restlessqueenx

[restlessqueenx]

“So… soulmates,” Clark chimes in. There’s a murmuring in the crowd, the word getting repeated, passed around. Luke smiles at Helena. Say no, Allie thinks. Just say no.

“F***, fine, I don’t know, maybe. Sure, it could be soulmates,” Gordie gives in. She meets Harry’s eyes across the church, where he’s sitting, hands clasped, frowning. I better get going before anyone realizes I’m your dirty little secret. The words hang between them, painful because she doesn’t know how to deny them, doesn’t know if she can. It’s just complicated, Harry and Cassandra make it complicated.

He shoots her a wry smile. Soulmates. And now that word is hanging between them too.

[restlessqueenx]

so I finished part 1 of a new fic (it's 32k), but I can't even celebrate yet because I need to write part 2 and 3 before I'm willing to post because I know myself well enough to know that's the only way I can guarantee it won't be an abandoned WIP.

[restlessqueenx]

y’all I was not ready for Alex Fitzalan to drop a bunch of old bts on us today. 😭

[restlessqueenx]

I've been working on a fic for a ship I've never written for before (always a bit intimidating) and my dumb ass decided to make it canon divergence instead of like a modern au, or fantasy au, or literally any non-canon anything. and I can't change it, because it absolutely has to be set in canon, so I guess I'll just struggle along for however many weeks it takes for me to be able to scrape together something coherent enough to post.

[restlessqueenx]

I wish, so much, that I could be one of those fic writers who gets an idea and cranks out like 3-5k and it's just what they wanted. Or one who writes short chapters for long works and posts as they go and it actually all ends up great. I am not that. And I want so badly to share what I've been working on, but I know that I won't finish if I do. So instead, I'm the kind of fic writer who has to sit on their minimum 30k, possibly more like 50k, oneshot fic in complete silence, days into writing and still struggling to figure out what this is going to be at the end. And all I wanna do is talk about it, but there's no one to talk about it with because it's all still just in my head. And where I am right now, no light at the end of the tunnel. I think I'm still chiseling the tunnel into existence.

[restlessqueenx]

He knows that helping her won't take it back, won't take back the tower, won't take back the death, won't take back the scar on her arm and the tattoo on his, but it eases his breath, if only a bit. He'd do anything to be able to breathe again.

[restlessqueenx]

FYI, I have also locked all my fanfics down to registered users only because of the AI scraping on AO3. I'm one of many fan creators doing this right now and I know it stinks for users without an AO3 account, but it's the only option writers have available to us at the moment to stop our work from being scraped and stolen.

If this makes you mad, the Federal Register is currently open to comments on AI accountability until June 20th, 2023.

It only takes a second to leave a comment to ask for legislation that works used in AI creations or training MUST secure the express consent of the original creator before they can be used. If we can get protections for artists, writers, musicians and everyone who creates that their work cannot be used in AI without their permission, we can go back to making fanworks freely available without fear of them being misused. Until then, we're stuck playing defense until the courts catch up.

(If you're a fan creator looking to do this as well, AO3 has a tool to let you do all your fics at the same time in seconds. On your dashboard, go to Edit Works and you'll be able to change the status on everything at once.)

If you missed the context, AO3 recently found that the archive was scraped for use in AI services like ChatGPT and Sudowrite. While they put in protections in December 2022 to try to stop it from happening in the future, it's not foolproof and there is nothing they can do about works already swiped prior to that date. The archive is recommending fan creators restrict their works to registered users only to prevent against additional large scale scraping in the future.

[restlessqueenx]

y'all. okay. i'm trying to decide if i should commit myself to trying to write a (proper) sequel to This Town's Been Ready to Haunt You. i was really hoping on getting more show to give me some structure, so now i'm reconsidering where i take this timeline and how the plot would work. idk if it's worth it. i'm not interested in basically just re-writing the books, but also i always intended to incorporate as much canon as i could. i'm thinking of setting the sequel after The Hollow Boy, but that would mean kinda somewhat alienating people who have only seen the show. idk what i'm doing. i never do.

[restlessqueenx]

read on AO3

Some wounds, Lucy knows, take longer than others. Some scar, permanent. An ache in your bones when it rains. But she thinks it could be beautiful, to watch him heal.

[restlessqueenx]

Some wounds, Lucy knows, take longer than others. Some scar, permanent. An ache in your bones when it rains. But she thinks it could be beautiful, to watch him heal.

[restlessqueenx]

read on AO3

Lucy doesn’t like the quiet. She thinks it should be a relief. That she should be comforted by the gentle stillness of the attic bedroom, when so much of her life is filled with the clamoring of lost souls. But she doesn’t know how to read the absence of sound. There’s no solace in it. Instead, it feels like the calm before the storm, a lingering sense of impending doom. The instant before the other shoe drops.

She’s most relaxed in the hazy, early hours when she lies in bed and listens to George and Lockwood already up, filling the house with mundane sounds. George clattering away in the kitchen, the calming whoosh of the shower running, the whistle of the teapot, the way they speak in low, relaxed tones to each other, familiar good-natured banter warming the air. This is the safest Lucy has ever felt. These are the sounds of a full life.

[restlessqueenx]

Lucy doesn't like the quiet. She thinks it should be a relief. That she should be comforted by the gentle stillness of the attic bedroom, when so much of her life is filled with the clamoring of lost souls. But she doesn't know how to read the absence of sound. There's no solace in it. Instead, it feels like the calm before the storm, a lingering sense of impending doom. The instant before the other shoe drops.

She's most relaxed in the hazy, early hours when she lies in bed and listens to George and Lockwood already up, filling the house with mundane sounds. George clattering away in the kitchen, the calming whoosh of the shower running, the whistle of the teapot, the way they speak in low, relaxed tones to each other, familiar good-natured banter warming the air. This is the safest Lucy has ever felt. These are the sounds of a full life.

[restlessqueenx]

“So… soulmates,” Clark is unabashedly unhappy about this. It’s no secret that Gwen wakes up with Andrew every morning, not him. There’s a sort of soft hum that goes through the church, waiting for Gordie’s answer. Like he knows any more than the rest of them. Like it all hinges on what he says next.

“F***, fine, I don’t know, maybe. Sure, it could be soulmates,” Gordie gives in. And it’s like there’s some sort of magnet drawing his gaze upward, Harry helpless to resist, as he meets Allie’s eyes across the church. She looks scared, more than anything.

Harry feels his lips twist up in that smile he doesn’t mean, that one he learned so long ago he doesn’t think about anymore. It’s not like things are different than they were three days ago. He’s still just a secret she’s afraid someone will figure out.

Soulmates. The word lingers in the air. Does it even matter if it’s true? In the morning, he’ll wake up with Allie’s hair spread out on his pillow, and he’ll be as alone as he was yesterday. That’s the truth that Harry knows.

[restlessqueenx]

AO3

In her head, Harry has always been summer, the soft scrape of pages turning, dive bombing into a pool, stargazing on the roof, orange popsicles, fireflies in jars. Now, he’s other things too. The anxious twist of a ring around his finger, a bruise on her collarbone, body heat, hurt so deep she could fall into it, and laughing because otherwise you’ll cry.

[restlessqueenx]

AO3

“So… soulmates,” Clark is unabashedly unhappy about this. It’s no secret that Gwen wakes up with Andrew every morning, not him. There’s a sort of soft hum that goes through the church, waiting for Gordie’s answer. Like he knows any more than the rest of them. Like it all hinges on what he says next.

“F***, fine, I don’t know, maybe. Sure, it could be soulmates,” Gordie gives in. And it’s like there’s some sort of magnet drawing his gaze upward, Harry helpless to resist, as he meets Allie’s eyes across the church. She looks scared, more than anything.

Harry feels his lips twist up in that smile he doesn’t mean, that one he learned so long ago he doesn’t think about anymore. It’s not like things are different than they were three days ago. He’s still just a secret she’s afraid someone will figure out.

Soulmates. The word lingers in the air. Does it even matter if it’s true? In the morning, he’ll wake up with Allie’s hair spread out on his pillow, and he’ll be as alone as he was yesterday. That’s the truth that Harry knows.