#the next part might have to end up on AO3- the author isn't sure how smutty we're taking the next part.

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 195.6: Hobbies (Part 6)

It's been a minute since I worked on this one. Feel free to start here if you'd like.

Harry paced around his living room for what had to be the hundredth time by this point. He hadn't been able to stop pacing since he'd left Draco's office, wondering what the other man thought, wondering if he was going to come to see him. Wondering if this latest revelation was too much.

Wondering if Draco could see now that Harry was too much.

The knock on the door took him by surprise and he turned and stared at it uncertainly for a moment. Admittedly, he hadn't actually expected the other man to come.

Another knock and Harry stepped over to the door and opened it to find Draco standing on the other side. "Hi," he murmured.

"I need you to start that again," Draco said, as he pushed past Harry into the living room and collapsed on his sofa. "Rewind to the bit about you being a horocrux."

"Can I say a different thing first?" he asked, nerves sparking in his palms and the tips of his fingers.

The other man looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, "Of course."

"I don't actually want you to be my healer," he said, words all coming out in a rush. "I want to be better because I like you. Like a lot," he said and he could feel the heat rushing under his skin at the confession. "I really like you," he said again because he couldn't quite help himself. "I want to be safe for you."

Draco blinked at him and his breath rushed out in a long sigh. "Harry," he whispered.

"I thought I was okay if I never got to touch anyone again, you know? It was enough for me," he continued, trying to get the words out before he lost his nerve, "to not be a danger to others. Too many people died because of me, you know?"

(Read more below the cut)

"That wasn't your fault," Draco inserted quickly.

He nodded, "I know that," he said. "I know that now," he clarified. "Therapy really helped me to sort through my guilt and shame about things that weren't my fault but still happened because of me. There were a lot of deaths and injuries," he said, pausing to take a slow breath, "They weren't my fault, but people died because I wasn't ready to defeat him yet. I was a child," he added, "and it wasn't my fault but I wish I could have changed it."

Draco nodded, "You've done a lot of really good work."

"Then why am I still shocking people?" he asked.

"I have some theories about that, actually," Draco said, eyes bright, "but since I am not your healer, could I treat this like a conversation and say a few other things first?"

Harry folded himself onto the other end of the sofa, facing Draco as he nodded.

"I really like you too."

He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face.

"A lot. And I don't think you need me to be your therapist," Draco said. "I'm not saying that you shouldn't go to therapy," he continued, "I think everyone should go to therapy. I go to therapy," he added, "it's really helpful for me."

Harry felt his body relaxing, magic settling under his skin. Draco didn't think he was crazy.

"But I don't think that you need me to be a therapist for you," he said steadily. "You don't need what I specialize in because that's not what your body is doing."

He tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

Draco hummed, "Your core has actual, physical damage done to it. Your magic isn't spiking out of a nervous system response most of the time. An instance like today being the exception. And I might argue that even with it being really triggering, if your core didn't have gaping holes in the shell, you wouldn't have lost control of your magic."

Harry hummed, he'd like to believe that, he really would, but it was hard to imagine that he was right about that. "I was really triggered by the people following me."

"Right," he said. "And that would make anyone nervous. That was a lot."

He swallowed and looked down at his lap, not quite sure how to accept Draco's easy acceptance of his panic attack earlier.

"That was really difficult," he repeated, "You intentionally put yourself in a very triggering environment, your response was completely understandable."

Harry swallowed around the tears that were threatening. He'd cried in front of Draco before but this felt different.

"Harry," he said softly, and he looked up to meet Draco's eyes. "I don't want you to feel like you have to do that for me."

"Sorry?"

"It's okay for you to have boundaries," he said softly. "I want you to have boundaries. I want to help you have boundaries that keep you safe and healthy."

He blinked, throat too tight around the tears there.

"I'm sorry I made that the only way for you to reach me." He took a deep breath before squaring his shoulders and giving himself a little nod, "The truth is that you did way more to let me in than I did to let you in."

His brows furrowed, "What-"

"It wasn't until the last time I saw you that it occurred to me that I'd stopped really trying to 'cure you'," he said with self-deprecating air quotes, "and was just enjoying being your friend. I'd been doing it for a while unconsciously, but it scared me to be just actively trying to build a relationship with you."

He took a slow breath, waiting, giving Draco the space he needed to be able to say the things he needed to say.

"Because it felt ridiculous, you know?" he asked. But before Harry had the chance to feel hurt, Draco was continuing. "It didn't make sense to me that you would want to be spending time with me if I couldn't give you anything other than my company."

"Draco, what-"

"I went to see my own therapist today," he said. "Because this is me," he confessed. "This is the thing I struggle the most with."

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head, "I want to understand. Please help me understand what you're trying to say," he said as earnestly as he could. "What do you struggle with the most?"

Draco took a deep breath, "The idea that someone could love me for who I am and not for what I can give them."

"Draco," he breathed, heart feeling like it had burst inside of him, hot brackish lava spilling out and burning up his insides.

The other man spread his hands like he was putting himself on display.

"I want you," he said. "Godric, I want you so much."

"Harry-"

"I love spending time with you," he continued, unable to stop himself now that he knew what Draco needed to hear. "I love all of the time we've spent together, I've loved getting to know you. I have treasured every little piece of you that you've given me in our conversations. You-" he shook his head, "You're amazing. You amaze me. I want you all of the time."

"Harry," he breathed, eyes full of tears, and Harry ached with the desire to hold him.

"I want to be able to touch you," he confessed, the next best thing to pulling Draco into his arms and holding him until the aches inside of both of them subsided. "I want to hold you so badly."

"Your magic isn't going to hurt me, Harry."

He huffed a laugh, "You keep saying that."

"Because I mean it," he insisted.

"Right, but the healers I saw before I left-"

"Had a fundamental misunderstanding of magical cores, magic in general, and trauma," he inserted smoothly.

He sighed, rubbing his forehead, "tell me more."

Draco straightened, "Your magic isn't going to hurt me because you don't want to hurt me."

"It can't be that simple."

The other man gave him a little smile, "It is and it isn't. I'd be willing to bet that your accidental magic is the stuff of legends."

He huffed, "There have been a few memorable instances."

Draco quirked a grin at him, "Could you repeat what you'd said about being a horocrux?"

"When I was an infant, when Voldemort tried to kill me, he left part of his soul behind. We had a weird connection throughout my childhood. I could feel his magic, feel his imprint inside of me before I understood why. It went both ways, both limiting and enhancing my magic, I think."

"Can you say more about that?" Draco asked.

He laughed, "Now you really sound like my therapist."

"I don't mean to," he said with a frown.

"It's okay," he said. "I want you to know me," he added, then thought about those words for a moment, "Yeah. That's true," he laughed, "I want you to know me."

Draco smiled at him, "I want to know you."

He grinned dopily at Draco for a long moment because he enjoyed the sound of that sentence so much. "Right," he said, shaking his head. "So. Basically, the piece of Voldemort's soul inside of me magnified emotions like fear and anger in particular. My biggest incidences of accidental magic happened from those emotions. Which makes sense when you think about the way a horocrux does that too."

"I think you probably understand the effects of horocruxes better than anyone. There's not a lot of modern understanding of them," Draco said.

"Fair," he conceded. "Well, maybe you can trust me when I tell you that they do that? Like, have you watched Lord of the Rings?"

"I have no idea what that is."

Harry groaned and made it part of the mental list he kept for future movie nights. "Never mind. We'll watch it another time. My point is that I could feel him in my anger and fear in ways I couldn't in other parts of my magic. It makes sense to me that he was magnifying and fortifying those parts of my core. And it makes sense that when he was taken out he left holes that fear and anger would leak out of."

"Can I challenge you on that?" Draco asked, "Just a little?"

He nodded, "Sure."

"I don't think your core is only seeping those things. I think your core is seeping magic that relates to any emotion but your anxiety and fear of hurting people hijacks it."

"What do you mean?"

Draco hummed and seemed to be switching tactics, "What is safe magic for you to perform?"

"Cleaning," he replied immediately. Cleaning had been one of the first things he started allowing his magic to do again.

"Great," he said, "So cleaning never feels like it's going to hurt someone?"

"How could it?"

He nodded, "Right. But," he continued, "if you're feeling something like anger, that could be dangerous for the people around you."

"That seems logical," Harry said, certain that this was what he'd just told Draco. It made sense that his anger spewing out in the form of magic would be dangerous.

"Imagine a time when you were sad, did you feel like it was dangerous for the people around you?"

He shrugged, "It could have been," he said, remembering how his sadness had manifested as anger in his lifetime. And it was fair and true to say that he didn't like to feel too sad around other people; he didn't want to burden them with his grief too often.

Draco gave him a little grin, "I'm setting you up," he informed him.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the warning."

"Imagine the last time you were feeling something akin to love for someone. What happened then?"

His mind was immediately drawn back to that night when they'd kissed on this very sofa but he pulled back hard on the reins, that was way too much of an admission, way too fast.

"Like with Ron and Hermione," Draco suggested. "Or perhaps Teddy?"

That was easier. "Alright."

"How did you want to respond? Did you want to touch them? Give them a hug or a pat on the back?"

"Sure, I wanted that," he said because it was true.

"Did you do it?"

He shook his head, "No. Because touching them could hurt them."

"Ready?" he asked, looking at Harry like he was about to drop a bomb on him.

"I would have said 'yes' but I don't really like the tone of your voice," he replied.

Draco hummed. "I could be wrong about this, but I don't think I am."

"Oh good."

He shook his head and took a deep breath, "Do you think it's fair to say that you are afraid that loving people could hurt them too?"

And his gut reaction was to say no. He wanted to simply deny it. Love had saved him; many times over. But his love hadn't saved others; his loving people and them loving him in return had put them in harm's way a lot of times. "I meant it when I said that I didn't believe it was my fault that people died."

Draco nodded, giving him space to work through his thoughts.

"I don't think that I caused their deaths," he said, testing it out to see how the words felt. "But," he said softly and Draco's head tilted in sympathy, "I do feel like maybe if I hadn't loved them and they hadn't loved me that they might not have died." He felt a tear spill down his cheek. "I'm not responsible for their deaths," he repeated, a mantra he'd carried with him for years at this point. "But I do think that if it weren't for love, they would still be here today."

"Yeah," Draco whispered softly, warm and full of understanding. "It feels like what is coming out is fear or anger, but what's coming out is all of your emotions until your anxiety takes over."

"That's," he blew out a breath. "That's a lot."

"Yes," he conceded. "You aren't going to hurt me, Harry," he repeated.

"How do you know?" he asked again, because that's what this seemed to prove, really. Love triggered anxiety which made him zap people.

"Because you don't want to," he said again. "Your magic has never hurt me. Your magic has tried to keep me safe, your magic has tried to tell me you feel safe, your magic has tried to make me feel really-" he broke off and bit his lip.

"Really?"

"Good," he breathed. "Your magic really wanted me to feel good," he finished.

"Yeah?" he asked, throat going a little dry.

Draco's eyes met his and Harry felt like he was on fire, "Yes," he whispered, licking his bottom lip.

"Draco-"

"Kiss me," he murmured.

"Draco-"

"Harry," he said, voice soft and a little desperate. "Please."

He swallowed, "I have an idea."

Draco nodded, "Yes."

Harry laughed, his magic bubbling under his skin, "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I don't care," he replied. "I'll do anything if it means you'll kiss me again."

"Merlin," he sighed, closing his eyes and trying to make his brain work correctly. "I really like you."

"I really like you too," Draco replied and at the sound of how much closer his voice was Harry opened his eyes to find Draco leaning closer, mere inches from him.

"I don't trust myself," he said. "I want to kiss you but I don't want to touch you."

"Okay," Draco replied, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to work out a solution.

He blew out a breath, "I don't mean this to sound kinky-"

Draco's eyes sparked as they darted from Harry's lips to meet his eyes, clear and eager. "I'm not opposed."

Harry huffed a laugh again, "You still don't know what I was going to say."

"It doesn't matter."

"I want you to tie me up," he finally managed, blocking out all of the ideas flooding his brain. "Then you set the pace, you have the control. If it's too much or it hurts you, you can just stop."

Draco's fingertips brushed feather light over Harry's cheek and Harry's eyelids fluttered shut, his magic rushing under his skin, flooding his body and his senses. "I'm not afraid of you," Draco murmured and Harry clenched his fists at his sides to resist the urge to grab him. "But if that is what it takes to make you feel safe, I will gladly do it."

All of the heat from Draco's body disappeared suddenly and Harry's eyes snapped open to find that he was standing in front of him.

"Show me the way to your bedroom," he said. "And you can read into that as much or as little as you like."

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

(Part 5) | Next (hopefully last haha)

Read more of my ficlets here.

#author is still a dirty liar. #I haven't forgotten about this. I've just been really worn out #drarry #love #healing #healing isn't linear #the next part might have to end up on AO3- the author isn't sure how smutty we're taking the next part. #hobbies #part 6 #bro (genderneutral) this has gotten out of control. #powerful harry #crushes #long honest conversations are really where it's at for me at this point #sorry for the incoherent rambling tags. they're for my benefit haha #Potter harry potter #healer draco

[charmedtodeath]

These Traps We Fall Into | Robert Stahl/fem character (Part 2)

TW/CW: stalking, obsession, obsessive behavior, abuse of authority, abuse of power, possessive behavior, inappropriate behavior, general creepiness, age gap

AO3

Part 1

The sun rises over the city that never sleeps, and Special Agent Stahl must get to work again. He's usually awake by 6:30am, lately spending a few extra minutes before getting up looking at photos of the girl he's newly smitten with. Oh, how it would be so wonderful to see her in bed next to him, comfortably curled up against his side. His dreams have been full of her the past few nights. The obsession has already been spilling into his sleep. Stahl often dreams of rescuing her from horrible situations and holding her close to him. He wants her to be as happy to see him in real life as she is in his dreams. What is it going to take for her to realize that he should be the only man in her life?

He showers and gets dressed while he waits for the coffeemaker to finish, images of her still pasted behind his eyelids. Stahl is going to have to plan how to worm his way into her life, but he needs to make it look like it's her idea. It'll take some time to figure out how to do that without scaring her away. The biggest obstacle so far is her father; he would never approve of his daughter being with Stahl. It wouldn't be the most difficult thing in the world to plant some evidence and send him to prison. He deserves it, anyway. That would be 8-10 years of incarceration, and plenty of time to build a life together.

The second major obstacle in the way is the age difference. Fifteen years isn't much of a big deal to Stahl, but it might be to her. He'd have to work on her profile in his spare time to determine what type of men she's interested in. She could always surprise him by having an affinity for fine aged wines.

It looks like she's on first shift today, and he watches her progress as she gets closer to the EMS station while he sips his coffee. In case her boot tracker fails or she gets a new pair, he's managed to tap into the location services of her phone. Now he wishes he had bugged her room just to hear her voice more often. Maybe she sings along to music in the shower. There's a purple bluetooth speaker that is sometimes left on the bathroom counter, often accompanying the lingering scent of tangerine shampoo. Stahl smiles to himself at the thought of hearing her sing, wondering if she would do it for him.

He gives himself one last look in the mirror and makes sure every hair is in place before straightening his tie and heading out to go to the office. Real work is getting in the way of his plan, but somebody has to take this corruption problem into their hands, and it might as well be Stahl.

As he's on his way into Manhattan, he tries to think of things that could get her attention. Sending her flowers or other gifts as a secret admirer probably won't work. She'd likely think it was coming from a former patient and they'd end up in the trash. No, she's too smart for that. Her father must have taught her to be cautious about those types of things. But maybe she's on one of those dating apps. He'd of course have to put the effort into crafting the perfect profile to get her to notice him, but that would all be in vain if she isn't interested in older guys. He'll have to figure out her preferences before going forward.

Stahl checks in with his favorite girl periodically, wondering how her day is going and imagining conversations with her. He would love to be able to cook her dinner after a long day and feel her melt into him as she talks about her shift before falling asleep in his arms. He hopes he can realize this dream sooner rather than later. She will be his Belle, and he her Beast. Safe and protected where nobody else can get to her.

It's a hot one today, and the young paramedic finds herself ready for a nap by the time the clock hits 10am. Her fingers quickly become prunes under her gloves from the all the heat and humidity, and she's itchy from the dried sweat stuck to her skin. Getting home in the afternoon would give her enough time to sneak in a cat nap before she goes to meet a friend from college later tonight. She doesn't really feel like going out since that requires both being in a good mood and spending money, but she doesn't want to seem antisocial and ditch the plans altogether.

Stahl has no idea about this evening's plans, yet. He's been busy trying to get his asset to flip on the lieutenant. Immunity should sound far better than years in prison to pretty much anyone, so he's not sure why this is taking so long. It should have been an easy, open and shut case. A conviction, a promotion, and maybe a corner office with a nice view to go with it.

--

"Do you think your cousin would consider being my student mentor? I know third years are ridiculously busy, but I could really use someone to help me navigate things. I'm already so nervous and I still have over two months before orientation."

"She'd jump at any chance to pad her residency applications. I can give her your number so you guys can connect, if you want."

"Yeah, that would be awesome." As it turns out, the new trainee has a cousin who's about to start her third year in NYU's MD program; a perfect opportunity for the paramedic to befriend someone who knows their way around the school.

"So, what field are you thinking about specializing in?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll change my mind a thousand times. Emergency medicine has a special place in my heart, obviously, but I've been thinking about critical care and trauma surgery lately. We always get to see what's going on with people before we bring them in, but not after. I want to take care of the worst of the worst."

"I don't think I could ever work in the ICU," her partner chimes in. "Just knowing a lot of them are going to end up dying makes me feel awful."

"I get that, but I think it's worth it for all the success stories. You know, someone who's looked death in the face and comes back from it. Not to mention I'm less likely to get punched by a patient if they're comatose."

Her partner and trainee laugh and agree that yes, a perk of working with very sick people is that they are not as likely to attack you or ask for your phone number. The impromptu Q&A session is soon interrupted by a call for someone with heat stroke a few blocks away.

She's sporting a bruise on her hip from the stretcher by 1pm and wonders if it's even worth going out tonight. Maybe she should reschedule her plans and hang out with her dad at home. With their crazy variations in work hours, there's been no time for small talk or anything but leftovers and microwavable meals.

--

After restocking the ambulance for the next crew and finishing up shift reports, she leaves for the day and starts on her way home. Her skin glistens from the thin sheen of sweat on her face, and a phone call distracts her from the achey hip and toe blisters.

"Hi, Dad. I'm just on my way home now. What's up?"

"Hey, kid. I'm gonna have to stay late tonight. I have a lot to finish up here so I probably won't be home until after you're asleep." Now she'll have to decide between being alone at home or going out.

"Alright, no big. Thanks for letting me know. Do you want me to pick you up anything for dinner?"

"I'm all set for tonight."

"Okay. Be safe, Dad. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye."

The call foils her plans of staying in with her father tonight. She sighs and picks up the pace a little, wanting to get out of the muggy heat and into the shower as fast as possible. Meanwhile, Stahl is doing his best to push his investigation along.

"You can't keep dodging my calls and giving me non-answers, Detective. Your immunity agreement states that you need to give me real evidence linking Wozniak to the payoff money. I can't do that if you keep messing around." Stahl slaps his hand against the table in frustration, knowing his asset is holding out on him.

"I don't know what to tell you, Stahl. It's not like we go around discussing that type of thing out of the blue. If I try to push Wozniak, he's gonna know I'm the rat. He's already suspicious of me." The detective leans back against the booth, putting distance between the two of them. He lies to Stahl again and again. Wozniak is suspicious of him being the informant, but he's been lying to Woz, too. All of that deception adds up over time.

"I don't care what you have to do. I need something real on Lieutenant Wozniak. This does not bode well for you if you don't give me what I need." Stahl has fire in his eyes and steady hands as they go back and forth. He knows if the detective doesn't pay up, he'll be going to jail and his daughter will be all alone. It's a win-win for him.

"Why aren't you going after cops that are an actual problem in the city? Drugs and guns are away from schools and kids. Crime in this precinct is down. You're wasting your time on us. This unit is doing good police work."

"By taking payoffs? You know, I'm sure your darling daughter would love to know that Daddy's one of those bad apples you're referring to. Corruption is corruption, Detective."

"You leave her out of this. She has nothing to do with it and you know that. She doesn't need any more stress in her life. All I've ever tried to do is give her what I never had."

"Well, if I were her, I'd be pretty stressed out if all those years of lying to protect me ended in you going to prison. You're running out of time. Get me that evidence, or you're going to be enjoying an orange jumpsuit and instant coffee every morning."

The detective doesn't put up a fight and simply walks out of the diner where they were meeting. Stahl counts intimidation as a win.

--

Once the clock strikes 7, there's hair to finish styling, makeup to be perfected, and an outfit to be chosen. Trying to find something comfortable but nice to wear in the summer heat is more challenging than she thought it would be. She has to meet her friend in an hour, so it's time to get a move on.

Stahl sits in his car and checks her location every ten minutes. So far, so good. She hasn't gone anywhere since she got home a few hours ago and at this rate she's probably in for the night. He praises himself for finally being able to track her phone's location, making it far easier to see where she is at any time of day.

As she finishes the last few swipes of mascara, she wonders if she should go for wedges or flat sandals. Her feet will hurt after walking no matter which ones she chooses, but she decides she might as well add a few inches and goes for the heels. Locking up at home, she dons a small bag on her shoulder and starts to walk the ten blocks to the agreed upon place. Her friend is almost always late, anyway, so it's okay if she takes her time.

When Stahl checks in again, he finds his darling girl has left home unexpectedly. This is unacceptable. Is she going on a date? He needs to figure out where she's going so he can keep an eye on her. He can't imagine how he'd feel if he saw her out with another man. She is supposed to be his and his alone.

#robert stahl x reader #robert stahl shades of blue #agent stahl #shades of blue fanfic

[anzynai]

Hii it's the anon who sent the ask Abt looking other places for fanfic so I found this longfic called Ocean Mist on Wattpad and there's specifically a chapter called "Ticklish", Yuu finds out Azul is ticklish in that one and it's sooo cute(tbh I just loved the whole fic so much flustered Azul <3)

Additionally, on AO3, you may or may not have found these already because they're not tagged but they're tkl fics

Tickle Attack (You notice the octatrio isn't feeling well, cheer-up tickles ensue)

Tsuisorando Shotsu (I'm not sure if I spelled the name right, but there are quite a few tkl fic chapters in there, I think it's best to just select "read entire work" and command-f "tickl" bc that's what I did to avoid anything potentially explicit) But just in case you don't want to come across anything like that, there's the chapter 'Our Lovable Octopus' which might have had one vague explicit implication but I don't think there was anything major and the tickling was wholly sfw

A Fine Line Between - I just liked this fic in general the M isn't for any sexual content, and there's a tkl scene (if you wanna skip to just that part, I'd recommend just clicking read entire work and command-f 'tickl')

Also, I'm not sure if you already know this (probably do, but just in case) there's some fics w/Azul that were made in 2023)

On Wattpad, NGL I just looked up 'twst tickl' and sifted through the stuff I got so sorry that I couldn't rec much stuff, also I saw this one that was a transcript of tkl audios but there was an explicit chapter in there meaning this was probably a kink for them so I clicked out)

Ffn's mostly AO3 cross posting so there isn't anything there you wouldn't find on AO3 (I'm saying this to myself because I was about to check only to realize that everything there's on AO3, sorry)

Tbh I mostly looked for every single fic I could find on AO3 and then ended up also finding sfw tkl scenes in the process (I also command F'd a bunch of longfics) so I can mostly just say specific scenes from certain fics sryyy

Anyways, I hope at least one of these is new to you <3

hello anon! thank you sooo much for these, i already read the first one just now and it was so cute omg and also i thought i was the only one who would search for tickle content by using “tickl” cuz it can be ticklish, tickling, tickle, and litwrally just all that LOL anyways these are very appreciated and if u ever find any more, please dont hesitate to send them my way hehe

im going to link some of the ones from ao3 under the cut

so tickle attack which is by missyliz - which i haven’t read yet! it seems really cute tho!

and uhh i couldnt actyally find the next fic tbh😭😭 i searched high and low but maybe im missing something?? could u possibly provide an author?

a fine line between by kyuubiluver342 - i actually havent reqd this one either but i did skim over it so for others, the scene is near the end of chapter 2 and from what i’ve seen, it’s comfort tickles

and yeah, ffn is something i noticed did have lots of crossposting, but i never really minded because i dont really know how to work the website anyway LOL

also since you shared some, ill share one that i found also!

so the first one is giggles by psycheprincess — this one isnt tickle centric but it does have a small scene

and here’s a SNIPPET of a scene in this azujami one-shot — that is this is me by dizplixity but the wcene is very short so i have a photo below

and im assuming u have read the fics under the tickling tag, but there’s some really cute ones there too! if not, i don’t mind sharing them:)

again, thanks for these recommendations and i really didnt expect them to be centered around the octatrio so it was a nice surprise hehe <33

#jai’s asks #twisted wonderland #twst #twst tickling #fic recs #long post #ish

[ohmyoverland]

Fic Writer Questions

Thanks for the tag @anything-thats-rock-and-roll :D

1. How many fics do you have on AO3? 26

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 25, 570

3. What fandoms do you write for? Except for a few one-offs and my 3 Anne With An E fics, I write Lockwood & Co. 💚⚔

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

After Chameleon, an unbetad Miraculous Ladybug salt fic written before the actual episode had come out. It accidentally blew up asldkfjhjkl

On My Mind, a Detroit: Become Human rk1k ficlet where Connor can read minds.

All the Words I Don't Have, pure grade A Locklyle fluff

are we out of touch, are we out of time? AWAE Season 3 speculative fic that is actually an expanded version of a tumblr post I wrote after the penultimate episode of the series premiered.

wavering, my cot3 pining + character study fic. I'm really proud of it and I promise chapter 3 is coming eventually lmao

5. Do you respond to comments? I don't 😭 I want to but I never know what to say and before I know it, the comment is 2 years old oops. I reread comments all the time ❤

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? That's tough to say for sure but I think every lessons forms a new scar ending with an off-screen character death is probably the most angst I've ended with so far.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? That would have to be All the Words I Don't Have again. Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. And Lockwood writes some really bad poetry.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not so far.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do sometimes, and it's not published yet.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Another Change of Plans is the most tumblr WIP I have lol. It dares to start asking the question, "What if the Old Guard adopted Adam Young, the antichrist from Good Omens?"

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Sort of? There was one collab fic I wrote a scene for but it never got finished. Someday I might post my part, because ngl I'm pretty proud of the Skull/Lucy banter in it.

13. What’s your all time favorite ship? How could I ever choose??? By bookmark stats, it would be Marinette and Adrien from Miraculous Ladybug. But cot3 (Lockwood & Co) and Superbat (DC) are up there too.

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? A better question is what isn't a WIP I'll never finish??? I have dozens 😭 Though one that stands out is an old Frozen fic I outlined in I think 2018(?). The premise is a canon divergence where Anna's death is faked when they're children and she's raised in the village instead of in the castle. There are two full acts that are just set up for a The Prince And Me/Princess Diaries-esque rom-com between suddenly-a-princess Anna and just-a-normal-guy Kristoff.

The outline on its own is about 8k words, and frankly I've considered editing and posting the outline itself before because it's detailed enough. This fic is actually a drabble I wrote to take place within my AU, but it reads canon compliant enough of its own so I posted it.

15. What are your writing strengths? Ideas. I am always getting new plot bunnies, always getting excited about the next great idea, always thinking about new aspects of these worlds and characters I want to explore.

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue and volume. That's why I write so many descriptive, very short fics XD

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I'd only do it in a language I've studied for a couple years, and even then I would want a native speaker to read over it for me. But it hasn't come up yet?

I do really like Superbat or Star Trek fics where the author sparingly includes Kryptonian / Klingon / Vulcan with a translation at the end.

18. First fandom you wrote for? My Little Pony, or maybe Percy Jackson?? I'm too scared to check my old accounts to see which came first, if I ever even posted the fics I remember writing then at all.

19. Favorite fic you’ve written? building glass castles for sure!!! I love the atmosphere in it, and the monologue from Skull. That monologue came to me in the middle of the night once, so I had to type it up immediately and build the fic around it later.

No pressure tags @sabetha @synestheticwanderings @abumperprize @lenacarstairspotterstewart @woahpip @flythesail @shizuoi

#seriously thanks for tagging me!!! #i love tag games it just takes me a century to actually get to doing them lol #tag game #mutual games #fic writing #my writing #fic rec #mine

[kindly-whisper-norbury]

New AO3 Script / Screenplay Tutorial

Some time back I posted a tutorial for how to format CSS and HTML for a screenplay on AO3, but since then I have improved upon it and I wish to now share with you all the (hopefully somewhat better) new version.

I previously had a significant problem with the spacing of certain elements, which would end up breaking the formatting. So recently I spent two days studying and trying code after code until I got it right.

Note that though this formatting makes the screenplay look authentic enough on a computer monitor or on mobile in landscape mode, it does not (in my experience) tend to show up well in portrait mode. This version is at least readable in portrait mode, however, whereas the old version was not. Still, you might like to make an author’s note mentioning that readers in portrait mode may need to use the “hide creator’s style” button, which will take away the formatting:

Okay, let's get to work! First you are going to have to create a new AO3 work skin. Name it whatever you like, then insert this code:

#workskin p { font-family: "Courier Prime", Courier, monospace; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-word; }

#workskin p { margin-left: 5%; }

#workskin p { margin-right: 15%; }

#workskin .indented { padding-left: 15%; padding-right: 25%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-word; }

#workskin .par { display: block; padding-left: 15%; padding-right: 25%; }

#workskin .character { display: block; padding-left: 25%; }

You can adjust things like the margin and padding percentages to fit your own style, of course!

Now comes the fun part. After you have written your script, make a new draft using your screenplay skin. Then get onto the HTML editor.

The SHOT, SCENE HEADING, and ACTION elements will be left alone. The only tagging necessary for them is < p > (close up the < and >, of course... Tumblr is giving me a hard time about showing it as it really should be) for paragraph transitions. But do be sure to use the < p > tag, or it will break the formatting.

Next are the CHARACTER, PARENTHETICAL, and DIALOGUE elements... which are a bit more involved.

Before blocks of character/parenthetical/dialogue, you need to put the following tag (with closed up < & >): < div class="indented" align="left" > . Note that if there is more than one Character involved with no action breaks in between (in other words, if there is a conversation going on), you do not need to put the tag between each character, just before the first one. Like so:

And be sure to close it back up after the blocks of conversation with < /div >

Next up is CHARACTER, which, as you can see above, is tagged: < p >< span class="character" > CHARACTER NAME< /span >

Notice that there are no line breaks between the < /span > and the dialogue. Due to the nature of < span > if you try to put a line break in there it will turn it into a paragraph break, which doesn't work well for the screenwriting thing. I am sure there is a workaround, but that's what I got for the time being!

Now we come to PARENTHETICALS, which are the bits of action within dialogue:

To tag those, once again do not make a line break, but simply insert this: < span class="par" > then close it after inserting the parenthetical with < /span >

It might be easier to simply visualize, but note that as a personal preference I tend to italicize my parenthetical elements with < em >... you don't have to, that's just my style:

And that is basically it! If you would rather just look at the code than to try and figure out what I was trying to explain (I am not sure I did a good job of that!), here is a basic visual:

This:

Should get you this:

Or something similar, anyway. It may vary on your screen. If you would like to see a live example of how it will look on your monitor or with your device, you can click below to get to a small fic I have formatted this way (it isn't the story sampled above, however, since that is a WIP I have not posted anywhere yet!)

If I have made any mistakes or anything is in need of clarification, let me know! I will do my best to fix it!

#ao3 #fanfic #ao3 tutorial #tutorial #writing #writeblr #screenplays #screenplay format #screenplay tutorial

[seyaryminamoto]

Hey, don't know if you'll see this as I've never used this Tumblr feature before.

But anyways, how do you feel about entering the last phase of your series Gladiator..?

This series has gone on for almost as long as I have been in the world of fanfiction. As the author of one of Ao3's largest works of fiction (the largest one in the entire ATLA fandom), I'm curious as to how you feel about knowing that the end is near for a piece of work that you have put so many years in too.

I feel as though this fic has become such a big part of your life, going from 2014 to the current year and still on-going, knowing that eventually you will write the last chapter for this and eventually have to post it seems... overwhelming to me.

I'm a little bittersweet myself, though I do have a lot of catching up to do as I did stop reading awhile ago due to the military, but that just means I have a a shitton of reading material for the next week or so... (I will blast through it as I did in 2020 when I found this fic...).

But yes anyways, idk, seems like a lot to me. Feel free to answer on your own time, I'm sure you're just as busy as I am if not more : D

Well... technically I started writing it in 2013, I just started posting in AO3 on 2014 xD but yes, all in all, you're correct with your assessments.

Being in the final stretch of this story is a lot to take for sure, I admit there was a moment when it hit me, earlier this year, that it'd end soon, and some impulsive part of me was like "ummm... I'll stop writing right now or I'll run out of story too fast". Which is a very weird thing to think considering I've been writing it for almost ten years! Too fast? It really hasn't been too fast at all x'D but like I said in an earlier ask... Gladiator has been a major part of my life for a long time now, I can safely say the choice of writing this big fic literally changed my life beyond anything I imagined possible. I still remember wistfully wondering what it might be like to be read by people all around the globe... and yes, perhaps fanfiction isn't the conventional way of going about that, but who cares about conventional when you get to meet people from all around the world who also love the things you love? XD I achieved my careless high school dream without ever imagining I could do it as early on as I have.

I have very little doubts that writing the very ending of Gladiator, the last chapter, the last words, will make me cry about ten rivers X'D I don't know if I'll ever be ready to say goodbye to this story, it has meant soooo much to me and it will forever have a major place in my heart regardless of whatever my future holds beyond it. I've never written anything as ambitious as this fic... and heck, maybe I never will xD I wouldn't be surprised if I can't ever find a story to create that could possibly rival Gladiator's immensity, not only length-wise, but as far as complexity and numerous plotlines are concerned. I've always been given to creating lengthy stories, but what I've done with Gladiator far outdoes anything even I knew myself capable of. Knowing this fic is among the longest fics in AO3 (last I was told it was the eighth??? Like... that's utterly insane to me xD), and a little under 1M words from the famously longest story in FF.net? I had noooo idea I was signing up for something that would take me this far at the very beginning. I did know Gladiator was going to be big... I did not know it was going to be THIS big! xD

So yeah, getting to the final part is a complicated experience because I'm definitely thrilled about writing all I've been writing, moving the story forward as good as non-stop, getting to the thick of the action I've been plotting and developing the story towards for YEARS! But I admit... I fear I'm bound to feel a little lonely once it ends. It won't be over as fast for you guys as it will be for me, since I'm writing in advance and all, but it's going to be strange not having this story as one of my biggest priorities anymore. I know I've been insanely fortunate to be able to write as much as I have, I definitely owe much to so many people supporting me and helping me stay on this path until my full artistic vision can be realized. But ultimately, yeah, the moment of reaching that ending will probably be a little bit emotionally devastating xD I do intend to get there, the universe knows I must! But the cost will be steep for sure. This experience will always be with me, and I'll always appreciate all the good things that came my way because of it, but parting ways with Gladiator, whether for good or only temporarily, will be a very bittersweet moment for me.

I will say, though, that I'm sure I'll revisit this story, whether by writing post Gladiator-canon stories or just by rereading chapters here and there. Giving stories some time to fade out from the core focus of your mind makes it really interesting to revisit them and rediscover things you never even remembered having written xD so... I look forward to that in the future. As difficult as it will be to try to get over my big, huge fic coming to an end, I think the journey to get there has been mostly gratifying, with only a few hiccups along the way, and it's defintely one of the most rewarding learning experiences I've ever lived through. I'll miss it, but I know it's always going to be right there, within my reach, ready to take over my life once more when I reread or write any new stories for it in the future :)

#anon #gladiator #... I got emotional answering this I need a tissue (?) #okay but really #if you'd told Seyary the innocent recovering weaboo from 2012 who opened FF.net's archive #and saw the top reviewed stories #and saw their length #and told herself 'lol imagine being one of those devoted fans they're so cool' #... and now she's somehow one of them #I could barely believe it when I beat out the longest story of the fandom before Gladiator #that Azulaang 1M story? #... and here I am aiming for 4M and wondering if 5M will happen X'D #dear god it's madness to realize how far this crazy story has brought me #I've got a ton of stories to tell... but I really don't think it'll be possible for me to genuinely get over Gladiator #I've given it my all #and I regret nothing <3

[thelucyverse]

How To Interact With Beta Readers - for Fanfic Authors

I wanted to make posts both for fic authors and beta readers, because I realized in several recent interactions that some helpful unwritten rules of fandom seem to have become lost to people who are new to it.

This isn't meant to be a call-out post against anyone to say 'you did it wrong!' (really, how could anyone be mad if you just didn't know any better), and there aren't even any definite rules for anything - but I just thought these things might be nice to know and helpful to share around. This first part will be @ the authors, the second part is @ the betas.

Asking for a beta reader

When you want someone to look through your fic, whether you ask in a tumblr post, @/helper in a discord server, in the notes of an already posted work or anywhere else, it's important to state both a) what the work that you want betad is and b) what you want from a beta reader.

The facts about the story.

The first most important facts about the story are a) length (in wordcount, as that is the most-used measurement for fanfiction - you can see it below the tags of an ao3 draft, or at the bottom left of a Word document), and b) rating and warnings. No, please don't just ask 'i have a fic for xy ship to beta' - that's nice information, but not helpful for someone who needs to decide whether they a) have the time to work on the length of fic and b) are willing to be confronted with the kind of content you have written.

In addition to that, you should of course also write what fandom, characters and dynamic it is about, because most beta readers are only willing to beta stories they would also usually read for fun. To make sure that the right people find the ask for a beta reader, you best target the post to them, so tag a tumblr post with the fandom and ship etc, and on discord share the request in a server or channel for the fandom, not an unrelated one.

What format is the draft in?

A word document you can send them via e-mail, a copy-pasted text in a direct message, link access to a google docs? Not everyone is comfortable with all of these methods, and you need to figure out one that works for the both of you.

Also, do you want the changes made directly in the text, in comment functions of the document, or as messages to you? If for example you send someone a Word document, and don't want them to change anything directly in your text, but they aren't comfortable working with the comment function there and end up writing you separate messages telling you what page and line the edits are one, that's going to be a lot more work for you to look through than you might have liked, so make sure to communicate it all beforehand and figure out a way that works properly for everyone.

What do you want from your beta?

'Well, to look over the story, duh?' but it's not that easy. Do you want the beta to:

- Only check for spelling and grammar mistakes in comments next to the text, No other suggestions at all because they would make you feel bad about your work/you don't have the time or want to spend the time on editing anything but honest mistakes/ any other reason?

- Grammar and spelling checks but also suggestions for word flow, repetitive words and phrases that could be changed and stylistic things like adding paragraph breaks (which are always nice to have for mobile reading)?

- [same as above] and also point out possible logic flaws and places where you might want to move a scene forward or back, or suggestions to things you could add to the story, with explanations as to why?

- [same as above] and also give suggestions for text you could cut that is unnecessary to the story or interrupting the flow of a scene in the opinion of your beta reader?

- Include nice messages as to what the beta liked best of the fic, or stay completely objective?

- Point out things they subjectively didn't like and would change about the story if they wrote it themselves, or not?

- Make corrections directly in the story, so afterwards you barely need to look at it anymore before you can publish it, or only give suggestions in comments or messages?

All of these are things some people welcome and others find incredibly annoying and/or hurtful! So make sure to communicate exactly what you are looking for. You don't have to do so in your initial public request, but once you have found a potential beta, you should text them the details before giving them access to your fic.

Do not be afraid of cancelling on a beta if you don't think it is going to work out! Whether because they aren't comfortable using the format you like to use, are a language teacher who can't stop correcting the long sentences you choose to keep as a stylistic choice, or just someone you don't vibe with, whether it's before or after they have started beta reading - be kind, but let them know that it just isn't working out, and that you would rather stop now before either of you wastes any more time and effort. If they want you to, you can tell them what you would have liked them to do differently, but don't ask someone to change how they are, and don't give unsolicited criticism, no, not even to a beta reader.

Decide on a time-frame

When are you going to send them the fic? Chapter by chapter over the next days, or the entire work? When do you want or need the work to be beta read? Is it for a challenge or gift exchange and needs to be finished on the same day, or can they wait for the weekend? Even if you don't have a specific deadline, when do you want them to send it back at the latest?

Working with a beta reader

After - or, if you are in for example a google docs at the same time, while - your beta reader does the corrections, you should look at them and decide which corrections you want to keep, and which to disregard. This is entirely your decision, it is your story, you don't need to feel bad if you don't take all of the suggestions for your work, even if you end up only correcting the spelling mistakes and ignoring everything else, it's your decision and this is fine.

If your beta gave suggestions for additional scenes or sentence changes, you can let them know once you have new text for them to correct, but keep in mind that they might no longer have time or energy to beta now, and don't be disappointed if they tell you this or don't reply. They already helped you, and you can always look for a new beta if you feel that your story still needs it.

Crediting your beta reader

Where are you uploading your fic, and how does your beta reader want to be credited? You best talk about this beforehand as well, as some betas only want to work on something when they will get the credit on a platform they are also on.

When posting on tumblr, it is usually expected to @ the person who helped you and write their url or tracked tag in the #s as well, but make sure to ask beforehand, as maybe they don't want other people to know they beta because they don't want to get swamped in work requests/ they don't want their url associated with for example explicit work/ they want you to tag a sideblog for the fandom instead of their main url.

On ao3, you can link to another author's dashboard or profile page (ask which one they prefer) in the notes by first going to the work text - rich text, writing their name, clicking the link symbol, pasting the url, going back to HTML text and cut-pasting the code to the note you want to have it in. You can do the prep work in a new work instead of your actual draft so you won't accidentally cut any of the work text. Again, ask the person beforehand whether they want to be linked there, or just want a nickname or their tumblr url credited.

You can also gift people works on ao3, and while this is in no way a requirement and most beta readers won't ask for it, just about everyone is happy to receive ao3 gifts! You can ask them beforehand if they want that, but as people can accept and refuse gifts on ao3 themselves, you can also let it be a surprise.

If your beta put a lot of work into your fic and wrote parts of it themselves, you can also make them a co-creator of the work on ao3, but only do this if you know and trust the person, as they will gain access to the fic and will be able to edit everything just like you.

Let me know if I missed anything, and I will update the post!

Tips for beta-readers themselves here!

#beta readers #fanfic authors #fandom #fandom lesson #fic lesson #tumblr lesson #ao3 lesson #ao3 #how to ao3 #how to fandom #not lverse #tagging some fandoms too hmm #lotr #hp #tog #gomens #star wars

[deltas-writing-corner]

Courtship (4): The Gargoyle Graveyard

Fandom: Twisted Wonderland (Malleus x GN!reader)

Author note: Again, thank you all for being patient with me and I apologize for having a very inconsistent writing schedule. I'm going to make it my goal to update on a bi weekly basis instead of leaving you all in silent limbo. Also a reminder I suck at figuring out which warnings to put so if there's something that needs to be forewarned that I failed to disclose please lmk!

Warnings: Mentions of heavy bodily injuries | childhood trauma/neglect | discussions/mentions of discrimination | mentions of virginity/sexual history

Previous chapter | Next Chapter

AO3 version

Clay. Stone. Porcelain. Plaster. Metal. There are even gargoyles carved entirely of wood! Some statues are stand-alone works of art while others are part of a clear collection or series of similar inspiration. They even come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; as small as an apple or a towering height to rival Malleus himself. No matter what, each grotesque has been crafted with the utmost consideration, by well seasoned and knowing hands. Even the ones that have clear defects and cannot serve their intended purpose are free of overabundant ivy, weeds, or dust. There’s a clear degree of love and care the family who makes these statues has for their craft that makes him feel less alone in his interest in an uncherished form of art.

“It should be around here somewhere,” you muse aloud. Ever since he expressed interest in seeing more sculptures made with non-traditional materials, you’ve been keeping your eye out for a particular one that would fulfill his yearning. You eventually find it and eagerly point to it. “There it is!”

Malleus watches as you approach a massive-sized statue covered with a thick and half-wet tarp. He helps you remove the cover, revealing a winged and slightly humanoid canine. There are many more grotesques with a similar design, but what makes this one stand out the most is the material it’s made out of.

“Amazing!” Malleus awes. “I’ve never seen a grotesque of this size made entirely of glass! They’ve even managed to maintain their attention to detail despite such an abnormal material choice.”

“You can even see the inner channel where the water would flow in and redirect out of its mouth,” you notice.

“They even went out of their way to make it functional despite it being unfit for actual installation?” Malleus inquires with disbelief. “Such a shame.”

“If you’re looking to buy anything here, I’m afraid it's a lost cause. One of the first warnings the grandfather gave me is that none of these are for sale.”

“What was his second warning?”

“If we damage anything, even as small as a scratch, he’ll kill us.”

“How charming,” he chuckles. “I cannot blame him. These statues must take weeks to complete. Time is a human’s greatest enemy.”

“For some, sure. But when I went to visit the family and talked to the old man, he was lunging around all this heavy equipment like he was still in his prime,” you recall. “He lives for his craft. If there’s anything humans are at risk of their entire lives, it’s a lack of motivation and reason to live.”

“I suppose that’s true, but the lifespan of humans and the inevitable effects of aging is difficult to live with, especially once it begins to hinder one’s ability to do what one could previously do without issue. ”

“You’re not wrong,” you acknowledge. “But I think I’d rather live a short life with fulfillment than a dull, long-as-shit life.”

To show that he’s entirely on your side, Gunter lets out a guttural bark while his tail rapidly wags and thumps the damp ground, coating the ends of his bushy tail in specs of dirt and dirtied, remnant snow of the north that has managed to stay frozen on the isles warmer south end.

“You’re only agreeing with them because you’ve been promised food,” Malleus chastises. “Don’t think I didn’t pick up on your grumbling stomach.”

“And don't think I didn't pick up on your stomach rumbling either your highness," you quip back at him. "The family has a small cottage nearby we can use. We'll settle down for a bit and eat before sightseeing some more."

Before you turn and walk in the direction towards the aforementioned lodgings, you reach your hand out for Malleus to take and he latches onto you with restrained enthusiasm. He's taller than you, but he takes care not to take his normal strides as to not leave you struggling to keep up with him. Gunter doesn't know the way, so he trots beside you every step of the way up until the destination is in plain view. The cottage is small but well-attended. There’s a rustic flair to its construction that makes it feel familiar and safe despite never stepping foot in it before.

"Those gargoyles were something, huh?" you remark to him while you tap and shake off the gunk wedged into the soles of your heavy boots against the frame of the door.

"Indeed," he nods, taking your cloak off for you and hanging it on the wooden rack nearby. "I don't think I've ever seen that many gargoyles in one day. Just when my eyes land upon an intriguing one, there's several more that catch my attention."

The way he gets all wide-eyed is outright adorable. It makes you grin just as enthusiastically too. "I bet your club is going to have a field day once you tell them about this!"

His child-like smile turns into one of disappointment. "I'm certain they would, if I wasn't the sole member that is."

Your hands halt from pulling out and setting down all the premade food out of your pack. "Seriously? You're the only one?"

When he nods his head, you feel a twinge of hurt in your heart. Poor guy. You can only imagine how disappointing it must be to go through all those lengths to start a club (you would know since you're technically a staff member of the school and have been given a rundown on some of the school's functions and regulations) only for no one to show interest. Of course, you completely understand that gargoyles aren't exactly all the rage within the minds of teenage boys. Still! He goes through so much effort to build relationships with his peers but they always cower away, either due to his status or even because of the way he looks. You won’t deny that he does come off as rather intimidating at first glance, but he's a sweet guy once you give him the chance to speak.

But to expect teenagers going through social pressures and demanding academics to be as understanding and willing to understand someone like Malleus is an impossible demand. Given that everyone in the school can be a bunch of self-centered and easily agitated bunch of pricks, it's understandable that most of the student body isn't keen on trying to take into consideration the proper etiquette one needs to consider in the presence of a young and noble fae. Deuce has met and talked briefly with Malleus on one occasion, but even he visibly shakes whenever his name is mentioned, even in casual passing.

Wait until they found out who you've gone and gotten buddy-buddy with behind their back. They probably think they're slick or that their intentions are well swept under the rug, but it's clear they feel some semblance of responsibility for your well-being, as both a magicless individual as well as a close, albeit older, friend. You dread the day people begin to make the connections between Malleus and you, but you still can’t help but wonder what their reactions might be. You also dread the high probability those two idiots are going to find out and embarrass the living hell out of you, which you know you do not have the patience or tolerance for.

Gunter jumps up and sits himself down in one of the wooden dining chairs, pushing the small ceramic plate towards you with his nose, as if telling you "Alright, I’ve done what I said I'd do, now feed me what I'm owed." You tell him that you'll give him what he's well earned after you get a small fire started in the brick fireplace. Just because it's warmer near the southern half of the island and not as heavily blanketed with snow, doesn't mean the cold has completely vanished, Winter is still winter after all.

"Where did these scars come from?"

Malleus' unexpected question and closeness nearly make you drop the iron rod you've been using to stoke the growing fire. You've since taken off your boots and rolled up the bottoms of your pants just above your knee as the room starts to warm up enough for a thin layer of perspiration to accumulate and roll down your skin. The scars he's referring to are the ones on your right leg, both side by side at an awkward angle and discolored. You have a lot more scars than these, some much more gruesome in appearance than these two. Malleus has never asked about your scars, but sometimes you catch him looking in the general area of some that peak through your clothes. He likely keeps quiet about their existence out of courtesy.

Yet out of all the markings on your body, why did these two stand out enough that he'd finally ask about them?

"It's a long story," you say in an effort to stall the topic. "Sit. I'll feed you two once the fire is stable."

He doesn’t push you for an answer, instead simply doing as you say and lets you poke at the burning logs until they're properly aflame on their own. You made mostly some of your morning favorites; Creamy and thick potato stew with diced carrots and peas and some eggs, ham, and crispy hash browns sandwich between homemade halved croissants. You teased him about having picky taste buds earlier, but Malleus is content to eat anything you serve him so long as it is not comparable to the likes of Lilia's atrocious cooking.

(Seriously, how does a man as old as Lilia not know the basic fundamentals of cooking? And why does everything he makes end up burnt and tasting like something rotten? You will never understand.)

"Don't eat too quickly," you warn Gunter as you pour a bit of light-colored soup onto his designated plate. Your words are ignored, as the equally marred wolf sloppily slurps and munches on the few bits of potatoes and vegetables you generously scraped out of the thermos. His food is gone as quickly as it’s put in front of him and he looks at you expecting more.

"No. The rest is mine," you scold. "And don't beg Malleus for some either! I know you do it behind my back, you little shit!"

He turns to look at Malleus with an accusatory glare, thinking that he ratted him out to you. Malleus’s response towards the silent imputation is to turn and look out the window as if something caught his interest all of a sudden, cup raised to his lips as he politely sips away at his meal without an air of calmness. You have to slap a hand over your mouth to hide the amusement that overtakes your senses.

"Malleus, stop that!"

"Stop what?" he innocently asks.

"Stop making me want to laugh!"

He sets his cup down onto its matching serving dish. "It's not my fault you have an easily satiable sense of humor."

"Wow!" you say incredulously and put your arms up in offense. "And here I was thinking we were friends!"

His distant demeanor breaks and you both devolve into a fit of laughter together. Gunter unfortunately takes advantage of your joint distraction and slips away with a warm sandwich between his jaw, your sandwich in particular.

"That damn wolf!" you curse. "I knew I should have trusted my gut and pack extras.”

Malleus pities your distress before moving over to sit closer. "Worry not. I'll split mine in half with you,” he reassures.

"No, it's fine," you immediately dismiss his offer. "Have it for yourself."

"I'm not taking no for an answer," he firmly states. “Don’t be stubborn. It’s far too early for that.”

"I thought you liked it when I was stubborn?” you pout.

He shakes his head with a smile. “I would be lying if I said I didn’t”

"At least someone likes my attitude,” you say after chewing and swallowing a mouthful of soup. “Sebek certainly doesn’t."

"The boy is stubborn as well. When two equally stubborn individuals cross paths, you will witness nothing but discord between the two."

"Add the fact I'm human into the mix, and we'll be exchanging fists instead of words sooner or later," you scoff. "I get that some faes don't like humans, but what's his deal with acting like he’s got a vendetta against me?"

"Sebek doesn't hate humans for the reasons you might think," Malleus admits. "It’s more like he finds them difficult to think that highly of. Did you know that he is half-human?"

You nearly choke on your own breath over the sudden revelation. "Really?"

"Indeed," Malleus finds amusement at your disbelief. "Have you ever wondered why his ears aren't pointed like Silver, but his eyes are like mine and Lilia’s?"

"Damn,” you scratch the back of your head with embarrassment. “Now I feel stupid.”

"You aren't. Given the way he speaks, not many would assume he had human blood in his veins. His mother was highly regarded within her social circle, but her marriage to a human man tarnished her reputation a great deal. She's happy and does not seem to care what others think of her these days. However, when Sebek set out to be a knight, his mother's marriage and his lineage were often brought up as a way to scrutinize his character and capabilities rather than any of his actual shortcomings as an individual."

"Poor kid," you sigh. "Lilia told me those sorts of things still happen in The Valley, but it sounds so outlandish that I couldn’t take it that seriously."

"Many faes hold old traditions above all else, to a degree that the purity of one's blood stands above all other merits." His eyebrows pressed together in annoyance. "Even my grandmother thinks it's archaic, but as the reigning queen she has to embody a persona of neutrality between the social divide."

"It sounds like you have your work cut out for you in the future," you say, almost apologetically. "What do you plan to do about it once you're the king?"

There's a brief flash of surprise over your question, but Malleus easily answers it as usual. "I think my first course of action as king would be to properly knight Sebek and Silver."

"Bet my rifle that Sebek is going to cry the entire ceremony!" you remark with certainty. "That's all he ever goes on about, being a knight and all."

"He's devoted countless hours and efforts since he was a child. If there's anyone who deserves to join the knighthood, it's him."

"Definitely," you nod to further cement your agreement with him. "He could stand to lower his voice a bit. He'll give you tinnitus before long.”

"At least we won't have to worry about losing him in a crowd," Malleus jests.

"That's to say we'll lose sight of him to begin with," you remark. "He'll gladly lose me in a crowd. You? You'd be lucky to get out of arm's length."

"You underestimate me, dearest," Malleus smirks. "Ever since I've met you, I've perfected the art of avoiding Sebek's insistent searches."

"Have you now?" you razz back. "Don't let him catch onto the fact. He'll have my head."

He reaches over and tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. Each second his skin touches yours makes you tingle. Time slows down ever so briefly if only to savor the small instance of physical connection for as long as possible. "What of your aunts?" he inquires. "Are they as overprotective of you as Sebek is of myself?"

"They’re a trio of mama bears," you proudly admit. "I'm old enough to drink and well equipped to fend for myself, but in their minds, I'll always be the little tyke that couldn't even eat their meals without looking at them for approval. Especially my aunt Gia."

You have three aunts. There's your aunt Marisol, the mother of most of your cousins and the main caretaker of the household. Your second aunt Lucia was well into her studies at university when you came to live with them, but her stress and long hours of mulling over her course materials paid off in the long run. Your gardening skills wouldn't be what they are now without her expertise in agricultural botany.

Then there's your aunt Gia. Oldest of the three. An absolute tank of a woman. No spouse. No kids of her own. She lived off the land like an absolute titan. The woman raised you as if she was the one that carried you for nine months and not your actual birth mother.

How would you describe your parents? If your parents were told to list out their priorities in life, their careers would be at the top of the list and you would be put at the very bottom. Why they carried you to term is beyond your understanding. You later learned that Gia had even offered to take you under her care well before your birth, knowing that your parents might not be well-suited to take care of you in the way she thinks would be beneficial for you. It was a convenient offer that would have saved everyone the trouble years down the line when you had your accident. They worked in a cutthroat industry and were constantly moving up the executive echelons. They had no time for you, yet their pride as a pair of young, successful business magnates made them incapable of seeing past the reality of the situation. That left you mostly in the care of last-minute caretakers and your aunts, but only if they had time from their own busy and preoccupied lives to come out into the city and visit.

You were eight years old when things started to get better, but it was upstarted in the worst possible way. Your parents had to go away for the upcoming weekend for work and left you in the care of a babysitter as per the norm. The babysitter never showed up however and your parents apparently couldn’t be bothered to check up on you even once the entire trip. Their silence wasn’t surprising. You just went on about your business for the next three days on your own like nothing was wrong. Your aunt Gia had even called at one point to check up on you, but you didn’t bother to tell her that your parents had left you to fend for yourself. She would have exploded if you did, but not as much as she did when you woke up in the hospital after falling down the stairs and lying helplessly on the ground for several hours with a dislocated shoulder and a compound-fractured leg. You were lulling in and out of consciousness due to all the medication pumped into you, but what little you do remember seeing and hearing when you regained consciousness will forever stick with you for the rest of your life.

If people think your level of swearing is bad, they should have heard your aunt that day. She swore so viciously that it could set an innocent bystander's eardrums on fire. What will forever stand out the most to you was the fact that your parents didn’t even look the least bit apologetic or regretful. They didn’t even approach you once your aunt was done giving them a piece of her mind to check up on you. They simply talked with the awaiting social worker and doctors and then left. It was for the better, but the small part of you that continued to hold onto the desperate belief that your parents would come around one day sent you into a thrashing frenzy and you had to be sedated before you could hurt yourself anymore.

The next year was spent recovering from your injuries, meeting regularly with your caseworker, and going through therapists like a pack of cigarettes. By the time you were back on your feet and the legal proceedings of your custody case were concluded, all you wanted was to move on with it all. Nearly a decade of neglect left you this unattentive, uncertain husk of a person who couldn’t take a single step forward without looking for some sort of guidance or assurance. Your family was exhausted by the entire ordeal and over speaking with third parties. Your aunts took it upon themselves to help you regain your sense of self in the comfort of your new home, no matter how difficult or demanding it was going to be.

“It took some time, but eventually it clicked in my mind that I was in a better place and I started to get better. As for my parents, I have no clue what they’re up to these days.” You lean back into your chair and let out a shaking yawn. “I like to think they’re getting on well like I am.”

“I don’t understand.” Malleus looks at you with unbelievable confusion. “Your parents treated you poorly, yet you don’t sound the least bit resentful. Why is that?”

You shrug your shoulders. “What’s the point? I'm in a better place now, so I've let bygones be bygones. 'Doesn't mean I don't harbor any anger against them anymore. I do, but getting upset won't change what's happened to me."

Gunter, having sensed your discomfort over the matter, trots over and rests his head on your lap. You gratefully rub the top of his head, carding your hands through his thick, coarse hair. "I'm just glad they let me go without a fuss. Family court was hell for my family.” Your eyebrows knit together. “Expensive too.”

Crackling wood fills the momentary silence that befalls the small cottage. What you've recollected to Malleus is a lot to take in, and if you're being quite honest you'd prefer if he just dropped the subject and talked about literally anything else right now. You hope he doesn't say he's sorry or any other type of apologetic comment. That's all you were ever told that entire year it all happened, during court proceedings, your rehabilitation, by both strangers and distant family members alike.

"I'm so sorry. What happened to you was unfortunate. You didn't deserve it."

No shit you didn't deserve any of that. You were a kid. You don’t need one pity party after another to realize that what took place then had fucked you forever. But as you said earlier, you're in a better place now, with a loving and supportive family that's moved on alongside you. A family you need to get back to as soon as possible.

"I love you."

Well, if he was hoping to take your mind off the past. that certainly did it. How can it not? It came out of nowhere and as good as you are at holding your composure when need be, you're sure you look no less like a gaping fish when warm and plush softness presses right against the corner of your lips. A kiss. His kiss.

"What's wrong?" Your voice sounds shaky. You’re nervous.

"Nothing," he smiles reassuringly. "I simply said what I felt needed to be said."

"Fair enough" you concede easily. He was going to say it sooner or later. He already has actually, now that you think about it. Yet here you are trying to process his words like it’s rocket science.

"Am I going about this too fast perhaps?" he genuinely asks. His hands that have been busy massaging your calves that have settled across his lap somewhere during your long retelling gradually slow down, but his hands never go completely still. "This is my first time experiencing something like this."

"What?" You sit up a bit straighter. "A relationship?"

"Yes."

Your head tilts to the side. "Really?"

He nods hesitantly "Yes?"

For a moment, you go completely quiet. "I don't believe you,” you doubtfully say, head shaking to further showcase your refusal to believe him.

He must not have liked your remark, frowning with clear offense in his eyes. When he dislikes something, the vertical slits in his eyes contract into a thin line. "I cannot lie, yet you still doubt me?"

"I know you can't lie, but I find it hard to believe you haven't been with anyone else before," you explain. Before you can consider the appropriateness that was your newfound curiosity about Malleus's apparently non-existent love life, you blurt out, "Are you still a virgin?"

You slap your hand over your mouth the moment those words come out of it. He's equally caught off guard and nearly drops his warm cup of coffee. Even Gunter is surprised by your question, olive-colored eyes looking at you as if you've lost your mind. It's an invasive question, inappropriate even. You and Malleus have been dating for a little over two days. A question like that is way too early to bring up just yet.

"You don't have to answer that," you tell him behind your palm. "I shouldn't have even asked it. Forget I ever brought it up-”

"I'm not," he interrupts you, leaving you even more shocked than you already are. You’re practically gaping like a fish by now. "I'm not a virgin,” he further insinuates.

A deafening silence, but it’s eventually broken by yourself. “I still don’t believe you.”

Malleus gets further annoyed at your refusal to accept his truth. "I'm not lying!" he insists.

"Bullshit!"

"Do you want me to recount my history to you?" he asks, exasperated as you are at the shift the conversation is taking. "Will that satisfy your doubts?"

"You know what? It will!" you loudly declare. "Who'd you sleep with?"

"He was a young page at the time,” he reminisced. “It happened before I was a century old.”

Your eyebrows raise with intrigue. "Was he cute?"

"Yes," he hushedly agrees. The disconcerting admittance paints his face a pinkish-red glow. "But that's not why I bedded him."

"But surely his looks are what made you interested in the first place?” you make blatant regard of the fact.

“You’re not wrong,” he acknowledges, expertly avoiding agreeing with you outright. “But his looks aren't the sole reason I was drawn to him. He was bright-eyed and ambitious, to the point you’d think him insane given his position in the court. It was also the first time I ever truly met with a group of humans, and my young mind was eager to get a more accurate perspective of humans that wasn’t through the lens of my tutors.”

“An ‘accurate perspective’?” You make playful air quotes, eyebrows wiggling because you know the fact that he knows what you’re implying. The playful comment is met with a sharp pinch on your leg that makes you jump and shriek out in pain. Did he have to dig his nails into you? Apparently so, and now you have small crescent indents on your skin. “I bet Lilia had a good laugh when he found out.”

“He doesn’t know, actually,” he admits to you with what is obviously a proud smile.

“Now I know you’re lying to me,” you scoff. “Nothing escapes the old man’s radar.”

His hands begin to rub out the marks he’s left on you as a form of apology. “Lilia is sharp, but he had lost most of his vigor by the time I was born.”

You go wide-eyed again. “You mean his hearing and eyesight was better than it is now?”

He nods affirmatively. “From what I’ve been told, terrifyingly so.”

Lilia is already frightening as is. His short stature and boyish looks make him perfectly unassuming to those who don’t know any better. You once watched him beat up a couple of bulky, twice-his-height students from Savanaclaw without breaking a sweat, yet moments before he was jokingly scolding himself for dozing off so easily. You never once thought he was ever out of his elements. A cold chill runs down your spine thinking how much more perceptive the older fae may have been back during his prime years.

“Wonder what Lilia’s gonna think,” you ponder out loud in a quick effort to banish out the skin-prickling mental imagery your mind was invoking. “About us, I mean.”

Malleus seems surprised that you would change the topic to that of all things, but his initial shock goes away as quickly as it came. “As you may have guessed, he’s an open-minded individual, but he’s also very realistic and unafraid to say what’s on his mind.”

“So what does that mean for you and me?” you question with a bit of hesitation.

“Well,” he trails off and ponders for a moment. “He’ll surely like the scandal our relationship would invoke. However, as my caretaker and mentor, he won’t hesitate to put an end to it if he feels it necessary.”

Had it been anyone else sitting beside you, you’d have found that comment way too extreme and outright ridiculous. However, you are not speaking to anyone ordinary. You are not sitting before someone normal. It doesn't matter how well you get along with him. It sure as hell doesn't matter how deeply in love you are with him, and him of you. The moment you have been deemed a shortcoming, the outings, the closeness, it all stops. All of it will come crashing down and both you and him will be left wondering what could have been done differently.

Malleus is truly your best friend, because already he can tell that your mind is beginning to spiral even when you go quiet. He calls for your attention by gripping his hand around your bare ankle and carefully tugging the end of your limb. “Don’t fret over it too much,” he soothes, yet also sounding like he’s scolding you for letting your mind wander off so negatively. “Lilia is an exceptional judge of character. From what I’ve gathered, you’ve well exceeded all his marks. He trusts you, and to gain such a thing from someone as old and wise as him is an extraordinary feat.”

You brew over the attempted compliment he tried to pay to you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t snub out all these festering thoughts in your head. It doesn’t even give you temporary relief. Perhaps it would have brought you a sense of peace a few months ago, but with everything that has happened thus far, you doubt even Malleus can alleviate the storm that rattles inside you, even if what he speaks is without a doubt nothing but the truth.

Surely he can see that you are still having some hangups. When you lift his hand and plant a chaste kiss on the back of his hand, you hope he can decipher the gesture as a pitiful request for his forgiveness for dampening the once energetic mood. He is not at fault for your loss and inability to think optimistically at the moment and you need to make sure he knows it.

Today is about him, not you. Even if it’s just for today, you’ll put on a pleasant facade and worry about the rest at a later date. It’s just you and him, and for now, that’s enough.

You do a mental countdown starting from three, before finally giving him a late response to the three words he uttered in confidence to you earlier. “I love you too, by the way.”

You love him. You love him. You love him. That’s all his mind can think of for the rest of the day. He replays your reciprocation over and over like it’s sacred and all-powerful.

He had planned to return to his dorm before the sun began to set, but he found the mere idea of detaching from you deeply unwanted and made the last-minute decision to spend the evening at the Ramshackle dorm. He already has a few articles of clothing and personal essentials set up in one of the many empty rooms, so neither Lilia nor you had any objections at his sudden request.

“Don’t worry!” You shout across the room so that Lilia can hear you over his phone. “I’ll make sure he gets to bed on time!”

“You have my gratitude!” Lilia’s muffled voice responds gratefully. “Don’t cause too much trouble now, you two.”

“No promises~” you sing in jest before Malleus hangs up. Once the call ends Johnny, Benji, Franky, and you turn their attention back to their ongoing game of poker. Malleus watches and occasionally laughs to himself over the friendly banter shared between the quartet. At the end of every round, the winner is assaulted with colorful profanities whilst they take their newly won gambling chips with ebullience. Yet with each new dealing of cards, the animosity goes away and they’re all back to being friendly. He finds your interactions with your incorporeal roommates more entertaining than the book he’s been reading to pass the time.

“Hey, fairy boy,” Franky informally calls out toward him. “Don’t be a stranger now. Play a few rounds with us.”

“I’m afraid I’m not well versed in card games,” he admits, yet he still finds himself setting his literature aside and moving over to join them.

“Don’t worry,” you give him a reassuring smile. “They’ll go easy on you.”

“For how long?” he knowingly asks.

You give him an impressed smirk at his quick uptake. “I give it three rounds before they start to pull back their sleeves.”

Malleus is well-adjusted to the need to quickly learn a new topic and the expectation for him to fully comprehend it in full. None of them are harsh on him for his minor mistakes like some of the tutors he’s had in the past. Answers that he believes may be obvious or not as complicated as he thinks they are being answered with enthusiastic patience. The smallest achievements he makes are met with a proud response. When he makes a surprise turnabout and wins his first game, he’s rewarded with an encouraging round of applause by everyone.

“Not bad,” Benji praises as he shuffles the deck of cards. “You’re a fast learner.”

“So I’ve been told,” he humbly replies. “Is this the part where you all stop going easy on me now?”

“Don’t provoke them,” you half-heartedly warn. “Otherwise we’ll be up all night duking it out otherwise.”

Franky sets his glass of iced liquor down on the edge of the table. “Don’t you little lovebirds worry. We won’t take up too much of your well-needed time together.”

Annoyed at the clear jab at his relationship with you, you throw one of your chips towards his head. It passes through his body and clatters on the floor behind him. Your fawn Blossom jumps down from their spot on the couch and goes to sniff it, thinking it to be food, but walks away with a disappointed strut when he realizes it isn’t anything edible.

“I didn’t tell them a damn thing,” you defensively clarify. “It was so obvious what was going on between us that they figured it all out before we made it official.”

He lets out a deep breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “That’s...I can’t say I’m too pleased to hear about that.”

“We won’t say anything,” Franky reassures. “Just make sure to put a sock on the door whenever you guys want some alone time.”

“Franky!” you hiss at him. “What the hell?!”

“What?” he looks at you, unbothered by your clear embarrassment. “Do you honestly expect us to think you guys went out just to look at a bunch of statues?”

“Oh, I’m sure they were looking at something,” Johnny smirks. “It wasn’t made of stone though.”

“I hate you guys,” you growl out, arms crossing and leaning back into your seat with an angry huff. You don’t mean it. He can see the tremble of your lips as you try to contain the urge to grin. “Even if we did end up rolling around in the sheets, I wouldn’t be yapping about it for all to hear, much less you guys!”

“What happens in the gargoyle graveyard stays in the gargoyle graveyard, eh?” Franky winks at both Malleus and you, nudging you with his elbow.

“Exactly!” you affirm, batting the large ghost away from you for some much-needed distance. “Now stop being so damn nosy.”

They cackle one last time and everyone seamlessly goes back to their ongoing game. Conversations like the one that just concluded are commonplace in your dormitory. Even if he contributed next to nothing to the discussion, he enjoys watching them interact. You come from a world where ghosts are hardly as overt as the ones in this world. Ghosts are said to entertain themselves by picking on the living, to the point that it can be fatal. Your ability to come up with witticisms at a moment's notice is something he enjoys seeing in action. He feels great satisfaction not only knowing that he has secured your love but to also see you in a state of tranquility and within your elements.

As Benji and you have a hushed conversation on the sidelines, he reaches over and places his hand on your knee beneath the table. You quietly reach over and put your hand over his, stroking the back of his hand with your thumb like it’s instinctual. Unfortunately, the heart-fluttering moment is ruined by the sudden buzzing of his phone. He has half a mind to ignore it, but when he gives the screen a glance he realizes ignoring the caller is not an option.

“I’ll be out for a moment,” he excuses himself once he sets his hand down and stands himself upright. “This shouldn’t take that long, hopefully.”

They all stop to look up at him inquisitively for half a second. In unison, they ask, “Sebek?”

“Sebek,” he affirms.

There are simultaneous displays of annoyance, pity, and silent wishes of good luck directed at him. He’s tempted to ask where all this contempt for the boy comes from, but then he remembers the many times Sebek barges his way into their dorm at the worst possible moments. It is either when everyone is beginning to settle down after a long day or in the middle of an important house project, the former more so than the latter now that the dorm is much more stable and in need of less restoration. Malleus learned the hard way how ill you and the ghosts will react when your peace is unwantedly interrupted and your space invaded by an unwanted guest.

Sebek is also quick to scrutinize whatever he sees out loud without a filter. You never seem to mind half of the time, merely rolling your eyes and moving past Sebek’s ill-meaning remarks as if you never heard them. As you are someone Malleus highly regards and holds close to his bosom, he hopes Sebek can one day set aside his strife with humankind and give you the due diligence you deserve.

...Though, he completely understands that reaching that point will take time. While you can endure Sebek to a certain degree, there are times where he, unfortunately, pushes you past that threshold and, without flinching, you will tell him to “Shut the fuck up”. Your words, not his.

“Young master!” Sebek's transmitted voice peaks and he has to half pull it away to give his pained eardrums some relief. “I was informed by Lord Lilia that you will be spending the night over at the Human’s dorm. Have you all your accommodations at their estate? If not, I will swiftly-”

“That won’t be necessary,” he half laughs at his enthusiasm over such a small task. “I have enough to keep me comfortable and well for a few days. Your offer is still very much appreciated.”

“Y-Yes, of course,” he stutters. “If there’s anything you should ever find a need for, please inform me at once! I will fulfill your every wishes no matter the hour!”

He’s enthusiastic and ready to act at a moment’s notice, even during the middle of a cold and dark hour. Malleus doesn’t necessarily dislike this part of Sebek, but he’s starting to understand why someone like you would find such subservience difficult to deal with. At any moment, Malleus could ask Sebek to grab some insignificant item of his and tread through the thick snow to deliver it to him, and the boy would do so with jubilation and utmost timeliness. You on the other hand wouldn’t be caught dead ordering someone to do something on your behalf when you believe you are well and capable of doing it yourself.

You don’t put expectations onto the backs of others, choosing to trust yourself first before anyone else. He knows now that it’s a result of the one instance where you expected something from someone, only to be thoroughly let down and left wondering if it was you who did something wrong.

Malleus cannot make up for the pain you’ve been subjected to, but he hopes that he can become the outlier in your life that surpasses any preconceived notions you may hold onto others. He hopes...No, he absolutely will be the one who brings you your well-earned and deserved joy and repose, just as you have done for him and continue to do so.

You love him, and he will ensure he is worthy of every last drop of your fidelity.

#twisted wonderland #twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland imagines #malleus draconia #twst malleus #malleus x reader #malleus draconia x reader #twst writing #twst fanfic #fanfic: courtship #reader insert #reader insert fanfic #reader insert fanfiction #gender neutral reader #gender neutral pronouns #x reader

[immortalecstasy-blog]

The Man From Willow Creek - PART ONE Pairing: Mountain Man! Dean/Author! Reader

Y/N isn't in a good headspace, so her publisher sends her off to a remote cabin in the mountains in an attempt to rid her of all distractions and produce the highly anticipated first draft of her last book. But as she battles with snow, word counts, and surprise visitors, she learns that not every battle needs to be won, and that happy endings aren't always what we'd think.

WC ≈ 35,000 Total A/N: Thank you to@redweddingsandbowties for helping me to churn out over 25,000 words in a week and filtering out my typing fails. Warnings: Violence, Recreational Drug Use, 18+ Smut, Pet Death

Read on AO3 or...

“Miss, your total is $426.54. Miss?”

Y/N blinked and looked up at the cashier before taking her credit card out and handing it over.

“Are you stocking up for the end of the world?” The cashier asks as he runs her card. Y/N glances at the trolley loaded with a months’ worth of non-perishables and a dozen crates of beer.

“Something like that.” She tells him as she scribbles her signature on the store receipt.

The trolley is a bit on the heavy side as she heaves it across the car park towards her truck, but she manages it. When she’s got everything all loaded up beside the bags and bags of logs she’s worked up a sweat and has to unzip her coat as she climbs up into the driver’s seat. The truck feels empty without her little border terrier, and she finds herself wishing Harley could have been with her for this new adventure.

It had been her publisher’s idea to go on this little escapade, to get her out of the city, away from all the distractions. He cared more about the lack of pages than her deteriorating mental health, but for the sake of her sanity she had agreed that a month-long retreat into the mountains might do more for her writer’s block than being in her too quiet apartment. Her creative juices had bit the dust around the same time she’d had to make the heart-breaking decision to have Harley put to sleep.

His other idea had been to get a new dog. She’d used some extraordinarily strong language at that suggestion, so… mountains.

She feels fairly well prepared. Provisioned. Whatever. The cabin her publisher had found had been empty for a few years, and she had been warned that it may take a bit of work to get the generator working, and that there would be no mobile signal out there either. But she had been equipped with a satellite phone and the publisher had done some technological whizz-bang magic that meant she would be able to send and receive emails via satellite. She’d also done her own extensive research, which hopefully meant that once she arrived, she wouldn’t have to make the drive back to civilisation until her month was up and her first draft was on its way. She had churned out three books a year at some points, she could manage this.

She reaches over to the passenger seat to pick up one of her many notebooks, this one was her ‘survival plan’. “Snow tyres, check. Firewood, yes. Socks, hundreds…” She went down the whole list, covering everything from dry shampoo to copious amounts of candy and snacks. She’d even found a repair manual for the generator online, and had both printed and laminated it, just to be thorough.

“Okay, let’s do this.” She says aloud, still not used to Harley’s absence. The truck’s engine whines a little as it starts up, and she takes a moment to put the map (also laminated) on top of the paperwork piled up on the passenger seat. She still had a few hours until noon, plenty of time to get to the cabin while it was still light and make some sort of order out of it before dark.

The first two hours of her journey went as expected. She didn’t even miss the hairpin turn she had been dreading, but as the bare trees began to curl over the road and block the sun, she felt a prickle of unease. Wishing again for Harley. What was she thinking? A woman, on her own, hiding out in a run-down cabin in the middle of nowhere, all for a book she was contracted to write but had no heart for.

The last four years of her career had been dedicated to her high fantasy trilogy, the world, its characters, its mysteries. Mystery solved and arcs resolved, her baby was done. Before that she had spent years churning out a crappy serial romance saga before a well-earned break funded by selling the rights to turn them into a television series. That was until the inspiration for The Fallen had hit her. But of course, the publishers were keen to squeeze out more profit, and had coerced her into signing another book deal. They wanted a revival of the romance saga, but after over twelve years of being free from churning out two or three contentless books a year, it wasn’t something she wanted to revisit. Besides, it felt ridiculous to be in her early thirties, and turning back to something she started when she was only seventeen. Something different. She didn’t know how to write different. She had planned to save the existential breakdown until she’d arrived and at least got a fire going, but apparently her brain hadn’t got the memo, and she had to pull over to stumble from the truck and put her head between her knees. She focused on her breathing, in through the nose, out through the mouth, in through the nose… “C’mon, you can do this.” … out through the mouth.

As she climbed back into the truck sometime later, she heard an engine and slammed her door shut just in time to see beaten up chevy truck thundering past, black smoke sputtering from its exhaust. The driver beeped their horn at her, and her panic was replaced with annoyance. She’d picked a safe place to pull over, she wasn’t blocking the road. Hell, that dick didn’t even have to move positions from the centre of the road.

Apart from the short break at the side of the road, and a five-minute detour down the wrong lane, Y/N was making good time. The only problem came when the cabin was actually in sight. A tree was blocking the drive, and nowhere on the map could she pick out any way to go around. The cabin looked to be only a ten-minute walk away, but everything was blanketed in thick snow, and she had a months’ worth of wood, food, water…not to mention all her writing stuff, clothes, blankets… beers. It would take an insane number of trips and eat into her daylight. But the tree was huge, and even if she had a chain or ropes to try and pull it out of the way, she had no idea how she’d do so safely. That wasn’t something she had researched how to do.

She climbed out and her legs disappeared up to her knees in the thick snow. Not to be put off by the first hurdle, she found the keys for the cabin, gathered up the only valuable things in the truck (namely her laptop and the satellite phone), and locked the truck behind her. The tree had a tangle of roots, so it seemed to have fallen naturally. Not that she really knew what she was looking at. She skirted around the edge and stomped through the snow towards the cabin, which was bigger than she had imagined. The ‘ten minute’ walk took closer to fifteen minutes, hampered by the snow, and then there was the issue of trying to get the door open. The wood seemed to have swelled, and she had to throw her shoulder against it several times before it burst open in a cloud of dust.

It stank. It had that unlived in smell, like stagnant water, and she kept the door open – not just for the light – but for the fresh air.

It was much as she expected really, a small kitchenette (which really was just a log stove and a cobweb infested sink with a single section of worktop) with a small dining table and four chairs. A mismatched armchair and leather sofa tucked close to a log burner. Two doors stood off the one side, presumably to a bedroom and a bathroom. “Right.” She said, setting her laptop bag down and wondering what to do first.

The owners hadn’t been sure that the water supply would still work, which is why she had lugged her own plastic barrels up here, but if it was working, she wouldn’t have to carry so many.

The pumped the lever over the sink a few times, still flushed from the hard walk. After a few tries, the tap sputtered out a dead spider and rust coloured liquid, followed a moment later by clear, precious water. The initial horror at the colour of the stuff still had her deciding to get some water from the truck, however.

“Okay.” She said to herself, stepping back. “Water, oil, logs, clothes for the night, bedding, cleaning stuff. Food.” She ran through her list again and then nodded, satisfied. On her way out of the door she spotted a big old wooden sled propped up under the window. “Perfect.”

Her second trip took longer than the first, fighting the sled the entire way and almost losing the barrel of water. It slid off the sled and looked for a moment like it might roll clean of the mountain, but the packed snow stopped it in its tracks.

Catching her breath for the next trip, she checked the other side of the two doors. Discovering to her horror that both led to bedrooms, then – to her relief – that the master bedroom had a rather basic en suite. It contained one of those giant clawfoot baths you only ever saw in movies, though this one was an old-fashioned green colour and a bit rusty around the plug. She hoped she could get the generator running to enjoy a soak at some point.

She tested the double bed in the master bedroom, and then checked both the twin beds, testing which of the three was the most comfortable, and therefore the one she would be using. The other bedroom, she would use as storage for all her supplies. The big bed in the room with the en suite was fortunately the comfiest, which meant she could pile all her stuff into the room with the twin beds.

She found an old oil lamp in the kitchen cupboards and a little paraffin heater in the cupboard under the sink. It was the ancient kind with no warning labels. Though common sense filled in the unwritten ‘use in a well-ventilated space or you will suffocate’. She set it up, just to take the edge of until she could get a fire going and put the lamp on the dining table next to her laptop, deciding there and then that this evening would be electricity free. She didn’t want to have to deal with the frustrations of the generator, and it seemed encompassing of her new mountain persona to forgo some of the basic necessities.

Two trips later and her hands are blistered from the friction of the sled rope, even through her gloves. Her legs are screaming at her, and despite the three thick pairs of socks, she would put all her royalties betting on frost bite setting in. There’s one last trip to make sure she has everything she’ll need for the night and most of the next day, and then she covers the flatbed of her truck with its waterproof cover and makes sure it’s stupidly tight. None of her things will enjoy a night in the freezing cold, but as long as nothing gets too damp, everything will be fine.

The door had been open all this time, so the cabin is now just as chilled as outside, but at least it smells fresher now. Her phone – devoid of all signal – becomes a glorified sound system. The oil heater starts to inject a little warmth, and as soon as it’s warm enough to abandon her coat and gloves, she gets to work on making the place fit for habitation.

“…As long as my heart's beating, and these old lungs keep breathing, the highs and the lows, yes and the no’s…” She sings loudly as she sweeps out the log stove of half burnt longs and powdery grey ash.

By the time the sun is setting, the whole cabin is as dust free as it can be without a hoover, the log fire is roaring, the bed is made, and the only lingering issue is the draft from the front door, which – having been forced to open – is now refusing to close properly. Having decided that the back and forth from the truck was enough work for one day, Y/N simply snacks instead of making a dinner and then sits by the fire with her notebook and pen. The flannel patterned throw she’d bought from home depot thrown over her legs.

Nothing comes. Not even a silly doodle in the margin. True, she usually wrote on her laptop. But the charge wouldn’t last long, and she’d been prepared to write this book by hand.

Even with the fire and the blanket there seems to be a wickedly cool draft, and she makes a note to put a makeshift draft excluder together in the morning. Finished with her bag of chips, she stands to select another snack and grab a beer, missing Harley weaving between her legs. She twists the cap of the beer bottle and walks back to the sofa and freezes in surprise.

On the sofa, is a pleased looking black Labrador.

The beer bottle slips from her fingers and shatters on the floor. The dilemma of broken glass and soft paws snapping her out of her shock.

“Hello…” She says slowly, answered by a thumping tail on brown leather. “You stay there. Okay?”

thump thump thump

“Okay, good boy… girl… good dog. Stay.”

Fortunately all the cleaning supplies are in easy reach. Y/N focuses on sweeping up the broken glass as a priority, ignoring the beer sloshing around the stone floor and seeping into the rope rug. Glass sorted; she gets a cloth to wipe the beer up. The front door in ajar, which explains how the dog got in. But it doesn’t explain what they’re doing out here in the middle of nowhere. They seem happy enough, well fed, shiny coat, wet nose. So they’re obviously being cared for by someone.

“Okay, it’s safe.” She tells the Labrador from the floor once she’s sure all the glass is up. They seem to be a pro at broken bottles, because with the all-clear, they jump from the sofa and come greet her properly.

“Oh, yes, hello. Nice to meet you too.” She tells them, trying to shove their face away as their tongue makes a beeline for her mouth. She giggles, giving their neck a good scratch. There’s a chain collar, but no tags. “Where are you from, huh?” She asks, attempting to stand, her knees protesting against the stone floor.

There’s a tremendous bang and the front door flies open. Halfway to her feet, Y/N loses her balance and topples onto her back, staring up into the doorway.

Where a bearded man in a Stetson and a heavy coat is pointing a shotgun at her.

PART TWO

#supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #dean/reader #mountain man dean #dean winchester likes dogs

[s1rcus]

The Road to Love and Truth (Blackhill)

Rating: Teen and up

Words: 2827

Chapter: 2/2

Fandoms: Marvel

Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Maria Hill, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury

Additional tags: -

Summary: Maria struggles after her night with Natasha. She gets some good advice from Steve.

Authors note: Blackhill Bingo square I3 "Steve Rogers"

Story below the cut or in AO3 here

Maria still has a huge headache. She's been debating taking another aspirin to ease it down for the past 10 minutes, but it hasn't been too long since she took the first one and it might just not be working yet. The situation with Romanoff might not be helping either.

Without thinking she's making her way towards Phil's office. She's not sure why, she knows she won't talk about something like this to him. He's a good friend but she just can't talk about her sex life with him, less about feelings. Maybe he'll have some work she can do to distract her from the night before. She can't use her key card on a day off, (Fury has made it very clear she's not supposed to be doing work during any type of leave) so she can't go to her own office to continue work.

Phil isn't in his office. Now that she actually thinks about it, he has been on a mission since yesterday. She still needs something to distract her though. Maybe Fury would let it slide this once if she'd go do work, but she'd rather not see him right now. She decides to just go for a walk. Hopefully that'll clear her head a little.

------

The fresh air does help her headache and clears her head just the tiniest bit as well. She stands outside of the Triskelion for a short time and decides to go for a short walk along the river.

She keeps her eyes mostly on the water as she walks hands in the pockets of her sweats. She probably should've changed if she's honest, but she didn't want to go back to her room. SHIELD agents weren't that rare sight around these parts, but they definitely didn't go out in their gym clothes. She kicks around some pebbles every once in a while that are lying around the sidewalk.

She loses track of time, trying to just focus on nothing but the movement of the water. And she might have let her guard down, because she gets startled, when a hand taps her on the shoulder.

"Maria, what are you doing out here?"

"Jesus, Steve. Warn a girl next time."

"I literally yelled your name when I saw you. You're not usually this distracted. Are you okay?"

There's concern on his face and Maria doesn't like it one bit. She's fine, and even if she wasn't, everyone else needs to think she is.

"Everything's fine," she lies.

Steve gives her a long look, not quite believing her.

"You can always talk to me, you know? Whatever it is that's bothering you, I'll listen."

Damn Steve, and his kind heart.

"I know," she says.

"Okay, well I'm gonna finish my run. Come and find me if you want to talk about whatever this is," he says as he runs past her.

Maria just waves him off. She continues along the river for a while longer until her headache becomes worse again. Deciding it's best to just go back and take another aspirin, she turns around and heads towards the Triskelion again.

------

Eventually Maria realises she needs to talk to someone so she heads towards Steve's quarters and knocks on his door. He opens the door with a smile. They're good friends but it's quite rare she actually ends up on his doorstep.

"Hey, Maria. What's up?"

"I slept with Natasha," she answers as she pushes past him into his room. She sits on his bed, head in her hands. She hears the door click shut as Steve closes it.

"Not what I was expecting. How are you feeling?"

Maria groans at the question, "I don't know. I find out she's queer and few days later I find her in my bed. That's not how that should go. And worst of all I want to do it again, but I don't think I can just keep it at that."

"So you want to ask her out?"

"I think so?" She says and lays down on the bed so she can stare at the ceiling. "But I'm her superior, it's unprofessional, not to mention way too complicated. How am I supposed to be able to send her out there, if I'm worried if she'll make it back? How is Fury supposed to trust in me, if I get compromised because of her? Or what if I make the wrong decision, because I can't--" Steve cuts her off. She feels the bed dip, as he sits next to her on the bed and places a hand on her knee.

"Maria, you're forgetting one important thing, she's the Black Widow, she knows how to handle herself. Do you know how many times she's saved me out there? Because I've lost count by now. And Fury won't see you any differently if you start showing normal people emotions. Also stop worrying about 'what if's. Those are situations you can't know the answers for before it's too late. And for the record, I think you're already compromised. You care more about her than you know. Have for a long time."

"Fuck", Maria breaths the word out.

"Language."

"No, I actually fucked up."

"What did you do?"

"I just left her. She wanted to talk, and I just left her. I wasn't thinking clearly. I told her it was a mistake. Well it technically was because that was definitely not how I wanted that to go, but… I let her believe I don't want her. Shit!" She gets up quickly and starts pacing around. "I gotta go find her. Tell her that I'm sorry for how I treated her. That last night was great. Not that I really remember anything. To hopefully ask her properly out." She freezes on her tracks and turns to face Steve. "What if she says no? How am I supposed to continue working with her then?"

"Maria", Steve warns her.

"Right, won't know the answers before it's too late." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, I'm gonna go to find her. I wonder where she could be."

"At the gym with Barton."

"How would you know that?"

"Just a hunch."

------

She does find Natasha at the gym. She's beating up Barton at the mats. Maria decides to just stay by the door and watch, she'll notice her eventually. Natasha seems more tense than normal, maybe even a little angry. She doesn't move around as smoothly as she usually does. Her movements are a little more jacked, more forced. Maria realises that she's not fighting with a clear head. She's trying to push her feelings out. Maria was the reason the Widow's usually flawlessly smooth fighting style looked harsh and broken. It makes her heart twinge.

Eventually Natasha pins Barton down and he taps out. She gets up and her gaze shifts to Maria's. Maria physically flinches under her gaze. She quickly straightens her back and neutralises her face, when Barton gets back onto his feet and notices her presence.

"Commander," he coughs, eyes moving from Maria to Natasha and back again. After a couple of beats of silence he starts backing towards the men's locker room. "I'll just go then."

Maria just looks at Natasha, not really sure what she's supposed to say. Before she's able to say anything, Natasha turns on her heels and heads towards the women's locker rooms. That gets Maria on the move as well. She runs after Natasha and grabs her from the upper arm.

"Natasha wait," Maria says and Natasha stops on her tracks. "I'm sorry about earlier. Can we talk?"

Natasha turns around and Maria tries to look as apologetic as she can. Natasha just stares at her for a while.

"Fine. My quarters in 10."

Maria nods and drops her hold of the other woman. She didn't even realise she had still been holding her upper arm. Natasha eyes her quickly once more before she turns around again and heads out of sight to the locker room. Maria just stands still for a while, looking after her, until she spins around as well and heads out of the gym and towards Natasha's quarters.

------

Natasha is punctual as ever, and appears exactly 10 minutes later. Maria follows her silently into her room. Natasha sits down on her bed, one leg under herself while the other hangs off the edge. Maria is reminded of the morning. She stays standing near the door, but is faced towards Natasha. She's trying to figure out her words, even though she's been trying to figure out what to say ever since she walked out of Steve's quarters.

"Well?" Natasha prompts her.

"I fucked up. I'm really sorry for how I treated you. I panicked and I fucked up. I try my best to keep my private life and work separate, and I mostly live at work so… I'm having a hard time, to put it lightly. I also have never done this before."

"What? Been with a woman?" Natasha asks with a serious tone. It takes Maria a beat to realise she's not actually seriously asking that.

"No, Romanoff. You know that's not what I meant. I mean sleeping with a co-worker. Actually kinda never slept with anyone without being on a date first. And especially never had someone in my bed in a SHIELD facility."

"So I was your first one night stand?"

"About that, I wouldn't mind doing it again."

"Was I that good?" Natasha asks with a smirk.

"Natasha! I'm not talking about the sex. I'm talking about all of it. Everything since the mission. Spending time together at that bar and during the mission and also everything that came after."

"Wow. Is Commander Hill getting soft?"

"No,” she says. Taking a breath she continues, “I'd just like to see if this could become something. You're one of the few people around here who I can stand, and I actually had a really nice time yesterday. And I'm not regretting what happened after, so that probably says a lot."

Natasha gives her a small smile.

"What changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"You left the room in such a hurry and now you're here saying you don't regret it."

"Yeah, that. I might've talked to Steve and he had some good advice."

"You went to Steve?" Natasha's voice sounds almost scandalous.

"Who else would I go to? Fury? Do you think I have many friends around here? People who I could talk to?"

"Fair enough."

"So, if I'd ask you out on a date what would you say?"

"I would love to, but do you really want to go on a date? Because I feel like we're not the dating kind of people."

That was actually fair, she did always hate going on dates.

"What do you suggest then?"

"How about this?" Maria is really unsure about how she should feel about the smirk that follows that one simple question.

Natasha gets up and walks towards Maria. She stops when their chests are basically touching. She grabs Maria's hands and wraps them around her waist. Then she wraps her own arms around Maria's neck and rises up on her toes to kiss her. Maria basically melts into it. Eventually she lifts Natasha up and they move on the bed. Natasha seems very impressed that Maria can lift her. Maria might be a bit hurt about that.

------

When they decide to leave for an early lunch (neither remembered to eat breakfast), they're barely 100 feet down the hallway from Natasha's room, when they're stopped by a junior agent.

"Commander, Agent Romanoff. Director Fury wants to speak to both of you."

Maria and Natasha exchange a look.

"Did he say what about?" Maria asks.

"Not really," the Agent answers but there's a look on his face Maria doesn't like. It's like he knows something he shouldn't.

Maria debates for a little bit, if she should push and get some answers from him but decides against it. She dismisses the agent and starts heading towards the Directors office with Natasha.

They get a couple weird looks and smiles on the way there. They walk the whole way in silence. Both clearly trying to figure out what Fury wants from them.

Fury sees them immediately, which tells Maria that it's something important. She's getting nervous. Natasha is here as well, so her mind goes only to a specific direction, but how would Fury know?

"Director Fury, you wanted to see us?" Maria greets him.

"Hill, Romanoff. Has either of you checked the news today or any social media?"

Natasha shakes her head. She's been awfully quiet after they ran into that agent.

"No, sir. I haven't checked my phone at all today. Pretty sure it's dead anyway. I've been a bit distracted," Maria answers truthfully. There's no point in lying.

"Well, you probably should stay out of social media for a little while but that's just a suggestion. Do you have anything else to report to me?" His eye shifts from Maria to Natasha and back.

He knows. Maria takes a deep breath. She feels Natasha's hand touch hers, a sign that it's okay.

"Yes, sir. We, uh... Natasha and I are involved."

"Will it be affecting your work?"

"No, sir."

"Then I'm happy for you," he says with the slightest hint of a smile.

Maria is surprised and she can sense that so is Natasha. She lets her posture get a little more relaxed.

"Now to the real reason I invited you in," Fury says as he pulls some tabloid articles up on the screen behind himself. They're all saying basically the same thing: Black Widow at a gay bar with a mystery woman . Some of them have clearly done a better job with trying to figure out who this "mystery woman" is because a couple of them have actual pictures of Maria along with her name. And there's pictures. Pictures of them kissing, the intense looks they changed during that night and pictures of them leaving together.

"We tried to get them down before they spread too far, but clearly we didn't manage that. Anything about the Avengers' personal life spreads like a fire. I'm sorry about the situation it puts you in."

Both of the women just nod. There wasn't anything to say. Fury takes this as his answer and turns off the screen.

"Well then, you're dismissed. Hill, if you could stay for just a little longer?"

Natasha squeezes her shoulder a little before she steps out of the room.

"Sir?"

"No reason to be that formal anymore. This is just me checking on you. How are you feeling?"

"Well, that's a lot, but I think I'm fine. It's not the way I wanted things to go, but I guess it's good that it's out. If we wish to go out, now we don't need to worry if someone sees us or not."

"Okay, still I wish the situation wasn't this. I strongly suggest that you don't check any social media for the next few days. I know you think you can handle it, but there's gonna be some bad stuff there and I'd prefer the dust settles a bit first. Also if anyone, and I mean anyone, in SHIELD gives either of you a hard time because of this, let me know. I will handle it. It's out there, so everyone knows. I wish you could've handled this on your own terms, but the situation is what it is."

Maria smiles at him.

"Thank you, Director. I know I said it won't affect my work, and I truly believe and hope so, but if it ever seems like I'm putting her before the mission; pull me out of it, if possible. I know I won't be happy about it, but I need to know that I won't be making mistakes because I'm compromised."

"Of course. But I have full belief that you'll do great even then."

Maria nods and heads towards the door but Fury's voice makes her turn around before she gets to open it.

"Also, before you go. I am truly happy for you, Maria."

Maria smiles at him and nods her thanks and joins Natasha on the other side of the door.

Natasha hugs her as she closes the door. Maria circles her arms around her and presses her cheek against Natasha's head.

"That went better than I expected." She hears Natasha mumble against her chest.

"It did," Maria agrees.

"I'm so sorry about the articles though. If I would've just realised--" Maria quiets her with a kiss.

"Natasha, there's nothing you could've done about it. The second we walked in there everyone was paying extra attention to us. Those articles would be there even if we hadn't kissed. I'm just glad we did. I don't think I would've ever dared to take this step otherwise," Maria says. She looks Natasha in the eye and they exchange smiles. "Now, how about that lunch?"

#bhb21 #blackhill #maria hill #natasha romanoff #Black Widow #marvel #MCU #My fic

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

*This event has ended! Click the links in the Timeline to see individual rounds, prompts, fics, voting, and results!*

Hey, Tropesters! It’s time for another TROPED event, but this time the prompts will be in the form of MOODBOARDS! Made by yours truly, the moodboards function as the inspiration for the fics written for this event! We've got four exciting themes picked out, and the boards are already looking great, so we hope you're excited! This event will be a little different from the others that we have put on, so keep reading for more info!

How It Works:

Firstly, this is our first ever TROPED Multi-Fandom event, so share this around! We would love to get fics from fandoms we've never had for TROPED before! All Fandoms are welcome and there is in no minimum participation required for this event!Because this is a Multi-Fandom event, the voting process and the overall event structure will be a little different!

No Sign-Ups Required! We will release the prompts right here on the TROPED tumblr and you will submit your fics to the AO3 Collection! The Writing Periods will be on a rolling basis, with a moodboard dropping every ten (10) days, but fear not! If you are inspired for a round later in the event, you can still submit a fic to be included in Voting! We will simply drop the next board, but nothing will officially close or end until the end of the full Writing Period, on August 25th! Fics will be accepted into the official collection for the entirety of the event! **You will write four or more (4+) separate fanfics inspired by each round, but you do not have to participate in each and every round.**

Moodboard Prompts! As we said, the prompts for this event will be in the form of MOODBOARDS!!! Because photos are open to such a wide range of interpretations, and inspiration from a moodboard can come in all shapes and sizes, this event is much less strict in terms of 'sticking to the prompt'! We will be releasing the moodboards with a little blurb about what it is we envisioned when putting them together, but if inspiration strikes and takes you in another direction, go for it! Pretty much anything goes, as long as it fits with our standard rules! As a general rule, we'd like you to take each of the nine (9) photos and find a way to include that imagery in your fic in some way. Try to find a way to incorporate the concepts and inspirations you get from each photo into your story! Similar to the tropes used in our traditional TROPED format, the photos in the moodboards should matter to your story. You should try to have the photos not be inconsequential moments within your fic, but rather make the moments in the moodboard plot relevant!

All Pairings Allowed! TROPED is always a neutral space for any and all ships! We encourage [and sometimes require ;)] rare pairs, platonic pairings, and other out of the box dynamics within our fics! TROPED is, by design, a positive fandom space for everyone, and focusing on allowing and celebrating any and all pairings (that are allowed within the rules) is a big part of that! **Please feel free to write any pairing (within our rules) from the Fandom of your choosing. You do not have to write the same Fandom/Pairing for each round!**

**As a note, the photos in the moodboards are not definitive! A lot of stock photos are white, and straight, but we chose photos simply for the ✨vibes✨ of the photo, not the pairings themselves!! You can implement those scenes into your fics with any characters or combos, as long as it complies with our relationship rules!!**

This event will be Optionally Anonymous! Because the voting for this event is much more chill, and the writing period will be open for over a month, we will not require this event to be anonymous! However, if you would like to have your fic be anonymous, we will be sharing a small tutorial on how to make your fics anonymous and how to remove them from being anonymous sometime before the event starts, so keep your eyes peeled!

Voting! The voting for this event will be pretty simple! We will keep a list of all fics submitted for each event, and then at the end there will be a "best overall" poll for each round, along with some bonus polls! The voting will be based on the fics as a whole, and will include all fandoms together! If you do not want your fic included in the voting, you can let us know, or you can simply upload your fic to our non-anon collection instead! We will still share it along with the other fics and it will be included in all masterlists! We will provide a link to SurveyMonkey when voting begins.

For the OG Tropesters: As an added bonus for our long time The 100 fandom writers, we've cooked up an extra special little challenge for you! We will be including a special tenth (10th!!) photo, just for you! The 10th photo will be of a character of our choosing from The 100 (obviously) for you to include in your fic! We will be releasing the character we've chosen for each round when we drop the moodboard, so keep your eyes peeled!

Timeline:

Writing Period Dates: July 15th - August 25th!

Moodboard for R1 : July 15th at 12:00am

Moodboard for R2 : July 25th at 12:00am

Moodboard for R3 : August 4th at 12:00am

Moodboard for R4 : August 14th at 12:00am

End of Visual Writing Period: August 25th at 3:00am PST/6:00am EST [EXTENSION UNTIL SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH AT 8:00 AM EST!]

Voting: August 28th at 12:00pm - August 30th at 11:59pm

Winners: August 31st!

*All times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST) unless otherwise specified!

Rules:

If you are a veteran to our TROPED Challenges, the rules below are mostly the same as before, but any newbies joining the fun should definitely take a look below!

This competition was created to get creative and put out different fics into the world, and to create a fun, positive fandom experience for everyone! In order to ensure that we achieve that goal of a positive experience, here are a few rules and guidelines that must be followed!The requirements for the fics entered into the competition will be:

Must include Characters from your specific chosen Fandom

Must try to fit the Theme of each round! While this event is a lot looser, each board will have a clear concept or theme for you to use in your fics!

Must try to use ALL of the pictures selected for the round. Each of the 9 photos are meant to be taken and turned into scenes, images, or themes within your story! This isn't hard and fast, but we encourage you to try to utilize the boards in a specific way, beyond just the general ✨vibes✨ of the board!

All fics must be 10,000 words or less! (We have allowed a 500 word buffer to allow for fics that are not quite finished at the 10k mark to get wrapped up!) There is no minimum word count.

All ratings G through M are welcome, but E Rated fics are not allowed. Please be aware that some fics may not be everyone’s thing! Write what you like, but the voting is public so just keep that in mind!

Multiple Entries Allowed. We love when authors are able to pump out multiple fics for a single prompt! If you would like them to be considered seperately for voting, please be sure they are standalone fics! If you end up writing multiple chapters or parts of one fic, let us know! We will only include one for voting but we will be sure to share all the parts!

Collaborations! We've had some people ask about collaborations, and we're all for it! If you and a friend would like to write a fic together, go for it! Just let us know who to credit when we share the fics on our masterlists and we will be sure to tag anyone involved!

You will be disqualified if you include:

Smut! Due to the chance that some fandoms might include a cast of all underage characters, we have decided to exclude smut. All ratings G-M are allowed!

Rape!

Underage! This means no High School AU with sex, no teacher/student if the student is underage, zero adult/under 18 romantic relationships!

Incest! Incest includes adopted siblings, foster siblings, parent/child, step siblings, biological siblings, or any familial relationship, blood related or not!

Negativity towards any character or ship! This includes any sort of abuse perpetrated by a character intending to paint them in a negative light, negative statements about a character intended purely to express your dislike of a character, or things of that nature. You MAY write characters as villains! Writing a character as a villain asks the audience to disagree with the characters motivations and choices, not to dislike the character on principle. The basis of this rule is that your fic should not be written as a way to simply express your dislike of a character.

Plagiarism! While the tropes we use in our challenges are common and communal, the stories and words you create must be your own! Fanfiction is about transformative work, and taking concepts from other writers is natural! Inspiration can come from lots of places, but rewriting someone else’s fic is unacceptable. *Following our own rules, we want to let you know that all photos used in the TROPED: VISUAL Moodboards are from Unsplash.com —a source for freely-usable images.*

This is meant to be a fun and positive experience for everyone. We reserve the right to disqualify anyone if we are reading their fic and we think it violates any of our rules!

Because this challenge is NOT completely anonymous, feel free to share your fics and post about them to your hearts content! If you wish to remain anonymous until after voting, you can, of course, wait and post about your fics then! The non-anon only applies to this event, though, so if you come back to write for us in the future be sure to keep those lips zipped!

Follow along here on Tumblr, the TROPED Twitter, the TROPED Instagram, or our Discord Server for more information on the event! We will release our prompts in these places and then everyone is free to start writing!!! We are super excited to see what you guys create!! 

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#TROPED: VISUAL #troped visual #Multi Fandom Event #multi fandom fanfiction #troped: multifandom #multifandom #long post

[theladylovingcrow]

New Places, Friendly Faces Part 2 (Sanny)

Author (As known on Various sites): Lady Lover- Rockfic, Luluthechoosingcrow - AO3, theladylovingcrow - Deviantart and Wattpad, @sammy_bluebells - Instagram, @imacrowcawcaw - main Tumblr, @theladylovingcrow - writing/art Tumblr, @insannywestan - Sanny shipping Tumblr

Fandom: Greta Van Fleet

Pairing: Sam Kiszka/Danny Wagner (Sanny), lil bit of Danny/Ronnie but he's quickly swept away with Sam

Length: about 2.7k

Warnings/Tags: Alternate Universe, Diner AU, No band AU, fluff, some angst, awkwardness, first dates, hand holding, flirting, Sanny

Summary: Danny was nervous; he had been building up the courage for weeks to arrange a date, and now.... He wasn't quite sure what to think of the situation he found himself in. The night certainly wasn't going as he had expected it to - and his emotions had never ridden a roller coaster this fast. Hell, the beautiful angel holding his hand wasn't even the one he had arranged to meet 2 hours ago.

Author's Notes: Here's the next part, it picks up right where the last left off! I'm hoping that I can update on a weekly basis - every Monday - but I'm not sure if I'll be able to punch out the next part quick enough, since I'm having a hectic week back home with all of my family. But I'll try!

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"Hey, I've got your pie. Mind if I sit and eat mine with you?"

Danny was startled into full consciousness again by that slightly raspy, warm voice he had been imagining calling his name. He looked up, wide eyed and probably gaping like a love struck fool at the super smart supermodel himself standing over his booth, a plate of pie in each hand.

He must have taken Danny's silence, or maybe the awed stare, as assent, because Sam sat down opposite him and set one of the plates of pie in front of Danny.

He cautiously picked up his fork and speared a bite of pastry, keeping a wary eye on Sam while doing so. Daydreaming about holding someone's hand and actually having them sit - uninvited, he might add - across from you were two very different things. Who knew what Sam was actually like, or what Danny would let slip out of his mouth if he got too comfortable?

Sam was already digging into his slice, gathering up a big forkful of flaky crusts and filling to shove into his mouth. Danny was honestly a little worried: he ate like he hadn't seen food in days, and he kind of looked it, too.

"Mmph, man, Stephen makes the best damn pie I've ever had. Just don't tell my grandma I said that," Sam confided in him with a wink, making Danny turn red. God, when had he *ever* been this flustered around someone? He wasn't making a very good impression sitting there mute and acting stupid, he was sure.

"Uhh, Sam... why did you come sit with me?"

Sam looked up at him, his brow quirked.

"How do you know my name? Are you one of Jake's friends?"

'Shit!'

"No, I heard it earlier from-" he was about to say Beiber, but luckily stopped himself, "From one of your brothers, the one with the straight hair. Which one is Jake?"

"Oh, that's him, and Josh is on his left, talking to Kyle. Micah and Jeremy are the ones having a fight with the butter knives by the way, they're the twins' best friends. Huh, I really thought you knew them, you look like the kind of guy that hangs out with us."

Danny wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. He figured it would be best to stay silent and let Sam continue talking, lest he embarrass himself somehow.

"What are you- God, I seriously can't get enough of this pie. What are you doing here all by yourself? Trying to get away from your chores or something?" Sam asked, mouth full.

"What? No," Danny said, brow furrowing a bit. He was a good boy, he always did his chores - the least he could do to help his mom out, really.

"Hmm, maybe you're running away? No, I got it! You're actually a health inspector disguised as a regular customer, and you're gonna crack down on the roaches in the kitchen!"

Danny shook his head, reluctantly enjoying the little guessing game Sam had decided to start playing - he wouldn't want the real reason to come out. Or would he? Would that give him a shot with Sam?

'Get real, he's too pretty for you. And he's probably straight, and thinks you're straight, too.'

"Sam! You KNOW there are no roaches here, stop trying to scare away my customers!"

Ronnie came up, smacking him on the back of the head with her hand and smiling at Danny, as if to say 'Don't mind him.'

Danny smiled shyly back at her, commenting on how good the pie was. In truth, he hadn't even taken the single bite he'd put on his fork yet, but it was somehow less awkward to talk to her than to look at Sam.

She said she was glad he was enjoying it and went back to the kitchen to fetch him more coffee. He watched her go, wanting to ask her to stay but knowing that would be incredibly weird; Sam just made him so nervous, he would have felt better with Ronnie's calm demeanor and sweet smile there to help him breath.

"Oh! You're here for Ronnie!" Sam whispered, looking enlightened and possibly a little crestfallen (but Danny was pretty sure that was just wishful thinking).

"No, no, I'm not. She's just nice that's, all. I'm not after her, man," Danny said.

Even though he did find Ronnie very attractive - and he could admit he had a desire to spend more time with her - he wasn't staying solely because of her, and he certainly didn't want Sam to get upset with the thought that Danny was trying to hit it with his sister.

"Dude, it's alright, I'm not gonna kick your ass or anything. Unless you hurt her..." Sam trailed off, looking suddenly so menacing that Danny was actually a bit afraid.

"I- I'm really not."

It looks like Danny's mouth had chosen trying his luck with Sam over Ronnie and, honestly, he wasn't upset by that. Sam was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly interesting: bold, humorous, intelligent, pretty, everything that Danny ever wanted. If only Danny was in his ballpark.

"Oh, c'mon! You're just sitting here by yourself, obviously waiting for someone. And Ronnie's been smiling at you so much, always coming over to your table. Her shift's over in half an hour, where are you taking her?"

'Fuck! He's really not getting it!'

"Ronnie is beautiful, but I'm not here for her. I'm- I *was* on a date, but I'm pretty sure she stood me up, and now I'm only still here because you are."

Danny's face was bright red and probably kind of sweaty, he could tell by his reflection in the spoon on the table. He couldn't bear to look Sam in the face, instead choosing to focus on his slice of pie oozing cinnamon-apple filling onto the plate.

Ronnie came back and filled up his cup, setting down a few more pods of creamer next to it. Maybe she sensed the tension, because she didn't say anything to him, and Danny didn't offer any more than a small smile this time. Now that he had made up his mind about which sibling to go for, he felt a tad awkward around her - but, then again, Sam was making him feel pretty funny, too.

Sam had been silent since his admittance, and it was making Danny nervous as fuck. He opened a creamer and dumped it into his mug, stirring it and taking a testing sip, then finally trying a bite of the pie.

'God, Sam was right - this pie was *good*.'

And fuck, did he not want this to be the last time he could have pie with Sam. As much as the guy was making Danny feel like he was about to give a public speech - and Danny could not stress enough how nervous he was - he was desperate to not let this be the end of their short lived interaction.

'It's been, what? 15 minutes since he came in, 5 since he sat down, and 2 since I started ignoring him - pathetic. If I want any chance at getting a date, this isn't the way to do it.'

Danny had made up his mind: he was going to look up, make it very clear that he meant what he had said, and ask Sam if he was interested in going to a different diner with him, when Sam spoke up.

"I'm sorry that your date stood you up, but I'm glad you're still here. I was honestly gonna leave the guys and go home, but then I saw you in the window and I decided to come in; so, I guess, you could say I'm still here because of you, too."

"I- really?"

'What?!' Danny couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Sam was here for him, because he had seen him in the window, had specifically come in because Danny looked... fuck, what could he have possibly looked other than hopeless and awkward? The grin quickly morphed into a frown.

"I don't need the pity. I appreciate that you're trying to keep me company, but I should probably just go home, I've been here long enough."

Danny got up and started putting his coat on, leaving behind his nearly uneaten pie and cup of Joe. All he knew was that he had to get out of this humiliating situation and never, ever, see this beautiful, amazing asshole ever again.

Sam sighed and caught his arm, wrapping a surprisingly strong hand around Danny's wrist. Danny froze where he was, stopped in his tracks with half a coat on for the second time this night by Sam.

"I don't feel pity for you. I can emphasize with being dumped or stood up-" Danny snorted because, really, who the fuck would pass on a date with Sam? "But I came over here because I thought you looked like an interesting person to talk to and you're honestly super hot."

He had no clue what to say to that so he didn't do anything, just stood there, unmoving, with his limp hand still in Sam's.

Suddenly, Sam breathed out harshly and stood up, too.

"Fuck, I'm sorry if I read this wrong, or gave you the wrong impression, or something. You clearly don't want me hanging onto you. Sorry, I'll go now," he said, hurriedly dropping Danny's wrist and starting to walk away.

"Sam!" Danny called, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Sam stopped but didn't turn. Beyond him, Danny could see that they had drawn the attention of Sam's brothers and friends, all of them turned to look at them having a little fight - and his traitorous brain immediately referred to it as a lover's spat - in the middle of the restaurant.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so defensive. I don't mind having you sit with me at all, so, please, come back and sit down with me."

They both slowly sat down again, Danny setting his coat to the side on the booth's leather bench. Sam balled up a napkin and Danny took a bite of pie, neither of them sure of what to say next, it seemed.

Finally, Danny figured he'd better elaborate a bit more. "'M sorry I accused you of pitying me, I just- I just don't know what else you could see other than some nerdy, lonely guy sitting in a booth by himself and watching your sister."

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't going after Ronnie," Sam immediately looked up and smiled at him, making Danny's heart flutter. He shrugged, conveying a non-verbal agreeance and admittance all at once.

"It's alright," Sam told him softly, causing Danny's breath to catch when he saw a slim hand tuck a strand of hair behind Sam's ear - possibly a sign if Sam's own nerves? "I honestly don't know why you've been putting up with me planting myself at your table and talking over you, so it's all good."

Danny wanted to protest, but Sam kept talking (perhaps there was some truth to what he had said). It seemed like, now that he had started, Sam wanted to get out all of whatever he had to say. Danny was perfectly okay with that.

"As I said, I saw you in the window when we were walking up and I just couldn't believe how attractive you were. Like, you're fucking gorgeous, and I just wanted to talk to you so bad and see what you were like. I may have intercepted Ronnie's pie delivery so I could have a reason to come up to you," Sam admitted.

Danny laughed, all of the air rushing out of him in a bout of relieved giggles. He took another bite of pie, making Sam beam back at him, showing he understood Danny's appreciation, of both the gesture and the food.

"Wow, I can't believe *you* find *me* attractive, but I'm not going to debate you on that. And I feel the same, man - like, have you seen yourself? As soon as you walked in, I was just completely in awe of you."

Sam was blushing now, too, and that made Danny's heart thump extra hard, a base drum pounding from his chest. He was grinning at Sam, and Sam was smiling back at him, both of them red and squirming in their seats but refusing to look away.

Danny saw Sam's hand reaching towards his on the table. His heart quickened and he held very still, as if trying not to frighten a scared animal by moving.

Sam's fingers found him, lightly running over the back of his hand and down to his knuckles. Danny let him explore for a time, then turned his hand over to *hold hands with Sam holy shit.*

A loud cheer of hoots and whistles sounded from across the diner. Danny looked up, startled, and Sam turned around in his seat, looking over at his table where all the other boys were apparently celebrating.

The curly haired twin - Josh, he was pretty sure (he hadn't paid overly much attention, focusing instead on Sam) - gave him a big grin and a thumbs up that could have been directed at him or Sam, he wasn't sure. Jake was the one whistling and howling, giving an almost predatory grin at Danny. Their other friends weren't as overt, but they certainly seemed happy that Sam had made up with the random guy in their sister's diner.

It made him a bit uncomfortable, but Danny was glad that Sam's siblings were okay with this - apparently they knew Sam was, in fact, into guys. Danny hoped that his family would be just as receptive, if he got that far with Sam.

'God, I hope I do.'

Sam was looking like he wasn't sure whether he should scold them or go over and high five Jake, but he didn't let go of Danny's hand. Danny found it endearing how happy he was, and how happy they all were, that Sam was over here with him - it made him feel good, like he was actually wanted and desired (in both platonic and romantic ways).

"They kinda convinced me to bring you the pie. Jake's been rooting for me to get a boyfriend for a while now, and he said you're perfect. I think I agree with him."

His blush, if somehow possible, got even darker. Sam was so hot, and such a nice person, it seemed - and he thought Danny was boyfriend material?! Danny's brain was having a riot on every single neurotransmitter simultaneously.

He had no clue how to eloquently respond to that in a way the conveyed his absolute joy, so he just stuck with a simple, "I agree too, I'd love to be your boyfriend."

Sam tightened his grip on Danny's hand, and Danny could feel how clammy his palms were. The knowledge that Sam was just as nervous, attracted, and happy as he was - it was blowing his mind.

Ronnie came over with his bill for the coffee and set it down right next to their linked fingers. She was beaming, looking back and forth between their hands and faces, clearly also in on the plot to get him and Danny together.

'*What the hell*, I don't even know any of these people.'

'Whatever, I don't care. SAM IS HOLDING MY HAND AND HE THINKS I'M HOT!'

"Rons, are you kicking us out?" Sam asked, gasping for dramatic affect, when he saw the bill.

'Shit, he's sassy, too.' Danny wasn't sure how he was going to handle such a personality-strong beauty, but fuck was he going to try.

"No, Sammy, you can take my car tonight and I'll ride home with Jakey and Josh." Ronnie replied, dropping a sey of keys onto the table. "But, if you have sex in there, *I am going to murder you*."

"No worries, I've got some standards. I mean, not that I don't want to or anything, but..." Sam trailed off, looking at Danny. He was going for provocative but it was mostly awkward; Danny bit his lip to stifle his laughter.

"Right... well, I'm officially off duty once I ring you up, so why don't you two get out of here and have some fun."

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

@satans-helper

@okietrish

@lazingonsunday

@bigthighsandstupidguys

@karrotkate

@oblvions

@lantern-inthenight

@mountainofthesunn

@ryetheruler

#fanfiction #fanfic #my writing #lulucrowproductions #gvf #gvf fic #gvf slash #greta van fic #greta van slash #greta van fleet #danny wagner #danny gvf #sam kiszka #sam gvf #sammy gvf #sanny #samxdanny #in sanny we stan #fluff #humor #awkwardness #first date #au #alternate universe

[noona-la-la-la]

(+1+) This is going to be very long. Please bear w/ me. First off, kudos on staying with such a complex story like this. I When I was still active with Tumblr, I already saw this in other fic sites w/ authors singing high praises about the fic. And now I know why. There isn't anything unique nor poetic in how you write and that's what makes it so raw. As a noona myself, I admit that JK being a boytoy or a potential beau is alluring. Anyhow, I love the way you write the perspectives of OC and JK.

+2+) I love how mature OC’s view is while JK’s is so naive (for lack of a better term), which consequently makes it all the more difficult to know who’s at fault in situations they’ve thrust themselves into–not that pointing fingers will solve anything. It’s just the reality of relationships. People have different views and oftentimes, someone has to compromise or something’s gonna give. The smut is A+ and the thing is, I cried during the first real sex they had. Pathetic I know.

(+3+) But honestly, the way JK has been making love to her, it’s just… poignant and sweet and so validating that I wouldn’t blame OC for basking in the attention. As a single woman myself, I’ve often craved for that former affection, validation and adoration that a man can give me. Don’t get me wrong–I’m a strong woman who is at that point of life where I want to be but sometimes you know… there are needs that just won’t be fulfilled by these singular successes. I digress.(+4+) I can see the brokenness in both OC’s and JK’s psyches. Especially OC’s. Having been replaced by a man she was sure she would be with for the rest of her life really did a number on her. And now, she’s just craving for the validation that she’s still beautiful, desirable and “fuckable”. To be honest, if Jin made the first move and she bit the bait, she would have fallen down that rabbit hole just the same.

(+5+) It just so happened that as of now, she needed the childish, innocent love that JK’s showered her. And JK, oh man, that kid is wearing his heart on his sleeve. That kid, even if his intentions are pure, will never be able to catch up with OC’s train of thoughts, nor fix her hangups. Her insecurities are matters she must resolve on her own, and JK is just a bandaid solution. I don’t think this story will end gracefully and it breaks my heart because the default in me wants to see them happy(+6+) However, they both have issues that need resolving on their own. JK will always, always think he’s never good enough for OC; what with the fact that she’s at that juncture in her life where she can readily leave Seoul and find herself somewhere else. OC will always, always look over her back and think she’s never good enough for JK just because he’s younger than her (among other things that he’s an idol).

(+7+) She will always think that she’s “corrupting” his childhood, his chance at a proper love and that’s just… man, it hurts my heart. Also it’s so obvious how toxic their relationship is. I mean, they solve everything with sex and very minimal communication. Based on my experience, that does not achieve anything. Then again, I’m rooting for this story however it may end. I will await for the final chapter(s) and wish you the best on this rocky ride.

(+8+) Finally, as a writer myself, I want to tell you the parts I love. The sexual tension in the first chapter is something that made both my hearts race (my pussy has a heart too haha). In the other chapters, I liked and was very much bothered by the confrontation between JK and the OC after OC left JK all night to himself at her apartment. You can see how JK unraveled then. You can see how fucked up the OC is.

(+9+) And oh my god, if that isn’t enough indication of how fragile their relationship, I don’t know what is. If I were in this relationship, I would woman up and confront JK about how loose the fabrics of our relationship is–even if it meant leaving him with a broken heart. Because that’s the right thing to do. Gah, I can go on and on about your story.

+10+) I want so much to shower you with confetti for writing this intricate plot (for a plot that you’re just writing as the story goes, this is so well thought out). But I also want to choke you for hurting me. In any case, I wish you all the best in writing this story. PS. If you’re up for heart-wrenching stories such as yours, try Tayegi’s Equilibrium (Tumblr) or Fringesofsanity’s Right of Way (ao3). Thank you for reading this novel. Take care~BLESS YOU FOR SENDING ME THIS MESSAGE!!!!  My heart skipped a beat and I’m blushing uncontrollably right now!

As many people here will tell you, they have been waiting FOREVERRRRRR for the next chapter of The Fitting.  (And for those of you still sticking with me – I love you so very much and promise you will not have waited in vain.) 

I think one of the primary reasons I’ve been so slow is because I know the end of the story is near – this will likely be the last chapter or if it’s too long, I might break it into two.  Endings are hard to write no matter what but I think this one has been particularly difficult because of how strongly people feel about these characters and their relationship.  And I know a lot of readers view them differently than I do and I’m worried that there is no way to make everyone happy with the ending no matter how it turns out.

One of the most surprising responses I got was after the chapter where Jungkook waits for the OC in her apartment and the fight that ensued afterwards.  So many readers told me that they saw Jungkook as emotionally abusive and were angry with him.  Others told me that the OC was cruel and heartless and didn’t deserve Jungkook’s love.  

It was eye opening that so many people didn’t see the characters the same way I saw them.  And that’s okay - beacause the story and how people react to it is entirely a personal thing.  I won’t tell anyone what the “right” way to view something is.  All points of view are welcome.  But it did make me worry a bit about how people will view the ultimate ending, which I have had roughly planned out in my mind since I first started writing this story.

But your take on their relationship is so much like my intentions – one person so inexperienced with relationships that he has no point of reference for his feelings and therefore everything seems bigger and more intense than it probably should.  And another person who just wanted to feel something good after the overwhelming pain and loss from her broken engagement – and who was naive in her own way by thinking that she could have a relationship with no consequences.  

In some ways they are a perfect fit for each other, and in other ways they are the exactly the opposite of what they actually need.  Whether they are able to build on what works or whether they allow what doesn’t work to overwhelm them remains to be seen – but the fact that you see the relationship for what it is… that is just a HUGE motivation for me to get back to work writing it.

Thank you!

#The Fitting #😘😘😘 #inkkinks

[thelucyverse]

How to Interact with Fanfic Authors - for Beta Readers

I wanted to make posts both for fic authors and beta readers, because I realized in several recent interactions that some helpful unwritten rules of fandom seem to have become lost to people who are new to it.

This isn't meant to be a call-out post against anyone to say 'you did it wrong!' (really, how could anyone be mad if you just didn't know any better), and there aren't even any definite rules for anything - but I just thought these things might be nice to know and helpful to share around. This part will be @ the betas, the post for authors can be found here :)

Selecting a story to beta read

If you already stumbled across someone asking for a beta reader, you can skip ahead to the next part.

What and why do you want to beta read?

Are you looking to improve your skills in finding grammar and spelling mistakes because you want to be a teacher or a parent? Are you just bored and looking for something to do? Do you want to help your friends, or anyone who happens to need help right now? Do you have time today, for an hour, or are you willing to edit 100k over the next weeks? What content are you comfortable reading and editing? Do you want to be able to show others that you beta read a story? All questions you should ask yourself and find an answer to before you go about contacting any fic authors.

If you want to practice grammar and spelling, you want to beta a story of an author who is only looking for that, and not a deeper check.

Depending on how much time you have, you should look at the wordcount of fics and only agree to beta those you have time to do in the time-frame given by the author.

To help people you know, you could ask writers you are friends with to let you know when they need a story to beta (don't ask too many at the same time, or you will get swamped in work), or make a tumblr post saying any writer mutuals of yours can ask you whether you currently have time to beta. Many fandom discords also have a @/helper role that will ping you when someone is looking for beta readers or other help. If you want to help anyone, go to the next step, otherwise skip that one.

Finding stories or authors

On tumblr and ao3, you can check out the 'beta reader wanted' tags and similar ones like 'to beta', 'fic beta wanted', 'looking for beta reader', etc. If you are looking for a specific fandom on tumblr, you probably have to be willing to scroll for a while, as most people don't tag things with '[fandom] beta reader wanted', and even if you would have to check many different tag variants to even find a single fic. On ao3, you can search for a fandom or pairing and then filter for the beta tags (one at a time).

On ao3, some authors also allow beta work of completed stories - but make sure to only do it on works of authors who are comfortable with this, do not give unsolicited advice or criticism! No matter how 'helpful' or 'constructive'! Comments with beta work without the author asking for it in notes or profile are anything but nice.

Most authors won't be mad at you if you point out a typo or two, but still check the notes of the fic and the author's profile for whether they actively state that they do not want this kind of beta work, and if you do end up leaving a comment, make sure to a) include something you liked about the story, so the author doesn't just check their inbox to get disappointed with a 'here's a typo' message, b) ask whether they want you to keep doing so in the future or rather not, and c) always stay polite.

For anything more than a single typo or grammar mistake, you should ask the author - best in a dm if you can find their tumblr - whether they are looking for a beta reader for this story of theirs that you enjoyed reading. Still leaving a nice comment on the fic first will help your beta/author relationship along, trust me :) Again, before you ask to beta, check the notes and profile or of they have an about section on their tumblr or other sites to find out whether your help might not be welcome, as perhaps for them a fic, once posted, is not going to be edited anymore.

You can also specifically look through the profiles of authors you like, to check not just for whether or not they are alright with corrections and/or constructive criticism, but also for whether they are actively looking for a beta reader!

Working with a fic author

Once you are in contact with an author, you need to find out whether you are really compatible, to then work together well.

Preparation: clarifying what you can, should and will do for the author

What does the author want you to look for? Examples can be found on the post for fic authors. Most authors will tell you without prompting, but some might not know that clarification is necessary/ are so used to their kind of betaing that they didn't think to/ plain forgot about it. In this case, you shouldn't just make assumptions - even if you worked with the author before, they might want different things for different fics, depending on length or how important a story is to them etc, so ask what exactly they want you to do.

Make sure the instructions cover the kind of beta work, the format (directly in the text, tracked editing functions, comment next to the text or direct messages), the content of the fic if there is anything you wouldn't want to read (rating, pairings, warnings), and the time frame in which they need the work to be ready to post.

Once you know what is wanted, really think about whether you are able to do as requested. If you can't - whether because you won't finish it in time or because you can't or don't want to do the kind of beta work they need (I for example hate to only beta spelling and grammar without also correcting wordflow, I would do it for a short fic but I won't agree to beta something longer if I can't bring in my own opinion at least a little), and honestly say what you won't do and why. If it doesn't work out, they will just have to look for a new beta, and there's no shame in that.

The actual beta work

Only do as much as the author asked you to, and do that well! You know what works best for you - reading the entire text first, then going through it again to beta, or starting with the corrections and suggestions immediately. Don't correct or suggest things they haven't asked for, it is not a curtsy but might even be hurtful unsolicited criticism.

If you aren't sure about something, for example a grammar rule, either look it up or honestly tell the author that there may or may not be a mistake there and they should check it out.

Be nice! Phrase your comments in a friendly way, and unless the author told you not to, you can even write additional notes pointing out things you especially liked.

Don't expect the author to accept all of your corrections and suggestions into the final text! You may think they would improve the work, but it is their decision, and maybe they have a specific writing style they want to stick to, or any other reason to ignore a suggestion. Don't argue about any of this.

Being credited as beta reader

Do you want to be credited for your beta work? If so, you should tell the author in advance so they can decide whether or not they agree to this, and to the way you will be credited, whether in name mention only, @ on tumblr or link on ao3.

Let me know if I missed anything, and I will add it to the post!

The post for fanfic authors about dealing with beta readers can be found here.

#beta #fandom lesson #beta reader #beta readers #ao3 lesson #fanfic lesson #on fandom #fandom rules #fandom rule #fanfiction #fandoms #not lverse #harry potter #the old guard #good omens #tagging some fandoms i've noticed problems earlier #star trek #fanfic writing #fanfic reading

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

ROUND TWO

It’s time to VOTE!!

Hey guys! It’s officially time to vote in Round 2 of Chopped Madness! The fics are below! The structure is simple! First, you will be asked to rank all 8 fics, the way you did in the Qualifying Round. This will help us to break any ties, and we will use this ranking to reorder the authors for the brackets for Round 3. Then, the eight (8) fics we received this round have been paired up head-to-head. Your job is to go through the four pairings and select which author of the two fics you think deserves to move on to Round 3! Please rank ALL eight (8) fics, to help us avoid any glitches in our survey like we experienced in Round 1, and to give us an accurate ranking.

At the end of the voting period, we will announce the four (4) authors who have been Chopped!! If you are not Chopped, that means you will be moving on to the next round, so keep an eye out for that post to  be sure! If you aren’t sure you can always send us a message to check!

In Round 1, there was some questions about how to approach the voting. We recommend treating the rankings and the head-to-head polls as separate entities. Rank all eight fics, from best to least best, first, and then approach each bracket in a vacuum, so to speak, ONLY considering the two fics against each other. We hope this helps make the voting process more clear, but if you have questions don’t hesitate to ask!

You can vote here!

Voting Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZCNHG9S

The 8 fics that we received for this round can be found below, or on AO3 here! Each fic follows the theme  [Dystopia], includes the tropes [Partners in Crime] and [Bed Sharing], and has a central character focus on [John Murphy]! When you vote, please be sure to take into consideration the USE of all these elements, because, as with all other Chopped events, the purpose is to select the authors who best utilize the requirements!

poison but tasty (Rated M) [Murphy & Josephine, Murphy/Emori]

Summary: In a world where genetics and individual resilience decide who gets to procreate and who doesn't, babies are a rare breed. That's why Murphy gets the lucrative idea to steal one, and sell it. In comes Josie, who kind of, sort of? Maybe? Has the same idea? He figures, what the hell. Might as well combine their efforts and split the profits.

or, Two Psychopaths and a Baby.

even heroes have the right to dream (Rated M) [Muprhy/Emori]

Summary: He doesn’t deal with people one-on-one anymore. He works his shift at the factory. He comes home. Takes his pills. Drinks himself to sleep. He doesn’t go on road trips. Or smuggle little girls under the cover of darkness. Or make small talk with his ex.

don't mess with the flow, oh no (stick to the status quo) (Rated T) [Murphy/Clarke]

Summary: Harper and Monty tried out for the spring musical, and now everything is going to shit. Jocks think they can bake. Nerds think they can dance. Stoners think they can play cello.

And Harper and Monty, Jock and Nerd respectively, think they can get callbacks for Murphy's part.

This is not what he wants. This is not what he planned. And, he's just gotta say, he does not understand.

Good to be Back (Rated G) [Murphy/Emori]

Summary: Murphy has been out of the wet work game for years now, but when someone from the past shows up at his bar, he doesn't think twice before diving back in.

make a wish (count to three) (Rated T) [Murphy/Emori]

Summary: In Alpha City, anyone who isn't a Prime, the top tier of society, is claimed by a factory to work for a meager living at the age of 18. When Murphy is selected for the factory overseen by the mysterious Alie, he thinks life might finally be getting better...

The Taste of Hope (Rated T) [Murphy/Raven]

Summary: Murphy has lived his whole life on Factory 6, stripping the planet of its resources for the benefit of the elite ruling class on The Jewel. His existence has never been more than work, sleep, and the mindless distractions of gossip, drinking, and parties.

Until he and his girlfriend, Raven, start to wonder: could there be more?

Survivor’s Move (Rated G) [Muprhy/Emori]

Summary: In a dying society ruled by an iron fist, it's crucial to stay low. John Murphy has mastered that, an ex-thief doing what he can to stay out of trouble. But trouble finds him with the arrival of another ex-thief, and more importantly, his ex-girlfriend. Emori needs his help and he finds himself confronting their breakup while also trying to express to her the importance she has in his heart.

Complex Wiring (Rated T) [Murphy/Raven]

Summary: According to the Commonwealth of Arkadian, cyborgs have been wiped out from the nation for years, any scientists willing to do the surgeries arrested or worse.

John Murphy, whose primary goal in life is to be a general nuisance to the guards in his crummy village, has no reason to believe otherwise.

That is, until he unexpectedly meets a group of cyborgs in hiding who are looking for "the Cockroach" to do a job for them.

#chopped madness #chopped madness: round 2 #round 2: dystopia #voting