#this is the 22nd story i finish

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Can I get a Rukia celebrating Shino's birthday? I know it doesn't have to be birthday themed but i like the theme haha..

hiiii!! you are last but not least! <3 I tried my best, though I wasn't sure if I had the right voice on your girl. I hope this is fine and not too out of character and if it is, please forgive me. with some cameo of some @nightingaleflow babies.

Aburame Shino x OC

2185 words.

Finding a birthday present for a boy you have a crush on is harder than one would suspect, Rukia finds that out the hard way.

Who would have thought that the biggest problem Rukia would ever have would be to choose a birthday present? She had faced formidable foes, fought and defeated her famous teammates not only physically but with her sharp tongue alone, had mastered the cornerstones of each jutsu that was presented to her, learned her worth and learned how to use and abuse it. In all matters, Rukia had gone through hell in the back, dealt with problems in front and behind her, she had done it all and solved it all with a wink and a throw of her hair.

But this? This was impossible! An absolute high wall of a task, so mundane that it annoyed her how bad she was doing at it. This couldn’t be, could it? It couldn’t be so hard for a normal human being to just pick a present- any present - to buy for someone’s birthday, especially if it was someone they knew so well, someone they’ d always grown up alongside of, right? This couldn’t be.

Still, nothing Rukia looked at seemed good enough for Shino, nothing, no matter how much money it costs. What was even worse was how nervous she was about it, as if Shino would cast her away, force her to leave his celebration, if she brought him something that was less than perfect. As if Shino would ever do anything like that, but she could not stop her thoughts from circeling. What could she possibly get him that he didn’t already have? That he wouldn’T hate? That wouldn’t give away that she was way too nervous around him to act like the functioning human being she was so proud of being?

Worse, the deadline slowly crept in. There were only three days left and so far she had nothing but a bad drawing of a sting beetle and a book about beetles in sunagakure, which she was pretty sure was the lamest present one could ever buy for someone like shino. He knew everything about insects anyway, why was she trying to please him that way, no wouldn’t laugh at her for it. Her head was way too full, her heart way too nervous, so one afternoon she pushed the book off her table and got up, like a robot, to find someone to help her out of this situation.

Not far from her own apartment she ran into her father, who was walking around, as always shoulders slouched forward as if he was carrying something heavy. Rukia’s eyes widened a little in surprise when she saw him and she almost asked him why he wasn’t at work, but he was faster than her. “Why is your face so red?” he asked and sounded genuinely concerned. 

Rukia spun around to look at herself in a mirrored surface and noticed that she did in fact have red cheeks. She’d just been imagining Shino’s reaction to the present she didn’t have, a handshake, maybe he would take off his glasses and smile at her, maybe… The image had clearly gotten away from her.

“Present”, she said quickly and once she realised that this wasn’t what a normal person would call a normal sentence, she added: “I need a present for someone and I am out here looking for it.”

Her father was no idiot, even though he was not that old yet, he’d made many experiences in life. He looked over her again up and down and up again and then concluded correctly: “For a boy?”

For a boy? She almost mocked him back, which didn’t mean he was wrong of course, but he didn’t have to say it that way. “Just Shino.” She almost swallowed her tongue saying his name out loud. In her mind she thought over and over again “Don't ask, don’t ask, don't ask don’t ask.” 

Kakashi didn’t ask. “Well, I think he likes stuff related to beetles, so maybe something like that?” Copy- Nin, sixth Hokage, genius of his time indeed, but in the end he had no idea of anything. Rukia pushed him to the side and walked past him: “Thanks, I did not think of that.” 

While she walked away she could hear him get out his book and mumble: “Teenage rebellion so late?” but she ignored him.

Instead, she made her way to where Nezumi lived, up in an apartment complex that was now going to be a new town. There was no way anyone else could help her, Rukia thought. Natsumi after all had a boyfriend, or something that at least was some sort of relationship, and so she clearly would know what to buy a boy like that. Not that Rukia had a boyfriend, Shino was just somebody, somebody who wasn’t just anybody. It wasn’t easy to explain and even harder to feel correctly.

She stopped in front of Nezumi’s apartment, listening intently to find out if her friend was at home. There were no voices inside so Lee wasn’t around, Rukia thought. Lee was loud and excited at all times and could be heard through every door and concrete walls. Which was nice, Lee was nice, there was nothing wrong with his excitement, just that today Rukia felt like she wanted to rather be alone with Nezumi.

When the door opened, Rukia could see (and hear) immediately that she had been wrong. Lee was there, sitting on the floor, legs crossed, arms crossed, eyes closed as if he was sleeping, but a face frowned as if he was concentrating. When Rukia blinked in confusion at her friend Nezumi whispered: “Meditation.”

“Uh-Oh,” Rukia made and watched her friend step outside the apartment and close the door behind her. The two girls now looked at each other, with Nezumi’s face bearing a wide smile. “I didn’t know you’d be coming over”, she said and put her head to the side. “Did something happen?”

Rukia almost let out an enthusiastic “yes!” but held herself back just enough. She didn’t want to scare Nezumi about something that was essentially just her panicking about a guy. Instead, she shook her head and then shrugged her shoulders: “I needed your advice, so I came here.”

“I see.” Nezumi seemed surprised. Rukia just wasn’t the person to need advice, especially not with that red face and her now fidgeting hands.

“Have you bought Lee-kun presents before?” The question fell out of her before she could think of a better way to phrase it. Better go kick in the door right away. 

The other girl blinked, once, twice, then she said: “A few. Nothing too special. Why? Do you want to buy him something?”

“Who? Oh- Lee! No!” Rukia shook her head. She put her hand in her hair and sighed deeply, then she began to fill Nezumi in, about the birthday party she’d been invited to, about the fruitless quest to buy a present for Shino, that nothing seemed good enough, that her father had been a total disaster when she’d seen him and that she’d come here, in desperation, to ask her friend for help.

Nezumi listened closely, nodding along with every new word spoken. She looked a little like she was taking in the details of a very important mission she had to go on, as if every detail coming out of Rukia’s mouth was vital for their survival. Brows furrowed and hand on her chin, Rukia wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d pulled out a board to write it all down next.

“So?” Rukia said once she was done, the nerves made her pull on her shirt over and over again. “This shouldn’t be so complicated, right? Why is it so complicated?” She hated how childish and desperate she sounded.

“I think that is completely normal with the way you are feeling.” Nezumi smiled knowingly to herself . “You just want it to be special.” 

That was when the door burst open in a loud noise which had both girls jump to the side and assume attack mode. Lee had apparently given up meditation and had decided to go right into training mode. He put the door back: “Oh no, I didn’t mean to scare you, I was just so excited about  love being discussed that I wanted to be part of this, please don’t be worried I will make sure your door is alright.” He winked at Nezumi, who blushed like a signal.

“You know, Rukia,” Lee said as he tested if the door still opened and closed normally, “I understand your feelings. You want him to have something of you that he can remember you by, maybe miss you buy, that maybe makes him consider recirculating your feelings.” Rukia considered just jumping. She could run down the side of the building easily. It was just 8 stories high, no big deal. “And so nothing seems good enough for you, because your feelings are bigger than just one present. But in reality all you need to give him is any present, because Shino-kun would be happy with anything you would give him.”

Lee gave Ruka a thumbs up and she gave a weak one back. “Thanks Lee,” she said and then to Nezumi: “I don’t think that is it, though. I just haven’t seen the perfect thing yet.”

“Actually I think he is right.” Nezumi gave Lee a smile that let him blush on signal now. “I think Shino likes you plenty already, it is very clear once you are near each other, and so whatever you bring him will make him happy.” 

Rukia sighed. Why was everybody so averted to giving her actual advice? “Alright,” she said and  nodded to Lee and then to Nezumi to say that she was leaving. “Thanks for your help.” She couldn’t help that her words sounded like sarcasm. 

Two more sleepless nights passed and she still didn’t have a present. The book and the beetle were still laying on the floor behind her desk, she hadn’t even made an effort to pick them up. But no matter how many times Rukia had gone through the vendors that Konoha had to offer, she could not find a present, nothing but the stuff she had already picked out and so, when the day came, she eventually did wrap the beetle and the book, as much as she hated that.

With a heavy heart she went over to the Aburame area of the village, the present wrapped in her bag. Rukia’s heart hammered against her chest and her head hurt a little, probably from the lack of sleep in the last few nights. In the end she had decided to listen to Lee, as weird as that sounded, and just brought the present she had thought of first. She wasn’t entirely convinced that this was the best choice, but she didn’t really many options, mostly because she had not thought of anything better.

Shino was there, at the door, when she knocked and she tried not to run away at the spot when his face lit up seeing her. “Happy Birthday”, she said and handed the bag over to him, hands shaking so much that she worried she might drop it. Shino took it, bowed a little, always the gentleman and said: “Thank you very much.” Rukia thought maybe she would pass out right there.

Nobody else was there yet, it was just Rukia and him, which just heightened her nervosity to a before unknown level. “Can I open it already?”, he asked friendly and thought she felt like she would rather hide behind the door that she had come in through, she nodded. Of course he could open it, it was her present after all. A bad present, but it was the only one she got.

First, he opened the book. Rukia was so embarrassed that she couldn’t look directly at him as he unpacked it. She only looked once he made a loud “Oh”-sound and saw that he was genuinely smiling. “I always wanted this. Did you know that the new edition even mentioned those sorts of beetles that were only recently discovered? There is some new species that they found in the furthest deserts that’s incredibly interesting.” 

“I- I did not, no”, she replied and made a mental note to talk to Aki about it next time they ran into each other. Not that that happened regularly, but anything that could help Rukia make small talk with Shino was very much appreciated. She grabbed the fabric of her pants again. 

He now opened the second gift, getting the picture of the stag beetle out of its cover. “Oh, did you make this?” She nodded. “It looks really good! This will be great in my office at the school.” He wanted to take it into his office, she thought and there it was again, that feeling of almost passing out.

Shino put both things down, smiling so wide that it made Rukia dizzy, then he said: “Thank you so much, those are wonderful. I’ll always think of you when I see them.”

My god, she thought, Lee was right. Who’d have thought.

#fanfiction things #nisi turns 30 #puhh we are in the home stretch #this is the 22nd story i finish #only one left! #it is the 22n of august coincidentally #whooop

[onceuponastarryeye]

books read in 2023

the ones who walk away from omelas - ursula k. le guin (5/5)

animal farm - george orwell (4/5)

the mystery of the blue train - agatha christie (4.25/5)

the memories of sherlock holmes - arthur conan doyle (3.5/5)

five survive - holly jackson (4.75/5)

liars, inc. - paula stokes (1.5/5)

blindness - josé saramago (4.5/5)

the hound of death (a short story) - agatha christie (3.5/5)

the lies we tell - katie zhao (4/5)

the magician's nephew (the chronicles of narnia #1) - cs lewis (4/5) (rr)

peril at end house - agatha christie (4/5)

rebecca - daphne du maurier (5/5)

these violent delights (tvd #1) - chloe gong (3.75/5)

the lion, the witch and the wardrobe (the chronicles of narnia #2) - cs lewis (5/5) (rr)

the screaming staircase (lockwood & co #1) - jonathan stroud (5/5)

the dagger in the desk (lockwood & co #1.5) - jonathan stroud (4.25/5)

espaços de recordação - aleida assman (academic)

murder at the vicarage - agatha christie (4.5/5)

the whispering skull (lockwood & co #2) - jonathan stroud (4/5)

the hollow boy (lockwood & co #3) - jonathan stroud (4/5)

the creeping shadow (lockwood & co #4) - (4.75/5)

the empty grave (lockwood & co #5) - jonathan stroud (5/5)

a treatise of human nature - david hume (academic)

ensaio sobre os dados imediatos da consciência - henri bergson (3/5) (academic)

lord edgware dies - agatha christie (4/5)

the communist manifesto - karl marx & frederich engels (academic)

the horse and his boy (the chronicles of narnia #3) - cs lewis (4/5) (rr)

matter and memory - henri bergson (3/5) (academic)

the hour of the star - clarice lispector (5/5)

bergsonism - gilles deleuze (3/5) (academic)

three act tragedy - agatha christie (3/5)

the hound of the baskerville - arthur conan doyle (4.5/5)

happy place - emily henry (5/5)

death in the clouds - agatha christie (2.75/5)

prince caspian (the chronicles of narnia #4) - cs lewis (4/5) (rr)

los marcos sociales de la memoria - maurice halbwachs (4/5) (academic)

how to worship Jesus Christ - joseph s. carroll (5/5)

introdução ao estudo do método de marx - josé paulo netto (4.5/5) (academic)

anxious people - fredik backman (5/5)

the collective memory - maurice halbwachs (5/5) (academic) (rr)

murder in mesopotamia - agatha christie (4/5)

cards on the table - agatha christie (4/5)

the voyage of the dawn treader - (the chronicles of narnia #5) - cs lewis (5/5) (rr)

yellowface - r.f. kuang (3.5/5)

the girl on the train - paula hawkins (4.25/5)

dumb witness - agatha christie (3/5)

the silver chair - (the chronicles of narnia #6) - cs lewis (4/5) (rr)

before your memory fades (btcgc #3) - kawaguchi toshikazu (4.75/5)

pride and prejudice - jane austen (5/5) (rr)

perfume - patrick suskind (4/5)

sociologia de la memoria - paolo montesperelli (4.5/5)

capital's unfolding systemic crisis - istvan meszaros (4/5)

the last battle - (the chronicles of narnia #7) - cs lewis (3/5) (rr)

appointment with death - agatha christie (5/5)

the great gatsby - f. scott fitzgerald (4/5)

the collective - alison gaylin (3.75/5)

para além do capital - istvan meszaros (academic)

the ballad of songbirds and snakes (the hunger games #0) - suzanne collins (4/5)

história, memória e educação - lombardi et al (4/5) (academic)

der ursprung der familie, des privateigenthums und des staats - friedrich engels (3/5) (academic)

metamorphosis - franz kafka (4/5)

murder is easy - agatha christie (4/5)

how to survive your murder - danielle valentine (4.5/5)

arsene lupin, the gentleman-thief - maurice leblanc (3.5/5)

sad cypress - agatha christie (5/5)

northanger abbey - jane austen (5/5) (rr)

the return of sherlock holmes - arthur conan doyle (4/5)

phantom of the opera - gaston leroux (5/5)

persuasion - jane austen (5/5) (rr)

one, two, buckle my shoe - agatha christie (5/5)

the suicide house - charlie donlea (5/5)

endless night - agatha christie (5/5)

life and limb - jamie andrew (3.5/5)

final offer (dreamland billionares #3) - lauren asher (3.5/5)

the valley of fear - arthur conan doyle (4/5)

capitalismo pandemico - ricardo antunes (4/5)

one of us is back (one of us #3) - karen mcmanus (4/5)

cecília vargas em incêndio na casa-grande (cecília vargas #1) - kézia garcia (5/5)

cecília vargas em um ladrão ä solta em itapainema (cecília vargas #2) - kézia garcia (5/5)

emma - jane austen (5/5) (rr)

evil under the sun - agatha christie (3.5/5)

uma oração de amor - lyta racielly (4.75/5)

minha verdade - kell carvalho (4.75/5)

il nome della rosa - umberto eco (3/5)

more adventures of sherlock holmes - arthur conan doyle (4/5)

opal (the raven cycle #4.5) - maggie stiefvader (4/5)

sense and sensibility - jane austen (4.5/5) (rr)

do deserto ao jardim (guia-me #1) - aline moretho (4.5/5)

a classe trabalhadora: de marx ao nosso tempo - marcelo badaró mattos (5/5) (academic)

o monstro dançante (baile dos corvos #1) - gabrielli casseta (5/5)

o monstro aventureiro (baile dos corvos #3) - gabrielli casseta (5/5)

um clichê de verão - lyta racielly (4/5)

hercule poirot's christmas - agatha christie (4.75/5)

o monstro rockstar (baile dos corvos #3) - gabrielli casseta (5/5)

the german ideology - friedich engels; karl marx (3.75/5)

a portland row christmas (lockwood & co #4.5) - jonathan stroud (5/5)

litte women (volume #1) - louisa may alcott (4/5)

m or n? - agatha christie (4/5)

estuda comigo? (c(o)stomizei! #1) - sâmella bridges (4/5)

conta comigo (c(o)stomizei! #2) - sâmella bridges (4/5)

#bea talks #bea talks books #let's go for another reading year! #photos not mine btw #hmmm my first 3 reads of the year were all good #8 books in january (2 short stories) so I'd say i'm doing well #4 books in february oops but at least my good reads goal of 12 books a year was achieved #in my defense i had less time #16 books until the first academic book... sad #read the entirety of the lockwood and co books in 17 days 12 if you only count the days in which i read it i need MORE #the fact i've technically dnf both academic books but its only bc i only had to read parts of it so over 100 or 300 pages in each... lovely #wow first academic book i finished this year love that for me #13 books read in march what???? so many academic ones tho #8 books in april!!! #40 books by may 27th sounds really nice #7 books in may wow #many academic ones tho #5 books in june okay for a busy month #50 books by july 22nd sounds great to me #5 books in july bc i've been stuck on 4 other academic books at the same time <3 #now down to three academic books soon i'll get ot read actual fiction again hopefully #9 books in september!!! #70 books by setember feels right #7 books in october!!!!! #10 books in november dont ask me what happened (a few shrot stories tho) #10 book in december and the month isnt over yet and i have two i'm currently reading and one more to read love that #wonder if i can reach up to 100 this year too..... #16 books in december #100 books a year!!!! tho i didnt finish 3 bc they were academic but i read from all chapters just not everything from all of them tho

[roccinan]

It’s a Small World

Happy birthday, dearest @nharidy​ ! Hope you enjoy your humble gift this year too! 

A little fanfic of a fanfic (Children of the Dust), featuring berlermo stuck on the “It’s a small world” ride at Disney World with the twins. Because I read something about the small world ride never turning off, even when the power goes off, and though “LMAO that’s the exact kind of freaky thing that would happen to berlermo!” 

So happiest of birthdays and hope all your wishes come true this year! It’s an honor to be your friend (and to share your brain), and cheers to many more years of vibes and friendship!

-----

It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after- 

“We get it!” Martín cried, “it’s a small fucking world! La concha de tu madre!”

His voice echoed back at him, floating somewhere into the high-ceilinged dark, before being promptly swallowed by the surround sound amusement park track- it’s a small world after all. 

“Whose idea was it to get on this stupid ride?” he demanded, knees bumping against the steel bar laid across his thighs. “Which one of you demons did this? I swear- I swear, I will shove you off this boat!”

Elena and Gabriel turned their heads from the seats in front, a synced motion not unlike those of the dancing dolls currently bobbing their smiling faces on every corner of this wretched attraction. 

“It was Andrés,” Elena said, a matter of fact.

“So don’t you dare complain about this ride!” Martín barked at her, “most kids would kill to get an experience like this. You’re so lucky and privileged, and you don’t even know it. What an amazing experience! I could spend forever here!”

In retrospect, the ride was actually quite charming, and prior to the malfunction in the boat that left them stranded in the water for the better part of an hour, Martín enjoyed every minute. What was there not to love about a charming escapade through a world populated by singing, dancing adorable dolls?

(Also in retrospect, they could have just gone to Disneyland Paris if the twins wanted it so much. But no. Andrés decided that a family trip to the real Disneyworld in the U.S of A was in order. Orlando also made a convenient, if unconventional, layover between Europe and Buenos Aires.)

And oblivious to the father-daughter spat, Andrés continued humming along to the small world tune beside Martín. Perfectly at home in their amusement park dingy, and not at all looking ridiculous for doing this in a three-piece suit. He was beautiful and powerful, especially so compared to Martín’s own pathetic offspring. 

“Isn’t the resemblance uncanny, Martín?” Andrés said, pointing an elegant finger at a pair of spinning dolls meant to represent a country Martín couldn’t identify. “Those two handsome dolls look just like us.”

One doll had short, black hair. Prettily wrapped in a small emerald suit. The other had hair a shade lighter, and blue button eyes. Both were smiling like idiots and waving at air. Maybe if he squinted, Martín could see the regal, powerful, and genius aurora of these two particular dolls.

Before Martín could lie and say he agreed, Gabriel piped up. “Yeah! They kind of do.”

“No, they don’t,” Elena said, “and you’re just saying that because you’re a suckup.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are-”

Then the music, along with the lights and every last bit of Martín’s sanity, cut out. A shrill scream accompanied the plunge into darkness.

“Please keep your hands and feet inside the boat at all times. Assistance will arrive shortly.”

The intercom repeated the announcement in several more languages, but Martín couldn’t hear it through the screams.

“Fuck!” he hissed, light finally returning to the scene. From Gabriel’s phone, his son now holding it up to illuminate a frankly disturbing image of the Small World marionettes dancing and smiling to complete silence. The shadows and emergency red lights did not help.

“Okay, which one of you did it?” Martín said, “who screamed?”

“It was you,” Elena told him, rolling her eyes.

Andrés laughed. “Please, cariño. Your father is the bravest, manliest man on this planet. He would never scream in the face of adversity!”

“OK.”

Gabriel hovered the phone’s flashlight above the water, then over the faces of the animatronics. And either Martín was hallucinating, or the lighting was not doing the dolls any favors, because he swore at least three of the dolls switched places. 

“Was that one so close to the edge?” Gabriel asked, nervous.

Martín looked at where he pointed, at a tiny brunette slowly but steadily inching towards their boat. What the fuck.

“Of course it was, Gabriel,” Andrés said, “everything is exactly where it should be, and we have nothing to fear.”

Then he shifted closer to Martín and whispered in his ear, “Martín, that doll is moving towards us at an alarming pace.”

“Wh-”

“Shh! Don’t say anything- you’ll alarm the children.”

“So what should we do? Just sit here and let the asshole do whatever it wants?”

“No, but we can’t let it know that we know what it’s planning. If we ignore its existence, then we have the element of surprise.”

“You’re so brilliant.”

Andrés chuckled. “Would you love me otherwise?”

“Hmm, well, I do appreciate your other features very much too.”

“Would you care to elaborate, my darling engineer?”

“Oh, let’s see-”

Elena turned back around. “Hey, we’re hungry.”

“WOW. There are people starving in the world!” Martín snapped at her, “and you’re in the happiest place on Earth, and you still complain? Why can’t you two just show some fucking gratitude for once? Every time we do something nice for you, it’s just ‘whine, whine, whine’!”

“But we are hungry!” Elena fired back, “you promised this would be the best vacation ever, but so far, it’s just been lines and you complaining!”

“Well, if you’re so HuNgrY, just eat your brother- he’s right there!”

“I’m not eating Gabi!”

“Then let him eat you, it’s every man for himself in here!”

Elena glared, then crossed her arms and slumped in her seat. Like a fucking child! Martín rued the day he ever sired her.

“Elena has a point,” Andrés suddenly said, pushing the steel bar up in a blatant disregard for the intercom’s instructions, “they’ll starve in here at this rate, and we’ll miss our dinner reservation. We’ll have to walk out of here ourselves.”

“But it’s a maze of dolls in here,” Martín said, trying and failing to stop Andrés from standing up. “And some technician’s supposed to come for us-”

“It’s been too long, and I don’t like the way that doll’s looking at Gabi.” Andrés straightened the edge of his blazer. “I’ll search for the path first, and when I find the correct route, I’ll come back for you and the twins.”

Martín didn’t really like that plan, or the idea of his Andrés- with his 101 martyr complexes- wandering through a trap of murderous dolls, but they didn’t have a choice. What else were they supposed to do? Follow directions and wait for a park employee to guide them out of here, according to professional protocol? Of course not, ridiculous. They had no choice.

“Be careful,” Martín said.

“I’ll be fine.” Then Andrés leaned down and kissed him, Martín quickly grabbing his jaw and swallowing the kiss into a hearty gulp.

Andrés adjusted his tie, and climbed out of the boat, ignoring the kids’ idiotic protests of “Wait! Andrés, come back- they told us to stay put!” and “No, Andrés, don’t die! Don’t leave us with Martín!” and “Andrés, the restaurant looked shitty anway!” and “Andrés, that’s the wrong direction!” 

Andrés fell into the water, but very gracefully pulled himself back up, and grinned. Flashing a thumbs up at Martín, he hoisted himself over the edge of a platform, and creeping between a pair of rotating dolls, disappeared into the dark. 

After several minutes, Gabriel said, “It’s actually pretty cool, how the animatronics work.”

Elena glanced at the doll, now standing on the literal tip of their boat. “I bet they’re powered by electricity- you just can’t see the circuits.”

“They’re clearly hydro-powered,” Martín informed his idiot children, “why else would they still be moving after the power went out? Use your brains.”

The twins didn’t fight him this time, but Gabriel did feel it appropriate to say, “If we’re stuck here forever, what do we do?”

Martín felt that it would be fair for him to eat his children by that point. It would be their turn to repay him for everything he did for them. But he didn’t tell them that.

“We’ll find a way out,” he said, “I’m a genius, remember? And you two have my genes, so you’re no dimwits either. Of course we’d figure a way out.”

Gabriel gulped. “Okay.” Then he looked to Elena. “I love you, Elena.”

Elena held his hand. “Love you too, Gabi.”

Martín waited for the kids to say “I love you” to their father, but they didn’t. Assholes.

Eventually, that one marionette got so close that Martín had no choice but to stand up and kick it away like a football. It fell with an ugly splash. 

And then finally, Andrés returned, very heroically and very handsomely, even if his blazer was torn in a hundred different places.

“I found the way!” he said, “follow me!”

Martín helped the ungrateful brats out of their seats, then passed them towards Andrés. In single file, all holding hands—the children in between, himself and Andrés and the front and rear—they began making their way towards the exit. And to freedom.

—

They cheered when they finally reached the sunlight. Martín released an open whoop and held out his arms for Andrés to jump into. Then they repeated the victory jump the other way around. And after a good few seconds of cheering and congratulating each other, they turned to the children, who had been suspiciously silent.

But Gabriel and Elena were no longer Gabriel and Elena. Instead, Martín found himself staring at two dark-haired dolls that vaguely resembled his hellspawn. So grabbing the wrong “kids” was an honest mistake that anyone could have made.

“La concha de tu madre!” he said, “we lost the brats!”

“If they were my unholy offspring,” Andrés told him gravely, “I would call it a blessing in disguise. But these are your children, Martín, your flesh and blood! I have to go back for them-”

Andrés threw the blazer off, but before he could very heroically and very handsomely return to the tunnel of horrors, Martín stayed his arm.

“Wait,” Martín said, “it’s getting pretty late. I think we should have dinner first, and come back for them later. We need the strength.”

Andrés nodded. “You’re right, Martín. That’s exactly what we should do. It took so long to reserve those tables in the first place, we can’t let someone else snatch it from us.”

“Precisely.”

Linking arms, they left Small World behind. And somewhere inside, Elena released a distinct, “la concha de tu madre!” right before Gabriel decided it would be more effective to dial uncle Sergio for help instead of waiting for Andrés and Martín to come back.

#it's already the 22nd here so I'm publishing this now! #nharidy #Happy Birthday Nada #hope you have the birthday you deserve and that you have a fantastic day and year ahead! #asdadf I wanted to do something fancier like edit a movie trailer or something #but due to skill and time constraints #I did this instead BUT some day(!) we'll bring Children to life #I also haven't forgotten about all the reviews I owe you for this story! truly something I enjoyed from start to finish! #and hope this is a sufficiently in character tribute for you! #drabble

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7 K Warnings: None Prompt: It'd just one more day before it's full moon again, you must make sure you've got the smell of the pack... This IS a Wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it. Proofread by lovely: @aremuslupinsimp

Chapter 38: Let the Good Times Roll

Wednesday, December 22nd. 2:15 AM

When the party was over, you went up to your room alongside Lily to change. She wasn’t talking to you yet. You tried to give her some space, but you didn’t like not being able to talk to her. You weren’t even sure if you should apologise to her, and if you did, For what? For saying nasty things to Severus? You certainly weren’t sorry about that. Maybe for implying her in? That had been unnecessary, even if you knew it would spite him. 

You sighed as you walked in, Marlene and Mary were fast asleep, and you cast a quick silencing spell over their bed so neither you nor Lily would wake them up.  You looked at the redhead as you raised your wand and she walked towards the bathroom to change, avoiding your gaze altogether. 

Your gaze fixated on the closed door, a subtle crease forming on your forehead, and after a brief, contemplative moment, you bit your lip and walked over to your trunk to find something to change into yourself, giving one last look at the door before focusing completely on your task. She was out while you finished putting on your socks, leaning down on the bed as you stared at the floor. You missed the way she looked at you, only for a split second, but it was a longing stare. 

You also didn’t notice she had walked over to your bed until you felt it dip by your side. The feeling prompted you to sit upright, turning to look at her as quickly as possible.  She seemed to be hesitant to speak so you broke the silence instead, “I’m sorry.” 

“Oh, love–” she said as her shoulders slumped. She was about to say something else, but then you interrupted her, speaking almost a little too fast as you attempted to order your thoughts at the same time as you spoke. 

“I shouldn’t have implicated you in my fight with Severus. I was very mad at him for pushing you and James but using your name and his pent-up feelings for you to piss him off was disrespectful. To you more than him. And I did not consider how it might have affected you then, and I’m really sorry if I made you upset–” 

“Hey,” she said softly, licking her lips before placing a hand on your arm, much like Remus did often. “I’m sorry too.” You let out a short, relieved breath at the contact, she doesn’t like it when we fight either.  “James told me how hard he was shoved,” she explained, “He broke most of it with his arm and the door so I wouldn’t get hurt, but you and Remus must have seen it first hand, of course, you’d be mad.” 

“It was pretty bad,” you agreed, if Lily had gotten the full extent of the blow, she might have been sore now. 

“And I shouldn’t have lashed out at you either. I’m not excusing you for saying the things you did but I wasn’t just…” she seemed to hesitate for a second, as if she wasn’t sure which words she should use. “I wasn’t just angry at you, I was angry at Severus and at how much he’s changed through the years. He’s insufferable now, and I’m sorry you had to be the one defending me against him when I should be the one standing up for myself, but you didn’t know him then, he was different.” 

“He called you a mudblood,” you said, “James a bIood traitor and Remus a–” You didn’t even dare to say it. “I shouldn’t have used you, but there will never be a moment in which I won’t defend my friends, Lily. Even if it’s from their own friends.” 

It was her turn to sigh, “I know, it’s what I admire the most from you.” 

You leaned your head to the side, a soft smile drawing itself on your lips. “I admire your noble heart,” you said. “And your ability to stay calm in these kinds of situations. You’re like Remus, all warm and calm and conciliating–” 

“Oh, come on, you’ve seen me mad plenty of times.”

“Well yes, but you still manage to keep your head cool, I mean if Severus had–” you stopped yourself, you did not want to upset her further, instead you mumbled. “Might have punched him.”

“And be the aggressive Mudblood?” she asked you, your gaze almost fell at her words. She smiled bitterly, “I don’t have the luxury to retaliate like that.” 

You swallowed thickly. “It would be more than justified I–” you sighed. And then gave her another worried look, reaching your hand to grab hers. “I never even factored that in.” 

The weight of your privilege, the one bestowed upon you by your father who was keen on keeping up appearances of bIood purity, suddenly bore down on you. The privilege of not having to worry about your abilities, or having to prove how good you were simply to belong had never been more evident to you.

Of course, you had your own battles to fight, the world was still not fair for you, for any of your friends, really. But what Lily had to go through, the kind of bigotry she was exposed to and how she had to behave because of it, made you see her in a new light. Hours ago, if anyone told you, you’d admire Lily more than you did, you would have called them mad, and here you were, looking at your beautiful redhead friend and feeling nothing but utmost admiration for her. 

She smiled at you. “Thanks for being my knight in shining armour.” 

“Thanks for being the pure heart that holds me down when I’m about to go mad,” you responded with a smile. 

And then, laughter rippled through the room, a shared moment of catharsis. You let yourself fall on the bed, both you and Lily now staring at the wooden headboards and red curtains surrounding it. “Lily,” you began, your voice carrying a genuine warmth, “I don’t want to ever lose you as a friend.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, I’ll latch onto you like a leech, I’ll be worse than Sirius even, you cannot get rid of me that easily.” 

“Not even if I hex Severus?” 

“Of course not,” she said with a laugh, but she quickly turned to look at you. “You’re not planning to hex him though, are you?” she asked in a worried tone. 

You just laughed in return. “Don’t worry about that, he’ll be suffering his own little issues tonight,” you said in a rather mysterious tone. 

She gasped, “What did you do?” 

“Me? Nothing.” You answered honestly. “In fact, it was he who stole the treat I was about to eat.” 

She threw you a look, “And you had nothing to do with it?” 

You shrugged, “Not my fault he and his gang are such gits.”  

Lily shook her head disapprovingly even if she had a smile plastered on her face. You stayed next to each other for a while. Eventually, she yawned, and you followed closely after. “You can stay on my bed if you want.” 

“Mhm?” She asked as she accommodated herself so her feet would be up on the bed and not resting on the ground like they had been previously since the two of you had been sitting on the edge, “You’re going with the boys? Because of the moon and the experiment Peter suggested, right?” 

You nodded in response, and then realised her eyes were closed, “Yes.” 

“Good night then,” she said and yawned again. You stood from the bed and brought over some covers from hers to place them on top of her since you had both laid on top of yours. As you did you leaned over to look at her and accommodated her hair behind her ear, you could see some of the freckles she always tried to hide with potions but that you found truly endearing. No wonder James liked her so much, your friend was gorgeous, but that was something you’d always known. 

You were too emotionally stirred to see the difference, while you considered both Lily and Remus your closest friends, and while you were attracted to girls, you didn’t even once look at Lily the exact same way you had looked at Remus through the night. The hunger that you felt for the latter was nothing compared to the sheer love and admiration you felt for the redhead. Two very different emotions, and they were there for two very different reasons, but you were still too blind to see. The blindfold, although slowly becoming sheerer, was still there. 

“I’m glad we’re still friends,” you whispered as you finished tucking her in. Then you made sure the rest of the girls were asleep before going back to the boy’s room. 

Now, it’s not that you were eager to go back to Remus. In fact, you thought you had ogled him enough with the horny potion still running through your system throughout the party –and it wasn’t gone entirely yet– but, just like Lily had mentioned, tomorrow was full moon. 

And while the couple of nights you had bunked with the boys had been enough, according to Remus who confirmed Vixen smelled like part of the pack, you had all agreed that the night before the full moon would be the most important. For a couple of reasons: first of all, the closer you smelled to the pack when Moony showed up, the more chances you would have to be accepted by him. Second, after the party, there was a high chance other people’s smells had been mixed in with your own, and thirdly, Remus said it would make him feel at ease knowing that Vixen smelled like nothing other than the pack. 

You wanted Remus to be at ease, especially in the particularly complicated time he had just before the moon, so you had all decided you’d meet again after the party was over. James had even lent his cloak so you could sneak out of your room and into theirs quietly. 

“What are you doing?” You heard someone whisper in your ear which had you jump a few feet back as you looked around. You had the cloak on, there was no fucking way… “Saw your door open.” The voice explained. 

You frowned, finally recognizing him, “Richie?!” 

“Boo,” he said as he became visible right in front of you, you stayed safely under the cloak.

“What– what are you doing in the Gryffindor tower?” 

“Can’t a ghost roam around freely in the castle?” He asked, with a slightly dramatic tone, ever so characteristic of him.  And then looked to the side pointing at the spot where your voice was coming from. “Kinda rude you don’t show yourself after I have.” 

You rolled your eyes, even if he couldn’t see it. “Well, if you haven’t noticed, I’m quite literally in the middle of sneaking out of my dorm at three AM, of course, I cannot step out of my hideout,” you whispered.

He hummed at that, “I still think it’s rude,” he said with a shrug. 

“How did the portrait lady let you in?” 

“She didn’t, I sneaked in. You’re not the only one with secret passages knowledge,” he said, a little haughtily. 

You gave him an incredulous look, hardly remembering he couldn’t actually see it. “And you came over because…” 

“I was bored, thought of giving the first years something to talk about in their Christmas break,” he responded with a shrug. 

“Poor kids,” you said as you shook your head in disapproval. 

“What about you?” he countered. “Why are you sneaking out at three in the morning? Are you planning a new prank with your boyfriends?” 

You couldn’t quite tell Richie what you were going to do, let alone who you were going to do it with, so it was best to just lie. “Boyfriend, and yes, something like that.” 

Richie gave the nothingness a look of incredulity, you thought it was funny that even though he was the ghost, he was the one with a slightly lost gaze as he talked exclusively to your voice. “You keep telling yourself that, little witch.” He said the last thing on purpose, he had heard Remus call you that, and he wanted to tease you over it. Maybe then you’d fucking realise what he had seen a while ago, but you and your stupid boyfriends failed to see. 

You shuddered when he said your nickname, no one used that one but Remus. Not even Sirius that seemed to have about 10 different nicknames for you. You certainly did not like the way it sounded when Richie said it. Was it because it sounded a lot more patronizing rather than endearing? Or was it only you who perceived it that way? Of course, you weren’t about to tell him that you didn’t like it when he said it, he had already teased you about nicknames in the past. You did not want to give him yet another reason to be annoying. 

You sighed. “Anyway, I’ll let you torture the poor kids, I have somewhere to be.” 

“No, wait!” Richie said as he turned to follow your voice. “Where are you going?” 

“Boys dorms,” you said honestly. He gave you a look, eyebrows raised and a suggestive smile. You would have nudged him if you could actually touch him. “For the prank you dirty-minded ghost!” 

“Of course, of course,” he said as he moved his head from side to side, brows furrowed slightly, his voice dripping with playful condescence. 

You huffed at that, worst part was, with the potion that was –now you knew– clearly not gone entirely, you had easily gone back to the thoughts of Remus and Sirius and the fact that you’d actually be sleeping next to the two of them. Your only hope left was that said potion did not emit any sort of effect on Vixen. And that your fox thoughts would be cleaner than your human ones. 

“Don’t tell anyone you saw me here,” he whispered, “McGonagall has been getting on my nerves for sneaking into the Slytherin dorms last time. They think James convinced me to do it. As if.” 

“See what?” you asked, a complicit smile etched on your features, “I’ve been soundly sleeping on my bed all night.” 

He gave a pleased look at that. “Good luck with your boys. Have fun! Take your special teas and potions and all that.” 

“Richie!” you admonished. As if you needed warmer thoughts to enter your head. Enough had been your ridiculous admiration of Remus’ torso with how tight the navy-blue shirt fit him. Enough had been the thought that you’d probably end up sleeping right over it. No, not me. Vixen, you corrected yourself. You almost regretted sacrificing yourself for James, but being honest, he would have had it much worse than you did. At least your body wasn’t going to give any physical indication of your thoughts no matter how far they escalated. And honestly, Lily did not need more emotional strain in one night either. You weren’t sure how she would react to a horny James on a normal day, but it would definitely not be positive with the toll of the night. 

Richie just shrugged, gave you a wink, and disappeared through a wall. Your eyes trailed behind as you saw him go and then started to walk towards the boys’ dorms. The hallways were dark, and you had to be extra careful not to trip on your way down the set of stairs of the girls’ dorms and up the ones on the boys’. Thankfully you had already taken that same path a good deal of times and you knew how to get from point A to point B with relative stealth. 

Once you were outside of their door you had to take a deep breath, forcing the image of shirtless Remus you had seen a while ago off your head, and walked inside. The boys knew you were coming later that night, so you trust they were all presentable. When you walked inside, you spotted James thrown on his bed, tie loose and shirt slightly unbuttoned, snoring just slightly as he was half-covered with the sheets. Peter was on his bed, perfectly tucked and with a Gryffindor beanie that clashed entirely with his purple striped pyjamas.  He is cold, you realised, you were too. The cloak had never been that warm. 

Then you spotted your boys, the boys, you corrected yourself. Fucking Richie and damn Ackley’s potion, they’d made your mind all wonky. “No use in hiding luv, we saw the door open,” Sirius said, he was on the bed next to Remus who was reading a book you hadn’t seen before. Sirius was sketching something in a small notebook. Both boys stood rather close to each other, but Remus kept his gaze on his book, respecting Sirius’ earlier wish of not snooping on his drawing, even if the temptation was gnawing at him. 

You took part of the cloak off and placed it around your shoulders. “You’re drawing,” you pointed. 

“Mhm,” Sirius said in response. “Just practising expressions.” 

“How’s it going?” 

“Surprisingly great, wanna see?” He asked. Both you and Remus looked at him with a rather surprised expression. Sirius had never allowed either of you to see his drawings, and he was now so casually offering it, that it had the two of you puzzled. 

“Sirius, are you all right?” you asked as you stepped closer to the bed, letting James’ cloak fall over Remus’ trunk as you did. 

“Did you hit your head?” Remus intervened. 

“Or took a potion?” You added as you leaned over the bed and placed your hand on his forehead to check if he had some sort of fever. 

“What?” The boy asked with a frown as he gently pulled your hand off his head. “No, I– You know what? Never mind.” 

You let a disappointed “aw” in response. “Doesn’t mean I don’t want to see it, we were just a little surprised,” you said, even pointing at Remus, to show it wasn’t just you that had been taken aback by his offer. 

“You’ve never shown us your drawings. At least not the ones in your notebook,” Remus added. 

Sirius seemed to hesitate at that, and they were right, he never showed his art to anyone. He had tried to show it to his mother once and she had berated him with it. Telling him it was a useless waste of his time and that he should instead be perfecting his charms, that Regulus was getting ahead of him and that he was lagging behind. That, if he continued, he would lose his chance to get into Hogwarts and would end up cast out of the family like a squib. He was only 8 at the time, and since that day, his drawings, other than the doodles on his notebooks, had been kept to himself. 

Sketchbook after sketchbook, sent to him by Andromeda and sometimes even his cool uncle Alphard (who had never been too loved by his mother and who had at least kept in touch with Sirius even after he had been kicked out last summer). Sirius had kept them all hidden and lock-charmed so no one would be able to access his art. But of course, he continued on drawing, sometimes because he saw something he wanted to remember, sometimes because he wanted to get better at it, sometimes for the sake of it, and sometimes because he wanted to piss Walburga off. 

Sirius had a rather specific way in which he would sit in the drawing room of his house, and while Regulus studied diligently, he would prop out his sketchbook and draw for hours, waiting for Walburga to come over, just to see her walk out of the room displeased, he enjoyed that look on her face so much that he would draw for even more hours, just to see if she’d come back and make it again. 

At some point he’d even found some drawing books in the family library, he had taken all of them and hid them in his trunk, using them to improve his skill –not that the practice hadn’t already done that for him, but he learnt a lot about proportions with those. Later on owling them to James and asking him to hide them when things got rougher at home. That Christmas he’d gotten even more books, all thanks to the Potters who’d given him a few as gifts (he had stayed with them over the break while telling his parents he’d be at Hogwarts), James had given him a set of always-sharp drawing pencils that he still used to this day. James had also told Peter and Remus about Sirius’ passion for drawing. Peter had gotten him some colouring pencils while Remus got him a leather bound sketchbook, the same he was using today, in fact. 

“Yeah I–” Sirius was hesitant, he didn’t even notice how easily it had slipped off his tongue. How he had just offered the two of you to see his drawing. The more he thought about it, the more he realised, he wanted the two of you to see it. He trusted you, unlike he’d ever trusted anyone in his life, and it was scary, giving someone so much power over him and his emotions. 

“Hey,” you said softly, noticing his change in demeanour.  “I’m sure both me and Rem would love to see your drawing. See what that pretty mind of yours came up with,” you reassured as you pointed at his forehead with one of your fingers as you mentioned his mind. “But neither of us is going to pressure you.” 

“We’re okay if you keep it to yourself,” Remus added, for good measure. He was feeling all sorts of warm feelings as he saw you treat Sirius with such kindness, to touch him with such tenderness, Merlin knew that boy needed this kind of affection and he was thrilled, that even if he couldn’t give it to him himself –not in the way he wanted at least– you could still do that for him. You really were made for each other. And he really was in the middle of a tender moment and he wasn’t sure if he should stay in it, not that either of you seemed to mind, you never did, he realised. 

“I want you to see it,” Sirius mumbled and he handed the sketchbook your way, one of his fingers in between the pages, to mark where the drawing was. You took it in your hands and opened it slowly when you realised what it was you gasped. 

“It’s beautiful,” you said honestly. Both the drawing and the person he had drawn. Sirius swallowed thickly, he wasn’t insecure about many things, but he had never shown his art to anyone. “You’ve captured him perfectly.” 

“Who?” Remus asked, now intrigued and leaning over to see the drawing as well. 

“You,” you said as you tilted the sketchbook over so he could see it as well. Remus’ eyes opened wide with surprise as he saw himself sketched out in the notebook. 

When Sirius said he was “practising” his expressions, he really meant it, he had sketched out a perfect version of Remus’ side profile as he read a book, his brow just slightly furrowed as he was looking at a particularly intriguing section of the detective novel he’d been reading earlier. “You were… you were drawing me?” he stuttered, as his eyes widened and he drew in a sharp breath. 

“You mind?” Sirius asked as he tilted his head slightly. 

Remus wasn’t sure how to respond. Did he mind? No, if anything he was flattered, barely holding the blush starting to creep up his cheeks, he never thought he’d be the subject of one of Sirius’ drawings, let alone the many he had already been of and would be in the future.  “No,” he said honestly. “I just didn’t realise.” 

“You were very absorbed in your book,” Sirius said with a shrug. “Wasn’t even being careful about it.” 

You turned to Sirius then, he’s drawn him before, you thought, it was in the way the lines were so sure, confident as if he knew exactly what he was doing and had to focus solely on his expression. But it made so much sense, they were roommates after all. You then wondered if he had drawn you too, was it possible that you too had been so engrossed in yourself that you hadn’t noticed? 

The drawing of Remus was beautiful, it truly reflected him in every way, but Remus had never seen himself as beautiful as he had been plastered on the sketch. He was truly stunning in Sirius’ gaze, and if that was what he looked like to you, then perhaps it too made sense when you called him beautiful. You’d even called him beautiful when you’d first seen the drawing. Well, was that him or was it Sirius’ talent that you had been praising? He chose to think a little bit was because of him.  

“Sirius it’s incredible,” you repeated as you gazed at the drawing again. “I expected you to be good but–” 

“I’m always good with my hands,” he said as he threw a wink your way and you almost pushed him off the bed entirely. You did not need dirty thoughts added. 

“My love you wound me,” he said dramatically as he let himself fall back onto Remus’ lap.  Remus had reacted just fast enough to pull the sketchbook up, Sirius looked at him with a cheeky little smile. “Moony, you’re awfully comfortable,” he teased. The two of you praising his art had gotten him in a dreadfully good mood. 

His two favourite people on earth had seen his drawing and they had both thought it was beautiful. Or at least been kind enough to pretend it was, he was pretty sure the two of you were being honest with him, though. He wasn’t always good at seeing through lies, but he was good when it mattered. 

Wait– his two favourite people in the world? 

Remus rolled his eyes as he looked down on Sirius, trying not to think of how beautiful he looked and instead of how annoying he was by taking up his personal space so brazenly. Problem was, even that he found endearing. The urge to brush his fingers through his perfectly chiselled nose was almost mortifying. 

Sirius wasn’t in a much better position either, he had focused so much on his drawing that he had forgotten he had actual Remus Lupin –who for some reason he now considered insanely attractive– looking at him like he was the only person in the room. They locked eyes for a moment and Sirius swallowed. 

You looked at the scene curiously and he seemed not to mind much the kind of attention Rem was providing him with, you already knew he loved being coddled. Sirius had always been touchy and cuddly, searching for the lack of affection his parents had given him wherever he could find it, but he and Remus had gotten a lot closer –physically at least– since you all started doing the pack cuddling thing this month. And while you found it endearing, that Sirius could find love not only with you but elsewhere as well in case you weren’t around to help him out, there was something about the way they were looking at each other in that particular moment that made you do a double take, or at least to stare a little closely. Have you missed something? That look was an awful lot like–

Suddenly there was a stir on the bed and the sketchbook fell from Remus’ hands. When he picked it up, the page had changed, and when he looked at it, he couldn’t actually hide the blush that crept up his cheeks, “Sirius Black!” he said in an admonishing tone. 

Sirius, who had turned his gaze to you and was pulling onto your leg, turned his head quickly and gasped when he saw the drawing Remus was looking at, “Close it, close it!” 

Remus did as told in an instant, swallowing thickly as he remembered the drawing. Sirius now was blushing as well. “What– what was that?” You asked with a small frown, completely changing your train of thought, now focusing solely on the sketchbook.

“Nothing,” Remus said simply. 

“Don’t worry about it, Starshine,” Sirius said, but that was not his cool and controlled voice. You could see how nervous he was, whatever it was that Remus had seen in the sketchbook, he clearly did not want you to see it too, which obviously made you want to see it even more. Meanwhile, Remus was struggling not to think of the drawing now burned into his brain. 

You scrutinised their reactions, the only sound in the room the gentle rustle of the fabric as you shifted on the bed. Your gaze darted between them, before deciding to focus on the latter. “Sirius?” He swallowed. 

“You don’t want to see it, trust me,” Remus said as coolly as he could, but you could clearly see through his bullshit. 

“Your lies only make me more curious.” 

“I’ll show it to you later.” 

“How will I know it’s the same?”

“Because you trust me?” Sirius responded with a shrug. 

“Would you show it to me later?” You asked as you turned to Remus. 

He cleared his throat, he really did not need to think of the drawing again. “Yes,” he lied. 

“Okay fine,” you responded, and laid back for a second, Remus had the sketchbook still in his hands.

Sirius was looking at you attentively, not sure how you had let the subject go so easily when you jumped forward to try and grab the notebook from Remus’ hands. But Remus’ reflexes had always been faster and he moved the book out of the way as you crashed against him and caused him to fall back on the bed with you on top. You, being deterred not even a little bit, pulled your hand forward to try and grab it again when Sirius grabbed you by the waist firmly and held you from moving forward again. 

Remus, meanwhile was trying not to think of the image, and now also your body pressed against him, and you, being so engrossed in your task, didn’t quite realise exactly what you were doing. 

“Starshine please, I promise I’ll show it to you later,” Sirius pleaded as he held you back from reaching towards Remus’ long outstretched hand. 

“Why not now?” you asked as you continued trying to move. 

“Because!” he said. “You’re all over Moony, come on!” he added as he tried to pull you back. 

You looked down, he was right, you were all over Remus, more specifically, all over the broad chest you had been thinking about all night, and you couldn’t help but think how firm it felt underneath you. But you still wanted to know. 

“What was it?” you asked, squirming as you tried to get out of Sirius’ grasp. 

“Anatomy study.” 

Finally, you stilled. Looking up to see how red Remus’ cheeks had gotten, and how he swallowed thickly after Sirius’ words. Now actually noticing how close you were to Remus and the compromising position your legs had been in, and the way they had entangled onto Remus’ and how long you had been there and how Sirius had been trying to pull you back by the waist and how flustered the two boys looked and suddenly it dawned on you. 

You scattered back in an instant, falling on Sirius’ lap as you did, he stilled you easily since his hands were still on your waist and you turned to him, your heart hammering on your chest. The thoughts currently roaming in your head weren’t making this entire ordeal any easier for you. 

“Do you mean-” you swallowed. “That kind of anatomy study?” 

Sirius sighed and looked at the side, before turning his gaze back to you. Remus was looking at the entire situation, at the position both you and Sirius had ended up in trying not to feel things, let alone imagine other ones. 

“Yes,” Sirius answered, giving you a look. “You really want to see?” he asked. He was sure what your answer could be, that didn’t stop Remus from sending him a reproachful look, as if telling him what a terrible idea that was. 

And if it had been any other day, you might have said yes. But after the potion, whatever and whoever Sirius had drawn, would probably be a terrible idea to look at, you already had enough heated thoughts as it was. Only made worse by the fact that you were now sitting on his lap and had been right over Remus earlier. Godric! How much longer for you to stop sexualizing your best friend? 

A lump formed in your throat and shook your head. “Show me a different day,” you said as you stared at him. Sirius nodded as he looked at you and you missed the way Remus let out a relieved breath. “Let’s uh– Let’s sleep now.” 

Neither of the boys argued, Remus placed the sketchbook on his night table and waved his wand to turn the lights off. You instantly turned into a fox and walked over to the end of the bed to try and clear your thoughts. Sirius extended his hand to pull you closer but ended up holding back and turning into a Padfoot instead. Then he walked closer to you and picked up Vixen carefully with his snout. 

You stilled as he did and allowed him to drop you over Remus’ chest, as you accommodated you realised Remus’ heartbeat was beating abnormally fast and you couldn’t help but think of the picture again. What the hell had Sirius drawn to garner such a reaction? You shook your head then, don’t need to know, don’t need to know!

Sirius was getting comfortable on the side by now, and he placed his snout over Remus’ shoulder, close to Vixen’s, and closed his eyes. But even if the three of you had your eyes closed, and even if the three of you were really trying to fall asleep, you could not stop thinking about the fact that you were sleeping on Remus’ chest. He couldn’t stop thinking about the drawing he’d seen and Sirius could not stop thinking how adorable Remus had looked with the blush creeping up his cheek, let alone the compromising position you had both ended up in earlier. And it stayed like that, all of you attempting to calm your breaths, until at least half an hour later when one by one, you started to fall asleep. 

The next day had gone pretty fast, you’d woken up and walked back to your room to get changed into your flying gear, meeting Sirius and James just outside of the common room for the last flight of the year, since everyone would be packing their bags for home the following day. Well, everyone except for Remus who’d go back home until after Christmas. 

After flying you had taken the last few classes of the year, which consisted of some teachers actually trying to teach, some final project presentations and some others of teachers who just allowed everyone to do whatever they wanted during the class time. On charms, you spent almost the entire class playing Wizards’ chess with Marlene and Mary while James and Sirius spent the class writing his essays for potions. Both using yours and Remus’ as a guide. 

On potions Slughorn had you present the essays and he congratulated everyone, even Sirius, got a slightly higher mark on that one than Severus, whom you’d heard had spent weeks working on, you couldn’t stop the slight mocking giggle that escaped your lips when he announced the grades. That was until you got yours and it was lower than Sirius’, who just shrugged awkwardly and gave you an apologetic smile. 

Sure, your head had been a little muddled while you wrote it (which was at some point after the friendly game with Neil and Nox) but you still thought your argument had been solid, even if Slughorn said that you didn’t have enough sources to back it up. 

“But where did you even get your sources? You literally used my essay as a base!” you asked Sirius as you read over his. 

He just shrugged, “made them up,” he said honestly and proceeded to show you the page where he had added them, which contained all sorts of ridiculous names like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Steve Walsh, Brad Delp and even some surreal ones like Moonsmus Lup and Vixenia Starr.

“Oh, so you even gave us credit,” you said as you hovered your index over the ridiculous names he’d invented based on your nicknames. “How on earth did he buy that?” 

“Mom and dad used to have pretty rare books in the library,” he explained, “books rarely available to the general public…” 

You nodded as you pursed your lip. Half surprised, half admired by his boldness, “Next time I’ll add some myself.” 

“The weirdest the names, the more he loves it.”  

Herbology had gone by like charms, Mr. Folly was talking about properties of some curative flowers with the students who were interested in them –and who wanted to go for either medical or herboreal careers– and allowed the rest to do their thing. You had spent the time talking to Beth and Tom, planning to get together in London after the trip on the train to get some gifts for your friends. 

Remus had excused himself before the class was over and walked over to Pomfrey who took him straight to the shack. You had all agreed that you’d meet him there a little before 6 pm which was the estimated time for the moon to appear that night. 

After changing into the same clothes you had been wearing the previous night, just for good measure and according to Remus’ instructions, he said it would be for the best, to “maximize the smell of the pack” but also –and secretly– for his very own enjoyment. Not that it didn’t also translate to your and Sirius’ enjoyment, the three of you rather liked the way you smelled when your scents were all combined with each other. From Sirius always smelling slightly like leather, added to the light notes of your perfume that lingered on each other, all the way to the faint smell of Remus’ aftershave potion and the ever-present smell of chocolate that seemed to surround him. It was certainly an interesting mix, but one you had all grown to love.

“You ready?” Sirius asked while Wormtail sprinted towards the Whomping Willow, they had told you that the tree had a secret branch that if you pressed it right, it would calm him enough to let you through, and Wormtail was currently working on making it happen. 

You nodded in response, paying close attention to the way Wormtail walked and how after a small flick of his tiny rat-like hands, the Willow stilled. You looked marvelled at the sight of the usually bellic tree looking so serene. You let out a small scoff.

“What is it?” James asked. 

You pointed at the tree, “A trick like that would have saved my Nimbus.” 

“But we wouldn’t have ended up snogging under it,” Sirius said with a sneaky little smirk as he passed his hand over your shoulders. 

“Is that why you were late after the race?” James asked with a gasp. “We were all mad worried!” 

“We also had some things to discuss,” you said with a small shrug, “I thought Sirius hated me.” 

James genuinely laughed at that, “He was bIoody smitten!” 

“Yeah, I guess I should have seen the signs…” you replied as you turned to your boyfriend, “It was in those pretty puppy eyes of his.” 

He pulled his tongue out and then started running towards the tree, you smiled and followed shortly behind. James, on the other hand, lagged back just for a moment, noting how you chased behind Sirius with a bright smile plastered on your face, filled with only blithe thoughts as you walked towards the wolf’s den; as if you weren’t even slightly worried for the outcome of the night. 

And you really weren’t, as far-fetched as it was, you thought Peter’s idea of using scents to trick Moony into not wanting to eat you, made sense. You had been sneaking into the restricted section to look up some more werewolf-related tomes, sometimes with Sirius and sometimes by yourself, all in the hopes that you’d find something to back your claim up –and rip some more of those murder pages off of them– and even though you hadn’t found something that confirmed it, you had found some text that talked about how heavily werewolves leaned onto scents to hunt and track humans down. 

You had also taken some other “muggle animals” from the muggle studies section of the library and read about the normal wolves, and while you hadn’t found any stance in which they did something similar to what you had planned, there were some stances in which packs of wolves adopted stray and small dogs and raised them as their own. Now Vixen wasn’t either a stray, nor a dog, but she was canine, so that must atone for something, right? Either way, you had built a pretty strong case for Peter’s theory in your head, and while you couldn’t actually ask a teacher about it, you were about to do something that Lily had taught you was “the scientific method” in muggle terms. It was simple, you got a theory, and you tested it out to see if it would work. Now, according to Lily, the testing was in a controlled setting with proper security, your security would be Prongs, Padfoot and how fast you could move as Vixen, but you were still optimistic enough to go through with it. It had to work, otherwise, things would only get harder.

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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A/N: Hey everyone? How is it going? Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's one of the fluffiest we've gotten in a while hehe You guys were asking for a new Q&A so I'm working on it at the moment, send all the questions you may want to be added here, or directly on asks. Love, Lils xx

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[wipbigbang]

2024 WIP Big Bang Schedule & FAQ!

Schedule

All times are by 11:59pm PST. Convert time zones.

Sign-ups Begin- April 15th Sign-ups Close- May 21st Check In #1- May 22nd Check In #2- June 15th Snippets Due- July 1st Art Claims Begin- July 17th Check In #3- July 22nd Check In #4- August 6th Rough Drafts Due- August 15th Posting Claims Begin- August 23rd Posting Claims Ends- September 1st Final Drafts/Art Due- September 7th Posting Starts- September 8th

FAQ

What is the WIP Big Bang? Good question! This is a Big Bang with one goal in mind: to clean out your fanfic drafts folder. These are stories that were unfinished for whatever reason, that authors returned to and completed, and the art that goes with them!

Do I need a Livejournal/Dreamwidth/AO3/etc. account to participate? No! You don’t have to have an account on anything to participate, though you will need to have somewhere to post your finished work. Having one or more accounts will help for you to follow what is going on with the bang (we crosspost to Dreamwidth and Tumblr and heavily use our Discord server at the moment), but they are not required to participate. You can always leave comments anonymously or with an opensource ID.

How many fics can we sign up for? We absolutely don’t mind multiple sign-ups. I know one year someone submitted 50 fics to finish, and got at least half of them done. We just ask that when you sign up with more than one fic you give each fic a unique user ID (please do not use the same ID for all your fics...it’s important to have different IDs for the check-ins).

Will I get emails about the bang? We do send out some emails, mostly for snippets and art claims and to ensure communication between authors and artists, but please do NOT rely on getting an email to remind you of due dates. We currently do not keep an updated email list of participants, so we only send individual emails as needed rather than mass emails.

However, email is the fastest way to communicate with the mods. If you have any questions or are having trouble communicating with your artist/author, please do email us! We will do our best to respond quickly.

What do you mean by minimum word count to enter? This is a WIP Big Bang, therefore we ask you to have at least 500 words of your story drafted when you enter.

Can an outline count towards those first 500 words that are needed at sign up? We have admitted work on an outline before so yes, if your outline is fleshed out enough to cover a 7,500 word+ fic, we’ll allow it.

Are multi-chapter fics allowed? Yes, multi-chapter fics are allowed and even more so encouraged if your fic is lengthy.

What about fics that are already posted on ao3 in part? Do those qualify for the bang? It's okay if you have posted a few chapters of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here. All we ask is that you not post any public updates to the fic until September 1st (or August 1st with the mod’s okay). We don’t want you to lose kudos and comments so don’t worry about pulling the fic down, just hold off on updates for now.

Is there a minimum word count? 7,500 words for each finished fic, but the sky's the limit, right?

I see that the fic minimum is 7500 words and that published WIPs are acceptable - but what if the WIP I’m considering is already more than 7500 words? Is the expectation to add an additional 7500 to it? No. You can add as much or as little as you need to finish the story, though we do expect at least 1,000 or so new words if your WIP already meets the word count.

What happens if an author finishes the fic they signed up with but it’s less than 7,500 words? The intent was to go over the minimum but once they got into it the story was shorter than they thought and stretching it out would make it less good. Do they have to drop out at that point? By all means, we want your stories to feel as natural as possible, and if it’s under 7,500 words you may have two options:

1 - Drop the fic for the main BB event, post it now, and wait to post it to our AO3 collection in February when we run our International Fanworks Day celebration of finishing fics that are less than 7,500 words when finished. There’s no art for the fic, but bragging rights are posted to the communities for a week.

2 - If there are enough fics that fit that category, we can do a special day of posting the fics, but you’ll have to forgo art for the fic. I, as a mod, would probably pick November 30th for the posting day, as it’s the last day of posting for the bang and I don’t think anyone will mind more than one fic that day. You can post bragging rights to the community and share the fic with everyone.

Is there anything not allowed? As long as you wrote it and you want to finish it, you're welcome to participate. RPS/RPF is fine. Incest pairings are fine. Things like that I know have been hinted at in questions asked and as long as you tag for them, we’ll allow it. Also, canon settings with mostly OCs is allowed. We just ask that it be tagged properly with any content warnings you would deem fit and be given the appropriate rating for the level of sex/violence there is in the fic. Just bear in mind that while original work is allowed you may not get art for it.

I have a fic I wrote a few years ago, but only the first couple chapters are posted on AO3 because I was never happy with the rest of it and knew it needed major revision. Is that something I could use for WIP Big Bang? The entire fic has been posted, but only on one platform, and it would be rewritten for AO3 and WIPBB. I think revising a fic for posting would work, as long as you have at least 500 words done, will have 7,500 words at a minimum when it’s done, and are planning to add more to the fic. Simply rewriting what you have would be a gray area, but if you’re going to take stuff out and add new scenes, either in the old scenes place or on its own, you should be fine.

What's the etiquette around OC-centric stories? Ones that are set in a well known fandom and use several characters, but still lean a lot on original characters? Are they discouraged, or fine? Based on my own personal experience making art for a story that had a heavy OC presence, it’s not something we discourage at all, but be forewarned when it comes to the art accompanying your fic your artist may not be able to incorporate the OCs into your art. Not everyone makes art of a hand-drawn or digitally drawn nature, so it helps if you have people for face claims ahead of art submissions, and you and your artist communicate regularly. You can also end up with art not featuring the OCs at all, just the canon characters, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Your other options are to bring in an artist you trust with your vision of your OC or to make your own art (we do allow that, we just need to be told during the check-in before art that you’re bringing in your own artist if you go that route, or that you’re doing your own art…there will not be a need to sign up in the artist’s sign up, however), or to opt-out of art entirely. So there’s plenty of options to call on when it comes time for art.

What are 'check-ins’? These are a way for us to see what you've been up to and for you to make sure you're still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory. Basically a form is posted that you fill out with your user ID (unique for each fic) and a checkbox to let us know you’re still participating, plus a section for any notes for the mods.

How are the check in IDs used? They are solely for the mods organizational purposes. Each ID being for a separate story allows us to keep all the information you submit during check-ins and for snippets in one line on our spreadsheet. You don’t have to share your check in IDs with anyone else if you don’t want to.

How much progress should authors be making between each checkpoint? (Percentage-wise from our estimated total wc, I guess?) Ideally, with each check-in, you should be at least 25% closer to finishing. The end word count only really matters in that the fic needs to be at least 7,500 words when done, so it’s more your progress towards finishing that should be measured, not so much the word count.

What are the snippets requirements? In order to allow the artists to make art for the story they claimed, we require you to supply three snippets from your fic, between 500 – 1500 words each. The snippets will be sent to the artist after they have claimed your story. They're to help the artist match your story for artwork the best way he or she possibly can. It’s helpful to choose scenes or parts of scenes that you feel best represent your fic, but don’t feel like they have to be perfect to be submitted. Along with the snippets, we will send your artist the basic fic info and your email, so the two of you can collaborate more if you would both like.

What are the rough drafts requirements? For the rough drafts, stories should be at least 80% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap.

What is, and do I need, a beta? A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try this post.

Where can I post my fic/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

What does posting look like? Do we have to post the whole thing on the day, or can we stretch it out between when posting starts and our date? I’ve had a few longfics get killed by big bangs forcing posting to happen on a given day, and would prefer to avoid that if possible. For most fics, posting to AO3/FF.net/other places will be allowed to start in September and you can stretch it out as many posts as you want as long as the complete fic is up by your posting date (and posting dates go from September 8th to November 15th with two weeks for emergency posting). However, you can send us an ask/e-mail about posting as early as August if you have an extremely long fic/something with a long posting schedule. Mostly what we want is the fic to be completely up on the website of your choice by your posting date, and I know some people don’t want to overwhelm their readers. So we want to work with writers to give them ample time to post the story up to their posting date.

Now, as for posting to the communities, you get to choose which day your link to the story and bragging rights are posted, and as I said, we have a range of dates from September 8th to November 15th with two to three stories posting a day. If for some reason you miss your posting date, you have until November 30th to post to the community, during the two weeks of emergency posting, with a possible extension after that due to the amount of participants needing to post later. So hopefully there should be plenty of time to get a longfic up and posted to the website of your choice and our BB.

Will the three snippets per story we have to send in be the ones we want the artist to make art for? Or can it just be random snippets and then later the artist and I can check together to see which scenes would work best for art? So ideally, you and the artist will be communicating once you’re each sent each other’s contact information, and you’ll give your artist a chance to read all that you’ve written at that point. That’s what happens in most cases. If your fic gets picked by an artist and they don’t work with you, then the snippets you sent will be what the artwork will be based on. It’s a good idea to know that, while most of the time the artists work closely with the authors, there are a few exceptions to that.

How do I know when to post? Posting will be tiered; you'll each get your own posting date that you and your artist will decide on together. There will probably be four fics, plus art, posting per day between September 8th and November 30th. The post with date claims will go up on August 23rd and you'll have to choose your date by September 1st.

Posting of chapters on AO3 or your own blog (or wherever you usually post) generally starts September 1st, but you can post earlier (as early as August 1st) if you let us know you have a long story. However, posting has to be finished by your chosen posting date to the comm. One of the things we're hoping to do with the posted dates is to give everybody on the comm a little bragging time in the spotlight. You know, "this story was incomplete for this long, but I finished this sucker." If you don't have time to post your bragging rights to the communities on your chosen posting date, you can queue up a post ahead of time and we can post it on the date you picked or you can email us your bragging rights and we can post by proxy for you. Either way works for us. Art will be due on the chosen posting date to the comm.

What am I posting to the Livejournal/Dreamwidth/Tumblr community if I’m posting the fic elsewhere? You’ll be posting what we call bragging rights. It’s a small form you fill out and post to the community with a link to your fic (we’ll enable moderated posting to the Tumblr, Livejournal and Dreamwidth communities for members on August 8th). We will post a template for posting artwork and stories to the comm closer to the posting date.

Is there a minimum/maximum requirement for my art? There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 7,500 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn't hurt!

What are 'art claims'? The claims are when anonymous summaries of the story go up for artists to choose from. Artists sign-ups and art claims are the same thing; we use one form for both things, and that way the authors don’t have to sign up for an event they may not end up participating in. It is based on a 'first come, first served' basis and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with. And on until all stories are claimed for art.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system.

What do I do if I have problems or concerns about my author/artist? Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email the mods and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun at WIP Big Bang!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

Can I get an extension? Community extensions may be given in the event that the majority of the authors/artists need one. They may also be given individually under certain circumstances, but this must be discussed with the mods and will only be a short extension for posting. If you are certain that you won’t be able to finish your story in time, please let us know by July 13th.

Can I swap out a fic if my muse abandons it again? When you sign up, you give us the information on the potential fic(s) you want to write. If, say, one fic isn’t working but one you didn’t sign up for is, you can switch them out while letting the mods know if you need to change a user ID you used. It is absolutely okay to switch fics all the way up until snippets are due. By then, we hope you’ll have however many fics you plan on doing to at least 80% completion since rough drafts are due not much later. Just drop an email to the mods at [email protected] with the new information (title, fandom, etc) and if you want a new sign in ID or plan to use the same one for the fic you’re replacing it with.

Can I drop out? We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know by August 13th (if at all possible).

Is it possible to be banned? We do have a banned users list. We hope to use this to encourage participants who are having issues to communicate with the mods. We want to help you! The way the ban works is that participants, either authors and artists, will be banned for dropping out without notifying a mod. This means that anyone who has not posted or talked to a mod by the time the posting period ends will be banned. Dropping out is not in and of itself a banning offense, so please do not panic if you have to drop out! We understand that there are many reasons you may need to drop, and we want to work with you.

Bans will last one round or until the issue is resolved, whichever comes first. To resolve a ban, authors will have to finish and post the story they signed up with and artists will have to finish and post the art for the story they claimed. Three bans will result in a permanent ban from the bang.

Are we allowed to participate without joining the Discord? Absolutely! The Discord server is optional, as just another way to interact with your fellow writers and get updates on important dates. It’s not mandatory you join, however.

I was just wondering if there’s any way to enter the bang anonymously? Like would it be okay to put our work in an anonymous collection on ao3 or something? Unfortunately, I can’t think of a way for that to work. The collection that we use is moderated but it’s not anonymous, and there are the bragging posts that you post on your posting day, which you would have your username on whichever platform you use.

I was just wondering whether I'm sworn to secrecy on which fics I'll be finishing up, or if I can shout it out to the world? No one is sworn to secrecy once they’ve signed up (aside from posting new parts to fic that’s already up somewhere…we ask that you refrain from doing that until at least July 1st)! We will be running Word Wars, where you can add more to a fic in a certain amount of time, and Whine Bars, where you can complain or ask for help or whatever else you feel like talking about when it comes to struggling with a fic, all after sign-ups end on a weekly basis, plus there’s the Discord server for chatting with your fellow authors and artists.

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here. If you need help, you can always contact a mod and we will do our best to make sure that you get your story/art finished. The best and fastest method of contact is through our email, [email protected].

#wip big bang #!admin #!2024 #signal boost

[cosmicbucky]

chronicles

summary: the story of you and bucky as told through different dates

pairing: bucky barnes x female reader

word count: 3274

warnings: fluff, allusions to mature themes, brief swearing, implication of major death (i'm sorry in advance)

a/n: this is a rewrite of one of my old fics that i deleted lol - (time travelling)

《《《《 ♡ 》》》》

《《April 17th》》

You finished curling the last strand of hair, pinning it all neatly in place before staring at your reflection. You analyzed every inch of your face, scrutinizing each choice - was the lipstick the right shade? Were your cheeks too pink? Was your hair proper enough?

“Well, are you ready? It’s been ages!” you heard through the door, your best friend’s voice pulling you from your trance. 

You cleared your throat, dabbing your hands along your hair to press down any flyaways. “Coming!”

You pulled open the door, coming face to face with her as she leaned against the wall opposite you. She grinned, eyeing you up and down as you ran your hands along your dress, absently wondering if it was the right choice. 

She whistled playfully, chuckling softly. “Don’t you clean up well! This boy won’t know what hit him.”

You smiled confidently, your worries momentarily disappearing. “Thanks, sugar.”

A few beats of silence passed before a light knock came from the door of your tiny apartment. You gave your friend a pointed look, the nerves flooding back in an instant.

She smiled reassuringly at you, lightly shoving you down the hall. “Don’t be nervous. He’s a great guy, and he practically begged for a date with you,” she reminded you, hot on your heels.

You nodded, taking a deep breath as you entered the living room. “Okay. You’re right. I got this.”

Confidence restored within you, you walked over and opened the door, grinning at the sight.

“Well, don’t you look beautiful,” he greeted with a smile, eyes quickly trailing over you. “As always,” he added with a wink. 

“Thank you, James,” you said with a giggle, heat rising in your already pink cheeks as you took in his appearance; a well fitted suit, new looking shoes, slicked back hair. He really is as dashing as everyone says. “You look quite lovely yourself.”

He smiled and laughed, holding his hand out for you to take. “I told you. Call me Bucky.”

《《June 22nd》》

“Do you wanna go for a walk?” Bucky asked, sprawled out on the floor of his bedroom as you took up his bed.

You blinked up at the ceiling in shock before craning your neck to look down at him. “A walk? Buck, it’s a million degrees outside!” you said incredulously.

You were currently stuck in one of the worst heat waves to hit the city in years, and no matter how little you had on (in the privacy of yours or Bucky’s bedroom, of course) your skin still felt like it was melting off. Especially considering the activities that always resulted from the two of you wearing next to nothing; though, how could you ever complain about that?

Bucky sighed dramatically, groaning as he sat up. “Yeah, yeah, I know. But I’m going stir-crazy here and I figured me, you, and Stevie could go get some ice cream.”

You opened your mouth to say no, but you were met with puppy dogs that you can never say no to- and he knew it. 

“Alright,” you agreed, sitting up to get dressed. “You owe me one,” you teased, slipping on your blouse. 

“Anything for you, doll,” he agreed, smiling brightly. He jumped up and threw his clothes on in a matter of seconds, running to his door. “Steve, get your punk ass up! We’re going to get ice cream!” he called down the hall.

It was silent for a moment, before footsteps were heard puttering about in the room beside you. “Okay!” came his reply, muffled through the wall.

You giggled quietly and finished dressing, taking Bucky’s hand and heading to the living room where Steve was already waiting. 

The three of you strolled down the sunny street, Steve a few paces behind as you and Bucky chatted about how quiet it was with everyone hiding away inside. Steve never paid any mind to the fact that he was constantly a tagalong - you were always kind to him, and if he was being honest, he enjoyed watching the happiness that radiated from you and Bucky.

After a few agonizingly hot minutes, you all arrived at the parlour, quickly entering and placing an order as Bucky paid for everything.

“Thanks, Buck,” Steve mumbled through a mouth full of ice cream, trying to eat it all before it was lost to the sun.

“Yes, thank you, honey,” you agreed, giving him a sweet kiss that tasted like vanilla and strawberries.

He smiled into the kiss, chasing your lips before grinning at you and Steve. “Any time.”

《《October 3rd》》

“You are such a jerk!” you yelled at Bucky, huffing in exasperation.

“Oh, come on! It’s not my fault I’m better than you,” he argued back.

You glared at him for a moment before turning back to your pad of paper. “Stop sinking my stupid ships,” you mumbled angrily, marking another X on the page.

Bucky only laughed at you, shaking his head. “Come on, love. We can quit playing if you want.”

You scoffed. “I don’t need your pity. We’ll finish this.”

He laughed at you once more, and as you watched his eyes crinkle and face glow, you suddenly weren’t mad that he was winning any more. You were simply just happy to have this ridiculous man in your life.

“Alright, you sulk. Take your shot, let’s go. Try harder this time,” he teased, smirking at you.

You narrowed your eyes at him and set your shoulders, confidently declaring your next move. 

He studied his page for a moment before he slumped his shoulders, tossing his pencil onto the table. “Well,” he declared. “I’ll be damned”

“No way,” you doubted, a grin working its way onto your face.

He smiled at you, shrugging his shoulders. “You win, baby.”

You squealed gleefully, throwing your hands up in victory as you rambled on about being better than him.

Bucky stayed where he was, watching you in pure delight, amazed at how the littlest things can make you so happy.

After a few moments you settled down, turning your gaze back to him. “Maybe next time,” you said sympathetically, unable to keep the grin off your face.

Shaking his head with a laugh, he leaned over the table and gave you an affectionate kiss. “Maybe next time,” he agreed with a soft smile.

As he left to get you both a drink, you began putting away the game and couldn’t help but laugh as you took his sheet.

“Hey, don’t look at that!” you heard him say as he returned to the room, rushing to set the drinks down and take it from you.

“I barely sunk any ships, Buck,” you concluded, trying to take the sheet back.

“I know,” he agreed with a nod, tossing the paper into the box as he sat back down.

You chuckled and followed suit, sitting down in your previous spot on the floor. “You didn’t need to let me win, James.”

“I know,” he agreed again, continuing to put the game away.

“So then why did you?” you asked curiously, crossing your arms over the table as you studied his face.

He smiled softly, giving you a half shrug. “You get happy when you win,” he said simply, as if it was obvious.

You opened your mouth to reply, though before you could he continued speaking. “And you know, given that I’m in love with you and everything, there isn’t anything I want more than for you to be happy.”

“What?” you breathed out, stunned by his words; it was the first time he ever said them to you.

“What?” he asked, feigning obliviousness.

“What did you just say?” you asked quietly.

“I want you to be happy,” he said, taking a sip from his glass. 

“Before that,” you corrected, shaking your head. 

“You get happy when you win?” he asked, doing his best to fight off the giggles building in his chest. 

“Right in the middle,” you said, your lips twitching with the first signs of a smile. 

“Oh,” he said, pretending to only just now realize what you meant. “You mean when I said I was in love with you,” he said casually.

You smiled like a fool as he repeated the words, gazing softly at him. “I’m sorry, I still didn’t catch that. One more time?”

He beamed, reaching over to grab your waist and slide you closer to him. “I-” he began, placing a kiss on your nose. “Love-” he continued, pecking the apple of your cheek. “You,” he finished with one last kiss to your other cheek. 

“I love you, too,” you admitted through a fit of giggles, the smiles never leaving either of your faces as he captured your lips with his.

《《March 10th》》

“Bucky,” you whispered into the room, nudging the man sleeping beside you.

“Hm,” he hummed in response, tightening his grip on your waist as he pulled you closer.

“Guess what?" you urged, nudging him lightly once more. 

He sighed and rolled onto his back, keeping his hold of you. “What?” he asked gruffly, wiping sleep from his eyes. 

“It’s your birthday,” you sing-songed, giggling happily as you pecked his cheek. 

He groaned and turned his head towards you. “You woke me up for that?” he asked in annoyance, though the ghost of a smile was on his lips.

“Yes!” you exclaimed. “It’s a special day!”

Bucky simply scoffed, closing his eyes as he shook his head. “I have had many birthdays, doll. It isn’t a special day.”

You playfully slapped his arm, chuckling softly. “Not for you, silly. For me!”

Fully awake now, Bucky sat up. “Okay, I’m lost. Why is my birthday a special day for you… and not me?”

Grinning, you sat up as well. “Because, today is the day that I get to cater to the man who constantly caters to me,” you explained eagerly.

“And he doesn’t get to argue about it!” you quickly added when he opened his mouth to respond.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Then you don’t get to argue about this,” he said before he threw you back down on the bed, kissing every inch of your bare skin that he could find as you squealed in delight. 

“Baby, I need to get up,” you told him once your laughter died down a little.

He hummed against your neck, nipping at your skin. “You tellin’ me you’d rather leave than enjoy what I’m about to do to you? You know what? Don’t answer that. I’m the birthday boy, so I choose. You stay”

“Okay, but that means I can’t bake your cake,” you said with a giggle.

His movements stilled and he looked up at you with raised eyebrows. “Cake?” he asked. “Why didn’t you say that sooner?”

Leaping off the bed, he ran to the kitchen and left you to trail after him a moment later. You stood in the doorway, watching in amusement as he scurried about, opening and closing nearly all the cabinets. Yet, he wasn’t taking anything out.

“Buck?” you asked, wondering what he was doing,

He turned to you, an embarrassed smile on his face. “I have no idea how to bake a cake,” he confessed.

You laughed, pushing yourself off the frame and heading over to him.

“Well, let me teach you,” you offered, giving him a chaste kiss before grabbing your recipe cards. 

He watched in awe as you fished out the right card to give him before collecting the ingredients you picked up the day before. He listened eagerly, doing what you said with so much concentration you had to continuously kiss away the scrunch between his brows. 

Everything went well, and Bucky placed the pan in the oven with a proud smile before taking you in his arms.

“You know, maybe today is a special day for me after all,” he declared, placing a lingering kiss on your forehead. 

“Because you learned how to bake a cake?” you asked curiously, chuckling as you rested your head on his chest. 

He laughed, the vibrations beneath your head making you smile. “Because I learned how to bake a cake,” he confirmed, kissing the crown of your head. 

Though really, it was because today was the day he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you - not that he’d tell you that. Not yet, anyway. 

After a few minutes, he pulled away with a small sigh. “Come on, let’s clean up.”

“Oh, I can do it, honey,” you said. “You go clean yourself up, you have icing on your face.”

“I do?” he asked, bringing up a hand to wipe at his face. 

“Yeah, right- there,” you said, smearing a blob of icing on his cheek. 

“You did not,” he said with a gasp, staring at you in shock. 

“Oh, I did,” you gloated, grinning mischievously. 

“You’ll regret that,” was the only warning he gave you before retaliating. 

Before you knew it, the kitchen was in even more ruin and you were sprawled out on the floor in a fit of laughter. 

You turned your head towards Bucky, taking his hand in yours. “Happy birthday, my love,” you said softly, a chuckle still in your voice. 

“May I unwrap my present now, please?” he asked, a smirk dancing across his face. 

“Only since you asked so nicely,” you teased, letting him gather you in his arms so he could finish what he started in the bedroom.

《《August 6th》》

“Game night?” Bucky asked from where he lay underneath you, gently toying with your hair.

The two of you were lounging lazily on the couch, boredom seeping into your bones.

“Game night,” you agreed, shifting so you could both sit up.

Bucky stood with a groan and made his way towards the door. “Wanna start setting up? I’ll go grab everything from the kitchen.”

“Of course,” you nodded, heading over and grabbing a few boxes from the shelf.

You placed them on the table, tossing the thickest pillows you two had on the floor before plopping down. You grabbed the box of battleship, smiling at the memory of how Bucky told you he loved you for the very first time. Your heart nearly leapt out of your throat as you emptied the contents and a ring twirled across the table.

“Bucky?” you called out, watching as it spun and spun before falling still.

When you realized you haven’t heard anything from him you called out again, standing up. “James-” you began, stopping short when you saw him behind you, down on one knee.

“Out of all the things I have done in my life… loving you, and being loved by you, has been my greatest success,” he started, your heart swelling at the way his voice trembled ever so slightly. “The moment I first saw you was the moment I believed angels were real, because how could you possibly be anything else? I still can’t believe you didn’t laugh in my face when I introduced myself - someone like you, actually giving me the time of day. I must have been the luckiest guy in the universe, and I still am, because you have shown me such happiness that I didn’t even know was possible, and cared for me in a way that I didn’t think anyone would. I have never been so sure of anything like the way I’m sure about us. So here I am, asking you, the love of my life, to be with me forever. So, how ‘bout it, angel? Will you marry me?”

You didn’t answer. You couldn’t answer. You could only stand there, nodding your head as you wiped at the tears streaming down your face before you threw yourself at him, tackling him to the floor in a flurry of cries and kisses.

“Does this mean yes?” Bucky asked nervously, his hands coming up to cup your face. 

“It means yes,” you told him. “Definitely yes.”

He let out a breath neither of you knew he was holding and kissed you one more time, pouring all the emotions and feelings he possibly could into it. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” he said urgently, scrambling over to the table. “May I?” he asked, holding his hand out to you. 

You grinned and giggled uncontrollably as you placed your hand in his, letting him slip the pretty ring onto your finger. 

《《January 11th》》

“Today’s the day,” Steve said, walking up behind Bucky and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“Today’s the day,” Bucky repeated solemnly, turning to give his friend a half smile. 

Steve dropped his hand, placing himself in front of Bucky and brushing nonexistent fluff off his shoulders. “How are you feeling?”

“I don’t know how the hell to do this, Stevie,” admitted Bucky, his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Steve nodded understandingly, taking a deep breath. “You remember how much you love her. How when you first saw her, you punched me - thanks for that, by the way - and you said ‘Stevie, you see that dame over there? I’m gonna marry her one day’. And you remember how you made that outrageous proclamation true.”

“That was pretty outrageous, wasn’t it?” replied Bucky, a laugh finally escaping him as he recalled the day.

Steve smiled in relief at the sound. “It really was, Buck. But your crazy ass was right. Like always.”

Bucky remained silent for a moment, the ghost of a smile on his face. “I had no idea someone could be so beautiful. I still can’t believe that someone like her could love me.”

“Me either,” Steve joked, playfully smacking Bucky’s arm.

Bucky looked at him, face stoic, before he let out a laugh. “Fuck you, Steve,” he said, shaking his head. He quickly fell silent again, as if he suddenly remembered where he was and why he was here. “God I miss her, Stevie.”

“I know, Buck. I do, too,” was the only thing Steve knew to say, a sad smile on his face. 

Bucky shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry. “I don’t think I’ll ever be as happy as I was when I was with her - and I’m okay with that. I can’t - I mean she was it, you know? And those memories of her, of us… of how she loved me, how she made me feel… it’s what gets me through every day now.”

“They’re good memories,” Steve confirmed sincerely, chuckling softly. “Really was an epic love, huh?”

“Absolute love of my life,” Bucky easily agreed. “All I can hope for is that she’s waiting for me when I can finally meet her again; she always was my angel.”

“She will be,” consoled Steve as he placed a bouquet by the headstone. “She was crazy about you.”

Bucky hummed, sitting down and setting his own flowers against the marble - a bouquet of all your favourites. “I think I’ll stay here a while, Stevie. Tell her about all the things she’s missed. Want to help?”

“Of course, Bucky. I would love to,” Steve said honestly, sitting down beside his friend.

The two of them sat there, sharing stories about the world they live in now, and how much things have changed since the three of you first met. Bucky knew you would love it, and it kills him that he can’t share it with you. That he can’t share the rest of his life with you like he was supposed to.

He sat there with his best friend and the ghost of his best girl, his heart aching and a piece of his soul missing. 

He sat there, with the years 1919-1987 staring back at him.

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky fluff #bucky x you #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes drabble #bucky fic #bucky x female reader #bucky x reader fluff #james bucky buchanan barnes #the winter soldier #bucky x y/n #bucky and reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes imagine #james bucky barnes #james barnes x you #james barnes x reader #james barnes x y/n #winter soldier #james barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky x f!reader #bucky barnes and reader #bucky drabble #bucky blurb

[sc0tters]

Birthday Blues | Jack Hughes

summary: it’s Jacks 22nd birthday but when you’re so caught up making things perfect he starts to think you’ve forgotten what day it is.

request: yes/no

warnings: mentions of alcohol, use of the word y/n once or twice.

word count: 1.53k

authors note: literally started this piece in Australia and finished it in Bali but I rewrote so many parts of it that it took me a whole 6 hour flight to get this edited 😭.

Jack didn’t consider himself to be a nervous person.

Truly, it was tough to be one when you were the first pick in your respective draft year and as a middle child.

But around you it was a different story. You were on the media team for the devils and honestly he didn’t know what it meant to feel starstruck or in awe of someone until he met you.

Without any effort at all you managed to totally knock him off of his feet. Maybe it was the fact that you were older or maybe it was the fact that in a stream of people treating him like some he was a godsend, you were there to remind him that at the end of the day he was only human, but you never made him feel bad.

Jack had learnt your coffee order and after a while he started bringing it to you every day “he likes you, know that right?” Nico asked with an amused smirk on his face as he watched his teammate walk out of her office.

All you could do was smile “he’s just being polite.” That was what you told yourself each time the forward did anything for you.

Like the time he brought you a tub of ice cream from your favourite ice cream parlour in New York when he learnt that your cat passed away.

The things he did went from grand like the ice cream to just saying hello and goodbye at the beginning and end of each work day.

Part of you had to admit that you liked Jack but an even bigger part of you had to admit that you appreciated him. Since he came to the team there wasn’t a single night out that you went on where you had to walk home alone.

You had learnt after meeting his parents that it was a value that was most likely instilled in him through his parents.

All of those things made you wonder if that was the reason why you were putting so much effort into his birthday celebrations.

The boys didn’t know why but you seemed to enjoy party planning and as a result you were the one who would get tasked with planning what the team would do for the in season birthdays.

Luckily for Jack this year his birthday fell on on the first day off of a four day gap where the team weren’t playing games so they were allowed to celebrate the Hughes boy with a bit of alcohol involved.

The boys had an early morning training session where they were all so invested in the events of the day that it gave you the time to sneak out for some last minute errands “y/n!” Jack called out causing your eyes to go wide.

You had gone to pick up his present, not because you only decided to shop for it today but because it was only ready to be picked up today. You had gotten him a bracelet that had ‘go get em’ on the underside of the plate that had the day he made his debut engraved on it. The saying was something that usually fell from your lips before a game “hi Jack!” You awkwardly forced a smile onto your lips as you tried to hide the bag from him. Jack had a knack for being nosey when it came to you and the things you did.

So it was safe to say that you were somewhat panicking “you got any plans tonight?” The hockey player asked as he cocked his head ignoring your awkward stance.

He assumed you were going to be at the bar but nobody seemed to mention anything “nope,” you lied as you began to panic “I’ve got a night at home calling my name.” You explained as you shrugged. Lying was never your forte especially not when the guy in front of you looked as sad as Jack currently did “I should get back to my office,” you announced as you quickly spun on your head as you make your way back to your office before you blurted out what you had done. Jack knew his parents were in town because they were coming for the game, but what he didn’t know was that you had convinced both of his brothers to come into town for it too and you actually had to go pick the two of them up.

To say that Jack was heartbroken was dramatic but truthful. With the amount of messages that he had gotten about his birthday he truly thought that you would have at least said a little happy birthday to him, you usually did but now it seemed like you had forgotten about the day.

He also felt a little bit isolated in a sense because he hadn’t told anyone that he liked you, sure Nico and most of his teammates had picked up on it and sent the relentless string of teasing his way but he usually just ignored it.

The Devils player actually had to be dragged out of his apartment by his parents to go to the bar because he truly didn’t want to go out. Part of him wanted to show up at your door unannounced just so that he could give you a piece of his mind, but the more clear thinking part of him knew that it would never work as he could never be mad or even try to yell at you.

On the other hand you were feeling like you finally had a moment to breathe now that Quinn and Luke were in the bar “he’s gonna be fine,” Quinn smiled as he squeezed his hand on your shoulder. Both boys could tell that you were nervous wanting everything to go right for Jacks birthday “what are you doing here?” The Devils player only seemed to care that the girl had arrived “yeah I’ll just go back to Michigan then.” Luke scoffed drawing a laugh from your lips.

You had met the youngest Hughes boy a few times over the years especially after he got drafted by the Devils and his bluntness never failed to make you laugh “shut up,” Jack rolled his eyes as he pulled his brothers into a hug.

The older Devils player was surprised to see his siblings too “y/n actually got us here,” Quinn pointed out as he sent you a smirk, after hearing Ellen gush about you last year at the lake house the eldest Hughes boy knew that you were special to his brother.

Your cheeks turned pink as Jacks eyes never left you “thanks for this,” he grinned as he wrapped his arms around you.

All you could do was nod as you tried to remain calm “just doing my job,” you smiled as you shrugged.

Jacks party had gone down a blast. You seriously didn’t think that the players found a moment actually stop moving as everyone just continued drinking and dancing.

But like all good parties and age this one was one you were starting to feel in your feet “where are you going?” Jack asked as he watched you begin to make your out of the door.

He always seemed to notice you like wherever you went his eyes followed “it’s time for me to call it a night.” You explained as you were looking forward to the warm bubble bath that was calling your name.

The boy couldn’t help it when he frowned “I’ll walk you home.” The hockey players favourite bar was only four minutes away from your apartment.

Your heart warmed at the offer “stay with your family.” You shook your head as you turned down his offer.

But Jack didn’t seem to listen as he placed his hand on the small of your back “they won’t notice that I’m gone.” He pointed out as he started walking with you.

You sucked at your teeth as you finally found the curiosity within yourself to ask him what Nico continuously pointed out “why are you so caring?”

Jack smiled at the compliment “you’re an easy person to care for,”he pointed out as he shrugged.

The street was dead silent as you turned to face him letting the street light hit your face “how’d I get so lucky?” You blurted out as you pursed your lips together.

The boy licked his lips at your question “I ask myself that all the time,” he confessed as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

It drew a laugh from your mouth “you’re such a simp,” you pointed out with a smirk “only for you,” Jack was quick to shoot that statement back as it caused you to realise that Nico was right.

Jack did have a crush on you.

You rolled your eyes as you grabbed the collar of his shirt “shut up,” you mumbled as you captured his lips in a kiss.

It was something you had waited to do for months.

Something Jack wanted to do from the moment he met you.

This was officially the best birthday he could have ever asked for.

#jack hughes #jack hughes imagine #jack hughes one shot #jack hughes x you #jack hughes x reader #hockey imagine #nhl imagine #nhl oneshot #hockey imagines #imagines #oneshots #amber writes fics

[hamsterclaw]

Bangtan Christmas 2023

It's my favourite time of the year again. Welcome to this collection of stories depicting Bangtan struggling to get into the Christmas spirit. Luckily you're there to help them.

Paediatrician Dr Jung Hoseok is beloved by all his patients and everyone he works with. Unfortunately his cheerful demeanour is only a front, underneath it all, he's a humbug.

Date of posting: 19th December.

In a post nuclear war world, all you have is your son Jiwon. You'd do anything to keep him safe, including putting your trust in your new neighbour Kim Namjoon. You hope you haven't made the biggest mistake of your life.

Written in response to an ask I got early in the year - a story I've kept chipping away at and now it's finally finished. Anon, I think about you often and I hope you and your kids are doing well. I hope you've had time to heal and no longer think of yourself as a heartbroken single mom, because you are and have always been more than that.

Date of posting: 20th December.

You find yourself on Earth, navigating life as a fallen angel with the help of Jungkook, who has his own problems.

Date of posting: 21st December.

A wounded man falls out of the sky and lands in your garden, plunging you into a world of danger and dragons. Part of the Royal Pain AU, featuring Jimin as a dragon rider.

Date of posting: 22nd December.

You know Kim Taehyung can't be trusted from the moment you set eyes on him, he's a rogue through and through. So why did you agree to work together?

Date of posting: 23rd December.

Kim Seokjin is a lot of things to you. The high school heartthrob you never got with, the fuckboi you hooked up with occasionally in college, and now the chaebol boss you didn't sign up to work for. Things he's never been? A man you can rely on.

Date of posting: 24th December.

Min Yoongi only cares about three things. The thrill of drifting, his friends and cars, in that order. Somehow, you've got under his skin.

Date of posting: 25th December.

#bts smut #hoseok x reader #hoseok smut #namjoon x reader #namjoon smut #jungkook x reader #jungkook smut #jimin x reader #jimin smut #taehyung smut #taehyung x reader #seokjin x reader #seokjin smut #yoongi x reader #yoongi smut #bangtan christmas #bangtan christmas 2023

[daisynik7]

hi, nikki :) congrats on 2k, my love 💕you deserve it and more! i’m just sending in a lil something for the milestone event: (i bet you look good on the dancefloor) by arctic monkeys — fluff/smut for reiner braun! thank you so much in advance, lovely! 🎀

I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

Pairing: Reiner Braun x f!reader

Rating: Explicit – MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: ~4.7k

cw: modern-day au, college au, drinking (everyone is 21+), fluff, smut – PIV sex (missionary), cunnilingus, vaginal fingering, pet names (sweetheart, baby)

Summary: You, a college senior who’s lived a mostly vanilla lifestyle the past four years, meet the alluring and mysterious Reiner at your friend’s birthday party. He’s different from you in many ways, but something about him captivates you like no other. When he invites you to an underground concert, you take a chance with him, craving for a taste of something different.

Author’s Notes: @pinkmirth Mira, my love! Thank you for participating in the y2k karaoke party! I appreciate you so so much and I hope I did your hubby justice with this one! I went a little over the word count that I originally thought I would, but I just couldn’t help it! I got too caught up in the setup, LOL, sorry! Special shoutout to @mobolanz for always posting amazing Reiner content that kept me motivated to finish this hehe.

Likes, reblogs, and/or comments are ALWAYS appreciated! Thank you for reading! MDNI banner by @/cafekitsune. Header image from Pinterest (although I’m fairly certain it’s from the manhwa 19 Days).

It’s Annie’s 22nd birthday today; instead of going out to a club or bar, she decides she’d rather have a kickback with her closest friends, eating pizza and drinking cheap alcohol. Armin and Eren offer to host at their place, which is a twenty-minute walk from the university. As an RA for one of the freshman dorms on campus, it’s nice to get out every once in a while in the city that you so rarely have a chance to explore, even if it is just at someone else’s house. When you arrive, you recognize all of the people already there, other students you either personally know or have seen in passing. You greet Annie with a hug, handing her a small gift bag with a bottle of her favorite liquor. “Thank you!” she exclaims. “I’m so glad you were able to make it.”

“Me too! Though, I’ve got my work phone on me in case there are any emergencies,” you reply, pointing to the crossbody bag hanging on your shoulder. 

“Always so responsible. Such a good girl,” she teases, pinching your cheek. 

In your four years as a college student, you haven’t done anything outside of your comfort zone. You waited until you were officially legal to drink, and even now, you barely do it. Studies and extracurriculars always took priority over your social life, and while you have a solid group of friends, you haven’t done anything remotely wild. It’s not because you don’t have the desire to, there’s just never been a good opportunity. 

You spend the next half hour chatting with a few of the partygoers, sharing stories on certain professors, gossiping about other students, all while nursing a White Claw, sipping it slowly. It seems all of Annie’s friends are already here, so you don’t except anyone else to arrive. So, it surprises you when there’s a loud pounding on the door. Everyone glances towards it, curious at who it is. Annie answers, revealing two well-built men. One of them is incredibly tall that he has to duck down to enter through the doorway. The other is slightly shorter, though still impressive, with broad shoulders and a muscular physique. He has short blond hair, a trimmed goatee, sharp jawline, and an intimidating gaze. Something about his appearance is striking, and you’re immediately intrigued. 

You watch as they embrace the birthday girl, who punches them playfully in the shoulders. “Long time, no see, punks.”

“Sorry, Annie,” the taller one apologizes. “Classes have been a colossal pain lately.”

“And I’ve been busy at the shop,” the other adds. His voice is exactly what you imagine it would be like: gruff, husky. Sexy. Your interest piques even more, and you can’t remember the last time you felt this way about anyone, especially a complete stranger. When he removes his black leather jacket, your eyes widen at the reveal of his biceps, toned and sculpted like a marble statue. He’s wearing a fitted white tank with dark jeans, a chain hanging on the loop of his waistband with a small set of keys dangling. As if he couldn’t get any more attractive, here he is, flaunting his ripped body. You continue to watch him as he hangs his jacket on the coat rack by the door, inspecting the room while talking to Annie. “So, are these all college friends of yours?”

“Yup. You’re the only delinquents here,” she jokes, passing each of them a beer. 

“Shut up,” he laughs, twisting the cap off to take a swig. “Whose house is this anyways?”

She points to Armin and Eren, who sit on the couch, talking animatedly. “It’s theirs. They were nice enough to offer.”

“Cool. I guess I should go mingle, then. Unless you think these people will be scared of me.”

“Some of them could use some scaring, if you know what I mean,” she replies with a smirk. 

The two strangers make their way towards the hosts, shaking their hands to introduce themselves. You take this chance to approach your friend in the kitchen. “Annie, how do you know them?” 

“Bertolt and Reiner? Oh, they’re childhood friends of mine. We all grew up together in Marley.”

“Oh,” you nod. “Cool.”

She raises a brow at you. “Why? Are you interested?”

“No! I was just curious! I’ve never seen them around before.” Your voice is squeaky, and you’ve clearly given yourself away. 

She snickers, nudging you in the arm. “I can introduce you if you want. They’re a lot nicer than they look.” 

“No, I wouldn’t want to bother them – ”

“Reiner!” Annie calls out to the blond, and heat instantly surrounds your face. Too late to turn back, you stand up straight, watching the attractive man return to the kitchen, finished with his beer. “What’s up?”

“I want you to meet my friend.” Annie beckons you forward, stating your name. You smile at him, holding your arm out. 

He flashes a charming grin at you, enough to send a flutter in your belly. “I’m Reiner. Nice to meet you.” He shakes your hand, gripping you firmly. 

“I’m going to go socialize. You two get along, okay?” Annie departs quickly, leaving you and Reiner to get acquainted. 

“I heard that you’ve known Annie since she was a kid,” you start, attempting small talk. “What was she like back then?”

He leans on the refrigerator door, folding his arms across his chest, displaying his large chest. “She was a little shit, just like she is now,” he laughs. “She’s probably tamer since college though. We used to get into a bunch of fights together.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She can really kick some ass if she wanted to.” He licks his lips before asking, “How do you know her?”

You try not to get distracted by the dirty thoughts swimming in your head right now, more and more attracted to him by the second. “We met in a class back in sophomore year, and we’ve been friends ever since. She’s really fun to be around.”

“And how about you?” His eyes bore into yours, and there’s an intensity in his gaze that you’re drawn by. “Are you fun to be around?”

You let out a laugh, shaking your head. “Probably not. I’m pretty vanilla.”

“Vanilla is good.”

“Vanilla is safe,” you argue.

“It’s also sweet, creamy, and delicious.”

You giggle, already so smitten by him. “Are you telling me that I’m sweet, creamy, and delicious?”

“I guess I’ll have to find that out myself.” There’s a twinkle in his eyes as he speaks to you, and this could be wishful thinking, but a spark ignites between you. For the first time in your uneventful college life, you’re flirting with the outsides of your comfort zone, slowly gravitating towards this mysterious and alluring stranger. And it’s exciting.

You continue your conversation, exchanging little flirtations here and there, learning more about him. The friend he arrived with, Bertolt, currently goes to school in Marley, where they both live. Reiner is a mechanic at a car shop in his hometown of Liberio. He’s never attended college and doesn’t plan to, already set to inherit the shop when the owner retires.  On the weekends, he enjoys riding his motorbike around town and going out to underground concerts. You reveal to him how different your weekends are compared to his, considering you usually stay in.

“Have you ever been to an underground concert?” The two of you have moved into Annie’s room now, where it’s quieter and away from the rest of the party. It was your idea; you weren’t thinking about how it would look, asking him to move into a more intimate setting. He keeps a safe distance from you at the edge of the bed, the door ajar so that you can barely hear the chatter outside. 

“No, never,” you reply. “I used to listen to some alternative rock back in the day.”

“Really?” He seems surprised as he takes a sip out of his water cup. “Who?”

You hum, trying to remember. You name a few, then end with, “Oh! And the Arctic Monkeys!” 

When he starts singing the chorus to one of their songs, your face lights up, recognizing the familiar tune. “Yes! I love that one!” you beam, nodding along with him. 

There’s that endearing twinkle again, scooting closer to you. “You’re so cute.”

His comment catches you off guard, and just when you thought you were keeping your cool, your whole body starts to heat up, completely flustered at the sudden compliment. “What?”

“I said you’re so cute,” he repeats, unfazed. As if he didn’t just rock your world. 

You swallow loudly. “Thank you. You’re really…handsome.”

He bursts out laughing, maintaining his gaze on you. “Handsome. The last time I heard that was from my mom when I was a kid.” 

“Well, what else am I supposed to say?!” 

“Hey, I’ll take it. I’m more than happy with that.” He leans forward and you’re gravitating towards him, gradually closing the gap between you. You’re inches from his face, so close to kissing, when your phone rings loudly in your purse on the nightstand. It startles the both of you, taking you a second to realize that it’s your work phone, indicating some sort of RA emergency. 

One of your residents is begging to be let in after losing their keys somewhere. You tell them you’re on your way, giving Reiner a guilty glance. When you’re finished with the call, you explain the situation. “I’m sorry, but I have to go.”

“I’ll give you a ride,” he offers, standing up.

“I drove here, so I’m fine. But thank you.”

“Then I’ll walk you to your car.” You don’t have the heart to reject him once more, so you agree, delivering quick goodbyes to your friends and to Annie, who eyes you curiously as Reiner follows you out. He walks beside you with his hands in his pockets, not speaking. When you’re at the door, he utters your name. “I’d really like to see you again.” He looks nervous, all the confidence he exuded earlier reduced into a shy expression.

You smile at him, chest swelling. “I’d really like to see you too.”  

“Next weekend, there’s a concert I think you’d enjoy. It’s in Marley, but I can totally come here to pick you up and – ” 

Before he starts rambling, you interrupt him politely. “I don’t mind driving to you. It’s not that far.” You give him your phone; he enters his number as a new contact. You give him a quick call so that he has yours. It’s like you’re teenagers, awkwardly exchanging info, all giddy and timid. “Text me the details, okay?” 

“Yeah, I will.” He waits until you’re in the car, waving at you one last time before he shuts the door carefully. You glance at him through the rear-view mirror,  grinning as he watches you drive off, already wishing it was next weekend. 

~~~

Saturday finally arrives, the day you’ve been eagerly anticipating since the night you met Reiner. It’s unusual for you to be so enamored with someone you’ve only known for a week, worst of all, met once. You’ve been messaging non-stop since, even upgraded to a phone call last night that almost went until morning. And now, you’re pulling into a guest parking spot outside his apartment complex with an overnight bag hidden away in your trunk, just in case. 

You head up a flight of stairs, searching for his number on the row of doors until you find the correct one, knocking twice, heartbeat already quickening. He answers promptly, dressed in a fitted black t-shirt that accentuates his ripped build. You swallow the saliva gathering in your mouth to greet him casually, hoping he doesn’t notice you practically drooling for him. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he mimics, smiling at you. “You ready to go?” 

You nod, surprised when he dangles two helmets, presenting one of them to you. “Are we taking your bike?”

“Yeah. That’s the only way I get around. Is that okay with you?”

You hesitate before responding, “Sure.”

He gives you a reassuring look. “Don’t worry. You’re safe with me. I promise.”

You learn soon enough that Reiner is a man of his word. With your arms around his waist, latched firmly to his abs, all you feel is exhilaration. He cruises through the streets of Marley, the night sky illuminated by the blur of city lights as you pass through downtown. The two of you don’t speak, the whoosh of wind rushing past your ears too deafening to hear anything but that and the engine. When he’s at a stop, he turns around to check on you, giving you a thumbs up, which you return enthusiastically. It also helps that he smells amazing: the subtle cologne on his clothes, the clean scent of his skin. Everything about him is attractive, and you can’t help but be drawn to him even more than you already were. 

He parks his bike in an alley next to a venue with a big marquee, spelling the name “Lakua”. Below it shows that a band called “The Warriors” are playing tonight. You hop off first, unbuckling your helmet and passing it to him. He knocks a specific rhythm on a nearby door, and suddenly, a girl with wavy, black hair answers, grabbing them from his hands. “Thanks Pieck,” he says. 

“Sure. Who’s you’re friend?” She examines you, smiling. 

He states your name, adding, “I met her at Annie’s party last week.”

“I see,” she muses. “Well, have fun tonight.” With that, she winks at you, then shuts the door. 

“We can go through the front,” he tells you, leading the way out of the alley and underneath the bright sign you saw earlier. There’s a bearded bouncer with wire-rimmed glasses at the front who acknowledges Reiner with a nod. “Evening, Reiner. IDs please.”

As you retrieve your licenses, Reiner slips him a wad of cash for admittance. “Hey Zeke. Did you hear them warm up?” 

“Yep.” He juts his chin towards you. “Porco and Marcel are in top form tonight. Your pretty friend here is in for a real treat.”

“Great, we’re going in now,” Reiner responds quickly, wrapping his arm around you to steer you through the door. There’s a bar on one side, stocked with the typical shelves of liquor and four bartenders serving those that crowd around them. On the opposite end is a stage, set up with instruments, speakers, and lights. There’s a horde gathered near the front, waiting for the main act to start. 

Reiner’s breath is warm on your ear when he says, “Follow me.” He holds your hand delicately, expertly maneuvering through the throng of concertgoers. He leads you past a curtained door towards the back, towards a closed room, knocking the same rhythm from earlier. It’s Pieck who answers, opening the door to usher you inside. “Hello again.” 

On the couch are two men who resemble each other. Another with light brown hair stands in front of the mirror, fixing his hair. When you and Reiner enter, they all look, happily yelling, “Reiner!”

He introduces you to the brothers, Porco and Marcel, the two who are seated. They both play guitar and do vocals, Porco being the lead. Colt, who gives you a friendly wave, is their drummer. Pieck, the bassist, formally introduces herself. Together, they are The Warriors. 

“We mostly do covers,” Marcel explains. “But we have some stuff in the works.”

“We tried to get Reiner to join, but he’s as tone-deaf as they come,” Porco teases, poking him in the arm.  

Reiner chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s true. I’m pretty awful.”

“But he’s really good at other things. I’m sure you know that already,” Marcel comments, smirking. 

Pieck shoves the guitarist’s arm. “Don’t be gross.” She redirects her attention to you. “Anyways, I hope you enjoy the show. Reiner’s been bugging us all week with requests. I have a hunch that you have something to do with it.” 

You smile at him, noticing a faint blush on his cheeks. “Requests?”

“You’ll see,” he replies, grinning. 

When it’s time for the band to perform, you make your way back to the dancefloor, more packed than it was when you first arrived. You manage to squeeze your way towards the front, Reiner huddled close behind you. Normally, you’d be claustrophobic, surrounded by all these hot, sweaty strangers. Reiner places his hands on your shoulders, leaning in to say, “I’m right here, okay? It might get a little rowdy, so if you want to leave, just tell me.”

You crane your neck to face him; he’s extremely close to you, enough that your noses are almost touching. It’s tempting to shift just the slightest bit forward and kiss him, but you resist the urge, already thrilled to be with him like this. 

The crowd hollers as The Warriors strut across the stage, waving. At the mic, Porco yells, “Y’all ready to have fun tonight?!” 

Louder applause erupts, and once Marcel starts a familiar guitar riff, it’s chaos in the best way possible. Soon, the bassline hits, then the drums, and your entire body thumps with each beat. It’s a song you recognize, and you’re impressed at how accurate they sound to the original while maintaining their own unique style. Marcel harmonizes perfectly with his brother, and together, their charisma on stage hypes everyone up. You bop your head to the melody, grinning ear-to-ear at how fun this is, the energy that surrounds you contagious. Reiner sways with you, grazing your back. You reach for his hand, brushing it with yours, turning to face him. “They’re so good!” you yell. 

The two of you continue to enjoy the concert, dancing in whichever way the rest of the crowd is moving. You notice halfway through the setlist that many of the songs they’re playing are from artists you listed for him the night you met. The realization really hits you when the iconic intro from the Arctic Monkeys song Reiner hummed for you starts, and you turn completely around with the biggest smile on your face. He beams at you, equally as thrilled, dancing erratically with your fingers entwined together, mouthing the lyrics at each other, completely in sync.

~~~

It's past midnight by the time you make it back to Reiner’s place. Your skin is sticky from sweat, eardrums heavy from the concert, and you really don’t want to go home. You’re unsure if Reiner feels the same way until he unlocks his front door, suggesting, “Do you want to sleep over?” He asks it casually, though there is a hint of hesitation. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I have enough stuff you can use. You can borrow my clothes.” 

You’re completely aware of the bag tucked away in your car right now, but the idea of wearing his clothes is too enticing, so you don’t mention it. 

While you shower in his bathroom, your curiosity gets the best of you. You inspect all the products he uses, sniffing the pleasant scent before lathering it on yourself, satisfied with smelling exactly like him. You brush your teeth in front of the foggy mirror, wrapped in a towel, wondering how tonight is going to end. Should you make the first move? Should you make any move at all? Even with the vibes totally there, you’re still uncertain if he reciprocates your feelings. There’s this titillating tension hanging in the air, but you’re too nervous to cut it, afraid of rejection, of misunderstanding. Maybe this is the furthest the two of you will go, so you take advantage of this moment, hugging yourself in his t-shirt and boxers he lent you, inhaling his essence until it’s ingrained in your memory. 

After you’re done, you walk out of the bathroom. He sits at the edge of the bed, scrolling through his phone. When he sees you, his eyes widen, scanning you up and down. “Wow.” It escapes out of his mouth abruptly, and he stammers, “Um, sorry. I’m…I’m going to shower now.” He gets up, avoiding your gaze, locking himself inside. 

Maybe this isn’t the furthest the two of you will go.

~~~

You sit up in the bed, resting against the headboard, waiting for him. After a few minutes, he walks out, waist wrapped in a towel, chest bared and dewy with water. He glances at you, looking away to search his drawer for a new shirt. The tension is palpable, even more so now than ever before. 

You clear your throat, wanting to break this unbearable silence. “Thank you again for letting me stay here.”

“Of course,” he mumbles, sliding a shirt over his head. He bends down to retrieve a pair of boxers on the lower shelf, slipping it underneath his towel. Dressed, he returns to the bathroom to hang his towel on the rack. You watch him carefully, so many thoughts racing in your head, the words on the tip of your tongue. He stands awkwardly in the middle of the room, staring at the carpet beneath his feet. “I’ll be on the couch if you need anything,” he murmurs, heading towards the door. 

“Reiner, wait.” 

He faces you, eager. “Yes?”

“Sleep here with me.” You pat the space next to you. “Don’t make me lonely tonight.”

He swallows thickly, taking long strides to get to you quick, crawling beside you. “Are you sure?”

You nod, reaching out to touch his cheek. “Absolutely sure.” 

Fingers laced around the nape of his neck, you pull him in for a kiss, his plush lips surrounding yours seamlessly. He kisses you with fervor, slipping into your mouth, tongue swirling around yours. You yank on his collar, stretching the fabric, imploring him to strip his top off, which his does in a fluid motion. Caged between his biceps, you lay beneath him, caressing his face while you smother him in your kisses. When you break free to catch your breath, he nuzzles his nose to yours, whispering, “I’ve been waiting all night to do this. All week, actually.”

“Yeah?” you coo, trailing down his neck, flushed with excitement. “So have I.”

“You’re so fucking sexy in my clothes,” he huffs, hooking the elastic of your boxers with his finger. “You’re not wearing any panties, are you?” 

You shake your head, and he smirks, sliding down the bed to position himself between your legs, tugging at your bottoms. You lift your hips up, wriggling out as he removes them off you, tossing it behind him. He stares at your pussy, throbbing and aching for his touch. Grabbing you behind the knees, he spreads you open, exposing your cunt. He doesn’t dawdle any longer, diving in to spread his tongue on your clit. You throw your head back into the pillows, staring at the ceiling, vision blurry from pleasure as he eats you out, determined to have his thirst quenched. He swallows every ounce of you, running his tongue along your slit and flicking it on your bud. And when your orgasm is so close to the peak, he puckers around you, sucking on your clit until it’s raw and swollen. You climax, squirming and whining, clenching the bedsheets, twisting it in your fists.

“Fuck,” he muffles, lapping at your cum as it spills out of your cunt. “Getting so messy for me.” His finger teases your entrance while he continues to flick his tongue on your sensitive bud. “Can you give me one more?” he coos, peering up at you with adoration, placing a wet smooch on the inside of your thigh. “Pretty please, sweetheart?” 

You have no choice but to oblige, sinking into the cushions once more, twitching with ecstasy as he strokes your pussy with your clit in his mouth. There’s nothing on your brain except for Reiner and all the different positions he can fuck you in. You come a second time with two of his digits inside you, pussy covered in spit and arousal. He chuckles, scattering kisses along your body until he’s face-to-face with you, rubbing his nose to yours affectionately. His stiff cock protrudes from his boxers, and you reach down to palm it, kissing his lips, glossy with your slick.

He moans, rutting into your hand. “You’re a fucking dream, you know that?”

You smile, pressing your forehead to his. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

He stretches his arm towards the nightstand, searching the top drawer to retrieve condoms and a bottle of lube. “Think you can take me?” he smirks, shoving his underwear down his legs, erection sprung against his chiseled abs. He’s bigger than you fantasized; your pussy throbs, yearning to be filled by his impressive cock. You nod dumbly, salivating for him. He scoots closer, removing his boxers, stroking himself rapidly, licking his lips. “I knew you would taste good. Sweet, creamy. Delicious.”

You giggle, remembering what he said to you a week ago. Spreading your thighs open, you caress your clit between your fingers, watching him pump his cock in his fist. “Fuck,” you moan, growing impatient. “Fuck me, Reiner. Hurry.”

Ripping the wrapper with his teeth, he rolls the condom on his cock, coating it with a generous amount of lube. “Okay, beautiful. I’ll give you what you want. I’ll give it to you so good.” He guides himself inside you, stretching your pussy until he bottoms out. “Fuck,” he drawls, nestling in comfortably. “So fucking hot.” 

You drape your arms over his shoulders, holding him limply, already spent from your previous orgasms, still so horny for him. He fucks you, legs coiled around his torso, gripping your waist, dragging your body towards him with each thrust. Saliva dribbles out the sides of your mouth, eyes half-closed in a dumb expression, blissfully fucked. He takes pleasure in seeing you unravel like this, clutching you tighter, increasing the pace. “Oh fuck, you’re amazing.” He holds you close, bucking his hips frantically, staring wildly at you beneath him. “I knew it the moment we met, then tonight at the concert. Knew you were special.”

You whimper his name, squeezing him tighter. “Reiner, right there, right there!”

“Yeah? Feels good?” he purrs, circling your clit with his thumb. “Then come on my cock, baby. Show me how much you love it.” He presses his groin to your pussy, burying himself deep inside you, ceasing his thrusts to focus on your approaching orgasm. Frothy spit drips from his mouth directly onto your bud, smearing it with his fingers. You convulse around him, ecstasy coursing through your body, electrifying every nerve all the way down to your toes. His name pours out of you in moans, skin sweltering against the sheets, dewy with sweat. You’re a sticky mess for him, overstimulated from your three consecutive orgasms. And yet, you’re desperate for more.

“Don’t stop,” you whine, reaching out to him weakly. “You’re amazing, Reiner.”

He takes your hand, holding it to his lips, kissing your fingertips lightly. “You take it so good. My beautiful, gorgeous girl.” 

You orgasm twice more in this position until he’s nearing his own. His jaw is clenched, brows furrowed tight, ready to lose it. “Tell me where you want it.”

You blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “On me. Come on me, Rei. All over my clit and pussy.”

He groans, pulling out quickly to snap the condom off, pumping his cock in his fist. Within seconds, he’s nutting on you, shooting his seed onto your bud, watching it trickle down to your sopping cunt. “Fuck,” he moans, dick rigid in his grasp. He taps the tip on your drenched clit, relishing the lewd squelch it makes. “So fucking creamy for me.” There’s a wicked glint in his eyes, fixated on how his cum glazes your loins, and excitement bubbles in your core again, realizing that he has no intention of ending it here.

“Like what you see?” you goad him, dipping your fingers in his mess, stuffing it into your cunt. “I told you not to stop, didn’t I? So what are you waiting for?”

He leans over you, kissing you passionately, grinding his dick between your pussy lips. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ve got all the time in the world now.”

#reiner braun #reiner braun x reader #reiner braun smut #reiner braun x you #reiner braun x y/n #reiner x reader #reiner smut #reiner x you #reiner x y/n #aot reiner #aot smut #attack on titan smut #y2k karaoke party #milestone event

[picardsims]

Picardsims' 3k CAS Challenge

Sooooo I hit 3000 followers!! In order to celebrate, I invite everyone to participate in my little CAS challenge/contest!!!

Rules: Pick an apartment with a backstory that speaks to you (or multiple) and make a sim/family (your pick on whether you want to make the whole family or just one sim) who could live there. CC allowed, anything is allowed really. In two weeks (so, 22nd of April) I'll pick 3 of my favorites to get a prize! If you win, you can tell me any 3 build-buy items and I'll make them for you! (deco, unless it's something I 100% know how to make functional :>) In order for me to see it use the tag #picardsims3k (and tag me!! I'll see it sooner probably but I'll look at everything in the tag promise) Without further ado:

Apartment #1: Ro Kaya 62/1

Sims: 2 This apartment belongs to an elderly… couple? Two friends? Nobody knows and they're too scared to ask. You can find the tenants of this apartment in the hallway or on their balcony, keeping tabs on the neighborhood. Nothing gets past them. If you get on their good side, you will get invited for tea and get treated to fascinating stories from the past.

Apartment #2: Ro Kaya 62/2

Sims: 5 Is there enough space in this apartment for this married couple, their twins and their toddler? Definitely not. However, they just finished renovating it when they got pregnant (may or may not have been an accident), so it's not like they're going to move now… How long can the parents survive sharing their bedroom with their little one?

Apartment #3: Ro Kaya 62/3

Sims: 1 Their whole life, this Sim has wanted to be an artist. That didn't sit right with their straightlaced doctor parents, who refused to support them through art school. On impulse they moved to Tomarang and befriended a local painter, who allowed them to stay in their old apartment. Now that they're an award-winning graphic designer, their parents are finally trying to reconnect. Will they let them back in? Or is their chosen family the only one in their heart?

Apartment #4: Ro Kaya 64/1

Sims: 2 A single father raising a teenage daughter… What could go wrong? He's obsessed with plants, she loves gaming with her friends. She's mad he keeps putting plants in her room, he's mad she keeps putting laundry on the floor. However, no matter how hard they fight, there's nothing a midnight session of making pancakes together cannot fix.

Apartment #5: Ro Kaya 64/2

Sims: 2 After their grandmother passed, moving into her apartment was a dream come true for this Sim. Not so much for their partner. You see, grandma ran a very popular bakery, and they're supposed to inherit the business — sounds great, except they don't like baking all that much. One partner whose entire life has revolved around cakes and cookies, one partner who only uses the oven to make frozen pizza — can they handle the challenge? Or will their relationship crumble like bread with too much flour?

Apartment #6: Ro Kaya 64/3

Sims: 5 Two couples and one single person, this apartment sure is crowded. However, when you're just starting college, that doesn't sound all that bad — the rent is low, and there's always someone to party with! However, they'll soon learn it's not all loud music and cheap drinks — there's a line for the bathroom and you're never sure whose turn it is to vacuum (not yours though, that's for sure).

Remember: the tag is #picardsims3k, the deadline for the prize is 22nd of April (feel free to keep it going longer though!) and I'm incredibly thankful for each and every person who follows me (I am not kidding though dm me pictures of those pets I know you have them)

Enjoy! kotpicard

#picardsims3k #sims 4 #cas challenge #ts4 #simblr #sims 4 cas #sims 4 cas challenge

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Weasel-boy

dear @yamanaka-shin, this is for you! <3 I really hope you will like this, because I wasn't sure if I have the feeling for either of those two right, but I just like bickering as foreplay too much! So I hope you will like this. I love Kouta he is so wild and I love his design and you and giving you 500 hugs.

Shin x OC

2095 words.

Sai needed a present for his first visit at the Yamanaka house. He walked up and down the house with his hand in his hair like he had when he had been younger, when they’d just slowly learned to react like non conditioned humans would. Shin watched their brother from the sidelines for a little while, not saying anything to his agonising stake. They had never had a relationship before, so they didn’t understand what was going through Sai’s mind. Eventually, when Shin grew tired of watching Sai stand up, sit down and stand up again, they pulled him by the arm. “Let’s look in the city.”

Normally, Shin would not have gone walking around with Sai for a gift that they understood nothing about, but recently they had often run into a new resident of the village, a orange haired wild boy with a sharp teeth and a sharp tongue, who somehow irked them enough to get them to rant about him for minutes on end to Sai, who was too patient and too nice to tell them to stop. Shin could notice they were talking about that new guy too much, but they couldn’t really stop themselves and so they felt like they owed Sai some company at least. As a thank you.

They walked side by side down the street in Konoha, looking at what the vendors had to offer and Sai occasionally picked one or two things up to look at them closer. He seemed undecided about what he wanted to bring, overall very intimidated and, which was even more surprising, nervous about how he’d be perceived by Ino’s family. Shin just had the task of standing by their brother’s side and nodding each time Sai asked a question that ended with “Don’t you think?” or “I think she’d like this'', because they honestly had no idea what people did in such situations. Shin was not inclined to be a romantic person and had never been in love before.

The sun was already setting when Sai finally decided on a beautifully carved canvas frame that he could put any painting he liked in it. Shin held their tongue and did not point out to their brother that if he had wanted to make a painting this whole trip to the town had been a waste, especially not when they could see how happy Sai looked. Whatever made their little brother happy, made them happy, especially now that it seemed that Sai would leave the family house soon and leave Shin behind, at least for now.

“How about we go and get a bite to eat somewhere?” Sai offered and waved with his hand down the street to the restaurants. “I don’t think mom would mind.” Shin could see an argument in the future when both kids turned up not hungry when their mother had made a lot of food for everyone, so they stood there for a second thinking over the situation. They’d really love some takoyaki right now, but they also really wanted to avoid any situation that might anger Akari. Shin put a finger to their cheek and put his head to the side.

“You look like a caricature of someone who learns how to think - is that really your thinking face?” The voice came from another side street, snarky and sharp, it could only be one person. Shin raised their eyebrows. That they were constantly running into the damn weasel boy was an unending annoyance to them. How was this guy everywhere where Shin was? What was he doing all day other than following Shin around - or at least it felt like he was. 

Kouta emerged from the shadow, orange hair wild over his head as usual. Shin noted the way it was waving when wind went through it, and realised that it was a little shinier than usual in the evening sun. Kouta was a little smaller than them, hands often in his pockets to make himself even smaller than he already was and he was always wearing this grin on his face, a superior grin Shin sometimes wished they could punch out of him. 

They took the finger of their cheek: “Do you mind? Is that something that bothers you? The way I think, I mean.”

“No, it just looks ridiculous, like you are a robot that needs to learn how to be human.” Kouta laughed and bore his sharp teeth. If Shin had been younger they might have been offended by being compared to a robot, especially with how difficult it was for them to read emotions sometimes, but they had come a long way. They didn’t even know Kouta enough to be offended. This orange little dude could not hurt them personally.

Shin shrugged: “Whatever man, I’m not here to talk to you anyway.” Then, their eyes down again: “Why are you here? Haven’t I just seen you yesterday? Are you following me?”

“I just happened to be in the area,” Kouta spit back, apparently offended at the insinuation that he’d follow someone like Shin around. “I don’t know every corner of this city yet and I wanted to come here to see why there are so many crowds around.”

“Ah-a.” Shin dragged the word out. “Well now that you’ve seen it you can leave again, bye bye, weasel-boy.”

Kouta made his hands into fists: “You can’t tell me anything you little-”

“Do you want to come with us for dinner?” Shin had totally forgotten that Sai was right there, holding his new canvas frame in his hands, a smile on his face. “We were just trying to find some takoyaki, if that is something you’d be interested in.”

Shin looked over to their brother and mouthed the word “why?”, which Sai answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Kouta was a little red now as if Sai’s direct approach left him confused and embarrassed. Sai noted that and drew the wrong conclusion: “Oh, yes, you haven’t met me yet, I’m Sai.” He stretched out his hand. “I’ve heard quite some about you.”

Kouta took the hand. “Kouta”, he said and then, turning to Shin: “You’ve told him a lot about me, haven’t you?” He grinned and showed his teeth and Shin rolled their eyes. 

“Nothing good, I can assure you. Just about how you follow me everywhere and how you are such a pain to talk to.” Out of the corner of their eye Shin could see Sai smile, not the polite way he smiled when he tried not to get into trouble, no, a real smile, like he was enjoying himself. Shin made a mental note to pull his ear at a later time when their mother wasn’t watching.

“I would love to have dinner with both of you.” Kouta looked as smug as he sounded. “I don’t know the best spots yet and in this way would have the opportunity to see them.” Shin glared at him, but then they turned around and marched away down the streets where most of the food vendors were situated. They could hear behind them that Sai was chatting up Kouta, asking him where he was from and why he had decided to move to Konoha and while Shin really did not care they also listened intently. Who knew if there was something interesting there.

Eventually they found the place. Shin and Sai had come here as young children already, always just about saving up enough to buy something from the freshly made food. It had sort of  become their comfort and now they returned back to it whenever they had the chance to. Recently they had brought Ino with them, which was kind of like a small introduction to the family, but now Kouta was here too. 

“What should I get?” Kouta studied the menu concentrated, giving Shin finally a chance to whisper to Sai: “Why did you bring him here.” He hissed like a snake.

Sai smiled: “I think you like him.” Shin opened their mouth to protest, but then Kouta came back and announced loudly that he had decided what he would eat. So they put the menu card back to where it was and entered the inner rooms of the restaurant.

It had always been very small, but the nostalgic feeling for it was strong in Shin and they always loved the smell and the view of it. They took the corner table, as they always did, seating as farthest back from Kouta as they possibly could. They glared at each other across the table.

“I’m Shin’s brother, by the way”, Sai said and his voice sounded as if he was happy to be here between them. “We grew up in the Foundation together and then were adopted by our mother together too.”

This led into a discussion about what the Foundation was. Kouta, as it turned out, was from Takigakure and had never heard of Root before. He had left home on his own free will, not to run from his parents or other such family members or clans. Shin didn’t want to admit it to themselves, but the truth was, Kouta’s stories of the open road were actually kind of interesting. They watched the man out of the corner of their eyes.

He really had many piercings, that Kouta, everywhere in his left ear. The orange of his hair looked oddly altered, as if he was dying them every second day, but his orange eyes showed that this was surely not the truth. Kouta was a wild animal sort of person and more intriguing than Shin would have ever accepted to say out loud. Admittedly, they had wanted to go to town to see him again, not that they could have ever accepted that.

Food came and was placed between them. All three of them fell into the silence that came with consuming good food. “We came here all the time, you know? When we had nothing else”, Sai explained casually. He was so blunt, it took Kouta by surprise again. 

“It's hard to believe when meeting him..”, Kouta moved his head towards Shin, “.. that you didn’t grow up as the most privileged people around.”

A vein on Shin’s head was pulsing aggressively. “I’m not the one who ran away from home like a spoiled kid, even with functional parents.”

“I’m not spoiled, I’ve had it hard to, as a child for example -” Kouta cut himself off and let out a deep breath. Whatever he had meant to say seemed very personal, maybe too personal to share with someone also. Shin was curious, obviously, like they were curious about all the things that were related to Kouta, but asking more questions would sell them out and so they said nothing.

Instead Shin said: “Whatever you say.  Hard to believe though.” 

“Fuck you,” Kouta murmured under his breath.

Shin’s mouth was faster than their head. When they heard the word leave their lips it was too late to contain it, already flown out over to the ears of the guys sitting in front of them.

“When?”

Two pairs of eyes darted up and stared at each other, the heat on Shin’s face oddly mirrored by the flush on Kouta’s cheeks. They wanted to bite their tongue off and run away right then, but instead they kept sitting frozen to their seat and stared into the orange eyes of the man in front of them.

Sai, who had followed the exchange like a ping pong ball across the table, now slowly picked up his canvas frame that until now had leaned against his chair. “I don’t always understand what is going on in interpersonal relationships, but I feel like this is something that you two should discuss without me.” He was so blunt, sometimes Shin wished his brother would not be. Sai got up.

“I need to go too,” Shin said quickly and rose, pushing their chair back so hard that it almost fell. “I have … places to be.” They weren’t even trying to find a nice excuse. Quickly, they picked out some ryo from their wallet and threw it on the table. Kouta still sat there frozen in place and so, without exchanging an additional word, Shin and Sai walked out of the restaurant, leaving the ice statue that once was Kouta behind.

“See,” Sai said once they were back in the evening sun, “I told you that I think you like him.”

Sometimes it would really be easier if Sai would keep some thoughts to himself, Shin thought.

#fanfiction things #nisi turns 30 #this is the twenty first story i finish #only two left to go!! #it is the 22nd of august #dancing

[queerdisagreeable]

TMP/Magnus Kickstarter Update

Hi all! We just got a huuuuge Kickstarter update, and I thought I'd share the TL;DR that we (the mods of Statement Remains) put together to give people a hand navigating it!

TMP News - The digital premiere will be available on October 22nd for backers at the Archival Assistant level and above, and for Knight & Noble Patreons. - It will include a preview of The Magnus Protocol pilot episode and some exclusive bonus content. - The audio of the preview episode, without the extra content, will be released to KS backers at the Researchers level and above on 31st October.

- There will be a post-premiere livestream on Twitch with cast and crew, sometime after the 31st

- All the pre-launch previews will be exclusive to backers and patrons, but the official debut (in January 2024) will have new content not seen in the previews (including the full orchestral debut)

- The double length pilot episode releases Jan 2024, with a weekly release schedule following (and a 2 week break every 10 episodes)

- They are currently finalising script drafts for season 1, writing for seasons 2 and 3, doing primary recordings for episodes, and editing the Pilot episode

Casting Announcements - Meet Alice Dyer, played by Seer Pink (they/them). You may know Seer from streaming/tiktok -- this is their RQ debut! - Meet Samama Kahlid, played by Shahan Hamza (he/him). Shahan has previously played Siva in Trice Forgotten!

Other Castings - Anusia Battersby (she/her) as Gwendolyn Bouchard - Lowri Ann Davies (she/her) as Celia Ripley - Ryan Hopevere-Anderson (he/him) as Colin Becher - Kazeem Tosin Amore (he/him) as Teddy Vaughn - Sarah Lambie (she/her) as Lena Kelley - Ellie Dickens (she/her) as Lady Mowbray - Tim Fearon (he/him) as [ERROR] - Alexander J Newall (he/him) as [ERROR] - Jonathan Sims (he/him) as [ERROR]

There are "multiple returning friends and enemies from The Magnus Archives", but revealing them now would be a spoiler!

Making-Of Documentary - The documentary is well underway! - It will feature candids from meetings, interviews, and video diaries from Jonny and Alex! - The full version will air after the series is concluded, but a teaser segment will be released alongside the premiere!

ARG Updates - Official start date: **15 September**

- Far larger scale than the mini-ARG, featuring both digital and in-person elements - Will feature lots of worldbuilding and exclusive story that will provide an even deeper insight into the world of TMP

- Bookmark https://themagnusprotocolarg.com! This will be the main ARG hub! - Questions about the ARG can go to [email protected]. They will not provide hints/help solve the puzzles.

- Important note from the ARG site: Participants of this ARG must be over 18 for legal reasons.

Mic Updates - The Podcast Pro mics are nearly ready to start shipping. They are finalising packaging and etching the finished microphones!

---

And a quick note from me on behalf of the SR server! We're currently looking for mods to bolster our team, so that we can feasibly host the ARG solving efforts! If you're interested, you can join the Discord here: https://discord.gg/h6bkdqc5yd

#tma #tmagp #the magnus archives #the magnus protocol #magpod #senseless ramblings

[bunnyluvx]

the arcana characters and their favorite ways to spend time with you! ♡

featuring: the romanceable cast of the arcana minus lucio x gn!reader.

summary: the cast and their favorite ways to spend time with you!! <3

warnings: brief death mention in portia's part. nothing else! <3

a/n: WOWIEEE HAIII EVERYONE!! i just wanted to say thank you again to everyone who loved on my last post. it was really scary for me to make that, but i did it and all of the interaction means the complete world!!!! i know that this is a very different fandom than the last post so i don't know how many people will see this but to any readers, i hope that you enjoy this!!! i worked super hard and got a bit tired towards the end so i hope you can forgive me if it isn't as detailed eyfvibu i wanted to do more but mannnn i am so tired. i didn't write lucio, as i will not be writing any lucio content on my page at all. mentions of him for story reasons and maybe if i ever write a fanfic, he'll probably show up but other than that, i will not be making any content of him at all. i am a proud lucio hater so if you want lucio content please go somewhere else. i just finished asra's route today, i got the upright ending and AAAAAAAAAA?????? I LOVE THEM SMMM SYFVIUBIOE!!!! asra is literally such a cutie patootie and i am so in love with him. i cannot deal with it. i have done muriel and julian's routes too, both with the result of the upright ending, and i plan to do nadia's next!!!! very excited and nervous to see what happens. nadia and portia may be a bit ooc, so apologies for that. i have yet to do their routes so i have yet to see their characters in action. very mildly proofread, so please forgive any errors. character banners were edited together by me! any and all requests/ideas for my next post are appreciated! i don't think i have anything else to mention so enjoy!!!!!!

divider credit: @isisjupiter

date started: 7:46PM, april 11th, 2024. date finished: 2:07AM, april 22nd, 2024.

wc: 3.9k

asra ♡ traveling.

i really struggled to find something for asra that suited, because they would honestly enjoy doing anything with you. it doesn't matter where you are or what time of day it is, as long as he has you by his side, then he's happy. and that is super evident in their route. and having just finished asra's route, i have been thinking; we all know that asra does a lot of traveling. and we all know that during those times, asra misses you terribly. they don't like being away from you for a long time, and as we go through asra's route, having all of these adventures and seeing so many new and cool places, we can see just how happy asra is to have you at their side. the joy shines through the screen, and i can feel just how happy he is to have you with him wherever you are. ergo, their favorite thing to do with you is to travel.

when the two of you started to travel together, asra was a bit nervous. he didn't know what to expect when you agreed to travel together without a destination in mind, and he was worried that somehow, some way, something would happen to you. what if you got kidnapped? what if you got hurt? what if you got sick? all sorts of thoughts were running through asra's head, but the more that they watched you grow and allowed you to take chances, the more that they realized that you would be okay. yes, any of those things could happen, but he is right there if you need him. they know that they will always be by your side to help you through any challenge, and care for you however you need it.

however, as the travels go on, he is reminded everyday that you are a strong, capable individual. they knew that before, of course, but seeing you solve all of the riddles and puzzles put in front of you, helping so many people and growing so much made it hit them like a truck. he was always too afraid to allow you to take chances before, in fear that you would get hurt. but they learned that if you didn't take chances, that you wouldn't grow. and the last thing that he wants is to stop you from being the best version of you that you can be.

so, they let you off of the leash. and just like a bird taking flight, you soared and took everything that came at you by storm. he watched you as you became braver, smarter, kinder and stronger. they always expected for you to be great, and they always had faith in you. he just needed to learn that in order to achieve that greatness, that he needed to let you do some things on your own. they needed to let you make your own mistakes and win your own battles, so that you could learn. and it was one of the best decisions that he's ever made. watching you become more independent and confident within yourself is one of the best feelings that they could ever be blessed to have. he feels so grateful that he is the person that you choose every single day, and no matter what, he will always choose you.

julian ♡ dancing.

at heart, julian is a romantic. almost every cliche romantic thing that you can think of, you have done with julian. picnics. karaoke, aquariums, painting classes, shopping, craft nights, not to mention all of the crazy adventures that you guys would get into together. every day, he wants to remind you why you fell for him, and in his opinion, keeping things lively is the best way to do that! above all, though, julian's favorite thing to do with you is to dance. he knew that you were a prodigy at dancing after the masquerade, but one night changes everything.

the two of you had actually taken dancing classes before this. you were actually the one who suggested it, and after teasingly accusing you of thinking that the two of you are horrible dancers, he agreed. he honestly didn't think that he could be more in love with you after that. you two went to the class, and julian could hardly ever tear his eyes off of you. the way that you moved was so naturally graceful, as if you had been a dancer your whole life. he most definitely showered you in attention and love after the class was over, and he knew that he had to arrange for the two of you to dance together more often.

oh but that night was not the night that he realized that this was his favorite thing to do with you, no no no no no. the night that he realized that dancing was his favorite activity to do with you was a night like many others; dinner at portia's. it was you, julian, portia and nadia, and you all decided to eat outside so that you could watch the stars. portia went into the cottage to check on the food, with nadia following close behind her, and julian figured that it was the perfect time to steal a sweet moment with you. so, he stood from his seat and knelt to one knee before you. with one hand on his chest and the other extended to you, he asked, "will you have this dance with me, my dear?"

you giggled and told him that there wasn't any music playing. what could you possibly dance to? oh how sweet you are. a chuckle symphonized from his chest, and he responded with, "oh my dear, we do have music." a gloved hand took yours and placed it over his heart, "right here." oh my gods, this absolute cheeseball. you playfully shoved his chest, moving backwards under the force but not falling onto his butt. he swiftly leans forward and takes the hand that shoved him, pulling you to your feet as he stood. one pair of hands intertwined while the others lay on your waist on his shoulder. you two started to sway together, as if you were in the masquerade. yes, you did technically dance at the masquerade, but julian wanted a more intimate experience. you didn't get to have a romantic ballroom dance thanks to the one we do not speak, and julian finds that absolutely outrageous!

your bodies glide beautifully amongst the grass and bushes, you take turns spinning each other around and laughing throughout. fireflies spring from the greenery wherever you set your feet, giving your figures a tender glow that julian found absolutely enchanting on you. after spinning through almost all of portia's front lawn, you find yourselves right back at group sitting spot. his arms have encircled your waist, keeping you close to him as your arms encircle his neck carefully. there are no long strides in this dance, no dramatic flair; just you and him rocking back and forth. his eyes stare into yours and his lips are curved into an adoring smile, as if by looking into your eyes, he could pour all of his love from him to you just through eye contact.

you mutter his name, he mutters yours, you lean in, and..portia pipes up. both her and nadia hold two bowls of soup, hot and ready. portia is mischievously smirking at the two of you while nadia admires your connection. julian tries to usher them away so that he can have more alone time with you, but you're quick to shut him down. begrudgingly, julian did, but all he could think about for the rest of the night was how beautiful you were dancing with him. your laughter singing into the air, the smile on your face, your gaze carving through the very core of his being. somehow, he was able to stay focused on the conversations that occurred that evening, but everyone, including you, could tell that he was going to be hung up on tonight for the next several weeks. when you got home, he was sure to steal a kiss from you later, and another dance.

nadia ♡ fashion shows.

ah, our beloved countess. at first, i planned on giving her shopping, seeing as her love language is gift giving, she would love to spoil the crap out of you with anything that you even glanced out. however, i wasn't happy with that idea. my boyfriend was actually the one who came up with the idea of fashion shows (hi vinny honey, i love you <3). he is such a freaking genius for this one bc OH MY GOSH YES. nadia has such beautiful taste in clothing, so she would absolutely love to host little fashion shows with you. she does like to share her clothes with her friends, but with you, it's special.

the original thought was you trying on nadia's clothes, and nadia trying on your clothes. nadia would feel like she is falling in love with you all over again if you tried on her clothes. all of the fabric would embrace you in such a perfect way, accentuating all of the things that she loves the most about you. gosh she would just be so head over heels,, she would clap every time you would walk out to show her what you chose, or what she selected for you because she just wanted to see you in it so bad. this woman is literally your number one supporter, she thinks that you are absolutely drop-dead gorgeous in everything that you choose to try on and cannot get enough of you in her clothes. she will shower you in compliments and praise of just how celestial you look, and it makes you super duper flustered because she just flatters you so much.

she also gets really shy when she tries on your clothes. all of her life, she has had the most expensive, well-made, stunning clothes that anyone could ever dream of. so, trying on clothes that do not fit under those categories is new to her. while she isn't used to not wearing the most lavish clothes to be found, she likes your sense of style and is always excited when you ask her to try on an ensemble of yours. what she worries about is what you think. she frets that you think it won't look good on her, if that isn't the farthest thing from the truth. when she walks out to you, you are in absolute awe of how beautiful she is. you already think that she can't get any prettier when she wears other outfits, but now this???? her in your clothes???? oh lord almighty you must be SAVED bc this woman has swept you off of your feet. she asks you what you think, and all you can do is walk up to her and smooch the ever-loving life out of her. you just love each other so much!!!!!

BUT WAIT, I'M NOT DONE. I HAVE MORE THOUGHTS.

when your group of friends have sleepovers at the palace, or when you all go out shopping together, it is unavoidable that you all will be having a fashion show where you all show off the clothes that you bought. nadia loves these so much because she gets to watch her friends all enjoy themselves and feel confident in their clothes, especially if she was the one who bought them. but with you, they just feel so different. to her, it is an intimate experience of being able to share your joy with one another. something that you value in your relationship with nadia is self-esteem, both yours and hers. not only do you both want to make each other feel good. but you also want to feel good within yourself. and nadia thinks that fashion shows are an important part of that. clothes are part of how one may express themselves and their identity, and that is something that nadia treasures. so, if showing off the clothes that you got is going to make you feel good about yourself, then she wants to be there to watch you. there is nothing more important to her than your happiness, and if going through outfit by outfit is what will make you happy, then so be it.

admittedly, she..also really likes to show you the new clothes she gets. when you first started dating, she was a bit nervous about it. she knew that you knew of her riches and lifestyle; it was lavish, and she only got the best of the best. she's the countess for crying out loud, so of course you knew that she was going to have everything that she wanted at her feet, even if it meant something that took literal years to find. but there was part of her that worried that you would see her money and think differently of her. she feared that you would judge her person based on her money, instead of the woman you fell in love with. when she told you this, you automatically reassured her that you wouldn't think differently of her at all. you would love her regardless of the amount of money she has, you told her. and this put her heart at ease, so she progressively became more comfortable showing off her wardrobe when you hosted your shows to each other. now, she doesn't hesitate to declare a fashion show after a shopping spree so that she can show you the lovely things that she got for herself. and every single time that you have one, you cannot believe that that is your girlfriend. you are just the luckiest person in the whole world to have someone like her, and she feels infinitely more lucky to have you.

portia ♡ watching the sunset.

this kind of feels like a given to me. portia is always talking about how she wants to sail the world and explore, both in the actual routes and in heart hunter. so sitting on the docks with you, watching the sun disappear behind the sea and talking about your dreams??? oh heck yes, count her in. she is really tired when she isn't working, so usually she spends her time trying to rest up and take care of things around her cottage. however, she wants to spend all of the time that she can with you. so, the two of you go on all sorts of lovely dates! shopping in the marketplace, teaching her about new herbs in the shop, seeing the new shows in the theater and heckling julian, all sorts of stuff!!!!! but portia's all time favorite part of your days together is when you go to the docks, take off your shoes, sit on the edge and talk while watching the sunset together.

portia has so many dreams, and so many things that she wants to do in her life. and she loves to tell you about all of them. she spends hours just ranting to you about all of the things that she wants to do, the places that she wants to see, the types of adventures that she wants to go on, and of course they all include you being there with her. oh gods you love listening to her,, every single word that she speaks are words that you carve into the stones of your memories. listening to her talk about her dreams is like watching the sun shine. greenery smiles under the glorious warmth and embraces her glimmer gratefully, her passion burns brightly and she is the most beautiful being in any realm to ever exist. she has no time to wonder if she's talking too much because she is far too focused on being with you, and loving every single moment of it. you truly hope that you are able to go on all of the adventures that she wants, so that you can experience every ounce of the world with her, until it all falls apart.

of course, she loves to listen to you. the time that you two spend at the docks is time to talk about anything that comes to mind, and she cannot help but adore you as you pour your heart out to her. when you speak of all of the things that you want to do before your time in this realm comes to a close, she watches and listens very intently. your voice to her is like a river, running smoothly through the canals of her mind and soothing the battering howl of her heart. her eyes twinkle with adoration as her elbow rests on her knee, her face leaning against her hand as she stares at you. everything that you tell her only makes her more excited for your future, because in your future, you include her. and that is all that she could ever truly want. you both truly love to listen to each other talk, not even just about your dreams, but about anything. even if it's something as small as dinner options or something that you saw at the market that you liked, you both love to hear anything and everything from each other. can you tell that the two of you are head over heels in love??

the first time that you sat at the docks together was a magical moment that portia will never forget. you two had just spent an amazing day together, and you wanted to rest by somewhere pretty before heading back home. so, portia suggested the docks to watch the sunset. you agreed, then took your shoes off and sat down. you conversed for hours, laughing and teasing each other. it is so obvious that you both are the other's favorite person to be around to everyone around you, you are both so comfortable with each other in the purest, most loving way. portia had taken her hair down, long curly locks of red flowing carefully down her back. as the sun caressed the ocean for a farewell kiss, the light made her look like she was a celestial being. freckled, pale skin bathes in orange, your own skin making you look just as radiant as she. you locked eyes with her, and all you could think about is just how much you love her. and her you, for she thought in that moment, that you were the most gorgeous person she had ever seen. she thinks that all of the time, but everything about that time was too perfect. your hands cupped her cheek, and her hands held your arms as you exchanged a beautifully passionate kiss. all of her love dumped into it as did yours, and it is something that portia will always remember. you two go to the docks a lot more to watch the sunset, and exchange plenty more kisses worth treasuring for the rest of your lives.

muriel ♡ nature walks.

OHHHHHH MURIEL!!! MY SHMOOPY POOPY DOOPY BEAR!! i love this man with all of my heart,, no one understands my love for him syufigubine. i didn't even have to think about this one, because i KNEW for a fact this our sweet boy would absolutely LOVE to go on nature walks with you. he isn't much of a people-person, so he doesn't really like going anywhere that crowds gather. which, in vesuvia, is a pretty hard thing to do, considering the fact that people are almost always out, doing something. so muriel doesn't like going anywhere where people are. the time that he spends with you is meant for you and you alone, not to be spent around a crap ton of strangers that push and shove and cram him into tight spaces. so anytime alone with you is time that he greatly cherishes. you had been wanting to find an activity that both you and muriel love doing that wouldn't make muriel anxious or uncomfortable, so you came up with the idea of nature walks.

when you brought it up to muriel, he accepted it right away. he would get to be around nature and spend time with you? that's all he ever really needs, honestly. he has been through the forest time and time again, he knows every crevice of it like the lines on his palms, yet when you went on your first nature walk together, everything about the forest seemed to change. the colors were brighter, the plants smelt richer, heck even the animals were out and about more when you two went out together. he didn't understand why, but it felt so much better being in the forest with you. you walked along and let the path take you wherever fate demanded. the sun peered through the leaves of the trees to allow life to breathe underneath it, the warmth of the day wrapping around you both like a blanket. he's gotten used to this forest after living in it for so many years, but with you, it felt like the most fascinating place to be.

he was a little worried because he figured that you would want to go out. not just to the forest, but to somewhere like the marketplace, the town square or even the rowdy raven. when he expressed his concerns, you reassured him that you didn't need to go out and do something. all you need is to be with him, and if this is the way that he is most comfortable spending time together, then so be it. you could walk all day, all night, for the rest of your lives in this forest together, as long as it meant that he was comfortable and happy. he smiled and thanked you for your reassurance, giving you a little kiss on the cheek before taking your hand and continuing your journey.

from that point forward, nature walks became a very regular part of your routine with muriel. it always starts with "wanna go on a walk?", and from that point forward, who knows what could happen. you two have found a lot of new things in that forest together. you've found lots of pretty flowers, greenery, rocks and animals that you didn't see before, new spots to relax in and even found little burrows and nests a couple of times!!! it's like a little adventure that isn't too far away from home, and muriel is more than happy to go on a walk at any time. it's almost always something new when the two of you go out together, and he thinks that that's what makes you so lovely. on most days, on his own, he wouldn't think twice about any of the things that you do. so, when you stop him to look at a pattern on a rock, or to admire a dandelion that you call a flower even though it's a weed, he takes his time to admire it with you, and he can't stop that sweet smile from curling onto his lips. seeing you in his favorite place is the most wonderful experience that he could ever ask for. he didn't believe that he was deserving of wonderful experiences before, but now that he has you, he wants to think differently.

@BUNNYLUVX ,, all rights reserved. do not copy/plagiarize any of my works or submit it into ai. any and all support is so very appreciated! <3

#the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #the arcana imagines #x reader #the arcana x reader #the arcana x mc #asra alnazar #asra the arcana #asra x reader #asra x mc #asra x apprentice #asra x you #julian devorak #julian the arcana #julian x apprentice #julian x mc #julian x reader #nadia satrinava #nadia the arcana #nadia x mc #nadia x apprentice #julian devorak x reader #portia devorak #portia the arcana #muriel the arcana #muriel of the kokhuri

[izpira-se-zlato]

Bootleg Hojan Merch

I know Nace shared part of the story in an interview a couple days ago, but I was planning on doing a write-up before I knew that, so here you go 😂 Also contains the continuation of the saga in Finland :D

Putting this under a cut because it's gonna be a bit of a read (plus a few more pictures). Yeah, I hope no one here is surprised that I suck at keeping things short 😂

So I have done a fair bit of clownery this year, and the most recent bit (before the shirt project) was attending two of the Polish gigs, Wrocław and Poznań.

I was wearing my Cha Cha Cha shirt to the Poznań gig, and when taking pictures with Bojan and Nace after the show, I opened my jacket so the shirt was visible. When stepping back after the pic, Nace spied the shirt and was kinda excited about seeing Käärijä merch – though he prefers the Häärijä merch, as he told us, because he's a "big fan" (his words, not mine).

So back at the hotel, I told @braveheart1418, "God, I'm so tempted to try to procure an actual Häärijä shirt. Tell me that's a stupid idea." Of course she did no such thing and so we looked into how much it would cost (too much) and how long it would take (too long), and so I was like, "bummer. And I'm not comfortable making bootleg official merch. Although, omg – it would be hilarious of we did Hojan merch!"

And the longer I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea. Again, I told friends, "tell me that would be a stupid idea," and again, they were filthy enablers, and so I started looking into the matter semi-seriously once I was back home (that was Wednesday the 22nd, so almost exactly a week before I left on a business trip leading into a stay at my parents' place leading into the gig).

The first thought was to get a big HOJAN in the Häärijä lettering on foil to iron onto a black shirt, though @braveheart1418 had commented that the design with a picture Häärijä on is much more memorable. That was a very valid point, except that there were no Hojan pics in suitable resolution that were in the right pose.

Thus, things I needed to solve:

get a plotter to cut out "Hojan" for the chest -> my mom said my cousin had a friend with a plotter. Contact was established

get a picture similar to the official merch of Hojan -> I reached out to Dean, who was absolutely lovely and set me up with a picture I could use

clip Hojan from the picture -> I had @submariini as well as another dear friend help me there because they are both much better at photoshop than me and were kind enough to offer their help, and decided to add the yellow border because the best picture Dean had sent me was black & white

get transfer paper -> easy: amazon (loathe as I am to use it)

find a copy shop to print Hojan for me -> tricky bc I got Inkjet-Printer transfer paper and most copy shops have laserjets, if they allow using your own paper at all -> I got laserjet transfer paper and once again had my cousin come to the rescue and helped me print it :D

find t-shirts in the right sizes -> I solved this by eyeballing and taking pics of my dad in the various sizes to check with @submariini. While nerve-wrecking, I am astonished just how well the sizing worked out in the end!

Despite the limited time (limited further by me getting sick Monday/Tuesday before my business trip), it all came together beautifully: I did a test-print Friday evening and picked up the foil cuts, went shirt shopping with my parents on Saturday (shout out to them for letting their adult kid drag them through three different clothes stores and especially to my dad for gamely trying on half a dozen shirts and waiting while I yelled at ed about which to take 😂), finished the test shirt (mine) that evening and adjusted the colours on the outline to be closer to the foil, printed three more copies of Hojan Sunday morning, and got them ready just in time for leaving for the gig!

Which was yet again nerve-wrecking because of the unprecedented amounts of snow happening in Bavaria, but it stood no chance against our determination!

Unfortunately, the snow situation meant that JO couldn't come out after the show, so I passed the shirt to Nace during it and received a pick in return, which made me bluescreen as I hadn't expected an exchange 😂 He put the shirt down without having looked at it, which was a bit unfortunate because I would have loved to have seen his reaction, but it was still a pretty cool moment.

They did get a lot of gifts this close to St. Nikolaus (which is also celebrated in Germany, or at least was in my youth), most of which they left on the stage for the crew to gather up, so I bluescreened even worse when Nace bee-lined over to me as they came back on stage for the SSOL-encore to thank me again for the shirt – others told me later he'd taken it backstage after Carpe Diem with him, which I'd missed 😅

After the show, I met @mogoce-nocoj and ended up talking to her for quite a while outside the venue because neither of us wanted to split off into different directions, and so it wasn't until we were on our way back to @braveheart1418's hotel room (finally accepting that we wouldn't manage to say goodbye quite so soon and might as well talk somewhere warm 😅) that I saw that Bojan had posted the story to his Instagram 😂. Let me just say that it was very fortunate we were still out-doors and not near normal flats, because I don't think I was quiet when I saw 😂

I actually ended up making four shirts including my trial one – one for Nace, one for Häärijä himself because it felt fitting, and one for @submariini because he's such a Häärijä fan :D

The latter two, I took with me to Rovaniemi (which was ed's fault, because (and I quote), "come to Rollo! It'll be fun!"), where a bunch of friends and I met up for a birthday party slash Käärijä gig (over 20 clowns in one place, it was amazing, 10/10 would do again (genuinely)). The weather and means of transport tried to keep us apart (train strikes and ice rains on my end, though I still had better luck than Joker Out), but we actually all made it and by now all made it back again, too :D

As I mentioned in a different post, I actually managed to hand over the shirt to Häärijä before the gig, and he told me he would wear it on stage, which he did! I also got a picture with him, ed, and me all in our shirts, which was also pretty great :D

So, yeah! The Process™ of project 1.

Thank you so so much to everyone who helped and encouraged me along the way -- my parents and my cousin, the gift to our fandom that is Dean Grainger (none of whom will hopefully ever read this specific post), @braveheart1418, @submariini, @alephai, my dearest friend K who's been an enabler for so so many shenanigans, and xia!bf for bearing with my insanity (both where the shirts are concerned and the general Käärijä/JO brainrot) and helping me make this project a reality 💛

#käärijä #häärijä #hojan #hojan merch #project 1 #bojan cvjetićanin #bojan cvjeticanin #nace jordan #joker out #joker out nordic tour #jo nordic tour #jo nordic tour 2023 #fucking Rovaniemi

[disjointed-art]

Happy one year of catch my breaths conception!

Today last year I drew an angsty Steve thinking about a hanahaki fic idea I pitched in my friends discord. I then sat there and realized I could make it as a comic instead!

And thus catch my breath was born!

Truly thank you everyone for the support on this project! I couldn’t have done it without all your constant support, praise, and excitement for the updates. I truly cannot express how grateful I am for my story to have touched so many and gained the traction it has!

Here’s to finishing part 3! Updates resume the 22nd!!!

#fanart #fanartist #illustration #digital artist #stranger things fanart #steddie #steddie fanart #illustrator #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington fanart #steddie hanahaki #steddie hanahaki comic #one year anniversary #a year ago #one year ago today #Steve hanahaki #illustration art #fan art #my art #digital art #art

[wipbigbang]

WIP Big Bang 2023 Round Schedule & FAQ!

Schedule

All times are by 8:59pm PST. Convert time zones.

Sign-ups Begin- April 1st Sign-ups Close- April 21st Check In #1- April 22nd Check In #2- May 15th Snippets Due- June 1st Art Claims Begin- June 17th Check In #3- June 22nd Check In #4- July 6th Rough Drafts Due- July 15th Posting Claims Begin- July 23rd Posting Claims Ends- August 1st Final Drafts/Art Due- August 7th Posting Starts- August 8th Posting Ends- October 31st (the last two weeks are reserved for emergency posting)

FAQ

What is the WIP Big Bang? Good question! This is a Big Bang with one goal in mind: to clean out your fanfic drafts folder. These are stories that were unfinished for whatever reason, that authors returned to and completed, and the art that goes with them!

Do I need a Livejournal/Dreamwidth/AO3/etc. account to participate? No! You don’t have to have an account on anything to participate, though you will need to have somewhere to post your finished work. Having one or more accounts will help for you to follow what is going on with the bang (we crosspost to Dreamwidth, Tumblr, and sometimes Twitter at the moment), but they are not required to participate. You can always leave comments anonymously or with an opensource ID.

How many fics can we sign up for? We absolutely don’t mind multiple sign-ups. I know one year someone submitted 50 fics to finish, and got at least half of them done. We just ask that when you sign up with more than one fic you give each fic a unique user ID (please do not use the same ID for all your fics...it’s important to have different IDs for the check-ins).

Will I get emails about the bang? We do send out some emails, mostly for snippets and art claims and to ensure communication between authors and artists, but please do NOT rely on getting an email to remind you of due dates. We currently do not keep an updated email list of participants, so we only send individual emails as needed rather than mass emails.

However, email is the fastest way to communicate with the mods. If you have any questions or are having trouble communicating with your artist/author, please do email us! We will do our best to respond quickly.

What do you mean by minimum word count to enter? This is a WIP Big Bang, therefore we ask you to have at least 500 words of your story drafted when you enter.

Can an outline count towards those first 500 words that are needed at sign up? We have admitted work on an outline before so yes, if your outline is fleshed out enough to cover a 7,500 word+ fic, we’ll allow it.

Are multi-chapter fics allowed? Yes, multi-chapter fics are allowed and even more so encouraged if your fic is lengthy.

What about fics that are already posted on ao3 in part? Do those qualify for the bang? It's okay if you have posted a few chapters of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here. All we ask is that you not post any public updates to the fic until August 1st (or July 1st with the mod’s okay). We don’t want you to lose kudos and comments so don’t worry about pulling the fic down, just hold off on updates for now.

Is there a minimum word count? 7,500 words for each finished fic, but the sky's the limit, right?

I see that the fic minimum is 7500 words and that published WIPs are acceptable - but what if the WIP I’m considering is already more than 7500 words? Is the expectation to add an additional 7500 to it? No. You can add as much or as little as you need to finish the story, though we do expect at least 1,000 or so new words if your WIP already meets the word count.

What happens if an author finishes the fic they signed up with but it’s less than 7,500 words? The intent was to go over the minimum but once they got into it the story was shorter than they thought and stretching it out would make it less good. Do they have to drop out at that point? By all means, we want your stories to feel as natural as possible, and if it’s under 7,500 words you may have two options:

1 - Drop the fic for the main BB event, post it now, and wait to post it to our AO3 collection in February when we run our International Fanworks Day celebration of finishing fics that are less than 7,500 words when finished. There’s no art for the fic, but bragging rights are posted to the communities for a week.

2 - If there are enough fics that fit that category, we can do a special day of posting the fics, but you’ll have to forgo art for the fic. I, as a mod, would probably pick October 31st for the posting day, as it’s the last day of posting for the bang and I don’t think anyone will mind more than one fic that day. You can post bragging rights to the community and share the fic with everyone.

Is there anything not allowed? As long as you wrote it and you want to finish it, you're welcome to participate. RPS/RPF is fine. Incest pairings are fine. Things like that I know have been hinted at in questions asked and as long as you tag for them, we’ll allow it. Also, canon settings with mostly OCs is allowed. We just ask that it be tagged properly with any content warnings you would deem fit and be given the appropriate rating for the level of sex/violence there is in the fic. As of the 2023 round, original work is also allowed; however, we recommend you bring in your own artist or forgo art for an original work.

I have a fic I wrote a few years ago, but only the first couple chapters are posted on AO3 because I was never happy with the rest of it and knew it needed major revision. Is that something I could use for WIP Big Bang? The entire fic has been posted, but only on one platform, and it would be rewritten for AO3 and WIPBB. I think revising a fic for posting would work, as long as you have at least 500 words done, will have 7,500 words at a minimum when it’s done, and are planning to add more to the fic. Simply rewriting what you have would be a gray area, but if you’re going to take stuff out and add new scenes, either in the old scenes place or on your own, you should be fine.

What's the etiquette around OC-centric stories? Ones that are set in a well known fandom and use several characters, but still lean a lot on original characters? Are they discouraged, or fine? Based on my own personal experience making art for a story that had a heavy OC presence, it’s not something we discourage at all, but be forewarned when it comes to the art accompanying your fic your artist may not be able to incorporate the OCs into your art. Not everyone makes art of a hand-drawn or digitally drawn nature, so it helps if you have people for face claims ahead of art submissions, and you and your artist communicate regularly. You can also end up with art not featuring the OCs at all, just the canon characters, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Your other options are to bring in an artist you trust with your vision of your OC/make your own art (we do allow that, we just need to be told during the check-in before art that you’re bringing in your own artist if you go that route, or that you’re doing your own art…there will not be a need to sign up in the artist’s sign up, however) or to opt-out of art entirely. So there’s plenty of options to call on when it comes time for art. What are 'check-ins’? These are a way for us to see what you've been up to and for you to make sure you're still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory. Basically a form is posted that you fill out with your user ID (unique for each fic) and a checkbox to let us know you’re still participating, plus a section for any notes for the mods.

How are the check in IDs used? They are solely for the mods organizational purposes. Each ID being for a separate story allows us to keep all the information you submit during check-ins and for snippets in one line on our spreadsheet. You don’t have to share your check in IDs with anyone else if you don’t want to.

How much progress should authors be making between each checkpoint? (Percentage-wise from our estimated total wc, I guess?) Ideally, with each check-in, you should be at least 25% closer to finishing. The end word count only really matters in that the fic needs to be at least 7,500 words when done, so it’s more your progress towards finishing that should be measured, not so much the word count.

What are the snippets requirements? In order to allow the artists to make art for the story they claimed, we require you to supply three snippets from your fic, between 500 – 1500 words each. The snippets will be sent to the artist after they have claimed your story. They're to help the artist match your story for artwork the best way he or she possibly can. It’s helpful to choose scenes or parts of scenes that you feel best represent your fic, but don’t feel like they have to be perfect to be submitted. Along with the snippets, we will send your artist the basic fic info and your email, so the two of you can collaborate more if you would both like.

What are the rough drafts requirements? For the rough drafts, stories should be at least 80% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap.

What is, and do I need, a beta? A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try this post.

Where can I post my fic/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

What does posting look like? Do we have to post the whole thing on the day, or can we stretch it out between when posting starts and our date? I’ve had a few longfics get killed by big bangs forcing posting to happen on a given day, and would prefer to avoid that if possible. For most fics, posting to AO3/FF.net/other places will be allowed to start in August and you can stretch it out as many posts as you want as long as the complete fic is up by your posting date (and posting dates go from August 8th to October 16th with two weeks for emergency posting). However, you can send us an ask/e-mail about posting as early as July if you have an extremely long fic/something with a long posting schedule. Mostly what we want is the fic to be completely up on the website of your choice by your posting date, and I know some people don’t want to overwhelm their readers. So we want to work with writers to give them ample time to post the story up to their posting date.

Now, as for posting to the communities, you get to choose which day your link to the story and bragging rights are posted, and as I said, we have a range of dates from August 8th to October 16th with two to three stories posting a day. If for some reason you miss your posting date, you have until October 31st to post to the community, during the two weeks of emergency posting. So hopefully there should be plenty of time to get a longfic up and posted to the website of your choice and our BB.

Will the three snippets per story we have to send in be the ones we want the artist to make art for? Or can it just be random snippets and then later the artist and I can check together to see which scenes would work best for art? So ideally, you and the artist will be communicating once you’re each sent each other’s contact information, and you’ll give your artist a chance to read all that you’ve written at that point. That’s what happens in most cases. If your fic gets picked by an artist and they don’t work with you, then the snippets you sent will be what the artwork will be based on. It’s a good idea to know that, while most of the time the artists work closely with the authors, there are a few exceptions to that.

How do I know when to post? Posting will be tiered; you'll each get your own posting date that you and your artist will decide on together. There will probably be three fics, plus art, posting per day between August 8th and October 31st. The post with date claims will go up on July 23rd and you'll have to choose your date by August 1st.

Posting of chapters on AO3 or your own blog (or wherever you usually post) generally starts August 1st, but you can post earlier (as early as July 1st) if you let us know you have a long story. However, posting has to be finished by your chosen posting date to the comm. One of the things we're hoping to do with the posted dates is to give everybody on the comm a little bragging time in the spotlight. You know, "this story was incomplete for this long, but I finished this sucker." If you don't have time to post your bragging rights to the communities on your chosen posting date, you can queue up a post ahead of time and we can post it on the date you picked or you can email us your bragging rights and we can post by proxy for you. Either way works for us. Art will be due on the chosen posting date to the comm.

What am I posting to the Dreamwidth/Tumblr community if I’m posting the fic elsewhere? You’ll be posting what we call bragging rights. It’s a small form you fill out and post to the community with a link to your fic (we’ll enable moderated posting to the Tumblr and Dreamwidth communities for members on August 8th). We will post a template for posting artwork and stories to the comm closer to the posting date.

Is there a minimum/maximum requirement for my art? There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 7,500 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn't hurt!

What are 'art claims'? The claims are when anonymous summaries of the story go up for artists to choose from. Artists sign-ups and art claims are the same thing; we use one form for both things, and that way the authors don’t have to sign up for an event they may not end up participating in. It is based on a 'first come, first served' basis and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with, and on and on until all stories are claimed for art.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system.

What do I do if I have problems or concerns about my author/artist? Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email the mods and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun at WIP Big Bang!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

Can I get an extension? Community extensions may be given in the event that the majority of the authors/artists need one. They may also be given individually under certain circumstances, but this must be discussed with the mods and will only be a short extension for posting. If you are certain that you won’t be able to finish your story in time, please let us know by June 13th.

Can I swap out a fic if my muse abandons it again? When you sign up, you give us the information on the potential fic(s) you want to write. If, say, one fic isn’t working but one you didn’t sign up for is, you can switch them out while letting the mods know if you need to change a user ID you used. It is absolutely okay to switch fics all the way up until snippets are due. By then, we hope you’ll have however many fics you plan on doing to at least 80% completion since rough drafts are due not much later. Just drop an email to the mods at [email protected] with the new information (title, fandom, etc) and if you want a new sign in ID or plan to use the same one for the fic you’re replacing it with.

Can I drop out? We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know by July 13th (if at all possible).

Is it possible to be banned? We do have a banned users list. We hope to use this to encourage participants who are having issues to communicate with the mods. We want to help you! The way the ban works is that participants, either authors and artists, will be banned for dropping out without notifying a mod. This means that anyone who has not posted or talked to a mod by the time the posting period ends will be banned. Dropping out is not in and of itself a banning offense, so please do not panic if you have to drop out! We understand that there are many reasons you may need to drop, and we want to work with you.

Bans will last one round or until the issue is resolved, whichever comes first. To resolve a ban, authors will have to finish and post the story they signed up with and artists will have to finish and post the art for the story they claimed. Three bans will result in a permanent ban from the bang.

Are we allowed to participate without joining the Discord? Absolutely! The Discord server is optional, as just another way to interact with your fellow writers and get updates on important dates. It’s not mandatory you join, however.

I was just wondering if there’s any way to enter the bang anonymously? Like would it be okay to put our work in an anonymous collection on ao3 or something? Unfortunately, I can’t think of a way for that to work. The collection that we use is moderated but it’s not anonymous, and there are the bragging posts that you post on your posting day, which you would have your username on whichever platform you use.

I was just wondering whether I'm sworn to secrecy on which fics I'll be finishing up, or if I can shout it out to the world? No one is sworn to secrecy once they’ve signed up (aside from posting new parts to fic that’s already up somewhere…we ask that you refrain from doing that until at least July 1st)! We will be running Word Wars, where you can add more to a fic in a certain amount of time, and Whine Bars, where you can complain or ask for help or whatever else you feel like talking about when it comes to struggling with a fic, all after sign-ups end on a weekly basis, plus there’s the Discord server for chatting with your fellow authors and artists.

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here. If you need help, you can always contact a mod and we will do our best to make sure that you get your story/art finished. The best and fastest method of contact is through our email, [email protected].

#wip big bang #wipbb #wipbb2023 #work in progress #fandom event #signal boost #faq #schedule