#I don’t know that I’ve reread these and OW

[mearcatsreturns]

I’m rereading the Alpha and Omega series (on Burn Bright—I typically just reread Fair Game) by Patricia Briggs and oof. If I were Leah, I would have betrayed Bran after 200 years of being treated like shit and being called an idiot by the various Cornicks (even Anna is, unknowingly, pretty casually cruel to her in her own home). Anyway, #JusticeForLeah

[millionancientbees]

I don’t know how Maggie makes me feel like a teenage girl who’s never read a romance novel before despite a) this being my, like, 15th reread of this series, b) the fact that I’ve been reading romance novels since I was, like, 8, and c) the fact that I’m in my late twenties.

She owes me so much money for emotional damages.

[exhuastedpigeon]

Helllllo and welcome to my new Weekly Fic Recs!

This first one is going to be a little long since I’m going to rec my favourite fics that I’ve read so far in November. I’ll likely post a list weekly moving forward (probably Friday or Saturday) and will tag them as ‘Han’s Buddie Recs’ and 'Han's Weekly Fic Recs'

These fics are in order of longest to shortest and are separated into newly read, reread, and wips! Anything in italics is a comment from me.

Newly Read

and here, too, am i by Daisies_and_Briars/@cal-daisies-and-briars Teen || 41.1k Six months into their marriage, Eddie is still struggling to decide whether or not he wants more kids, when he knows Buck does. The universe may not scream, but it certainly talks.

I don’t have much else to say about this fic besides ‘it’s extremely great’

Tick Tick Boom by ChasetheWindTouchtheSky Teen || 30.4k Buck decides he doesn’t need therapy, reverts to some bad habits, and explodes. Or, the Breakdown Fic.

every time we stop talking (the universe starts screaming) by withmeornotatall/@chronicowboy Mature || 21.9k Buck gets reckless, eddie gets angry, they talk in all the wrong ways, and the universe decides to intervene

Divorce 2.0 era. 

All The Work That Needs To Be Done by trysetmeonfire/@try-set-me-on-fireTeen || 14.6k Bobby dies. Eddie worries. Life goes on.

This fic made me cry on multiple occasions, reader beware that it will probably make you cry too. It’s beautiful. 

Sixth time's the charm by CorgiQueen14/@corgiqueen14 Teen || 14.2k The mid-lawsuit time loop fic that you didn't know you needed.

I’m a hoe for a time loop 

you had to kill me (it killed you just the same) by MonsterRae1/@monsterrae1Explicit || 12.4k The Hire to Kill Au. Buck's a hired assassin sent after Eddie, instead, he ends up falling in love.

Got Weird by Daisies_and_Briars/@cal-daisies-and-briars Explicit || 10.5k Shortly after Buck and Natalia break up, Eddie gets tipsy and makes a rather forward move. Then immediately panics (not that Eddie panics, of course) and backpedals. Eddie spirals, Buck is confused. Lots of spontaneous kissing ensues.

The idiots in love tag was invited for this specific fic, I swear. 

I wanna spend my forever like that by wikiangela/@wikiangela General || 8.6k Eddie catches a cold and stubbornly denies he's sick, while a fondly exasperated Buck is trying to take care of him.

Something Dumb to Do by glorious_spoon/@glorious-spoon Explicit || 8.5k Buck and Eddie try something out together.

These men are idiots and it’s perfect and VERY hot. 

i'd swim to your call on my phone by heartbeatdiaz/@loserdiaz Teen || 8.5k Buck's daughter keeps calling 9-1-1 for help with her homework, Eddie is smitten and apparently 9-1-1 works better than Tinder

What's Died Will Never Stay Dead by HMSLusitania/@hmslusitania Teen || 6.5k The immortal firefam AU no one asked for.

Yet another Buddie banger from a ship that sank in 1915. 

swinging for the fences by inbetweenthestacks/@organizedstardust Teen || 6.4k Buck takes Eddie to a baseball game.

This is the first baseball/baseball adjacent fic I’ve read in the Buddie fandom that made my baseball obsessed heart very happy. You don’t have to care about baseball to like it though!The line “Is baseball just…math?” made me actually laugh out loud because.. Yeah baseball kind of is math. 

if you go down in the woods today by oklahoma/@malewifediazTeen || 6.3k “Oh, oh. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you.” Buck grips Bobby’s hands as he goes down to the ground, looking up at Eddie with hot fire in his big blue eyes. “You’re gonna owe me so many blowjobs when I wake up. D’you hear me, Eddie Diaz? You owe me so bad.”

They’re so goofy with each other in this and it feels so true to the characters and show. A delight! 

kiss and make up by 42hrb Explicit || 3.3k Instead of being soft and sweet or adrenaline fueled and filled with love and thanks that they're both alive, their first kiss comes in the middle of a fight in Eddie’s living room.

shameless self promo, but I loved writing this fic so here it is on my own rec list :)

if this love is pain (let's hurt tonight) by HungryHungryHippo/@hippolotamus Teen || 3.2k After Chris leaves for college Buck mysteriously disappears. Five years later he finally returns with some answers.

Honestly... it's perfect

let heart hold true by lecornergirl/@clusterbuck Teen || 2.4k Eddie comes out to christopher. things snowball from there.

nicknames, supernova similes and the family we make by thewolvesof1998/@thewolvesof1998 General || 800 words Bobby and Athena meet Buck and Eddie's new baby girl.

Reread

like a dog with a bird at your door by fleetinghearts/@shitouttabuckExplicit || 51k Evan “i love you like a dog” buckley has only ever known how to love like, well, a dog, but maybe eddie diaz is the kinda guy to give a flea-bitten mongrel a forever home

I wish I was lying when I say I’ve read this fic 4 times since it came out, but I’m not. It’s so damn good. 

Hot Ghost Problems by ebjameston/@ebjameston Teen || 40.9k The ghost would prefer to go by Buck, if Eddie wouldn’t mind.

I can’t find the worlds to tell you how much I love this fucking fic. It’s so good. It might actually be perfect. 

of bake sales and overdue realizations by brewrosemilk/@gayhoediaz Teen || 4.8k Eddie doesn’t notice it until it becomes a thing that happens even when it’s just him and Buck, without Chris anywhere near them - but even then, he doesn’t find it strange, or give it much thought. Buck is the one who starts ending their phone calls with a quick ‘love you’ but it doesn't take long before Eddie does the same, often beating him to it.

WIPs

Maybe More Than I Should by Leslie_Knope Mature || 30k || ¾ chapters complete Eddie caught sight of the man leaning against the side of his desk and immediately wanted to retreat to the relative safety of the hallway, back in time when he lived happily not knowing that Mr. Buckley was apparently some kind of male model masquerading as a third-grade teacher.

This fic is an absolutely TREAT

[soulprompts]

"𝙎𝙃𝘼𝘿𝙊𝙒 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝘽𝙊𝙉𝙀" - 𝙄𝙉𝙎𝙋𝙄𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙏𝙎.

hi friends!! basically, i watched the teaser trailer for season 2 of shadow and bone, got excited, began to reread the soc duology, and then these happened! or rather, i found an ancient unpublished fic i wrote after the first time i read the duology, and decided to make that a problem for everyone else! i hope you all enjoy these, you don’t need to have seen the show nor read the books, i actually think many of these are fairly fandomless! i just wanted to explain my inspiration! DON’T ADD TO THIS LIST! i’ll make more lists like this one! ily all, bon appetit, go forth and write or read or nap or watch tv or something!

" my goodness, you're not nearly as stupid as you look! "

" you have all the answers right in front of you. you just need to look at it differently. "

" don't presume that you know me just because you've heard a few rumors and read a few articles. "

" there's certainly more to you than meets the eye, isn't there? "

" i urge you to remember exactly who it is you're talking to. because while others might appreciate your tone, i assure you, i do not. "

" i'm concerned that you mightn't understand what discreet means. because the path of chaos you've just created is exactly the opposite of discreet. "

" you owe me a favour. i'm here to collect. "

" i thought it was a good time to pay you a visit. it's been so long, after all; and we have so much to catch up on. "

" you are not your father/mother/parent's child. not by anything other than blood, and that's not even on the spectrum of importance. "

" i was wrong about you. "

" you know, i was warned not to get involved with you. people insisted it was a fool's decision. but i held out hope that you'd prove them wrong. now's your chance. "

" i'm not the sort of person to fuss over hurt feelings. you're either of value to me, or you're worthless. so prove to me that you're not the latter. "

" you honestly think i don't know where you go each night? i'm not blind nor an idiot. i just trust your ability to return home unharmed. "

" have you told anyone else about this? "

" there are no children anymore. only survivors. childhood and innocence are luxuries afforded to the privileged. not us. "

" i offered you an opportunity once. to build a better world together. we both know how that turned out. and now, you come crawling back, begging for... what? mercy? forgiveness? "

" i'm with you. always. no matter what happens, i will be right by your side. do you understand? "

" we're a team, aren't we? teams stick together. even when the leader is being a prick. "

" ...i was really worried about you, you know. you scared me earlier. and i'm not saying it to make you feel bad, it's just... promise me you'll tell me if things get bad again? "

" i can't pretend to understand all this stuff you've got going on. but i do promise that i'll be here to help you through it all. alright? "

" there's a job that needs to be done before we get to work on the big task. that's why i'm here. you'll be helping me/us to complete both jobs. payment upon completion. "

" you and i aren't as different as you want to believe. that must be why you're so angry. because looking at me, all that i've done... it's like looking in a mirror. isn't it? "

" people are scared. they need a leader. and right now, like it or not, they're looking to you. so go on. lead us. "

" you've come up with some really insane plans over the years, but this is just defying any amount of belief. "

" look. i don't care if people underestimate me. i actually enjoy it. they see me as an idiot, they drop their guard, the end. but i need you to know that i'm not an idiot. okay? "

" people have died. we can't let that go unpunished. "

" the world is changing. and if we don't get ahead of it, then they'll be the ones to decide what it changes into. "

" right! what's the plan, then? and god help the lot of us if you don't have one. "

" not all of us can afford the luxury of a conscience. "

" don't make the deadly mistake of presuming my actions reflect weakness. too many have made that same presumption. and not a single one of them lived to tell the tale. "

" you're scared. i can tell. the shaking, the look in your eye... you want to run. don't. you'll waste precious time and energy, and you'll need it all if you want to live. "

" everything is gone. it's all smoke, ruin, obliterated. is that our legacy now? our reputation? destruction, devastation, death? is that who we are? "

" we've fought against powerful enemies before, but this is beyond that. if we want to get out of this alive, we need to be smarter, stronger, better than we've ever been before. "

" don't forget why we're here. there's far more at stake than our lives if this goes wrong. "

" you're the only person here i trust. we need to stick together, watch each other's backs. just because everything's changed, doesn't mean we have to, too. "

" i can't think of anyone i'd rather be doing this crazy, ridiculous, nearly definitely lethal mission with. let's go out with a bang, eh? "

" you people are completely insane. but you're also insufferably good at this sort of thing. so let's go save the world, shall we? "

" why are we fighting so hard to save the lives of people who hate us, anyway? "

" you're the best there is at this sort of thing. i'd hate to see the one who got the better of you... "

" look at them all. going around, fussing over money, clothes, land... do they ever realize what's going on around them? do they ever see the bigger picture as we do? "

" you're clever. good. it's nice to have a challenge. but you should know now, you'll want to be a hell of a lot smarter than that if you want to go up against me. "

" you and i both know the risks. we both know what people like them are capable of. tell me it's all okay, and i won't question you. but if it isn't... we need to be ready. "

" it's lonely and vicious at the top. i can handle that. but you... you wouldn't survive five minutes of this life. "

" you can't survive in this world without growing a thicker skin, and erasing that naive belief that you can trust anyone you meet. least of all me. "

" if you're knocking on my door, i can only imagine it means you're here to collect. and by your demeanour, it's one hell of a favor you'll be asking, too. "

" i understand your anger. i've lived with that sort of rage for many years of my life. but you need to set it aside, understand? we need you calm if we want to get out of here. "

" oh, don't get all sentimental. i saved your life because you're worth more to me alive than dead. it doesn't signify any degree of care or affection. "

" you have one hell of an inflated ego, you know that? we were told this job was impossible. that's not a challenge. that's a fact. it is not possible. even for you. "

" i've heard it all before. one more job. one more mission. one last heist. but there's always more. it's like some sort of obsession for you. searching for another thrill. "

" enough! this is it! don't you see that?! we almost died! you almost got killed! if the saints are kind enough to save us today, it's only so we can quit while we're ahead! "

[jeon-ify]

that night- j. yunho : pt. 3

a/n: heyyyy girl did you miss me 😋 i know i know. after i reread the first 2 parts of this fic, im starting to feel like its already going NOWHERE. but!! i hope this part makes up for all the weirdness in the first couple of parts.

this chapter is a little short

warnings: mentions of self harm, mentions of sex (if you squint), drug use, swearing, use of the word ‘pookie’ only once, reader starts to second guess if she’s at fault

enjoy!

🤍🪩☁️

you watch your phone ding twice after you wipe your tears, processing the fact that yunho just walked into your apartment for the first time ever. you felt like none of it was real, that it was simply a blur that he came to your home, cried to you, kissed your forehead and promised he’d change.

yunho often kept his promise, thus leaving a feeling of confusion on your heart. you decide to ignore what your heart is telling you to do, and instead, listening to your brain:

you trusted him once before, and he fucked it up. don’t do that to yourself again, y/n

no matter how hard you try to ignore the messages on your phone from yunho’s support buddy, you can’t. what could mingi want at this hour?

y/n: hi, whats up?

*seen just now*

mingi.?: can i call you? i wanna talk to u ab smth rq

mingi.?: i stole ur number from yun

y/n: sure.?

as you respond to mingi, you wait a few seconds before mingi’s called ID pops up on your phone. the last thing you need right now is to talk about yunho— and if he calls for just that, you’d rather hang up and sit in silence as you literally haven’t even recovered from that entire show that just took place not even an hour ago.

“hello?” he speaks.

“hey, m-ming…mingi?” you try to pronounce his name, thinking you forgot his name, but he’s quick to confirm that you’d pronounced it right.

“yeah you said it right. how are you, y/n? how’s everything going?” you think he’s only starting small talk just to get to the topic of yunho.

“i could be better but for now i’m okay. how are you, mingi? what makes you call me at this hour?”

“if i’m being honest, i was going to ask you how you and yunho were putting up since i know he just got home from your place. he looked pretty fucked up, y/n.” you feel like he’s guilt tripping you, but you also feel like he’s part of the reason you got to see yunho tonight.

“we didn’t really talk much, he explained what happened that night and i know he regrets it— well, i like to believe he regrets it. plus, i really don’t know why it took him so long to reach out to me through san. because if he really wanted to reach out to me, he wouldn’t just send me pathetic ass texts and not have san call me.”

you and mingi both know that yunho’s texts were not pathetic. they— in fact— made your heart sink, and got you to seeing yunho, even though you didn’t want to be reminded of him, those texts are the reason you still saw him.

“i talked to him a couple years ago and we found each other at our lowest. we met at rehab— he was very much into popping pills and inflicting pain onto himself so i decided to help him out since we were going through the same thing. he had no place to stay, he sold his apartment because he owed that fucker san drug money. i took him into my apartment and i helped him build his credit score and save up to get his own place. he ended up buying a house bigger than mine. no matter what he does, he’s never really happy. i’ve known yunho long enough to know that he is not himself. listen, y/n. i’m not trying guilt trip you, but yunho really did love you. a lot of us do things we shouldn’t but that’s not an excuse. people fuck up, and you don’t have to forgive him, but give him the room to change in a way that shows how much he regrets doing that to you. i’m not saying you need to forgive him now or anything, but let your logic do it’s thing. goodnight, y/n. call me if anything changes.”

mingi hangs up the phone, leaving your head empty and full at the same time. so much happened today, and the last thing you needed was mingi unpacking everything to you.

yunho never mentioned that in his texts. since the both of you were together, yunho was too scared to touch a drug— that being part of the reason he never got along with san.

your pink nail polish is laid out on the floor in crumbles as you’ve picked it all off your nails. you think twice or three times over about how yunho was so broken over what he did to you. he’s the victim in his own story.

you are broken, but you didn’t feel like you were allowed to be hurt— though you have every right to be.

while you and yunho were together, you often refused sex when you got back from work, claiming that you were ‘too tired’ or ‘too busy’ to pay yunho any attention. you can’t remember the last date you had with yunho.

your thoughts cloud your brain as you slowly start to feel like you’re part of the reason he’d cheated on you.

“we hadn’t had sex in like 4 months so i started to believe it.”

“they said you don’t deserve someone like me.”

“they said you can’t handle me”

you walk over to your kitchen, grabbing your lighter and heading back to your balcony. as the night sky hugs your home, you start to mentally prepare yourself for the next few months. you’ve cancelled every lash booking you had for the next week and a half, not being in the right headspace for anything.

you pick up your phone, calling wooyoung.

“it’s 3 in the morning go back to sleep.” he groans. you caught him at the wrong time, hearing a female voice in the back moaning and breathing heavy.

“can you come over? i need you here.” you light your cigarette, the smoke clouding the air in front of you.

“i’m on my way.”

in almost 7 minutes, your best friend is sitting right by you, throwing the cigarette off the balcony. he notices how your nose and eyes are puffy from crying, how your gaze is absent. he puts his lazy hand around your shoulders, pulling you to lean on his own.

“i’m guessing it didn’t go well?” he asks, his baggy flannel smells like comfort, making your eyes well up in tears, in appreciation for your best friend.

“i’m sorry, wooyoung. i keep crying to you. i’m just so overwhelmed and so much shit is unfolding tonight, i just wanna run away from everything bro.” you sniffle into his chest, his hand rubbing on the small of your back.

“hey, it’s okay. it’s okay to cry. talk to me when you’re ready. i’m here to listen, babes.” he rubs and shushes you, as you relax against his hands.

“we talked about what happened that night and how it happened. he said he just didn’t feel like i wanted him anymore and because we didn’t have sex in like 4 months he started to believe what sara and maya were saying.”

“what were they saying?”

“they were saying shit like i didn’t deserve someone like him and that i was stupid to believe i could have someone like him. then when he left he kissed my forehead and walked out and that just was the cherry on top.”

“shit, y/n. i’m sorry.” he stops rubbing your back as you sit up facing him. he brings his hand up to wipe your tears and fix your hair.

“what else, babe?”

“then like an hour after he left, mingi texted me and when i saw it he asked to call. then i said yeah and called me and he told me how yunho was coping when we split. he said he got into drugs and started doing self harm and shit, he sold his apartment cus he owed san money for drugs and he had to get into rehab for it all. he told me how yunho regrets everything but i don’t know, woo. what do i do?” you breathe. you don’t wanna keep crying, but it’s all you can do.

“how’d you feel after the talk with yunho?” he questions.

“i don’t know. i just feel like i wanna give him room to change cus i feel like he would. but then again, he cheated once and he literally said he wanted to leave but i was holding him back from doing what he wanted. i feel like a burden on him even when we’re not together anymore. and i don’t wanna have to go through that again.”

“first of all, you’re the victim. i don’t know why mingi is making it seem like you’re to blame. second of all, i’m not gonna tell you what you should do. all i will say, is that you need hella time to figure it out. listen to your brain, y/n. not your heart. your heart will tell you to do things impulsively, it’s why your brain is up here, and your heart is right under it. your brain will lead you to do the most logical thing and what’s best for you. ’ll support you, no matter what choice you make. but please make the right one.” he kisses your temple, bringing you back to lean on him again.

“woo,”

“yes, y/n.”

“i don’t know what the fuck i’d do if i lost you.”

“you interrupted the best fuck of my life, but i forgive you. don’t let it happen again.”

you laugh, following wooyoung’s giggle.

“i love you pookie”

“i love you, y/n. do you want me to stay the night?” he watches the stars twinkle and dance, taking in the feeling of his best friend in need, and him being the only person who could make you feel at ease— something he would never take for granted.

“please.”

wooyoung giggles lightly as the both of you stand up to head to bed, falling asleep much easier than the night before.

—————————————————————————————

hello!! wooyoung is so cute ☹️

taglist: @bbae98 @haohaoshoe @k-hotchoisan @stolasisyourparent @atinytiny @isiloiale @kpophosblog @nakiiko @certifiedmoa @aaniag @yunnieo @chosoteta @xuchiya 🤍

[lemonnsss]

Moral of the Story Chapter 4

Gif by: @celebritiesandmovies

A/N- I’m so sorry for the late update! I’ve had some issues with my health recently that have led to some related issues in school; but, I’ve been feeling a lot better and tried to edit this up quickly.

It’s not my best work, but I had no idea what to do with this chapter, please forgive the nonsense.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Taglist: @vicmc624 , @mostlymarvelgirl , @yvonneeeee, @beetlejuicesupremacy , @moonlightreader649 , @whattheduckisupkyle , @chrisevans-realwife, @nekoannie-chan , @mrsbarnes32557038 , @imyourbratzdoll , @weallhaveadestiny

Word Count: 1.2k

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The thought that Scott would leave never so much as crossed my mind. How could it? Jean and Scott had been dating since the seventh grade.

I must have reread his email half a million times, each time hung on the words “I’m leaving the mansion too.”

I was pulled from my shock as I heard the door shut behind me. I put my phone away, internally prepared myself for the interview questions, and turned around, standing from the chair. I began to talk before I saw the figure, “Hello, again Ms. Potts. That was quite the situation-” I stopped. I had expected to see Ms. Potts. Instead, there stood Tony, who seemed equally shocked to see me there.

“Why hasn’t Pep sent you out yet?” He moved from the door to the desk, “The last person to make it this long had a mental breakdown a week later.” He passed my side, slipping onto her desk. He kicked his legs slightly before he appeared to remember I was still present.

“Regardless, where is Pepper? She usually never leaves interviewees unattended,” He leans back, bracing himself on one of his arms as he reaches to the top of the shortest stack with the other quickly lifting the top sheet and, while scanning it, says, “and most certainly never leaves them around confidential company information.”

“Technically, the interview hasn’t begun.” An uncomfortable pause fell in the room as he waited for me to elaborate, “Her regular assistant is on maternity leave. Her fill-in accidentally double-booked her- she’s in a meeting right now.”

He let his head fall back dramatically as he scoffed, “Shame, I had wanted to tell her something in private. Do you know who’s all in there with her?” A cocky smirk plastered on his face.

“No? Why, Tony?”

He slipped off the desk, similarly to when he hopped up, “Oh, nothing. Just have a bit of information to share with the class.” he was almost halfway across the room when he turned back to me. His smirk was now a shit-eating grin.

“Wait,” I ran to the man, grabbing his wrist, his expression turning amused, “if the information is so important, would it not be better to share it with her privately as you originally intended.”

I suppose I had a stern expression as I said that as Tony burst out laughing, “What am I? A schoolboy scolded by his teacher?”

“Not far off on the teacher part.” He stopped for a moment before a small smile came across his face.

“Really now? When was that?” He leaned against the table again, his interest shifting to the current topic more and more.

“It was my last job. I taught at a private academy outside Salem for almost three years.”

“Interesting. And what provoked the sudden career change?”

“I don’t believe I owe you that information, Mr. Stark, unless it pertains to a crime.”

A silence passed as he tilted his head one way and then the other. “Fair point. It doesn’t apply to California's laws, but sure, plead the fifth. I won’t judge you.”

“Oh no,” I said sarcastically, “how could I ever go on with the great Tony Stark judging me!”

“Ha-ha, very funny.” He moved his hands in an almost childish manner. Playing to exaggerate his point, “You don’t seem like the type to leave such a luxurious position for any old reason. And given that you didn’t have a job lined up, you left quickly. Why is that?”

“... My long-term partner and fellow teacher at the institution cheated on me with our co-worker.”

I looked up, his face seeming to wander between holding back a chuckle and ‘Oh shit’.

After quickly stiffening his laugh, a voice rang out behind, “Well, that’s quite the loss on their end.” Ms. Potts said from her place, leaning on the doorframe. Noticing her, I stood up, “You were a great help today, and from the small glimpse I’ve seen with you and Tony, well, I think he’ll be in good hands.” 

By the time she finished her sentence, she was standing in front of myself and Tony. He still placed his weight on the desk but now he stood with his back straightened. I couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle, watching how much his demeanor changed when trying to maintain a good image around her.

“Please, Ms.Potts-“

“-Call me, Pepper. Please.”

“Alright… Pepper. Thank you, but you’re too kind. I just did what I could to help. That’s nothing to be hired over.”

I watched as she placed a hand on her hip, looked at Tony, then looked back at me.

“Hun, I mean this in the nicest way I can,” she says as she placed her hand on my shoulder lightly pushing me to sit, “do you want this fucking job?”

"Yes?"

“Great! You’re hired. Tony is scheduled to attend an event in Milan later this week so, I’d recommend you get ready for it. You’ll be at the convention for four days, not including travel days, please keep that in mind while packing. Now, if you don’t mind,” she moved her arm in front of her covered desk, “I have a few rather large stacks of paperwork to get to. Tony will show you to your office, once you’re done you’re free to leave,” she moved around the desk to type something on the computer, “I’ll have the receptionist send the order out for your ID badge, we’ll most likely have it tomorrow, otherwise it will be the day after that.” She moved up to Tony and me pushing him off her desk and casually shooing us to the door, “Congrats on the new secretary, Tony, don’t fuck it up. And to you, good luck.”

And just like that, I was standing outside of Ms. Potts' office with Mr. Stark. He led me over to his office, the room was rather cluttered but, inside and to the left there was a door. He looked over his shoulder, I guess to check to see if I was still there. He then opened the door, which, led to the secretary’s office.

“There’s another door leading in from the hall, so, please, don’t feel required to come through this room every morning. If you have any other questions, you have my number. Otherwise, I have better things to do.”

“I’m good Mr. Stark.”

“Mr. Stark was my father, call me Tony.”

“Okay then, Tony.”

“Well, I’ll be seeing you then.” He gave a slight wave and walked out into his office. The sound of his door closing let me know he was either leaving or heading back to Pepper’s. 

I took another look around the room, it was well-furnished and fairly clean. There was nothing I could see that needed repair either. I wouldn't need to bring anything in.

We boarded the plane about sixteen hours ago and finally reached our destination. We were about five minutes from landing. I got up to wake up Tony, who had been asleep for the past four hours.

I walked over to his chair, slightly nudging his shoulder, “Mr. Stark, wake up. We’re about to land.”

“Fuck you”

“Apologies, sir.” I sat across from him and buckled my seatbelt.

After I had finished the pilot sent the message over the intercom. Tony begrudgingly followed the instructions. The landing was a bit bumpy, but far from the worst I’d felt.

Once we were given the all-clear to start unboarding we started walking down the airplane's staircase. I started walking towards the car that was waiting when I heard a loud bang. The unmistakable sound of a gunshot rang out. I turned around and saw Tony writhing on the ground.

[sotwk]

Hello, you wonderful, thoughtful, sneaky busybody! I’ve read the letter that you snuck into my room—in fact I may have read and reread it until my eyes went crossed. I can hardly believe you took such risks for me, spying on Lord Eomer and taking his private writing—but I’m certainly glad you did.

Grateful as I am, I have another favor to ask of you—though I know you’ll accept gladly, given your love for meddling in other people’s business. I have a letter for Lord Eomer—oh, Bema help me, I knew you’d be insufferably smug about it. Yes, you were right—you’ve been right all along! Are you happy now? 

I know what you’ll ask next, and yes. If you must, you can take a peek—I suppose I owe you that much, since you were the one who brought me his letter in the first place. Just make sure he gets this, won’t you? I won’t be able to rest until he does.

.

.

.

Lord Eomer,

Last night, my friend gave me a curious gift: a letter, crumpled, torn, and painstakingly pieced back together. A letter written and nearly destroyed by your own hand. I do hope you can forgive her actions—for my part, I have never been more grateful for her meddling.

I was determined Forgive my penmanship. My hands have not stopped shaking since I read your words.

I was determined to speak to you at once. I’d decided to sneak to the Golden Hall and throw pebbles at your window until you awoke. Would you believe that I’d donned my cloak and had a foot out the door, with no thought that midnight had long since passed, when my mother caught me and herded me to bed like an errant foal? Trapped in my room as I was, I resolved to write to you instead.

I slept not at all. 

For months, I have endured the attention of the suitors my parents paraded before me. Foolish man, had you made known even a word of that letter to me, I would have sent them all away without a second thought!

I am—I was resigned to do my duty to my family. But you cannot think I wanted to marry one of those men! If ever I smiled at them, I was thinking of you. If ever I looked attentively at them, I was studying their faces seeking some trace of you. 

I underst  Bema, my quill grows unsteady again. You cannot know what your words have done to me.

I understand your reservations, truly. But I am of a mind with your cousin, that our duties need not rule us entirely. Nor must they be the enemy of our hearts.

Do you recall the midsummer feast last year, when you asked me to dance? We spoke afterwards in the garden below the north balcony. I don’t recall a word of our conversation, for you had kissed the back of my hand when our dance was done and I could think of nothing else. You must have known how your touch would haunt me, how I would drive myself mad with thoughts of how your lips might — 

Bema, I am not myself this morning! But there, you see? I do not cross out words in regret, not when I mean them. 

I will be waiting in that garden tonight, at sundown. If you have the courage to stand by the words you tried so desperately to destroy—if, Bema help me, you are as seized by your passions as you claim—you will meet me there. I make no demands of you. Only that you speak the truth to me, without reservation, as I am doing now. 

Enough of prudence, enough of patience! What good have those miserable words ever done us?

I don't know if you will receive this letter in time (don't know how legible it will be, I have never scrawled so fast in my life), but even with the hour being late, I HAD to write and reassure you that:

I survived reading it, though it got hairy there for a second, my poor heart was not ready.

I delivered the letter.

I did more spy-work and lingered in the halls all morning until I was sure Eomer had returned to his rooms and found it.

I got caught. No, no, not by him, thank Bema. By the other one.

No worries, I handled it. He went all high and mighty, telling me I "should not meddle so much", but he didn't rat me out right there. He went into Eomer's room and chatted with him for a good while. Alas, door was too thick for me to hear a peep. Why are these doors so damn heavy.

I managed to corner him later on, but he wouldn't confirm anything other than that Eomer read your words. I then rushed off to get this note to you, but I'm gonna run back to talk Theodred's ear off until he spills everything. I don't care if he is the Prince. I know for a fact that he meddles as much as I do if not more, that sweet hypocrite.

Please just show up in the garden as you said you would and this would all be worth it I'm sure. I'll meet you on the other side, girl! GO GO GO!!!

Tagging parties who are probably interested in this crazy drama: @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras @morethantheycansay @emmanuellececchi @celeluwhenfics

For the other confused readers:

The "Anon" who wrote the gorgeous letter in response to my own "Letter from Eomer" is actually the incredibly talented @scyllas-revenge. It started as a letter writing Ask Game, and is now blowing up into a co-written Eomer x unnamed OC fic.

I've posted my work of Eomer's letter as a ficlet on Ao3 called "A Salvaged Letter", but now I'm probably expanding that into a SMALL multi-part fic. We'll see. Now that I've pulled my beloved Theodred into it, it's hard to resist the urge to write more.

Oh, and the busybody gossipy friend will definitely be an OC self-insert of yours truly. Shamelessly, I'm doing that.

[swordfright]

do you have any c!awesamdream fics recomendations?

Honestly, I don’t have a ton of recs. c!awesamdream fic is mysteriously hard to find, and I also wouldn’t want to recommend you anything super E-rated in case that’s not your jam. Personally I’ve had more success searching the Sam & Dream gen relationship tag than the slash tag. That said, here are my no-brainer recs, most are gen with some exceptions:

inosculation by @theminecraftbox - canon compliant, reflection on how their relationship progresses during the prison arc, how c!sam’s authoritarian tendencies bloom in pandora, and the weird symbiosis he and dream achieve. technically not a slash fic but like it is To Me!!

saltwater on rock by @elmhat - also not technically a slash fic but it is a fun exploration of their relationship post-prison: who are they to each other, now that they aren’t prisoner and warden? what power has dream reclaimed, what power has sam ceded? or is it the other way around? fun stuff.

the trees deny themselves nothing by @lookinghalfacorpse - if you’re asking for recs you’ve probably already read this one (it’s basically THE awesamdream fic at this point) but i think it lends itself to re-readability! and if you haven’t read it: dream loses his leg in pandora, phil n techno conscript sam to make him a new one after the jailbreak, things get interesting. OP also wrote a post-fic oneshot which you can read here.

everlasting evermore by @elmhat - incomplete atm and also not slash but definitely awesamdream vibes. sam is a sad widower king who interrogates dream in his dungeon so it scratches the fantasy itch. this fic does some cool things with the cloning lab lore and i’m really excited to see where it goes!

21 steps in the desert by @airrec - banger. it's short so i won't describe it in detail. banger tho!

scream eureka by @cgogs - basically a post-canon domestic horror fic, sam and dream are married (with a kid on the way) but neither of them is able to move on from pandora. this fic deals with issues of bodily autonomy very well and it’s also refreshing to see trans pregnancy handled with tact, rather than treated like a fetish or a joke. IIRC this fic is an AU of an AU so be warned, it does come with like 30 pages of background lore which isn't necessary to understand the fic but does make it easier to follow.

all these lives by @lookinghalfacorpse - reincarnation drabble, plays with sam’s obsession in fun ways. not really sure how else to describe this one but i reread it sometimes! it’s good!

you don't have to be like that by @dr3amofagame - incomplete, i haven't reread this one in a while but i remember enjoying it at lot! dream gives sam the book in a moment of desperation and then has to navigate the fallout.

accident by @airrec - another fave. concise, fucked up, and very well written.

i’ve also been working on a multichap awesamdream fic (am i allowed to rec my own fics??? is that too cringe??) that’s gonna be wrapping up soon. pandora's vault gains sentience, that's the whole plot. like most of the other works on this list, it’s not technically ship fic but it is very much about sam and dream’s...situation. full warning tho, it’s long and rambly and weird, sorry for that!

i also wanna add that pretty much any fic that explores the scrapped lore is gonna have to deal with awesamdreamisms by necessity, owing to the nature of, well, the lore. there's a decent amount of fics about it, here's one that I found recently and enjoyed a lot.

Have fun, mind the tags. And if you find more then by all means, feel free to add to this post! I know there's a lot of tumblr-exclusive content floating around out there that can be harder to find than stuff on AO3.

Also, it's worth mentioning that some of the most compelling c!awesamdream content I've read were brief interludes in fics about much broader subjects in the fandom; I've read a lot of great c!awesamdream moments in c!rivals fics, prison trio fics, c!dnf fics, etc. So my advice is to cast your net wide, if that makes sense? Happy reading!

[beneathashadytree]

I want to thank you so much. I love the commission I did with you and I’ve been rereading a lot because it makes me feel loved. But also as someone whose nonbinary, as someone who has to hide the fact at work, as someone whose got into countless fights with family over it, thank you for writing GNC MC. I read that tweet thread you had talked about how people send you hateful messages because you don’t write exclusively for Fem!MCs. I can’t imagine how awful it is to be bombarded by hate for doing something so genuinely kind. I hope you know I am beyond grateful you do it. I would have given up on LADS if I hadn’t found the game (it can be dysphoric some days, even though I love the game) but coming to your SMAUs and your fics, they relieve my soul. Thank you <3

No, thank YOU. Seriously, you’re such a lovely soul, and it touches my heart beyond anything, just knowing that I can share this safe space with you. Being genderqueer in any way instantly means that you end up marginalized in most communities, and that you’re more likely to be rejected by cishets than not. I wanted to stress, for years now, that my blog is not tolerant of any prejudice or bigotry of any kind.

I do get these asks pretty often, but ultimately I end up ignoring them every time. I only chose to reply one time, to clarify my intentions once and for all (though really, do I actually owe anyone an explanation for my boundaries?) and remain firm in my decision that I will be as inclusive in my writing as humanly possible.

I completely understand how playing the game can sometimes be conflicting, especially when it doesn’t align with who you really are. I truly hope that you’ll always find comfort and happiness in these silly SMAUs that have come to mean everything to me, after all your thoughtful support🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

[seriouslysam8]

In response to your poll: your creative output is so danged consistent. Honestly, I have no idea how you do it and how week-by-week you do it so brilliantly. But, the thing about consistent output is we need to refill our creative well every now and then. It simply sounds like you need a Brumous break because it's work hauling up that half-full bucket from the bottom.

Meanwhile, you have this Blackinnion stream next to you that's babbling and running and calling you to play - so go dip your toes and play! In the meantime, do what you need to do to refill your well - go read some good (and bad!) fics on your TBR list! Buy some silly redheaded stickers and doodle lightning bolts on post-its! Wherever your bubble is, go venture outside it, look around, and over time trust that inspiration will come.

Hope you feel better - you don't owe us, or need permission to do what your muse is calling you to do. ❤️

I do love Brumous. A ton. I am so proud of this story and the way it’s going (despite some criticisms I’ve read along the way). I regret nothing I’ve written and it has been a very big self-indulgent project.

I’ve been writing this story for a year and a half pretty consistently. It’s different from my other projects, because it’s not really a universe I can hop around in quite yet to quench my thirst for some fluffy to break up the angst. If I do that, then I’m spoiling the end battle and who lives and dies and all that jazz. So, I feel like I’m being pulled into this other universe to kind of fulfill my fluffier side.

Things in my personal life have been rough as well. So, writing this highly emotionally angsty story has been hard. I find myself wanting to write something different.

I guess, my big worry was that people wouldn’t come back to read Brumous if I took a break. I know me personally, I’d have a hard time getting back into a story that had a big break. I’d forget what was going on and then not want to reread everything to remember. Because I love how involved and happy you guys are to engage with this universe. That brings me so much joy and motivation. I know most of you don’t give a shit about the Blackinnon series, which is fine. So maybe it’d get out if my system quick. 😂😂😂

[goldenempyrean]

Coffee Shop

❥ Valentines Drabbles: Day 7

❥ Pairing: Sick Florence x Reader

❥ Wordcount: 835

[ Previous || Next ]  

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ:

Florence tapped her foot as she waited in line, patiently rereading the menu as she awaits her inevitable order. She's got a very specific order and she gets it every time she visits. She loves this little coffee shop, something about the cosy aesthetics drew her to the place, plus it helped that the shop was local to her house too. Plus, there was the added bonus that she’d get to see her favourite barista with every visit.

Only this time she can't exactly focus on her order, something else is bothering her. The drumming of her fingers against the counter is the same as the drumming in her temples. It’s been there ever since she woke up. An early-morning trip to a coffee shop was the only place where Florence expected she could find silence. But on this particular day, even the silence felt too loud

“Flo?” Came the sound of your voice as you recognised her from across the counter, her eyes looking up to meet your welcoming smile, “How’ve you been? It feels like ages since you last stopped by!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that! I’ve just been super busy lately, been away on set a lot.” She responded, trying her best to mimic her usual chippy voice but the fatigue thick in her words betrayed her efforts.

You frowned a little at her voice. It sounded strained, almost painful, “You alright there? You sound a little off”

She chuckled a little, “Yeah, just a little. I'm okay, just a little bit of a sore throat.”

“Awh, make sure you get plenty of rest then. Am I getting you the usual?”

Florence coughed a little into her elbow, “Yes please, that’d be great.”

You went forward to grab a cup for Florence’s usual chai latte but stopped. You knew she needed something else, something soothing, something like- Aha!

As you finished making her drink you hear Flo muffle such a deep and husky cough that, if you didn't know better, you'd think she was choking. But from the way she turns her head and rubs her throat you could tell it was causing her some discomfort. So, you speedily finished making her drink, sliding the cup over the counter towards her.

“There you go.” You said with a smile.

“I thought I ordered the usual?” Florence asked curiously as she took a hesitant sip of the steaming cup of tea in her hand and to surprise, it was just what she needed. Instantly she could feel some relief from the soreness at the back of her throat.

You smiled as you saw the look of relief gently wash across her features and the subtle glint of gratitude in her eyes, “I thought the tea would be better for you, help fight off that cold of yours.”

“It does feel amazing against my throat,” Florence admitted as she cradled the cup in her hands, “Thank you so much, how much do I owe you?”

You smirked as you gave her a little wink, “It’s on me, don’t worry about it.”

Her smile of thanks is genuine. She can't help but feel a lightness in her chest. A softness in her soul to see someone care so much. "You're far too kind... I can make this up to you somehow.” She says, her smile widening as she gently shifts her hands along the rim of the mug. A tinge of embarrassment creeps into her cheeks as she thinks of her own body, and the favour you so easily gave her without hesitation or demand for recompense.

You shook your head, “All you need to do is get yourself better, that’s all I ask.”  

“Seriously Y/N you don’t know how much this means to me. Is that really all you want?”

“Yup, that’s all.” You smirked but you couldn’t help but fidget with your fingers as a certain idea toyed with your thoughts. If this worked then it could change your life forever and on the other hand, if it backfired miserably then you may just lose the one reason why you loved your job. With a deep, steading breath you composed yourself and reached out the grab a napkin. Using the pen from your top pocket, you quickly scribbled down a message onto it.

Florence looked at you curiously for a moment but still turned to leave, “I guess I’ll be going then-“

“No! Wait.” You hesitated for a moment but before you knew it, you picked up the napkin and handed it to her, note side down, “Theres one more thing I want.”

She opens the note and her eyes widen as she reads the message. Her cheeks flush with a shade of red that slowly crawls down her neck. "Oh... you’re really asking me this?”

You nodded, a little nervous to speak at first, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want- I just thought- of course it’d be once you’re feeling better but-“

“Y/N, I’d love to go on a date with you.”

...and that’s how it happened. That’s how you found yourself dating the Florence Pugh. It’d been years since that fateful day and still that little napkin sat framed just beside her bed. An eternal reminder of the day you showed courage... the best day of her life.

〖 Join My Taglist! 〗@scrambled-brain-eggs @natashamyl0ve @shin-conan-kun @bloomingflowersthings @kathleenmikaelson @shamelessbearunknown @inluvwithfictionalwomen @ceiestiaie  @fluffyblanketgecko @kljhsong @santana1437

[wintersshowers]

RONAN and ADAM and... ETHEL CAIN

(trust me its gonna be so good)

My thoughts on “crush” by Ethel Cain and The Raven Cycle (because my niche right now is rereading the raven cycle for the first time in 4 years and I just happened to see Ethel live and I cannot stop connecting them) 

As a prelude to my lyric/quote breakdown… Ethel Cain is a trans woman who writes hauntingly beautiful music.. She is religious and from the south, which is a HUGE part of why it is so undeniably apparent to me that she can be connected to specifically RONAN (gay catholic from the south with his barn house). Her music is so amazing and she is an awesome story teller so I hope you give her a listen.

Her most popular song CRUSH is so goddam Ronan and Adam I had to write this because I needed to put it somewhere. 

“His window's already passed, so he's shooting at the glass

Keeping guns in his locker, and he denies it

Like it's actually important, but he lied 'cause I sure did watch him

Showing up wearing black, and he knows that” 

His daddy's on death row, but he'll say it with his chest, though”

This is just very Ronan angst i don't feel like i need to explain.. 

“His friends move dope, he hasn't tried coke

But he's always had a problem saying no”

OKKK soooooo lets get into the the dream thieves helloooo 

Yes Kavinsky and Ronan’s relationship is very hard to define but whatever it is he takes up a lot of his time in dream thieves.. And he loves coke (or whatever the hell he dreamt up)… and Ronan is VERY BAD at saying no when it comes to any sort of challenge from Kavinsky.

OK NOW LETS GET INTO THE GOOD STUFF

“Can you read my mind? I've been watching you.”

“As they moved through the old barn, Adam felt Ronan’s eyes glance off him and away, his disinterest practiced but incomplete. Adam wondered if anyone else noticed.”

“Adam finally sat down on one of the pews. Laying his cheek against the smooth back of it, he looked at Ronan. Strangely enough, Ronan belonged here, too, just as he had at the Barns. This noisy, lush religion had created him just as much as his father's world of dreams; it seemed impossible for all of Ronan to exist in one person. Adam was beginning to realize that he hadn't known Ronan at all. Or rather, he had known part of him and assumed it was all of him.

The scent of Cabeswater, all trees after rain, drifted past Adam, and he realized that while he'd been looking at Ronan, Ronan had been looking at him.”

“When he opened his eyes, he saw that Ronan was looking at him, as he had been looking at him for months. Adam looked back, as he had been looking back for months.”

“Couldn't fight to save your life, but you look so cool”

“I’ve watched the evening news, Adam,” Gansey snapped. “Why don’t you let Ronan teach you to fight? He’s offered twice now. He means it.” With great care, Adam folded the greasy rag and draped it back over a toolbox. There was a lot of stuff in the carport. New tool racks and

calendars of topless women and heavy-duty air compressors and other things Mr. Parrish had decided were more valuable than Adam’s school

uniform. “Because then he will kill me.”

“Good men die too, oh, I'd rather be with you, you, you”

“See, Adam Parrish is wantable, worthy of a crush, not just by anyone, someone like Ronan, who could want Gansey or anyone else and chose Adam for his hungry eyes.”

HELLOOOOOOOOo are u kidding…. 

1st Gansey is the definition of a “good man”

2nd Adam is OBSESSED WITH THIS the whole damn series and is constantly attempting to model himself/who he wishes he was after gansey 

3rd to tie it all together… the whole series its like oh yea gansey is about to die (along with everyone else if we are being real) 

“I owe you a black eye and two kisses

Tell me when you wanna come and get 'em”

PLEASEEEEEE like this is MY WAY of describing the ANGST and SLOWWWWWburn of their relationship. When I hear her sing this I cannot help but giggle and kick my feet because of how amazingly it fits. 

“I only want him if he says it first to me”

"It was Adam’s ribs under Ronan’s hands and Adam’s mouth on his mouth, again and again and again. It was stubble on his lips and Ronan having to stop, to get his breath, to restart his heart. They were both hungry animals, but Adam had been starving for far longer.”

We all know the Ronan longing and it being a HUGE secret that he likes Adam... and Adam like knows and its like lol embarrassing (as if he isn't down bad as well)

ADAM is like oblivious to the legitimacy of his feelings until ronan gives him a little kissssss and then it's like he is all like “what is love” 

“He looks like he works with his hands, and smells like Marlboro Reds”

HELLOOOOOo this is so adam are u kidding

“Ronan crossed his arms to wait, just looking. At Adam's fine cheekbones, his furrowed fair eyebrows, his beautiful hands, everything washed out by the light. He had memorized the shape of Adam’s hands in particular: the way his thumbs jutted awkwardly, boyishly; the roads of prominent veins; the large knuckles that protruded from his long fingers. In dreams Ronan put them to his mouth.” 

“Adam twisted off the lid. Inside was a colorless lotion that smelled of mist and moss. Replacing the lid with a frown, he turned the container over, looking for more identifying features. On the bottom, Ronan's handwriting labeled it merely: manibus. For your hands.”

“Something's been feeling weird lately

There's just something about you, baby (there's just something about you, baby)

Maybe I'll just be crazy (I'll be crazy)

And piss him off 'til he hates me

Yeah right, he fucking loves me”

…… do i even need to say anything??

[critterfloozy]

WIP Wednesday: Essek Convention

So this is a very rough draft, but I'm celebrating writing the first nearly-thousand words in order for once. This will be for Critter Gen Week - Days 1 (Time/Dimension Travel) and 2 (Class Swap)

The plot is based off of And Then There Were N-one by Sarah Pinsker. Only it's Essek getting invited to an Essek convention.

The invitation came in the mail on a Grissen. Addressed to me - well, Essek, but we’ll get to that - and requesting my attendance at a conference.

I’m not the academic luminary that some of my contemporaries are - my life took me down a different path, and for the most part, I think I’m happier for it - but I’ve still been invited to conferences before. Just last winter, I was invited to speak at the Emon Cobalt Soul about the investigatory work I’d done regarding Da’leth, and how to update indexing to allow for better document retrieval. But this one was different - my expertise was based on who I am.

The conference was for those who were recognizably Essek of Den Thelyss - all different versions and possibilities. I still counted, even though it had been decades since I’d gone by that name.

“Do you really want to go?” Beau asked me, flopping her feet over the chair and popping some berries in her mouth. It looked uncomfortable to me, but, on the other hand, I’d never seen her sit in a chair normally.

“Wouldn’t you?”

Beau laughed. “More of me? Fuck no! I know some of the ways my life would have turned up, and there’s nothing that’d make me want to see them.”

I turned to Caleb, but he was also shaking his head while balancing a cup of tea. “Ah, it would be too dangerous for me to even consider.”

I wanted to ask what he would do if there was a version of him that had figured out how to stop running - to live under one name without fear. Would he ask for their advice? Would he take the chance to stop looking over his shoulder, stop disguising himself at any opportunity, stop worrying about scourgers and Cerberus Assembly lackeys?

I kept my mouth shut instead.

“Hey Kes, you should be careful too - who would you have been if you’d stayed in Rosohna?”

I’d defected after my father’s death. At the time, I’d been so desperate to leave that I’d stolen documents and gave them to the Cobalt Soul in return for them letting me join them. It was a hard decade - made both harder and easier by Beau, but I couldn’t imagine how much harder it would have been if I’d failed. Or maybe my father never died?

“Probably some sort of angst-ridden mess. But I will find out, I suppose,” I said, and then immediately forestalled their questions. “There are precautions. I have to submit to a Geas.”

That didn’t have the reaction I’d hoped for.

I quieted them down by holding a single hand up. “We all will. A zone of truth, to ensure who we are, and then a Geas to ensure that we do not attempt to harm any of our counterparts, or take their place. The wording was apparently decided by committee, but you can look over it.”

I held out the paper, and both Caleb and Beau went for it - Beau, of course, snatching it first. She spent a few moments reading and then rereading the statement, and then grudgingly handed it over to Caleb’s approval.

“I see no loopholes.” Caleb says slowly.

“Me neither,” admitted Beau.

“It’s on an isolated demiplane, we’ll be the only ones with access. It’s the safest thing I’ve done in a long time.” I assured them.

“So you’ve made up your mind.” Caleb said slowly, watching my face.

I returned the favor. “Yes, I have.”

I’d wondered if they were going to ask why - what I would tell them. Whether or not I regretted living in such a strange, light-ridden land, where my purple skin and eyes seemed doomed to mark me as the enemy. The long years I’ve had to regret, or even wonder what if.

What happened to Verin, after I’d left.

(I don’t know if Caleb had remembered that I used to have a brother. We don’t talk about families much. I assume Beau does - we’ve had a talk, after she found out about her own sibling.)

But there was also the other side. Of course, I’d had unanswered questions, what-ifs I’d wondered about. But other versions of me had wondered strongly enough to figure out how to cross dimensions, reach out to echoes and gather them all together.

I’d been ambitious when I’d lived in Rosohna, and Beau would be glad to tell you that I still had my moments. But some rather powerful need would have to exist to force me into convention planning, and I’d felt honor bound to see how I could help.

Caleb - ever patient and respectful of secrets, and Beau - someone who fought for every second of patience ever given to them, gave me plenty of time to elaborate. I took a little bit of satisfaction in finishing my tea and berries without another word.

“Okay, I’m not going to watch you two make eyes at each other all day. I’ve got my own people to make eyes at. Do you need me to do anything? Help make sure you don’t forget to pack something? Be on stand by?”

The spell was broken, and we quickly returned to making plans. Even then I knew they weren’t wrong about the danger. I don’t think could have anticipated what was in store.

[gracieart]

Ugh please don’t draw Elucien! She feels uncomfortable around him and shrinks in on herself in his presence. I love your art sm and it makes me very sad that you would support a week that celebrates forcing a woman to be with a man she is uncomfortable with 😭

Hello anon. I’ve looked at this ask so many times, attempting to come up with a good way to answer you. But… I just don’t have anything I could say to make you happy. And honestly that’s not my job. It is not my responsibility, or anyone else's to make you happy.

I was debating not even answering this ask at all, but there are some things that need to be said here. Quite a bit actually, because I am a human being with a lot of feelings.

First off, I know that in your mind this is coming from a place of “I love your art sm” but when you frame that around your dislike for something I expressed my enjoyment of, it loses all its meaning. Seriously. It took me like four rereads of this ask to even realize you said you like my art. Thank you, by the way.

What I’m curious about is what you hoped to accomplish by sending me this. Did you think I would suddenly change my mind and not draw something I just said I was excited about drawing? Imagine:

“I kinda like this idea. I’m going to take time out of my day to create something for it because I enjoy it!”

“No don’t do that.”

“Oh you’re right. Okay I won’t create something I like. Thanks for telling me what to do, I didn’t know otherwise.”

…you can see how that doesn’t make sense right?

I think what a lot of people don't understand, especially people who haven't attempted to share something they create before, is that us artists do not owe you anything. We are not mindless machines that create whatever you want whenever you want. I create what makes me happy. I create because I feel inspired. I do not create because you tell me to. I find enjoyment in creating art and I find enjoyment in sharing it with you guys. (Although recently, not so much anymore.)

My point that I want you to take away here is this: coming up to someone and hating on something they just showed an interest in is very rude. You keep that to yourself. That's just basic human decency. Like, if someone is happy, why go out of your way to make them unhappy? In reality if you saw someone who is very happy eating their chocolate ice cream, would you go up to them and throw their ice cream on the ground, just because you personally don't like chocolate flavored ice cream? It's as simple as that and yet I will never understand why people fail to recognize this.

Now, about the actual ship. I want to keep this brief because I despise with a burning passion anything "ship war" related. I hate that term.

I have read the books, same as you. And I know all about Elain losing all her newfound boldness and all that jazz. I am well aware of everything between them, so there's no need to remind me. But what you seem to think here is that I ship her because she shrinks away from him. That is not true. I do not like them because it promotes forcing a woman to be with a man that makes her uncomfortable. No Elucien I have ever met ships them because of this. I like the idea of them because of what they could be. I like their characters and I genuinely think they would work well together, even if it is just as friends. So in the fandom here, yes, I ship them too. But in terms of canon, I believe Elriel is most likely to happen. So you don't need to worry about "losing" an Elriel or anything like that. I can enjoy both. Actually its very pleasant. Double the love, double the fanfics and fanart! You can enjoy multiple things without "compromising" your true beliefs. There's a difference between having a personal preference and having an idea of what will happen in canon. And seriously, multishipping is so fun. You should try it some time!!

Now I want to close this off by making this clear. I was once in your place. I was so closed off from anyone and anything that opposed my own ideas. There was... a lot of hatred. But let me tell you, letting hatred go is so freeing. I have met the kindest and most loving people by stepping out of the little bubble I created for myself.

So to me, there is no "ship war." There are no sides. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy things. There is no battle that is going to be won with theories and headcannons and throwing insults at people who believe different things.

I am here in this fandom because I enjoy being here. But for some reason, people like to tell you what you can and can't enjoy. Crazy, right?

(This was kind of a lot, I apologize. Anon, I am not coming after you personally for sending me this. Your ask just provided the perfect vessel for me to express my feelings on the matter.)

[thatgirlonstage]

It's been so long since I thought about 07-Ghost and then you resurrect in the year of our lord 2024. I might have to reread it, it's been *so long*

LISTEN

I PLAYED

MYSELF

IN THE STUPIDEST

WAY

POSSIBLE

I’m doing a fandom fic alphabet bingo thing, right, except that now 9-1-1 is in the mix bc I was frothing at the mouth to turn Evan Buckley into a mermaid and I’m gonna be annoyed if I get all the letters and then there’s just an annoying 9 hanging out at the start so now it has to be alphanumerical and I straight up don’t think I have seen or read something for every NUMBER, especially going strictly on “it has to start with the numeral and Ao3 has to sort it that way.” (Eg: Re:Zero doesn’t count for 0, it counts for “R”)

So I am literally just like. Clicking around at random into ao3 categories to see what other fics already exist for certain numbers in case they might be shows I can watch to solve this problem I’ve created for myself. And I google 07-Ghost and get told “this is a sci-fi/fantasy show about a boy with amnesia” and I’m like cool, that sounds reasonably like my shit, I’ll check it out, but honestly if zero is a number I have to leave off that’s okay, I can live with that. I need to emphasize I had never in my life heard of this show. I knew nothing about it going in except what I’ve just said.

I watch the first episode and I’m like cool this seems reasonably like my shit, also, that homoeroticism with Mikage tho 👀 as long as they keep doing that it’s definitely at least worth sticking around for lmao

(At this interlude I DID see the cover of the first volume and get told what magazine it was published in so I was clued in that Certain Things Were Happening On Purpose, but still, yknow, whether or not the flavors are gonna click was still up in the air.)

I watched several more episodes.

And it ate

my damn

brain.

I don’t know if I can pinpoint the moment that first Got me but I can tell you that the moment it went from “oh no I’m obsessed” to “o h n o” was the fucking,,,,, underwater prison scene, because he SMILED and I perished and I’ll never be okay again. (I’m legally obliged to note that I fucking wept at Mikage’s death but it did have to be Frau who carried me over the line of “I am enjoying this anime” to “I need the rest of this story Fucking Immediately”)

SO THAT BY THE TIME I REACHED THE END OF THE ANIME I ALREADY KNEW I WAS GONNA HAVE TO GO BUY THE MANGA BECAUSE I NEED. TO READ THE REST OF IT.

BUT THE DAMN THING IS OUT OF PRINT

Some of the volumes are still reasonably easy to find but SOME OF THEM ARE NOT and I’ve just spent WEEKS intermittently trawling secondhand book sites waiting for someone to post vol 4 at a reasonable price because for weeks the only copies that have been available are posted for five hundred american dollars

(Thank you random eBay user who posted it for an actual normal human price to pay for a book the other night I owe you my fucking life)

(“Just read the scanlations” I’ve heard they’re not great? No idea if that’s just detritus rumors from old fandom wars or what but still, I do wanna have the physical volumes anyway)

So anyway. Hi. Hello. I’m fucking delighted to discover you know this show. Can I come scream at you about Teito and his boyfriends? They’re in love and it’s ruining my life.

Points at Evan Buckley. Somehow this is all your fault.

[elkonigin]

There’s a post that’s making the rounds about how author’s shouldn’t ever delete fics. 

And I get it.  I’m on that platform as a reader.  There are so many incomplete stories, and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back to read them.  Pieces of Me, Sachi, Fade to Black are just a few, and it’s a gut wrenching moment when I reach the last chapter and the story isn’t over, and there’s nothing else, and there probably won’t be anything else ever again.

I realize that author’s change their minds about works, but if you don’t want it attached to your profile, orphaning a work on AO3 is always an option too.  I would much rather see a work orphaned than deleted entirely.  Just because you as a writer no longer want a work, that doesn’t mean that your readers don’t want it.

No longer part of that fandom?  Orphan it. No longer want to finish that story?  Orphan it. No longer want to receive comments on that story?  Orphan it. Makes you cringe when you think about it?  Orphan it.

In the same vein, as a writer, it’s my work and I can do whatever I want with it.  I created it, and I have every right to destroy it too.  Should I?  Maybe.  Maybe not. 

But I, as the writer of this narrative, get to decide what happens to my story.  It is my creation and as its creator, I am the only one who gets to decide what happens to it. If I want to delete all of my stories, it is my right and no one has the ability to shame me for that.  I gave them unto the world, and I get the right to take them away. 

However you feel about the situation though, the problem is that many readers feel as though writers and artists owe it to them to create stories for their amusement.  These are usually the same people who don’t leave comments or interact with the authors/artists to let them know that they actually enjoyed their creation.  Leave comments!  Creators love talking about what they made with others.  And those that don’t respond don’t ignore you, sometimes they just don’t know how to respond. Typing out ‘thanks’ to your keyboard smashing essay writing brand of love sometimes feels inadequate.  Not all of us are extroverts who talk about anything, some of us post quietly in the night and then disappear once more from whence we came. 

It doesn’t have to be complicated: “I love this story!” “You’re an amazing writer!” “I can’t wait for the next chapter!” “I’ve read this twice (thrice) already!” “Consider this 23rd kudos!”

Any of those are acceptable short responses that you can easily type with a finger and your phone. You don’t have to wax poetic or write a ten page essay about something you noticed in the story/artwork.  I promise, we love both comments equally.  We just want to know that we matter--that our work matters to someone, anyone. 

Want to reduce the risk of a story being abandoned?  Tell the creator that they and their creation matter to you!

And if a story is abandoned?  Write a comment each time to you reread it.  It’s rare, but authors have come back to stories after a decade to finish them.  But let us know someone still thinks of us every now and again.