#I have a thousand more in me I have in my drafts lol

[spywhitney]

Imagine this: Fishes part 2 (titled Mother, Victory, Shrimp, Risotto???)

Sydney is invited, and so is Claire.

Sydney is being driven by Richie and Carmy, Claire is making her own way there since she knows where the berzatto house it.

Sydney introduces herself to everyone and Carmy stays close to her, Claire arrives later and everyone is cordial with her.

Carmy, Richie and Natalie constantly look out for Sydney, Claire is left to her own devices.

Sydney holds everyone's attention with stories (one of them being stabbing Richie in the arse bet lol) as they get to know her, Claire listens in but rarely gets a chance to speak.

Sydney has a confrontation with Donna after Carmy, Richie and Natalie advise her against going into the kitchen, Claire stays away from Donna at all costs.

Sydney ruins her shirt (by having a drink spilt on her or in my mind, puking due to stress) and Carmy gives her a spare t-shirt of his, Claire is talking to Fak.

Claire sees Natalie being comfortable with Sydney, Carmy getting her something to eat and drink (sprite?) and Richie having a laugh with her.

Michelle mistaking Sydney for Carmy's girlfriend, Claire having to get Carmy's attention for him to even check on her.

I mentioned this scenario here which fits great aside from the kiss and implication sydcarmy has happened.

But Sydney tears into Donna at the dinner table. She sees and hears how she treats and speaks to Natalie and Carmy in particular and is near tears by what she's seeing. She's angry, confused and passionate all at once, and Carmy looks at her like she's the only reason he's breathing.

This could definitely lead to a Claire/Carmy argument with Richie in the mix later on.

Carmy calls Claire his girlfriend. Carmy treats Sydney like his girlfriend.

[moineauz]

જ⁀ "you are a 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌, dearest."

That was what your husband- Neuvillette- mutters breathlessly to you in an outpour of gentle rain. That was when he ultimately grasped the wispy and fleeting sensations of what a mortal calls a 'dream', like a feather grazing the skin before vanishing with an afternoon breeze.

While Neuvillette is poised, eloquent, observant and educated- the sheer complexity of mortal life puzzles him. He has grown to subconsciously question the facts, follies and simple acts of mortals for centuries in a subtle, smouldering aspiration to better comprehend why laughter erupts from your hearty lungs during downpours. Despite, rain being considered an omen of sorrow. Or how you childishly attempt to dance with the shadows of strangers before eventually embracing his.

Oh, oh how he could not help but gingerly place his pens and papers aside when you spend hours simply perched next to him. Eyes closed and silent yet breathing deeply into your stomach and exhaling through your mouth as you unwinded like string before him. Fully aware that you need not utter another word as you unfailingly glowed before him; taking up space in his very office as you did wherever your heart and legs took you.

You'd wrap a thousand-year-old tree in your arms and mutter thanks to the Earth before playing tag with the children on the street, sharing fruit with a local vendor whilst relishing in an evening stroll with Neuvillette. Just the two of you.

It was yet another practice of yours that first bewildered, intrigued and ultimately enamoured him. In the haze of afternoon light under the subtle whiff of smooth parchment- Neuvillette could not have sought a superior way to observe the mortal who unwinded him.

That was the day he began to scan and rummage through parchment and books- scouring for at least one word to encapture a sliver of you. Like an aerologist preserving a mere fragment of bone.

( Of course, the Melusines- who adored you terribly- sought to aid Neuvillette in whatever way possible. )

That was when he came upon a word as he overheard a curt conversation whilst ambling through the streets of Fontaine.

'A dream.'

Hence, as raindrops gingerly slid down your cheeks, Neuvillette observed your soaked figure. However, despite the grey clouds hung above, your eyes- rich and deep in colour- seemed to twinkle like stars.

You pause for a tender moment, your mouth slightly agape as the mellow tunes of rain dance in your ears. Yet, words do not rise from your throat. Instead, the warmth of evening tea sessions, paper filing done together and swaying to no rhythm or sequence of moves.

"Oh Neuvillette," your voice condensing into a mere whisper as you utter his name; having nothing left to say. The muscles in your legs move absent of thought. Thus, you stand now mere inches apart from one another. Rain soaking you both. As you observe his tender face you notice a streak of rain pouring down from the corners of his eyes. Or perhaps it was salty tears?

Worry flickers in your eyes like a match being lit as more tears roll down his cheek in a manner of ethereal grace. You gingerly reach your hand toward his cheek; cupping it tenderly. Neuvillette stirs slightly.

Before you can voice your disquiet, Neuvillette sobs. His eyes glanced down shortly before meeting your fretful eyes. His eyebrows furrowed in the manner you have seen a dozen times before.

Yet, his eyes glimmer like the rays of the sun kissing a broad vibrant lake. A scintillating dazzle of unobscured light.

"Do not fret dearest. These tears are not ones of sadness..."

Neuvillette raises his gloved hand and similarly caresses your cheek; eyes pooling into your starstruck ones.

"... but of my most ardent affections to my partner- a dream I wish to live in for as long as you allow me to."

waaaa what a fic. i accidentally deleted the draft halfway though writing it but thankfully i was able to get it back. hope you all are ready for my comeback!!! ( meaning more angst lol dw there will be fluff too... or not?!?!? )

reblogs with comments are highly appreciated!! pls interact... don't be a ghost reader!

[erinwantstowrite]

i feel like if you released a 24 hour + video of you talking about your plans for your original book i would sit and watch all of that with no breaks. so: would you be willing to share at least the bare bones of the plot you have now? or even some tropes that would be in it? or maybe random questions like how many main characters? how many povs? if it's sci-fi or fantasy? just stuff like that!

ahhhh!! i'd love to talk about them because they're constantly rotating in my brain!! i hope this doesn't get too long but we all know me, i can never stop yapping 😭

(okay this is present erin editing before posting and yeah this got long guess who called it. anyways there's art and stuff under the cut as well)

(Marked this as mature with violence only because there is an image below where I drew injuries/cuts on a character)

This book has been a thousand different books in all kinds of settings, plots, lessons, etc, and that's because I've had these characters since I was in middle school. At first I was so obsessed with them that I'd write and draw them all the time, to the point that my teachers were concerned I wasn't paying attention. I was seriously into magic and fantasy at the time because Harry Potter books were still the epitome of writing to my middle school brain. Ruby was a wizard with a bird theme that lived in the countryside and one day found out that her town was "alive" in a sense... But after I lost that sketchbook with all of the details (devastated to this day), and started venturing into other books series and shows, etc, I sort of forgot about the og story or what it was like. What remained was a love for the characters I had made over anything else about them, so I'd end up writing stories with a different theme each time, but the ocs being the same, just with their backgrounds shifted. (Around the time I was obsessed with VLD, Ruby was in a sci-fi plot set on a planet in another solar system.)

One of the most recent iterations was Ruby and the other characters essentially struggling to understand death, life, and everything in between. The story is called "Behind the Blue Glass" and I still really like that title lol. All of them had died on the same day, at the same time, just in various different ways, and then all of them came back to life in the same manner. They all developed different powers from the experience: Liam could float/manipulate gravity), August's body was essentially a phantom that could go through objects and disappear, Vin could possess people, Jean had an empathy link with the dead and could talk to and see them clearly, and Maya could figure out someone's cause of death/also tell when people were about to die. As for Ruby, she's the only one who can move freely between the land of the living and the land of the dead. It's different from Jean seeing the dead, as she's still in the land of the living.

The plot of that story was Ruby having dreams/visions of these other people she had never met before and knowing she needed to find them and set "something" right, but she didn't know what. She sets out to find them anyways, and they each join her on her quest to find everyone simply because they never got an answer to how they came back from the dead and find it weird that they all died on the same day and time. They solve deaths of ghosts they come across, meet people who are still grieving lost ones, have to lay some of the ghosts down to rest- all while figuring out why these shady people have started following them and trying to stop them from figuring out what happened to them. I even made some first draft titles (definitely, 10000% inspired by PJO because I was reading it at the time):

to top it all off, it's set in the 2010's I believe? Around that time. Just because I think more books should write about the time era

I have some (recentish) art of the characters:

first image: (Liam on the right, August on the left)

this is what Ruby looked like when I was first designing them for the story:

They're meant to look dead-ish but this art was SO long ago when I wasn't confident in my art so Ruby just looks like a wet rat or smth idk what is going on here

And here's Vin!! I don't hate this drawing of him that much, surprisingly, but this was also drawn a while ago

and this was some art i was planning at the time:

i think that's all of the art that i have for this story (at least on this computer. My old laptop might have more but it's been laid to rest)

to be honest, i'm still thinking about writing this story, but Ruby's name would be changed because at this point, this iteration of her character is VERY different from present day. She's two different characters at this point 💀 that's how you know I've had her for SO long because she looks so different from her original drawings.

The latest version of Ruby ended up in a story with completely different characters in the cast and a completely different setting (even if some of the characters were inspired by their og versions). It's called "The Clocktower's Chime"

It's very much inspired by those reincarnation manhwas. I like those stories but they all have the same plot over and over, and while I was more interested in the versions where the character is sent back in time to live their life again but with all the knowledge they had in the future, I always struggled with the aspect that the characters' mental age is far older than they are. It makes the dynamics a little weird, but they can be excused unless it's a romantic dynamic, I would think? I dunno, it was hard to get into the plots mostly because of that.

So I used Ruby as a placeholder OC and came up with a story where upon their death in the future, someone casts a spell or a god sends them back, and instead of having a mental older age, they get a journal with all of the details of their future. Ruby woke up one day and found a journal written by herself that detailed everything about her future up to the point of her death. It was more like a book, however, rather than a journal. It just looked like a journal because it was in her handwriting.

So Ruby gets this book, doesn't believe it at all, until she notices that there are way too many "coincidences" lining up with the events of the book. She starts believing it could be true, and then decides it must be when she finds out that a prominent family in the country she lives in is going to visit her hometown. In the book, they were there because they learned that Ruby was their daughter that had been kidnapped as a baby and believed dead. However, in the book, Ruby had spent her entire life living as a weapon instead of a daughter, and she died by their hands when she refused to kill a woman that is prophesized to end a war that would devastate both countries.

Ruby is, like, 12 at that point. So her kid brain is like "obviously I run away and go to school in a different country and tell everyone I have a different name and there's no way this could go wrong." Except before she can even do that, she runs into Julias Parlia, a Duke's son from the country that is supposed to be her enemy in the future. Ruby is like "shit this is THE worst adult to run into and I haven't even gotten to the running away part of my plan" and Julias ends up being the reason she doesn't even get to the train station. He's fucking hilarious by the way. He's got a well adjusted family with two loving parents and a bunch of little siblings and he basically picks Ruby up by the scruff of her neck and is like "I want this one she's insane."

This is Julias (kneeling on the ground to talk to Ruby) and Emelie (Julias' knight and childhood friend, she's so silly)

and this is the part where I share art from many months ago... when I posted my most recent art and said Ruby keeps getting buffer every time I draw her, I meant it 💀

Ruby and her love interest, Cecelia

This is Vekenti, a character that was also supposed to be a "villain" in the original timeline. Ruby goes looking for him to prevent his death as well, and Julias obviously is like "Omg another weird kid, how delightful!" Everyone thinks Vikenti and Ruby are related, but they are not. They're just raised as siblings in both timelines and have a lot of the same mannerisms

Julias' love interest (unnamed? I can't find her name anywhere) and him

REALLLY old drawings of what they looked like in the OG timeline (I desperately need to redesign these because I could do better now)

Julias and Ruby again

and that's all the art I have for this one (besides the other post of Ruby I posted today, this is the story that that version of Ruby belongs in. She's looks very different now!).

All of this has been in the back of my mind for a while, and I've been trying to figure out which story I would want to write first. Middle school Erin would love for me to finally write Behind the Blue Glass, but sometimes I find myself wanting to write a fantasy story like Clocktower's Chime a lot more

[yayakoishii]

Before I send my request your way lemme tell you how much I loved reading your recent Sanji Fics!! I enjoyed them a lot!!

And as for a request, I don't have anything specific but a vague scenario in my head. The strawhats dock at a lone mysterious island. And they as usual disperse off to do their own things when Sanji happens to stumble upon the reader. Perhaps caught in some trouble, going around with a hidden identity? I'm sorry this is cringe. But it's been in my head for a while now. Whether this ends up interesting you or not, I just wanted you to know, it's been a lot of fun reading you! Have a good day! Or night :D

Unfortunate Encounters | Sanji x Reader

Fandom: One Piece

Pairing: Vinsmoke Sanji x Reader

Word Count: 5,997 (that's practically 6k)

Genre: Light Fluff, more Angst, happy ending ofc!

Warnings: Plot heavy, light swearing. Slightly ooc crew maybe? I'm still new to writing for OP, please excuse any mistakes!

A/n: First off, thank you so much for the sweet words anon ;-; they really made my day <3 As for the request, this was not cringe at all!! I got super into it and I had like 3-4 mental drafts of how this fic could go (the og ending was even more angsty lol, but I decided to cut back...) I may have focused too much on the 'lone, mysterious island' part because this was more plot heavy than romantic. The inner plot writer in me emerged because of your prompt; I'm not a romance writer so I struggle with that in this fic >< However, I did enjoy writing it so I hope you enjoy this one too! Thanks for sending such a fun request ❤️

also available on ao3!

The log pose had brought them to another island, but even before they had touched down, Sanji could feel something was up with it. The island just gave off some vibes he couldn't place and he wasn't one to chalk it off to a mistake. His intuition told him something was going to happen here.

"There doesn't seem to be a town here," Nami frowned, looking at the island. All they could see for miles and miles was a dense tropical forest, with trees that seemed larger than their usual size. When they got off the Thousand Sunny, Sanji realised that it was too silent. There were no sounds of birds or any animals that he could hear from the shoreline. "Be careful, guys."

They decided to separate and cover the island quicker. The log pose needed time to reset and it was a curious little island anyway. They could cover it within a day, maximum. Something in Sanji's gut twisted in protest but until he could explain it, there was no way he could stop the chaotic crew. So he let it be and started hacking a path to somewhere.

The trees were dense and the forest was dark, lit up on random intervals by sudden sunbeams that looked like nature's spotlights. Sanji hummed to himself as he studied the plants around him. He walked for a while, noting all the things he could use but not picking anything because the island just rubbed him off the wrong way. It felt dangerous to pick any part of it.

Sanji walked for a while, pausing only when he felt he had heard something – something that sounded like a rustle of leaves, but he couldn't sense a person. He couldn't sense anything but the wind, a gentle breeze drifting through the trees. Strangely, he had not yet come across any of the other Straw Hats either, even though he had been walking for well over an hour and the island wasn't that big in the first place.

There was another rustling, but this time, Sanji could feel a presence. Multiple ones, to be precise. He tensed and cautiously moved aside the curtain of vines blocking his views. The clearing revealed in front of him shocked him– it was like all the animals of the entire island had gathered in one place. And they were all looking at something that he couldn't see.

The moment he stepped in, the animals all turned to him, some of them baring teeth or growling and it was so much sound after so much silence that even Sanji couldn't help the shiver running along his back. A human shout of, "It's okay guys! I'm okay now!" distracted the animals and they turned back to whatever– or rather, whoever, they had been looking at.

Sanji held back, not quite sure what to make of the whole situation, until he heard a barely audible, "Disperse."

Almost like a flip was switched, the animals scattered and Sanji was left incredulously staring at the vines in the middle of the clearing, from where a figure gracefully jumped down. You straightened up and patted at your hair to check for any stray leaves or twigs before you walked over to him.

"An intruder?" You asked, smiling amusedly. "Been a while since we had one."

"That's a harsh word, beautiful," Sanji couldn't hold himself back from calling you that way, after he had gotten over his shock enough to note your features.

"Would you prefer 'uninvited guest'?" You cocked an eyebrow, not cutting eye contact as you straightened out your clothes.

"Ah, you hurt my poor heart," he said, a little bit dramatically as he leaned closer but still at a respectable distance. "Am I unwelcome in your home, goddess of these woods?"

"Wh-?" You couldn't help the chuckle that left your lips at his words. "You're quite something, alright. And as fun as you are, you really are unwelcome here, sorry."

"Why?" Sanji asked curiously. The entire experience felt like some weird fever dream to him, and he couldn't quite make head or tails of anything that was happening but the one thing he was sure of was that there was something about you that piqued his curiosity in all the ways.

"You can't stay on this island," you shrugged and walked past him, expecting him to follow you. Sanji did not fail, falling in step behind you as you started walking somewhere. "2 days, that's all you get. Any longer and… well, it's better if you don't find out."

"Alright, then I guess I'll let my crew know," Sanji sighed, figuring he wasn't getting any more out of you after seeing your guarded expression. The moment he finished his sentence though, you froze in your step and turned around to face him in horror.

"Did you just say… crew?" Your voice sounded a little hoarse and Sanji paused, looking at you in concern. "Please tell me your crew is not on the island."

"If I said that, it would be a lie, sweetheart," Sanji's brows furrowed even as he said it. Something was wrong. Your expression melted into one of full-blown panic, anger and horror.

"Not again!" You cried, burying your face in your hands.

"What's wrong?" Sanji would really, really like some answers today. The entire day had been confusing and eerie vibes and the growing chill in his stomach was now an unnecessary addition.

"What's wrong," you snapped, looking wild and terrified for a second, "is that your entire crew is fucking loose on a cursed island! If they do not get off this island in 3 nights, they will turn into animals and never, ever turn back to humans."

Sanji just stared at you for a few seconds before he dropped the unlit cigarette he had pulled out of his pocket. You were pacing around in circles and he had so many questions that he didn't even know where to begin.

"Then I'll just tell them when we all meet back?" He said unsurely except you turned to face him with eyes full of unshed tears.

"That's a great plan," you said a little sarcastically, "except for the part where this island is cursed and anyone who isn't an animal can't find their way out. Ever. They literally cannot find the way back on their own."

Sanji's jaw dropped. He stared back at you in equal parts horror.

"This has to be the Moss Head's curse spreading," he whispered to himself.

Half an hour later, the two of you were making your way through the dense foliage, exchanging questions and answers– although Sanji was the one doing the asking the most.

You had calmed down after finding out that the crew only had 9 members. You could probably find 8 people in less than 3 days. The island wasn't that big.

Sanji's first question was about how you weren't affected by the curse.

"Because I'm not fully human," you had replied off-handedly and not offered more. It only added to your mystery but despite all your secrets, Sanji could somehow feel inside him that you weren't a bad person. You were going out of your way to help out so that their crew won't turn into animals– if the curse didn't affect you, then you could have very well done nothing.

Then he asked about the other things on his mind. Were the animals in the forest also humans? To his horror, you had replied with a sad yes.

"The log pose doesn't take pirates to this island much," you had explained as you expertly and gracefully made your way over the thorny plants and overgrown roots. Your movement was almost like a mystical dance and Sanji couldn't take his eyes off of it, thankful that you were walking in front of him and couldn't see his ogling. "It's rare but it happens sometimes. Mostly single man boats tossed through storms end up here, but there's been two small crews who came here after me. There were already some animals on the island before though, and I'm pretty sure they were once humans too."

"And there's no cure for this?" Sanji swallowed, his heart hammering from a weird mix of fear, nervousness and excitement.

"Nothing as far as I know," you confirmed, pausing to close your eyes and feel something. "That direction, I can sense someone."

You ran over without waiting for Sanji and he was left to catch up by taking long strides. Before he could show himself though, he felt the presence close in on you and automatically moved in to defend you. His boots rammed against the blunt hilt of a familiar katana.

"Love cook?" Zoro's eyes widened in surprise and he immediately tucked his swords back in. Sanji ignored him in favour of ensuring that you were okay. He found you staring behind him curiously at Zoro, as if the swordsman fascinated you. It didn't mean anything, but it left him feeling a little irritated at Zoro. "Who's this?"

"Um." Sanji realised he had never asked you for your name. Or given you his.

"Inconsequential," you waved it off. "It's not like we're to know each other longer than a day or two. Let's just go and search for the rest. Blondie here can explain everything to you on the way."

"Sanji," he blurted out, reeling back when he saw your surprised face. "Forgive my insolence, sweetheart. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Vimsoke Sanji."

"Well, Sanji," you smiled at him, already walking like you knew where you were going, "get your friend to join us and follow me."

Gladly, his heart answered for him.

✿

You knew this was a mistake. It never ended well when you met other people and liked them. And as you collected more of the Straw Hats, you couldn't help but like them all more and more. You knew this was a mistake, but you couldn't bring yourself to regret it because you knew that if you didn't help them, they would be cursed too.

You had eventually acquiesced and given them your first name, careful not to offer your last name in case any of them recognised you. Zoro seemed to be staring at you quite frequently, but maybe it was just a Straw Hat thing? Sanji had been staring at you the whole time too. Or maybe you looked hideous and they were all politely staying quiet. You didn't quite know, but the thought of looking terrible in front of them (in front of that beautiful blonde boy) was a little mortifying to you.

All those thoughts took a backseat though, because you were on a mission. By the time evening rolled around and the sky had turned to pitch black darkness, you had found a cyborg and a rubber man called Luffy, who was the captain of the ship. He didn't really feel like a captain, or somebody who commanded everyone, but the Straw Hats didn't seem like a typical group of people. They were… unique.

"Let's stop for tonight," you said after assessing the darkness. Of course, you could see everything clearly even in the darkness, but they didn't need to know that. The less they knew about you…

"Shouldn't we keep going?" Zoro asked, looking around.

"Trust me, we're better off waiting the night out," you answered, already settling into the clearing for the night. You had to get a fire going and find food and there were things to be done.

"So I can't eat the animals?" Luffy pouted for the fifth time, asking the same question.

"No, Luffy," you sighed, waving a stick at him. "They might look like animals, but they are people. Please don't kill them or try to eat them."

"They won't attack our crewmates, would they?" Sanji asked, looking worried. You finally managed to light a fire and carefully structured a ring of stones around it to ensure it won't get out before answering.

"The curse lets them have their brain for most of the time," you fidgeted on the spot. "But sometimes, if you harm them, or if they get really hungry, or, y'know… their animal instincts kick in and then they are more animal than human. But it's rare, and won't happen if you don't harm their survival."

The crew fell silent and you watched them whisper amongst themselves a bit. They probably wanted to talk things out, so you got up and said you would go grab something to eat.

"Please don't leave this clearing," you warned them as you walked away. "Finding you again would be so much trouble."

You heard footsteps following you though and turned around to find Sanji trailing behind you.

"Sanji?" You asked, confused. His tall, lanky figure in the forefront of the golden orange light spilling from the fire you started was a picturesque scenery that left your heart thumping a little louder than usual.

"Would you be okay with some company?" He asked quietly. "I'm a chef, so I could probably help you gather some food."

"Alright," you nodded. The two of you walked a while in silence until you found the spot where there were a bunch of large fruits and flowers that you started gathering. Sanji observed what you collected in the little moonlight that was shining through the trees, but you could see him struggling.

"You can see in the dark?" He asked after a beat of silence.

"Mm," you were exhausted from the day. Lying and avoiding things was tiring as it is, and you really weren't in the mood to play the game. If Sanji knew who you were… would it really be that bad? He had been kind so far, always at a respectable distance but with honeyed sweet words that tugged at your heartstrings. You had never had anyone flirt with you, but Sanji was the first. And it left you feeling giddy and warm, the attention he gave you without losing any of the respect and your need for secrecy. If he knew… would he hate you?

Sanji didn't say anything for a while, just offered up his arms for you to stack all the food you had collected.

"Who else is remaining?" You asked, finding the silence was eating at your insides. You had spent so long in silence. And now that you had people around again, you wanted to make the most of it before they had to leave. Just for a while, you could forget and pretend that you're one of them. Just for a while.

"Nami-san, Robin-san," Sanji said, "Brook and Chopper. Wait, Chopper!"

Sanji clapped his hands like he had just thought of something. You looked at him curiously.

"Chopper is a reindeer," Sanji said hurriedly.

"You have a reindeer in your crew…?" You were confused. The Straw Hats were definitely one of a kind, alright.

"He ate the Hito Hito no Mi so he can talk and walk," Sanji explained. "He's our doctor but that's not important right now. He's an animal, right? So he wouldn't be affected by the curse?"

"Highly likely that he isn't," you confirmed.

"Which means he must be the only one back on the ship," Sanji murmured to himself. That's one person (animal?) less to search for, you mused. "He must be scared."

"I hope he's okay," you said quietly. The animals on the island knew each other well. If Chopper ran into them… You didn't really know what would happen. Animals could be scary when they were territorial.

The two of you finished collecting as much as you could carry and walked back, and you asked Sanji to tell you about their adventures. He indulged you, colouring a vivid and humorous picture of the crew in the short while it took you two to get back.

You came back to find Zoro sleeping on his side while Luffy was springing around in the clearing, howling about being hungry and crying for Sanji. Franky sat against a tree, fiddling with something on his body that you didn't wait to see despite your curiosity.

As Sanji started portioning the food to serve to everyone, you stood back and watched the crew interact quietly. It was strange, how at home you felt with them despite not knowing them– but you attributed it to your loneliness.

Even if you wanted to be one of them, you could never curse them like that.

The next morning, you found Nami at the top of a tree. You had seen her when gathering some flowers for breakfast, asleep. You decided to get Sanji to recognise her before you woke her up and got her down. Seeing Sanji fawn and fret over her made you insanely jealous; but you forced it down under a smile and led them back to the camp that had already been cleared up.

You gave the crew a few minutes to catch up and celebrate before you started the search again.

"So…" you searched for a topic as the six of you trudged through the forest. "A reindeer, a cyborg, a gum man, an ex-pirate hunter… Who should I expect next?"

"A skeleton!" Luffy excitedly yelled as he swung past you on the vines, nearly making you stumble from the shock.

"A… what?!" You turned to stare at Sanji in shock, who just smiled softly and shrugged.

"Brook is…" he explained the whole story without getting tired and you couldn't help but be fascinated by everything. The more you learned about them, the more they intrigued you, the more you wanted to beg them to let you join them. But you didn't let those thoughts come to life in words, just helping them find the said skeleton from where he was surrounded by some of the island's animals growling at him.

"Down, guys," you shouted and the animals immediately backed off, all staring at you with innocent eyes that made you huff in laughter. "Don't pull that on me, I just saw you. I know you mean well but it's a little scary when you're surrounded by animals."

One of the deer whined and bumped its snout into your hand. You could feel the Straw Hats staring as you petted it and whispered it to leave the skeleton to you. When the animals had dispersed, you shot a grin at Brook.

"Hi there!" You held out a hand, "It's my first time meeting a skeleton!"

Once the pleasantries were out of the way, you started covering the northern part of the island. It was the only place remaining, aside from the centre. You found Usopp and Chopper there, the two of them hugging each other and bawling.

As it turned out, Chopper had in fact gone back after finding nothing on the island only to find out that no one else had returned. So he had stayed the night in the ship and then came back in search of the others even though he was scared.

"That was very brave of you," you patted him on the head. The reindeer blushed and glared at you.

"I'm not pleased by that at all!!" So he said, but you could see the smile on his face. With almost all of them collected, you started your way to the centre of the island when you heard the clouds rumble.

The sky was full of grey clouds and you were ready for rain, since this was the season on the island.

"There's an underground cave near here," you told the crew as you led them through the thick canopy of trees. "I usually go there when it rains so let's wait it out before we search for… Robin, was it?"

Zoro grumbled something about constant waiting but you chose to ignore it. You knew this island better than any of them. Rains were harsh and the droplets were like bullets on the skin. You couldn't find Robin on the way to the cave but when you reached its opening which looked like a hole in the ground, surrounded by overgrown grass, you felt a presence inside.

The last Straw Hat member was inside the cave, much to all of your relief. This time, you truly stepped back and let the crew reunite, feeling like a true outcast for the first time. Your time together with them was over. Once the rain was gone, they would be out of here and you would be alone again.

Except Sanji turned to you and offered you his hand to invite you into their awkward group hug that Usopp had initiated. You didn't want to intrude but they all looked at you with similar grins and smiles and you couldn't hold it back. You joined them, savouring your first hug in years.

✿

As it turned out, the runes you had found on one of the walls of the cave actually had some sort of meaning that Robin had been able to decipher in the while she had spent in the cave. She had apparently found the cave the previous night and stayed in, then worked on the runes in the morning when she found them.

"It's about a curse on this island," she explained. "Like (y/n) already told us, if anyone spends 3 nights on this island, it turns them into an animal forever. There's a piece of it missing at the end, but the last line says 'the answer lies in the satisfaction of life and a prayer answered'."

"What does that mean?" you asked, confused.

"I'm not really sure," she admitted, running her fingers over the runes. The whole crew mulled over the words as you waited for the rain to stop. You didn't join into the conversation, just letting your mind work quietly with their suggestions as background.

Satisfaction in life… A prayer answered… None of it seemed to make sense. The Straw Hats didn't need to help the animals out, but they were still trying to figure it out. The crew was clearly good at heart and you were glad that you helped them out, even though you would only be left with hurt after they were gone. That pain was worth it.

A squirrel scampered up to you while you listened; the rain outside seemed to be slowing down. You knew the squirrel was the girl around your age who had ended up on the island after a shipwreck. You scooped her up and let her sit on your hand, where she tried to shake off the water from her soaking body. The water sprinkled onto you and you let out a fake indignant "hey!" that made her laugh. Not that you had ever seen squirrels laugh, but you could always understand the animals on the island.

"We found something here," you said quietly to her, bringing her close to wipe off some of the water from her body. "It could be an answer to turning you all back to humans."

She tilted her head and stared at you.

"But none of us understand the riddle," you continued, feeling apologetic to them. You had been the only person on the island who was unaffected by the curse, so you felt like it was somehow your responsibility to help them all turn back. And yet, you had failed at that over and over again. Saira, as the girl's name had been, simply shook her squirrel head and placed a tiny paw on your chest where you had tucked her close.

"It's alright," you could hear her saying in your head. To the others, it probably sounded like a bunch of squeaks. "It's not that bad. I long gave up hope of turning back. Being a squirrel is not that bad. Being able to spend everyday with you who looks out for all of us… I'm happy. All of us are."

Your chest swelled with the emotions and for the first time in a long while, tears streamed down your cheeks. You had held it all in for so long, not wanting to burden the helpless creatures that always kept you company. But knowing their faith in and love for you made your insides warm.

"All we want is for you to be happy too," Saira continued, turning her head to look at the crew. You glanced at them, noticing that Sanji was looking over at you two. "I know you. Go with them."

"I can't," you said in a choked whisper. "Even if they let me, I can't do that to them. I'm not… I'm a curse, Saira. I can't risk it."

The squirrel looked at you helplessly as you cried a little more. Eventually, you wiped away the tears and let your eyes shut to listen to the pitter patter of rain outside. Saira scrambled off your body and over to Sanji, who had watched you the whole while but hadn't heard what you had said.

When you opened your eyes, the rain had stopped. You looked around blearily, and found the Straw Hats all lying around, looking upset.

"You guys should have woken me up when the rain stopped," you said, rubbing your face as you stood up. "Come on, you must be missing your ship, yeah?"

"(Y/n)," Sanji started, looking a little nervous. You looked at him quizzically, but Zoro spoke up before he could say what he wanted.

"Or should we say Kuroneko no (Y/n)?" The familiar words made you freeze in horror. "Harbinger of Death? A 30 million bellies bounty."

"That's…" You took an involuntary step back, bumping into the cave wall. They knew. They knew the secret you had tried so hard to hide. They knew… and they were still looking at you with badly hidden curiosity and grins. None of them looked scared, or upset anymore, like they had been when you were asleep. "I'm… I don't want to lie. That's me. But I swear, I'm not going to do anything. I mean, I don't even actually do anything, all of those incidents just happened–"

"(Y/n)," Sanji placed a hand atop your head, effectively stopping your rambling. You looked up at him, afraid to see him look at you differently, but if anything, his eyes had only become softer. "It's okay. I wish you had told us before, but we get it."

"You do…?" Somehow, it felt too good to be true. People were usually upset when others lied and kept secrets. The secret of who you were could essentially have been a matter of life or death. Kuroneko no (y/n), or rather, Black Cat (y/n) was a name based on your Devil Fruit powers that let you turn into a cat. But they were also a result of you being the only survivor in 4 separate incidents– the annihilation of your home island, the mass genocide in a war town country and the two small crews you had once been a part of. Every single time, all the people had died and you were the only one alive left behind. You had never belonged anywhere, so how could you believe now would be any different?

"It must have been very lonely," Robin's sorrowful eyes reflected that she understood you on some level. You didn't know what to think or feel, unwilling to let yourself hope for anything beyond acceptance.

"It was," you admitted, more to yourself than to them. You had never let yourself truly dwell on the thought, but you had been so, so lonely. "I won't stick around for long. I'll take you to your ship and you'll be free of this island's curse, and of my own. So if–"

"Your curse?" Sanji looked at you, confused.

"It's not exactly a curse," you hesitated, "but there's nothing else I can call it for why… the people I care for end up dead."

"That's not true," Luffy frowned, walking over to you. "Everyone here is still alive. Everyone on this island is alive, we are alive. You are not cursed."

"You were like a blessing in disguise," Usopp said from where he stood, not looking you in the eyes. "I was of course not afraid at all, considering my heavy list of achievements, but you brought us all back together."

"I'm…" you didn't know what to say, feeling overwhelmed.

"You're not cursed, sweetheart," Sanji gently held up your hand, squeezing it to comfort you. "You just had a string of… unfortunate events."

Sanji's struggle to find the right term made you let out a small giggle. Maybe you should extend a hand. Maybe this time…

"Maybe I'm not cursed?" You said hopefully, looking up into his clear blue eyes. Sanji nodded, carefully tucking back a lock of hair behind your ear. The action made you flush, suddenly realising the proximity you two were in.

A flash of light startled all of you and you turned around to find Saira, the human, standing in the place of where the squirrel was. The girl was staring at her own hands and body, like this was a dream. You blinked, unable to believe your eyes either.

Outside the cave, you could hear shouts. Human shouts.

"What just-?" You ran out to find the people who had been turned into animals were back to human. "How…"

"Satisfaction of life and a prayer answered," Robin's voice from behind you was startling. You turned to look at her, and she smiled down at you. "Perhaps the answer was just for the animals to be happy with who they are, with no regrets."

"Then… Then why didn't it change them back before?" You said, voice barely above a whisper.

"Perhaps their prayer wasn't answered back then," she placed a hand on your shoulder and patted it. Did she mean that it only happened now because your one wish through life had been answered? To be free of the curse you had…

With much enthusiasm, the crew got out of the underground cave and everyone was celebrating. The sight of everyone back made you feel like this was the happiest day of your life. You participated in it, letting yourself enjoy the moment without worrying or thinking of anything.

The sun was already setting when the party started and it went on for hours as everyone laughed and danced and ate. (If you were fascinated by how much Luffy could eat, you kept it to yourself to be polite.) It was probably getting close to midnight when Sanji sought you out to where you were sitting by yourself and just watching everyone with fond eyes.

He didn't say a word at first, just sat down next to you. At that distance, you could feel the warmth of his body and you subconsciously leaned closer to the source. For the first time in a long while, your heart felt at peace.

"How did you end up on this island?" Sanji's question made you look over at him. He wasn't demanding an answer, just looking down at you with deep blue eyes that seemed to flash golden as they reflected the bonfire.

"I was on the run from the Marines around a year ago," you hummed, feeling safe and comfortable enough in his presence to finally talk about yourself. After years of not being able to share anything with anyone, it felt freeing to tell him something even as simple as this. "I had just escaped the battle between the crew I was in and this one big pirate ship that I don't even remember anymore. I was wounded but I reached this island on a small boat somehow with a half broken log pose. I shifted into my cat form, which looks less like a cat and more like a black jaguar if anything, to ensure that no one recognised me– because my full transformation is not known by the Marines. I stayed in that form for quite a while, too scared and shaken at that time to turn back into human. Only after a few days of exploring the island did I realise there are no humans here.

"I thought… if there was any place I could not affect anyone with my curse, it would be here. Away from any humans who would get affected by it. At that time, I didn't know about the curse. Looking back on it, I suspect that maybe the curse never affected me because I was in my animal form for 3 nights. Or maybe it was just because that form is like my second skin. I was never disappointed or dissatisfied with it. I only found out about the curse after Saira came on the island and turned into a squirrel. And then two other pirate crews."

"That must have been hard for you," Sanji's voice was quiet but there was no way you could miss the low timbre of it over the excitement all around you. Not when it was the same voice that set your heart off; you wanted to hear everything he had to say. Wanted to know him more and more, as much as he would let you. "(Y/n)-chan."

"Mm?" You turned to look at him, breathless at the proximity from where you could no longer smell the perfume he smelled of the first time you met. The smell coming off him now was something purely him. It was a little intoxicating when coupled with the warm atmosphere and the gooey feeling in your stomach.

"Would you… like to join us?" Sanji seemed a little nervous asking you that. The question gobsmacked you and you stared at him. He… wanted you to join them? As a part of the crew? "I asked Luffy and he said that if you want it, then he's all for it."

"Sanji…" you bit your lower lip, unsure once again. Even though you felt free of the curse, the mentality couldn't be erased in a day. The what ifs, the fear, the apprehension was all still there. "What if we're wrong, though? What if I really am cursed and this has just been a really long build-up to something worse? I might be a risk to your–"

"You're not," Sanji interrupted you for the first time since you had met. The quiet but firm determination blazing in his eyes surprised you. "I believe in you. (Y/n)-chan, if you would let me, I would gladly prove it to you by staying by your side for the rest of your life. I'll stay alive and well, and show you that it's not your fault. I'll be by your side to the very end, so place your fears in my hands and… trust me on this, even if you don't trust anything else."

That little crush you had developed on him at the start seemed to blow up in that moment into a gigantic furnace of emotions. He was ready to take the risk of death, and saying every word with such sincerity that any inhibitions you had went out the window. You couldn't stop yourself from wanting him any longer– he was like the sun, taking your world by storm.

"Really?" You didn't realise when the tears started streaming down your face until his gentle hands came up to wipe them. "You'll stay?"

"I will," and that genuine sincerity was something you couldn't help but believe in. "I will be there for you, as long as you need me."

"Sanji." His name felt both urgent and at ease from your lips.

"(Y/n)-chan," he whispered, voice open and vulnerable again. "Do you… want to be a part of the Straw Hats?"

You swallowed and wondered if you really deserved this much happiness after everything. Yet the moment you looked into his eyes, you felt like there was nothing you could do but be a moth chasing the sun– running after something that you knew will only end up in flames.

"I do."

°•❀•°

[puffskeeter]

Hey I’m such a big fan of your art and I very much enjoy watching your YouTube channel 🤍🤍

And I want to ask you why you don’t ship the ppgxrrb and I want to hear your opinion about it which I can very much respect.

Plus another question that what type of fashion you think your au of the Powerpuff, Rowdyruff, and your Original Characters fall into between I really love how you draw them?

OMG TYSM!! I think i've seen your comments on my videos and TYSM for those too!! :D

I'll make a seperate post for my fashions/aesthetics for RRBORN characters! this one is pretty long even though i wanted it to be short lolz

Why i dont actively ship PPGxRRB:

I'm scrapping my drafted essay post about this for now because its really uncalled for and unnecessary. IDK sorry to anyone who looked forwards 2 it, but i just dont think i illustrate my point very well and more than half of it is lowkey a biased vent post and pure rambling. Either way this is the TLDR for the post you'll never see LOL.

But actually, I do ship PPGxRRB, i've just drifted away from it over the years. I think one of the biggest 'problems' i have with PPG x RRB is mainly with the portrayal of it. My main issue is with how a lot of people mischaracterize the RRB/PPG and completely deconstruct them as characters so that they can be love interests for the eachother and nothing more. One of my points in my scrapped post was that; I have no idea how an entire fandom managed to gender-bend the Bechdel test, but it is rare that i find PPGxRRB media where the RRB have actual lives, interests, hobbies, and friends that have nothing to do with the PPG. Half the time they can barely have a thought if it isn't about the PPG. As i said, Gender-bent Bechdel test.

Another point was that: ppgxrrb has gained a horrible reputation for itself over the years. Back in its "Glory" days, Toxic fans of the ships had bulldozed anything that differs from their favorite empty dynamics. Those usually being The Reds, Blues, and Greens. Nowadays i still see almost nothing in the realms of variety between creators interpretations of the ships. Almost every time i see a PPGxRRB post, it can fit into a set dynamic that the ship is already infamous for.

I want to be able to see the creators love and passion for their ships. I want to know how and why these characters ended up together. If a story is to be told, i want to hear it. I know that the majority of PPGxRRB creators are, by default, amateurs (they dont get paid and its not on a professional scale), but after seeing the exact same badly written love story hundreds , maybe even thousands of times with little-to-no variety, I've gotten bored and tired of people devaluing my favorite characters to be nothing more than overplayed dynamics and shipping fuel.

A lot of people like shipping because of the dynamics, but ship dynamics don't hook me in, and ive noticed that most PPGxRRB stuff is purely ship dynamics and nothing more. Theres nothing wrong with loving ship dynamics or being drawn to ships for their specific dynamics! I just dont care about dynamics, i care about chemistry and story. But most amateurs cant effectively show the chemistry or write the story, a lot of them can barely characterize the 2 characters in their ships.

FYI this isnt about anyone specific or even many recent fans of PPGxRRB. I've been in/around the online PPG fandom since before 2016, and a lot of my thoughts/feelings on the matter have a lot to do with stuff that happened over the years i've loved this series, and more specifically, The RowdyRuff Boys.

To be clear: When i say that they are mischaracterized, i'm not talking about HC's. I'm just tired of seeing the PPG and RRB dulled down into one-note personalities with stereotypical characterization and almost always no tangible character development. A love story is still a story, and a lot of shippers seem to half ass the "story" for favor of the "love".

I dont hate or even dislike PPG x RRB. I'm just really tired of rarely seeing people do the RRB justice, and i want these characters to be treated with the full respect that i think they deserve.

WOW this post is way to long already... still a lot shorter than my OG post. Sorry for being insane about the RRB. it will happen again.

[slickchickchocolatier]

can you rate the scale of yandere levels for each heelead? Like from least to most dangerous thanks. I am so obsessed with heeleads being so down bad for me in each series and I just gotta know what there scale is.

Gladly!

Softest

Starting from the least or the softest yandere heelead, I will say it’s probably (believe it or not) heeler. Bro if give caught up to the current chapters of TO, you’ll already know the backstory of Heeseung in that series. I’m going to explain this without exposing spoilers, but prior to meeting you, he’s a serial killer. He did terrible things to his victims, and yes, while he did kill a man to protect you (nothing out of the ordinary for a yandere) his actions henceforth has been very traditional yandere and nothing too extraordinary. He’s done the whole thing where he kidnaps you, subjects you to noncon sessions, holds you against your will and suppresses you by keeping you with him, but with you by his side, it sort of…..tames him. *hint hint*

2. Heebros: the twins are generally pretty calm because all they care about is living a fruitful life with you. Like heeler, they’ve done some messed up stuff and pretty much trained you to stay and ‘love’ them. I would say that they’re not the type that would resort in killing or getting too out of hand for just any old reason. Someone would have to literally try to take you away or really hurt you in order for them to murder. Unlike some heeleads, where they will kill if someone so much as looks at you, these guys won’t bother unless they feel it is required. There is a line, and once that line is crossed, that’s it. But that line is far up…but not by much lol.

3. Heelel. Now the devil is very yandere and you couldn’t ask for a worse tyoe to be obsessed with you. He is crazy about you and the fact that he took away your mortality and gave you immortality, dragged you to hell and forced you in chains until you fully submitted and gave up, says so much about him. He’s very dangerous. So this is going to be kind of confusing because I would say he’s obviously the most dangerous yandere out of all the heeleads, but he’s very in control of his emotions. He’s the devil, he won’t necessarily act like a crazed lunatic because he is in control of his rage and is soooooo intelligent. He willl (and has) kill for you…he’s tortured and cause brutal deaths all for your name, but he only does it if he considers it necessary. He’s calculating and his insanity mainly shows when he ‘plays’ with you. He loves you and has his beautiful heartwarming moments but also is such a menace. I would say that under general circumstances, he’s pretty calm but if anyone gets him angry, he is the most dangerous and no one can escape from him. At this point, the ONLY thing that will get him angry, is if anyone hurts or tries to take you away from him.

4. Heedam. So heedam was like my first real hard yandere. Heethan is also a hard yandere but he started out as somewhat mild, and it grew the more he interacted with you. But heedam? Man went down a dark path the moment he shook your hand. It’s in his blood. He got hooked on you and had nonstop been thinking about you. I didn’t go into detail in the earlier chapters (though I wish I did…but it will be saved for another Drabble) but I wanted to write out a page where it solely is based off of heedams perspective, from the moment he first met you to when he got you. I’m telling you right now, be prepared for some off the wall crazed obsession. I’m talking having a mural or shrine with a thousand photos sneakily took of you by a hired private investigator, and red markings that are written on a wall saying “you’re mine. You will be the mother of my children. I will get you. I love you. I will not rest until you’re here with me.” Yeah…there is a side of heedam that yall haven’t seen yet because in the series, he’s drafted as a composed and cool gentleman but hidden behind closed doors, up until he finally caught you, he was losing his mind and growing more and more insane for you. *spoiler hint*

….”what are you doing? Sleeping? Thinking? I wonder how you lay when you’re in bed. Do you rest on your stomach? Or do you sleep on your side? God…what I wouldn’t give to witness it…to experience you. Soon…soon. Go ahead and keep living per your usual routine…keep being unaware of the hunter who is watching and planning your capture. Once I shoot that arrow, you’re mine.”

Yeah…you guys thought you had heedam figured out lol. There’s a whole side of him that will be exposed, taking place right after he first met you.

And this man murdered his own grandfather just so he could have you. And trust me….hes done a lot worse for reasons that were so minuscule…remember that young man who bumped into you at Brewery’s cafe? No? Well there’s a reason for that. *hint hint*

1. Heethan. Oooookay. The one with the most character development, leading to a very insane psychopath. Again, you guys haven’t seen the worst and there are sooooo much that will be exposed in the final chapters of HHp….heethan seems cool, calm, and collected but Im telling you….if you’ve read every single chapter of Heethan’s story…all I can say is it’s not what it seems. You guys have not seen the very bad and insane side of Heethan yet, just only got a taste of it. He loves you so much, and….its just crazy how he is. It’s what’s causing the delay in the final chapters because drafting him is a huge chore, I’m trying to perfect it so that way you get a detailed image of his nature. Everything that he’s done is sincere and genuine but let’s just say you’ll be shocked when the final chapter releases. But I rated him as number one because the moment he first met you in MgR, he went downhill. And by the time he got you I the last chapter of MGR, he was so far gone (again he didn’t seem like it because he’s so cool and calm and rational but…trust me….just trust me…he’s not a man you want to mess with) and if anyone gets too close to you, man gets triggered. It doesn’t take a lot for him to give you some sleepy time tea, sneak out at night, smash skulls and bury bodies. That, or, grind a corpse into burger bits and feed it to the pigs at that lovely farm he takes you to…you know, the one from the first chapter in MRE…the one he’s taken you to a handful of times…yeah. That one.

“Heeseung…did you go somewhere? Why are you covered in dirt….are you bleeding?”

“Hm? Oh, nah. Just had to help Jake with some car issues, must have cut my finger or something. Don’t worry about me baby, go back to sleep.”

😊

“But—“

“Shhh….go…back….to sleep….pretty baby.”

😀

“Daddy’s here, so don’t you worry about a thing.”

[waltwhitmansbeard]

20. “What were you like before I met you?”

Hmm… let’s make this interesting. Keyleth meeting the Mighty Nein and getting to know them.

20. "What were you like before I met you?" so this happened bc, not for the first time, i read "mighty nein" and saw "bells hells," and, not for the first time, saw "bells hells" and thought "orym." so basically, this in no way resembles the prompt, but it is what i have lol

All of the most important people in the world are leaving, scattering and coalescing into their various war rooms and private councils. The Hells are getting sidelong looks, which Orym can understand; yesterday, they were strangers, interlopers, nobodies—today, they're heroes.

He watches Dorian fall into conversation with his father and tries not to use his keen lip-reading ability to follow every word. He imagines a thousand different ways that conversation could go, but it's up to Dorian to tell him about which one it ended up being, if he wants to. Chetney's been flagged down by one of the Sanctuary's scalebearers, and Orym just has to see the phrase "C-POP" on his lips to know he wants nothing to do with whatever that is. Braius is being reconfronted by Highbearer Vord, but Orym has learned in their scant few hours together that if anyone can lie their way out of trouble, it's Braius Doomseed.

So he takes this moment to find the Voice of the Tempest. He appears at her elbow silently, making the Dwendalian representative she's speaking with jump, but the Tempest doesn't even flinch. "Hello, Orym."

"Tempest." He ducks his head. "Do you have a minute? I don't mean to interrupt."

"Of course." She bids goodbye to the Dwendalian and leads Orym away. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, uh, first I wanted to thank you for those titles, the ones you gave my friends. It...means a lot."

The Tempest snorts ungracefully. "You should have seen the first six drafts." She smiles down at him. "It was my honor, Orym. I know what it is to have the fate of the world on your shoulders. The very least we could do is acknowledge it appropriately."

"What were you like before I met you?" Orym asks.

The Tempest laughs. "Orym, I've known you since you were the size of a housecat."

He flushes. "I know, I mean—what were you like when you were...like me? Part of a group with the fate of the world on its shoulders?"

She drums her fingers thoughtfully along her staff. "Hmm. Well, I was younger," she quips. "More optimistic, I think. Definitely more naive. I really thought that if we tried hard enough, if we cared enough, we could stop all the bad things from happening." She smiles again, this time wryly. "My secret, though, is that most of the time? I still think that way."

Orym's heart sinks a little. "So...you never had any doubt? You just always knew you were going to get the job done?"

The Tempest throws her head back and lets out a barking laugh that draws the attention of the surrounding dignitaries. "Oh, fuck no, are you kidding?" She crouches down then, gets to his eye level in the way that has never once felt to Orym like a parent condescending to a child, but rather someone speaking to their equal. "Orym, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the doubt is there literally all of the time. Even today, putting forth that plan with Vex and Allura, I had no idea how that was going to go, if the others would accept it, if it's even going to work. But the alternative is doing nothing, and I have never been good at that."

"Is that why you're so strong? Because there is no alternative?"

"I am strong, Orym, for the same reason you're strong." Her fingers dance briefly between them, and suddenly, she's holding onto the stem of a pearly white snowdrop. "I'm strong because there are people counting on me to be strong. People I love. People I couldn't bear to let down." She hands him the snowdrop. It is soft and alive in his fingers. "You have those people. I know you do." He doesn't miss the way her eyes flick over to Dorian, who is just now walking away from his father. "And a word of advice? From someone who waited and will carry the regret of that waiting for the next millennium?" There's a twinkle of something almost mischievous in her eye. "Do not take too long to let those people know how you feel. You and I know better than most that you never know how long you have with them."

She stands then, tall and regal, gives him a wink, and glides away, leaving Orym speechless and holding the flower. He watches her disappear into the throngs of the Platinum Sanctuary, and then his eyes catch Zeru Wyvernwind walking down the steps. He stuffs the snowdrop into his pocket and jogs after him, suddenly finding himself with quite a bit to say.

[mellorine-dreams]

NSFW Alphabet - Mephisto Pheles

Came across this in my old drafts. So, I cleaned them up a bit and thought I’d post them here!

🔞 MINORS, PLEASE DO NOT REBLOG OR LIKE! Please respect these boundaries. 🔞

Content Warnings: Emotional and mental “games”, and also rough kinks that y/n consents to. Master and servant dynamics. I suppose it got kind of dark (it is Mephisto, after all), but none of the games or rough treatment is described in great detail.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

How he treats you after sex largely depends on his mood and your relation to him. I can see him being quite the dear after sex, especially if he likes you. Teasing and cuddling you, rubbing any sore spots from the more than likely rough/brutal sex. I think it would ring hollow most of the time, as he could just be doing it for the theatrics and/or to mock you. He’s moody like that, even with ones he actually likes. If he's in a really mean mood then expect him to straight up taunt you, belittle you, and press your buttons. Though if you’re a servant that he decided to take, with no psychological warfare or foreplay beforehand, he won’t stay. He’ll just take you as he pleases and leave you alone in your bed.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his hands. Mainly because of how they look on you. And he also loves his goatee 💀. On other people though, this man loves curvy and/or elegant bodies. Neither of those are strict requirements since an interesting personality or perceptive mind also interest him. But, he loves groping and teasing flesh, plus he loves the bouncy quality of skin that comes along with that groping and teasing.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Thin and tastes bad. He doesn't come a lot. Slowly spurts, like lava flowing downhill from a volcano. Smells bad, as well. Like bleach. He can’t mark you so well due to this, so where he comes on you depends on his mood. He tends to mark chests and faces the most, though. Sometimes your upper thighs too.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Maybe his secret plans in general LOL. But in regards to sex, he doesn't really have any. He’s tried everything, and he’s open to most things. Mephisto is very confident in chasing after what he desires and shamelessly indulges in what he wants.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He's thousands of years old and has been with countless people. He's very perceptive to what makes others hot and bothered, and loves to use that against his partners in the room. Small touches, little grabs, artfully toying with your feelings and mind. He's very physically, emotionally, and mentally motivated like that.

He can tell how to get you off, but that’s not always what he chooses to do. And if he does, there’s going to be mental and emotional games involved. Even if they’re sometimes smaller games and not always so extreme.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

I personally think he loves being topped. He sees it as you serving him and him just sitting back and enjoying the show. He’ll tell you what to do, try to control your rhythm and pace. It’s a win-win situation for him, since you’re either serving him, or he gets to playfully punish you for disobeying his commands. A power bottom of sorts. Ultimately, he has the mindset of “Look at my cute toy trying to toy with me! They should know by now that I’m the one in control here~”

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

I think that in most cases, Mephisto won't be offended if you get a little silly. I could see him matching the mood with his own dirty jokes. He'll probably even find your giggles and attempts to make him laugh amusing, cute, maybe even a bit endearing.

If he’s in a bad mood then don’t try that, he’ll more than likely lash out and ruthlessly degrade you with psychological abuse.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Even though he has no good taste, this man is all about his brand of beauty and aesthetics. Even if he dresses like a clown. He’s very well kept. He has a bush and keeps it trimmed. It’s somewhat sparse, not too thick. It’s the same color as his other hair. He keeps it clean and presentable since he cares about hygiene, Mephisto knows that being gross is going to ruin his chances of picking up people. And he’s not a “low class slob” like that, anyway.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

He can fake intimate connection for sure, he's been on Assiah for ages and is acclimated to it's social customs. Even if you’re a mate, I would see him being temperamental about how genuine the sweet sentiments are. Sometimes they would be a bit genuine, though I think many times he would use them for the theatrics, or to tease and mock you.

If you’re a servant, or he’s in a bad mood, then he’s not gonna care about any of that. In the former case, he will especially use that mocking brand of intimacy to make backhanded comments and psychologically torture you.

He’s also picky about those who call him by Samael so casually, and when or how imo. If he’s fond of you then he might tolerate it sometimes.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

I can't see him jacking off so much. He’d rather get a partner to relieve himself. He probably sees masturbation as crass and thinks he's above it. He's not. Mephisto will definitely jack off if he's really turned on after harassing you, a heated argument, or messing around with your thoughts and feelings.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Oh boy. He loves mind games, toying with emotions, being found out and called out on his bullshit. He's very mental like that. Otherwise, he's open to almost everything. I wouldn’t call it a kink, but a consistent taste he has is being ridden. Or being beyond rough in the room. To the point of being brutal or even violent. Biting and scratching that breaks skin, really man handling you and throwing you around, leaving dark bruises on you, etc. Mephisto looooovveees to mark people like that. Especially if you cover them up in public so only he can see them, or if they peek out from your clothing and others get the picture. The thought of such a dirty and feral encounter having such a small but obvious hint, that really turns him on.

Fantasy and role play are already big things for him, and he’s a nerd. So he loves it when you cosplay as his waifus in bed.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Depends on how he sees you. If he likes you a lot, then the bedroom. Call him traditional but he's really into the whole ambiance of the bedroom, the cozy bed, warm sheets, the fine decor (and anime merch), and the dim lights. He loves the mood it sets and highly prefers it to other environments, especially if you’re his mate. I do think he’s spontaneous enough to take you anywhere he wants. He’ll tease you about the risks. Otherwise, he couldn’t care less about the location if you’re a servant.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

He definitely has his tastes when it comes to bodies, personalities, and people’s history, but he’s very mentally motivated. He'll engage in full on psychological warfare with you before smashing the hell out of you. To him it's the best form of foreplay, as well as a way to test the psychological limits and perception of his partners. So many aspects of mental manipulation and warfare interest him, and that carries over to his sex life.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He’s only gonna share you or watch you fuck others if he’s commanding that. Also he doesn’t like anything incredibly unsanitary like emeto or scat. Otherwise he's pretty open to anything.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

God tier oral skills. He edges a lot when giving oral, and gets into it, teasing you as your cute yelps and moans drive him to further toy with you. It’s just *chef’s kiss*. He won’t always make you come, though. That’s part of the fun for him.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Depends on his mood and relation to you. If you're a servant that is his for the taking, I see him being inclined to having rough and fast encounters more. If he really likes you, or there’s been a psychological battle or argument beforehand, he’s going to be more inclined to drawing out his playful torture by being more slow and sensual.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

He would rather have "proper sex", meaning in a room and being able to relish his time with you. I could only see him having a quickie as a way to taunt you about the risk of others walking in.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Yeah, he’s down for nearly anything. Not much is new to him but he is open to most ideas you have, and risks don’t bother him so he’s good in that area.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

He's a Demon King! He can last all day and all night. Maybe for days or even weeks, if he really likes the dynamic.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

I think the question should be more like "What toys doesn’t he use on his partner and himself?” Gags? Check! Dildos? Check! Vibrators, check! Restraints, check. The dude has a whole arsenal of sex toys to use during sexy times.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

He teases you so much that you swear you're going to combust sometimes. Either mentally, physically, or both. He's really into edging and teasing you.

He enjoys being edged and toyed with too, but he’s still going to want to "punish" you for toying with him too much. I think he would like gaining the upper hand in even small games like that.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Depends on his mood and the events that led up to the encounter. If there was a lot of winning in fights on his end, he’s going to relish it and be loud. If he’s mad, a sort of cold and angry quiet will reflect his mood. I do think he’s more vocal than not. Grunts, low voices, whispers, shameless moans and groans. If he doesn’t see the need to be composed, then he’s going to let loose.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Not exactly a cuckold, but he will enjoy ordering you to play with others. It’s another way for him to show control.

Also, his body hair is kind of sparse. He doesn’t have much on his chest, legs, arms. His bush is a bit thin.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

His bush isn’t too thick, and he keeps it trimmed. He’s 8-9 inches. Long but slim, just like him. Uncut. Pale with a purple head. He's got big, saggy balls too. He shaves them so he can feel what’s going on there better. There’s a reason why he holds on to his vessel and it’s not just because it can hold him.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

He's one of the horniest characters in the entire series, I don't think I need to elaborate on this.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He doesn't get sleepy after sex. If you’re a pet or servant or whatever then he’ll probably just leave you in bed alone. Though he’s open to staying a bit longer if you actually interest him.

[thatmexisaurusrex]

💎 I am intrigued.

Make Me Write Monday

Oooh, this fic's been a long time coming. People have been hearing me talk about this in my drafts for years. And this is still a little rough, but here's 😂 okay, more than three sentences, I'm being very generous to all these asks today lol Enjoy! 🥰

*****

Bucky hid his laugh behind his hand, trying not to make too much noise in the museum.

“I’m serious,” said Sam, laughing along with him, “They jumped for joy when I said I wanted to study art history, they threw a party for me. A literal party. That’s how bad I was at fishing and boat upkeep, apparently.”

They had been walking through the National Gallery. Sam was going that way. Bucky had decided to go and check it out anyway while he was there. They were walking through the “Masterpieces of American Furniture” exhibition, pieces pulled from the Kaufman Collection, made from seventeen-hundred to eighteen-thirty.

Bucky had been casually pointing out the pieces.

He talked about their history, who made them, where they came from, the materials each piece used and why they were used for that specific piece. He knew about craftmanship, about design by the century. Bucky was a man of history brought about by the pieces people wore and used and he knew his craft expertly.

Bucky had said that he had more understanding of pieces in other parts of the world. That he was doing his thesis on the evolution of early Wakandan jewelry design from its first to its fifth monarchs. Honestly, though, Bucky knew enough about craft in America to have easily done something about the furniture here (“It’s just because my parents worked in restoration and I helped with major projects. Most of what they did was restoration of American furniture, specifically from this period due to some of the old money that they worked for,” Bucky had explained, but honestly, Sam was impressed).

“You’re lying,” said Bucky, unable to hold his laughter anymore, “They couldn’t have done that. That’s unreal.”

“Oh, you’d think that. But you’ve never met my parents. They would and did that. They invited the entire neighborhood. My entire school. And it wasn’t some boutique private school, no, it was a thousand kids per grade high school.”

“I’m not sure if they’re the best parents or the worst.”

“Little bit of both, I think,” said Sam, wobbling her head.

“Parents are like that,” said Bucky, smiling wistfully.

[ltleflrt]

just send the op an ask?

I'm assuming this is in response to my request for gender tags on Tav and Durge posts for bg3 fandom? I hope it came across polite, I am not trying to make waves, I truly think it would be a good idea for the fandom.

You can't see it on this blog, but on my dedicated Astarion side blog I reblog at least 20 things a day, it has a full queue of 1000 plus a few hundred more in the drafts waiting to be queued. I'd probably get flagged for spam if I sent as many asks every day as posts that I'm seeing with unclear Tav/Durge genders lol

And besides! It's not always about stuff I want to reblog! Some days I want to just see the boys! Sometimes just the girls! Maybe I'm feeling trans or enby love, but how the heck am I going to FIND them if people aren't tagging them? The bg3 fandom is booming, and there's no way I could get through all of the thousands of posts to find the niche thing I'm looking for that day if I can't narrow down my search a little bit. Right now I do that by character or pairing, but since there's very little to no gender tagging, that's as far down as I can whittle it.

That's what tagging is for! It's for filtering stuff out, yeah, but the original reason tags were used on tumblr was to FIND STUFF!

Help me find your stuff! Especially since m/f stuff is a lot more prevalent, and I want to find my alphabet soup squaddies in the fandom too!

There are no traditional gender markers that I can trust in a fandom based on a game where you can mix and match the dangly bits, ya know? I can't always use the character name, because it's a fantasy setting, and many names are non-traditional. And not everyone is using pronouns when gushing about their baby in the post captions.

I have mistagged some things I've reblogged because I tried following traditional gender markers. A few of the OPs have messaged me and asked me to fix it, and I am very happy to do so. I love and respect your child and will correct myself.

Buuuuut, if you'd tagged them in the first place, it wouldn't be an issue 😁

Is it really so bad to ask for folks to add a gender tag? Let's get it started now, so that future fandom babies can go on tumblr deep dives and not get lost in the dark depths of general tags.

(To those of you who are already using some kind of tag, thank you, I see you, and I hope you find a pretty rock to decorate your desk with.)

[lazuliquetzal]

Fic Stats Game

Ohoho thank you @tavina-writes for the tag!! Pretty sure this is gonna be the same 3 fics over and over but we'll see :)

rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the fewest words.

1) Most Hits

It's AA Batteries (Daiya no Ace). I know this without even looking, it's AAB 100% and by... not a significant, but a decent lead. That thing breached containment. I'm glad that it did, because I had fun writing it, but it always surprises me because sports anime twin OC fic? Really?

But I'm glad it's my most popular fic, even if I don't consider it my best, because even if it's a canon rewrite, I finished a 100K+ fic and I am proud. I'm literally never over it, I could talk about it all day.

Like, I usually don't ship things very strongly, but Misawa is insane to me. Also, do you know how embarrassing it is to relate to Miyuki Kazuya? And not even in a 'generic repressed character' way, I'm talking in a Hey I Literally Was In His Shoes And Made The Same Exact Fucking Mistakes And Decisions way. Nobody gets Miyuki Kazuya like I do. I'm fucking Miyuki kin. I didn't ask for this. I didn't--

2) Second Most Kudos

This one is also AAB, so I'll go with first place: Reflection (The Magnus Archives). A classic. A nice and simple time travel fix-it comedy.

I remember the writing of this one because I had been utterly obsessed with TMA. It would not let me go. I drafted the early chapters on my phone while walking across my college campus. I almost got ran over by a bike when I was writing the "Martin witnesses Jon have a mild breakdown in the break room" scene.

3) Third Most Comments

Dawn of the Fourth (Linked Universe). The LU fandom is super giving with their comments! Probably the most comment-friendly fandom I've been in.

I think it also helped that DotF is one of those stories where every chapter is a punch to the throat lol. If you didn't comment after ch7, it's probably because you zoomed through haha.

4) Fourth Most Bookmarks

It's DotF again, so I'll go with third place: ain't no rest for the wicked (Naruto).

Ah, this one... I'm fond of it, in the way I'm fond of all my writing, but also I was in high school. There's a lot about it that I would do differently now. But I learned a lot from writing it, and actually Chie, Issei, and Riku are still my children and I love them all. I'm proud of the color test. :)

5) Fewest Words

If you ignore the Zelda comic and the CSS formatting test and the anonymous April Fool's fic that I will not be claiming ownership of publicly, my shortest fic is Blackout Blues (Daiya no Ace) at 1101 words. If you subscribe to the belief that a picture is worth a thousand words, then that bumps the word count up to 4101 words.

I should draw more art for my fanfic. I have the power. It's fun.

tagging (if you want!): @yellowocaballero @xxsolar-writesxx @ellie-tarts @zarvasace @dottie-wan-kenobi and anyone else who wants to!

[sharkneto]

hi!!!! I was rereading the shifting mirrors and holding it together since you finished joining together recently (it’s SO good, it’s so so SO good, your writing is always so well done and flows so well) and I had a couple questions. Sorry if this is weird - if you don’t want to answer them feel free to ignore this ask, I’m just curious!

1.) did you start writing joining together while you were still posting holding it together? a lot of the details I noticed in HIT were referenced in JT, and I was just kind of like ‘that’s a LOT of details to remember’ so I was wondering if you were working backwards !!

2.) have you ever thought about what happens at the end of HIT? do you think they would actually end up stopping the apocalypse, or would the commission try to come and correct them? I thought that was interesting - that the commission said they were done with five, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re done with the offshoot timeline ; if they hadn’t interfered prior, that would mean they were still on track for an apocalypse, right ? I like to speculate about this. with sheer strength of will I think that five would probably end up stopping it, mostly because he knows how to work through his rage rather than act on impulse again - and now he has the knowledge to try and connect the others so that viktor doesn’t feel so isolated.

3.) what was your favorite part of writing the story / what kept you motivated to keep it going ? I’ve started a couple chaptered fics, and then I get three or four chapters in and lose it completely.

I love, love, love the world youve created - I love the characters youve built and the personalities behind them. the dedication youve held on to to keep the series going is admirable; I can barely write 20k, much less hundreds of thousands of words. I was actually thinking of asking your permission to maybe write an offshoot of your offshoot (it might be the thing that gets me back into writing for tua) but idk if I’d have the imagination or creativity to make it nearly as compelling and fun as yours. Congratulations and great work on finishing it !! <333

this got long - feel free to ignore it if it’s overstepping or weird, lol !! I hope you’re doing well - have a great night, shark :)

Hey Toby! Glad you enjoyed it all so much and thanks for the kind words! It's a little surreal to have it done, JT has been a WIP almost as long as I've been into TUA.

I started writing JT before HIT. This whole series was supposed to be a Just For Me Fun Project while I rotted alone during the pandemic that I ended up sharing with permission from orsumfenix and encouragement from friends. I was a bit into JT, I think, when I started thinking about how fun it would be to get more siblings in here, and those musing became HIT. HIT got posted first because it had a lower barrier for entry, with more focus on the Hargreeves we know instead of OCs. So, because the stories were written more-or-less simultaneously, it was easy to reference one or set up something for the other. Working forwards and backwards, with the end of JT already written (in a rough draft) when I was writing HIT, so I knew where Rob, Sarah, and Number were coming off of at that point. (The tiny detail I'm most fond of is Allison in HIT noting that Number broke his nose at some point, and then in JT we get to see the stupid scenario in which he broke his nose.)

(rest under a readmore because I ramble)

I do have thoughts on what happens after HIT! More of a time jump, to Number's Apocalypse Week, and I've got words in a WIP started about that (and a few snips shared in my snip tag, although some I think I've changed some of the details, now). It goes... less smoothly than it should, for a guy who has (almost) all the details he needs. If motivation continues, I'll share that eventually. If it doesn't, I'll word-vomit an outline so at least people who are interested can know how it goes down. I don't see the Commission coming back - the people obsessed with Five are dead, and the organization is done with him. They don't have the resources to spare to keep going after him, so at least in Five and Number's timelines, they're out of the Commission's scope.

What kept me going was a combo of things. 2020-2022ish, I had a fuckton of time. I only worked three days a week because of covid protocols, I couldn't go anywhere because of covid, and I couldn't see anyone because of covid. I had four days a week to fill, and a lot of that time got filled with writing - all of HIT and the first draft of JT happened during this time, plus all the other fics I published throughout that time. What kept me going is that I was having a ton of fun writing and fun interacting with other people about my fics. Love, love, love talking about them (so never apologize for an ask like this, every fic writer is begging for an excuse to ramble like this). I liked thinking about the characters, thinking about Number doing mundane things I was doing made them more interesting, I liked thinking about Rob and Sarah's little romcom life, and I'm fascinated by Five's whole deal. My favorite part of writing these is Five (both versions of him) - thinking about him and how he'd react to x or y, how others react to him. I love that, at his core, he's kind of a loser. I love what an incredible vehicle for grief he is. He's a character of all time for me.

How to keep going, I don't have an easy answer for it. Some people outline, so they have the skeleton of what they're doing and where they're going. I'm not one of those people, I have an idea of the general shape and trajectory of the story and go from there, splitting up chapters as needed. I think it's important to not force it, or the writer's block gets worse and then you're stressed about writing instead of having fun with it, and that's no good - the point is to have fun. If you run out of steam, you run out of steam and you have to take a six-month hiatus until life calms down and you have words again (as a hypothetical example). Don't be afraid to poke at other ideas even if you have a giant fic unfinished. For having 25 fics on AO3, I have 35 other WIP files on my computer. Some of them have a couple hundred words, some have tens of thousands of words, some of them I'll come back to finish, some of them I won't. Such is life - some ideas have legs, others don't. I don't set out thinking "Oh this fic is going to be 50k words with 10 chapters". I just write until it feels done; sometimes that's 2k words, sometimes it's almost 200k words. The point I'm trying to make, here, is that we're all just fucking around having fun, and words flow easier when I'm remembering that and not stressing about being done or trying to finish for a self-imposed deadline. You've got it :)

Feel free to write in my little world! Would love to see what others are thinking about, what stuck with them. Just give me (and orsumfenix, if you use Number) a shoutout if you share it! And don't sell yourself short - I'm sure you've got great ideas and the chops to write them out. Don't compare yourself to me; you might write in a world I helped shape, but you've got your own voice and style to give it. I, for one (if you end up writing and sharing it), would love to hear your version of it all :)

[hotchfiles]

Okay here we go (This is a kinda long snippet but oh well lol. No one steal it please lmao)

Suddenly a bit nervous but no matter! My insanity for these guys propels me forward lol

I'd love to hear your thoughts :) This is still a first draft and I haven't completely fleshed everything out, there are some placeholders, but I'm hoping they're still in character.

Slightly nsfw themes but not really, it's more suggestive I think.

----

Will is preparing to go workout.

“Are ya joinin’ me?” he asked.

Reid looked up from his spot in the corner of the sofa, a book in hand and three more on the coffee table in front of him. Will was in a rather tight, grey shirt and loose, black shorts that Reid quickly looked away from.

“Uh,” a sheepish huff passed his lips, “No, I – I don’t really work out.”

Will’s brows drew together.

“What?” he asked, “You should.”

There was no malice present in his tone, no intent to insult. He merely stated it plainly, as if it were a given. Then again, Reid considered maybe it was. He was an FBI agent, after all.

[workout scene]

Whether or not he decides to join, Reid will be staring at him quite a bit.

The door to the garage opened and the sound of Will’s heavy breaths cut through the silence. Panting, he stumbled to the fridge to retrieve a cold water. Reid blinked at the loud crack of the seal as Will opened it to begin gulping down the liquid like he had been lost at sea for days.

In his hasty consumption, some of it leaked out of the corner of his mouth and trailed down his jaw, a tiny rivulet making its way down his neck.

When Will stopped drinking with a great sigh, Reid realized he had been transfixed on following the droplet’s trail. He quickly found his place in the text once more, wondering if Will was really peering at him or if he was imagining it.

“Alright,” Will nodded at him as he passed through the living room, “I’m gonna go shower.”

“Mhmm,” Reid hummed as he glanced up, not trusting his voice at the moment.

He could have sworn he caught a fleeting smirk on Will’s face out of the corner of his eye before he dashed away. Reid’s gaze absentmindedly fell onto the flexing muscles of his back, clearly outlined against his tight workout shirt.

Blinking rapidly, Reid found he had to reread his current page three times before he retained any of its information.

[Later]

An aroma of clean, linen scented soap wafted through the living room. Reid shifted to look as Will walked back in, his workout clothes replaced by looser sweatpants and a white t-shirt.

Will flopped heavily onto the sofa with a satisfied groan, raking his fingers through his damp hair.

Reid glanced over the top of his book, tracking the motion with his eyes, only to snap his gaze back down to the pages once again when Will peered over at him.

Silence stretched on for a several long seconds where Reid focus all his attention on the printed words he held. And nowhere else. Reid had yet to flip a single page since Will made his return, something that wouldn’t be suspicious of anyone else but was extremely telling considering he could read twenty thousand words per minute.

The corners of Will’s lips twitched, like he was containing a smirk, as let himself slide lower and his head fell back to rest on the sofa cushion. He stretched his arms and legs out, a strained groan coming from deep in his chest. One of his knees bumped against Reid’s briefly.

Reid remained as still as a statue, only his eyes flicking up again to rake over Will’s stretched torso for a split second before returning to his task.

Will scrutinized him silently, a glint flashing in his eye for a moment.

“So��” Will broke the silence carefully, “You, uh – You decide yet?”

“What?” Reid tipped his book forward to peer at him.

Will ducked his chin momentarily, a slow smirk tugging at his lips.

“Well, I was just wondering,” he lifted his head to peer at Reid through his lashes, “if you were gonna keep undressin’ me with your eyes or if you’re gonna actually make a move.”

“What?!”

The book slipped from Reid’s grasp and he lurched to catch it. It skipped through the air once, twice, three times, before he was finally able to securely wrap his fingers around it.

Deep chuckles emanated from Will’s chest as he watched the spectacle.

Swallowing thickly, Reid’s shoulders heaved from the action as he let the book fall with a heavy thump onto the table.

“What do you –?!” he sputtered, his widened eyes finally meeting Will’s amused gaze once again, “No, no I – I wasn’t, I don’t even –”

“Reid,” Will cut him off with a true smile, bright and dazzling, “I’m teasin’.”

MATT SENT ME THIS MASTERPIECE and I forgot to reply but.

Let's all enjoy Will being a lil tease and getting Reid completely flustered PLEASE

[thecomfywriter]

writeblr interview

thanks for the tag @illarian-rambling <3

No further ados! Let's get straight into it :)

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝✧༺♥༻∞╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

Short stories, novels, or poems?

If we're talking about writing them-- novels more often than the others, but i dabble into all of them ngl. I tried writing poetry once upon a time, and while it's not all bad, it's not all good either (i shared some of the bad ones here, buried deeply in the archives. i might share the good ones sometime who knows). and short stories i used to do all the time with my irl writer friends, where we'd give each other 3-word prompts and an hour to bust one out. 10/10 recommend lol in terms of reading, all of them :)))

What genre do you prefer reading?

high fantasy and classics. give me wuthering heights and the iliad. but also, things you'd find on a high school english class reading list. i love those types of inquisitive stories

What genre do you prefer writing?

high fantasy, political fantasies or political conspiracy fictional stories. give me the complicated lore and old history, and all the strategy and war tactics and yadayada. i LIVE FOR IT

Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

extreme planner. i have planned every single potential wip i have in the drafts and for the future in my notion. chapter per chapter outline. scene per scene. entire oc wiki pages. lore pages. even a dictionary for their languages and different dialects, AND the scriptures they refer to/believe in. extreme planner.

What music do you listen to while writing?

whichever playlist i'm in the mood for, but typically it's my writing, august 8, or the (un)official tov soundtrack. the genres on those are so mixed, i can't even say: oh its classical, oh its r&b. no. its just vibes. anyhow, on the discord server, you can actually see what music i listen to while i write LOL because i linked it. but yes, i'll link my spotify here too because why not?

Fave books/movies?

favourite books are the iliad, the giver, wuthering heights, the last dragon, a thousand splendid suns, and the remains of the day. i've gone on a tangent about them before here!

Any current WIPs?

i'm in the editing phases of Throne of Vengeance, which I plan on publishing very soon (👀) and the writing stages of Court of Sins!

If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Hair half up in a bun and half down. Biker shorts or men's oversized lounge shorts. oversized (men's, probably) t-shirt or hoodie, or if it's with the biker shorts, a muscle-tee or a cropped tank top. layered gold necklaces, rings on every finger, multiple gold piercings and cuffs on both ears, my classic gold chain, gold bracelet, and iron cuff on my left wrist. sneakers/running shoes/vintage mint nike tennis court shoes. i have the whole outfit DOWN lmao

Create a character description for yourself

typical brown girl who can't escape the overenthusiastic punjabi girl stereotype because of her loud and eccentric personality. has strong "youngest sibling" energy with a strong level of independence and yet an immediately willingness to let someone else take care of things. flip flops between dressing extremely well and being a fashion icon with impeccable style, to dressing like she ran out of all her clothes and can only wear knitted dishrags. has been canonically told by her father she is "the son [he] never had". she doesn't know what to do with this information. incredibly studious and a huge academic. if she didn't have the extroverted personality she did, people would be more inclined to calling her a nerd. instead, they call her intelligent and call it a day. slightly a teacher's pet. can convince anyone and everyone around her to do her a favour because she's mysteriously persuasive. doesn't know how to do romantic love, but is 1000% invested in showering people in platonic love. has 10k different hobbies, none of which are remotely related. every week, she finds a new topic to obsessively research about and ramble to her voice memos to. as her sisters and friends like to say, "her life is like a series of side quests" i think that about does it., lest i wished to keep rambling LOL

Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

yes and no. i like taking a singular piece of lore from people i know, typically with their permission. so, some of the ocs in my books are named after people i know in real life whom i asked if i could name my character after. it doesn't really go beyond oc naming, tbh. i feel like stealing people's real life lore is kinda... invasive? idk.

Are you kill-happy with characters?

1000% and my best friend hates me for it. i feel like a toxic partner, only capable of showing my ocs affection by making them suffer

Coffee or tea while writing?

both, plus other substances. cold water. diet soda. hot water. milk. hot cocoa. literally everything.

Slow or fast writer?

fast, but it depends on a) if i'm in school or not (pre-med babyyyyy); b) if i have a deadline of not (i once finished a full draft in 3 months because i put the finish date on my document and felt the need to meet that deadline)

Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

my childhood and my childhood stories. disclaimer: i DID have a happy childhood, before anyone makes any wild assumptions LOL

If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

a bookkeeper, a scholar, or a soldier. or an adventurer. not just because they're cool, but because that's what i currently do irl, so why not in a fantasy setting too?

Most fave book cliche?

friends to lovers trope for romances. jealousy arcs. misunderstandings that are DONE RIGHT. angst. ANGST. found family. the old mentor. things like that, i eat it right up like we're in an all-inclusive buffet

Least fave book cliche?

toxic male leads who everyone forgives because they're hot. i honestly can't think of much. if it's executed right, everything is fun and freegame

Fave scenes to write?

i genuinely have no clue. i love writing in general. maybe the dialogue fluff scenes that never make it to the final draft because they're so absolutely filler but they butter my croissant in ways only a boulangerie would be able to serve?

Most productive time of day for writing?

night time with the cityscape if i'm in my uni town! daytime in my mancave if i'm in my hometown!

Reason for writing?

i've always been a storyteller, and i can't exist with this world in my mind without opening the gates for everyone to pay a visit. i enjoy sharing what i love. they say the universe is expanding, and that is an undeniable fact, for all the proof i need is in the way the worlds in my head keep growing.

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝✧༺♥༻∞╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝

thanks again for the tag, my love <3

i'll tag @writingismydrugs @drchenquill @wyked-ao3 @willtheweaver @satohqbanana and @pexchys

cheerios!

[robyn-goodfellowe]

Hi uhh idk how to say it but any tips on writing in general? I really wanna write my story I have stored in my doc but I don’t know where to start.

hello!! i am very honored that you came to ME to ask because i love to talk about writing, so thank you :) with that being said this might get a little long so ill put everything under a readmore, but all of my advice can be summarized like this

tl;dr: just start!!!

i KNOW. in my soul. that there's genuinely nothing more every aspiring writer hates to hear than "just start" lol but it really does come down to that. just start. whatever you put on the page doesnt have to be PERFECT, it just has to be there. my first drafts for anything are never solid. my initial drafts are NEVER the quality of the final

and its through careful, consistent rewriting that it becomes something more palatable and fun/easy to read. what ive noticed a lot of new writers do (and i used to be very prone to this as well) is that they go into their drafts expecting to drop their final product there, and aim for perfection. i cannot stress enough that perfection is THE ENEMY in literature. you can rewrite things thousands of times for it to turn out imperfect in the end, and thats OKAY. you'll end up with a draft you like eventually, but don't expect yourself to find it right away. it takes me a lot of consistent writing sessions to have a paragraph that im satisfied with. itll come to you naturally

but the best advice i can offer is really just ... START. open google docs and just write down your thought process, whatever that looks like for you. maybe its the summarisation of a few scenes you like, maybe its a chunk of an out of context paragraph. whatevers in your head, put it on paper and see where you can go from there. thats really the only way you can start

outside of that some of my big things are being consistent and READING. i write for at minimum half an hour every day (not always fic lol! i am a creative writing major, am working on my manuscript and also trying to get published in some small-scale literary magazines and sites. so im always working on something, basically) and its probably the only thing in my life i am super consistent about. maintaining a habit and making yourself write even when you dont "feel like it" or cant find motivation is the best way to keep writing long term. and reading, well, how i like to put it to my friends is that creativity is like a well. you cant keep drawing from it without filling it up eventually. you need good writing and good words to inspire you so you can keep drawing from your creative well. when im not writing im reading and you should be too. you really cant have one habit without the other

are really immersing myself in the world that i've created for my silly little guys. i am, at all times of the day, immersed into my stories one way or another. im almost constantly curating pinterest boards, or making playlists, or sharing it with my friends (the last one is highly important. the best way to stay encouraged is to have someone to share with) and so theres not really a day when im not thinking about what i want to write to some extent

but yeah basically thats all of the advice i can offer. write, write, write and don't be afraid for it to be not perfect. nobody is perfect, you are human. so just have fun with it

hope this can help ssomewhat! :)

[preoccupied-educator]

Ooh, Juke podcasters AU?

Alright, I went back and forth on this for literal ages, but it is high time I actually post something so, I hope you like it! Happy Juke Jeudi! Also lol RIP me trying to write a summary, failing spectacularly and instead ending up with over 700 words of a relatively solid outline for a fic I'll probably never find time to write 🙃

A kinda-sorta-enemies-to-lovers with a classic misunderstanding and of course a HEA (that isn't really well thought out, but couldn't sit in my drafts any longer!)

Julie Molina doesn't really play music anymore since her mom died, but she does listen to it and talk about it at great length on her very popular podcast she started back in her junior year of college after a very interesting elective on the topic

Now, she's a bit of a celebrity in her own right, as episodes of her show, "The Studio" (where she reviews listener-submitted songs from up-and-coming bands in college towns all across America) reach thousands of listeners every week

Luke Patterson listens to music, talks about music and, of course, plays music in his band, Sunset Curve, with his two best friends Alex Mercer and Reggie Peters (they did have a fourth band member, Bobby Shaw, but that ended rather abruptly when Bobby decided he'd rather have a solo career with Sunset Curve's most popular songs)

Now, Sunset Curve is on the edge of celebrity - a rather stressful recon mission ensured Bobby no longer had access to their music (and no, they won't be telling that story anytime soon) - and they're calling in all of their favours to get a showcase slot at the famed venue, The Orpheum

(click to continue reading my rambling below the cut)

Luke has been working on the booking manager, Caleb, for weeks and he's finally agreed to book them a slot in two week's time...assuming they can sell half of the tickets for the show themselves by the time the doors open the night of the show [Alex has anxiously done the math on that and it works out to about 1300 tickets if Caleb expects them to sell the place out (he immediately had to do his breathing exercises after having that realization)]

Luckily, the two optimists in the band have a plan - submit their best song (along with a little plug about their show) to "The Studio", get a rave review, profit (read: sell a thousand tickets in less than 14 days)

Unbeknownst to the current members of the band, there is a reason why Sunset Curve has never been featured on "The Studio" before, despite being submitted a handful of times by local listeners

Back in freshman year, Julie went on an ill-fated blind date set up by her well-meaning but ultimately misguided roommate, with her cousin, one Bobby Shaw (it wasn't that Bobby wasn't a nice guy, but he talked mostly about his music with his band and when they passed a street piano on the way to the theatre, she accidentally let slip that she used to play music and he was like a dog with a bone and when she refused to show him what she could do, he got a little too bold - she had stormed away soon after, walking the 12 blocks back to campus blinking back tears) - hence her distaste towards the band

Now, Luke is nothing if not determined, so here we insert a chapter or two of him weaselling his way into "accidental" run-ins with Julie (maybe he figures out a mutual connection? - Willie knows Flynn knows Julie) who doesn't realize immediately who he is, but they obviously vibe

Once Julie figures out the connection there is a smidgen of hurt feelings and explanations and apologies, but eventually she is persuaded to feature them on her next episode (and even goes so far as to have the band in the studio to plead their case)

Lo' and behold! They sell the allotted tickets and the show goes off without a hitch - Julie is in attendance, only slightly begrudgingly having been dragged along by Flynn and Willie

She is obviously immediately smitten (more than she already was) by Luke's stage presence and also the way he winks at her during the bridge to Now or Never (listen, she's only human okay??)

Their set wraps up and there are congratulations all around and an invitation for post-show pizza and there are more vibes and some not-so-subtle suggestions from both Flynn and Reggie about chemistry and oozing that Julie and Luke are both trying very hard to ignore while they enjoy their pizza

Luke volunteers to walk Julie home since she lives a couple blocks over (there is jeering and a few not-so-subtle nudges from Reggie, a very serious stare-down along with a threatening "text me as soon as you're home safe" from Flynn)

The walk home is relatively quiet, when they get to her door Luke confesses he hopes he didn't mess this whole thing up by trying to get the band on her show, he'd really like to see her again, etc.. Julie assures him that he didn't..and he can see her again. There is a cute Juke kiss and ta da! The End.