#Corporal Distraction WIP

[madstronaut]

WIP WRITES RIGHTS NOW! I SAID WIP WRITES RIGHTS NOW

blahblahmaster rant list link blahblah dont look at me

PSA when you only just discover a moot is a prolific writer you run to read all her writing and comment in excruciating detail cc: @gemmahale

blorbo x named oc fans, this one’s for you (it’s me, im talking about me)

please see below a random and incomprehensive ramblelist of my stream of consciousness as I sampled from gemma's works:

Feylands WIP

I find the content warning tags extremely titillating (also I have not seen such a prolifically well organized tag list AND color coordinated to boot like gemma’s blog???? putting my outlook inbox/work docs/excel sheets to shame!!!) and I don’t even read/like fae stories (yes I never read ACOTAR and I don’t plan to anytime soon, I missed that booktok ship, most likely cos im not on the tikky tokky as the children like to say, i watch the reposts on instagram like a proper mlllenial)

Josephine’s heart pitter-pattered at the compliment, heat climbing up her cheeks as she mumbled a thanks, their eyes locking again. 

🥰🥰🥰NOT THE PITTER PATTER

my inquisitive ass is already like “what’s gary’s real name” and “hearing aid = soap b/c of all the damn bombs he blows up?” “but i headcanon gaz with freckles, maybe it’s gaz? gaz = gary?” “or maybe ghost = gary?” GEMMA GIVE US WIPS I MEAN HINTS PUT ME OUTTA MY MISERY

Call of the Wild WIP

I love the little note gemma included about this being inspired by @deadbranch (shoutout to branchy btw my beloved) - honestly floored at all the beautiful fic/headcanon/drabbles/askfills ive read that are the brainchilds birthed from love for other creators’ brainchildren

also equally floored at how many of writers here are like “this incredibly layered/moving/tender/spicy/nasty fic came to me in a dream”

also SUBVERTED TROPES SUBVERTED TROPES SUBVERTED TROPESSSSS

Kyle cleared his throat, shifting his stance. “She prefers to be called a wolf.”

AHAHAHAHAHAHA GODDDD THIS WAS A ZINGER

“Please!” Kyle called back, face half covered in shaving cream.

i need fanart of this right fucking now let me, i mean shannon, sorry oops but haha..unless? finishing shaving you bby

and FUCKING ROACH IS IN THIS FIC HOLD ME BACK OR YOU *WILL* GET CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE OF ME TEARING APART THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE BECAUSE MY BRIEF HYPERFIXATION ON ROACH IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE FROM THIS SMALL SNIPPET AND IN THIS 500 PG DISSERTATION I WILL-

also THAT PROLOGUE APPETIZER SLAYED ME

“The way I see it, you’re fucked either way. You don’t make it out of here, you’re fucked. You become mine, you’re fucked - but in the good way.”

this + the mention of bulge + damp cheek definitely brought a visceral IRL memory for me (affectionate/horny)

also sidenote: it’s the little things that matter and gemma i see you gurl and salute you - incorporating things like hearing aids, mentioning roach is HoH/using sign language, shannon using a shower cap for her curly hair - 😘👌

Corporal Distraction WIP

holy MOTHER OF FUCK THIS SHORT LITTLE EXCHANGE IS FUCKING HOOOOOOOOOT

The captain moved closer to her, gently lifting her chin up with his finger. “So you’re the bird that’s got my sergeant distracted.”

“Sir?”

“Been trying to figure out what’s got Gaz so twisted up lately. Figured it was a partner, didn’t think it was a Corporal under him.” He didn’t release her chin, now holding it between his thumb and finger. “Has good taste, at least,” he muttered, eyes shifting to the Lieutenant, who only huffed in response.

any premise that fucks with/frustrates/sleep-deprives soap has my heart 🥰

Flowers From My Love WIP

the bit where they discuss the casserole perfectly encapsulates each of the boys imho - price grunting out a response, soap eagerly asking about the food (such youngest of the group/im baby vibes), gaz picking up on the note and name/# left, ghost grumbling and ofc he fucking HAS to bring up manchester- 

and the MOODBOARD!!!! God I fucking love when writers flesh out a bit of their worldbuilding with related art, moodboards, face claims, etc etc etc i WILL lick up every crumb from the floor like a starving doggo- fun fact, one of my first interactions in cod fandom was requesting a moodboard from @the-californicationist (also shoutout to cali my beloved)

and PEPPER THE SERVICE DOG OH MY LORD PLEASE GOD IF THE 141 MEN CAN’T BE REAL LET PEPPSY BE REAL PLEASE GOD IF I HAD TO ASK FOR ONE THING FROM THIS CURSED HELLSITE-

Palace Hallways WIP

my mind blacked out at artificer soap and knight kyle and druid ghost - I also just finished a campaign with my homegroup IRL not too long ago and we’re taking a long break before the next game while our DM preps and this is making me miss playing with them ;-;

Edge Dressing WIP

KATE KATE KATE KATE KATE KATE that’s it that’s the tweet

“She did, did she?” Kate murmured, scratching at Letty’s scalp and smirking as the woman went boneless against her.

yes only natural, i too would also go boneless if laswell was scratching my scalp and giving me a massage mommy? sorry. mommy. sorry? mommy. sorry?

Embroidered Secret WIP

if someone told me a year ago when I wasn’t into regency shows/fics that reading some COD AUs - yes fucking CALL OF DUTY, the military propaganda first person shooter video game - would change my mind - well id be more shocked than if someone flashed some ankle at my victorian pearl clutching ass

also please i love every single trope listed here

141 Studios WIP

“Our sweet soft girl Samantha (plus size rep ftw!) finds her niche quickly as the resident camgirl - creating a new set of films called "Tip of The Tongue", where she (and others) commentate on the scenes being filmed in a behind the scenes way.”

fuck i would read an entire multiseries for this premise alone???

Crew scramble around to clean up the sweat and cum streaked across the couch to reset for another scene.

fun fact - i briefly interned as a PA in college and one of the producers i worked with mentioned offhand that he once rolled up to a set that was cleaning up after a porn shoot and claimed they were rolling away literal barrels of lube 👀

“You the new girl?” His voice was deep, rumbling like stones cascading down a mountain.

NEW GIRL, OLD MAN, BLUE BIRD, CLOWN WITH A BUCKET HAT, I WILL BE ANYTHING FOR YOU PS!SIMON

A Protege’s Trust WIP

The most titillating tag of all..an empty one! lol jk im just messin with ya gemmy but actually yes i don’t see any posts with this tag

Museum Muse WIP

ahem you already know my rabid thoughts on this but noticed this new post re: multiple timelines and tbh do I know what’s going on? absolutely not - do I want to dive into this museum muse multiverse regardless? absolutely yes

Brix WIP

Re: “If it’s a story about learning to be loved again after a series of devastating losses, can that story then end on another loss? (And should the epilogue soften that loss by allowing them some sort of reprieve?)”

YES! i need to be in a certain mood to read angst but GOD WHEN I AM IN THE MOOD DOES IT HIT THE SPOT/FEEL SO CATHARTIC

also re: these comments - “Also, a bit of catharsis for my shitty experience working in the orchard industry.”

“It's less of a love story and more of a healing story. It's also a bit of a middle finger to the orchard that nearly hospitalized me. 🙃 (It's healing not only for the characters lol.)”

i find these types of fics are some of the best ive read when the writers have IRL experiences bleed into their writing - just has a certain je ne sais quoi about em

also i could be knee deep in sewage sludge and if i sensed soap within a 1 mile radius i would throw myself at him, brb busy handforging a trophy for annabeth for having enough willpower to continue working while JOHN SOAP MACATAVISH WHINES ABOUT WANTING TO COP A FEEL

Squeamish Stitches WIP

✨GLITz!!!! ✨fucking love this name

“God, I’d die here a happy man,” he grumbles into your thigh as you adjust your balance. 

His hands wrap around your calves, grunting as the treads dig into his shoulders. “No, between your legs.”

Ghost interrupts. “Keep it tactical, Sergeants.”

THE FUCKING BANTER? GHOST COCKBLOCKING GAZ? FUCKIGN SCREAMINNG

Useful Girl WIP

you had me at “we gonna get nast-ay kink-ay” and also got strong “secretary” with maggie gyllenhaal + james spader vibes 

also i had to look up ‘brown bottle flu’ as i’ve never heard that term before! ✨i learn somethng new with fanfic daily✨

She felt the breeze as the door opened behind her, the whiff of cigar smoke and cologne causing her to shift in her seat and sit up straighter.

if you’ve ever smelled/heard someone before you saw them it is *quite* the experience

“It's the prickle of the mountain's oncoming storm. It's the flapping of the flag in the howling wind. It's the explosion of lightning hitting a tree, splitting it open, part charred and part living - two states diametrically opposed to each other. It's the sigh of relief when the clouds finally part and the rain pours out. It's the breath of fresh air when the storm dissipates and everything is left clean.

It's yearning so hard for something that it leaves one fundamentally changed when they achieve it.

...I really ought to make moodboards for this fic. 😅”

this was an incredible fucking paragraph to read, fucking poetry right here, also incredibly erotic? though that might just be leftover brainworms in my head from watching shogun and a scene where one of the main charas describes an orgasm as “clouds parting after rain” 

Highland Tartans WIP

She reached her hand into his wool, petting him. “He comes from a good line and all, he’s just young.”

MacTavish laughed, sliding his hands to rest on his waist. “Aye, young and dumb. I know the type.” 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

PLEASE GOD GEMMA

I CANNOT CHOOSE FAVORITES BUT SPARE A THOUGHT FOR MY FREE TIME AND WORK HOURS WHEN YOU POST MORE OF THESE AND AT LEAST SPREAD THEM OUT SO I CAN KEEP MY JOB AND PAY MY BILLS INSTEAD OF GORGING ON YOUR WRITING

anyway to sum up i am fully convinced the multiverse lives inside of gemma’s brain because goddamn i am convinced once day some god-tier epic space opera multiseries is gonna spring out fully formed like athena from the gemmamind (yes I compared you to zeus, a mythical god, deal with it)

[gemmahale]

Writers confident challenge! list your 5 writings you love the most! Reread them and tell yourself you are a gem to this world! and if you want, send this to the writers you like let them know how awesome they are! 💌

Feel free to answer whenever you can! I know you’ve been stressing!

It can be either WIPs or actual published fics!

Tats, I adore this question. I'm going to be that person and say "I love them all!" But I have a few I am giving a little extra love to right now.

The Price of Pegging. The only complete work I have published. A love letter to myself and my gender identity, wrapped up in some steamy hot smut. 😄

Everything else is WIPs, surprising no one who knows me. 😉 These are in no specific order.

Corporal Distraction - I love this premise. I love a "forbidden" romance and the consequences that come with it. I love that it's got a twist to it. I love the aesthetics and tweaks I've given both canon and OC characters while keeping to their original source material.

Brix - The first CoD fanfic I started. Inspired by @the-californicationist's "Gunslinger" (AO3) and Thing's "How Many Days I'll Bleed" (AO3) stories. I consider these two authors to be two dear close friends of mine as well. Also, a bit of catharsis for my shitty experience working in the orchard industry.

Museum Muse - Puppy play. Kink Dynamics. Fat OC. Art as a means of learning to be loved. Just...ooey gooey cuteness. (Needs serious re-working, but I adore the premise.)

Fruit Cocktails - I adore the idea of different species of bats being vampires. It's a fun premise and one I want to explore further. I just need to improve at my murder mystery skills. The layers of nuance and worldbuilding I have here are delicious.

[indigosunsetao3]

Indigo's Masterlist

My asks are always open and my requests are currently open.

If you enjoy my work please follow, reblog and/or comment! I like interacting with you all! It also helps other people find my work.💙

Please note that this is an 18+ space. Minors do not interact. This is for your safety and mine. I will block ageless and blank blogs as I see them. You have been warned.

Full Length Stories

Would It Be Enough?

Johnny "Soap" MacTavish X OC (Emma) Completed 20 chapters - 166k Words

Keeping Lines Blurry

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick X OC (Olivia) Completed 18 Chapters - 136k Words

A Reason to Try

Alex Keller X OC (Madeline) In progress 15 Chapters - 103.9k Words

Lifeline

Poly 141 x OC (Celeste) In Progress 3 Chapters - 9.2k

Ex Husband Price

John Price X Reader In progress 5 Chapters - 17.4k words

Older CIA Alex

Alex Keller x Reader In Progress 2 Chapters - 6.6k words

Short Stories/One Shots/Challenges

Chest Candy

Soap X Ghost From GlitteryPirateDuck "SoapItUp" prompt challenge Completed One Shot - 2.2k Words

Go...Don't Go

Captain MacTavish X Reader From GlitteryPirateDuck "SoapItUp" prompt challenge Completed One Shot - 2.4k Words

One More Time

Soap X Ghost Completed One Shot - 2.9k Words

A Bouquet of Oleander

Alejandro Vargas X Reader From GlitteryPirateDuck "Amor a Alejandro" prompt challenge Completed One Shot - 2k words

Body Heat

Ghost X Reader From GlitteryPirateDuck "#GhostChallenge" Completed One Shot - 2.8k words

Best Laid Plans

141 X Reader From GlitteryPirateDuck #CoDVacationMode Ongoing - 4.3k Words

Watch List

Alex Keller X Reader Completed One Shot - 474

His New God

Soap X Reader Completed One Shot - 2,515

50 Word Challenge from deadbranch

Alex - Zombie AU Soap - Distraction for a rescue

Random Drabbles

Alex x Reader - Alex surveilles you Poly 141 X Reader - Corporate office Soap X Reader X Ghost - Rooftop voyeurism Alex X Reader - Airport pickup Price X Reader - Mission during a blackout Gaz X Reader - Gaz is a smoker

GIF Challenge

Sun & Water - Gaz x Reader Short & Sweet - 141 x Reader Come Home - Soap x Reader Other Woman - Price x Reader Car Ride - Price X Reader

Nameless Challenge from The-Californicationist

Homecoming - Reader X Mystery 141 Guy Linen & Lace - Reader X Mystery 141 Guy

COD Men In Different Scenarios

Naptime

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

A Few Minutes Before You're Missed

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Sick Day

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Protecting You

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Possessive

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

First date

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Body Paint

Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Requests

COD Men Reacting To You Calling Them Husband

Requested by @/ahopelesspedantic Featuring: Alex Keller, Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Soap Shares Your Video

Requested by Anonymous Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Expanding on section of "you have a few minutes before you're missed" Featuring: Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

What Lies Beneath

Requested by Anonymous Featuring: Gaz, Price, Soap & Ghost

Lightning Strikes Twice

Requested by @/haurasha Featuring: Gaz & Soap

Headcanons

My personal headcanons

This list will change and adjust as I continue to write. Despite my stories not blending together all the characters have the same quirks throughout them.

Other

My other fictional crushes

Writing Inspiration for Keeping Lines Blurry

Six Month Mark on AO3

Keeping Lines Blurry Fanart Part 1 & Part 2- by @ahopelesspedantic

Spotify Writing Playlist

Current WIPs

I do not consent to:

Translations (if you ask, we can talk). Posting my stuff elsewhere without proper links. Screenshotting pictures/printing my writing if it’s not for your personal reading. My work being put into AI.

If anyone sees my work elsewhere (without links) and it’s not posted under my name please let me know. Do not steal my work. Any of the above, or variations of the above, is stealing.

Please share direct links to my work if you want to pass it along!!! I am totally fine with that. Stealing is a whole other issue.

[stabbyfoxandrew]

angel neil please! 😇❤️

WIP Wednesday (2/28) | Guardian Angel Neil AU (Part 125)

“Neil, why are you here?” Andrew asks suddenly, interrupting Neil’s commentary about something his teammates had done during practice.

The angel blinks, then gestures to the roof. “Because you’re here, duh.”

“No, not on the roof. I mean…” Andrew trails off. Does he really want to know the future? Well… No. He has a hard enough time making himself get up in the morning without knowing bad things are going to happen. He shakes his head, changes his mind. “I meant, where did you come from?” 

Neil gives him a skeptical brow. “That’s an entirely different question.”

“Answer it anyway.” Andrew insists. Neil gives him a look but sighs.

“I guess I’m supposed to tell you I came from Heaven or something—”

“No, before that. Before me. Back when you were alive,” Andrew says. He’s been curious about Neil’s past for a long time and it seems like a good topic to distract him from the whole ‘Neil is a corporeal being’ thing.

“Well, I was born in Baltimore. And I died in Baltimore. In between those two events, I’d been everywhere. Twice. Except for Heaven. I never got there. Hell, I’ve been to.” Neil adds on, a light shudder wracking his frame.

[chevvy-yates]

WIP WHENEVER

got taggeg by @ouroboros-hideout. Always a big thanks <3

So, I hopefully go back into taking some pics later, as my pile of exisiting pics I can post nears to zero. But I've have a writing muse since the past three days and it's a little hard to stop it.

So today/tonight I'm going to share some new words i wrote, of course of my main ship Ryder and Thyjs as I do write both.

This is a part where they are already together for a bit and venture further into making out bit by bit.

This is the start of the chapter, where I reused some early oneshot-like text I wrote when I decided for Ryder's fragrance he uses and now I found a way to integrate it into a chapter with them:

Ryder just lit himself a cigarette and empties the last drop of good hop and malt when Thyjs comes back from bringing empty dishes into the kitchen. He places himself right next to Ryder, quickly borrows his cigarette from his mouth, takes a puff and hands it back while Ry puts the bottle onto the table. He leans back and places his right arm around his partner who leans his head onto his shoulder.  “Any wishes on what to watch?” Ry asks him as he inhales the menthol. “Nee. Just zap through.” “Gut.” Ry proceeds to bend forward, so he could drop the ash into the tray, then places the ciggy back to his mouth and grabs the remote control for his big tv screen and just zaps through the programs until they find something that was interesting enough to watch for both. 

They kept watching a documentary about the fourth Corporate War for quite a bit until Thyjs moves for a more comfortable position leaning against Ry and it’s when his nose picks up his partner’s strong perfume scent again that makes him raise his voice after a long while of silence between them. “You know, I realized a while ago, that your perfume has some light yasmine notes.”  At first Ryder blinks a few times with a rather doe look in his so ever intimidating eyes. He didn’t expect that now. “Y-you smelled the different notes of my perfume — when?” He stutters a little, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.  “Every time.” De Wit smirks a bit, his hands slowly stroking up and down his partner’s arm. Ry clears his throat but then asks in a slightly sassy tone as he turns towards him. “Okay, what else do I smell of, hmm? Can’t be only a flower.” And don’t say menthol, he thinks further to himself, lighting another cigarette.  Thyjs can see he’s more than curious about it. He leans forward. “Wait, I’m going to tell you.” Within an eye blink he is super close to him, eyes shut taking in his partner’s scent.

Thyjs had sensed it all: first the green fresh top notes like bergamot, gardenia and artemisia, then the heart notes started distracting him — sandalwood, vetiver and the most mystic of all: patchouli. Not too much but enough to have Thyjs start to think about different things than just chilling next to Ryder. But once when only the base notes were left as it's settled on Ryder's skin for a while, like now, the strong leather woody ember fragrance left eventually comes through, that starts to fuck a little too much with Thyjs' head as he always has Ryder in this godverdomme hot leather harness on mind he saw him wearing once when he went to a rave and Thyjs chose to stay at home, while they were just friends.  “I don’t think I can smell all of it, I’m no expert and it appears to be complex, but the base is really sharp and woody like a thick forest coated by recent rain.” Ryder has to smirk in response because this is exactly why he uses it. Furthermore, Thyjs adds, “But it also comes fully packed with musk and leather.” It causes Ry to shortly look up somewhere else, as he releases some smoke in the air and tries to reminisce about his own perfume he sprays onto himself each day. “I noticed it must be a very powerful, masculine one I would even dare to say is made for corporates only, but we both know you don’t like that much.”

“True.”  “Hoe dan ook, I think it smells very timeless and classy. Suits you well.” Scharfenberg is truly impressed by what a fine nose his boyfriend has and he likes it. “Any more exciting words than just it’s a classic?” Ry wants to know further. He’s really hooked by Thyjs’ description and totally aware that his perfume is not unlike any ordinary perfume. He knows it adds a certain seductiveness to him, making him appear mystic overall. “It makes you smell as sweet as jasmine in the morning but also as spicy as cinnamon as the day goes on with a drop of fresh citrus flavor.” “I like that.” A smirk steals on Ry’s dark lips as he takes another puff of his cigarette. “And it somehow coats you in an entire mysticism, maybe because of the patchouli that unfolds as you are wearing it through the day and a touch of myrrhe adds onto it. And I think I’ve never smelled a perfume that’s so enduring with such excellence.” “Now you start to flatter me,” Ry lets him know after an extended exhale of smoke that shortly cloaked both in a little cloud. “I have to admit, it makes me not only a little crazy for you,” Thyjs confesses while Ry proceeds to stub out his cigarette. "Oh, does it?” He leans back, his gaze fixed on his soldier boy. It’s a look that is able to undress him.  Thyjs gives him a heavy nod, followed by a short “Yes, Sir!” as he is looking intently at the pair of glowing eyes gazing at him so intently, that it makes him bite his bottom lip. “And it is such a sweet temptation I can’t withstand to taste.”

I really love their dynamic. And it's funny to me that Thyjs talks A LOT when he's alone with Ry only. Going to leave out the middle part bc I wanna keep this for when the time comes (which will take like forever and I already see myself adding more and more) as this chapter is faaaar away from the current ones (I have to do CH02 next …) But I also like to share the part of the closing scene:

Ryder gives him another forehead kiss and pushes him softly out of the shower. “Ich bitte darum!” He speaks with a strong tone and turns off the water. “But for now let’s find some rest, hm?” Again Thyjs just nods. He sees a smirk stealing on Ry’s lips. “What else is on your mind?” “The TV is still running. Figured you should go turn it off since you were the last one downstairs. I’ll wait in bed for you to come cuddle.” “On my way, Sir!” Thyjs replies and before Ryder can answer anything to it, he’s gone leaving only a few water droplets in the air Ryder now watches falling down. He lets out a laugh. “Sandevistan — of course.” So much for that he would wait for him in the bed as he already knows it’s Thyjs who will be waiting for him instead, when he leaves the bathroom.

Along the way writing Thyjs I started to like that sometimes he uses his fast ability also in normal life situations. I think it's funny when you tell him something to do and he's like okay and just vanishes to go after it and well, does it a lot faster than you expect it bc people like Ryder living a live without Sandevistan don't think about that this ability can speed up some processes where it is not exactly necessary to wait (I mean he could not boil food faster using Sandevistan, but he could prepare the stuff needed for it faster - stuff like that).

—

tagging the usual folks I guess:

@gloryride, @astarionhistears, @streetkid-named-desire, @dreamskug, @fereldanwench, @aggravateddurian, @kdval, @elvenbeard, @kittenchrissy, @therealnightcity, @shivsghost and @rosapexa + anyone seeing this. no pressure ofc! <3

[sitp-recs]

Hey! Really love all you recs :) I was wondering if you know any Drarry fics where "working out" or getting fit is one of the main themes? Thank you! <3

Hi there, of course! Here are some recs for you:

in corpore sano by @jalesidor (M, WIP)

Malfoy’s early morning calls are one of three constants in Harry’s life, along with the scattered dumbbells no one bothers to put back and the red wisp of dawn that scrapes his eyes raw.

Let’s go dip it low (then you bring it up slow) by @andithiel (T, 3.7k)

Draco was not prepared to run into Potter in a Muggle gym, especially not a provocatively dressed, dancing and flirtatious Potter. Or, the one where Harry is a dancer and Draco is not okay.

Work It Out by @goldentruth813 (E, 4.5k)

The Auror Trainees now have required gym time, and Draco is distracted by Potter’s equipment. His workout equipment, that is.

turn my blue heart to red by M0stlyVoid (M, 4.5k)

Harry figured he'd never see Draco Malfoy again after their disastrous not-a-relationship-no-really-Hermione ended after Eighth Year, but Harry's never been lucky, so naturally it's Head Healer Malfoy who's swanning all over Harry's emergency department, looking all pale and accomplished and competent as he sneers down at Harry's systems and processes.

Gym Class by drarryangels (G, 4.7k) - AU

Draco is absolutely dreading having to take gym, until a certain dark haired individual walks into his life.

At a Place Where Accountants Work by RoonilWazlibMalfoy (M, 8k)

Nobody asks you questions when you say you're an accountant. But sometimes you have to put yourself out there before anything good can happen.

Benevolence and Redemption by silvered_glass (M, 19k)

Draco's the most unlikely Auror recruited to the department in at least three centuries. Ostracised and unwanted, he's been on paperwork duties for the three years since he finished training.

[syoddeye]

wip wednesday

happy wip wednesday, sharing a 350 word excerpt from the next bit of Business or Pleasure. this inspired that domestic!john price post from the other day. these are two different versions of john, though, ya feel me?

It shouldn't surprise you that a man like John Price is prepared for someone to sleep over, but seeing a spare toothbrush, towel, and an oversized robe left out in the en-suite is a delight. An invitation to, or rather an acknowledgment that you might want to freshen up, is a bit different from having money stolen from your wallet the morning after. You catch yourself smiling in the mirror and swiftly turn on the shower. You're more critical of your decisions in the light of day, but you'll save self-reflection for your own bathroom.

Beneath the warmth of the double-headed shower, you glance over the small batch of hair products on the built-in shelf and decide not to think of their origins. After all, you agreed to keep things 'friendly.' It's not your business if John entertains others.

You find Motrin behind the mirror and dry swallow a tablet for the gratifying ache in your lower half. Toweling your hair off, you briefly consider tracking down your handbag for makeup, but if he's seen you in the buff, you figure he can see a naked face, mild acne scars and all. You slip on the soft cotton robe and decide to locate your host.

His place is different in the light of day. Its existence as a well-curated bachelor pad is more evident, from the display of vintage cigar boxes on a hallway sideboard to an assortment of crystal corporate awards on another. As you’d been distracted the night before, every step between you and the smell of coffee and breakfast is an opportunity to snoop.

When you reach the kitchen, you hang back and take in the view. John diligently watches over what looks like an omelet, triceps straining the thin material of a simple shirt. As you learned last night, John's as solid as he looks in a suit. His broad back and shoulders narrow into hips clad in low-slung sweatpants, the jersey snug on his thighs. There is something about the dish towel draped over one shoulder, too.

It really had been a while, hadn't it?

[blood-mocha-latte]

saw your wip moodboard ask and i am LIVING for the two you've already posted so!! if you're doing more, what about...four? 👀 (look i didnt mean for it to rhyme but once i saw i could i couldnt resist)

em darling i hope you know four is one of my most insane wips but i love it more than anything ahdjskfds. it's based on That One Moment in carentan where luz hesitates to throw the grenade and my brain was like hmmmmmmmmm. so. this is A Very Long snippet

4. untitled (psychic luz; luztoye au)

“Corporal Toye,” He pitches, and Toye looks up. His eyes seem to glow black, and George moves closer. “There will be no leaning in my company.”

It’s not his best work; he thinks his Sobel is a bit nasally, but Toye seems willing to indulge him.

“Is that dust on your jump wings?” He asks, as Sobel, and, yeah; he thinks it’s less in the nose. “How do you expect to slay the huns with dust on your jump wings?” He leans forward, propping elbows on the table. 

Joe Toye never truly looks amused, but if George unfocuses his eyes and pretends, he can almost see him smile. Toye huffs and pulls him closer by the collar, orders a drink. 

George blinks, and they’re no longer in the bar with everyone else. Toye’s still dragging him along by the collar, gravelly voice muttering something under his breath. George is keen to follow along, especially when Toye shoves him against the wall and—

Oh.

Well, he didn’t see that coming. 

He blinks again and they’re back in the bar, surrounded on all sides. Toye still has a hand tight around his tie. George is able to bounce back quickly, thank god. He grins, turns to grab the beer at his elbow.

“Excellent idea, Joe.” He mutters, almost under his breath. Turns and grabs his own glass. “Three miles up, three miles down.”

Toye dips his gaze to the beer and toasts him. 

(from this. distract me from the world ending terrible thing that is Work)

[trudemaethien]

Hey, for the wip-game, I'm really interested in "real boys don't cry" and "foxdogfox", can you share something about them, please? :))))

Soooo, I keep trying to answer this and instead getting lost in my docs, editing this and that. Which is not a bad thing! But I was trying to answer quickly, oops 😂

You… have picked two porny things! The first one is from the noncon au and uh.

Fox says with a smirk, “It means, Rex, you can have sex, as long as you take it up the ass, like a real boy.”

“I am a real boy, kriff you,” Rex snaps. “Defects don’t make me fake.”

i’m sure nothing bad or disturbing or dysphoric will happen in this fic at all. 😅

…

OTOH foxdogfox is formerly a chapter of the dogmafic, which I have been poking at, but this particular chapter I am thinking of posting as a standalone. It features both Sgt Fox and Commander Fox, and of course, Dogma.

Dogma slaps his inner thigh with a sharp sound of flesh meeting. He’d suspected the show of submission was a ruse. “Mouth off again, and you can definitely forget all about getting fucked, Fox. Tell my Fox where it is, and watch your tone with me.”

Fox looks strangely triumphant. “Your Fox, hmmm?” he asks, eyes flicking behind Dogma. Dogma follows his gaze, to see Fox, his Fox, —he’d been calling them that to differentiate in his mind, and now he’s said it out loud— his Fox staring at him with a surprised but pleased expression.

Dogma stutters, “My— not, possessive, uh… Five-oh-First-Fox is just too many syllables, sooo—” he might not have noticed unless he was staring right at them at the exact right moment, but he is, so he does see the shadow of sadness cross their eyes. Stiltedly casual, Dogma tacks on, rushing and stumbling over his words, “—unless, if they did want, um, to be my— we hadn’t discussed anything like that, but we could. Not right at this moment, but yes. Probably.”

Beneath him, the asshole Fox snickers. “Gar copikla,” he says, not as nicely as Echo had the first time Dogma had heard the phrase.

Dogma still has him by the balls. “We aren’t tubies, cut it out with that ‘cute’ shit,” he snaps, distracted.

…

“Kriff,” Fox breathes. His cock jerks against Dogma’s knee as his teeth sink in. “Please rough me up.”

“So you like a little pain?” Dogma muses, sitting back. “Guess I’ll have to punish your bad behavior some other way, then.”

“Ha, I’m no wide-eyed, tube-wet cadet, boy; good luck trying to break me,” Fox sneers. “I’m not some kind of fragile delicate trinket.”

Corporal Fox returns from the fresher, lube in their hand, in time to hear the last exchange. “Maybe we should treat you like a fragile delicate trinket, sounds like you’d hate it,” they threaten laughingly.

But Dogma sees the conflicted look of mingled apprehension and desire flash across Commander Fox’s face. “Yeah, babe, that's perfect,” he states, grinning with just an edge of malice. Fox shudders in his hold. This is definitely going the way he wants.

Fox quickly strips off the rest of their clothes and climbs back onto the bed. “Babe,” they tease Dogma, amused, and kiss him sweetly. They turn and comb gentle fingers through the Silver Fox’s grey-streaked curls, and lean down to kiss him too, upside down.

Fox yearns into the kiss for a second before he reverts to contrary and resistant. He turns his face away from Fox, pursing his lips and closing his eyes in denial. Dogma is quick to take their place, pressing his mouth softly to each of Fox’s eyelids and stroking fingers up the length of his throat.

You get excerpts because these are really close to done …. hopefully that close is measured in time and not anything else 😅😅😅

[carlos-in-glasses]

Tension Tuesday

Thank you for the tag @strandnreyes ❤️

Idea being to share a section of tension from a WIP or a published work.

I've opted for a portion of The Heart Behind the Shield, in which a conversation between Carlos and Gabriel must be had. Even if they'd rather not...

“Would you like beers or something?” Carlos says, which breaks the trance of the embrace.

TK didn’t see if Carlos hugged his dad – he thinks he didn’t, and that seems unfortunate.

Carlos wanders casually over to the fridge, removes three bottles of Sierra Nevada pale ale, and a blood orange San Pellegrino for TK. TK watches Carlos and thinks the casualness is an affectation. There’s an atmosphere that TK can’t figure out, any time the Reyes need to speak but don’t. Something like low pressure and heightened humidity, as if it’s about to rain indoors.

Carlos uses the first bottle opener he finds in the cutlery drawer. It’s a novelty one that TK stole from Owen’s house because he always liked it, with the Empire State Building embossed into the metal. He pops all the beer caps quickly, each of them emitting a satisfying hiss that fills the silence. TK watches Carlos snap the ring pull of his San Pellegrino and pour it into a glass. He selects pre-sliced slithers of orange and lemon from a Tupperware in the fridge, and adds some ice. It’s a very loving preparation, although unnecessary. TK swings his hands together, waiting, waiting. Carlos turns and presents his drink to him with a smile that he reads as corporate, like a polite barman in a swanky hotel. TK is so distracted by Carlos’ performance, he almost misses Andrea nudging at Gabriel.

Gabriel tries to brush her off until he can’t. “Okay!” he snappily whispers.

“Apresúrate,” she responds under her breath, chuckling.

Carlos slides two of the ales towards his parents, looking at them with a level of horror that TK finds funny. TK nibbles at his thumb to stop himself from smirking.

“What is it?” Carlos asks, his shoulders stiffening. He promised TK that he’d do better at speaking up, and it starts now, and he hates it.

Gabriel, clearly hating it too, somehow sends a glare at his wife that is also full of love. TK thinks he and Carlos will have that look perfected too, in thirty years’ time.

Gabriel takes a sip of beer and steels himself. “Son, I need to tell you that I’m not sorry–”

“Great. Thanks, Dad,” Carlos interjects with a sulky sarcasm that knocks TK back a little. He’d noticed it five days ago too. From the moment he and Gabriel rescued Carlos, and Carlos started to tune into their presence, he regressed around his dad, becoming pouty and teenaged.

“Maybe hold the attitude until I finish,” Gabriel says, giving as good as he gets.

TK wishes he could have been a fly on the wall in the Reyes house when Carlos was actually a teenager. He bets a lot of conversations around the dinner table played out interestingly.

Read more on Ao3 (this is from Chapter 8, Mijo)

Tagging: @reyesstrand @never-blooms @goodways @irispurpurea @ladytessa74 @alrightbuckaroo @bonheur-cafe @heartstringsduet @cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut @taralaurel if you want to share/haven't already!

[cacodaemonia]

For the emoji ask

🌞👀

Hello!

Do you have a preferred time of day to write?

Early morning! Like, so early that when I tell people when I usually wake up, they're like "are u ok?" Haha seriously though, it's the best because as long as I keep discord off, I have no distractions. It's lovely.

Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

Wellllll I'm currently on the third (and maybe final?) edit of the last chapter of the cyborg!AU I've shared some lines from. Lemme see if I can try to summarize this. I'm absolutely terrible at summaries and still need to write one for the fic, so maybe this will help XD;;;

The basic premise is the same as canon, with one change: there's an experimental GAR/Kaminoan program called the Cyclone Initiative that 'enlists' clones who have sustained life-ending injuries—specifically serious brain injuries. With the help of Skakoan cyberneticists, the Kaminoans scientists replace damaged 'components' with cybernetic analogs in an effort to bring the new cyclones online. Completed units are to be placed throughout the GAR as part of this experimental program. Most cyclones will have lost any memories of their past lives, but in addition to being able to physically keep up with standard clones in the field, the cybernetic parts of their brain will allow them to perform complex calculations that make them valuable partners for ARFs, ARCs, and higher-ranking officers.

And here's a little snippet from the first chapter:

Commander Cody nods. "I see. Thank you for the information, Specialist." He pauses again, seeming to consider his words before he continues, "The Cyclone Initiative materials I received stated that most of you don't have memories from before your injuries. Is that true?" CY-11-0074 nods. "Yes, sir. Cyclones possess some cybernetic components to both replace and enhance the function of organic components that were irreparably damaged in combat. The one augmentation that is common to all cyclones is the partial replacement of brain tissue, though the percentage depends on the extent of the original injury and the intended function of the completed unit." Corporal Boil's upper lip twitches faintly at that, but CY-11-0074 continues, intent on answering the commander's question." I did not retain—" He swallows again; his mouth is dry. "I am... unsure if I retained any information from... before."

As with my of my fics, it starts out fairly ouchie, but the whole point of the fic is to make a lot of things better.

Geez, sorry for the novel XD;;;;

[gemmahale]

Last Line Challenge!

show the last line you wrote and tag as many people as there are words (or however many you’d like). Note: I'm tweaking this and pulling last lines from WIPs, because I haven't had as much time to write as I wish I could have.

This one's from @dragonnarrative-writes. Something from Corporal Distraction this time.

The captain moved closer to her, gently lifting her chin up with his finger. “So you’re the bird that’s got my sergeant distracted.” “Sir?” “Been trying to figure out what’s got Gaz so twisted up lately. Figured it was a partner, didn’t think it was a Corporal under him.” He didn’t release her chin, now holding it between his thumb and finger. “Has good taste, at least,” he muttered, eyes shifting to the Lieutenant, who only huffed in response.

Again - not tagging anyone, but if you're inclined, please share! I love seeing what folks are doing.

[smytherines]

extremely unfair that I have 5 curtwen fanfiction wips right now, and they are all like children to me, and I really need to finish chapter 5/the epilogue for Come Home with Me (sorry! SAD has distracted me!), and all my wips are so different in terms of genre and I want to write them all at the same time, but also just want to write smut honestly because if anyone in history has fucked nasty it is those two. Genuinely I have so much fun writing them it feels indecent.

I will say that the final chapter of CHwM does not contain smut (It made me sad too!! Chapters 4 + 5 were supposed to be one chapter but then I couldn't shut up!). I do have plans that I set up in chapter four that will for sure be in the next installment, which I'm very excited about. But I'll probably spend most of May working on stuff for curtwen week. One of those will be smut, because I plan on running the bases genre-wise, but I dunno I might just write some oneshots too, because holy shit the sexual tension at SAD...

There's also the thing of like, Come Home with Me has a tiny bit of name recognition now, but it's just one section in what I have planned out as a series of multiple 2-6 chapter fics that covers their entire partnership/relationship/separation. The first thing I ever wrote for the series was set in 1960 (back when CHwM was still just an unrelated oneshot) and I wrote it to this very cool MF Doom beat called Books of War, which I think is what I'm going to name the overall series.

Anyways it's not fair that I can't write the shit I think about fast enough. The realities of corporeal form are fuckin rude. Also if anyone ever wants to send me asks about my fic please god do it, I feel like I could talk about our beautiful terrible boys for 100 years straight (gay version)

Here's Books of War, btw. Might give you a little clue about the general region where the 1960 section is set:

[chayscribbles]

chayscribbles’ monthly writing update ☆ february 2023

☆ STATISTICS.

words written: 11 606

projects worked on: Andromeda Rogue; The Gemini Heist; and a Third, Secret WIP

proudest accomplishment: i'm about halfway through with AR1 draft 2! and i finished like, a bunch of drawings

books read: Architects of Memory by Karen Osborne; All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells;

☆ GENERAL COMMENTS.

why do i feel like i wrote a lot less than i actually did. like i looked at my total and thought "now that can't be right... there's no way i wrote that much."

things are going better for some wips (AR) than they are for others (GH) so maybe my head is cancelling it out lol.

reading comments: Architects of Memory was basically "a corporate war over alien weapons featuring messy sapphics in space" and i liked it but it wasn't quite a coup de coeur, 4/5 stars. All Systems Red was an absolute delight, 5/5 stars, will be reading the rest of the series once my holds on Libby come through.

(also i started reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo this past weekend, and i blame it + it's precursor Ninth House for putting me in the mood to work on Third Secret WIP lately, as Ninth House is partially responsible for the genre shift in Third Secret WIP.)

more specific wip-related comments + featured excerpt below.

☆ COMMENTS: ANDROMEDA ROGUE (draft 2)

i'm about halfway through this draft! i've passed 40k this month!

things are going super well. when i have the magical combo of time and energy and motivation to write i can get through scenes pretty easily, now that i don't have to worry about overall plot as much. plus i get to add little things here and there to beef it up.

i've mostly worked on the second act this month, which is where the team really starts going through things together.

there's one particular Azami chapter right before the midpoint that's a monster of lore-dropping. i had to rework it several times as i had an entire page of editing notes to make sure everything is coherent... and i'm still not entirely sure i've gotten it right 😭

☆ COMMENTS: THE GEMINI HEIST (outlining / draft 0.5)

not much to say about this one. didn't work on it as much. the plot for this wip continues to frustrate me. i'll find myself coming up with little ideas for the characters and the world... but when i try to sit down and come up with actual scenes and plot, my brain turns to soup.

☆ COMMENTS: THIRD, SECRET WIP

this wip is consuming me. devouring me with its teeth. i'm surprised to find i may actually have a plot. turns out letting it hibernate for 3 years and tweaking with the genre has done some good.

i might cave and post an intro in the next month. stay tuned...

☆ FEATURED EXCERPT.

this is from the like, one scene i wrote for gemini heist this month. i just think it's funny. for context, Leo and Gabi are trying to get access to some archives in a university library, and are posing as students.

As [Leo and the archivist] talked, Gabi slipped her hand into the pocket of her ridiculous jacket. Her fingers closed around a small round device. She glanced around. While Leo was doing a great job at keeping the archivist distracted, the commotion had caught the attention of nearly everyone in the room.

Just be normal, she told herself. She inched her hand out of her pocket.

“Which archives exactly do you need access to?” [the archivist] asked.

“Art of the early Viheldan Empiric era,” Leo said. “My paper is on the Gemini statuettes.”

“Ah, that might be why. You need a special authorization form from a professor or another faculty member to access those.”

Leo pouted. “But my professor said he got access for me!”

“Perhaps you can message him—”

“Ugh— can’t you just call him right now and ask? I don’t have time for this.”

“Alright. I’ll give him a call.”

Shit. Gabi wasn’t ready. She fumbled to take out the device, concealing it as best as she could in the palm of her hand. All she needed was to place it on the archivist’s computer terminal without him seeing a thing before he made that call.

The archivist’s fingers hovered over the screen for a second before pressing an icon at the bottom. With a starburst motion of his hand, he expanded a search window and began typing in the name of the professor. Panicking, Gabi slammed the device in her hand onto the side of the terminal.

The already quiet room went completely silent. All eyes turned towards her. The archivist’s were wide and stunned. Leo’s were sharp and furious.

“I, uh,” Gabi sputtered, awkwardly keeping her hand glued to the terminal. The device whirred to life, vibrating softly under her palm. “I-I thought I saw a bug.”

☆ TAGLISTS. let me know if you want to be added/removed to any of them.

general taglist:

@nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @quilloftheclouds @ashen-crest @writeblrfantasy @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @extra-magichours @avi-why @lefttigerobservation @chazzawrites @bardolatrycore @innocentlymacabre

andromeda trilogy taglist:

@bebewrites @nicola-writes @dgwriteblr @the-orangeauthor @retrogayyde @akindofmagictoo @quilloftheclouds @nora-theteawriter @ashen-crest @corpsepng @writeblrfantasy @toboldlywrite @celestepens @stardustspiral @pepperdee @cheerfulmelancholies @extra-magichours @writeouswriter @cilly-the-writer @lefttigerobservation @rose-bookblood @drowsy-quill @chazzawrites @cynic-and-chief @enchanted-lightning-aes @aesa

gemini heist taglist:

@florraisons @akindofmagictoo @cream-and-tea @nicola-writes @memento-morri-writes @antique-symbolism @rose-bookblood @afoolandathief @pepperdee @avi-why @zonnemaagd @chazzawrites @analogued @enchanted-lightning-aes @innocentlymacabre @kahvilahuhut @celestepens @cilly-the-writer @extra-magichours @retrogayyde

[ded-and-gonne]

WIP Wednesday or Thursday

WIP Wednesday: Devil’s Night (Part 6)

Starring Klaus Hargreeves & Evil Ben

And here you thought the Devil’s Night story was over, by virtue of that two-paragraph ending that conveniently saved Evil Ben, who then saved Klaus. Oh hells no, it isn’t that simple. They still have a dead puritan in their garden who expects Klaus & Ben to go find him a key. A key made by the ancient King Solomon. Also, a quick reminder that we’re dealing with a narrator who thinks they’re smarter than they actually are. Without further ado, here’s a snippet from the opening scene of Devil’s Night Chapter 6.

————/😵‍💫/————

“A book?!” Evil Ben rages with lots of anger. “A book? A book. A fucking book? It’s a fucking book, Klaus. [Arrrrrrgh!]” Or however you spell all the vocalizations Ben is making rn. The bookstore’s high ceilings reverberate with angst.

“A book? That’s all? That’s great!” Klaus enthuses. “Thank heavens it’s not an actual key! Keys unlock bad stuff. Books are way safer than keys.” (In what universe, Klaus? It’s known to science that books are dangerous.)

“Heavens to Betsy Benji, you had me worried there for a second.”

“Me. I had you worried,” replies Ben, dumbfounded. Which reaction increases every time Klaus blithely blorps another mouthful of clear, viscous ghost mucus into his ghost goo spittoon, so quickly forgetting why he’s blorping into his ghost goo spittoon to begin with. “Zero self awareness. None,” says Evil Ben.

Pots, kettles, hypocrisy about lacking self awareness. You should be rolling your eyes by now.

Klaus pauses to consider Ben’s expression, and foresees the thunderclap-back of rage that will inevitably be unleashed upon his own pretty head if he doesn’t amend his words. “And by you having me worried, I actually mean that ghost dick outside in the dark. Obviously.”

“Moron.” That was Ben, but you already knew that.

Klaus blorps daintily. (What? It’s possible.) “Don’t distract me, Benji, this is serious. Should we be generous of spirit and offer up the fact that this ‘key of skin and bone’ is not a key at all but just a book? It doesn’t seem like the pickled puritan buried in the garden is hip to the fact that it’s not a key, daddy-o. Nor is it skin and bone. It’s paper, and other things. 300 years waiting for a key that doesn’t exist. Boy is he gonna be disappointed.”

Ben appears to enjoy this idea. “I hope I get to see his face when he finds out. Can you make that happen?”

Klaus continues, “Or maybe he’d like us to get a copy of the key made. We can print one on demand from that guy on the corner. You know the one — the cute one. Anyway, it’s not like a book ever hurt anybody.”

“How have you managed to live this long?” Ben asks, as he enjoys his favorite pastime: belittling everyone’s intellectual capacity. “Klaus-“

Klaus cuts him off. “And anyway, Ben, my corporeal cherub and not-brother in arms. If we can get a copy, then surely anybody can get a copy. They could come here and get it. We are booksellers after all, babe. We do offer that sort of thing. Actually, that very thing. I could just sell him the one in your hand. It’s for sale right now.”

Ben pinches the bridge of his nose in forebearence. He’s still riding the elusive high of caring about somebody. “I'm a corporeal cherub? Try not trying so hard Klaus, it’s embarrassing. Just because I gave you a dictionary for our birthday doesn’t mean you should go around using it.”

“But Bennerino, I’m attempting to improve myself. I thought that was what you meant when you told me I suck and then handed me a dictionary. By the way, Bennerino, just a quick note: there are tons of official synonyms for ‘suck,’ ‘idiot,’ and ‘moron.’ You could stand a little improvement in that insult-archive you have hiding up there in that Evil little skull of yours.”

“My-“

Klaus is pointing at Ben with a finger swirling circles. “Sh! Don’t interrupt, Ben, I’m on a roll.” Klaus wishes he could use that finger to boop Ben on the nose, but they’ve been getting along so well in the aftermath of that horrible experience they just survived — the one with the possession and the rescuing. He fears that Ben’s goodwill (now that there’s confirmation that Ben’s goodwill exists) will suddenly go poof and dissipate like a ghost.

————/😵‍💫/————

Catch up: Devil’s Night Chapter 1 || Prev: Chapter 5

Or start with their origin story: Ded & Gonne Chapter 1

————/😵‍💫/————

[lokinightfury]

Weekend WIP

I was tagged by @justhere4thevibez to show some of the stuff I've worked on recently (I've bent the seven day rule because I've not done a lot in the last week because of some life stuff happening)

Reblog this with up to five current WIPs

after you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. you must then write 3 sentences in that file. if the filename is one you can’t share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

I have two main WIPs at the moment:

This IS Music

“For someone who claims not to give a shit about what people think you can’t bear the thought of your fans finding out you’re working with me, can you? It doesn’t take much, Dustin is linked to you, and now he’s been photographed with me. Hell, this is your main studio you work from. That’s what you’re actually worried about, right?” “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” “Do I? Because that’s how it seems. God forbid that Eddie Munson is seen dead with a corporate sellout like me.” She knows she should stop, but she’s on a roll now, and the words just keep flowing. “You’ve never had to work for this, and now you do. It's killing you that good luck alone isn’t going to be enough. I bet you never had to work for anything in your life.” “Here we go again, spouting the same bullshit, thinking you know everything about me Princess. Yeah. We got lucky and got our break, but don’t think for a second we didn’t work hard to get there.”   Corroded Coffin had lived every kid's dream, their first set of gigs in the nearest big city to the middle of nowhere town they had grown up in got the attention of all the right people, and they quickly had a record deal and a platinum selling debut album. He hadn’t slogged and played to venues of five drunks, or battled for spots at open mic nights desperate to get his songs heard, to give them a chance with anybody else just to let people hear his music like she'd had to.

“You signed three months out of high school, don’t pretend you know what working hard for something looks like.” She scoffs at him, staring him down, daring him to retort. “Oh and you would? With your perfect picket fence family life? I bet you were even a cheerleader, weren’t you?”

Speak Now (which isn't published anywhere yet)

The sun slowly sets, the inky blues of the night sky chasing it down on its journey under the horizon. In a few minutes the first stars will start to show, glinting through the inky blues above the van. This is one of her favorite places to be, lying on top of Eddie’s van, pretending the rest of the world doesn’t exist. Her mom thinks she’s with Nancy, the Wheeler’s reputation giving her the easiest of alibis. Telling the truth about where she is, and more importantly who she’s with, doesn’t even come into consideration as an option.  A puff of smoke rises up above them, and she turns to look at Eddie. He’s lying on his back, already thoroughly relaxed, one palm tucked under his head while his free arm holds aloft a freshly lit joint. He offers it across to her, but she shakes her head in reply. Maybe later on, once she starts to feel the temperature drop and needs something to distract her from the cold. For now, being here, hidden away from prying eyes, free to be the person she can only be without the weight of expectation that usually crushes down on her shoulders is enough of an escape.  She sighs as she settles back, wriggling down into the blanket he laid across her half of the roof once they had climbed up here. School was winding down for the year, but the thought of the weekend ahead is still a relief. “Big plans for the weekend, Cunningham?” “Prom dress shopping.” For most other girls, this phrase would be one uttered with excitement, but for Chrissy it’s practically through gritted teeth. She doesn’t need to explain why to Eddie. He knows what her Mom can be like.  He doesn’t reply immediately, just holding the joint across to her with a tone of commiseration. This time she accepts it, pulling the acrid smoke down into her lungs and holding it before passing it back to him. She exhales deliberately, watching the smoke drift up and away from them, dissolving into the sky. The psychological warfare of trying to pick a dress that’s simultaneously acceptable for her Mom, something she would want to wear and actually in her size rather than two sizes too small for her to ‘have an incentive to get trim’ is something that can only be made to feel better with the soft buzz that Eddie’s weed brings her.

I'm going to tag (with no obligation at all) @jenniebellie @hangon-silvergirl @immortalecstasy-blog