do you know that
And he’s Fernando you know you can’t say no to him
Daniel
When you came out you literally posted a photo of me on your Instagram
The whole paddock knows we are married
Half of them went to our wedding
About 85% of fans think we are in a relationship because you keep on teasing them with photos that is definitely me
Is it so bad that we just say yeah we’re married
We are literally about to have a kid
Okay well when you put it like that
I guess you’re right 
I know
I’m always right
snippets: lmao daniel retirement
They asked him if he wanted a big farewell thing, like they had done with Sebastian and Kimi a couple years back. 
He’d almost said no until Lando pulled a face and said “Mate, people’s last memory of you driving can’t be you heading to the pitlane again.” 
So he agreed. Told Blake to tell them to keep it minimal. No standing on giant mockups of his face during the national anthem or whatever. 
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Text
An Ask Game for Writers to Procrastinate Working on Your WIP(s)
(Not like I need the assistance, but I'm so thrilled to be thought of as a writer that I'm totally doing this.)
Thank you so much for the invites @aristocratic-otter, @bookish-bogwitch, @shrekgogurt, @ic3-que3n, @ivelovedhimthroughworse, @drowninginships, @best--dress, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @monbons, @thewholelemon, @whatevertheweather, and @youarenevertooold! (I think I might be the last one in the 'verse doing this, but that won't stop me from tagging more people at the end.) I've loved reading everyone's answers!
Okay. Here we go. I am absolutely using my flimsy claim to authorhood to answer these. >.>
1. 🦈Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s):
The Haunting of Simon Snow
2. 🍄Describe your WIP/one of your WIP(s) in the format of “___ + ___ =___”
Construction Worker!Simon + haunted manor house = a most interesting summer job
3. 🌍What tags or warnings will your / one of your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it?
Well, it's a ghost story. You can draw some conclusions from that.
4. 🧭An alternative title to your/ one of your WIP(s)?
A Victorian's Gothic
5. ⚠️Which WIP your most likely to finish or update next?
It sure as hell better be Haunting. I mean, my goodness, it's looped around my brain like a too-patient boa constrictor, just sloooowly squeezing.
6. 💾What is your document of your WIP/ a WIP called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)
snowbaz.scriv is my catch-all Scrivener file for all ficcy things
7. 🖍Post Any sentence(s) from your WIP.
There’s a person that I used to be. Magic I used to hold, magic that held me. I have done everything I can to forget that feeling, because it was never supposed to be mine. I was never magic. He’s magic. He’s magic, and I can almost touch him. He’s magic, and he can almost hold me. I live on the edge of almost all the time, so that’s enough. (It’s never enough.)
8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP.
This was originally planned as a story written in letters. (Doing that with something else, now, and it works way better in a different story.)
9. 🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?
I'm going to stick to snowbaz fanfic for this, because if I broaden it any further, this list will instantly become quite long. (I have a lot of original story ideas.) For snowbaz, though? Well, there's the one I'm planning for COTTA. There are a couple AU's that I've written way too many notes on. And then a Fangirl crossover fic that I sincerely hope to someday write. (Technically I started it, but only a few hundred words at this point.)
10. 🤡How many WIPS are you actively working on?
Actively? One. Maybe two. Kinda thinking two, but the second one is new and more of a game at this point, so we'll see. (Not quite so actively I also have my Baz fic, my "Silence" fic where Baz successfully steals Simon's voice. It's roughly (super roughly) outlined, and I've written several scenes, but it's on the back-burner for Haunting. And COTTA. No more new fics after that, though! I really want to tell that story!)
11. 🛠Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?
That's funny. What a question. XD YES. Yes, there are scenes. I'm designing Pitch Manor to get through this damned scene LOL
12. ❤️Not a question, just a second Kudos to send.
Thankee kindly!
On the off chance there are any fic writers left out there who haven't yet done this... Tags! @mooncello, @cutestkilla, @blackberrysummerblog, @hushed-chorus, @fatalfangirl, @onepintobean, @j-nipper-95, @facewithoutheart, @angelsfalling16, @noblecorgi, @alexalexinii, anyone else who wants to. Cheers!
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snickerdoodlles · 2 months
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finally posting some background notes for red line fic under the cut !! i meant to do this [checks wrist] an embarrassingly long time ago, except i get shy talking about my writing hjgfjhfj. so!! reading thru red line here and dumping out some thoughts as we go!! for @the-cookie-of-doom <333
red line started with this post. (me, every time i say i'm not going to write something: *grabs clown nose*) i wanted a fic where Chay watched Kim fight because 1) Chay deserves this, ep14 bar fight my BELOVED, but also 2) Kim's put a lot of effort into sectioning parts of his life off from each other, so it's SUPER FUN from a writing perspective to throw them all together and watch him flounder.
planning out red line, it was either going to be Kim pov if it was pre-mafia reveal, or Chay pov post-reveal. both of which are really fun!! but i wound up going for a pre-reveal scenario mostly because this was supposed to be sHORT and a Chay pov didn't feel right without a reconciliation or a lot of setup otherwise. so Kim pov it was! then it was a little bit of rolling ideas around for why goons would be present period. i landed on Arthee's fuck-ups causing problems before Chay's first kidnapping mostly because i didn't want too many guns involved (there was just. no way Kim could've easily protected Chay in that without sending him away for real, which defeats the purpose) but i wound up really loving that premise and committing for a few other reasons:
Kim never brought any of the mafia into Chay's life in canon. all of the mafia bullshit Chay gets dragged thru is related to his own family being involved in the mafia (none of which Chay knows about!), which is very crunchy to me.
loan sharks breaking down Chay's door was his normal. like. i feel like this goes largely ignored by a lot of fandom, but Chay's normal is gang thugs destroying his stuff and him needing to patch up his loved ones. the fucking things that does to a kid.
i just really like Arthee as a plot device. he kinda got left off to the side by canon (which!! fair!! they were juggling a lot of balls there and i'm glad they dropped him in favor of other characters/plots), but you can also see how much i loved the "Chay gets kidnapped because of Arthee's debts" kimchay premises from the early fic days in here XD
writing Kim and Chay in a Tutoring Session, No Really, It Looks Like A Date But This Is Tutoring Honest date was ridiculously fun. i love putting boys in situations. but i also just??? really like them being friends??? well, flirty friends here, but it's so important to me how much Kim and Chay just like spending time together. they're two very lonely boys and i'm very happy they found each other <333
also, Kim telling himself he's not flirting while flirting and encouraging Chay to flirt with him. disaster boy <33333
i spent probably a silly amount of time thinking about what weapons to give Kim (originally, i wasn't going to give him any). i didn't want it to be knives because while that's very hot of him, knife fights are…very, very rough. far more like that one mission impossible movie than elliot from leverage or literally any other movie knife fight, and while patching up knife fight wounds is excellent, i already have that for a different WIP. i also just don't see Kim carrying outright weapons in with his university gear? maybe his first year, but not at the end of it, too much risk for things to go badly. hence, mace and brass knuckles-- the mace is one of those little keychain mace things you can buy in a pack (Kim's was a gift from a friend nearly a year prior, he was very startled and very confused by the offering lol). he got brass knuckles because i think Kim is all for something that helps minimize how hard/often he has to punch someone, but mainly because when i was looking at the keychain mace, i remembered those stupid 3D-printed keychain brass knuckles things also existed and amused myself thinking about how much they'd offend Kim. thanks to that thought train, Kim got a proper set to better break a dude's nose <3
Chay and Kim trying to shove the other behind them as the loan shark's thugs break down Chay's door still makes me laugh. i'm easy to please like that, i love that meme y'all.
Kim's running commentary on how stupid Gold Jim is was SO MUCH FUN to write. i like that Kim's irritation making Gold Jim comical didn't take away from how threatening the situation was either? like, obviously, it was less intense, that was the point, but i'm still really happy with how serious Kim feels through all of this because there is danger in the fact the idiots are looking for a fight, even if they haven't realized how outclassed they are yet.
also, i just really like the level of Kim's violence in his head. i like that it's just a stream of conscious he's not putting a lot of thought into. i just don't see Kim's relationship with violence as being a dramatic thing-- it's just that Kim's first thought any time he sees someone is how to break them, just incase.
Kim naming the thugs One thru Five was 100% for my writing convenience, i am SO delighted people loved that for him XD
Chay hitting a thug with the frying pan for interrupting his date was the first thing i knew would happen in this fic. Chay deserved to hit at least one(1) person with a frying pan in canon, so he got to do it twice here. Kim is DESPERATELY trying not to swoon, he's going to be so horny about this after the shock of everything wears off.
man, i cried a lot thru writing the action for this scene, but i'm really satisfied with how it came out actually!! WORTH IT
i am still ridiculously tickled by this particular "Oh" / Oh moment. KimChay making hearteyes at each other while the goons feel superfluous my beloved <333
Kim making a hot grunt sound while manhandling a guy twice his size into position for Chay to whack with his pan is going to fuel conservatively 83% of Chay's spank bank fantasies from here on btws.
writing Kim tell Gold Jim who he is was so much fun.
in that line of thought, if Kinn ever learned Kim threatened some thug with his name, he'd beam like a puppy. doubly-so if he realized the specific wording Kim used. his metaphorical tail would be wagging up a hurricane if he ever realized how much Kim associates him with safety and protection.
also very fun to me was Kim accidentally calling Chay his boyfriend and immediately swallowing his tongue about it. i didn't plan that, it just fell out of my brain like it did Kim's mouth and i went "okay!! we'll roll with this!!!"
"is the safety on" was Chay holding himself back by the barest skin of his teeth. he is going to get his mouth on Kim asap but he is NOT going to let some stupid emergency room trip ruin their first kiss. meanwhile, Kim's about to enter an angst spiral, lmao. (in my head, there's a dent in the floorboards from where Chay threw his frying pan away. it's amazing it didn't shock them out of their kiss, but Chay is not to be deterred dammit!!)
u all know me and how much i love my kiss fic, but ending this one with Chay having an adrenaline crash was delightful to write, i'm gonna need to do this more often XD Chay's 100% of the mindset he's either going to be horny or cry, and he'd much prefer to be kissed, tyvm!! unfortunately for him, i prefer tears. also, Kim keeps trying to use his mouth for pesky things like words, it is very unproductive towards Chay's current goal >:T
speaking of Chay's wild emotions-- i very much do not see Chay liking violence for violence's sake. he's had enough of people throwing their weight around him for a lifetime. he does, however, have the biggest thing for a hot boy coming to protect him, esp if the boy is Wik shaped. don't tell me Wik was part of Chay's gay revelation and tell me he DIDN'T have so many fantasies of Wik protecting him from the shitty loan sharks.
that said tho! reality =/= fantasy. Chay was terrified Kim was going to get hurt because of him, half his adrenaline crash was just worry for Kim :(
i'm not sure what to say about this next bit transitioning to the ending of this fic except that it was definitely the trickiest and the longest to write. Chay's drilling Kim for answers because Porsche has been absent for months, but Chay's not upset with Kim. (Kim's the one here with him! he's the one answering Chay's questions!) i wrote myself into a corner a few times with dialogue that was too accusatory for what i wanted. but also, this was the part when i was like "oh!! i know what the summary should be!!" because six thugs have nothing on the intimidation factor of Chay Has Questions XD
Kim saying he can go and Chay going "why tho????" made me laugh out loud writing this. i love Chay's terrible priorities so much. you will never be able to convince me that Chay wasn't 100% ready to accept Kim as part of the mafia so long as Kim cared about him, this boy is so ride-or-die for his whole two(2) important people. Kim trying to convince mr. obstinate he doesn't want him is even more futile than Kim trying to deny himself what he wants. esp as Chay calls Kim out for all his flirting <3
on a more serious note tho, i really like how Chay comes across during this part of the story. it's kinda like Kim's violence thing-- i see the core of Chay being very, very lonely. he really only has his brother in the world, who's not able to be home too much due to circumstance, and now isn't home at all. and then here comes Kim, reaching out to Chay and asking all about him and just plain being a friend to him-- of course Chay latched on. of course he's going to cling if he thinks Kim likes him back. he's too lonely not to.
Kim's little whispered "stay" was my driving force every time i got stuck on this fic, i love when Kim tries to tell himself all the reasons he's not allowed to want something and then ask for it anyways. that's what we in the business call character growth XD
to wrap up this very messy fic ramble, some lines i really, really love in this fic:
Kim's never wished for a gun before. Kim doesn’t like guns. They’re too fast. Too clean.
hehehe
Gold Jim chuckles menacingly. It’s like he’s following a theatre script. Kim’s going to break every bone in his body before he sets him on fire and applauds.
i'm not sure if anyone noticed??? but the specific items of torture are based on theatre/performance idioms-- "break a leg" and "you're on fire"-- hence Kim applauding at the end.
Kim reminding himself not to scare Chay by killing the idiots, light maiming ONLY
cleaning up blood is so annoying, anyone with a period can concur 😭
Chay stands over Three, wielding a frying pan with two hands and looking just as surprised with himself as the rest of them.
i'm just. so, so fond for the image of Chay staring with complete surprise between his frying pan and a guy he just gave a concussion. he just did that! he just did that???
“How’s that going for you?” Chay asks, warm and soft where he’s still pressed up against Kim, “Felt a lot like tutoring to me.”
listen. LISTEN. Kim's investiagation excuses to hang out with a cute boy he likes are so cute. Chay agrees with me. we are both so correct for this. Chay's going to tease Kim so much about this but also encourage it past this point, he loves Kim being obsessed with him too <3
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horsegirlwarcrimes · 7 days
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Alright, you have answered me again (SY gets two daemons sounds extremely interesting! The "what the fuck happened to Shen Qingqiu" Peak Lord meeting in this AU is going to have some shit to talk about, huh!) so now I'm moving on to the next in my list of WIPs I'm really super curious about - Scooby Gang Juniors? Juniors fics are so fun what shenanigans are they getting into?
auw im literally dead u r so kind ( ;´ - `;)♡
scooby gang juniors, actual title some 'Never Love An Anchor' lyrics bc thats the theme song of this fic, is actually the first longfic i ever started writing! it has also been a WIP for mmm. four years or so. i started writing it right after watching the untamed for the first time in 2019 lmao, but never finished it because at that point id never written ANYTHING as long as it was gearing up to be (the outline is 20k). i hope to finally finish it and post it some time soon, probs after WINR and the ZZL&YQY fics are done. its probs some of my fav writing ive ever done but never shared with anyone haha
summary: Wei Wuxian may have drafted a ritual for willingly bringing someone back from the dead somewhere in his madness in the caves of the Burial Mounds, but if he did it was never found. In the absence of a convenient literal ghost from the past to help exact his revenge, Nie Huaisang turns to the next best thing: his old friend's son.
Meanwhile, Lan Sizhui finds a man buried deep underground with soft, familiar eyes.
[Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling, Ouyang Zizhen, and Wen Ning go on a life changing field trip, dodge their worried parents, and dig up some corpses, in approximately that order.]
“When I realized how deeply affected by the Yiling Patriarch Hanguang-Jun was, I began to realize where this slip in righteousness had come from. You see, while I and the rest of the cultivation world believed that Lan Wangji had been in secluded cultivation for three years to move to a new level in his cultivation, or because he had been wounded fighting the Yiling Patriarch, the truth is much the opposite. Hanguang-Jun was in seclusion as punishment, for siding with the Yiling Patriarch at the Siege of the Burial Mounds. All along, these famed enemies had secretly been allied.”  Jin Guangyao shook his head, expression deeply sympathetic even as the cultivators of the room began to turn to Hanguang-Jun. Hands went to swords, only remaining undrawn due to the thick tension in the room that had yet to break. Hanguang-Jun stood immovable through it all, flawless as jade and cold as ice.  “I believe the Yiling Patriarch must have altered his mind, and had been using his demonic arts to corrupt him as far back as the Sunshot campaign. Now, with the feared patriarch dead, it seems this would no longer be such an issue. But Wei Wuxian left one final plan even after his death, a fail-safe to bring ruin to the cultivation world once again even when he was long gone, and he entrusted that plan to Hanguang-Jun before his death.”  At last, his eyes met Sizhui’s again. Sizhui’s mouth tasted electric, the buzz of the room crashing into him in waves even as it narrowed just to himself, his uncle at his back, his father, and the man before him. He inhaled through his nose and straightened, perfect Lan posture and the ribbon on his forehead proudly on display. He narrowed his eyes back at Jin Guanyao and did not drop his gaze. Jin Guangyao smiled, a flicker of amusement, before he regained his expression of earnest concern to address the crowd.  “I found proof in the records of the Wen work camps, and writings recovered from the Nightless City. You see, Lan Sizhui, ward of Hanguang-Jun and First Disciple of Gusu Lan, was neither a war orphan nor a poorly concealed bastard, but instead a child smuggled out of the Burial Mounds before the siege.”  Jin Guangyao swept a sleeve over Sizhui’s group.  “Honored cultivators, I stand before you to reveal the surviving heir of the Qishan Wen Sect. Called Lan Sizhui but born Wen Yuan, the son of Wen Xu and his first concubine. Cousin of the Ghost General, and former ward of the Yiling Patriarch, already beginning the work of reviving the Wen and overwhelming the righteous sects with demonic cultivators.”  In the chaos, only one voice cut so bitingly through the noise. Calm and cold and sure, Sizhui latched onto it with all his heart. Anything to avoid looking behind him, at the friends he had lied to.  “So you admit it.” Said Hanguang-Jun, unmoving from his spot amidst the Lan. Jin Guangyao blinked wide eyes at him.  “I’m sorry?”  Hanguang-Jun stepped forward. Even with his name being almost literally dragged through the mud, cultivators still parted around him with automatic deference.  “You admit you knew children were being tortured, in your work camps.” 
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divinekangaroo · 6 months
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Thanks @palmviolet for tagging me!
How many works do you have on AO3? 154
2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 900k
3. What fandoms do you write for? Peaky Blinders, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Age II, The Professionals.
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Interesting and not straightforward question: I've been writing since 2007 and only rebooted my fics to AO3 in 2023. I backdated them to time of writing rather than posting live into the current update stream. I was vaguely curious to see what *actually* attracts readers through the AO3 search engine. So, my current top five are all Peaky Blinders Tommy/Lizzie fics, and given my small followers list, everyone following me will probably already have read them!
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do, and it’s my vain (both senses of the term) struggle with how to do it appropriately. I am conscious of how comments, particularly on an AO3 "archival" fic, can weight a reader's further interpretation/engagement of or with fic by that author, and that I'll never put so much time into comments as I do into fic.
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? The fics I thought of picking for these two pretty much overlapped. Perhaps this shows just how I approach happiness – it’s moments, it’s never an ending.
8. Do you get hate on fics? Only old Dragon Age fics. Interesting period of time where any fic author that didn't unequivocally support the moral rightness of one particular character's opinions was targeted. Like: ok to write torture/rape fics of this character, but only if it was clear the author thought this character was morally right. Such a destructive troll.
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I'll write sex, mostly as part of a larger arc rather than standalone smut; often it is a partial scenario rather than linear start-to-end event written in a rhythm to support a coherent wanking rise-to-climax read. I'm pleased if people find it pushes their buttons, but I'm also not bothered if it doesn't. I do approach smut as one of many possible lenses or frames for a character, however, so smut that detaches from character confuses me.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Sometimes but they have to feel really right. I think I tend more to fusion or pastiche (I think those are the terms?) rather than crossover: I take a particular character concept/theme and port them into a particular environmental context which is not possible in the canon to see what happens. The only one I still have up is a FFXII/Dragonriders of Pern fic (incomplete) which was going to be all about the horrible knowledge of socially accepted and endorsed ritualised rape and forced feminisation of a character.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I'm not that popular to notice.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have a memory of one in FFXII but can't recall.
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! Taught me a lot, including the kind of writer I am - difficult to collaborate as my push to complete within a motivational urge period will always be greater than a long-haul effort, and I struggle to be available for other people. I’m either good at the front end ideas-generation, or a micro detail ‘write this particular thing/scene and fill it with goodness’, and not very good at the middle bit – the long slot of planning and plotting and aiming for consistency etc. I am so grateful fandom exists to support non-traditional prose formats which let me play with writing and thinking and engagement without needing to produce to book-style production standards.
14. What’s your all time favourite ship? I usually fixate on a character, and pairings allow means to explore that character rather than being an end game.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Oh they all carry this potential. *cries* The issue for me is loss of motivational drive/thinking; because I rarely have good structural notes etc if I lose my immediate thread of 'thinking of everything all at once' I find it hard to pick up again later. I also stop some fics because I realise how ambitious the scope really is, and I feel like I can’t do them justice.
16. What are your writing strengths? Speed-sketcher? Completionist? Tests multiple ideas rapidly and freely and never worries about something 'being wrong' because there's always another fic to try? Intuitive gut level hits on characterisation here and there?
17. What are your writing weaknesses? Editing, pacing, I can't sustain long fic, I frequently move characters around like paper dolls for the sake of the cool and forget they need their own internal motivation.
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I prefer the kind of cant-based/dialect-based approach which splices non-English terms fluidly into English dialogue, mostly because as a child of many migrants this has been my world experience. I do suck at writing this, hence my frequent use of cop-outs to say 'language shift here, meanwhile still writing in English'. But when it’s done well it hits so many of my sweet spots.
19. First fandom you wrote for? FFVII.
20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Anything in my Personal Favourites list: https://archiveofourown.org/series/3728710. (I'm still too close to Peaky Blinders to pick a fav, it'll take about five years of distance!)
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itsdappleagain · 22 days
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tagged by @emily-prentits THANK YOUU THIS LOOKS SO FUN
1. how many works do you have on ao3?
18!
2. what's your total ao3 word count?
141,974 words...which is a little embarassing considering jo, who tagged me, has 59 works and only about 30,000 more words. evidently i like my longfics.
3. what fandoms do you write for?
carmen sandiego 2019! 17 of those and one (1) original work that i dont mention in this post at all
4. what are your top 5 fics by kudos?
the cardinal and the kitten - 325 kudos
say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime (let me lead you from your solitude) - 164 kudos (we call her the phantom au for short)
simple are the ways of love (simple as the touch of another's hands) - 156 kudos
Upon the Sword - 154 kudos
Everything is a Lie - 127 kudos
5. do you respond to comments?
Most of them yes!! I LOVE getting comments I screenshot and save every one I get.
6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
Hm- I guess it depends. Hellscape ends with Carmen's internal monologue just before she gets mind-wiped by VILE, but its technically no angstier than canon. they gave you life (and in return you gave them hell) is pretty angsty the whole way through and examines Carmen's trauma.
Those are both little one-shots, though- I usually end my reigns of terror within chapter fics pretty happily if I can manage it. The Phantom AU (linked above) ends in a dark place but leagues brighter than it seemed to be heading towards. It isn't a terribly neat and happy ending, and it tells a story of trauma and attempted suicide and the road to recovery from these. Let's go with that one.
7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
In Love Is A Locked Cell Door Chase Devineaux and Crackle happily start making out in a jail cell and live happily ever after!
Ok, being serious-
For a one-shot, simple (linked above) starts happy and ends happier.
For a chapter fic, Choice ends with Carmen, Julia, and Gray all living in a very happy polycule pardoned from the law with full emotional control of their lives which is fun :]
8. do you get hate on fics?
@emily-prentits used to leave passive aggressive comments on my wattpad and we would fight in the comments sections 💀now we're partners so make of that what you will. but anyway, no serious ones, no!
9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?
No, not really! I have a few "fade-to-blacks" or skip-overs without any detail. The one time I tried writing smut it was really forced and hard for me to write...doesn't help that I've never felt sexual attraction in my life so I don't know about that. Curse you asexuality for taking papertiger handcuff sex away from the world.
10. do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've written?
No, I'm not a fan of crossovers
11. have you ever had a fic stolen?
I've had one or two...heavily referenced. Not in bad faith, but it was funny to see a lot of my plot and prose mannerisms reworded in a younger author's fic. I think they credited me as inspiration or gifted it to me both times so its not a big deal.
12. have you ever had a fic translated?
I have not!
13. have you ever co-written a fic before?
If FRANTIC FANFIC! counts, which it shouldn't lol. Also the polycule is working on something :3
14. what's your all time favourite ship?
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15. what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I have an au where paper star and black sheep escape VILE together and go through a sort of friends to lovers to enemies deal as carmen (renamed cardinal here due to never escaping in the boat the way she does in canon), though influenced by paper star at the start, eventually finds her inevitable path of good while paper star slips into a chaos that cardinal just can't stomach
ill paste a snippet here that i wrote but its a little bit long and complex and i dont have a ton of motivation for it
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16. what are your writing strengths?
ABILITY TO MAKE READERS SUFFER
17. what are your writing weaknesses?
cohesive plot...lord help me i cannot plan a fic to the end before i post chapter 1 and it bites me in the ass all the time
18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
if there's a small amount of it, i usually write it as-is in the other language and use external sources or context clues to explain it. if a lot of dialogue is in another language, I'll put it in brackets and write it in english!
19. first fandom you wrote for?
carmen sandiego. still going lmfao
20. favorite fic you've written?
that's really hard- i'm going to do top three in no particular order SORRY
Love, Carmen - this was the first or one of the first fics I ever wrote. it put me on the map a little bit (wattpad..) in terms of writing and boosted upon the sword and choice when they came along. it was really fun to just be young and writing after finishing all two released seasons of the show. i still like it a lot. its just cute and simple.
the phantom au - what a labor of love. i've had other fics (evil carlotta series, cough cough) that have been long and complex but those strayed into meandering and pointless and i lost a lot of motivation. phantom combined my love of theater with my favorite show and my hunger for angst angst angst. it was super fun to write and, at the risk of sounding vain, i pulled off a very hard to pull off trope at the end and i think i did it well. i think if you read any one of mine, this highlights a lot of my strengths.
the cardinal and the kitten - this is a popular one of mine that kind of serves as an updated love, carmen. i really enjoy how i wrote carmen and julia playing off of each other and my dialogue is very strong in this one.
okay, sorry about how long that was i treated it like a professional interview. i had a lot of fun writing this instead of working on a very important school project
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weyrwolfen · 3 months
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Happy Cody Day! Have Some Fic Recs
I wasn't able to finish writing anything for the 2-2-24 cause, so it seems like the least I could do was throw some recommendations for a few of my favorite Cody-centric fics into the ring to help celebrate. Enjoy!
Gen:
And Your People Shall Never Be Destroyed (complete) by independent_variables
Summary: A-017 turned and regarded him silently for a long moment. “You ask a lot of questions, Kote.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Is it really as simple as being one or the other?”
Kote bit his tongue.
‘17’s expression tightened, and he stepped forward to grip Kote’s shoulder.
“One day you’re going to ask a question you don’t like the answer to,” he said, eyes bright and burning. “And that’s when you’ll have to decide: is this a good thing, or a bad thing?”
My Comments: Features a whole slew of precocious CC cadets dealing with the horror show that is Kamino, but Cody is the POV character for the first, longest fic in this multi-story series. Heartbreaking with a happy, hopeful ending.
First Choice (complete) by smilebackwards
Summary: The clones get to choose their Jedi generals.
My Comments: This series has three fics in it, and while the first one is Obi-Wan-centric, the next two are from Cody's POV. The first two are a bit more serious in tone, while the last one is basically Cody's brothers relentlessly trolling him.
Shippy Fics (nothing explicit, because those fics are between me, God, and probably some overworked Ao3 website volunteers):
Our Own Choices (WIP Cody/Obi Wan) by heartofroses112
Summary: CC-2224 made the choice. Cody had to live with it. The Commander... well, he was prepared to burn the galaxy down as penance.
Or, Cody decides to leave the Empire, but that doesn't stop his past decisions from haunting him. In the midst of trying to repent for the crimes he 'willingly' committed, Cody may very well start a rebellion against the Empire while he's at it.
My Comments: Can it really be called shippy if we're 88 chapters in and the tagged pairing hasn't actually laid eyes on one another? Anyway, Codywan is pretty clearly endgame, if that either is or distinctly is not your thing. I'm mostly here for my catnip, which is the post-Clone Wars clone rebellion angle.
Our Caches and Constellations (complete Cody/Obi-Wan) by johanneb
Summary: Eleven years ago, the Jedi order got wind of the closing pincers of a Sith trap and scattered to the remote corners of the galaxy. Ten years ago, millions of clone commanders and troopers were introduced as the Republic’s new Army, made for fighting a war alongside people the galaxy seemed to be forgetting ever existed. Nine months ago, Commander Cody decided he was no longer going to risk his men's lives for the whims of clueless generals. Now, his decision to save a boy and a man in the desert, and the plan he comes up with to get away with it, will change the galaxy.
My Comments: Cody quiet quits the Empire as a prelude to loudly quitting the Empire, which is a lot easier in an AU where all space flight and communications technology is steampunk-y and fairly slow. Very creative world building.
100% open to receiving some recs too. I know both shippy recs were Codywan, but I'm not actually all that attached to that ship over any other. Happy @codyday2224 everyone!
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