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bingbongsupremacy · 4 months

Text

Camp Hawkins AU Pt. 2

pairing: Steve Harrington x plus sized reader

Warnings: Use of Y/N.

The story doesn't mention a lot about being plus sized but it is there.

Summary Overall: It's your third year being a camp counselor at Camp Hawkins and your 7th year knowing Steve. Every year your crush seems to grow stronger and stronger.

Pt. 2 Summary: You've been avoiding Steve ever since you caught him and and Nancy making out at the Lake. Unfortunately, you can't avoid him forever. While helping him clean up after a messy s'more night, he approaches you.

*Not Proof Read*

ABC List Part 1 Stranger Things Masterlist

*****

It's been two weeks.

I've done my best to avoid Steve and Nancy as much as possible, which is proving to be a very hard thing to do.

Morning meetings are the worst. Every morning at 5 am, the counselors are expected to meet at the dining hall for a brief run down of the day. Usually everyone is still in their PJ's, hoping the meeting will be short enough for everyone to catch a few more minutes of sleep before the kids get up.

The mornings are usually pretty cold. Almost everyone shows up in some sort of jacket or sweat shirt. Not Steve. Every morning he comes dressed in a nice fitting T, perfectly showing off his arms.

Stop staring at Steve.

Stupid crush. Stupid fucking crush.

I force myself to look away from Steve. Instead of his usual spot by Nancy, he's decided to take a seat next to Robin and Vickie, one of the other camp cooks.

" If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on Harrington. " Eddie's voice is teasing but quiet.

I snap my head towards him. " Do not. " I state sternly, fear running through my veins. He can't find out.

Eddie chuckles. " You sure do stare a lot for someone without a crush. " Eddie's elbows rest comfortably against the table. His legs are sprawled out, not bothering how much room they take up. His hair is tossed up into a sleepy bun, a rare sight for the man who always has his hair down. " Don't worry, I won't tell. " He raises a finger to his lips, indicating my secret is safe with him. He winks, sending a flurry of embarrassment running through me.

I've never liked Eddie like that, but he sure does know how to fluster someone.

" I don't like him. " I insist. " So you don't have anything to keep secret. "

Eddie nods mockingly. " That's not what Henderson told me...but if you insist..." He holds his hands up in surrender.

I let out a small groan. Of course Dustin blabbed to Eddie. Dustin tells Eddie everything. Nothing even happened, I don't understand why Dustin spinned it to sound like we made out.

" Is everything alright over there? " Hopper asks, looking over at me and Eddie. " Are you feeling alright? "

" Yeah, perfectly fine. Just a little headache. " I lie.

" Well, if you're alright, we'll get back to today's agenda..."

My eyes scan across the table. Across the way, Steve's eyes meet mine. On his face is a small look of...confusion?

This is going to be a tough morning.

-------

The loud chatter of happy campers slowly fades away as the large oak dining hall doors close. Soon, Steve and I are left alone in the echoing room.

I begin picking up various chocolate wrappers on the floor the tables. They'd somehow managed to completely trash the dining hall in a single hour.

" So..." Steve begins, cutting through the silence. " are you and Eddie...a thing? " He asks calmly, glancing over at me from the table he's wiping down.

I let out a small laugh. " Me and Eddie? No. No way. He's...not my type. " The constant smell of weed is headache inducing. Frankly, it's confusing how Hopper hasn't fired him for drugs. He doesn't sell to kids but that definitely doesn't mean he doesn't sell to other of age counselors.

Plus he's not really into relationships. He's more of a hit it and quit it type.

" What is your type? " Steve asks. I feel his gaze on me as I start scrubbing one of the tables with a wet rag.

" Not Eddie, that's for sure. " I scrub a little harder at a hardened drop of melted marshmallow. " I like guys who...I don't know, like the same things as me. Why do you ask? " I don't understand why he gives a shit about my love life.

Steve shrugs, his gaze finally moving away. " I saw you and him this morning and I thought maybe you were dating or something. It's stupid, it doesn't matter. "

" Still single. " I mumble.

A thick silence settles in the room. Once again, Steve is the one to break it.

" Are you mad at me? " His voice is soft, like he's worried or something.

I look over at the brunette. " No. " I reply honestly. " Why would you think that? "

We both pause where we are, instead occupying ourselves by looking at each other. We're both trying to read each other.

Steve shrugs, folding his arms over his chest. " You just seem...distant. I don't know, ever since you caught Nance and I at the lake we don't talk anymore. Did I do something? "

I shake my head. " You...you didn't do anything. "

" Then why are you avoiding me? "

If I tell him he'll probably get weirded out. I mean, how awkward is it to be around someone who has a massive crush on you when you don't reciprocate the feeling?

But it might help me get over him if he stops actively trying to talk to me.

I'm going to do it. I need to. Fuck, but what about Nancy?

Fuck Nancy. I need to get over this man. This handsome, kind man.

" I have a crush on you, okay? " I blurt out. " It's stupid, I know. You're with Nancy, I understand that. "

His eyes widen in surprise. " What? "

" I don't want to make things awkward. I'm trying to get over you, that's why I'm avoiding you. Fuck, can you please just stop asking questions now? You got your answer. "

I feel a blush creep onto my cheeks. I did it. I told him.

" I like you to. " Steve pushes himself away from the table he's leaned against. He walks towards me.

My eyes go wide. " What? "

He's joking. Right? He has to be joking.

No this has to be a dream, some weird fucking dream. In no universe would Steve Fucking Harrington like me back.

" I like you too. " Steve finally makes it to me. He stands a close, leaving only a few inches of space between us. His eyes stare into mine, a small smile resting on his lips. " I have liked you for the past couple of years. "

I shake my head, stepping back to put some distance between us. " You're with Nancy. You can't like me. That's fucked up. I don't want to be a homewrecker-I can't be. You-you and Nancy are good together. "

Steve shakes his head. " We're not together, Y/N. I broke up with her. For good this time. " He sighs, running a hand through his hair. " Just because we're good together doesn't mean we're meant to be together. "

I'm the reason they broke up. Robin was right. I'm the fucking worst. Who ruins a relationship? I mean, I didn't know I was ruining it, but Steve's crush on me ruined everything for them. Nancy probably hates me.

" Nancy has known about my crush for a while. " Steve admits nervously. " That's why we've broken up so much. I-no matter what I do I can't get you out of my fucking head. " He lets out a frustrated sigh. " Your smile, your eyes, fuck it's all I see at night. I sound insane, I know, but I don't know what to do. I can't just be in a relationship with someone else when all I think about is you. "

I continue to create space between us. " So I'm the reason you guys broke up? " Guilt begins to build up in my stomach.

" No! " Steve shakes his head. " You-you didn't do anything. There were plenty of other problems involved with our break up. This wasn't your fault. Honestly, this has been building up for years. Even if I didn't have a crush on you, Nancy and I probably would've split for good anyways. "

I still feel horrible. Like I contributed to their break up.

" Please, Y/N. You have to believe me. This wasn't your fault. "

I search Steve's eyes for any sign of lying. His expression is desperate, like he's scared I'm going to leave.

I stop.

Relief floods Steve's face.

" You really like me? " I ask quietly, scared he's going to laugh and make fun of me for believing him. He did have a mean streak in high school. I thought he grew out of it though.

" I swear on my life, I like you. " Steve's expression is sincere. " I like you so much sometimes I feel like my heart is going to explode. "

I smile at the man. I never would have imagined this would happen. " I like you too. "

Steve begins to walk towards me again. This time, I don't run away. Once he's a few inches from me, he gently takes my hand. " Will you go on date with me, Y/N. "

" I would love to, Steve. "

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brbgottagetkfc · 7 days

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•• will you still love me when I'm no longer young & beautiful ?•• (PT-1)

☆ pairing : Teacher!suguru x F!student!reader

☆ summary : you pursue your mentor throughout your highschool years to no avail, nearly convinced of the futility of your attempts, until one day he surprises you.

☆ t/w : depictions of immoral teacher-student relationships, age-gap, (reader is 20, while suguru is 5 years older), toxic behaviour, obsession, possesive attitude, jealousy, angst, suggestive language, reader has pick me syndrome (lmk if i need to add more)

☆ a/n : hihihi guys this is my first time publishing a fic I'm giddy hehehe, NOT PROOFREAD because i'm blind to my mistakes ^○^ . Please leave your thoughts, i would be absolutely melting if at least some of y'all enjoy it!

☆ wc : 2.1k

"If I hadn't been the one to train you, I would've questioned the sanity of those who let you take charge of a mission by yourself," Suguru muses, sighing as he removes his reading glasses, lithe fingers brushing away the bangs fluttering in front of his face. His narrowing gaze darts back and forth from the mission report you've just dropped onto his desk to you lounging on an empty desk and dangling your feet, showing no remorse or concern for the mess you've left behind.

"Seriously?" he prods, resting his chin upon intertwined fingers as he leans on the desk on his elbows. "Nothing to say for yourself?"

You, however, give him a lazy grin, finding his chagrin adorable.

"Tell me it wasn't absolutely epic..." you argue, brows raised and lips quirked to a side, "Besides, you don't stumble across an exorcism this intense if you insist on playing by the ru—OUCH....!!" You yelp as his fingers strike down between your brows in a HARD flick.

"You can't expect me to keep ignoring your shenanigans," he begins, the smooth baritone of his voice almost distracting from the patronizing undertones. Almost.

You scowl at him, still gingerly rubbing away at the spot between your brows, for the theatrics of course, debating whether to let your insolent mouth run until he's ripping his hair out in frustration trying to reason with you, OR, just be....... Reasonable.

"I asked Ijichi to put up a veil this time since you—" he emphasizes the following in air quotes "—keep forgetting to put up your own, and then you go and decide to shatter the veil yourself?? Did you know YOU'RE the leading cause of gas leak explosions in Tokyo in the past year? How do you seriously expect to get away with this every time!?"

"You know the veil messes with my technique." You respond, dry as toast, deliberately feigning disinterest to try and get a rise out of him.

"Skill issue," he quips back, barely concealing a wry grin. That cheeky fucker.

"Look at you trying to sound all 'down with the kids'—A for effort," you tease.

"I'm serious. I've got Yaga and the higher-ups breathing down my neck about the mess you make on a regular basis. You have to get your act together."

As if... You think to yourself, thoroughly enjoying putting him in this position. You like that look on his face, the one where he tries and fails to reason with you, jaw clenching a little with every exchange..

"You're just jealous of my legacy," you accuse between yawns, laying down sideways on the row of desks. "Besides, I receive nothing but praise and recommendation."

"Start doing your own paperwork and see how long it lasts," he retorts, his gaze narrowing as he takes note of your complete lack of decorum. He sighs but doesn't comment on it. He never does when it comes to you.

"They won't say anything. I'm indispensable," you state with a cocky grin, making him groan as you hop off your makeshift desk bed and settle on his desk this time.

"You're awfully cocky for a second-grade" he murmurs, reclining in his chair, lips tugging at the corner as he watches you shuffle and get comfortable on his desk. Again, he chooses not to comment. "Satoru's rubbing off on you."

"Gojo? He's just an extra on the set of the play I lead," you scoff, watching him visibly grimace at the soul-wrenching level of cringe you drop.

"Yeah, don't do metaphors again," he deadpans.

Well shit.... "I concur,"

Silence.

He gives you a knowing glance, and the both of you simultaneously burst into a chortling fit

"And, by the way, it's semi-grade one to you now," you reveal, wiping at the corner of your eye as your laughing fits subside.

"You got promoted?" he raises his brows. "That proves it, there's no god," he says, not bothering to conceal his self satisfied smirk as he openly picks on you- his delightfully humorous, witty, underestimated prodigy (says who? You of course!). He thinks he did something here, that's why he doesn't anticipate you picking up the pencil shavings from his desk and throwing them at his face.

"Hey—ack..ACHOO!" he lets out a violent sneeze as he inhales the rubbish you launch at him.

Giving him a smirk that firmly communicates - "you deserved it", you lean further back into the desk as he clutches a tissue to his face and sneezes a couple more times.

"Acting like a fucking monkey all the time," he mumbles, almost incoherently under his breath.

"Best training, thanks to you, circus master," you say, giving him the most annoyingly saccharine grin you can muster. Something purrs inside your chest, rearing it's head as you watch his expression span from exasperation to indignation before settling on exhausted acceptance.

He leans back against his chair, eyeing you from where he sits.

“You do realize, if I really wanted to put my foot down, I could, right?”

"Could you?" You raise a brow. "Besides, if I really wanted to make your life the seventh circle of hell, I could."

"Don't you already?"

"Not even close," you retort.

This was getting boring, and you were itching to indulge in your favorite pastime, which would be—pissing off your annoyingly perfect mentor. There was nothing more exhilarating than pushing him until he was too worked up to maintain the pretense of professionalism between the two of you.

You hadn't quite managed to throw him completely off the edge yet, but there were times...

Times you both knew how close he was to snapping, to dropping the act and just wrapping his fingers around your neck.... push you against a wall and make you eat your own words and beg for mercy. Those moments flashed by as soon as they came,

too soon, always too soon.

You sigh, frustrated as you watch him watch you lounging on his desk. His eyes betray nothing of what went on in his mind, but you know his indifference was feigned, a desperate attempt to let nothing else slip through. Which is precisely why you were determined to keep pushing his buttons until he cracked. It was a game, a dangerous dance between defiance and discipline.

As you lounge on his desk, you can't help but wonder what it would take to unravel him completely. Your relentless barrage of insolence? Or perhaps it is a subtle manipulation of his emotions?

"Are you even listening to me?" Suguru's voice cut through your thoughts, snapping you back to the present. He was staring at you with a mixture of irritation and amusement, clearly waiting for a response.

"Of course, sensei," you replied with a smirk, feigning innocence. "Every word, hanging on your every syllable-"

Which, obviously, was the furthest thing from the truth. Suguru had a habit of trying to fill in the silence with an absolutely torturous amount of lectures regarding duty. Discipline. Responsibility. Bleh.

You, however, possessed the beautiful ability to tune out filler words in favor of focusing on the way his fingers rubbed at his constantly throbbing temple, how his bangs never stayed in no matter how tight he tied his hair back, or how many times he tucked them behind his ears. His arms flexed under the snug stretch of his button-down, reminding you of the strength they possessed, from times he had pinned you down on the floors underneath him, arms twisting behind your back, his knees pressing into the back of your thighs to hold you in place, warm breath panting next to your ear, chastising you for letting your guard slip, pointing out the flaws in your form, all while those insolent bangs tickled the nape of your neck...

Yep ..... Kicking and clawing, blocking and restraining atop the training mats were about as far as you both had come to tangling limbs, undoubtedly your most treasured aspect of this..... dynamic between you and your mentor.

You constantly found yourself hoping one day the thin shackle of restraint binding the both of you would shatter, that he would snap, that his lips would find your skin, hands would roam, breaths mingling, and tongues clashing, But Suguru never gave in. He never crossed that line.

Although, he sure loved to linger on it.

It was eating away at you. The build up of emotions and urges, the aggravation of continually toeing the invisible line

you'd seen the frustration mirrored in his eyes, In the fleeting moments he'd failed to mask himself behind his indifference.

That's why you gave it your all, pouring yourself , desperate to tip the scales of his morality, needing him to fold.

You'd tried almost everything.

From calling him by his given name without prompting, to invading his personal space, interrupting him mid lesson, waltzing in and out of his office as you saw fit, taking his belongings as if staking claim....

and he let you

It frustrated you beyond comprehension, that he'd just...

Let you do however you pleased, blurring the boundaries between familiarity and impropriety, let you say whatever you wished, never drawing a line, Yet, he'd never allowed himself to make a move or reciprocate. Leaving you fuming and confused, fueling your desire further.

Armed with your refusal to let go, your increasingly stubborn denial, and an abundance of confidence in yourself, you continued your attempt at wearing him down as he tolerated with wry amusement, never giving you an inch of ground...

Which, is precisely why you felt your mind go numb and your chest constrict with wanton anticipation as Geto Suguru, your mentor and long-standing obsession, laid his head on your lap and sighed.....

"I swear you'll be the death of me"

♡••••••♡••••••••♡••••••••♡••••••••♡••••••♡

Suguru sighs, warm exhale caressing the skin of your knees just a few inches below where the hem of your skirt ended. Your skirt-

'I ought to give her some some credit' he thought to himself, smirking inwardly as he pondered your reasoning behind switching your uniform. In your 4 years of attending Jujutsu Tech, you'd always opted for an ensemble consisting of a zip jacket and a pair of flowy pants- not unlike his uniform from his own days as a student at the tech school- claiming better fluidity of movement.

He hadn't really cared one way or another. There was no room to think. Suguru was extremely careful about the way he let himself perceive you. Even without your constant badgering, your aggressively relentless attempts at flirting, following him around, intentionally pushing his buttons, and unprompted fits of possessiveness and jealousy- you were a temptation to him. It was a practice in restraint, being with you, around you, training, teaching, observing, correcting- while keeping his hands to himself, and his thoughts in check. It was near about impossible to keep up, and you with your stubborn determination and self-assured smirk didn't do anything to help that.

That's why Suguru never paid much attention to what you wore, lest it drift southwards, making his stand at resistance even more difficult than it already was. But that was before

Before you sauntered into his office wearing that goddamned skirt. Shiny, vinyl-like fabric buttoned at your waist, wrapping snugly around your hips and the top of your thighs, ending a good few inches above your knees.

'fuck me-' He thought to himself when you walked in, jacket unzipped, shirt untucked and unbuttoned slightly at the top, and that skirt stretching over your ass, begging to ride up as you made yourself comfortable- and Suguru realized he probably shouldn't be standing up anytime soon.

'Fuck me' he thought to himself as you slammed the hot mess of a mission report on his desk- letting him know you intended to explore any and every avenue in pursuit of making life hard for him.

Suguru wondered if you knew just how much he had to struggle, to keep himself from giving you a piece of his mind, a taste of your own medicine as you kept up your antics. the switch up was crazy- One moment you were a model student, keeping up with whatever crazy challenge he threw at you, exceeding any and all expectations- and the next moment you were a complete brat, refusing to comply with his instructions, intentionally causing chaos and spelling trouble for him. He wondered if you knew that the gap from him telling you to shut up, to him making you, was narrowing alarmingly.

'Fuck me-' he thought to himself as you decided to jump his desk and face him in, plush thighs just an arms length away as you continued your perpetual assault on him- making his blood rush in his ears, fingers twitching and jaw ticking from the effort of holding back....

'Fuck me-' he mumbled one last time, realizing he was too far gone to resist you anymore.

'You win baby, now fuck me'

♡•••••♡••••••♡••••••♡••••••♡••••••♡•••••♡

divider by @gigittamic

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canolaaoil · 1 year

Text

To all my best friends, only twelve leagues and one text message away

1. Dearly Departed, Brockhampton. // 2. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion. // 3. unsent project. // 4. I am in Eskew. // 5. His dark materials. // 6. Where did you go? Hishaam Siddiqui. // 7. parts in motion, Vera Much. // 8. Your Name Engraved, Herein. 9. Hmu, spacegirl GEMMY.

Description follows

[ID: song lyrics reading, "What's the point of havin' a best friend if you / end up losin' him?" end ID]

[[ID: a photograph in the style of an early digital camera of two teenage girls cuddling under blankets on a couch watching something on a computer. end ID]

[ID: a poem reading, "Life changes fast. / Life changes in the instant. / You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends. end ID]

[ID: a fuzzy photograph in the style of an early digital camera of three people huddled around a fridge. All of the people have brown hair, glowing golden from the lighting and only one of their faces is turned toward the camera. end ID]

[ID: a text entry on a pink background reading, "To: Harry I / i've written 43 / poems about you. / come back and i / won't have to write anymore. / -asle" end ID]

[ID: a photograph in the style of an early digital camera of a couple in a photobooth with only their feet and legs visible behind the curtain. one is sitting on the other's lap. ]

[ID: text reading, "The problem is, my love, is that I can't sustain the fact of your death. / I can convince myself that it's true, force myself to picture your rotting, ruined face dumped in a mass grave somewhere out in the world... / ...and then my phone buzzes and I'm still expecting an unexpected message from you, telling me what corner of the globe you've holed up in, the foods you're eating, the card-players you're outwitting." end ID]

[ID: a photograph of two people in an aquarium, shot from behind. they stand in front of a large window showing a tank of water and seaweed. the two pose as if dancing grandiosely with no one else around. end ID]

[ID: a paragraph reading, "And it was comforting to think she and Will had another thing in common. She wondered if there would ever come an hour in her life when she didn't think of him- didn't speak to him in her head, didn't relive every moment they'd been together, didn't long for his voice and his hands and his love. She had never dreamed of what it would feel like to love someone so much; of all the things that astonished her in her adventures, that was what astonished her the most. She thought the tenderness it left in her heart was like a bruise that would never go away, but she would cherish it forever." end ID]

[ID: a photograph from behind of a group of people walking together down a city street. two of the people have their arms around each other shoulders. another two link arms. the image is slightly blurry. end ID]

[ID: a couplet reading, "One day I woke up and we no longer spoke the / same language. I haven't heard from you since." end ID]

[ID: a photograph of two people, focused on one in the foreground. A young woman looks lovingly towards something out of frame, her face resting on the meat of her hand. In the background a man looks away towards another subject. The lighting is dreamy and yellow. end ID]

[ID: lyrics reading, "Show me it all / Tell me what's wrong / You got your hard drive stolen / Your phone's been broken / Play me a song off of mine / Show me it all / Show me a rise / Show me a fall / Pay me no mind / Paint me in gold / I don't mean to pry, but give me a call" end ID]

[ID: a gif from the movie 'Your Name Engraved Herein' of Birdy and A-han riding a motorbike through the streets at night. Both smile widely as they breeze along, Birdy sitting behind A-han with his shirt off over his head, yelling happily. End ID]

[ID: lyrics reading, "They say everything has reason / Life fluctuates like seasons / And maybe someday soon we'll both find our reason / But bitch you're still the bro / Never letting go / Of the friendship bracelets we made when we were twelve // I'll be waiting by my phone / For you to hit me up / For you to hit me up / Hit me hit me up" end ID]

[ID: a photograph of a plaque on an outside wall reading, "LIFE HAPPENS BUT I STILL CARE FOR YOU. I HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL." end ID]

#web weaving #parallels #comparatives #brockhampton #i am in eskew #vera much #his dark materials #the unsent project #back on my quest to make people cry in the brockhampton tag apparently #the caption is a reference to the epic of gilgamesh #when gilgamesh has to cross twelve leagues of darkness to get to the realm of heaven/the gods #but uh yeah madilyn i hate you (your dad) for moving away and im so happy you escaped and we didn't die but i fucking miss you and i hat #that you're taller than me its rude #that spacegirl gemmy song makes me crazy fr though #also listen to vera much. now <3

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wonfilms · 1 year

Text

+ warnings : tears , hurt and comfort, lino is very soft and very in love

senior leavers' day.

the day that minho dreaded and simultaneously yearned for, it was almost like a final reality check, this was really it. he was graduating, he would never have to sit through another double english class again.

"would you sign my shirt 'min?" you asked so sweetly that he felt as though his heart would beat right out of his chest. "i'll sign yours afterwards i promise "

he swallowed hard and nodded flashing you a soft smile in order to ease the butterflies that erupted in his tummy from the way you looked at him.

he took the pen from between your fingers, your fingertips brushing against his as you turned and exposed the empty space on your shirt for him to write something.

at that moment. . . his brain went simply blank, he had so much to say yet he could process so little of it all.

his throat ran dry and he blinked away the tears in his eyes, it was going to be different from now on without you here every morning walking him to school.

he wanted to tell you about the many sleepless nights hes spent thinking about you laying in his bed, he wanted to yell about how sweet your shampoo smells when you hug him close and he wished he could say every little sweet nothing that sprang to his mind when he thought of you.

"you okay minho?" you asked concernedly, a soft affection lacing your words. you've always been like this. you've always made it so hard for him to not like you.

"yeah, i'm fine just thinking" he smiled in a poor attempt to cover up the wobble in his voice.

"min are you crying?"

damn you and your ability to always know what he was feeling, perhaps that's what 5 years of friendship does.

"pfft n-no" his voice gave him away and after that he couldn't stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks.

"oh minho" you almost let out a choked sob of your own as you pulled him into your arms.

he could smell your shampoo again and though it was comforting this time it almost burnt his throat as he swallowed , the scent almost bitter now that he knows this is the last time he could hold you like this.

when you said you were moving away he couldn't quite believe it.

it had always been him and you, lee know and y/n , and the idea of that changing scared him more than he would wish to admit it.

"'m gonna miss you" his words came out half choked and he swore his voice sounded an octave deeper than usual from how cjoked up his emotions were. "'m gonna miss you so much minho" you whispered into the crook of his neck.

maybe the idea of signing shirts was superficial because the way your tears stained his collar that day was enough, the rest of you was always stored tucked safely into his memories.

because in the end? you were the best thing that had happened to him, and life had a funny way of showing him that.

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writingquestionsanswered · 6 months

Note

I have this problem that finally showed up after many years, I'm a few chapters away from completing my book. After almost 5 years writing this through happy times and sad times, I'm finally done! Yet, I can't move on. Instead of being happy to finally complete my passion project, I feel myself grieving the eventuality. I spent years building my world, story, characters etc... and now I don't want it to end, I don't want to complete it. Suffering from success if you will.

Do you have any tips on this fear of completion? My book is set up as a stand-alone, so making a sequel wouldn't work.

Have you ever had this "completion grief" and if so, how did you move on from it?

Thank you

Dealing with Creative Grief When Story is Done

It's normal to feel grief upon completion of a story, especially one that you've been working on a long time and/or has been emotionally demanding. Here are some things you can do to help work through this feeling:

1 - Be Proud of Your "Baby Bird" - Your baby bird has flown your now empty nest, but take a moment to recognize the beauty of this moment... this project you've worked so hard on is now complete and ready to fly away. You've done everything you can for it, so now it's time to let it spread its wings and live a life of its own. As much as it's sad, it's exciting, too. And it's a huge accomplishment!

2 - Find Closure with Celebration - Many creatives find celebration a helpful way to find closure when a project is finished. This can be something small, like ordering pizza or enjoying a glass of champagne, or it could be something bigger, like having a nice dinner out with friends, or even throwing a little party. Having any sort of event to mark the occasion can help it to feel more final, but in a way that is happy and comforting.

3 - Start a New Project - With one project finished and out in the world, you may find it helpful to start planning a new project, or at least start thinking about one. Throwing that leftover creative energy into something new helps with that sense of emptiness, distracts you from creative grief due to the finished project, and heals your heart with enthusiasm for a new world, new characters, and new plot.

4 - Schedule a Future Visit - Sometimes it helps to plan to revisit the completed project in some way at a future date. That could be reading it at some point, if you're able to read through finished projects and enjoy them. It could be creating a collection of mood boards for the story and characters and sharing them with your readers. It might be doing a reading of the first chapter on an Instagram live, or--hear me out on this--writing a companion story. Now, I don't mean writing a sequel or even a story that you'd share necessarily, but more something for yourself, kind of like fan-fiction of your own work, just as a way to get into your story and revisit the characters and world. And truth be told, if you plan to do this--say on the six-month anniversary of when your story was finished--it will give you a sense of the story living on that will help you get through your grief now, but by the time you get to that point, you probably won't need to do it anymore.

5 - Wait for It To Pass - Of course the hard thing about any kind of grief is there's not a whole lot you can do to make it go away. For the most part, you just have to acknowledge that it's there and give yourself the grace needed to get through it. Most of the time, it passes more quickly than you might expect, and you'll be onto something new in now time.

I hope that helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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eternalsams · 2 years

Text

TGM Masterlist

requests: open

fluff - ✽; angst - ❅; hot - ☆; fun - ♫

❝You’re so beautiful❞ Masterlist ✽❅☆♫

Dagger Squad

Skinny Dip ❅✽♫

Last year was quite traumatizing for the Daggers and they need something to remind them of the good old times.

Let It Snow ♫

Who could've known that renting a cabin in the mountains with the Squad would have been that fun?

Hi, Baby ✽❅♫

You get deployed along with your friends but a part of your heart stays on land.

Jake 'Hangman' Seresin

Bradley’s Girl ❅

You’re the perfect girl for Jake. You’re pretty, kind, funny, smart. You could have him on his knees for you if you’d ask. But you’re Bradley’s girl.

One Last Time ❅

Jake is soon to be deployed and he invited the whole squad for a last night out together.

Cold Feet ✽

On the early days in your relationship with Jake, you kind of forgot to tell him a little detail about you.

Paint It Black ✽

You didn’t want to get married, you didn’t need a ring to prove your love for your man. But when the circumstances want you to, you’re forced to tie the knot with Jake to stay with him. And you’re scared your soon-to-be-husband won’t agree with your only request.

Take It Easy ✽

This is your third date with Jake and nothing’s happened yet. Not that he didn’t want anything to happen, he craved for it. But a little fire birdie told him exactly how to correctly gain your heart.

Country Boy ♫☆

Jake goes back home to his family for a few weeks and has quite a hard time convincing some girl he’s a pure Texas boy.

Treat You Right ✽❅

You got along pretty well with Jake. He made you laugh, sometimes paid for your drinks, was the perfect gentleman with you. But everything was apparently too perfect to be true.

The Song of Achilles ✽

You meet a beautiful stranger at the library and give him some book recommendations.

Campus ✽♫

When you've been stressing over your exams, what could go wrong? The answer would be Jake.

Story of My Life ✽❅

Jake panics when you start pulling away from him and he feels like he's destined to end up alone.

500 Miles ✽❅

When you and Jake saw the two bars on the test, the decision you took was not an easy one. But Jake would walk to the other end of the globe if you asked him to. So what's a few hundred miles compared to that?

The Olive Theory ✽❅

In a world where you learn a detail about your soulmate on each of your birthdays, you think you found your pair years ago but you're completely caught off guard on your 24st birthday.

Money, Money, Money ❅

Jake was a fun guy to play with, until you got feelings for him.

Drivers License ✽❅

You promised Jake to take him to the airport when he'd leave for the Naval Academy, but first you had to get your drivers license.

Need You Now | part2 | alternative ending ❅

You fucked up really bad and shows up on Jake's doorstep in the middle of the night.

You and Jake get that long-awaited discussion. Hearts have been broken, tears have been shed but words might make everything better.

You fucked up really bad and shows up on Jake's doorstep in the middle of the night, except you're not only there to apologize.

Hold My Hand ✽❅☆

5 times you held Jake's hand and the one time you couldn't (+1 bonus).

Your Woman ✽♫☆

When Jake and you decide to shower together, you realize you also have to share the Playlist.

Cherry Pie ☆✽❅

You just moved in San Diego and you needed help with all the boxes and furniture. Naturally, you called Jake to give you a hand and that's it, right?

Till Death Do Us Apart ❅

Your wedding day was supposed to be the best day of your entire life, until it wasn't.

I'll Crawl Home to Her ❅ (series)

NO SPOILERS

Night Comfort ❅

When you come back home panicked, Jake is there to comfort you. Yet you still have to explain to him how scary being a woman is.

Dog Dad ♫

When Jake saw the sparkles in your eyes at the dog shelter, he knew what he had to do. Now he had to hear the incessant bad jokes from Rooster.

Save Your Tears ✽❅

You were supposed to be the best of the bests, not a crying baby, that until you learned how deadly your next mission would be.

How to lose Hangman in 10 days [AU] ✽❅

Jake bet he could make any girl fall in love with him. You bet you could make any man disgusted by a woman. Who's gonna win?

Wedding blurb ✽

"I'm in the mood for some Jake Hangman Seresin like marriage fluff"

Call me Daddy ✽

When your daughter mistaken Jake for her father, you're more than embarrassed. That until she tells you why she called him that.

Filthy Fingers ❅

How could Jake blame you for what you did? That jerk deserved it, didn't he?

One Night to Change ❅ ✽

You and Jake have an amazing first date but when you wake up to cold sheet, you don't know what to do anymore.

Ringless ❅ ✽

When Jake makes the mistake to forget his ring, he immediately regrets it.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw

City of Stars ✽

Bradley always hears you humming that same song but can’t put a name on it. It’s 24/7 on his mind and it’s starting to drive him crazy. But without forgetting his new best friend, Google.

WHAT ARE THOSEEE?? ♫

During a night out at the Hard Deck, Phoenix notices something very interesting about Rooster.

The Piano Lesson ✽

Rooster is so good with your kid, you might fall head over heels sooner than expected.

Knock Knock ✽♫

Where Mav and Ice moved in next to Carole's house.

Late Night Melody ✽

You don't like being woken up in the middle of the night, but if it's by Bradley, you don't complain a single second. Even more if he's playing guitar.

Behind the Cameras ✽❅

What would happen if a simple naval aviator dated one of the most notorious actress of Hollywood?

Mickey 'Fanboy' Garcia

Hips Don't Lie ☆

Mickey has the opportunity to introduce you to the squad at Maverick and Penny's wedding. Let's say you surprise everyone and brings out the most unexpected side of your boyfriend.

The Girl Who Smelled Like Popcorn ✽

Fanboy finds a new favorite reason to go to the cinema. You.

Southern Nights ♫✽

Your boyfriend is finally meeting your family but it doesn't go as he planned it.

Love Is All ✽

During your first night out after the Uranium mission, you all decide to play a game to know each other a bit better and some things are hard to believe.

Back to You ✽

When Mickey went back to his parents house for the holidays, he didn't expect to see a face that familiar.

Cheeks All Flushed ✽

It's Halloween and Hangman organizes a killer party with his friends. What happens when Mickey develops a massive crush on the makeup artist?

Psycho Killer ✽♫☆

When you saw that mask with those big black eyes and that drooping mouth, you first thought Hangman wanted to play a joke on you. How wrong were you!

Call Me ✽❅

When things get rough, you know exactly who you have to call.

Walk for me Baby ✽☆

You just spent a hundred dollars on nice lingerie, the least you could do was show Mickey what you got yourself.

Don't Forget About Me ✽❅

You're so in love with Mickey it hurts. But he just cannot reciprocate your feelings, can he?

Robert 'Bob' Floyd

Dancing Queen ✽

During the Bachelorette party of your friend, you couldn't help but notice the cute blue eyed guy staring at you from across the club.

Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace

Addicted to you ☆

Natasha always considered herself straight, that until she met you.

The Best Friend's Sister ✽

Who would've thought the notorious Phoenix could date a Bradshaw? But not the one everyone think.

Javy 'Coyote' Machado

Sweet Memories ✽❅

An umpteenth night next to your husband makes you realize what could've been your life.

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just-my-type-x · 2 years

Note

Colby asks to marry u Headcanon

Will You Marry Me?

Colby would make up his mind to marry you a year before him actually proposing

The 2 of u would be on a vacation for your 2 year anniversary somewhere exotic, like Hawaii or The Caribbeans

His decision to marry you came one night when you were walking along the beach and the 2 of you stopped to watch the sunset, when you saw a small turtle trying to get into the water

"Look, baby, a sea turtle. She's so tinyyy", you'd leave Colby's side, but he'd chuckle and would eagerly follow you to see it as well

"Oh my God, she really iiis. Look at that tiny littls head she has", and then he'd just look at you trying to play with the sea turtle, but miserably failing

Colby would find that the cutest and purest thing ever, seeing you pout when the sea turtle left yiu behind to get into the water

"She didn't want to be friends", you'd pout again and he would just melt right there because of how precious you are in that moment

"You're the one", he'd think

After the vacation, he would make sure he's looking for the best engagement ring he can find, he would even get a custom made one of necessary, but fortunately, he finds the most beautiful one for his future fiancée and, later, wife

Again, he'd plan everything with a year before he actually asks, just to make sure it's the right decision, but he knows it's the right one

After a year, he gets more and more eager to propose to you

So, when the 3rd anniversary vacation comes around, he asks you where do you see the 2 of you going on your honeymoon, so you both decide a place to go to

You arrive there and what you don't know is that Colby actually talked to the staff to create a honeymoon reservation, which included spa day, different couple activities, a room decorated with all sorts of romantic stuff, but of course Colby plays dumb and thinks they've mistaken the reason you're there

You'd let it sink in because you don't want to upset the staff that has worked so hard for you to be comfortable throughout your stay of 5 days

You'd go out every night to different restaurants, enjoy spa day, the jacuzzi and the most important part, being there with Colby, who you always felt he was your soulmate

On the 4th and final night, Colby wanted for the 2 of you to go out on a short hike after you've just eaten at the resort's restaurant. He said he ate too much and that he needs to move, you just chuckled but agreed to what he said

You started walking on a path between tall, dark trees, seeing in far in the distance some city lights

You walk for what feels like 5 minutes and Colby motions you to take a right on the path, where a trail of roses and candles mark the way to a square made of metal bars. The bars are decorated with beautiful lights, lightning up the set in the middle

Something like this

There was a blanket, some pillows, champagne, a cake, plates and utensils. You look at Colby, whose eyes were shining very bright, with a wide smile on his face. He extended an arm and showed you the way, to make you move forward. You walk shakily on the beautiful paved path and you see Colby taking his shoes off, so you do the same

Both of you stay in the middle of the blanket, kissing each other. You back away, looking around you

"Babe, this is way too much for an anniversary. You shouldn't have. I didn't do anything this big for you this year"

But as you turn around, you see Colby getting down on one knee, opening the ring box towards you.

You gasp when you see him standing on his knee, tears forming in your eyes

"Y/N", he starts with a shaky breath, "I never thought i will ever find my true love. I never thought i will ever be this happy in my life. But i met you and I've my best since I've met you. You've always been by my side, supported me. I always knew you were the one. Y/N, will you marry me? Please? ", one tear falls from the corner of his eye and you're fast to say yes and nod your head, getting down on your knees to kiss him hard, afraid he'll disappear

He takes the ring from the box and places it on your ring finger, kissing it before kissing you again

"I love you so much, Colby"

"I love you more, y/n. Wow this is it. You're going to be mine forever", he smiles and shakes his head in disbelief. You glue your foreheads together

"And you're going to be mine forever"

#colby brock #colby brock imagine #colby brock smut #colby brock headcanon #colby brock concept #colby brock x y/n #colby brock x reader

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somuchwhatever · 4 months

Text

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Got tagged by @somewhereapart, and I figured y'all may be sick of seeing me just post fic so here ya go.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

305,612

3. What fandoms do you write for?

AO3 tells me I've written for Battlestar Galactica, Buffy, General Hospital, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: OC, Lie To Me, Stargate: Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, and The West Wing. And I honestly can't think of any others outside of just ficlets I've tossed into the wild over the years.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Flinktober 2022 (EO, SVU/OC)

i remember skies (EO, SVU/OC)

gala (EO, SVU/OC)

bizarre love triangle (EO, SVU/OC)

Chautauqua (EO, SVU/OC)

I did not include one that was cowritten with a bunch of other people because I will always assume the kudos are for them.

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

As often as possible. If someone takes the time to comment, I want them to know that i care enough to acknowledge and thank them for that kindness and effort. Especially when I write mostly for a fandom where I've seen people specifically state that they will read works but NOT comment on them as some sort of punishment for whatever random/imaginary fandom sins the writer whose free content they are enjoying has committed. That's just dumb and unkind, so I make the effort to let people know their comments are appreciated, even if it takes weeks to circle back.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmmm. There are several chapters in the first flink posting that would qualify, but I'm going to go with my largest Sam/Jack (SG-1) fic, Gravity Sings. It's hard to pretend it's not angsty when you've literally killed off half the planet.

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

Hmm. Not really sure. I'm a sucker for fluffy endings, so I tend to write them quite a bit. Maybe waltz or Chautauqua?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Occasionally, but I shut it down quickly. If you come up in someone's space where someone is providing you free entertainment and be rude? Don't expect a pass from me about it. The scroll bar isn't difficult to use, and neither is the back button. I use it frequently on poorly-written works or things that may be well-written but just aren't my thing. What I don't do is sling entitlement issues around demanding things be written to my satisfaction (unless you employ my beta services, in which case, you asked for it!). :D

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I never really did prior to the first flink experiment, and I created that experiment purely to practice writing smut. Well, I take that back. @rgrdsalxndra would be the first to remind me I'd often cockblock Elliot and Olivia by having them dream-smutting without real-life release. But I started that project with the express purpose of getting better and more comfortable with writing smut, so I'm making that the hinge point.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Because SVU and OC are different shows, I write them regularly. But if you mean out-of-universe crossovers, I've only really written one, R.E.M. (SGA, BSG, Buffy). It was based on a prompt from an LJ friend, "Elizabeth Weir, Kara Thrace, and Buffy Summers walk into a bar..."

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware. There are much better people out there to steal from. Also, I always assume if something is similar to what I've written, it's because fandom truly does become a hivemind at some point. Nothing new under the sun and all.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware. If I had to guess, I'd say Gravity Sings would be the most likely candidate since SG-1 fandom is probably the most global and that fic has been around much longer than any other likely candidates.

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

Wrote Wet Dream with much better smut writers than myself in a group chat, and a bunch of us in SG-1 fandom way back in the day once built an SG-1 AU loosely based on The Big Bang Theory called The House That Jack Built, and I have several entries in that little universe.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

How does anyone pick this??? I love them all for different reasons. I will say EO has a grip on me nobody else ever has, but then they have that 25 year slow burn that is just absolutely and sickly delicious.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Glazed and Fired (SGA) was originally the first part of a 5 Things fic that got away from me, and I had always intended to go back and finish it but eventually just put it away for good. I fully intend to finish my others (Skies, I'm looking at you).

16. What are your writing strengths?

Grammar. Economy of language (this is also sometimes a weakness). Getting into the head of characters who are typically very closed off.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I feel my writing is way too mechanical. I'm also still not comfortable writing smut. I always walk around with a sense of imposter syndrome with my writing.

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

I'm literally one class shy of a degree in French, and I had to write many upper level term papers in that language, but let me assure you I have zero plans to ever write in another language. I sincerely applaud those of you who do.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stargate SG-1

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Geez. It probably changes regularly, and I'm hesitant to say because my faves are never anyone else's. all i ever wanted (a rather dark Elliot-centric fic) holds a very dear spot in my heart just because of how my muse just grabbed a keyboard and churned it out. This is not a popular opinion, and hardly anyone read it, but I still love it a lot. And just because it was the first fic I wrote that was widely recc'd, I have a soft spot for Things Not Dreamed (SG-1), a Sam & Jack & Daniel fic written from Daniel's POV.

tagging in a no-pressure way (and sorry for any double tags):

@morethanwords229, @whatbecomesofyou, @samwrites99, @rgrdsalxndra, @shut-upjohn, and anyone else who wants to do it!

#fanfic #ao3 #memes #writing #writer stuff #sg 1 #buffy the vampire slayer #lie to me #l&o svu #law and order oc #law and order svu #battlestar galactica #stargate atlantis #stargate sg1 #west wing

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swiss-mrs · 3 months

Text

Chapter Two: Rebel Tour

Life Eternal Series

eddie munson x rockstar!poc!reader

Chapter Warning: Unnamed OC/Reader's saphic and runaway backstory is delve into.

*Masterlist, Series Warnings, Additional Series/Reader Info, and Posting Schedule.*

Word Count: 3.5K

It’s been 2 months since the band’s stop in Indiana. You’ve called Eddie from every Hotel and Motel you’ve stopped in. Each call lasted no less than an hour. It never seemed like you ran out of things to say. Whether it was updates on your tour, or updates on his dreaded job search, you guys always had something to say to each other.

Your stop in Nashville was how you found out about his first guitar, an acoustic Wayne found at a garage sale for $15. Your stop in Atlanta was when you told him about your first performance, a middle school talent show. You were so nervous that you forgot the lyrics to the song you were performing. You can’t listen to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” the same anymore.

Your stop in Houston was when he shared his first crush, a cheerleader he met in middle school, and when you found out that it took him three tries to graduate. Dallas was where you shared that you dropped out in your freshman year. “I ended up getting my GED once the band had enough money to get comfortable.”

Denver is when you told him about your heart breaker phase as a teenager. “Well, that’s not hard to believe.” He would smile into the phone.

“Yeah, had all the curious chicks crawling to my door.” You’d tease back.

Phoenix was mainly spent talking about the vibe you were going for in the band’s next album. “I want to tell a story, you know? We’re two albums in, now, and I feel like it’s time to come out with something that embodies this current era of my life. I want to listen back on this album in 5 years and know exactly what I was thinking, what I was feeling, hell, what I was eating in these very moments.”

L.A. and Sacramento were spent bouncing off ideas for the next album, coming up with concepts, even sharing quick, off-the-dome lyrics.

Your current stop is Seattle. You were posted up in Washington for a few days. All the band’s family and friends were here, so a point was made to allow time to visit loved ones. Earlier this day, you were able to see Mr and Mrs. Hemming, Marley’s parents. They were always such a loving, open-minded couple. They were the ones who took you in all those years ago. They were big hippies back in the day, huge Hendrix fans, so they never judged you and always made you feel welcome, like you belonged. They were the closest thing you had to a family, a home.

It’s been a good three days since you last talked to Eddie. You've yet to make the call from your Washington hotel room. Most of your time here was spent in bittersweet sentiment. You got to see people who cared and supported you, old faces, but it also brought back lots of unwelcome memories. Right now, you were huddled up in your lonely hotel room. It was fancy, basically a luxury one bedroom apartment. The tour budget had extra money for a nicer room since you were the only one needing to be housed on this stop.

You were laid out on the bed, the TV playing some random sitcom on low volume as background noise. You had been laying like this for at least an hour, staring into the void that is the golden lined ceiling. You let out a big sigh, and prop yourself up on your elbows. You glare at the TV, before caving in and grabbing the corded phone on the nightstand just left of you. You have his number memorized by now.

“Hello?” a raspy voice says.

“Eddie?” you ask a little confused.

“Superstar,” he says a bit more enthusiastically but still a bit groggy, “what’s up? Everything okay? How’s Seattle?” He asks, you can hear some shuffling around in the background. This is the point when you look over to the clock on the bedside table to your right. Your eyes widen.

“Oh my god. I am so sorry. I didn’t realize what time it was.” It was midnight, 3AM his time. He chuckles.

“And here I am thinking you just wanted to hear my sexy morning voice.” He teases. For the first time ever, you are so glad you weren’t seeing each other in person. Your face burned. “What’s got you up so late? Were you out partying like an animal?” He asks sarcastically. You scoff.

“Yeah, partying like the world’s ending.” You reply, equally sarcastic. “I’m sorry,” you apologize earnestly, “I just wanted to talk with you, but I should’ve looked at the time before calling. I’ll let you go back to bed. Sorry.” You say, almost hanging up.

“Woah there. Hold on, now. I was just taking a little nap.” He lies, “I’m up. Let’s talk.” He says, more shuffling could be heard, probably him sitting up. “What’s on your mind, princess?” He ask, making your heart jump. You honestly don’t have much energy to tease him over the pet name. You sigh.

“Well, being back here, it's just,” you pause, “It’s bringing back a lot of memories, a lot of emotions I thought I left behind. In all honesty, I’m struggling here a little, Eds.” You admit, a bit shaky. There’s a short pause on his end.

“You want to tell me about it?” He asks gently. You pause, thinking.

“I don’t know. I don’t wanna bore you back to sleep.” You joke, deflecting.

“I’m listening.” He says without missing a beat, stern yet comforting. You sign and lay back down on your back, staring up at the ceiling again. For a few breaths, all that could be heard was staged laughter and shitty sitcom jokes from the TV.

“I’m not originally from Haven.” you start. “Growing up, I bounced around a lot. Home to home, state to state, until I eventually went out completely on my own and just kind of landed in Haven when I was 15… When I got there, I spent an entire year by myself. I found this small, abandoned neighborhood on the outskirts of town. It was overgrown and pretty hidden, perfect for a runaway. I lived in the one house that still had most of its furniture and the least pests issues.” You chuckle. “I was getting so used to being by myself until one day I ran into this kid, this little girl with curly hair down to her knees. She didn’t look older than 12 years old, but she had flashy, bedazzled makeup and the cutest little sundress on.” You reminisce on the memory with a smile. “She was riding her bike around her trailer park and stopped when she saw me passing by. Told me her name was Marley, like Bob Marley. Said that her parents told her to always help someone who was in need, and told me that I looked like I needed a friend.” You laugh, hearing her childish voice clear as day in your mind. “Who knew that in that moment, my life would change forever. She would go on to introduce me to her parents, two hippies straight out the 70s, and her neighbor, this dark haired nerdy kid with glasses.” You couldn’t see it, but Eddie was smiling at your recounting of some sweet memories. “Charlie was so short back then. We’re the same age, but he didn’t even look older than Marley at that time. The little dweeb didn’t really hit puberty till we were 17.” You pause, smiling at the past. “Adam joined in after that, being somewhat of Charlie’s mentor and protector during the dork’s freshman year. We met Stacy when she was babysitting one of the other kids in the park. Adam had a crush on her from the start, but he was too shy. She knew, but she was playing hard to get.” You roll your eyes. “Somehow Rick weaseled his way to befriending Charlie, and the rest is history.” You pause, loads of memories of how far you’ve all come flashing in your mind all at once. You shake your head. “These are the memories I never want to forget. We built a family, you know? It's crazy to think about it. They’ve all been so important to me for so long that I forget I had a life before them.” You close your eyes.

“That’s beautiful, hun.” He says, sighing into the receiver.

“Yeah.” you say with a short laugh.

“But that’s not why you called me.” He says softly, knowing you have more to get off your chest.

“Yeah…” you trail.

“I’m here.” He says, trying to comfort best he could over the phone. You take a deep breath.

“Yeah,” you start back up, “good memories are not what I’m struggling with.” You clench your jaw, furrowing your brows in frustration. “Everything was going great after I met the band. We even became a damn near town legend. The satanic teens living out in the ghost town in the woods.” you state dramatically and laugh. “Everything was great, best I ever thought my life would get, until it got better.” A sad smile creeps into your face. “We used to hold ‘concerts’, if you could call them that, out in the woods. We called them ‘seances’, really leaning into the whole antichrist thing we had going on. We did it for three years. Some times we’d perform, other times we just threw parties. One day, Summer of ‘97, we were throwing an ‘End of Summer’ party. I met this girl.” you pause. “She was gorgeous. She had curly, blonde hair, big brown eyes, and this big, bucked tooth smile that lit up the world.” You smile the entire way, thinking back fondly, “She was so short and skinny and innocent looking. You would’ve never guessed she had such a powerful singing voice. She was perfect.” You sigh. “She was a theater kid with a dad who worked for this music production agency based in Seattle. She was insanely smart, and you could tell just by looking at her that she was really going places. That’s what really made her stand out from the hundred other kids there. She wore this oversized, black leather jacket, light wash jeans, and a hot pink top." Your eyes dance around the ceiling as you remember the details of that night. “Me being me. I toyed with her my entire performance. I was desperate to get her to notice me, but I wanted to play it off like she was just another pretty face in the crowd. I was really driving that heartbreaker thing I was going with.” You laugh. “I don’t know how, but my little facade worked. Turns out she had a little sister around Marley’s age, Peyton. Man, that little girl was a riot. She matched Marley’s wild energy perfectly… Somehow the stars aligned for my ratty ass, and I got the girl, against all odds.” you chuckle dryly. Your eyes begin to sadden as you pause, running through the end of that story. “I just… couldn’t keep her…” You feel your eyes begin to burn and your nose tickle. You huff a humorless laugh from your nose, shaking your head, frowning.

“You alright, hun?” Eddie breaks your silence. You breathe in sharply, getting your bad thoughts and pushing them aside.

“Yeah, I just… hm…” you sigh, trying to gather yourself. “Mariana.” You pause again, a name once so familiar, now almost feeling foreign on your tongue. “That was her name… She was someone I thought was going to be my forever person, you know… But things change. People. People… change. I was young and naive. I should’ve known better than anyone that things too good to be true don’t last, at least not for me. I feel so incredibly lucky I’ve even made it this far with the amazing people I have.”

“It’s not luck.” He interjects. “It’s talent. You deserve it.” He brings back, “Remember, that’s what you said to me when we first met.” he pauses, “People… People like us? We don’t get by on luck. We get by because we work for what we deserve. Sometimes, when we get what we’ve been aiming for, it doesn’t feel deserved. It feels like luck, but not this time. You are the reason for your success. You’ve earned it, babe. Don’t sell yourself short for that.” He speaks earnestly. You laugh.

“Maybe one day I’ll believe that, Eds. Things haven’t always been this high. I haven’t always done this well. I’ve fallen, Eddie, hard and flat on my face, and I’ve nearly fucked up everything for everyone else. I don’t know if I can confidently say I’m completely out of the pit, now, but I’m definitely not where I was. I’m glad you didn’t have to see me at my worst.” You confess. There’s a silence between you two. It doesn’t last long, but it lasts long enough for you to get nervous and doubt whether you should've said what you said.

“That don’t change my mind about you, kid.” Eddie’s voice rings through, determined. “You… I… You and I have more in common…” He sighs, trying to find the word. “Look, I get you. I see you. I hear you, and I will never judge you.” He says truthfully. “I’m here for you, always and forever. I hope you understand that.” You smile sadly. “I will always be there. I’m here to support your right and wrongs.” He jokes, bringing a small laugh out of you. “And I promise to be here for you whenever you need, whether that's a shoulder to cry on or an alibi.” He smiles through the phone.

“Oh my god, I didn’t kill anyone.” You interrupt, laughing.

“I’m just sayin’” He laughs back, “I got a shovel and a van whenever you need, babe.” You share a good laugh.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” You continue as the laughter dies down, “Thank you, Eddie… really.” You pour out, hoping your sincerity and gratitude come through the phone clearly. He lets ou a soft chuckle.

“I gotchu.” He yawns out, causing you to yawn as well. He chuckles, “I think you should get some rest, superstar.” He says gently. You turn to look at the clock again, its passed 1AM. You sigh.

“Probably.” you yawn again. “I love talking with you, Eddie.” He smiles on the other end of the call.

“Me too. I was starting to get a little nervous there. Haven’t heard from you in a couple days.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. As soon as we got here, we performed, then after that, I went around with the band and saw old friends. Today was the first day I had to myself and it was really getting me down. Sorry, again, to call and wake you with blues.” You pout, he chuckles tiredly.

“No problem. I’m glad you called. Will you be there for much longer?”

“Well, this is our last stop on the tour. Final show is tomorrow… or tonight.” you correct. Eddie scoffs.

“You really need to rest then-”

“Yeah, I know. I know.” You cut in. “Hey, are you gonna be busy in three weeks?” There’s a pause.

“Uh… I don’t think so…?”

“Good, come out to New York to visit me. We can do some proper song writing, finally.”

“Oh, um, I don’t know about that, sweetheart.” He says. Your brows furrow. “I mean, I’m still job hunting and, you know, I gotta help Wayne out as best as I can, and I don’t know if I can make that trip happen.” He stumbles awkwardly.

“Nonsense. Just keep your schedule free, I gotchu.” You say, mimicking his words from earlier. You can’t see it, but his sleepy brain is struggling to pick up what you're putting down. “Get back to sleep, rockstar. I’ll talk to you later, alright?” Right on queue, he yawns. “Stop that!” you yawn back. He laughs.

“Alright, alright. Talk later.” He says with a smile.

“Bye, Eddie.”

“Bye, Superstar.”

》》》

Three days pass after your last conversation with Eddie. You had given Eddie a call the morning after your final show before you left your hotel. “Tour’s finally over! I’m flying back out to New York this afternoon.” You would tell him. You would talk for the entire morning until you received a knock on your door to let you know that the car was there to take you to the airport. You promised to call him when you got settled back home.

“You got mail, Ed!” Wayne called out to him from the living room. Eddie hops up from his desk and out of the stiff chair.

“Coming!” He swings open his door and walks down the hall to find Wayne in the kitchen sorting through envelopes.

“From someone named ‘Superstar’?” He says as Eddie grabs the envelope off the counter.

“Thanks, old man.” Eddie grins widely and walks to the living room, plopping down on the squeaky couch. He rips the envelope open with his dull pocket knife, flipping the envelope over and pulling out its contents. He stills in shock.

“Everything alright?” Wayne pipes up, realizing Eddie freezes. He holds up two plane tickets with his name on them and a thick paper check addressed to ‘Wayne Munson’. Wayne’s brows crease, enhancing the wrinkles on his forehead. “What’s that?”

“I gotta make a call.” Eddie says abruptly. He hops up off the couch and runs to his bedroom, half closing the door just as he picks up the phone, he pauses. “Shit!” He says as he realizes you’ve never called him from your house before. He doesn’t have your number. “Shit!”

“What?!” Wayne yells from the kitchen.

“Nothing-” he’s cut off by a ring. Eddie puts the headset down and picks it back up. “Hello?”

“Hey, Rockstar.” Your voice comes through the line. He yells your name. “What? You get your mail, finally?” He yells your name again, causing you to laugh.

“You couldn’t possibly be serious right now!” He yells into the headset, looking down at the mail in his hands.

“Don’t be mad, but I couldn’t just stand by as you and your uncle struggle. Plus, you promised to help me write this album. No take backsies.” Eddie is speechless, yet again. He says your name a bit softer this time.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Don’t say anything, just don’t miss your flight, pretty boy.” You say, smile evident in your worlds. He chuckles in disbelief, shaking his head.

“It’s already paid for. There’s no going back.” he said.

“Exactly.” You respond.

“Thank you, truly. I can’t thank you enough.”

“No need. I’m here for you just as you are here for me. I’m just grateful to be in a position where I can finally give back to those who give to me.” You say truthfully with a smile. Your smile is contagious through the phone, Eddie’s face breaks out in a huge smile. Wayne leans back curiously to get a glimpse at Eddie down the hall and through his cracked door. He gives Eddie a confused look. Eddie gave him an ‘okay’ sign with a big smile. Wayne nods, leaning back up and busying himself in the kitchen.

“You know, you’re too good to me, princess.” He chuckles. You giggle, blushing on the other end of the line. Eddie can almost see it.

“See you soon, pretty boy.” Eddie’s bright smile grows impossibly wider, hurting his cheeks.

“See you soon.” You both hang up at the same time. As soon as the phone is down, he jumps up and down like a madman, nearly hitting his head on the low ceilings in his room. He runs out of his room, startling his uncle at the burst of energy. Eddie hugs the older man in a big bear hug, grabbing his balding head and plants a kiss on the top of it. Wayne, completely bewildered, looks at Eddie like he’s grown two heads.

“Boy, what is going on?” He asks suspiciously. Eddie holds up the tickets and check for Wayne to get a good look at them. Wayne furrows his brows as he reads what's on the pieces of paper.

“I can’t accept this, Ed.”

“Listen, the angel who sent this to us is more stubborn than me, so you’ll have an easier time just taking the check and using it to pay those.” he points to the growing stack of overdue bills. Wayne looks back at the envelopes adorned with red writing. He sighs, giving in. Eddie hands him the check.

“If she’s as stubborn as you say, good luck.” He takes the check from Eddie’s hand and grabs his coat and keys, “I’ll be back.” He says before heading out. Eddie watches him leave through the screen door. As soon as he’s driven away, Eddie starts jumping up and down again, letting out a gleeful cheer.

“Thank you.” He says, giving a kiss to the plane tickets.

tag list:

@starmilks

@ali-r3n

@madelynraemunson

#eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x black!reader #eddie munson x oc #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x rockstar reader #eddie munson x rockstar oc #rockstar eddie munson #joseph quinn #swiss fics #life eternal swiss fic #eddie munson swiss fics

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science-lings · 1 year

Note

Top 5 favorite LU fics you've read

Top 5 favorite fics that you've written too!

OOOOOOOH

first of all, I haven't been reading a whole lot of fic lately and I am absolutely terrible at keeping track of what I read and how much I like it so take that into account, also it's hard for me to decide which one I like the most just in general so it's less of a top five and more of a rec list lmao. anyway, without further ado...

Man, I Feel Like A by Ontoxay (xaymak): Wild has gender stuff, there is more than one of this theme and I only just realized it. He's genderfluid and starts out presenting femininely so the rest of the chain assumes that he's a woman and he kinda goes with it until it becomes a bit of a problem.

Different by Janazza, WhyDidIWriteThisTrainwreck: Another one with Wild vs Gender, where she's kind of a woman who dressed as a man since a very young age to keep with the standard of being the hero and singlehandedly inspired me to write my own Fem!Wild au, marketed as a Mulan AU.

Sapphire Circlets; (solution) by Aquaticflames: last Wild vs Gender one I promise, this time featuring Gerudo Town and Time being a bit of an enby king.

Not Half Pawd by Song Mina: Legend and Twilight get stuck in their animal forms and Wild is there too, they go on a road trip to fix that. Legend gets the pats he deserves.

Level One by LightBlueScrubs: this one is a more recent addition that I really enjoyed, most of the chain is part of an emergency trauma center which is all fine and good until someone familiar gets sent in to be treated. (it's Wild) I really liked how informative this one was, you can tell that the author actually works in the medical industry and knows how things work. This one made me enjoy learning things and that's always nice. It's like found family but they're all co-workers and exhausted. It balances POVs extremely well and bounces from past to present a lot to show Wild's relationship to each of them and why it's so devastating when he gets injured and it shows each of their reactions to finding out and UGH it's so good. Modern AUs can kinda be hit or miss, I like a lot of Zelda stuff for the magic and fantastical elements but this one is so good at making the characters interesting without having to include destiny and all that.

Now to my own fics...

Of Dubious Sophistication: My own Wild meets the chain fic, which is ongoing, slowly... but it focuses on different parts of his past and personality that he is trying to hide and how the chain slowly learns about him outside of their first impression of him. There's also more going on behind the surface but that's not a surprise. Most chapters are focused on Wild and another one of the chain, giving them each time to shine and a moment to realize that Wild is not what they thought he was.

Another Second Chance: Wild goes back in time to the AoC timeline to help prevent Ganons return, but no one recognizes him and he decides that it might just be best if they never find out. (this one is old but it's getting a revival... believe me :)) There's a lot of focus on Wild and his family and also his connection to the champion's spirits and how he's a little more magical than he lets on.

Who Could Ever Leave (But Who Could Stay): Warning, this one is sad and I had a great time writing it. I love the fact that Wild is so far in the future for the others and that there's so much time between them and he's the last one. I love thinking about endings and death and mourning and having to confront his place in time. I love making him (and you) cry. I like to think it's in a cathartic way though, I feel like people kill the Links for shock value all the time but that's not the part that hurts the most in my opinion. But also I wanted there to be hope, because canonically, there's a bit of an afterlife, and even after ten thousand years, the heroes were remembered.

Heavy in Your Arms: Basic bitch Twi and Wild bonding fic featuring Wild's memories. Hurt/ comfort, a bit of self-projection in the way that I want what Twilight says to Wild to be said to me and that's the crux of this fic. Everyone (specifically me) needs a Twilight.

I've Seen Hell (But This is a Bit More My Style): the first fic in my previously mentioned fem!Wild AU! Focuses on her life pre-calamity and how she was treated due to her obvious distinction from fate. There's also a fic where she's with the chain and one where she gets to be gay with Zelda, I am writing more for her though, she's just so much fun.

#top five ask game #top 5 ask game #ask andromeda #linked universe #lu fic #fic recs #fic self rec #lu wild #im sorry he's my guy #i like him a normal amount

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leftnotright · 7 months

Text

A TEXTBOOK EDUCATION

"This will be a skill-building experience. You've had it too easy. You've had your Family name to back you, and your Right Hand at your every call. It's time you learn to carry yourself, to build from the ground up." Dino Cavallone, the Cavallone Don, fresh out of high school.

Reborn, the deadliest hitman of the modern era, has a special kind of torture up his sleeve for his dear struggling student. Dino will have to see how well he handles alienation, isolation, and worst of all, class participation. “Now, go on, my useless student Dino. Let’s continue your education.” (Or: Reborn sends Dino to Australia. It goes better than he could have ever hoped.)

Parings: N/A Characters: Dino (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Vic Hunt (OC - Original Character), Reborn (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Romario (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!)Cavallone Famiglia, Enzo (Katekyou Hitman Reborn!), Original Characters Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, University, Pre-Canon, Financial Issues, Fluff And Angst

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

CHAPTER 4: AND THEY COME UNSTUCK

The TV - ‘’tele’ as they called it - was playing the morning news on channel 7. Dino had been listening to it since he had rolled out of bed, too sweaty and stressed to get any decent sleep. Fittingly, the news show was called ‘Sunrise’ and Dino had been watching since then, listening to the news and how they spoke about everything.

There is a fire - ‘bushfire’ - in Penrith, firefighters were trying to keep it under control. Up in New Castle, there was a surfing event. Parliament was discussing the pensioner retirement age. Fundraisers were being held at multiple Bunnings for the NSW Regional Firefighting Service after a particularly bad fire season.

“I think I might pop down for a sausage sizzle,” the blond woman chimed in after the segment, “Been a while since I’ve had one’a those.”

“One’a those,” Dino echoed absently as he moved his pen along a line of text.

Calendar reminder: EDST1001 LECTURE 11:30AM

Dino paused his ledgers and looked at his phone as it beeped on the table. He had spent the whole morning pouring over the few documents he had left from the Cavallone offices, trying to quell that anxiety that bubbled in his stomach and made sleep hard. He only had a few documents left, most of them were copies of the original documents back at the Cavallone. Receipts, mostly, and barters for the last bits of furniture and assets the Cavallone could afford to sell off.

Everything, spare what was bolted down or irreplaceable, had been sold already. It had left the halls of his home barren. Gone were the antique paintings, gilded statues and handwoven carpets. And gone was much of the Cavallone’s prestige with it.

A Family selling off their history.

He sighed and rubbed his nape, free of sweat for the first time since he had landed in this ‘sunburnt land’. That air conditioning truly was his saviour.

Calendar reminder: Meet Vic U-Bar Courtyard 3PM

Dino blinked. Then he gave a sharp heave of panic as he remembered that, yes, he had indeed promised to meet up with Vic today.

Okay. Okay, okay, okay, he was just meeting a friend it was going to be okay he didn’t need to panic like this it was just his only peer friend in years and he wasn’t going to screw this up he promised-

Enzo snapped at Dino’s toe and make him jump out of his minor mental breakdown.

“Ow!” Dino yelped and yanked his foot away from the turtle. “I’ll go to the grocer’s today, so stop!”

Enzo wheezed at him accusingly before slowly turning and began the long plod to his newly found sunbathing patch.

Dino frowned at Enzo’s back while cradling his toe until his phone buzzed again, warning him he only had an hour until his lecture. He grappled with his drawers and pulled on his most civilian of clothes, feeling blessedly comfortable in a white shirt and cargo shorts.

One thing Dino loved about university was the lack of uniforms. He didn’t think he’d survive this heat with the blazer, vest and tie he wore in high school. He had barely survived yesterday in that suit-

Dino clapped his hands loudly as if to scare off that memory and the incredulous looks of his classmates. He hadn’t had time to change for his Econ class either, but without a tutorial, he had managed to hide in the back rows of his lecture’s amphitheatre without drawing too much attention.

But he had learnt his lesson: No mafia suits in civilian classes.

Dino rubbed his stomach absently as he made his way back to the living room. He hadn’t been eating well since coming to Australia. Hell, the largest meal he had so far was that KFC with Vic and, as she said, it had enough salt to season the sea. He really needed to go to a grocer.

He hated to admit it, but he was procrastinating going to that ‘Woolies’ Vic had mentioned before. He didn’t feel confident in his English enough to go alone, and Dino had - well, he had never bought something in person before. Everything was done by middlemen, through order or pre-emptively in bulk. He’d never bought a carrot before! Could you buy a single carrot? Or did they only come in 20-kilogram packages? Dino didn’t know what he’d do with 20 kilograms of carrots!

Dino filled up a cup with water and took a long drink to calm his nerves before he thought himself into yet another panic attack on this fine, totally normal morning. He took his pills and proceeded to drink another glass of water to fill his stomach until lunch.

Dino checked the clock on the wall and quickly shoved the last of his schoolwork into his briefcase. He needed a more civilian bag damn it, he stood out too much with this thing since it was from his high school days.

White tee-shirt, cargo shorts, joggers and a briefcase. What a sight Dino must be.

Before Dino walked out the door, his anxiety beckoned him to apply another layer of antiperspirant deodorant. Sweating so much yesterday had kind of traumatised him. He needed to figure out how to clean his suit.

Enzo wheezed when Dino picked him up off the floor but slid into the cargo short’s thigh pocket without fuss. For good measure, Dino tossed a few of his pellets in too before pressing the velcro shut.

The trees of Wally’s Walk did little to block the swelter of midday Summer, and Dino pulled at his collar to air out his shirt. He checked his phone again to find his classroom, Building 27, the Lotus Theatre.

“Fancy,” Dino muttered to himself and moved towards the cul-de-sac end of the Walk.

There was a crowd of students loitering outside building 27, and Dino was quick to join them, standing off to the side to allow the traffic to flow between. He let his eyes scan the crowd, feeling much more at ease with how he blended in. No one was staring this time. Excellent.

Dino pulled his briefcase closer and pulled out his phone, content to just scroll on the news apps for the next fifteen minutes or so. He was halfway through an article about something called the Powerhouse Museum of Science being moved to a Parramatta location when he felt eyes on him.

Carefully, Dino flicked his eyes to the side, using his peripherals to see who was watching him so intently. If they were a hitman, they were doing one hell of a bad job. What kind of assassin allowed their presence to be so obvious- Oh .

He lifted his head and waved, smiling with a sheepish relief. Vic stood at the edge of the crowd, and came over when she was acknowledged.

Reborn must really have done a number on him.

“Oh hello,” Vic hummed as she came to a stop next to him, and Dino didn’t miss the quick once-over she gave him with her eyes. “I see we’re going casual this time.”

“Please don’t talk about yesterday,” Dino withered and Vic let out a laugh.

“Kay, got it,” she assured and shifted her weight again. “So we’ve got the same class again today, huh? EDST101?”

“Yeah, I’m happy we are together again,” Dino smiled, putting his phone away to pay full attention to Vic. “What time is your tutorial? Are we together as well?”

“I’m in the 2 o’clock group.”

“Ah, we are not. I am the 1 o’clock group.”

“Fuck,” Vic sighed forlornly and crossed her arms.

Dino tilted his head when he noticed she was wearing another faded band tee, adorning the same logo and name as the last one with a different design. Maybe it was her favourite band? It was a talking point!

“What, uh, song, is that?” Dino asked, pointing to Vic’s shirt.

“Song? Oh,” Vic looked down at her shirt and opened her arms to show the logo splashed across her chest, Smoking Cucumbers. “It’s my cousin’s heavy metal anarchist band. Don’t really know how the anarchist plays into it, but he insists it does. Gives me a shirt for New Years nearly every year.”

“That’s nice of him,” Dino uttered, “Are they good?”

Vic made a noise and rocked her head from side to side, looking off into the distance as she visibly thought about it.

“Varying quality,” she decided to say.

“I see,” Dino chuckled, then he shifted his weight and reached for the next topic. “Do you have a large family?”

Family, that was a familiar topic. Dino could talk about Family easy!

“Nah, not really, I’ve only got a brother. But the cousins add up, you know?” She shrugged, “I’ve got like, uh, six cousins from my dad’s side. The youngest is nearly seven months old, I’m going to meet him during semester break.”

Dino smiled as Vic fished around to show a picture from her phone. A child, cute as a button, was cradled in the centre of a mass of pillows, arms and legs askew like it had fallen asleep mid-crawl attempt.

“Ant’s so adorable. He looks like a fucking blobfish,” she cooed and Dino couldn’t help the snort of startled laughter. “What about you? What’s your family like?”

“My Family is large. The house is always busy,” Dino started, recalling all the faces he was so used to waking up to every morning. Oh, he missed those faces. “I have no siblings, but many uncles and brothers.”

Vic blinked at that and Dino smiled sheepishly, wondering if he had misspoken somewhere. She didn’t interrupt, however, so Dino continued. Talking about his Family was cathartic, and made the overbearing sun, innumerable people and unfamiliar terrain, all seem less horrible for a moment.

“Romario looks after me well. I am sure he is the reason I survived so long.” Not that Reborn didn’t try to stop that, with all those bombs and bullets. “My father introduced him to me when I was young, we have been together since.”

He remembered that day, so many years ago. He had clutched the ends of his coat and fought to stand still, surrounded by five of his father’s Guardians as they stood at attendance for the Don’s return. His father arrived with a teen trailing behind him, scuffed up and covered in grass seeds and dust like he had crawled out from the barley fields that surrounded the Cavallone estate.

“Brutus means well, but he is, uh, a bad influence,” Dino chuckled, recalling how Brutus had ridden a mattress down the spiral staircase and broke through the railing. “He has been with us for a few years now. Growing tall. Too tall.”

That last comment was said with its fair share of bitterness. Brutus liked to use Dino as an armrest in casual settings these days. No respect!

Vic smiled as he grumbled at the memory, another one of her snorted laughs bursting forward.

“Are you the youngest, or..?”

Dino frowned more, “Brutus is the youngest. Everyone is upset.”

Vic wheezed a laugh and pocketed her phone before rocking back on her heels and asked, “Anyone else of note?”

“Too many,” Dino hummed softly, “I hope to see them soon.” Then he winced and let out a weak laugh, “Ah, but I am sure they will make me pay back all my missed turns in stable work.”

Vic blinked and then squinted a bit, like she was trying to piece together what he had said. Dino watched her for a moment before it dawned on him: Vic didn’t know about the Cavallone Family’s main stock.

“My family breed horses. I will be missing my turns to help in the horse stables. We rotate.”

Vic’s face twitched, then she snorted out, “So, you’re like an equestrian?”

“Uh, I was part of my high school’s equestrian club, yes?”

The girl sighed through her nose and reached up to massage her forehead as she muttered out, “My God, he’s a horse girl too.”

“Horse girl?” Dino echoed.

“Have you ever watched something called The Saddle Club?”

Dino shook his head and Vic made a dismissing wave of her hand, before turning her head as the crowd began to move, a slow and steady flow of students pouring into the amphitheatre.

“Time to move,” she uttered and the two of them wriggled their way through the mass of sweaty students.

Dino winced as a girl's tote bag poked into his arm, and then nearly fumbled his walk as the first step of an incline surprised him. He wheezed and gave a sheepish smile as someone in the crowd gave him a withering glance.

Vic chose somewhere to sit and Dino trailed after her, eager to get out of the river of slow-moving bodies that shuffled along unsurely. They pulled their chair seats down and spent a good few seconds fighting with their flip-up desks before settling down.

“Wow, yours is a bit fucked,” Vic commented as she looked to the hazardous angle Dino’s laptop was teetering on, no doubt only held there by the non-slip pads.

“It’s…a bit weak. But it will hold,” Dino agreed feebly, trying to realign his desk.

“Nah, nah, mate, not with your luck. Move before that thing snaps.”

Dino fiddled with his desk for a moment longer before making the short shuffle to Vic’s other side. It felt disconcerting, to be stuck in the aisle now. Vic was blocking an easy exit, whether she intended to or not. Dino could feel that anxiety all the way in the bottom of his feet.

Someone behind Dino coughed loudly, before they gathered their stuff and moved a few seats away, still clearing their throat. Dino noticed Vic watch them out of the corner of her eye, a vague grimace on her face.

“But hey,” she uttered suddenly before Dino could ask what the issue was, turning back to idly click around on her laptop to get an empty Word document up for notes. “This way, you’re less likely to get called on for audience participation!”

Dino blinked, then he gave a relieved smile and rested back into his seat.

“Yeah, that’s…That’s a good point.”

“Yeah, but fuck we’ve still gotta talk during the tutorials. We’ve gotta talk at least once per session to get that twenty percent.”

Dino dropped his head back with a groan.

Before either of them could say much more, however, the large screens at the front of the amphitheatre lit up with the introduction slide of a powerpoint and a woman took centre stage. The lecture rolled on with the same amount of ease as the others, just another orientation lesson to get the students used to their first week in university and what would be expected of them in the coming weeks. Dino was starting to get more confident with his English comprehension, since a lot of the classes were repeating similar content and using the same phrases.

They were maybe half an hour in, Dino centring all his focus on breaking down the word ‘pedagogy’ when he heard, in the softest and most bamboozled voice possible: “Dino, is that a fucking turtle in your pocket?”

Dino’s head snapped around and then looked down to see Enzo’s little head peering out from under the flap of his pant pocket, beady eyes peering back at Vic. Dino wheezed and shoved the flap down, trying to cover up Enzo from prying eyes.

“Uuh,” Dino uh-ed.

“Dino, why is there a turtle in your pocket?” Vic asked again.

Dino fumbled for an answer, before he just shrugged and said, “Well, I, I couldn’t leave him at home alone.”

“But to a lecture?”

“Hey, could you two stop? It’s really distracting.” A young man sitting ahead of them grumbled and Vic quickly tossed out an apology.

Enzo let out a wheeze and wriggled his way to freedom again, head poking out into the fresh air of the air-conditioned amphitheatre. Dino rushed to hide Enzo again, but Vic quickly bent at the waist and cooed in delight.

“No wait, lemme see the baby,” she whispered and pushed the flap away to get a good look at the small tortoise that squinted back at her. “Oh, hello little man!”

Dino watched as Vic reached out and gently pet Enzo’s head with her pointer, grinning like some kind of loon as she did. He thinned his lips in a moment of thought, before Dino reached into his other pocket and produced a small handful of pellets.

“Do you,” he began slowly, unsure but hopeful. “Do you want to feed Enzo, Vic?”

Vic looked up at Dino and utterly beamed.

Dino kept that in mind: Vic likes feeding Enzo. Good, good, he had a way to socialise now. Enzo truly was the best wingman.

Dino smiled down at Enzo who was quietly crunching on his pellets. The little turtle squinted up at him.

☁ ☁ ☁

Vic Hunt Class done

Vic Hunt Do you still have Enzo?

Dino Cav Yes

Vic Hunt On my way!!

Dino snorted into his hand and sent a quick laughing emoticon in response. He had already chosen a table for them to sit at for their meeting, a shaded table outside one of the courtyard’s student cafes, off to the side and more isolated than the others. It was most likely for studying, Dino liked the privacy.

Enzo sat snugly in his pocket happily fed after all those snacks from Vic during their lecture. Dino smiled to himself and patted his pocket, feeling that hard shell. The most secure weight.

“Show me the baby,” Vic demanded as she rounded the corner and dropped herself in the chair across from Dino.

Not even a hello? Dino couldn’t blame her though, no one could resist Enzo. Spoilt rotten that little turtle was.

Dino huffed and glanced around, before sliding Enzo out of his pocket and onto the table between them. He stretched his arm out on the exposed side of the table, covering Enzo up just in case.

Immediately, Vic dropped down to Enzo’s height and started cooing, murmuring unintelligible little noises at the turtle. She grinned and giggled as she watched Enzo plod about the table, quietly exploring the area with his usual squint of suspicion.

“Look at his little feets!” Vic nearly gasped and Dino couldn’t help the snort of laughter. “Oh shut it, Dino. All that talk of horses, why didn’t you mention the turtle in your pocket! ”

“I don’t know… Enzo didn’t come to mind?” Dino offered unsurely. He hadn’t meant to not mention Enzo, it was just that Enzo was such a constant for Dino that he honestly didn’t realise that someone wouldn’t know about Enzo at this point.

“How did you even get the allowance to bring him?”

…Allowance? Dino blinked. He didn’t know anything about an allowance.

The silence stretched on until finally, Vic looked up, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Dino, did you smuggle your turtle into the village?” She asked.

Dino thinned his lips before he slowly murmured, “No one told me I couldn’t .” Vic grinned then, something vicious and joyful with so many teeth. “That is to say,” Dino continued, trying to explain himself for breaching university rules. “I need Enzo. I go nowhere without him. I need him.”

Vic let out a soft hum of acknowledgement, before giving a shrug and leant back in her chair.

“Hey, no skin off my back. It’s not like lil’ Enzo here’s gonna damage the room for the next student. Not like some dog or cat.”

Dino relaxed a bit when she said that, a tension in his shoulders seeping out. Dino admitted it, he hadn’t met many civilians in his time. Most of his social circle consisted of Mafia and their middlemen, the people he knew were utterly steeped in the criminal underworld.

Maybe it was his naivete getting the better of him, an opinion from childhood he had never had the chance to rectify -- Dino thought of civilians as a rather pure existence. Morally right, law-abiding citizens of the world to counterbalance the presence of the Mafia.

Dino had broken university policy. A horrified little part of him was sure that Vic would be appalled by his blatant disregard for the established order-

Dino let a long breath out through his nose, slow and steady. It was fine, though. Vic didn’t care. The rules weren’t so cut and dry in the civilian world. Within limitations, of course.

Vic shifted in her seat, and pulled her computer up onto the table just aside of Enzo. She booped him on the nose for good measure, unaware of the stress Dino had gone through.

“Anyway, I did a bit of work last night and I think I know what I’m going to be talking about.” She said, and opened a tab to start scribing ideas. “But I kinda wanna talk about your activity. The resources one.”

Dino tried his best to join the discussion as the two began to finally dig into their assessment. Vic scrolled through her document and showed Dino what she had scraped together the night before, which was honestly an obscene amount.

“Uniforms?” Dino asked, seeing how the word was bolded as a heading.

“Yeah, in Australia uniforms are mandatory for Primary and High schools,” Vic explained, “It’s to more of less, stop students from seeing the difference in status. Like if one kid came in fucking Gucci, and another comes in second-hand Kmart. Uniforms stop that shit.”

Dino hummed and thought back to his school, they had worn uniforms too. And they were right, you couldn’t really tell who was from a better Family -- if you were using clothes as a tell. Posture, presence and poise. Those all could tell just how large a gap there was between Families. And the Dons who led them.

Vic continued to scroll to her next point, and Dino scooped Enzo into his hands, thumbing at the edge of his shell to try and soothe himself.

“I’ve also got ‘homework assistance’ and tutoring.”

Dino’s eyes snapped up from Enzo at the word. ‘Tutor’. God, that sent chills to his very core.

“People with money can afford to send their kids to better schools, and can afford to support their kids with, ya know, tutoring. Basically, the better off the parents, the better off the kids.”

Dino thinned his lips. It was true, Dino had no doubt that the smaller Families wouldn’t have been even able to dream of having the Reborn as a live-in tutor. He didn’t even want to think about how much of the Cavallone funds must have gone into the little devil-man’s pockets just so he could torture Dino day in and day out for the past year.

“We got this yesterday,” Dino muttered quietly, almost unwittingly.

Dino could see why Vic wanted to be a teacher, she obviously felt strongly about the imbalances in the education system. Direct action, it seemed very up her alley.

Vic blinked, and then she shrank back in her chair a bit. She gave a huffed little smile and shrugged, sheepishly and kind of drowsy.

“But yeah, that’s just my idea for my part,” she said idly, “And I think it’ll segway nicely into your activity. So, uh, how’re you going with your intro?”

Dino winced, “I have not, ah, started it yet.” Gosh, Vic had already produced all of this and Dino hadn’t even looked over the assessment properly yet. Dino traced the pattern in Enzo’s shell. “English, is, uh, not my strong skill.”

Vic made a short noise of understanding on the back of her throat, before she gave her own work a look-ver as if to see it in a new light.

“I will have to begin in Italian, and move to English,” Dino said slowly, and Vic waved her hand at him.

“Hey, whatever floats your boat and gets the job done. Do what makes you comfy,” she shifted on her seat and tugged on the end of her shorts before uttering off-handedly, “And, ya know, if you need help, I can lend a hand with those dickish words like ‘pedagogy’ and shit.”

Vic pointedly looked away from Dino as she said this, eyes fixed on her document that she scrolled through to give her hands something to do.

Dino blinked, then quickly said, “I don’t want to be a bother!”

“Nah, no, it’s ‘right,” Vic insisted lazily, and took a drink from her thermos.

Dino could hear ice rattling around inside. God, that was a good idea.

Vic and Dino leant across the table to look at Vic’s computer screen, organising a file for the project. Vic pulled up a powerpoint and wrote ‘SOCIAL CLASS IN EDUCATION by Dino, Jessica and Vic’.

“Great, that’s enough work. I think we’re due a break,” Vic said and closed her computer.

Dino decided not to point out the fact that they had only been ‘working’ for a total of maybe 10 minutes, and that the most progress had been naming and sharing the group slideshow.

“Okay,” Vic said suddenly, breaking Dino out of his thoughts as she stood up. “I’mma go get some lunch. You coming?”

Dino grabbed Enzo up off the table and stuffed him into his pocket. Vic stared with wide eyes before she glanced between the pocket and Dino’s face and asked, “Is he, uh, always in there?”

“Usually, I keep Enzo in a breast pocket,” he answered, before patting his chest and added, “Over the heart.”

Enzo’s shell was practically indestructible. Nothing short of Reborn’s Chaos Shots could pierce it.

“Aw, that’s fuckin’ sweet,” Vic chortled.

By the time Dino and Vic sat down again, they were balancing their chosen meals in their hands. Dino carefully slid his salad and chips plate onto the table, and watched Vic quickly slurp some of the excess butter chicken gravy from the edge of her plate before doing the same. Vic wasted no time in drumming the tabletop with her hands until Dino ‘produced the goods’.

Enzo immediately stole a whole leaf of lettuce from Dino’s salad.

“ Smettila, Enzo! ” Dino scolded but didn’t try to take the leaf away from the happily munching turtle.

Vic smiled at the little turtle before using the handle end of her fork to tap on the side of the bottle of water Dino had bought. It was wet with perspiration and creating a puddle on the table with every jolting tap; just as shiny as Dino was.

“Drink, mate, you’re sweating buckets,” Vic urged with a frown.

She was right. Dino wiped his chin with his arm and grimaced as sweat just smeared on both sides. Dino was as shiny as a newly minted coin, and the back of his shirt clung to his spine, two shades darker than the rest of it. He made an expression of great sensory discomfort as he sat forward to try and peel it off. Australian heat was very different to the Sicilian summers Dino was used to.

“Yes,” Dino murmured and took a sip from his bottle. By the time he put it back down, more than half was gone.

“You gotta be sun-safe, or I’ll slip-slop-slap a bitch,” Vic warned. Dino stared at Vic for a long moment, before the girl reeled back a bit and asked, “Wait, you know about the slip-slop-slap sun thing yeah? Or is- wait, fuck of course that’s an Aussie thing.”

Dino smiled as the girl rubbed her face in a mixture of frazzle and embarrassment.

“I, uh, will be ‘sun-safe’,” he said, “I do not want to be ‘slip-slop-slapped’.”

Vic blinked, and then she grinned with teeth.

“Okay, but what’s up with the horses?” Vic asked and then spooned a generous helping of rice into her mouth.

Dino paused halfway through another guzzle of water.

“The horses?”

“Yeah, like, you breed ‘em, right? What for though?”

Dino quickly swallowed the water that had dammed up in his mouth. He settled back in his chair and smiled a bit, idly spinning his bottle on the table with his fingers.

“Uh, we- we breed them for… Well, every job. Labour, farm, carriage, show. We used to make war horses.”

Vic made a sharp whistle of surprise and leant her cheek against her hand, elbow on the table. Dino stared at it, her elbow on the table, for a moment, before he pulled his eyes up.

“Warhorses? So, this is like a tradition thing. Family business?”

‘Family business’. Dino withheld a snort, he smiled weakly and said, “Yes, for at least ten generations.”

“ Whew, that’s some old blood,” Vic wheezed.

Dino smiled and remembered the history walks down the legacy hall. Walls adorned with past Dons, and those faded faces of the nameless patriarchs who tilled the fields and corralled wild horses long before the time of the Cavallone Famiglia Mafia.

“We are proud of our horses,” Dino said, an undeniable truth. But it was an undeniable truth also that- “Horses, however, are not very- very, useful. Today.”

Vic winced, “Ah, yeah. With cars and all.” She took a slow bite of her curry and tilted her head. “So with all those horses, surely your family, like, races them? Got any cool ones…” Her voice trailed off as Dino’s face pinched.

Dino ran his thumb along the edge of Enzo’s shell, the little turtle squinted up at him.

“We are banned. No Cavallone horse may race in Italy.”

Vic thinned her lips and scraped her wooden, disposable spoon along her plate, drawing a random shape with the orange, butter chicken gravy.

“Can I… Can I ask why? Or would you rather just, ya know,” she made a waving motion with her hands. “Not talk about that.”

Dino let out a frail burst of a laugh that was equal parts bitter and vindictive.

“We kept winning.”

Vic paused, and looked at Dino. Looked at the way Dino’s smile had gritted teeth in the corners.

Vic gave a bark of laughter.

“So instead of beating you fairly, they booted you?” She asked and leaned forward.

Dino took in a sharp breath. Despite her tone, her smile wasn’t playful. It had an edge to it. Annoyed. Frustrated. Angry. Vic was angry. For some reason.

But, Dino quickly scanned her over, not at him. Always good, always good!

“Cavallone horses are hard to beat. Very,” Dino explained and Vic scoffed hard enough that Dino thought she hurt her throat.

“Look, unless you’re doping your horses, I don’t see why you should be kicked.”

Dino shrugged, “Our horses are special.”

“I’m not fucking surprised! You’ve been working on them for over ten fucking generations!”

Vic pinched the bridge of her nose, before Dino watched as Vic clenched her teeth, her biceps, her forearms, her fists, then all the way back up again. Then, like she was suddenly exhausted, Vic slumped back into her chair, shoulders sagging under her loose shirt. She let out a long, slow sigh through her nose. She smiled and started cooing at Enzo.

Dino stared, baffled. What the hell had happened there? Had she gotten so upset that she had to actively calm herself down?

Dino shifted in his seat. He looked down at his salad -- slowly being stolen one leaf at a time by Enzo -- and bit down on the need to smile.

Vic was upset for him. He didn’t expect that to feel so… Nice. Validating.

“So you can’t race in Italy,” Vic hummed, tone low and almost dragging itself out of her mouth. “Why not race in a -- fuck I don’t know horses,” she tilted her head back and waved her spoon around, “Melbourne Cup is a horse race. Why not race here? Or does the ban keep you?”

Dino reached for his fork and ate a mouthful. He realised what he was doing only halfway through: buying time.

Did the ban keep the Cavallone from racing outside of Italy? He didn’t know.

The ban had been his grandfather’s greatest shame. The Eighth Don of the Cavallone hadn’t been able to fight off those little Dons who had climbed on top of each other to seem taller and tip the scales. The beginning of the end for the Cavallone, really.

After that, the Eighth had fallen to illness and Dino’s father had taken the reigns as the sole heir. Everyone knew how that ended.

Dino nudged an olive and watched it roll across his plate. Enzo stole another leaf with a satisfied ‘crunch’ .

Dino had never seen a Cavallone race on a track before.

Could he? Did he dare? Enter his Cavallone horses into civilian races? How close could he get to the civilians when the Mafia were so careful to keep that strict divide?

Hell, even their resorts were Mafia and Mafia-adjacent exclusive! It took a whole boat or plane to get to the separate island .

Dino swallowed the leaf, long gone mushy in his mouth.

But if it worked? If he dared to start racing their Cavallone-style bred horses -- if it worked?

Break the tradition, break the rules, break the bonds of debt that tie down the Cavallone.

“Good idea?” Vic asked, a lazy smile on her face. “You look excited. Practically chomping at the bit.”

Dino looked up, he hadn’t realised he was grinning.

‘Never race a Cavallone.’ Time to bring that old saying back.

#fanfiction #khr #leftnotright #dino cavallone #ao3 #alternate universe #canon divergence #oc #katekyo hitman reborn

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adviceformefromme · 1 month

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Hi hon, I've always loved your blog and advice—and I'd love to have your guidance and thoughts on my issue.

I carry a lot of guilt and shame over making a terrible mistake 5 years ago, which led to the fall of my longest childhood friendship (16yrs at that point). I thought I was able to accept it, but I still have dreams about my friend that reopens the grief I have for our friendship. Today's dream was probably the worst; it featured them being willing to mend our relationship, us interacting like normal, planning to get matching piercings together, and it felt so real, I was so happy.

I came across their social media acc while taking off followers from a personal art account I hope to invest in this year. I was rly tempted to check on their ig reels and YouTube, but knew I shouldn't and decided not to in the end. If me no longer being in their life makes them able to live their happiest and most fulfilling life, I want that for them, I want to be happy for them. Even if it does hurt/make me sad. It wasn't a perfect friendship, but they were my best friend. I want to heal from this as much as possible, since healing completely is prob unrealistic.

I have a group of close friends, ppl who are much more communicative w me, but we all live far from each other so we only interact digitally. I've moved so many times in my life, that digitally is also the best way for me to keep in touch w any irl old friends—it's hard to keep irl friendships strong when you don't see them in person as much as you could in the past.

Tbh I'm kind of a loser. I'm jobless w/ no degree & don't have a driver's license. I know my lack of motivation to get my life together contributes to the lack of opportunities in seeing my friends in person. I am so comfortable in my home environment, even if emotionally/mentally abusive and fear change even if I know it's good for me. I have dreams and yet I'm scared to make steps towards them. That's a whole other thing tho.

I don't know what I need to move past this mourning. I want to stop carrying this sadness with me. I feel it bear such a heavy weight in my chest. I'm at fault and to blame and i feel terrible for being a bad person/friend to that person, even if I know I'm a better/good friend to the ppl currently in my life. Please help me.

Hey sweetie, I sense so much sadness in your message from how you describe your life, to your loss with your friend. I would recommend journalling or releasing your emotions through some form of expression. It needs to be expressed. Write, cry, paint do what ever you need to do to release these emotions because it seems they are completely weighing you down and hacking away at your self esteem. Writing your friend a letter did come to mind if you really want to let them know how you feel and if it would shift some of the pain you've been feeling. I can't recommend forgiveness healing enough! I've wrote about the process here. The journey to loving yourself and being kind to yourself is a process, especially if you are going from a place of feeling low confidence and self belief. But please don't give up on your hopes and dreams. They are within you for a reason. You are not a bad person, you are human and we all do things we wish we didn't, all we can do is show up better. Do our best each day. Listen to those positive affirmations instead of the music that brings you down. Choose the foods that give you energy, instead of foods that give you the food comma so you actually feel motivated to do your best. Read a book that inspires you, watch a documentary about struggle to success. Go help someone. Do a random act of kindness. Plan your tomorrow. Choose to wear something that makes you feel special. Brush your teeth before bed. Light an incense stick. There are so many little things you can do each day to add some light and love into your existence. Lean into the goodness and I promise the heavy weights of the world will start to shift. You'll start to feel a little lighter day by day. But it will be worth it. The light is within you, keep tending to your fire.

xoxox

#levelup #manifestyourreality #manifesting #lawofattraction #levelupjourney #growthmindset #levelup confidence lawofattraction powerofthemind #manifest #manifestingmindset

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belphegor1982 · 5 months

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Got tagged by @accidentallylita for a 20 questions for writers thing! Thank you 💜 I'm gonna tag... @tameila, @fantasiawandering, @kabbal, @kaantt and @thisstableground - no pressure at all though.

How many works do you have on AO3?

88. But I still have 44 others over on FFnet.

What's your total AO3 word count?

659,354 (holy crap that's a lot!) and I'm way too lazy to add the FFnet numbers. The FFnet counters are a mess anyway.

What fandoms do you write for?

I have written for... Ready? Go! *deep breath* Harry Potter, Great Mouse Detective, The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean, Kung Fu Panda, Watchmen, Justice League, Discworld, White Collar, Hogan's Heroes, Zorro (the 1950s Disney series), Kaamelott, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the 2012 cartoon and a TMNT 2003 and 1987 crossover missing scene from Turtles Forever) , the Don Camillo stories/films, Cobra Kai, Karate Kid, The Legend Of Vox Machina, and Critical Role. Whew! And that's not counting unpublished WIPs, because then I would have to add ACD Sherlock Holmes, Jeeves and Wooster, or The Pirates! In an Adventure with Musicians Scientists :D It's mostly Critical Role and Vox Machina at the moment, though.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Let's see:

Villains (Justice League Unlimited, Flash's Rogues watch the finale of season 2's near apocalypse on TV in their bar, 442 kudos)

Reading the Colours (TMNT 2012, kid!Mikey having trouble learning to read and a bit of synaesthesia, and kid!Ralp being a good brother, 225 kudos)

Culture Shock (Turtles Forever (TMNT 2003 and 1987 crossover), 2003!Don and 1987!Leonardo having a conversation about danger and stakes and genre shifts, 215 kudos)

After the Sunset (The Mummy, a getting-to-know-each-other scene set just after 'The End' to tie up loose ends and explore character dynamics, 202 kudos)

Wife (Justice League Unlimited, the writers made Captain Cold (of all people XD) mention a wife so I created a character and explored her relationship with her husband and his nemesis, 168 kudos)

Aww 💜 I was kinda surprised by this list, to tell the truth!

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try (oh my god do I try ♫). Currently there's still a couple in my AO3 inbox I haven't responded to yet because I like to take my time (and also I like having that little number beside my inbox on my page 😭)

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh that's easy. If, a Hogan's Heroes snapshot (<800 words) where I essentially went "hey, what if [character] really had been killed in that scene?" and picture the aftermath.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh that is hard! I have comforting endings, I have peaceful/hopeful endings, I have bittersweet endings with a side of sweet... But just plain happy? I mean, Pas de Deux would end on a thoroughly good and happy note if it weren't for that pesky last sentence ("This summer 1914 is going to be the best summer"). I'd say Perfect Picture has the happiest: it's a (few years into the) future JLU fic set at a Christmas do, PoV Jimmy Olsen, that ends on him taking the titular perfect picture in the immediate wake of a very happy announcement. I love it a lot.

Do you get hate on fics?

No, thank goodness. Something of a miracle in 22+ years of writing online! My beta has, though, because some people are idiots.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, although it's a recent (ish) development! I've written three kinds of smut: loving and sometimes fumbling between two then three young people who don't a ton of (or any, in some cases) experience, quick and ill-advised between two desperate people convinced they'll die in a few hours, and cosy and warm as a means to (re)connect (two different fandoms) between middle-aged people. Love every one of them.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have! Like the aforementioned TMNT crossover (within the same franchise, bit still, two different shows and fandoms). And, well, it's not exactly crazy, but I wrote a tavern-as-an-afterlife fic in which Sergeants García and Schultz have a little conversation about their respective supposed-to-be enemies. Would that count as "crazy" if they have approximately a century and a few years between their lifetimes?

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't... think so. Can't be sure. Sometimes I post fic here and I've definitely found my Tumblr accounts on those crappy Tumblr mirroring websites, so yeah, probably.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone asked me once if I minded them translating one of my Don Camillo fics into Italian, to which I responded with happy flailing and "not at all, go ahead!" But I never heard back from them. OTOH, I have done the translating :D I translated a Mummy fic into French back in the day (2004) with the author's permission, and I wrote L'éléphant de Carter (Hogan's Heroes) in French then translated it into English.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really. I participated in group projects and big bangs and stuff, but I've written a fic "with four hands".

What's your all-time favorite ship?

It should be an obvious choice, because I have so few I ship actively - you know, not just "sure, I like the idea of them together". For the purposes of the question I will say Pike Trickfoot/Scanlan Shorthalt, from Campaign 1 of Critical Role/The Legend of Vox Machina (it's a slow burn with minimum pining! They both have personal growth! He pursues her but then apologises and asks if they can be friends! Each is the only one who truly sees and perceives the other on that level!). But also I really really love my one-third-canon-character-two-thirds-OCs OT3 set in 1910s Oxford. So... tie? :3

What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I have one of those eternal WIPs (more of an idea, really) of a Discworld/Quantum Leap crossover where Sam Beckett Leaps into Sam Vimes who's in the middle of an investigation, which would mean that 1) Sam B has to wrap his mind around the existence of magic and dwarves and trolls and Nobby Nobbs while Sam V and Al Calavicci stare at each other down (Spider-men-pointing-meme style in the end) going "if my guy/my people get(s) hurt by your shenanigans then so help me I will go SQUARE" (and quickly enough work together).

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, apparently? I've been told a few times over the years by readers that they could "hear" the characters speak in their heads, which is the greatest compliment 💜 (especially since English is not my first language, so I'm always worried about things not sounding right!)

What are your writing weaknesses?

Actual plots, especially ones with a bit of complexity in them 😅 I'm the first to admit 80% of my fics are one-shot character exploration (with conflict - internal and external - being resolved via dialogue and/or communication). Also finishing things on time, GOD.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Heh. I'm French and when I write for Hogan's Heroes I often write a French character who canonically (though rarely, gotta respect the ratio) says things in French sometimes. Of course I'll include some! But I always make sure 1) to include a translation/explanation in the notes (AO3 is really great for footnotes) and 2) that it doesn't really require a translation to understand the situation/stakes. I tend to go back and forth on the use of italics for foreign language words.

Now, if I don't know the language as well as I do French (and, more importantly, if the PoV character who hears it speaks that language), I just clarify in the "s/he said", like

"You gotta be kidding me," muttered Bob in [insert language here].

Works in English too, of course, especially if you're having a multi-language environment in your fic.

First fandom you wrote for?

I was gonna say "Harry Potter", because that's the first fandom I wrote for (and published) after discovering fanfiction (the first fics I read were for Starsky & Hutch), BUT. I guess I should answer Titanic?? On account of how I kinda wrote a self-insert in high school (when the film came out) in which an imaginary inventor uncle build a time machine and my sister and I did some time tourism (obviously money wasn't an issue), thinking "oh we'll just go home on April 14th". I was a soppy 16 years old otherwise 0% interested in romance, so I had my stand-in recently lost her boyfriend (very tragically) and Fabrizio (Jack's Italian friend) be her gently manic pixie dream boy (and, of course, die). In retrospect I might have given my 14 year old sister the best part as the snarky no-nonsense little sibling. I tragically lacked self-awareness and poured my entire heart into it. Thank goodness I had no idea you could put out stories on the internet and that my best friend at the time (the only other human being who read this story) was kind and just as obsessed with the movie as I was ^^'

(I should point out that I wrote it with pencil on loose paper gathered in a binder I lost long ago. Such is life.)

Favorite fic you've ever written?

You can't just - I - oh come on! I can't choose between my babies!! No but seriously, I actually can't choose, sorry :D

#sometimes I write

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