#{ Ill work on drafts and answer asks later

[writers-potion]

Writing Mad Characters

Okay this is a bit awkward because I had this question copypasted into Google Docs I use to draft my answers, and I realized I've lost the question in my inbox (which is being flooded).

So...I'm so sorry for whoever asked this question. Sorry for the delay because I was struggling with life in general for the past month and definitely SORRY for losing your question (－‸ლ)

Q: I'm writing a story where a major character is slowly spiraling into madness where small details kinda hint into the downfall right before the bigger details appear and then it the floodgates open. Is there anything I should avoid? Anything that I should keep in mind? Anything that I should research?

Things to Avoid

“Mad” or “Insane” is too general. Writing a cliched ‘crazy’ character who randomly talks to imaginary people and lashes out at strangers, you’ll offend a whole bunch of people who've gone through/have mental illnesses. Read up on existing mental conditions (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic disorder and borderline personality disorder, etc.) to see what your character might have. 

Words like “mad” “crazy” or “insane” aren’t enough when you’re describing their status. As mentioned, these words hardly mean much when it comes to providing a clear description.

Contradicting yourself. Throwing random unhinged symptoms here and there wouldn’t work. In fact, you must have a clear arc on which they’re traveling and ensure that your “hints” are all getting at something.

Making the character overly destructive or harmful to others (when nothing really justifies it)

Justifying damaging behavior with this “madness”. Mad or not, your character will still have motives and goals that drive them forward. 

Making them look incompetent just the fact that they have a mental condition that makes them appear “mad” to others shouldn’t prevent them from achieving success. In fact, they may be even more cool-hearted and logical when it comes to their obsessions/goals. 

Research Tips

Narrow down the mental conditions your character experiences. Even if it’s a fictional condition, try basing it on existing ones and building on top of them. 

Take some time to study characters and/or real clinical cases that resemble the kind of madness you’re going for. 

- Anxiety Disorders: excessive fear and dread (ex. phobias) - Mood Disorders: persistent swings in mood or persistent feelings that interfere with daily life (ex. Depression, bipolar) - Psychotic Disorders: disordered thinking (ex. schizophrenia) - Eating Disorders: extreme emotional attitudes toward food (ex. Bulimia, anorexia) - Impulse Disorders: unable to resist urges (ex. Kleptomania, pyromania, gambling) - Personality Disorders: extreme inflexible personality traits (ex. Anti-social disorder, OCPD) - Past Traumatic Stress: persistent, frightening memories leading to emotional numbness 

Does your character have empathy?  

A sociopathic kind of madness is different. 

General Writing Tips for Spiraling into Madness

Establish a Baseline 

A lot of factors (stress, family history, innate personality, trauma, etc.) can contribute to madness, but it is not going to happen in a week. Define the existing mental and physical conditions your character has, and start from there. 

If you’re aiming for suicidal tendencies at the end, you want to start with symptoms of depression (a condition that may lead to suicide) - growing apathetic, erratic sleeping patterns, irritability, etc. 

This is also the stage where you want to plant some triggers that’ll go off later.

Trigger Events

A perfectly sound character suddenly spiraling down the madness route due to a single accident or traumatizing event isn’t convincing. 

A madness “snap” denies the reader the experience of watching the character’s journey into madness and how they feel about it. 

Internal Conflict (antagonist in himself) 

You must remember that madness is incurable. If someone could “cure” themselves by eating healthy, exercising and taking a few pills, it wouldn’t be much of a madness, would it? This means that the worst antagonist is going to be the character themselves, or the part of them that’s been taken away. 

Show how they are frustrated with themselves, scared of themselves, angry at their “alternative self”. The experience of not knowing yourself is a whole journey of its own.

Physical Manifestations/Quirks

If your character has a routine, show how they break down. 

They might develop habits that they otherwise would never allow themselves to have, perhaps as an effort to “keep this madness out”

Deteriorating Relationships

Depict how the character’s madness impacts his closed/loved ones. In the earlier stages, those close to him might be faster to notice and accept the signs of madness, even if the character denies it him/herself.

The first signs of madness might show when the character is trying to deal with difficult relationships - like losing patience and being unable to pick up subtle social clues.

Choosing Obsessions Over Primal Urges 

For these characters, obsession can take over a person’s normal urge to eat, sleep or even live. This can lead to, more or less, suicide. 

Example: In Black Swan, Nina’s obsession with becoming the perfect ballerina drive her to insanity, to the point where she doesn't mind dying on stage for the show.

[cowboy-robooty]

Do you think Germany could be a yandere?

what an absolutely EXCELLENT question!

Short answer: No, I think that's leaning more into 2p! Germany territory (and even then it isn't what many people would consider yandere at all... very untraditional type)

Long answer:

Well first we gotta be on the same page of what a yandere is in essence. I actually have a gianormous essay draft going into this in detail, since I'm a yandere connessiour as you all know and i think people don't understand proper what constitutes yandereism. It's way too much to put in here, especially since I still need to work on it more (it's some contrapoints level research paper shit.. maybe it wont be released ever!) but at least my own definition of it boils down to "the virtue of love being taken so far it becomes a fault instead". In all types of yanderes this is a manifestation and essentially what makes them "yandere". Yes, even the yanderes that are like "IF YOU DONT LIKE ME BACK ILL KILL YOU", since love is about loving and being loved (with this type of course heavily leaning on the being loved component... it's actually my least favorite type of yandere too LOL!) Because of this very loose guideline though, many characters are considered yandere by me or have yandereisms even if others would consider them not yandere at all. Now if GERMANY were to be a yandere i think that it would only be possible in a protective yandere type way. I think his strongest virtue in his love for italy is the fact he wants him well, and if that were twisted into something wrong then it would be him hurting innocent people for posing any threat at all to italy. But our germany as we have him is too morally strong for something like that, so that's why I don't think he would ever become yandere for Italy. His sense of protection for italy is incredibly strong still dont get me wrong, but his unbreakable moral backbone would ensure that this virtue would never cross over into becoming something sinister. Now 2p germany (lutz) on the other hand is a WHOLE different thing. If you're familiar with lutz you'll know he's basically just like normal germany except... he has yandereisms and no spine! LOL! Instead of having his moral backbone, all that strength is put into faith and loyalty to luciano instead. I think 2p germany is an unhatched yandere though, since luciano is always the one who has the upper hand against everybody else, so he never has a reason to make bad decisions for himself. The way 2p itager is right now, lutz is someone who is still in the (un)comfortable position of having no choice in whatever cruel acts he must do, since luciano orders him to. Of course he does it so in my eyes (and his own) hes still a bad guy, but it's debateable if he is a bad person, since hes in a situation where he has a gun pressed to his head anyways. The unhatched part is all because in the hypothetical that the gun wasn't pointed at his head anymore.... he would still kill anyone who poses a threat to luciano, even if it isnt fair. Now don't get it twisted, he's an unconventional yandere because i also think lutz doesnt believe he has a chance with luciano AT ALL (major component of 2p itager) and fully accepts it, so he doesn't feel any jealousy and if anything well... i need to make my guide later, but in my 2p itager world they actually start dating in lucianos eyes while lutz doesnt think luciano likes him that much even as a comrade LOL!!!! But yes, he's still a yandere because he loves luciano so much hed actively do the wrong thing and be a bad person in the name of overly protecting him from any and all harm. I'm typing this all out on my phone late night, but you understand what i mean now, yes? wwwwwwwwwww what a wonderful ask to send me!! I love talking about yandereism... I wish we could have had this discussion just you and me! But alas, I'm no good at responding to direct messages anyways... self sabotage? 🤯 If you've read this far then you should also know though i think that normal italy is an unhatched yandere, but if you're versed in my itager bible scriptures you probably have gathered that already 😇

[th3sungod]

Parkner 'enemies' Au ( draft ish cause i'm probably not gonna write this but i love the idea sm )

Parkner au where it's that one scene from sailor moon crystal ( episode, like 6/7 ) with harley in love with the supposed enemy, who isn't actually the enemy but everyone thinks they are because of their unknown endgoal/motives ( peter btw )

Harley is an avenger, working as Tony Stark's future successor and had been the one brought in for civil war. ( endgame didn't happen and moving it up a few years so he's like 17/18 when it happened ). Less than a year later, the rogues are back but weary. They question everyone, especially since it was so easy last time for HYDRA infiltration multiple times before.

Amended accords state all heroes and vigilanties who wish to operate legally must sign, give up their identities, and submit counter measures for their disobedience with contingencies for their ill actions. The Avengers sign it, but are allowed then to operate as they were. They're still working on making it perfect, but it's fine for now. Multiple hero groups sign it, but local New York vigilantes don't make the same call.

As busy work, the Avengers are given the job of bringing them in for breaking the current standing law -- while giving them an opportunity to sign beforehand. Harley doesn't find a problem with this, he was on Tony's original side after all, but and genuinely doesn't understand why the vigilantes won't sign.

Spider-man, Daredevil, Deadpool, Ghost-Spider, Shadow-Spider, and other vigilantes are clearly working together but they don't seem particularly bad, but it's Harley's job to at least try and convince them. Overall, he's pretty neutral.

They all, Avengers and Vigilates, find themselves in a battle similar to the chitauri invasion, with aliens and too many enemies. Spider-man seems to have his back, but he ends up making the wrong move and gets greatly injured, passing out while Spider-man bolts towards him.

When he wakes up... it's in a nice bedroom that's been obviously converted to be more medical. He's wrapped in bandages, there's a IV drip on a metal wheeler connected to him, sitting just before him is a teen with soft looking brown curls and nose pressed into a book. He in comfortable clothes, and when Harley's memory slowly comes to, he jolts upright. The teen notices him awake in turn, and tries to comfort him.

Harley asks where he is, the man replies with 'safe'. He asks what happens, the reply is 'i got you help'. They're not really answers, but with one last try Harley asks for his name. He says Peter.

After that, it doesn't take long for him to realize it's Spider-man. He makes the same stupid jokes and looks about the same height and build. And, it's pretty obvious when Wade Winston Wilson, the Deadpool, walks in and calls him 'Webs'.

Harley is warily calm about the whole thing, but he's heard of Spider-man from civilians and he has a huge following in the media. He does the right thing, he follows a moral code, he made Deadpool reform and makes it a point to help people who aren't even really in danger who are just scared or need help walking home. Subconsciously he knows that Spided-man -- Peter -- isn't going to hurt him. In his mind, it's more than confirmed when Peter says the only reason he wasn't brought back to the compound was because any of them would've gotten caught if they tried going near it, and medical would've definitely been delayed.

Within a day, two more people enter the room he's in while Peter stays the whole time. One only enters for a moment, covering his face with a single hand while keeping his back to Harley, asking Peter about something he can't decipher. While the other was a kind looking woman who brings him something to eat, and acts as his nurse.

"You know, if you're going to be this nice, why don't you just sign the accords?" Harley asks eventually, slightly annoyed. It's clear they enjoy helping people, and even Steve signed the new accords, so they must be up to 'standard'.

Peter's face grows into something sombre, and he looks away from Harley. At first, he doesn't even think Peter will reply, but he speaks up eventually. "We can't."

"Can't? Why not?" Harley pries.

"Can't." A hand comes up to rub the bridge of his nose, "Our enemies are on a different scale, and if they found out who we are, they'll gi after our families. It's our responsibility, with the life we've been given."

He speaks diplomatically, something proper as if it's been told to him time and time again. But Harley finds a problem with the answer. "And Deadpool? His identity is already public."

"Deadpool doesn't like injustice, but he says he's an Antihero at best. As long as Daredevil and I don't sign, neither will the rest of them." He says confidently. "We can't let anyone know who we are."

"But.. You have your mask off now..?" Now, Harley's a little more than confused.

"It'd be pretty hard to find me." Peter sounds amused like it's some sort of inside joke, Harley doesn't get it. "Plus, I trust you."

When evening rolls around, and Harley feels weirdly a lot better than before, and Peter tells him it's because of medication he formulated himself. Harley is too impressed to think anything bad of it, though he probably should. Peter even says so, amused all the same at his flippantness.

But he asks then after the battle, then finally noticing how Tony must be worried about him ( despite being newly an adult ) and Peter tells him Deadpool can have someone bring him back to the Avengers Tower.

He does ( though he has to get blindfolded for it ) and halfway through the drive he's swapped cars and a cabby gets him the rest of the way there. no more blindfold.

Tony, of course, is worried sick. F.R.I.D.A.Y. alerts him the second Harley steps into the building -- with his armor having been given back with the ride swap -- and it's a flurry of people trying to figure out his condition after being missing since the battle. The battle, which he learned then happened the day before, so it's been over 24h. He feels a little sheepish at that, cause he knows he probably could've been released the moment he woke up, but Peter had been really kind and good company while the dull ache in his bones started to go null.

He gets ushered into the medical wing, gets a full checkup to make sure he's okay, and while it all goes on he's to give an account of what happened.

"A whole day, where have you been? Did they hurt you?" Tony looks pained, worried, and panicked all at the same time. The only other people in the room, beside himself and Tony, is Pepper, Steve, and the nurse checking him over.

He can't look Tony in the eye, despite not having done anything wrong. It wasn't his fault. "I got hurt.. in the fight, and Spider-man helped me."

Harley doesn't particularly want to give out any more information than that. He knows they're internationally wanted, in technicality, but hearing Peter tell him he trusts Harley makes him feel guilty if he said anything.

"Helped you?" Tony sounds incredulous, and one glance up tells him Steve isn't far behind. "They're criminals."

"Yes! they helped me," Harley insists, and then a little quieter, "And they're not criminals."

He doesn't know why he says it, but mentally he can see the face of Spider-man, Peter, talking with him all day so he wasn't bored or alone. Peter talking about his own interests, biochemistry and technology.

Tony scoffs. "Actually, that's exactly what they are." He turns to the nurse, "Order a complete tox-screen, I want to make they didn't put anything in his system that'd make him like this."

Harley stiffens. What if they did put something in his system? He hadn't even thought of the original possibility, nor did he try to remove the IV. At that point, with the new bout of clarity, he does tell the nurse that Spidey did give him something, but it was like pain meds and he doesn't know what they are. He wants to trust Peter, he really does, but the way Tony and Steve look at him is as if he's spewing nonsense.

The tox-screen comes back normal, besides having pain medication. Something Oscorp just released, called Osarane.

"It's already best on the market," The nurse tells Tony, declaring Harley to have a full bill of health besides topical scrapes and bruises. Nothing too bad. Harley notes the information; Spidey probably modified it or something and it wore off already. Like he said. Or, he simply lied.

The Avengers hover, though Pepper is mostly quiet and treats him as usual. With his identity known to the public, one of them insists on going everywhere with him to make sure the Vigilantes don't try again. It's kind but unnecessary, and he doesn't get a second away until two weeks later. All the other avengers seem to be busy. So, he just wants to walk around, alone and with his thoughts for once.

He does put on a hat and sunglasses, but besides that he's just in the open. It only takes thirty minutes for him to see a familiar mop of brown curls, ordering a coffee in very casual clothes. Like the man can sense him, Peter turns around and waves.

When he passes Harley, leaving the shop, he apologizes and says he has work, otherwise he would stay and chat. It's so unusually kind that it throws Harley off a little. At least before, it seemed like there was a small semblance of Spider-man in Peter, but now he's all jovial and a tad timid.

Harley says it's fine, but Peter insists they meet the next day. To talk.

And so they do. They meet, and they talk. Peter tells him how he started being a vigilante, how he got his powers and such. Harley asks about the medication, and Peter simply laughs saying, "You're smart, you'll figure it out."

They don't meet often. Peter has work and Harley can't always leave the tower, but they end up exchanging numbers. They become real friends, they talk and text, and even Tony notices how he looks at his phone more often.

"You meet someone?" He asks knowingly, save for the fact he doesn't actually know.

But the question hits all the same because it's been a month since the coffee shop, nearly a month and a half after the battle, and he's texting Peter daily. He has a crush on Peter.

It spirals from there.

There's another fight, not as big as the Aliens but someone decided to make rudimentary robots out of adimantium, which means they're heavy and have bad reaction time. But, they're still nearly solid and pose a threat with how they're trying to annihilate half of midtown manhattan. Cap can't transport them, they're too heavy given they're the size of the Iron Man armor. Scott's on his way in a, as an 'on call' avenger, but until he arrives they're stuck trying to keep them away from civilians. There's only about twenty, but that outnumbers the avengers and it feels like a loosing battle.

And then Peter arrives.

Peter, and his group of merry men, some of the most wanted individuals as of late.

Peter, Ghost, and Shadow -- the three spider vigilantes -- make quick work of the bots. Deadpool is ushering civilians out of the way, Harley can spot him from the corner of his HUD. While the three spider vigilantes smash the bots like soda cans, enhanced strength on full display, and they're in a pile in seconds.

The danger is neutralized, everything's okay.

Harley walks up to Peter, the vigilante's bloodied hands not going unnoticed, and asks if he's alright. He asks the other two spider vigilantes then, as if an afterthought. Daredevil isn't around, he's the only one missing, but Deadpool walks up and claps Peter on the shoulder, telling him it's time to go.

They almost do, until Cap calls for them to stop. "Turn yourself in and sign the accords."

Harley doesn't move from beside Peter, but turns and tells him to go, under his breath. He doesn't stop them when they leave. It's not long before he finds himself in a debriefing room, being chewed out for it.

"It's your job to capture them!" Tony's voice is raised.

"They're not doing anything wrong!" Harley bites back. "We're doing the same work!"

Rhodey speaks up, "They didn't sign the accords, their actions are illegal."

"But they're not hurting anyone!" Harley yeager's on a plea.

"You don't know that." Steve asserts.

"I trust him!"

He yells it loud enough for the room to stop. Tony looks pained again, Rhodey looks as if he just won't see reason. Natasha is contemplative while Steve's face is impassive. Everyone else looks simply shocked at his outburst. 

Steve speaks first, but Harley wishes he didn't. "You're been speaking to Spider-man, haven't you?"

Harley locks up, doesn't say anything. Tony's head falls into his hands. "Harley, they're dangerous. You saw what they did today." Steve tries.

"Yeah. I saw. They helped us, and saved countless civilians." Harley's eyes ar panicked and determined, and he speaks more. "Theyre always trying to help people. He isn't our enemy. He's always there to save our asses, I know him, they're not trying to harm anything!"

"It almost sounds like you're in love with him." Natasha says, passive as ever. He doesn't know if it's a joke or not, but he freezes all the same. Tony goes still, too.

Rhodey sighs. "Think carefully, Harley, are you sure about him? He could just be using you."

Any trepidation is gone in mere moments, as red hit anger and frustration pools in his chest. "You're wrong he would never! He would never!"

He's backing up towards the door before he can even realize it, and once his back hits, he opens it and runs.

Harley runs out of the building and texts peter, asking to meet him if he's available. They do, at the original coffee shop, and Harley tells him what's going on. He leaves out the part where he's in love, until finally at the end of their conversation admitting "I care about you."

Peter gives him a soft yet sad smile, "I care about you too, why do you think a saved you."

[[ insert the rest of the plot that i definitely don't have the time or energy to put into this. ]]

I definitely think this prob ends with the accords being amended with a vigilante clause, able to keep identities with a hero to vouch for them. ( like if they step out of like it's up to the hero to find and bring them in, on top of the hero being somehow penalized ) but i have just been thinking about this idea for a really long time and don't have time to write another long fic ( or fic in general )

this i didn't edit and wrote on the spot so like sorry for any typos and mistakes!

it's pretty figured out, but if you would like to use this or amend this and use it, feel free! just tag me cause i genuinely want to read this and its been on my mind for months

hope you enjoyed!!

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

Overheard AU.

This is a very rough draft of an AU I wrote ages ago but haven't polished. Thought I might post it to see thoughts.

Summary: You really shouldn't talk about secrets in an open area like the street.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It starts with Tanaka Jin. He’s nothing special. He’s just a man with a sick child who is a fan of All Might. He’s lost his job and he’s struggling to find a new one when he barely has any worthwhile skills. He has a license for Quirk use given he can’t turn his off, but most are weirded out by his ability to be able to tell exactly what you want to eat.

He’s nothing special and when he sees All Might saving a kid from a villain made of sludge he stops to point his camera at the man. When he sees the hero run off, he follows. He wants his son to be happy, stuck in the hospital all day. Maybe a picture or video of the man a little closer will take his son’s mind off the bills the boy knows is piling up.

What he finds is All Might deflating and revealing a secret to a young boy.

He gets it on film.

Tanaka isn’t a bad man. He’s nothing special

But he’s a desperate man.

He would delete the video but he thinks of his son in the hospital, ill and not getting better. He thinks of the fact he lost his job. He thinks of his dead wife. He thinks of the fact the bills are getting higher and the fact he has very little in savings.

He’s not a bad man. Just desperate.

Later it’s what prevents him from being punished with more than probation.

-0-

The news doesn’t run the video for a week. They want to check and double-check it, make sure it’s real.

It is and it runs on a Friday morning.

All Might learns about it when his PR agent blows up his phone, screaming. He watches it as his agent rants.

“I need to go.” He tells her and she stops.

“It’s true isn’t it.”

He doesn’t answer, just hangs up and runs.

His agent, a young woman named Akiko who refuses to use her last name and has a Quirk that has her gain energy from the sun, swears. Loudly and colorfully in seven different languages before she grabs her laptop.

Fuck you Yagi, she thinks before she throws herself into work.

Meanwhile, Izuku and his mother stare at the TV. It’s a day off of school thanks to a villain attack- though online schooling was there as was common for those incidents- and Izuku had just returned from his run when the video played.

His mother watches and then turns to him. He stared at her.

“... I believe in you.” She says and she means it even as her heart screams and her worries fill her. She believes in him. She knows he wants to be a hero, knows he’d claw and climb his way to it and she knows he’ll be hurt.

A Quirk will help him.

Izuku breaks down in his mother’s arms as she hugs him.

Toshinori shows up and knocks on the door while Izuku begins a light workout, worried about the media. Inko lets him in and they sit down to speak, all three.

The secret is out and Inko prepares for a press conference with Akiko while Toshinori calms Izuku and promises he won’t change his mind even if others offer.

It’s the start of a future with the two women threatening the men in their lives, while the men leave the women to their plotting.

It’s safer that way.

-0-

The press conference takes place a week and two days after the video is released. All Might stands there with Izuku by his side, both dressed nicely.

All Might deflates a minute in and listens to the yelling.

“Please, calm down,” he asks and they listen, waiting. “It is true. My Quirk is known as One for All and is able to be passed from holder to holder as a sacred torch. And yes, I am going to be passing it down due to an injury that has severely limited me these past years.” Izuku is shaking beside him but manages to give a small smile to the crowd. “Young Midoriya Izuku is my chosen successor and has started his training already.”

“What’s his original Quirk?!” Shouts a voice and Toshinori makes a choice. It wasn’t bad when he was young but he’s heard things, seen how other pros wrinkle their noses and make comments, he’s seen the rise in statistics.

He doesn’t know but he’s aware.

“Like I am, Midoriya is biologically Quirkless.” He speaks and he sees the young boy turn to stare while everyone falls silent. “Due to this, we need to do a very hard workout for him to be able to earn the Quirk before the entrance exams.” He continued, ignoring the questions as he gave a small overview of his Quirk, admitting it also stockpiled Quirks and that was why he could hover for long periods of time. He spoke fondly of his mentor before he finally opened the floor to questions.

“Why chose Midoriya? Is it due to your shared origins?” Asks one.

“I chose him due to him showing me what it means to be a hero again. He inspired me to push beyond my time limit to save someone and I knew I had found my successor in a young teen who would run to help someone no matter what.” Vague and simple.

“Midoriya, what do you think of this?”

“... uh it’s a dream come true. I’ve always admired All Might and training with him is amazing.” Young Midoriya says and Toshinori smiles at him before the questions continue.

“All Might! Why not give it to someone with a Quirk?” Toshinori wants to growl. He wants to glare.

Instead, he lets Midoriya speak.

“Well as he said it can also potentially stockpile Quirks to. It makes sense to occasionally have a Quirkless successor to keep them low. Too many can potentially destroy a body due to the unstable factor of the Quirks.” Midoriya offers.

“Are you worried about Quirk Singularity?” Asks another paper. Midoriya perks up so Toshinori lets him continue.

“Oh! Well potentially? It makes sense but that’s just one theory and while it is possible that Quirks are outgrowing humans, human adaptability means that most likely we will create things to help us. Most likely support gear or the such. Though there is also the Wave Theory that shows some promise but then if that happens we don’t need to worry about to many Quirks stockpiling.”

“Wave Theory?” Asks a few reporters. Izuku blinks and then continues.

“The Wave Theory was proposed a few years back. Basically, the idea is that various myths, legends, and folklore are actually signs of Quirks. A scientist proposed the Wave Theory as a theory in which every few hundred or so years humans gain powers for a period of time before they vanish.” Midoriya explains. “It makes sense when you look at it. Magic and accusations of witchcraft could have been Quirks, while various sightings of dragons, elves and so on could have been mutations…”

“... why has this theory never been known before?!?” Asks a reporter who has pulled out a different notebook to write this down. Midoriya’s face falls.

“The one who did the research and created the theory was a Quirkless scientist who was murdered. No effort to find her killer was ever found and because she was Quirkless her research was never believed.” Midoriya says bluntly. Silence fills the room. “Her name was Dr. Kennedy Johnson and she was American.”

The conference ends on a quiet note. Toshinori can see their eyes.

They’re thinking statistics themselves.

He places a hand on Midoriya’s shoulders and the boy smiles at him.

He smiles back.

-0-

At UA, a teacher without a class watches the conference and sighs.

“You want me to help?” He asks his boss and the white rodent laughs.

“Oh yes. He needs a helping hand I think.” Aizawa Shouta groans but smirks to himself.

This could be interesting.

-0-

Now that the secret was out, now that people spoke about it to each other, heroes began picking up patrols. They made sure to be seen, made sure to do their job.

Some so they could rise in the ranks. Some because a part of them looks at All Might with a hole in his side and still working to his limit and feel guilt.

A few because they recognize that boy and feel guilt as well.

One because he’s angry and bitter and hates the fact that he will never beat All Might now. That everything was for nothing and that he had done what he’d done for nothing.

But they patrol. And some make sure to swing by where the tiny successor goes to school and lives, to keep him safe.

The police do too. They watch and keep an eye out. This boy will receive a Quirk bigger than him. He’s a successor to an empire. He cannot fall.

Teachers at Izuku’s school begin treating him differently. They try to win his favour. Izuku ignores it, not caring.

It’s only now they care? Only now they want him to like them?

He gets angry and rants to his mom, rants to All Might about it, and both promise to come down hard on Aldera. Just not yet. Izuku is too busy, too focused. He can’t have a scandal now.

Pity he won’t get a choice.

-0-

Bullies don’t go away because someone becomes popular. Some do but others, others angry that the Quirkless freak, the Quirkless waste of space is getting a Quirk, getting what they should have…

They don’t.

They plan it out, and approach Bakugou Katsuki for help.

Katsuki is an angry child. He’s angry and bitter and he’s got a complex about being the best. He has to be the best. Deku, stupid Deku, has always looked down on him he knows this-

He ignores the whispers he’s an idiot and he had fallen from a high spot and of course someone would check on him-

He doesn’t think, not really. In another life he would throw himself at a boy his first day of school, risking it all. In another life he would ignore orders not to use gauntlets that could kill during an exercise because he thinks Deku looks down upon him. In another life he would push and push and force himself into something because he wants to know the secret. All his life consequences have missed him due to his Quirk, due to the fact no one cares about the Quirkless boy. Katsuki is a genius, but he is still a boy confined by his own thoughts and beliefs.

Is it any surprise he joins a plan to beat down Deku? Any surprise he wants Deku to know his place?

They corner Deku after school, right behind it. A teacher sees but looks away. They agree with the boys. Others deserve it more.

The groups only can do a bit of damage before a grey scarf is tanking them away, as wood grabs them and as a voice shouts.

“Don’t you move, I’m going to be looking into why a teacher let this happen.”

Aizawa looks down at the young boy and sees another in his place and knows in his bones that he won’t let this kid fail, even as he drags away the boys, grabbing the teacher who looks pale.

He will make sure this kid succeeds.

No one notices the reporter until the next day when the papers scream:

ALL MIGHT’S SUCCESSOR BEATEN WHILE TEACHER WATCHES.

It’s a storm and a half. Aldera is torn apart and every way they had treated Izuku is released by the young secretary who had cared for him and tried to help.

People are asked opinions and heroes glare at the school. They snarl out opinions and spit out their thoughts. UA releases a statement they will help with the lawyers if needed as does a hundred different schools. Some offer to have Izuku complete his final year with them.

It’s a mess. More so when Endeavour speaks.

“Endeavour!” One reporter manages to corner him. “What are your thoughts on the Aldera situation?”

“... one of my sons is Quirkless. The entire reason he is homeschooled is to prevent things like Aldera from happening to him.” Endeavour spits out. “Places like Aldera are cesspools.”

“Why didn’t anyone know about this?” Asks the reporter. “Why hide your-“

“My wife wanted to.” Endeavour snaps. “If you want I can release the videos of our discussions about it. My wife is mentally unwell and struggled with the idea of a Quirkless child. She loves him dearly but…” he sighs. “I have no care but due to her place in a mental institution I have kept silent so it would not set her back. With all this going on though I am speaking out about it. Being a bigot is disgusting.” It’s all he says and he leaves, unaware of the fact his children had watched and now are ripping things apart in confusion, only one knowing anything and looking at her brothers in worry.

Another watches and bares his teeth in anger.

But for Izuku the words of a pro hero known to be a traditionalist, known to be a jerk, known to be unpleasant… his words affect everyone too. If Endeavour thinks it’s disgusting…

Then he knows they truly are wrong. Everyone.

-0-

“He wasn’t the worst.” Izuku speaks. He’s sitting in a courtroom, a day off from his training to participate in the lawsuit. It had suddenly been put in court fast. Very fast but given that All Might’s successor was involved, was it any wonder. “Kaa… Bakugou wasn’t the worst.”

“Oh?” Asks the lawyer presenting the schools. “According to the teachers he-“

“He was the most verbal.” Izuku agreed, cutting him off. “He was the most verbal. But I’ve only known him to use his Quirk twice on me. Every other student did it often.” Izuku stands to show off his arms, detail a kid with spikes who would lean in to close on purpose in front of the teacher, speaking of one of Bakugou’s friends with long fingers who would shove them down his throat to choke him out. Bakugou would beat him up but rarely use his Quirk- not after he had been scolded harshly for using explosives on others. “I remember one time a student put spider lilies on my desk and a teacher pulled out a vase. Bakugou grabbed both and exploded them.”

“Sources say he told you to jump off a roof and pray for a Quirk in the next life,” the lawyer presses.

“And a teacher put a knife on my desk after a Quirkless girl slit her wrists,” Izuku says and the lawyer stops, stares and turns. Said teacher has gone very pale in the crowd.

Izuku is only kind of amused when the lawyer right there resigns, stating there is a limit and they crossed it, agreeing to take any penalties offered.

It’s a pretty clear victory for Izuku and his side, and they walk out without a backward glance.

As well, Izuku had managed to get something for Ka… Bakugou.

His mom told him that she didn’t think he should keep using his nickname and Izuku had to agree. It had stopped being a friendly thing years before and holding on did no good- not after he decided to beat him up simply for getting a possible Quirk.

Bakugou would be allowed to attend a hero school under probation. If he attends UA with Izuku they would not be allowed in the same class or be allowed to fight against each other. He would be monitored.

It’s enough. Izuku hopes it’s enough.

Meanwhile, the hero who had helped him during the beating is still around. He’s Eraserhead and Izuku is so excited to meet him.

He’s the one who comes up with a plan for schooling. Izuku is homeschooled now and spends most days on the beach. Eraserhead is often with him shouting out lessons or using the trash to teach. Sometimes other heroes come by to help.

Izuku is taught by a variety of heroes as he works and he finds himself thriving where before he would not.

“It takes a village,” he overhears his mother say to Eraserhead. “Thank you all.”

“He’s a good kid from what we’ve seen. He’s inheriting a big legacy.”

“Yes. Yes, he is.”

-0-

Izuku is given the hair the day of the regular exam- though he’s not taking it. That had been discussed with Nezu, Eraserhead, Yagi and multiple others who all agreed he would need more training before using his Quirk. Instead, he was to take the recommendation exam- which was a giant race through an obstacle field. He wouldn’t need a Quirk, just his mind for that.

He takes the hair and swallows, making a face. It’s just him and All Might, the others having agreed not to show up.

“I’m proud of you,” Yagi tells him. “You’ve come far.” Izuku hums and looks over the beach, cleaned and clear.

“...Thanks All Might,” he tells his hero. The man laughs.

“Nothing of it young Midoriya.”

Izuku will go to UA as the successor of All Might.

He wonders what the world had in store for him.

[stygiansauce]

Dude. DUDE. My friend.. YOU ABSOLUTE ICON FIDKDOEOE. Sorry. I just finished reading the first 4 chapters of MOE and stumbled upon it the day Chapter 4 got released knowing nothing prior. WDYM THIS IS YOUR FIRST PUBLIC FIC?! Like, I've been a fairly active fanfic reader for a solid while now and this is an absolute gem. Honestly? It's tied with Uhohbestie's There Are Monsters Nearby Scarian fic for me (Absolutely incredible btw, but this is your light we're shining here) and that was 400,000 words. Your writing is just so incredibly immersive and you work with 3rd person perspectives and alternating them between Tango and Jimmy SO WELL. I envy your talent here man, I really really do and I hope that you take what you've got here beyond just fanfiction and go into professional writing. Genuinely, brilliant. I'm so excited to be hearing more from you as a creator, and I'm so thankful that I've found you as early as I have lol.

BUT QUESTION TIME BAHAHAH

Have you considered writing a side fic of Grian's perspective with raising Jimmy? Or just a general fic about the Proctor family's story in depth about how they ended up here? I know you have so many ideas now, but the way you've developed these characters in just 4 chapters astonishes me and it would be really cool to see

Hi wisp!!

I need yall to stop telling me I sound like a professional writer because I'm about to graduate and I didnt go through with the creative writing degree and now I GOTTA DO GRAD SCHOOL BECUASE YOU GUYS ARE RIGHT THIS IS MY DREAM. IM ILL OVER THIS.

YES! HAI this is my first public fic! I'm fucking crazy to make this long haul fic my first one ever but I am having so much fun! I'm SO HAPPY you like the 3rd person POV because I chose it specifically to immerse the reader into the story without opressing them with the characters feelings. It's like litterary specator mode and I eat it up.

I'm blushing so hard, what do you mean talent <33333333 im loosing it this ask is nice. I'm going to cry. this is going in my photo album. omg. Thank you Wisp this is so sweet.

QUESTION ANSWER TIME

YES! First draft is in the works. this is the MOE verse time line (because it grew three heads)

Margin of Error (main story, carries most of the lore)

Trial and Error (bascially an extended epilogue because I love them so much)

Hanging Indent (the Ethubs spin off that goes through Etho and Bdubs relationship as they grow up and their relationship durring MOE. this happens at the same time as Margin of Error and will be timelined roughly around Ranchers relationship.)

First Draft (the scarian prequel. this follows Grian at age 20-23 ish when he meets Scar. How his life is going with school, two jobs, raising Jimmy, and how bad he misses his mom.)

We will get to dig into Grian and his grief later, though I plan to have all the stories kind of tie up in Margin of Error. so like, if thats the only fic someone read, they would have enough context without the detail of the others.

I'm so glad you found me!! I'm incredibly happy to have you here, thank you for reading and loving MOE. xoxox

[so-long-soldier28]

~ five things you'll find in my writing ~

tagged by: @thiamsxbitch @awinnn23 @barelybalthasar @axxxx13

thank you for the tags!! <33

i've been so slow at responding to tags and asks lately omg i'm sorry

semicolons: the day i learned what a semicolon was, i became insufferable. i use them all the time; i hate ending sentences short when i could so easily connect them. 😅

darker themes: a lot of the time, i write to cope with and process things i'm not sure how to handle otherwise. this is why my writing has a lot of sh and sa, as well as other mental health issues. i often find answers to my own problems through writing. the solutions my characters find for their struggles are sometimes applicable to my own life.

in-depth research for one small detail: i don't care if i'm only writing one line about something, i need to know everything about it before i believe i can write that one line accurately. when i wrote for glee, i spent an entire day learning all the rules to play lacrosse, just to mention the sport by name, no rules written at all. the sport itself is only mentioned in the show once. though that research did come in handy for writing teen wolf now. i guess it's not the worst habit to have.

the title appearing as a line in the work: i'm notoriously bad at titling, but if the title's not a song lyric, it's almost 100% certain to be found in the work. half of my editing is also scouring the draft for a possible title.

character's thoughts, long and drawn out: i'm really guilty about writing big paragraphs of one character assuming a whole bunch of stuff, just to be proved wrong by another two lines later. toss a little miscommunication in there, too, and maybe a metaphor. everyone's mentally ill and a tad insecure here; they're going to make up a whole story in their head and then they're going have to be proved wrong to believe the other character actually cares about them.

[canyouiimagine]

Showed Me | CS55 x Black!Reader (draft)

A/N: This is just a draft but I wanted to know if you guys like the use of I or You better 👩🏾‍💻 👉🏾👈🏾

I'm also planning on making this a series so, yeah 💖

Warnings: cursing, mean reader, mentions of cheating. (idk how to do this 😭)

Carlos Sainz was an asshole. 

I knew it, she knew it, everybody knew it. 

It wasn’t even like the man looked like an angel. Carlos looked the part and his actions told it all. He was selfish and narcissistic, but he was also charming, and that’s how he got away with everything.

Y/BF/N had met him at a party a year ago in Ibiza. It was love at first sight she told me. He had saved her from a guy who was harassing her and stayed with her afterward to make sure she was okay. He eventually drove her home not expecting anything in return and gave her his number in case she needed anything. Shortly after, they started dating. 

To her, was sweet and caring. He flew her out places, bought her expecting gifts, and gave her his time whenever he could. But being an F1 driver, they were apart a lot. Sure, he would fly her out but it was different. They were in a secret relationship, something that he had managed to convince her she wanted, and so even when in the same city, the time they could spend together was limited. 

To me, he was a prick who had convinced my friend that it would be better to keep their relationship a secret so he could feed her crumbs and use it as an excuse.

Carlos being an F1 driver, they were apart a lot. Sure she would sometimes attend the races - she was a software engineer and worked remotely so she could accommodate - but they couldn't even interact in public. They spent their time loving each other in secret. It was hard but worth it. Or so she thought. 

After a year of dating that’s when she saw it. A girl had posted a picture at his house. She didn’t tag him or add the location but she didn’t need to for my friend to know. Of course she would recognize the house she spent half of her time in anywhere! Though she tried to reassure herself at first, after scrolling through the pictures she resigned herself. He had been cheating on her the entire time. There were pictures upon pictures of her at the same places she had been flown to, to meet up with her boyfriend. Hotels and homes they stayed at. And all with a week or sometimes even just hours she presumed of difference!

She didn’t even know who was the side chick, was it her or the other girl? Had he met the both of them at the same time? Were there other girls? 

She cried on the phone explaining everything to me and I couldn’t resist the urge to say -

“I told you so.”

“Y/N! You’re supposed to be supportive! I gave him one year of my life. One year!” She cried out to me. 

“I’m sorry…” And I really was. Y/BF/N was emotional. She was the type to wear her heart on her sleeve. She wouldn’t think ill of somebody until they did something bad to her, that’s why all of our warnings fell silent to her ears. 

“He wasn’t a bad boyfriend. There was no way I could have suspected this.” She lamented. What she said was half true. He was a good boyfriend, always treated her very well but his actions were suspicious on more than one occasion. 

For instance, they had this “ritual” if you will. They would call each other every night to talk about their day and whatnot. But sometimes he wouldn’t answer the phone and tell her he was busy with work but could be seen partying with girls later in the media. She would ask him about and he would say it was for business and he couldn’t say no because then they would suspect something and he wanted to protect her. 

That was always his excuse.

“We can’t let him get away with this! We-” She said, all sadness gone from her face. 

“We?” I asked, cutting her off. I didn’t remember this being a ‘we’ problem. 

She glared at me and resumed what she was saying. “We -" she emphasized, "- have to make him pay!”. 

She looked at me expectingly and I sighed.“What do you have in mind?”

Hearing that, she grinned, looking at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Like I said, Y/BF/N was emotional. She wanted revenge and revenge was what I did best. 

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

At the Dawn There is Rejoicing--a birthday gift for @kmomof4 (Chapter 5)

Summary:  Birthday gift for Krystal, @kmomof4. Based on the story of Leslie Moore and Owen Ford in the book Anne’s House of Dreams–the 5th book in the Anne of Green Gables series.  Emma Gold has led a difficult life.  Her brother and her father died when she was a child, and she was then coerced into marrying the odious Neal Gold.  She thought she’d been granted a reprieve when he was believed to be lost at sea–only for him to return disabled and in need of a caregiver.  Killian is a newspaper reporter who is tired of his routine life.  When he falls ill, his editor forces him to take a sabbatical.  What will happen when Emma takes Killian in as a border for the summer? Big thank you to @snowbellewells for making the cover pic set!

Word Count: 3266

Other Chapters: (Prologue) (1) (2) (3) (4) (6) (7) (Epilogue)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 5

Killian knocked on the Nolans’ front door and waited patiently for a response.  Just that morning, after three months of work, he’d put the finishing touches on his novel.  It was good.  He knew it was good.  This work would bring him acclaim, maybe even fortune.

But for all that, it was the time here that he’d found most precious.  The lovely afternoons spent by the sea, his trusty notebook in hand.  The days spent collaborating with Captain Nemo, hearing his harrowing tales–all of which he swore up and down were the Bible truth–discussing ideas, hearing his thoughts on his manuscript and the world in general.  It had all been more exhilarating than anything he’d ever experienced.

Except, that is, falling in love.  That had been exhilarating on an entirely new level beyond anything he could have imagined.  For he could deny it no longer.  He had fallen deeply, passionately, irrevocably in love with Emma.

As he waited for the door to be answered, he thought about the moment he’d known he loved her.

It had been several weeks past. He’d had plans to go to the shore and write until his hand cramped and the words would no longer come.  Accordingly, he’d bid Emma goodbye for the day and headed out.

An hour later, however, he discovered his pen had run out of ink, and he went back to the boarding house to grab another.  When he’d come in view of the house he saw her.

She stood on the balcony off of her bedroom, dressed in a long, demure dressing gown, her glorious golden hair blowing freely in the breeze, wrapping around her like a cloak, before being once more blown aside.  She had evidently taken advantage of a free morning to wash her hair and let the salty sea breeze dry it.

She was the most beautiful vision he’d ever seen, and it was at that moment that he’d known, simply known that he loved her and there would never be another woman for him.

It was exhilarating….but it was also the most tragic thing that could have happened.  She was married.   She could never be his.

This morning, having finished the first draft of his novel, he knew his time on the island was coming to a close.  Mr. DuLac had begun asking about his plans to return, and with the book finished, he knew he could put it off no longer.  

And that’s what brought him to David and Mary Margaret’s home this afternoon.  He knew his love was hopeless, and he had no intention of declaring it to Emma, but he had to tell someone.  He had to unburden himself, and there was no one who was a better listener or more sympathetic than Mary Margaret.  Though she was a few years his junior, there was something almost motherly about her.

The woman herself opened the door a moment later, and looked up at him in surprise.

“Killian, this is a surprise!” she said.  “Come in!  Would you like some tea?”

“Don’t trouble yourself, Mary Margaret,” he said quickly, “in your condition you don’t need to be waiting on me.”

She looked down at her protruding belly and chuckled.  “I can’t believe I still have two months to go.  I feel rather like a beached whale already.”

“You look lovely,” he said gallantly.  “But I’m sure you need your rest.”

“Indeed she does!” came the businesslike voice of Johanna from the kitchen doorway.  The Nolans had hired Johanna a month before as a kind of nurse and housekeeper.  Mary Margaret had balked a bit at bringing a stranger into their home, but Johanna had quickly become family, and she’d be indispensable once Mary Margaret entered her confinement.  “Don’t you fret, Mrs. Doctor, dear.  Johanna’s at the helm.  I’ll put the kettle on.  You simply enjoy your visit.”

Mary Margaret laughed. “I feel as though I’ve been dismissed.  Something tells me if I attempted to enter my own kitchen, I’d be summarily tossed out.”

Killian smiled.  “I wouldn’t test her.”

Mary Margaret led him to the sitting room and indicated an easy chair, which he accepted gladly as she took her own seat on the sofa.  “To what do I owe the pleasure?  Is everything alright?  Killian, you’re not looking well.  You’re not suffering a relapse are you?”

“Oh nothing like that,” he was quick to assure.  “I finished my novel this morning, and I plan to return to Montreal at the end of the week.”

“That soon?” Mary Margaret said, “we’ll all miss you terribly!  You’ve been such a splendid addition to our group!  You must come back again soon!”

He was quiet for a long moment, before speaking again.  “I’ll never return to the island.”

And then it all came spilling out, the whole beautiful, tragic tale of his love for Emma, of his need for her, of his knowledge that she was the only woman in the world for him.

“Oh, Killian, you didn’t say anything to her did you?” she asked tragically when his tale was finished.  “You know nothing can come of it!”

“Of course I didn’t!” Killian said vehemently.  “What kind of a monster do you take me for?  I know my feelings are hopeless, and the last thing in the world I would ever want to do is burden her further with them!”

Mary Margaret breathed a sigh of relief before adding.  “Does she feel the same about you?”

Yes, she does.  I know she does.  I’ve seen it in her eyes, felt it in the gentle way she’s cared for me while I recuperated.

“No,” he said aloud, “of course not.  She can’t.”

Mary Margaret smiled sadly, and he could see that his protestations didn’t convince her.

“I don’t expect anything from you or from her,” Killian said.  “I just…I had to tell someone.  Never fear, I will leave and never return, but for one moment, I…just needed to unburden myself.  I can count on your discretion can’t I?”

“Of course”, she answered, “I promise to not tell a soul–not even David.  But Killian, don’t give up hope!  If there’s anything I’ve learned through my life, it’s that there’s always hope, even when things look the bleakest.”

He smiled sadly.  “I’d like to believe that, but just now, hope seems like nothing but an unattainable dream.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

On Friday morning, when Killian came into the kitchen he was carrying his suitcases.

Emma’s heart broke at the sight, though she’d been trying to prepare herself for this moment since he’d told her of his plans at the beginning of the week.  He was leaving, and she knew she would never again be the same.

She’d fallen in love with him.  

For weeks–months even–she’d tried to deny the fact, even to herself.  She was married after all.  Nothing could come of feelings for her boarder.

But in the depths of her heart where the truth could not be denied she knew, she’d always known.  She loved him.

A new pain, sharper, and yet sweeter than any she’d ever known had entered her life at the realization.  Yes, her life to this point had been difficult.  She’d married a man she didn’t love, didn’t even respect.  He’d returned to her after an accident as little more than a child in mentality, someone she’d need to care for for the rest of his natural life.  All of it was hard.

But it was bearable as long as she hadn’t known what real love was.  Now…now she didn’t know how she’d survive the endless empty years that loomed before her.

“All packed up?” she said with a falsely bright, cheerful smile–one she knew didn’t fool anyone, least of all him, who seemed capable of reading her very thoughts.

“Aye,” he’d answered with a sad smile.  “Once breakfast is over, I’ll head to the station.”

“Neal can help you with your bags,” she said, turning toward the stove, giving the eggs one last, unnecessary stir while she willed the tears from welling up.  There would be time to give vent to her grief once he was gone.  She wouldn’t make a fool of herself with it while he was still here.

He came up behind her, his nearness distracting, somehow the greatest pleasure mixed with nearly unbearable pain.  He put a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him.  “I appreciate it,” he said simply.

“It’s no trouble,” Emma tried to say casually.  “Neal likes to be helpful, and I know he likes you.  He’ll enjoy helping you take your luggage to the station.”

“I didn’t merely mean about offering Neal’s services, love,” he said softly.  “I appreciate everything you’ve done, everything you’ve been to me over the past four months of my stay.  You’ve been a true godsend.”

She tried to shrug off the thanks. “I didn’t do so much.”

“But you did,” he continued.  “In those early days when I still barely had the strength to climb a flight of stairs, you cared for me, bringing me everything I needed, inquiring about my health.  You made me feel welcome, a part of the family.  You brought me into a circle of friends who have become dearer to me than anyone I’ve ever known.  I can never repay you for all of it.”

“It…it was my pleasure,” she said, her voice breaking.  “But enough talk.  My breakfast is getting cold.”

During the meal both of them stuck determinedly to light topics–there was no word about feelings, departures, the future.

But eventually, every bite was eaten, every sip of tea drunk, and the inevitable could not be put off any longer.

After setting his empty plate in the sink, Killian turned to Emma, his eyes sad.  “Thank you again. For everything.”

“Think nothing of it.”

For long moments they merely looked at each other, their eyes speaking words neither was free to say.

“Emma,” he said finally, his voice gravelly and tragic, “there’s not a day that will go by that I won’t think of you.”

She swallowed hard several times as the tears welled up, one finally spilling over when she could no longer contain it.  “Good,” she said simply.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mary Margaret Nolan sat in her favorite, high backed chair before the fire.  It was only early September, but the nights were already becoming cool, and she was grateful David had built up the fire tonight.  

The baby kicked, and Mary Margaret smiled, massaging her distended belly where the little one seemed determined to make his presence known.  She couldn’t be sure, of course, but she was convinced their baby was a boy.  Mother’s intuition, she supposed.

She was so confident, in fact, that the pair of tiny booties she was attempting to knit were a light, sky blue.  Attempting being the operative word.  Though no novice at the art of knitting, Mary Margaret had made more than one mistake this evening and had to rip out several rows of work.

Mary Margaret frowned, setting her knitting aside and gazing thoughtfully into the fire.  What a mess it all was!  First Killian confiding his feelings for Emma and then Emma doing the same not a week later.

She’d gone down to the shore one evening when David was again out on calls.  He didn’t like her venturing so far on foot by herself in her current condition, but she figured what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.  She was sure Johanna would keep her secret.

What she’d found at the shoreline wasn’t the peace and tranquility she was accustomed to.  Instead, she’d found Emma rather frantically pacing back and forth.

“Whatever is the matter, Emma?” she’d asked in concern after reaching the other woman.

“Mary Margaret, I am such a fool, such an idiotic fool!  How could I let this happen?”

And then the whole tale had come out.  Despite her best efforts, she’d fallen in love with Killian Jones, and now he was gone, and she felt utterly bereft.

“And the worst part?” Emma had said. “The worst part is that I’m sure it would have been even worse if he’d stayed.  How could I endure that torture–being so close to the man I love knowing nothing could ever come of it?  That is, of course, assuming he even felt the same, which I’m not vain enough to believe to be the case.”

Mary Margaret had said little, aside from whatever paltry words of comfort she could find.  She knew, of course, that Emma’s feelings were more than reciprocated, but she’d made Killian a promise, and she intended to keep it.

She rather thought she’d keep the information to herself even if he hadn’t exacted the promise from her.  The knowledge would do nothing but bring Emma further pain.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” Emma asked. “Not even David?  I couldn’t bear to think of anyone else knowing what a terrible person–what a terrible wife I am.”

“You are NOT a terrible person, and you are the last person anyone would consider a terrible wife,” Mary Margaret said firmly.  “You’ve done more for that miserable man in the last twelve years than anyone could have asked of you.  Still, I promise.  I won’t tell a soul.”

Mary Margaret was not known for her ability to keep a secret, but she felt sure she would have no difficulty keeping either of the promises she’d made.  It was all so horrible.  A month and a half after Killian had left, and Emma was clearly suffering as much as the day he’d gone.  It seemed the saying was true.  Absence really did make the heart grow fonder.

“Mary Margaret,” David said slowly from the chair beside her.  

She heard the hesitation and uncertainty in his voice, and looked at him in concern.  He had been unusually quiet all evening, and she’d wondered if something were the matter, but when he’d said nothing, she assumed he’d lost a patient or some other aspect of his work troubled him.

“Yes?” she responded finally.

“I….I” he stammered before clearing his throat and turning to look at her directly.  “I find myself in something of a quandary.  I know what I should do, but the last thing in the world I want is to do it.”

Well this didn’t sound good.  A sudden foreboding came over her.  Somehow she knew she was not going to like what he had to say.  Still, she laid a comforting hand over his and interlaced their fingers.  “If it would help, I’m happy to be a listening ear.”

“You know this afternoon I was over at the Golds. to lance a boil Neal had on his neck.”  After her nod he continued.  “I decided to take the opportunity to examine his head–specifically the area where he was injured that night so many years ago.”

He stopped again, and she squeezed his hand, urging him to continue.

“Mary Margaret, I think there may be a way to surgically fix what’s wrong.  I think it might be possible to restore him to his right senses.”

Mary Margaret pulled in a quick, agonized breath.  “David you can’t!  You know what that would do to Emma!  Neal as, basically a child is difficult enough for her, but to return the horrible man she married?  David it would be torture!”

“I know, Snow!” It was a nickname he’d given her years ago, one he only used in moments of great emotion.  “It’s killing me to even think it!  The last thing in the world I would ever want to do is harm Emma, but now that I’ve seen it, how can I not tell her?”

“You can’t David!” Mary Margaret said again, hearing the near hysteria in her voice.  “Could you even do the surgery?  You’ve never done anything neurological before!”

“No,” David said quickly, “it would be beyond my skill, but there are doctors in the city who would be more than capable.  There’s no guarantee anything would come of it, but there is a chance.”

“There you go!”  Mary Margaret said, getting to her feet and beginning to pace.  “It’s not a certainty!  You know Emma doesn’t have the kind of money to spend on the trip and what is sure to be an expensive surgery!  Please, David, you can’t tell her!”

David was quiet for a long time, and then hung his head, hands holding the back of his chair, and leaning into it as though it were the only thing holding him up.  “I’ve told myself the same things you are saying over and over again, Snow, but I can’t get away from it.  As a doctor, my first duty is toward my patients.  Emma may choose to act on my information or to not act on it, but I have to at least tell her.  I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Emma took the news as stoically as she was able, hearing Dr. Nolan out, refusing to let her face betray the utter dread she felt at even the possibility of having Neal restored to his senses.  David had been wonderfully gentle and understanding, offering her an out.  Assuring her he would think no less of her if she chose to forego the surgery.  It was, he said, a long shot and would be quite expensive.

She’d said very little to him, bidding him goodbye as soon as he’d finished speaking, but that didn’t stop her tortured thoughts.  All night she’d tossed and turned, able to think of nothing but the choice in front of her.

One minute she’d resolved to dismiss Dr. Nolan’s suggestion, and then the next the guilt convinced her she had to at least try to restore Neal.  Back and forth it went all night.

But when dawn came, she’d come to a decision.  She had to do the right thing.  She had to take Neal for the surgery.

Accordingly, at the end of the week, she took Neal to the city and allowed the surgeons to do their work.

After the procedure was over, the doctor had come to her, assuring her that all had gone well. They’d need to wait for him to wake, though, to determine if it had been a success.

Several hours later, Emma was sitting at Neal’s bedside when he awoke.  “Neal?” she said tentatively.  “Do you know me, Neal?”

For a moment he simply looked at her.  He looked confused, but his eyes no longer held the vacant look she’d seen in them for the past twelve years.

Then he spoke. 

“Emma?  Is that you?  Why are you calling me Neal?”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Notes:

–Let the yelling commence that I ended it there and am leaving you hanging, lol!  What exactly did that last line mean?  You’ll have to stay tuned to find out!  (But, if you’re dying to know what just happened, never fear.  Krystal has given me the puppy dog eyes when I told her I had a cliff-hanger in store for her, and as a result, I have succumbed to her pleading to post the next chapter on Sunday.

–Given the fact that I now have the first draft of the entire fic finished, I plan to actually post 3 times next week: Sunday, Tuesday and Friday.

–Up next:  We learn what my last sentence above actually means.  We learn whether or not the surgery was a success and what exactly that means for all those concerned.  In addition to the Emma/Neal portion of the story, big changes come to both the Nolans, Granny and Marco.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

14 20 26 28 31 for the writing ask, please! 😊

Hahaha annnnd here are my replies, two months late lol

14. Write and share the first sentence of a new fic. Just that.

There's something uncanny about becoming the prey animal when, for so long, a man is used to being the hunter.

20. Do you work on a single project or many at the same time? How does that work for you?

I definitly am a multi-project person. I'll cycle through them, depending on what I'm in the mood to write.

For example, at the moment I've got:

What Makes a King pt. 2 (Eomer/Grima; Grima/His Internal Desire to be Lady Macbeth)

The Magi (original story - but it's Ficini/Cavalcanti)

A Discworld fic that's a meditation on illness, disability, and politics (Downey/vetinari)

Shardlake fic (Shardlake/Barak)

Napolington rework of Pale Before the Fall (what it says on the tin)

Elegy for those still breathing (Hastings/Poirot)

poetry manuscript

Lucieta (original story - prequal to the Venetians/House of No Return)

Letters (Downey/Vetinari - a new fic I'm working on with a friend)

annnd I think that's all for now.

26. What would you describe as OOC?

For Grima I've answered that Here :D

28. Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

I'm not the best at sharing advice because I find everyone is so different that it's really just about figuring out what works for you and your style and what the story needs.

Also, what I have to say is all stuff that's been said before:

Write everything out first then edit. Just, word vomit all over the page then go back with the scalpel to edit and adjust.

Outlines can be as detailed or as high level as you need them to be.

Sometimes you just have to kill your darlings, sadly

Step away from a piece when you're done before going in to edit. Give yourself a solid break from it - that will lend some perspective to the editing process.

Not every scene needs to be written. We don't need to see the characters do everything - we can just jump to the next important part.

Be self-indulgent when writing, especially the first draft, even if you do end up removing portions of the self indulgence later. It's important because it gives you pleasure, keeps you writing, and allows you time and space to get to know characters/the story/the world.

31. What was the most difficult fic for you to write (but in the end you made it)?

There were times when I was losing steam for the LOTR Trilogy rewrite. Definitely some hard moments there. But it's written! It's done!

Thus Always - I had to rewrite the entire thing I had stopped for so long lol

hmmm there are a few others that I remember being a challenge to write. Mostly it's about losing momentum - if I lose steam and interest it's hard to get back into it.

---

Thank you so much for the ask!!

[ask meme]

[corviiids]

as always i want to ask you every question but i'll let others play... SO: 9, 12, and 29! (1 sounds really fun but i'll have to think about what fic to suggest unless YOU have something in mind in which case this is an invitation for you to do just that)

thank you!! i'd love to do 1 but i'll have to think about it so i might do it as a separate post. anyone feel free to suggest a fic if they like, otherwise i might pick one later! the question is "Write a scene from [insert fic] in another character’s POV".

answered 12 already!

9. How did you get into writing fanfiction?

i kind of can't remember the details. from memory i read some fic on mugglenet and thought hey i could probably do that.

29. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

if it's something i've really gotten in my head about (eg a new chapter or a oneshot that took too long) then ill sit on it for months if not years fretting and re-revising. 'the gray-eyed monster', my akeshu fake dating no-powers au, was five years in the making because i just never quite got it to the finish line until this year. 'mr perfect', my souyo fic, and 'if found, please call', my akeshu lost dog au, were both basically complete but unposted for three years but for a few final edits.

HOWEVER... if i can finish writing the first draft quickly enough (ie in a matter of days or preferably hours), then usually what you're seeing IS the first draft. i sometimes barely read it back at all. i wrote 'aquascaping' (patrochilles fish divorce) on my phone at work all in one go and i don't think i even read it before posting it. i wrote 'telltale' (lawlight soulmateship nightmares fic) on my phone on the plane to japan and posted it as soon as i got to the hotel, so i barely read that one back either.

it's basically a race against my brain. if i can finish and post the thing before the anxiety alarms start to go off, then you're seeing a first draft - which isn't really ideal, but to me it's better than having the thing sit with me so i can overwork it for months. funnily enough it's usually those fics i look back on most fondly, even though the first draft of everything is supposed to be shit... well, take that, hemingway

[falce-knight]

Falce this might be a bit rude(?) You dont need to answer if you want but I am curious have your wing ever malfuntion during a flight or fight or any situation really. Does it annoy you or it work flawlessly? Also here have some puddings for this long question haha 🍮🍮🍮🍮

(Long ask sorry hdhsh)

While...indeed, a bit rude, i will answer you.

AH HELLO accidentally posted this draft. Very embarrasing, please forgive me. But okay since it is here, i will leave it and ill come back to edit it later.

[suddencolds]

🌸 🥀 🥳💡 for the ask meme, from w1ngxd!

AHHH thank you for the ask, Wing!!!! These were so much fun to answer :D ❤️

🌸 - Are there any sneeze related tropes you prefer to write?

Yes!! I like contagion in pretty much any form 🫣 I love emotional tension (someone reluctant/embarrassed to admit that they have a cold, someone falling ill at an inopportune time, someone afraid to show vulnerability or unwilling to contradict their spotless public image, etc.)—i.e. the hurt part of the hurt/comfort—so long as there's at least a bit of comfort at the end. <3

I like when caretakers are extremely perceptive (/ can pick up on the smallest of tells), but I also like when colds are extremely obvious 🫣 I like when the character who's ill is more concerned about the other character catching it than they are themself. If it's the right kind of character, I like making their life super inconvenient in public bc of a cold/allergies (though I rarely ever write an external party noticing/commenting). And from an h/c perspective, I like when a character who's just feeling awful and finally works up the courage to reach for help/comfort, only to have it readily given to them tenfold 🥰

🥀 - What helps you motivate yourself to write when you’re in a slump? Any advice? Do you wait it out?

If I'm not happy with a scene, I open a new word doc and try to write it again from scratch. Dealing with a blank slate feels better for me than trudging through editing something I'm already not happy with :')

And if I'm feeling really terrible about a draft—to the extent that I don't want to work on it at all, I leave it and go work on something else! I think for the current yvverse series I'm working on, I know I'll get back to it eventually (because it's very important to me), so I feel less nervous about leaving it to sit.

🥳 - Do you read your writing after you’ve posted it?

I do! But not immediately after. I'm actually guilty of posting stuff that has typos I don't catch until a couple days later, when I can work up the courage to give it a quick skim 😭

Facing my work when it's newly written/posted I think is like a can of worms for me. I'm very critical of my own work haha. There's a special kind of relief (and perhaps, closure) for me that comes with putting it out into the world and walking away from it.

💡 - Do you find it easier to write ideas that come to you naturally or prompts requested by others?

I love receiving prompts!! I have a severe lack of ideas 😭 I feel like I could take an idea and run with it, but after I've written like the 2-3 things I'm itching to write for a new fandom, I often find myself at a loss for new ideas, barring external inspiration.

I also like receiving prompts even when I'm guilty of never getting to write them—it's fun to see what other people want to read :') I think when I wrote for a fandom (Gens//hin) I got a lot more prompts, but now that I write mostly OC fic, I haven't gotten any prompts in like a year (maybe also because I haven't explicitly asked for any? Consider this blanket permission to anyone reading this haha)

[ Question List ]

[ritz-writes]

please please please please I know nothing I’m oblivious who are these funky little lads that are apparently Bruce Waynes kids

Was going thru my drafts and realized I never answered this ask im so sorry!!

I started writing a HUGEEEE thing explaining as much as I could (ended up being over 4k) but I felt that was a bit much so ill just explain the basics on the bat kids. Just a long paragraph for each. Keep in mind that canon changes a lot and there are different comics and shows and version of the characters. Ill just explain what I know the most

Dick Grayson: First Robin. Now goes by Nightwing. Was a spy in one comic and went by Grayson but we don’t like that one that much. Also got amnesia at one point and went by Ric. We hate Ric, don’t bring him up. Was part of the flying graysons in Haley’s Circus with his parents but they were killed by Tony Zucco during a performance (their line broke). Bruce was in the crowd and made Dick is ward. Dick was 8 at the time. When he was 18 he had a fight with bruce and moved to Bludhaven. Thats where he became Nightwing. Hes the oldest kid

Jason Todd: Second Robin. Goes by Red Hood. He lived in Crime Alley by himself (father was in prison (later died) and mom overdosed). Wanted to make some cash so tried to steal the wheels of the batmobile. Bruce was honestly impressed and took him in. Dick was a bit upset at first (bruce give jason robin without asking. In most comics robin was a nickname dicks mom called him) but eventually warmed up to jason. I could go on a whole rant about how jason wasnt the angry robin most ppl say, but I wont. Bruce thinks he killed someone and benches him. Jason finds out his mom isnt his bio mom. His bio mom is in Ethipoia and he goes to find her. She sells him out to joker. Joker tortures him with a crowbar and leaves him in a building that explodes (also kills the bio mom). Talia al Ghul (daughter of Ra’s al Ghul. Hes the leader of the League of Assassins) brings him back to life via lazarus pit. Jasons story is very long so ill just say he comes back angry, tries to get bruce to kill joker, almost kills tim (hes next), kinda becomes the head crime lord in crime alley, and is hella hella protective of the kids and working girls in crime alley. Hes also a book nerd. Wanted to be an english major before he died. He and batwoman (mentioned in honorably mentions below) use guns. Sometimes he uses rubber bullets, sometimes he deosnt. In his newest reboot he uses a crowbar and has a different outfit. Not a fan of it. in some versions he doesnt work with the batfam, in others he rejoins them. i like the latter more.

Tim Drake: Third Robin. Currently goes by Red Robin. (yes like the restaurant. Yes its a running joke in the fandom) The smart robin. Smarter than batman in some universes (most imo). Figured out batmans identity by himself when he was like 8-9. when jason dies bruce doesn’t pull his punches at all and tim is like “he needs a robin.” tries to get dick to come back, but he says no. so tim basically forces himself into bruces life as robin until bruce relents. Tim has a hella messed up storyline that I don’t know very well. Jason tries to kill him, Damian tries to kill him (hes next), theres one story line where bruce is lost in time and tim is the only one who doesn’t think hes dead. Lots of stuff happens. Bascially all his friends die, his parents die, he loses his spleen- its a mess. Hes also the ceo of wayne enterprise in some comics. We also joke that hes an immortal 17 yr old cuz hes almost always 17 in the comics. Tim is bi and has a boyfriend named Bernard (I ship him more with kon tho)

Damian Wayne: Fourth Robin. Trained as an assassin since birth. He’s bruces bio son. Son of talia and bruce. Becomes robin when hes 9 I think. In one story, the bruce lost in time one, dick just gives robin to damian cuz “he needs it.” damian was very…. Murdery at first. Has a sword. Very talented artist. Very very smart. Can take advanced college courses at like age 7. smart boy. He has the most character devleopment in my opinion. Calls himself “the blood son.” is best friends with superman’s son, Jon.

Stephanie Brown: Steph. Goes by Spoiler now. is kinda Robin 3.5. or 2.5 idk when in the timeline she was robin, but she was robin for like 2 weeks before getting fired. Idk much about her. Her father is Cluemaster (villain). Isn’t adopted by bruce, but is his kid nonetheless. She and tim dated at one point.

Cassandra Cain: Cass. Goes by Orphan or Black Bat, depending on the comic. Was raised to be a weapon by her father. Idk his name. Her mother is Lady Shiva, another world class assassin. Cass was taught to not speak cuz “weapons don’t have feelings.” she knows sign and when bruce takes her in he helps her find her voice. In some versions she can speak, in others she just says one or two words at a time, and in some she just uses sign. Shes other than jason (by like 2 months) but younger than dick. Not sure if shes adopted or not.

Duke Thomas: Goes by Signal. I know the least about him. Also not adopted. His parents were jokerized (got posioned with joker gas and kinda went insane.) He’s a meta apparently? I learned that recently. Has photokenesis: ability to absorb, redistribute, and manipulate both light and darkness. Is the daytime hero I think.

Barbara Gordon: Used to be Batgirl, is now Oracle. (in some version steph and cass were batgirl at one point) Not adopted by bruce. Shes Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. Very very smart. Very very badass. Is the guy in the chair for the batfam. Joker shot her in her spine when breaking into her apartment and paralyzed her. But she can still kick hella ass in that wheelchair. She and dick used to date.

Honorable mentions: Kate Kane, Batwoman. She’s Bruce’s cousin. Lucas Fox, Batwing. Lucius Fox’s son. Selina Kyle, Catwoman. She and bruce r kinda sorta in a relationship. Its complicated sometimes. Kate Kelly, Robin. Shes in a separate universe I believe. Don’t know much about her at all. She uses a slingshot.

And of course, Alfred Pennyworth. We love alfred. He has guns hidden around the manor in canon. Bruce doesn’t like guns. Alfred knows this and says “youll never find all of them.” hes sassy and we stan.

And those r the main members of the batfam! Sorry this took so long to answer. It comepletely slipped my mind. I probably forgot a few details, but oh well.

[saintlaurentproblems]

If the original cast agreed to do a reunion film, what storylines would you want to see? I always wanted to see Nate and Blair together again.

IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK LITERALLY TWO MONTHS TO ANSWER. it has been sitting in my drafts for months!

Here's my old idea. We’re pretending that the recent Gossip Girl reboot isnt canon.

The reboot title wouldn’t have Gossip Girl in it. It would be more like “Upper East Side.”

I would like to change my old idea a little bit.

Chuck - Dead. Everyone has to come back for his funeral. He can be in flashback scenes with Blair. He was hiding that he was terminally ill. Only Blair and Lily knew he was sick.

Dan - successful novelist and travels the world with Serena. Serena wants to start a family while Dan keeps pushing it off. They separate and Serena goes back to NY. Vanessa and Dan rekindle. Dan goes back to NY to ask Serena for a divorce. However, Dan decides to stick around because he missed his friends and family and gets jealous when Serena is seen with an old flame.

Serena - Steps back into the NY social scene after living in Dan’s shadow for years. She decides to live with Blair to help her after Chuck’s passing. Serena has been having an emotional affair with Carter since running into him during one of Dan’s press tours in Europe. Serena tries to hide her feelings for Carter by dating [insert new celebrity character]. Serena distracts herself by focusing on becoming an IT girl again.

Blair - Chuck and Blair were keeping Chuck’s illness a secret. They were hoping they could find a cure but Chuck ends up not wanting to fight anymore. Blair and Chuck failed to conceive another child through the years. She tried IVF and researched the surrogate route but she found herself putting her career first. Later, Serena gets pregnant with Carter’s baby. This causes drama between Serena and Blair because Serena got pregnant without trying. Blair is so angry and exhausted from Chuck’s death and family drama, she approves a marketing campaign that gets horrible backlash. Blair has an emotional breakdown and starts going to therapy. Blair ends up meeting a new love interest that catches her off guard. Serena ends up working with a competitor which drives a bigger wedge between their friendship.

Jenny - Surprisingly, Blair and Jenny worked several years together under the Eleanor Waldorf brand. Blair and Jenny won’t call each other “friends” but they have a mutually respectful relationship. Jenny ended up leading the company and started her own brand similar to Staud, Anine Bing, etc. She’s an edgy fashion mogul and dated many rockstars, photographers, and artists. Blair talks shit in the press about Jenny’s brand which causes drama. Jenny creates an alliance with Nelly Yuki.

Nate - Sold the spectator to a major media outlet. He became a VC and loves to invest in new tech companies. His family wants him to revisit the idea of becoming a politician. Nate’s family set him up on a date with a woman in the political world. Nate has a been hooking up with Jenny on and off for years. Nate just started becoming friends with Dan again so it makes their friends with benefits relationship awkward. they end it and just stay friends. Nate is jealous that most of his family settled down and started a family. Nate ends up becoming a politician and finds himself in an enemies to lovers relationship with his arranged love interest.

Carter Baizen - Considering Sebastian is pretty famous now I think he deserves a bigger role. Carter becomes the main love interest of Serena. It’s a slow burn relationship. He reconnected with Nate and gets asked to help with his political campaign. After paying his debt to the Buckley’s, he ended up working his way up in the business and became a well-respected businessman/public figure. He is still shady at times and will cross the line to get what he wants. Similar to a Michael Rubin type of business man. He tries not to fall for Serena again but it ends up happening organically.

Georgina - Makes a grand entrance at the funeral causing a lot of drama with Blair. Georgina reveals that Chuck has been secretly paying off press and PR representatives to make Blair’s collections seem more successful than they actually are. Georgina finds interest in an new anonymous gossip IG account “Deuxmoi inspired.”

Vanessa - I want Vanessa to be less annoying. So I think she should be an executive producer for an independent entertainment company (A24). She mostly focuses on projects that promote important causes but her boss demands that she gets a producer that will bring in money for the company. So she pitches a docuseries about Chuck Bass’ life. Blair is against the idea at first but then eventually agrees to it. It documents his career journey and the last few months of his life.

Lily - On husband #7 now. She’s married to a Mark Cuban type businessman (New Character). Lily and Serena aren’t very close. Eric moved to London with his husband. Lily has two step-daughters who are 23 & 27. They’re very Mary Kate & Ashley meets Gigi & Bella vibes but more public and kind of Serena 2.0. Lily started a company like Goop with her husband.

Lily’s Step Daughters - I figured we need a few younger characters who have a different perspective. They’re cool NY socialites who know the ins and outs of NY. The become the face of Jenny’s brand which launches them into the spotlight. Blair also takes a liking to them. The sisters end up choosing sides in the Serena vs Blair war that takes over NY. Some of their friends can also make appearances that get entangled in the OG cast’s drama.

Rufus - Married a world renowned artist who is very popular amongst Lily and her friends. Rufus is far less annoying and opened his own Weed Dispensary that’s doing very well and collaborates with Goop. Maybe an affair with Lily?????

Who is Gossip Girl?

Gossip Girl is…one of Lily’s step-daughters. But she’s rebrands gossip girl to be something cooler and more exclusive. Think of it like Raya and the clubhouse app. She anonymously hosts a party at zero bond and when guests download the app they have access to secret videos, scandals, and text messages between the OG Casts, Celebrity Gossip, and Political Figures.

[itsjustalark]

@seeingteacupsindragons

" I hope you don't mind me breaking that ask up into smaller chunks to respond to instead of actually answering the ask in my inbox. Sometimes people send me really long things, and then I know having it on my blog and then having to read my probably accordingly long answer is not going to happen, and I just. Feel bad about it."

Mind? Hell no. I'm honoured that you've decided to give me the time of the day at all. It is completely fine with me and thank you for letting me konw. Next time ill make sure to post on my blog and just tag you.

"Tiadane's not actually a boy; this is made clear relatively early on, and he's not picky about pronouns because his home doesn't have a good concept of things like "gender" and "lots of gendered pronouns." I tend to alternate what I use for him when not in the book, and even in the book he shrugs off a couple "she's." And there's actually not any romance in that one; Tiadane and my deuteragonist's relationship is platonically weird in that one. I don't always like writing romance, but I usually have a deuteragonist running around because I just like paired character dynamics a lot."

I'm really sorry for just asssuming Tiadane to be a guy. On the other hand I love when fantasy worlds explore cultures that dont have the same understanding of gender as us. I feel it isnt done enough and where it is atempted its never done with the enough care.

Also when I said 'relationships' I didn't mean them as explicit romantic ones. I'm a big fan of interesting dynamics and I dont believe they always have to be romantic to get me interested. There are so many ways humans interact with one another. That is whats most facinating to me.

"I'm actually not super great at worldbuilding, either. I tend to do it as little as possible and only when I need to; a lot of my current revisions are fleshing the worldbuilding out. And now that I'm focusing on, a lot of the results are good, but it's often just sort of not really the most fun focus for me. "

I'm also not an intricate world builder and cant even imagine going to the flora and fauna level of detail. My points of interest in world building is societities. How they function different from our and how they effect the people living in it accordingly. I build my worlds around my characters becaude i also feel that a fleshed out world only gives more depth to the characters.

Glad to know your world building is going well. I cant even imagine the revisions i have to make one i finish first draft as ive completely given up ingraining the magic system as part of the characters perspective and how it effects their thing cause it was gettjng to complicated. So i will now have to add all of that stuff later on.

"What I shared was actually the query; queries and synopses are different in the publishing word. Basically, my query is supposed to sell people on making it sound interesting, so I'm glad it's working for those functions for now. It still needs to be edited some more later. "

Oh I didnt know that. Still new to all the publishing jargon but always happy to learn more.

"Tiadane's book originally came from playing too much Smash Bros and staring at Pit for too many hours in a row. And then I just typed some random shit to get some words out when I was stuck revising something and not having fun, and started writing this introduction to his world."

I love how we writers get ideas from the most rediculous of senarios.

"I am a very character-focused writer and have had recurring problems with getting a plot to attach correctly over the years. I think Tiadane's book is the first time I didn't have (too) many issues with one by the time I sent to to a CP, and I'm still ripping a lot out to replace it with something better. "

I also write character focused works. Characters are why i read books. I dont reallyenjoy plot heavy books. Every aspect of plot, fleshing out the world or magic i enjoy because it makes tge characters feel more real and elps highlights the themes if the book.

"Each of my fantasy worlds (I also write sci-fi sometimes, and some stuff just...set in our world) has its own magic system. I don't know how writers just have The One for tons of stories. Large universes to play in can be fun, but so is making up new stuff every time."

Also, would you mind telling me about your magic systems? I love that stumm. It facinates me how maging systems ingrain themselves into a story. When i was first materializing my story it was set in a normal world but my mund was like: no no no this story need a magic system and an exploration of the chosen one narrative even though back then it didnt have anything to do with the main plot. But thats me cause i love over complicating thing for myself.

[popcorn-milk]

bet ❤️ 4. 6. 9. 11. 12. 13. 15. rook and partner. GO

WISSIE. hi. did you know i love and appreciate you?!?!?!

i wrote WAY more than i thought so everythings under the cut so it doesnt take up 80% of my blog

4. both my rooks and their partners LOVEEE doing this. serarana probably has less appreciation for sunrises than bellara but loves going anyway, and its a favorite activity for chiara and davrin.

6. oh fuck yeah ok. i need to write something longer about this, but there was this time in arlathan where ser, bellara and neve were fighting one of the construct things. serarana's super out of their element in the forest and knows nothing about these constructs, so to say the least they're struggling. i giggle thinking about this, but serarana's totally about to get their ass kicked by this magic robot and bellara takes it down just in time and immediately goes to check on ser. i think this would be pretty early in game, so for sure an event where ser starts catching feelings. for the other way around (serarana protecting bellara) and davrin/chiara i don't have anything planned quite yet, but it's for sure something i need to think about

9. bellara has NO idea what to get serarana even a year into their relationship, and it drives her crazy because ser loves to get HER gifts. it's not that bellara doesn't know what ser likes, it just that she doesn't know the perfect gift. it has to be practical and meaningful and beautiful, and bellara has zero ideas. until one day serarana is drawing while bellara is working, and their favorite pen breaks. they're kind of upset, because come on, that was their nice pen. so bellara has an idea. a couple weeks later, when serarana goes to find their back-up pen, a new, custom-made one sits on top of their sketchbook. it's red and gold. it's shaped like a fox with bird wings. it's ridiculous, gaudy, and ser loves it.

11. since 9 was all about ser/bel, ill make this one about chiara and davrin. their first anniversary is a couple months after the gods have been defeated and the world is slowly rebuilding. they pretty quickly decided to pack up and move to a warm little cabin in arlathan near the eluvian, so they could have their privacy while having easy access to all their friends. neither of them marked it on a calender (they will in later years, but not now,) so it's about halfway through the morning when chiara does some quick math and realizes it's been a year. they throw together a plan, and surprise davrin with an afternoon picnic date, and the two stay in a little meadow with assan well into the night before heading home after it gets too cold to stargaze.

12. for serarana and bellara, it was probably just the talk where ser express their interest in her and she reciprocates. at this point they've been crushing on each other for a while, but bellara's too nervous to say anything and even serarana knows some big grand gesture would probably be super tacky and also really embarrassing. instead, they just... talk. and then spend some more time together like not much changed, because they've always been comfortable around each other in a way that isn't present with anyone else.

i actually need to spend some more time with chiara and davrin's prompt on this, but i can promise you it involves a very romantic kiss in the woods.

13. serarana LOVES to talk about bellara. it's a problem. they've been told to shut up a couple times (teasingly, but the intent is there.) mostly they talk to neve and come to her for a lot of advice, which neve mysteriously knows how to answer 99% of the time. bellara's a little more quiet until someone asks her about ser, in which she might talk even more than them. chiara and davrin are both kind of private people, but chiara talks to emmrich a lot about davrin and their relationship.

15. laughing. Evilly. top ones are for ser/bel, bottom one is for chi/dav. i love writing these sm

neve: so, bel, i was reading your latest draft like you asked me to. can i ask why the love interest's name is 'Terarana Kerkar'?

serarana: oh, is it, bel? :)

bellara: neve! it's a... placeholder name.

neve: well, you'll have to tell me the inspiration for the character sometime. they remind me of someone we know.

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lucanis: we need more potatoes. the good kind, so don't send harding.

davrin: bellara and rook are free. should i ask them to-?

lucanis: NO! they'll get distracted and spend all day at the market. i won't have the potatoes until after dinner's over.

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emmrich: davrin, assan came storming into my office the other day. did something happen between you two?

davrin: not that i'm aware of. when was this?

emmrich: two days ago.

davrin: oh. rook and i were out in the forest without him. i think he gets jealous.

chiara: i didn't know griffins could get jealous.

davrin: he gets mad when our door is closed, too.

pookie thank you so much for the ask!!!!!!!!!!!!!