#I’ll probably keep posting more scenes I’ve written

[bexorok]

Poorly written Sonic Movie 3 pitch/outline

I’ve never really written anything in a script format, but I had so many thoughts about the next movie that I had to write them out otherwise my brain would actually explode. I’m kind of bouncing around with scenes I think should be in the movie as well as character introductions. Hope people find some enjoyment out of these!

This is the first couple of scenes I wrote out. I also had a little blurb about the opening credits, but it’s kind of just what the rumored trailer for Sonic 3 reviled at cinamacon was, so there’s not much point of it. Basically, Robotnik now looks like his original game design, and that’s all you really need to know

Introduction Scene

interior, prison island

Sirens are blaring and red lights are going off. We see automated doors closing, followed by an explosion. When the smoke settles, we see Stone and Robotnik together in a walking mech, destroying all doors that close in front of them. Military robots fight back but can do nothing against him.

They enter a final room at the end of the corridor. Inside we see a capsule that’s completely sealed.

Robotnik: We've hit the jackpot, Stone! Right inside this capsule is the key to ultimate power, and finally destroying that pesky hedgehog and his friends once and for all! I will finally have the power to rule over this world, and even more!

(Insert gay pining from Stone, we all know it’s canon)

Robotnik instructs Stone to search the files for the password to enter. He scrolls through the data for a moment before he comes across something.

Stone: M-A-R-I-A … really? A 5 letter password is protecting the key to ultimate power?

Robotnik: Remember Stone, this dusty bucket of bolts is over 50 years old. They were simpler times. Password decoders weren’t even invented, and our current program probably wouldn’t run on this hunk of junk.

He pauses a moment, seemingly thinking back.

Robotnik: Maria, huh? Haven’t heard that name in a long, long time. Still, I wouldn’t have thought of my grandfather as the sentimental type.

He walks over and types in the password. The capsule opens with a cloud of smoke, and an orange light reveals a figure not unlike Sonic’s. His eyes open and glow red as the restraints around him detach.

Robotnik and Stone stare in awe as he steps out. He kneels to the ground on one knee.

Shadow: I am Shadow, the ultimate lifeform, created by doctor Gerald Robotnik. You have awakened me, which can only mean you seek the ultimate power.

Robotnik yells in exasperation: Yes! Finally, a creature who knows its master! Welcome to the team, Shadow the hedgehog

The camera zooms back, revealing prison island, going further until it shows the entire earth, zooming further to reveal space colony ARK. The rendition of “live and learn” from the original trailer plays as the logo for the movie is finally revealed, with ARK shown just underneath.

Cut to an overview of Green Hills, where we see the blur of sonic, quickly followed by tails and knuckles, all laughing and whooping. They go through the forests and mountains of Green Hills, eventually getting to the peak of a mountain top, where Sonic jumps off and is caught by tails. Knuckles follows, gliding next to them. They fly over a house, where we hear Tom shout to them.

Tom: Dinner is ready! Get here quick, before all the burgers and hotdogs are gone!

They all fly down, landing in the backyard, where Tom has the grill set up. At a table nearby, we see Maddie, Rachel, Randel, JoJo, and Ozzy sitting down. Tails quickly flies to a tree house connected to the garage.

Tails: Just have to grab something!

Knuckles steps to the side of the yard, opening what looks like a cellar door.

Knuckles: I will join you all in a moment. I must double check the emeralds status.

Tails flies back from a window in the tree house, carrying with him a gadget.

Tails: It's fine, Knux, we would have gotten an alert if anything happened to the emerald.

Knuckles: Fox, I trust nothing but my own eyes to confirm if the emerald is safe or not.

He opens the doors and goes down a dark flight of stairs.

Maddie: Let him go sweetie, you know how he gets when he’s away from the emerald too long.

Tom: Sonic, do you mind getting the plates from the kitchen?

In a flash, sonic runs inside the house and back again, setting a plate in front of each person at the table.

Tom: Thanks pal!

Maddie nudges Rachel, nodding her head.

Rachel: Alright, I’ll admit it, the weird little alien things are starting to grow on me, especially considering how much JoJo likes spending time with them. But I still don’t know if I want to move to this town.

Sonic: aw, come on, Green Hills is the best town ever! Pulse as long as we're here, it’ll be the safest town ever.

Tails: That's right! We’re patrolling every day, looking for signs of danger! And for the chaos emeralds, of course.

JoJo: Oh yeah, have you guys found any yet?

Tails: (laughs awkwardly) well, not yet. But as soon as I’m done with my tracking device, we’ll be able to use it to hunt them down!

He shows them the device in his hands. It has a radar map on it with a single, large blinking light next to the yard.

Tails: right now it can only detect the master emerald, but once we find a chaos emerald, I can use its energy frequency to find other similar frequencies.

JoJo: Wow! That’s so cool! Mom, can I help them look for the emeralds too?

Rachel: Woah, woah, woah. No way young lady, I can not have you running around the world, you’re still just a kid.

JoJo: but mom! Tails is, like, 8! I’m two whole years older than him! Why can’t I go on cool adventures?

Randal: because, you’re still a *human* kid. You can get hurt a lot more easily than these guys can.

Rachel: hold up, do you mean to tell me that that little scientist who makes bombs and guns is only 8?

Maddie: We were surprised too. You’d have no idea any of these guys were so young if you didn’t ask.

Sonic: mom! We aren’t that young! I’m 14 now, I’m basically a grown up.

Maddie: Okay, Mr. grown up. But most grown ups don’t like getting tucked into bed every night.

Sonic: MOM!

Everyone at the table laughs, and Tom comes to the table with a plate of hot dogs and burger patties. Maddie looks over at Tails, who is still tweaking with his tracker.

Maddie: Miles Prower-Wachowski, what did I say about gizmos at the dinner table?

Tails: oops, sorry mom!

He puts the radar down, where the camera zooms in on the blinking light. We then fade to the room in the cellar. An automated door with an eye scanner blocks the way, and we see Knuckles take the last few steps down the staircase. He approaches the door and puts his eye near the scanner. A red laser appears and scans his eye, confirming his identity and unlocking the door. It opens, and inside the room we see a small shrine (designed after the shrine from sonic adventure 1) and resting on it is the master emerald. Knuckles nods in content.

Knuckles: as long as I am here, no harm will come to the emerald ever again.

[drconstellation]

Lifting the Veil on the Bentley

Because I’ve been talking about the Bentley being Crowley’s black horse of late, I’ve had a nudge to talk about the number plate. I know it’s explained as an easter egg in relation to Monty Python, but I think we can explore it a bit further than that.

It’s worth having a quick look at this older post from @fuckyeahgoodomens where they explain the inspiration was from an animated scene from Monty Python's Meaning of Life .

The following is from the linked article.

As a nod to Terry Gilliam, who once tried to do a movie version of Good Omens, Gaiman and Mackinnon threw in a little reference to Gilliam’s origins doing animation for Monty Python. “The license plate of Crowley’s Bentley is ‘Curtain’ backwards,” Gaiman said, because of the writing on the mausoleum in the suicidal leaves section of Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. “Curtain backwards, like it’s the final curtain,” Mackinnon explained.

Before I get into all the connotations of “curtains,” there should be two things you notice about the “CURTIN” written on the mausoleum. The first is the spelling itself. It’s shortened to look like the Irish surname Curtin, so the mausoleum appears to belong to a real person. Curtin is an anglicized version of Mac Curtain, which means Son of the Crooked, or Son of the Harp, as the ‘crooked’ refers the hunchback shape of the Irish harp. I wouldn’t read too much into that, its probably more just a way of getting an actual curtain reference into that scene.

The other thing is that is not just backwards, it is mirror-image, as if you are looking at it from the other side of the mirror. So we should ask ourselves – which side are we looking from? And why does this matter?

While director Mackinnon mentions it referring to the “final curtain,” we need to start even further back than that to understand what the final curtain is, because even that has two meanings, even if only in a general sense. But because this is the GOmens AU, you can guarantee we’re going to find out there is more to it than that.

We need to go beyond the veil.

To go “beyond the veil” has become a euphemism for passing into death, or that unknowable place people go once they die. It was originally a figurative reference to the area in a Jewish Temple that was separated from the main body of the Temple by decorative curtains, called veils. The veils were specially woven, often with the image of a Cherubim woven in by a skilled worker; it was not allowed to be sewed on or added later. Each panel of the veil would display a different face of the Cherubim, such as the lion on one side, an eagle on the other, and so on. Only the priests could go past the veil into the most holiest of places. The veil was symbolic of separating men and their sins from the glory of God.  

The word ‘veil’ can be translated into English as ‘curtain,’ so the two words are almost interchangeable in respect of this discussion. I was interested to see that the word veil comes from the Latin word velum, which also means ‘sail,’ as in “to move, to drive a vessel or vehicle forward.” I have previously commented that the Bentley should probably be a “she,” as traditionally all ships were female, and that’s a tradition we still see carried into the modern day, thousands of years after its origin. I’ve even seen modern day space probes – little ships sailing the solar system – referred to as she! But I’ll not be pedantic about it, don’t worry.

Keep your hands off my bitch, bitch.

So the curtain, or veil, is the boundary between life and death. Only – we are seeing it from the other side. And in the GOmens AU this “other side” is very real, and one Aziraphale and Crowley walk through with both ease and without much thought. They are agents of those on the other side of the veil, yet they walk with Humanity in a solid reality on the surface of the Earth. They know the other side is real. When wee Morag complains about Elspeth’s body-snatching activity that the ones she digs up and sell won’t be able to go to Heaven because they will be cut up, Aziraphale tries to tell her it’s not like that, but she's not listening:

WEE MORAG: Aye. Tell that to the poor souls who will not get into heaven 'cause their bodies are all chopped into wee pieces. AZIRAPHALE: Well, that isn't how it actually… CROWLEY: Heaven isn't all it's cracked up to be, you know. WEE MORAG: It's no right. I'm telling you. CROWLEY: Yeah.

For humans, though, there is supposed to be no return once you cross that threshold.

When we, the viewer, see the two worlds meet, it's usually signaled by the presence of fog, mist or smoke. When Lesley the delivery driver meets Death, the fog arrives, as he is no longer in the living world. When Aziraphale and Crowley leave Tadfield Manor, we have smoke telling us we are seeing two different times and places at once - the past and the present are overlaid on one another.

The Bentley must exist in both the Human and subliminal worlds at the same time - how else can it drive like it does? It doesn't really need Crowley's hands on the wheel to guide it. It couldn't have started out like that - it was made by humans, but we all know the Bentley is more than just a car now.

It chooses the music to play on its radio, it refuses to speed when taking Aziraphale to Edinburgh until Crowley yells at it, it tries to follow the angel after he gets out at the end of the journey. How it got like this we will probably never find out, but we figure its become an extension of Crowley by close association, much like Aziraphale tends to influence the world around him without effort as well.

In terms of it being a black horse - well, now we get into some interesting stuff!

Horses have been companions to humans for longer than cars have been around, so there is lots of lore and symbology associated with them. Previous metas around S2 have focused on "dark horses," as they were specifically mentioned twice in the script. But a dark horse is not necessarily a black horse, and vice versa, so lets look at some of the aspects of black horse symbology in particular that could be relevant to the Bentley and it role in traveling between worlds.

Horses were the original vehicle of the ancient world. While Famine was supposed to ride a black horse (the others were white, red and pale green for pestilence,) the black horses could also be messengers of death, a demon bringing death or a guide to the afterlife. In the Illiad, Achilles sacrifices four horses on the funeral pyre to accompany Patroclus to Hades.

[Edit: I've just put myself through the pain of watching S2E6 again, for reasons, and realised why the ethereal lift is in the entrance to the Dirty Donkey - because a black horse is a guide between worlds! Of course!]

They became associated with the Devil during the Middle Ages as the church tried to break the link to old pagan rites. The broomsticks witches ride are supposed to represent horses. And then there is the sexual connection to horses...which leads in a round-about way to the practice of nailing horseshoes up for luck and protection. Although perhaps the burning horseshoe on Jasmine Cottage is more directly linked to the story of St Dunstan tricking the Devil and making him promise he would never cross the threshold of a house that had a horseshoe nailed to the door.

Our favourite Bentley has been beyond veil and returned. Though it was kept valiantly alive through the sheer will of Crowley to escape the unnatural flames of the Sigil of Odegra, it expired at the Tadfield airbase once Crowley arrived and finally released it. It was only appropriate that Crowley took a moment to acknowledge its service.

Then Adam restored it the next day. Resurrected it, one could say.

Time for the "final curtain" to wrap this meta up.

To "face the final curtain" is another euphemism for facing death, or at least an ending. It's the final curtain of a theatre show, after the encores are done. Its the final fall of the curtain at the end of a run. Sometimes we might say its just "curtains" for something or someone, meaning it will be ending, as a shortened form. But both Aziraphale and Crowley knows death isn't the end; its a beginning as well. Its just matter of perspective to them.

I've seen other writers associate this final curtain with the first Armagedon't, and now we appear to maybe be facing the "big one" in S3 - the Second Coming. I think that is too simplistic an association, especially for GO. The reversed side of the veil could be so many things: the final battle, the ability of our ethereal heroes to move between worlds, it could even be Crowley returning from the "death" of being one of the Fallen. As always, the meaning will be need to be considered within the context of the scene, and which side of the curtain we are looking from.

[ashsostrange]

i’m (not) sorry to say, but miles is better off by himself.

idk if i’ve ever written a post this long, but i got energy tonight. y’all have been sucked into the black hole of shipping, so let me ground you and remind you of this amazing thing called being single. i’m gna talk ab margo and gwen, but mostly gwen bc she’s obv miles’ (main) love interest. i’ve said more than enough about why miles and gwen don’t work/make sense. if you wna be enlightened then feel free to click the links.

thoughts on ghostflower: here!

reblogging a moot's post w/ added thoughts: hereee!

i love ranting so let’s get it! 😛

i don't have much to say about margo bc sadly, she's barely there. what i will say though is that as cute as miles and margo would be together, there’s one more movie left lol. the third movie’s gna be busy as hell. there’s literally no time for romance, and to rush miles and margo (two people who just met) into liking each other in, like, a three hour timespan would just be terrible writing. plus, we all know she’s there for some bs having to do with miles nd gwen, which is literally soooooooo very lame, words can't describe. one, where are you finding the time to cram in jealousy/all this angsty romance mess when miles’ dad is ab to die and the universe is ab to collapse bc of a nigga that looks like the lovechild of a cardboard box and a cow?? two, is this really all margo is here for?? to make gwen jealous or “help miles realize he’s in love with gwen” ?? shameeee, like summer said. 😐 i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: margo could be SO much more than a disposable love interest!!!

gwiles/ghostflower fans, i’m going to tell you something that will make you upset. i said i was coming for you and i meant it 🗣️‼️

before you yell at me and push smoke out of your ears, i need you to put your right hand on your chest and close your eyes. you feel your heartbeat? good. now, count to three while taking deep breaths and remember that none of this shit is real so you’d look stupid af trying to attack me. 🙃 some of y’all are getting TOO comfortable being unnecessarily disrespectful and ion like that lol. don’t try it here bc i’m on another level of not gaf!

listen, even if (when?) gwen and miles team up to save his dad, it won’t change the fact that gwen was keeping some hefty info from miles, yo. she was smiling in jeff’s face and cracking jokes like she didn’t know he was bout to die. y’all gotta be so very real with yourselves. you wouldn’t wna date, let alone be FRIENDS with someone who kept something that big from you, regardless of the circumstances or lack of ill intent. one of the most important people in your life concealing the fact that you’re about to lose another important person in your life is insane.

i’m aware that gwen didn’t tell miles about his dad because she genuinely thought it’d cause mass destruction if he saved jeff. thing is, even if miles knew that, i think he’d still feel betrayed. that’s 100% valid because this is his dad we’re talking about. he just lost his uncle not too long ago, too. i wouldn’t blame miles if he never wanted anything to do with gwen again. i wouldn’t blame bro if he got sick to his stomach every time he saw her. it’d be justified, bc if he never followed her that night, then he wouldn’t have had the chance to save jeff.

my point is that you can be a “good person” and still fuck up bad enough to make someone never wna speak to you again. miles is a sweetheart so he’ll probably forgive gwen. my thing is, miles forgiving gwen doesn’t mean the two of them are obligated to be friends again. they can handle it maturely, go their separate ways, nd never speak again. it’s really not even gna hurt y’all cuz it’s the last mf movie anyway??? 😭😭

if it isn’t clear by now, i don’t want miles and gwen together at all. they have no business being around each other frl 🙃 not as friends and definitely not as lovers. like, sure, that one scene where they’re swinging/talking on the bank was my absolute fav. it was cute. i shipped them before i really thought about it. that scene is still my fav, but my adoration for it isn’t gna stop me from keeping it real.

i really don’t care what anyone says or how in love they think these two are, this isn’t a “forgive and forget” situation. if the writers truly wanted gwen and miles to be involved romantically, then not only should they have structured their dynamic better, they shouldn’t have made gwen the person she was in this movie. love, love, LOVE redemption arcs because it’s a reminder that we're human and we're flawed, but you can’t redeem yourself from that. sorry. (not) i say miles should leave that girl alone 🤷‍♀️ leave all potential girls alone ffs.

in conclusion, it’s okay for miles to be single. he's 15 anyway, it's not like he'll die without a girl. i’m the suckiest sucker for anything to do with romance, but characters in film/animation don’t need to have love interests for a project to be considered good. if you feel like it does, then maybe ts you’re watching just sucks, lmao. a girl and a boy can be friends without one having feelings for the other, or both of 'em having mutual feelings. (in the media idk ab irl..) it’s time to stop forcing ts. please.

and it’s okay y’all, i promise you. it’s okay if miles and gwen don’t end up dating. it's okay if they reconcile and stay friends. it’s okay if they reconcile and don’t stay friends. though unlikely, it’s also okay if miles doesn’t forgive gwen at all! resolutions like these go to show that you can “forgive” someone without letting them have access to you anymore. that’s what miles needs to do. straying away from the “happy ending” everyone is expecting would be nice. it’d be a different approach and a realistic way to complete the franchise. (i’m not just saying this bc i love angst)

but before the gwiles (ugly ass ship name btw) fans start throwing up and telling me to end my shit, it’s 99% unlikely that anything i just stated will actually happen. we’re more than likely getting a kiss between miles and gwen, nd that’s bc the writers are probably high off the same dope they were on when they wrote gwen sneaking in thru miles’ window, j for his parents to be way more calm about it than any other normal parent would be. i could say some more about certain scenes but that's for another night.

miles doesn’t need to be with anyone. especially not gwen when it comes down to it.

oh and i HATE peter b. fuck that nigga. he was nun but an extra in this movie and i know he’s an opp in the next. 🙎‍♀️

that’s all! if you read allat then thanks, cuz i wrote a lot. if you're feeling angry, then go for a walk. this isn’t a place for any typa criticism bc i am right, therefore, i am not requesting confirmation. 🙌 i said what i said. have a good night.

[alangdorf]

Welp, the ref lineup still isn’t done cause I haven’t drawn Shion yet, and the belated valentines I’ve been working on are gonna be like at least a month late cause I just planned three more, but what I did do these past couple weeks is start writing a fanfic and then immediately abandon it to go draw a bunch of only tangentially-related suzutsubas (except for that first pic; that’s a scene from it, albeit one I haven’t written yet), only half of which are fit for public posting (one of ‘em I could make a few edits and feel ok about posting sometime; it’s not that out there, it’s just, y’know. Hamal Cine Bad End Hyperbolic Torture Chamber. I’m usually very “whatever happens happens” about my art but if I don’t show some restraint I know I’ll end up stuck in there forever), but hey, since I’ve been teasing them for ages and finally have some finished stuff with them, take a couple Suzumii! Also gonna ramble abt headcanons under the cut (and it will be LONG)

To begin, a note abt my Len’en gender/pronoun headcanons: as a they/them preferrer myself, I’m thrilled that most people just stick with those for everyone, but I’ve developed some more detailed headcanons as I go through working on designs and I’ll generally be using those. Don’t worry though, most of them are still nonbinary and basically all of them are trans/gq. Relevant ones for this post are Tsubakura: they/them nonbinary (transmasc to some degree) and Suzumi: cis female, question mark?? (to be elaborated on); for clarity’s sake I usually use she/her for Arde and Hamal Cine individually and plural they for the system collectively (also I don’t usually use their nicknames, dunno why), but singular they for Benet (the wiki says Benny is probably short for Benetnasch so I’m assuming that’s their actual name) for reasons which will also be elaborated on (sort of).

Aaalso this clearly isn’t autobiographical or anything but I think I’m subconsciously putting a lot of myself into Suzumi because 1) we do look pretty similar (brown wavy bob + blue eyes) and 2) given their current status as both the main antagonist and the most well-known plural Len’en character (I get the impression that Hooaka also being plural isn’t super common knowledge; I mean it took me several read-throughs of their wiki page and their dialogue with BPoHC Secret Team to get what they were getting at lol) I am probably way too anxious about doing a bad stereotype. Just an observation and also probably partially why I’ve even ended up with so much headcanon for them in the first place

And before I get into the thick of it, notes on derivations from canon: I’m running with the assumption that Suzumi being a system is a relatively recent development tied to whatever incident it was that caused the falling-out, since Tsubakura is like the only person who seems at all familiar with Hamal (including Mitori/Chouki/Fumikado, but they’re more easily explained away as just having met with one of the other alters the few times they’ve interacted) even though she’s supposedly usually the one fronting. They don’t seem to know the mechanics of it though, judging by their confusion when Arde implied that she and Hamal are different people. So basically, I’ll be referring to pre-incident Suzumi as a different character from any of the other three. (Ngl I am very influenced by Dissociation Constant on that and just in general [when will my wife The One and Only Suzutsuba Fic return from the war…..]) I was also debating whether to have Suzumi have any history with the gang before starting to work at the lab/whether stuff would happen around high school or college age, cause they keep referring to everything happening “a long time ago” and I know I, a 24-year-old, feel like stuff that happened five years ago was like yesterday, but I do have the pandemic and not really doing much of anything for most of that time to reckon with so like, eh. College age makes more sense in my head and so does the dynamic of like, Suzumi was only introduced into the friend group (she was acquainted w Hoojiro and Yabu already though bc lab) because she was dating Tsubakura and since that ended, and badly (understatement of the century), they have extremely little reason to be civil with each other and also interacting at all is really awkward.

Ok now on with it! Either end of high school or beginning of college, Suzumi ends up interning at Tsubakura’s lab for college credit (Tsuba’s already practically a department head despite being like 17 or something because. Idk. Who even knows what’s up with them) and she’s like. Only wears t-shirts and jeans (bought a bunch of khakis for this job though), [reading] glasses from the men’s section, hates leaving her hair down (it’s lab safety anyways). Repressed queer in denial, you know the type. Starts interacting a lot with Mx. Tsubakura “wears short shorts that everybody thinks are actually a skirt and also uses ore and omae almost exclusively” Enraku who seems to have everything all figured out and is immediately starstruck (GIRL WHY?? they are such a mess). Lots of “do I want to date them or do I want to be them” confusion (this will be relevant later); eventually evolves into the “am I trans or just a lesbian” question (not that they would need to be attracted to women to be into Tsubakura but you get the picture), which never quite gets answered.

In any case, they do eventually start dating (Tsubakura thinks she’s cute and smart so they reciprocate), and they’re not like super great together cause Tsubakura is emotionally constipated at the best of times (Suzumi’s into that though) and neither of them are the most mentally/emotionally healthy people even back then and also Tsubakura is more or less Suzumi’s boss which is weird, but they’re kind of ok??? Tsubakura’s mom dies at some point, also they move in together (college housing is expensive), the rest of the crew at the very least tolerate Suzumi, etcetera.

And then…! [insert catastrophic event here]!! I don’t have a shot to call on this yet cause I have no idea what it could’ve been (and I’m sure it’ll get revealed at some point anyways); I’m just banking on it being something extremely not mundane and something where you could reasonably set the blame on either (or neither) party cause they sure both seem convinced the other is way worse, huh! In Tsubakura’s case at least, blaming Suzumi is partially a defense mechanism so their self-loathing doesn’t get the better of them over it (guess what the fic was supposed to be about, lol).

The worst part of all this business though is that they DON’T break up over it immediately and it just makes everything orders of magnitude worse for everyone involved. Tsubakura and Arde have hate sex MORE THAN ONCE………… they would both really rather forget about it. Hamal thinks it’s hilarious, ofc, but the less said about her, the better. And Benet… exists??? The only idea that I’m running off of for them atm is the observation that I think they’re the only character with flat black eyes other than Tsubakura/Tsurubami and the subsequent idle thought, “hey if someone malded so hard about a breakup that they ended up with an introject of their ex would that be messed up or what?” So make of that what you will. (Oh and it may have been obvious that this is what I was going for but Hamal is femme and Arde is butch and they’re constantly squabbling abt aesthetic presentation. Having Arde be straight-up male would’ve been too straightforward of an interpretation and I think it’s funnier this way)

The canonically mentioned murder attempts start taking place and I’m leaning towards Tsubakura eventually being convinced to move out even though it was originally their apartment, albeit mostly just because the wikipedia page for house sparrows mentions that they’re known to take over swallows’ nests, usually after they’ve been abandoned, but they will sometimes drive away or kill the current occupants, and that was a very fun fact to come across when specifically doing research for Len’en but idk how else to incorporate it lol. And so on and so forth up until the present time.

Uhhh is that all I have atm? I think so! Anyway, I think I finally shook out all my suzutsuba doodles (and rambling, though I do still have that fic to work on. idk whether I’ll be able to finish it though; I started strong with an extended metaphor in the middle but Iiiii’m not sure if I can successfully write my way up to it while making it make sense. Also I may draw pretty slow but I write even slower!! Eh I’m sure I’ll post some of it sometime) for the time being so I should theoretically be able to finish up my bigger projects now. Maybe I’ll have the valentines ready in time for white day? We’ll see!

[wonuism]

WONWOO HCs

+ just some headcanons i’ve thought abt during the past few weeks (read more link still isn’t working, sorry :/)

will teach you how to play some of his favorite video games. he’ll be so patient with you. doesn’t matter if you suck, what matters is you’re trying your best to learn something that he loves to do

if you happen to enjoy some mobile games, he’ll lay his head on your shoulder watching you play. he loves the annoyed huffs you let out everytime you lose

when he’s not playing video games, he’s probably doing something else with you

like going to bookshops to look for new books to read

sometimes you based it on how cute the cover is without actually reading the synopsis of the book

he laughs everytime but also picks out some books he knows you'll like even if the cover design is ugly

since you two don’t live together, it’s sometimes hard to buy books especially if you two want the same one but they only have one stock

which will prompt the two of you to share. much like how other couples watch a tv show together, not watching the next episode if the other one isn’t there

that’s how you are with the book.

he probably has a goodreads to keep track of everything he’s ever read. it’s a private account with only you as his follower so you can look at his reviews and pick a book to read

sometime he’ll address you directly on the review section

“i know you’ll love this just as much as i did, it’s very perfectly written and i’m hoping you’ll give reading this a chance once you have the free time to do so.” or

“this book reminded me of you while reading it. everything that’s written here encompasses everything i admire about you. maybe one day, if you give me a chance, i’ll read it to you with you laid on my arms.”

treating goodreads like a post office for love letters

speaking of love letters

will let you borrow his books and midway through reading you’ll see a paper in between the pages

“how are you liking it so far? i hope it suits your taste. i can’t wait for you to finish this and talk about it with me. just seeing the look on your face when you talk about something that you enjoyed keeps me going.” swoons

will look at you funnily when you ask to recreate a scene from a book

like.. idk.. a kiss? slow dancing?

but he won’t refuse cuz he secretly want to do it as well <3

matching bookmarks hehe

either customized or something sentimental to you both

like the first note you gave him while you two were still new and vice versa

or maybe you two do activities like making bookmarks for each other?

watching the film adaptation of books

even if you or him fall asleep midway, atleast he/you know what happened in the end cuz you read the book

will probably rewatch it again after a few days, powering through the end just to see how well the film was

if you two didn’t like it, it’s fine. you can always count on the book

if you two ended up liking it though, he’ll add it to the list of movies you both liked.

ok…. are you ready…. letterboxd

he probably has one too

he has these types of account for you

so even if you two are away from each other, you can see his recommendations and what he’s been up to

the fact that all his reviews somehow ends up being about you and how you might like it/reminds him of you says a lot about your relationship

the way he thinks of you everytime he does something while you two are away from each other and he makes it known by writing reviews on goodreads or letterboxd <3

notes. i feel like i always centered wonwoo around books so much cause when i was still learning about svt, my best friend sent me a video guide and the description for wonwoo was something about liking books and during that time i was reading soooo many books and thought “oh wow is he meant to be my bias” then a couple months later here i am.

[cog5]

Last Call at the South Keep

The South Keep was originally completed in May 2023, as part of #dungeon23. The combined area has now been added to the PDF, along with an accompanying set of 20 random happenings. 

This is also the first time in months that I’ve revisited editing of the mega-dungeon as a whole, rather than focusing on daily room keys. As part of that, I’m adding overlapping prompts and encounters to hook players from one major area to the next. This is a lot easier now that each room is complete and I know the bounds of the entire mega-dungeon. 

I’ve also played with the formatting a bit, added a few quality of life changes to the layout. Fixed lots of embarrassing typos, and undoubtedly added new ones that will be even more embarrassing! I have a bad habit of adding and removing nouns and adjectives that result in an “an” somewhere that should be an “a”, or vice-versa. All that to say: Edits continue. 

For areas that do not yet exist in the PDF, or pages that may shift, I’ve left placeholders, referenced as “##”. These will be filled in as new areas are added. I’m not sure if it’s more preferable to get updates monthly, or if people would rather get areas in larger batches, two or three at a time? Either way, I’m working towards having all 12 areas compiled, edited and added to the PDF by the end of the summer in 2024.

Back to the South Keep. This post will include some behind-the-scenes thoughts that will make more sense if you’ve read through the area at least once, but I’ll try to include some context regardless.

The layout of the South Keep is probably the least interesting to me, it ended up pretty boxy, the “pages” really stick out here. But the encounters ended up being some of the most bizarre and entertaining keys I’ve written, so that redeems it for me. Some of the mega-dungeon’s narrative gets fleshed out here, too. There’s a lot going on. 

This segment of the adventure is a bit of a refuge for adventurers, a place to take a breather. Not to say the South Keep is a cakewalk, but my focus was to lean into weird encounters, rather than fatal combat scenarios. As a matter of pacing, the Gatehouse and Factory that surround the South Keep are much more dangerous, and it’s likely players have just passed through one of those areas to get here. 

From the south entrance, the narrative builds on how The King has been dethroned. In the entry hall, there is a statue of the monarch with their head missing. This continues the theme presented earlier in the Gatehouse garden, where it’s shown that members of the royal court had turned on The King.

From the west entrance, things are a little more random. There’s a “disturbed” spot on the floor. At the very least, it shows how the keep is decaying, where a sinkhole might appear. This place is old. Another more interesting option establishes the presence of a Clerical Beast who roams the South Keep. This creature was inspired by the administrative offices, found further in, and may show up as a random happening. This area may also be the first sighting of Nanomachines, which play a larger role later in the mega-dungeon. 

The concept of the players spending a lifetime as a nano-proxy was a riff on the old Star Trek TNG episode “The Inner Light”, where Picard is rendered unconscious for a few minutes, but experiences an entire lifetime on an alien world. Or maybe that “Hard Time” episode of Deep Space Nine, where O’Brian is falsely convicted for a crime, and as punishment he is implanted with memories of being imprisoned for several years. Some kind of mash-up along those lines. I resisted adding a flute or a sympathetic doctor.

The major factions in this area are the Office Automatons and the staff and patrons of Dillo’s Bar. There’s a chance that neither of these groups ever interact, but I’ve set up a lot of dominoes here. Add the players to the mix and something is going to topple. 

The Office Automatons as non-player characters don’t garner a lot of sympathy, but do flesh out the administrative nature of mega-dungeon. I think it’s more likely that players will gravitate to Dillo’s side of the keep where they can take on quests to delve deeper into the dungeon.

The ultimate showdown between the Office Automatons and Dillo’s Bar is if the second “Order of Business” event is triggered. This is where The Spire’s Administration has decided to send in guards to shut down Dillo’s by force, creating a standoff for the players to get wrapped up in.

An aside: Speaking of random things, I don’t know why nested random tables appeal to me so much, but I love writing them. Burying elaborate events behind improbable chance just feels good. A 1-in-100 chance of a good time makes it a great time. It’s probably near the same part of the brain where rolling a crit lives.

And then there’s the theater. The main stage area sets up more of the narrative for the dungeon itself. Establishing the undead Queen who will show up later in the Monastery, establishing how the Tetric Necromancer thinks highly of himself, as the rightful ruler of The Spire. More King bashing. Elements of propaganda through technology, etc. That all fits fine. 

What didn’t fit in the theater was the addition of Guilfoyle’s Ghost. But I ain’t mad. I sort of fell in love with the concept as I was writing it, a thespian ghost whose play is slowly eating the real world. Then I ran out of space to really do it justice (trying to keep each area contained on one page). I hope it’s a concept that a game group can take and expand on. It’s a bad situation that’s easy to stumble on, and could easily end a run if players are unable to resolve things. I especially liked it because it’s high-stakes but doesn’t inherently involve fighting. It’s more like a trap you can reason with. And that’s pretty cool. A concept worth exploring further in the future.

Before I wrote the theater, I wrote the gallery. I basically wanted a “weird event” generator. The paintings on the walls come alive and create a situation for the players to navigate. Resolving the situation grants them some kind of item as a reward. A bit of a slot machine, I suppose. A lot of the painting descriptions are based off of dreams I’ve had, visuals that have stuck with me over the years. Have fun with them.

I don’t have a lot to say about the Recess of Finance. Depressed bank machines just seemed amusing to me. 

And lastly, the Morning room, a chill place to rest. I think it would be nice to end a session there, have the party sleep, and when they wake up their wounds are mended. With the side effect of being covered in geometric tattoos, caused by the magical healing properties of the stained glass windows.

I’m going to sleep now, too. See you in the next area!

[bbutterflies]

2023 fanfic year in review

Thank you @kasienda for the tag!!! Been meaning to do this since I wrote so much in 2023!

Fics completed this year:

Oh my god I was writing lovesquare still at the beginning of the year… who was I back then… I finished I’d fall in love with you a thousand times and Meant to be, and then wrote all of Intertwined. I try to hold these all in kind thoughts. I don’t think they’re all that great, personally, but I just hadn’t written as much when I wrote them and never outlined or planned ahead. But I’m happy people liked them!

And then I went off the deep end with adrino:

I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious)

Falling into place

ways to say I love you

promise me forever

The memories we (don’t) make

Not much of a cat person

The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you)

Chemistry with him (for Ninovember 2023! I wrote the entire thing in about a month and a half and posted daily in November. My life took a serious turn for the worse by the end of the month and the comments and support on this fic were so amazing and incredible and kept me going!)

Love you snow much

And then I ended strong with this incredibly devastating (but really good) loveywalker one shot: fine line

Number of words written:

My ao3 stats say I published 329,988 words in 2023 which is insane????? I don’t know how I did that but oh my god it was so fun. I know I wrote way more that I didn’t publish with edits and stuff I scrapped, but I don’t keep track because it would just be way too difficult… at least another 100-150k if I had to guess in cut scenes and wips I haven’t published and stuff I just decided I didn’t like. I don’t know how in the world I managed to write so much while already a sleep-deprived grad student but I definitely don’t regret it. It was a blast.

Your most popular fic:

By hits, Meant to be. Oh man… if I wrote this now I’d do so much differently. I was surprised people loved it so much, and looking back, I’m like oh god… the mistakes… but it’s all a learning process! :) and I learned and grew so much from this one.

By kudos, ways to say I love you, which I didn’t expect to gain any traction at all. It’s just over 600 words, something silly and cute I figured a couple people would like, and it totally blew up.

Your personal fav:

I know I’ve said this before but Falling into place, hands down, is my number one. I know I’ve also said before it’s such a queer, teenage experience, but it is and it means so much to me. Being in high school, being in love with your friends and not even knowing it, aughhh I just love it. I love the way I wrote it. I’m so proud of it still!

Your fav scene:

Oh man… probably the kiss scene in chapter 9 of The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you). I wrote it so many times and made so many edits but I ended up so proud of it!

A fic or scene that challenged you:

I had a lot of fun with most of my fics! Having multiple wips on the backburner gave me a way to take a break and work on other stuff when I was having trouble with one and I can usually come back with fresh eyes later and never have too much trouble. But right now, If I hold you too close is challenging emotionally. It’s super personal and self-indulgent, and digging into a lot of my own past and traumas and mistakes to write it has been harder than I thought it would be. I’m excited to keep working on it but it’s been draining at times for sure.

A line of writing you’re proud of: 

Oh man, I don’t know how to pick a single line… I’ll have to go with this (even though it’s technically more than one line) from Falling into place:

Adrien’s eyes were locked on Nino’s. He was staring back with something in his expression Adrien couldn’t quite read, something he hadn’t seen before. Or maybe he had but he’d just never been looking.

A comment that touched you:

A few come to mind! I’ve had several people comment on my adrino fics telling me they hadn’t shipped them before but they do after reading, and honestly that’s my number one life goal at the moment haha. I love adrino! I want more people to love them!

I genuinely love all the comments I get. It means so much that people read and love my work. The people who say so specifically always get me teared up… I’ve gotten several on my fluff fics that said they were going through stuff in life and my writing was a bright spot for them, and genuinely that’s insane to me. To touch someone else, to have a positive impact on their life through art…. oughhh it’s just so human and raw and I love it! I’m so honored!

Something that inspired your writing:

I honestly spent a lot of time writing what I personally wanted/needed to read! I needed more domestic adrino fluff, and I wasn’t finding quite what I wanted to read, so… I wrote it for myself! I love rereading them knowing it’s exactly what I want to read, and knowing other people enjoyed them too. I’ve been incredibly selfish in my writing this year (in the best way) and it’s been so inspiring also to see other people want to read it too! The moment I knew (I’d no choice but to love you) was something I didn’t think would garner much attention at all. A rarepair and a super silly trope? I thought whatever, I’m writing it for me, hopefully a couple others like it, and it got so much more positive attention than I thought. I’m so glad!

Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

Probably figuring out I’ll give myself a name (something stupid and pretentious)! I think I’ve mentioned before I was originally writing it as a lovesquare fic. I wrote it and rewrote it like six times before I thought, no, this should be about Adrien and Nino. And then it just clicked!

Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I have a secret wip in my docs I’ve talked about a couple times, but it’s a slowburn teenage adrino and I really would love to write all of it! I think I’m struggling to decide exactly what kind of story I want to tell and it’s making it hard to outline and write when I don’t have a clear end direction, but that’s something I’d definitely love to figure out.

And I’d love to get back into lovesquare, too! I have a few wips that I keep putting on the backburner but I really want to dust them off and finish them, and maybe start some new stuff. Writing my loveywalker fic was SO fun (if devastating) and I can’t believe it’s been months since I sat down and wrote lovesquare.

This isn't a direct writing goal, but I'm determined to comment more on fics I read. I love getting comments, and I don't leave them enough on the fics I love, and that's something I really want to change!

Anyone you would like to thank?

@kasienda and @flightfoot I think are tied for commenting on my fics, and it really means so much to have cheerleaders in my inbox!!! Especially writing adrino when readership is lower, it was a huge help to have people reading and commenting and cheering me on <3

@asukiess and @isabugs recently for screaming with me in general about this show! You’ve inspired me to write so much more… I can’t wait to be absolutely unhinged in 2024.

And all my commenters on ao3!! I don’t know everyone’s tumblr and couldn’t possibly tag them all but it means so much every time I get a comment. I wouldn’t be writing as much as I do without the direct support! Thank you!!!

[alittlefrenchtree]

Do you have any firstprince fanfics to recommend?

Hi and thank you again for sending me this very exciting ask!

A few things beforehand. I don’t read AU in this fandom. So my recommendations will all be canon, post-canon and a bit of canon-divergent as long as the set up is mostly the same as the canon (read or book), meaning a prince and a first son being all kind of idiot together. 

Even it’s not my main focus, I read explicit and PWP as long as it has excellent characterization and excellent writing (for me, a non native with absolutely no legitimacy to judge other people’s English skill :D)

Also, I’ve only been reading rwrb fanfics for a few weeks/a couple of month so I’ll certainly recommend the most famous writers of this fandom as if they need a shout out from nobody!me (event if they really really don’t) starting with…

Anything by indomitablelove -- I’ve started with All that glitters (is not gold) and made my way through all — or almost all — their canon-compliant stories. They did something I absolutely love is that all — or almost all — their canon-compliant stories are set in the same universe they’ve created with their first main story so you have little references everywhere and it really creates something really immersive. I haven’t read their AU stories but if you’re into that yourself, I recommend you doing so because they’re probably equally good. There is also a companion fic to all that glitters that is written from Henry’s POV that I haven’t read it yet — ‘cause I feel more like reading new stories as the moment — but I’m sure it’s as delightful as the main story.

In the same vibe, I’ve just finished reading A love Letter to love by soshesighs. Missing scenes and post canon stories, all set in the same universe that I liked very much. A lot of respect for the character and the original story. I’ve also read their other (canon-compliant) stories and I recommend them as well.

A bit different is Event if it’s just Pretend by nontoxic -- I wasn’t overly on board with the plot at first but I got on board pretty quickly. It’s well written and one of the chapter of the fic is one of the most emotional and beautiful thing I’ve read recently.

To continue with the "I wasn’t sure about the plot at start but a few lines in and I was hooked" idea is Doughnuts and Dinner Rolls by mansikka. 30K words of fluffy fluff (that is never cringy) and beautiful deliciousness. My next reads will be all of their other stories, most likely.

If you’re in a PWP mood, you can browse through the Kinktober 2023 collection by Mags (sparklepocalypse). There is (quite literally) something for every taste so feel free to explore if it’s your thing :)

Oblivion by milowren. Probably one of the most canon-divergent thing I’ve read so far. I kind of wish it has been longer but it was a good read.

Same vibe (with the plot and the wish that it was a bit longer) : hours by demigodbeautiies.

[WIP] what kind of day has it been? By Evelinafelicia. Not much to say since we’re 8/25 chapters but I’m enjoying what I’m reading so far so it’s obviously bookmarked not to miss any update.

Same vibe as above (I like the idea and I like the start) [WIP] Designated Survivor by Beck17. Based on the TV Show with a good writing, so already waiting for the next update :)

… and that’s all I have for now, since my readings and bookmarks aren’t organized AT ALL. I’ll probably be reblogging this post with new recs since I’ll probably keep exploring and reading for a while.

Hope you’ll find interesting stuff in my list and happy readings 💜 

[jiminiesfavouritecolourisblue]

Hi, dear Blue, I saw your post and Rushed over! Coincidentally I reread the first three chapters of the CEO series before work today because it is a masterpiece! So I have fresh thoughts on them rn. Hope this helps motivate you even a little🥰💜

Chapter 1: Complaint

Ah the first part of what has become an Absolute Masterpiece!

From the first chapter I was hooked, obsessed, and addicted. This particular part was what really got me excited for the series-

“Did you get hurt, angel?” Jimin says softly. Tears definitely start to well up in your eyes as you look towards him. Taehyung let’s go of your chin to caress your cheek as a tear drops and he wipes it away. Namjoon’s eyes darken, they know for absolute fact you could do no wrong but unless they wanted HR to come visit they needed to resolve this in house. He knew that bitch was lying through her teeth about their favourite girl, but they needed you to tell them what actually happened so they could get rid of her without any mess. “We can’t help you baby girl if you don’t tell us,” he says, hoping it would elicit something out of you.“You guys are the problem,” you say through a sob, and your arms come to cover your face as more tears shed down your face. Their hearts sink at your words, Taehyung frowns at you, his dark eyes disappearing to look at you with sadness.

I've reread this one more times than I care to admit lol including thrice just today. One thing I noticed immediately and really loved was that you were careful to mention everyone, even if they didn't get a ton of dialogue you made sure to mention their thoughts or actions.

Chapter 2: Mediation

Aka Jimin's chapter. You know an author understands how to write Jimin when I can literally hear Filter in my mind while reading his parts. Our Blue is truly amazing🤩💜💜💜

All of the boys feel thoughtfully written as well. Jin who's calm and gentle but we all know he's just as if not more dangerous than the rest, Joon is the epitome of calm before the storm as well as the storm itself, you do NOT want to be on his bad side, Yoongi ever done with everyone's sh*t and probably wants to fire the rest of the building on the daily, except for Y/N of course who brings out his secret not so little soft side and the cutestgummy smile known to man, our Sunshine Hobi whose dark side is just as scary as his bright side is cheerful,,,, mad Hobi is honestly so attractive though,,,, and I love watching the Maknaes be petty towards Suran (or anyone really lol) and protective and clingy with Y/N🥰😂

Chapter 3: Resolution

The Dinner Date! It was such a cute chapter, short and sweet and has me grinning like a schoolgirl with a crush everytime I read it. Once again you go above and beyond making sure all the boys get a fair amount of attention while still making Y/N feel like the main character. I love being able to watch the character grow and really related with the anxious self thought in the first part of the chapter. Oh to have seven boyfriends to boost my self-worth at any time😍 Y/N is definitely living the dream right now.

P.S. Sorry this ended up so long hehe my bad.

💜

Why are you apologising 😭 this was exactly what I needed 💜🥺 I have a really hard time balancing the characters and the storylines but at the heart of all my stories I think the characters are central and I forget that sometimes 🙃 I also always forget about chapter 2 and 3 🤣 and then when I reread to check continuity I’m like … I wrote this? When? 🤦🏽‍♀️

Lovely you are literally such an angel, and I’m keeping you forever; genuinely if you leave me I’ll riot and go on strike 😤 no pressure 😁

I’m so determined to finish the next chapter today, I’ve got one more scene to write and then it needs editing

[f0xgl0v3]

I need to rant about my favorite characters and how I’ve characterized them, and my Camp Jupiter/ PJO Romans are-Imagining-

*Correction; I just rant about Octavian from HoO the entire time; I’ll post an Luke one and a Jason one and some other characters maybe later. Along with those Camp Jupiter things.

Guys this is written stream of consciousness (I think); so sorry :[ (I also kind of project of these characters but that’s what happens with faves)

Octavian-

My boy- my darling little guy. I love this little deranged war criminal; uncle Rick did him dirty; he was used as the butt of the jokes (like many of the Romans, I’m doing an entire Camp Jupiter re-imagining that I’ll probably post here) but he was a plot device too- but I love my guy. He’s poorly written (in my unprofessional opinion) he doesn’t have any characterization other than “I don’t like the Greeks, they aren’t cool >:[“ and I’ll be honest; I like Rome better (I am biased) but after we get a character written like Luke Castellan (I know- I know we aren’t supposed to like him, but like- cmon, hear me out) where he’s written pretty well in my opinion, with a clear tragic story and motivation. Octavian feels like a very watered down more comedic Luke; in the worst way. But I; as someone who needs as much information on something as I can and I’m not satisfied with just that, have scanned through the wiki; looked at all of his scenes and giggled in his general direction, and this is my head-canons (and probably art too let’s be honest) on the little guy

Octavian Cesaer-

My boy is 100% mixed in my heart. In my brain his father is Black and his mother is white.

BIG family; my man’s is the 8th out of 9 children (Julia; THAT Julia is also his younger sister. I saw that head canon somewhere and snatched it)

He has a really good and close friendship with Michael Kahale; they are genuinely good friends, and Octavian enjoys his presence

(In my Camp Jupiter AU, re-imagining? Idk- but in the thing, I’m re-searching actual Roman legion structure and rankings, etc. because from characterization of the Romans they would not be up to change anything about the legion) but Octavian’s working to try and rise up to the most important role (Praetors aren’t the most important position in my brain for the re-imagined) and only supported Jason’s name change idea begrudgingly is because that would make him Primus Pilus; and he wanted the promotion. (This headcanon may change once I continue to fiddle with how I want to interpret C.J)

Cannot keep his hair legion-regulation, Octavian has a rough love-hate relationship with the hair. He *really* does not appreciate it at times. It’s overgrown and pushed to the left.

I like to think of my Octavian (Octavian 2: electric bogaloo) as being somewhere on the Autism spectrum. It’s another head-cannon I adopted somewhere and have just clung onto. It tickles the right part of my brain.

Knows everything about Rome; like actually. And Troy; he really liked the Aenead(?) when he was younger, if anyone asked his favorite Trojan was Hector (it was totally Andromache, he felt really bad for her. And sobbed during Hector’s farewell. Yes I am somewhat projecting).

His family pressured him a lot into his roles, he does genuinely like his Augur role.

This man lives and breathes the legion. Genuinely loves his home and wants to protect it; just ends up coming off as kind of paranoid.

He didn’t get much attention as a kid (with his 8 other siblings) so he tries really hard for his voice to be heard and over-explains and tries to be very clear when he’s wanting to get his message across. Most people interpret him (as said MANY times in the books) as kind of desperate to be listened to and a little whiny

Really takes his rules seriously and doesn’t like when people don’t follow him. There has been a many ‘but that’s not fair >:[‘ with my little guy.

Octavian is a REGULAR at the build-a-bear in Berkeley. He mostly uses them for Auguries when he needs something fresher. But he does sometimes keep them (he impulsive buys anytime they have a bird one, he also literally stayed up refreshing the website when he saw the, “Wolf Pup build-a-bear online exclusive” and was one of like the first people to buy it.

https://www.buildabear.com/wolf-pup/029368.html (the plush in question if anyone wants a visual)

He bleaches his hair. That’s it :] I’m un-equipped to try and talk about a hairstyle I think he has because I am not the person to talk about black hairstyles without making a fool of myself. Though he does really like Hair rings, he thinks their a cool way to have some nice casual looking added bling to his usual outfits

This man wears majority of Hand-me-downs. Those shirts SWAMP him because his older brothers just had to be good archers

On that note about Archery- Octavian sucks at archery but is pretty good with other long-ranged weapons. Any spear/javelin/pole arm and he’s got it (based off of him being able to spear Gwen, from what I think was a ways away) and I’d like to think if the situation is dire he can throw his dagger pretty well.

He’s currently got the strongest prophetic powers in his family; and his family (I think this is mentioned somewhere- I dunno it’s late) goes back to being related to Augustus Caesar (the guy)

Isn’t a good artist. He doesn’t like not being good at anything artistic when he has things he really does want to paint or draw that don’t come out how he wants them to.

Octavian has problems with anger, totally. Stabbing stuffed animals isn’t really a good method to let out anger

People don’t give him enough credit for his part on the raid of mount Tam; sure Jason did the whole ‘topple Kronos’s black throne’ (which is a genuine achievement that Jason deserves and I love him-) but he also led the first cohort to battle against majority of the monsters; the first cohort were the first ones to storm of course-

I love him he’s so silly and goofy <3 uhhhhh. He’s also a people pleaser

He has a disappointed-mother-resting face.

Does the thing with the nose bridge pinching way too much.

He tugs on his hair when frustrated or annoyed or anything.

That’s all for now :3, I just wanted to get some of that out there. If anyone does pay attention to this account my next posts are probably going to be either Octavian art, more Calliope design things, or more likely stuff on my Re-imaging of Camp Jupiter/New Rome as someone with Ancient Rome as a special interest I really want to make my version of Camp Jupiter

[the-cult-of-russo]

Just Beneath The Flames (Part 1)

Pairing: Billy Russo x Reader

Warnings: cursing, smut at some point probably lmao, zombie shit, typical canon violence. You know the drill.

A/N: Soooo, I wanted to do a zombie AU for a long ass time. What can I say? I wrote for the walking dead fandom for yeeears lmao. Anyway, the first scene came to me and I just started writing. No idea where it's going or if it's gonna be good, but I guess we'll see lol

I told myself I wouldn’t post this until it was finished but as I’m writing this author note, I’m just starting chapter 7 and I have no idea how far this will go and I’ve been dying to post this lmao. I figured I’d start posting it and see what happens but after these 6 chapters are posted that I’ve already written up (I’ll post one a day), there might be some delays and stuff. I can’t promise chapters after that will be consistently everyday as I’ll be writing it. I’ll do my best. I posted Poetic Tragedy as I went too and all the kind words people left really encouraged me and inspired me to keep going.

Name of this one is from the song of the same name by Digital Daggers.

We were kings and queens of bedlam

We were happy to exist,

In discomfort we’d created

Though we dreamed of more than this

We had embers in our bloodlines

Iron lungs beneath our skin

Though our hearts were barely beating

We were bleeding out within

We’re at a stalemate,

Begging for the earth to shake,

Wondering if the winds will change

And blow us all away,

We are in the dark age

Tell me it was worth the pain,

Will the wild winds sing again

And blow us all away?

Or will we stay

Everything the same?

Oooh, stay,

Just beneath the flames

Just beneath the flames

We were wary of the future

How the days drew on and on,

With our eyes so widely open,

Tried to see where we’d gone wrong.

We were bold and we were brazen

But grew timid over time,

In our fear we lost direction,

And our dreams left us behind,

We’re at a stalemate,

Begging for the earth to shake,

Wondering if the winds will change

And blow us all away

We are in the dark age

Tell me it was worth the pain,

Will the wild winds sing again

And blow us all away?

Or will we stay

Everything the same?

Oooh, stay,

Waiting for a change,

Oooh stay,

Just beneath the flames

Just beneath the flames

—------

You crouched low, hiding in the shadows as you darted from one tree to another. The forest was bathed in darkness, the only light coming from the campfire that was calling you like a moth to the flame. Either these people were stupid or they were really sure of themselves. You'd never declare your whereabouts like this. You were hiding behind a tree, eyeing up the campsite. There were two women quietly talking among themselves, two children asleep next to them. There was a stocky man with short hair poking at the fire, a man with longer and messier hair beside him as he spoke in a hushed tone. There was a man with a darker complexion asleep not too far from the women and he had two guys next to him. One also had longer hair and he was slightly bigger than the more slender man next to him. The slender man's eyes never seemed to land on anything as he smiled and spoke to the other man. You wondered if he was blind but you couldn't be sure. You weren't too bothered with the people though. What drew your attention, what brought you here to begin with, were the crates of tins and other various foods. Your stomach growled like one of the dead as you stared at your prize, trying to figure out the best way of going about this without getting caught. They didn't just have food, they had weapons too. You wondered what was also in the black van parked on the road just outside the treeline. That was the first sign people were here and then you'd seen the light of the fire. 

You adjusted your scarf and was just about to move when you felt something feeling suspiciously like a gun being pressed to the back of your head.

"Don't fuckin' move," a voice growled and you felt your heart stutter. You'd sworn to yourself you wouldn't rob people again after the last time but you'd been desperate. Your hand inched ever so slowly to the knife strapped to your thigh but then the gun pressed even harder against your head.

"Don't even think about it," he hissed.

"You really gonna use that thing? It's just ringing the dinner bell for the dead," you muttered plainly, your body tense as your eyes darted around. You weren't sure how you were getting out of this one and memories swarmed your mind at a rapid rate. 

"We'd be long gone by then, but your body will still be warm enough for 'em to wanna bite," the man murmured darkly as he grabbed your arm and yanked you to your feet. He whistled sharply then and you jumped slightly, body tensing even more when the group looked over, some of them coming to see what was going on. The stocky man who had been poking the fire came right over to you, his face hard and cold as he drew his own gun. 

"Who the fuck are you?" He asked harshly.

"That's really none of your business now, is it?" You snapped. You couldn't help it, not when you were backed into a corner like this. Not when you had guns on you. The man from behind you moved around you then, moving to stand with the other man, his gun still trained on you. He was tall, his dark hair somehow neat and slicked back. But his eyes were almost black and the fire in them made you turn away from him.

"Why are you here?" The stocky man asked, glaring at you so hard you were surprised you didn't burst into flames. You shifted where you stood, uncomfortable under this scrutiny and unsure of your fate.

"I was gonna rob some food," you muttered honestly.

"I call bullshit," the man with the dark eyes scoffed.

"Where's your group?" The other man pressed, narrowing his eyes. 

"I don't have one," you bit out.

"You really expect us to believe that? That you're out here all on your own and doin' just fine?" The dark-eyed man laughed incredulously.

"I wouldn't say fine, but I'm still breathing if that counts," you glowered at him.

"Nah, I don't believe this bullshit," the man huffed, turning to a blonde woman who was hovering near the other man.

"Go get Matt, get him to do his heartbeat thing," he instructed, making her nod and scurry back off to the camp.

"The heartbeat thing?" You asked slowly. He turned back to you then with a dark smirk.

"Let's just say we got a human lie detector," he grinned patronizingly.

"Great, then he can tell you that you're an asshole who's wrong," you smiled back, just as patronizingly. His eyes narrowed to slits as he rolled his shoulder. The blonde came back then with a man, the one you suspected was blind. You were even more sure with your observation at the way he didn't quite look at you as he stood with the other men.

"We need you to do your thing, Red. See if she's lyin'," the stocky man muttered, his untrusting eyes going from the man back to you. 

"You're scared," the maybe blind man stated, tilting his head a little. You guessed he was using whatever mojo he had to listen to your heart beat like a hummingbird's wings. 

"She should be," the dark-eyed man scoffed, earning a small smack to the stomach from the stocky man who gave him a look. 

"I have guns pointed at me, I'd be stupid not to be scared," you pointed out sardonically. 

You watched as the stocky man and the blind one looked at each other, or at least seemed to before the blind one nodded. 

"Why are you here?" The stocky man asked once again. You rolled your eyes, shifting where you stood.

"I haven't eaten in four days and I saw your van on the road. I followed the light of your fire and saw you had food. I was going to take some," you explained monotonously. The blind man's head was tilted and then he 'glanced' at the stocky man.

"She's telling the truth," he said quietly.

"Do you have a group?" The stocky man asked, looking at you a little more curious than hostile and you wondered if he was starting to realize you weren't a threat. 

"No," you muttered, feeling a wave of pain hit you in the chest. 

"She's being honest," the blind man murmured with a nod. The stocky man nodded thoughtfully and you shot a condescending smirk to the dark-eyed man who just glared at you. 

"You rob groups like this often?" The stocky man asked you and you shook your head with a frown. 

"I only do it if I'm desperate, the last time was three months ago but after that… " you trailed off, the urge to touch your throat stinging you but your hands stayed at your side since the guns were still pointed your way.

"Are they the ones that left the scar?" The blind man asked softly, his voice sounding apologetic. Your head whipped to him, shock coloring your face. You blinked at him slowly and he shot you an almost sheepish smile as he looked down. 

"Look, I wasn't gonna hurt anyone, okay? I was just hungry and desperate and you looked like you had more than enough. Just let me leave," you muttered with a frown. The stocky man lowered his gun but the dark-eyed man didn't until he got another firm look from the other man. You started to wonder if the stocky man was the leader here. The blonde woman who had been hovering once again then rushed over to the crates of food and started rummaging. 

"Karen… what the fuck are you doin'?" The dark-eyed man asked roughly.

"You heard what she said, Billy. She hasn't eaten in four days, we can at least give her something," the woman huffed, giving him a sour look as she plucked a couple of cans from the crate and a bottle of water. She rushed back over to you then with a warm smile and it made your chest ache. You really hadn't expected this. 

"Here, I hope this helps," she murmured. Your mouth floundered for a moment, unsure how to respond. It had been a long time since you'd experienced kindness from anyone, especially a stranger. 

"Uh… thanks," you muttered, slipping your backpack off your shoulders before stuffing the cans and water inside. You were starving but you'd eat once you left. You didn't really want to stick around in case they changed their mind. You slipped your backpack back on, eyes darting around the group. While yes, they'd just been pointing guns at you and interrogating you, it was understandable in this new world. But now they were letting you go and giving you some of their supplies. You didn't like feeling in debt to anyone.

"I um… since you helped me, I can give you some info to help you too," you started hesitantly. They two men were still watching you like you were a bomb about to go off. 

"What is it?" The stocky man asked warily. You licked your chapped lower lip, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your jacket. 

"There's a group around these parts and they aren't good news. You know how some people are… the living can be worse than the dead out here," you frowned. 

"They the ones that hurt you?" The stocky man asked, his tone a little softer although his body seemed more tense and on alert at your words. You nodded jerkily, trying to push the memories away. 

"I came across them a few months ago and I was starving, I needed food. They caught me trying to rob them," you muttered.

"What happened?" The stocky man asked carefully.  You sniffled, cracking your neck a little.

"These guys… they're real assholes. And I'm talking about the ‘take what you want and kill anyone in your way’ kind of assholes. There's ten or eleven of them, all armed to the teeth with guns and a shit tonne of knives. They didn't take too kindly to me trying to take what was theirs. They… they slit my throat and left me for dead," your hands clenched into fists in your pockets as a barrage of memories hit you. 

"They slit your throat?" The dark-eyed man scoffed incredulously, an amused smirk on his face like he didn't believe you. You tugged your scarf down a little, revealing the jagged scar along your throat as you quirked a brow at him and he looked away. 

"Wha- How did you survive?" The blonde gasped, blinking at you with wide eyes. 

"Let's just say the guy that did this wasn't very good with a knife," you snorted mirthlessly.

"And you were able to just walk away, stitch it back up yourself and you're fine?" The dark-eyed man asked skeptically.

"I didn't stitch it up myself, I had help," you muttered tensely.

"Thought you didn't have a group," he glowered, eyes narrowing at you.

"I don't, not anymore," you bit out and the man's mouth clamped shut. 

"Andy… he was the last in our group, we were the only ones left. He was a doctor before all this and he stitched me up the best he could," your voice was laced in pain as you hastily fixed your scarf back in place. 

"What happened to him?" The stocky man asked quietly. 

"He got bit, asked me to put him down," you swallowed thickly. You were sure the sound of that gunshot would haunt you until your dying day. 

There was a tense silence that overtook you all then and you decided it was time to duck out. Before you could leave though, the stocky man piped up again. 

"This group, any idea where they are?" He asked, a dark look in his eyes. 

"Last I saw them, they were down by the creek just east of here. They move around a lot but I keep tabs on them so I know where to avoid," you shrugged. He nodded looking deep in thought for a moment. 

"Could you show me where?" He asked after a long moment. An inelegant snort left your lips as you looked at him like he'd grown another head. 

"Didn't you hear anything I just said? These guys are kill on sight and the last time I saw them, they tried to kill me. They think I'm dead and I'd like to keep it that way," you huffed incredulously.

"I get that… I get that you're scared, but if you show me where they are, they won't be a problem for you anymore," the stocky man said as he raised a brow at you. 

"What, are you gonna take them all out? You're outnumbered and outgunned, how the hell are you gonna manage that?" You asked derisively. 

"They might have more guns and more men but we got more skill," the dark-eyed man smirked coldly. 

"So you guys wanna go on some suicide mission and just have me tag along for the fun of it?" You scoffed as you shook your head. The stocky man shared a look with the blonde woman before he took a slow step towards you. 

"How about a deal? You show us where they are and you can come with us when we're done, join the group," he offered softly. 

"Seriously, Frank?" The dark-eyed man asked hotly but he got ignored. 

"No offense, but I don't wanna join your group," you muttered. 

"Why wouldn't you? You're alone out here and struggling. You could be with us and you wouldn't have to worry," a different man frowned at you. You hadn't even noticed him come over. It was the man who had been sitting with the blind man.

"I've tried being in a group and I had to watch each person I care about get ripped apart by the dead, get murdered or slowly die from illnesses. I'm better off on my own," you said firmly, making the man look away with a frown. The stocky man moved towards you a little more, getting your attention. 

"Alright, you don't wanna join us, that's fine. How about you help us with this and you get first picks from their shit after we're done?" He offered. You mulled it around in your head for a moment. You knew those assholes had a tonne of gear and food. 

"Throw in that bow and we have a deal," you smirked, gesturing with your head to a bow you'd been admiring in the camp. It was a Mathews V3X 29/33. The dark-eyed man barked out a laugh as he shook his head. 

"Is that a joke? She's not takin' my fuckin' bow, Frank," he scoffed. He managed to look incredulous, amused and offended all at the same time. 

"There's that hunting store not too far from here, I'm sure you can get another," the blonde muttered to him in a hushed tone. He squinted at her like he was trying to set her ablaze with his mind. 

"You have any idea what kinda bow that is? They won't have this kinda thing in a shitty little hunting store," he huffed. 

"Fine, you can keep your bow. But you take me to the hunting store so I can get one," you relented, quirking your brow at the stocky man since he seemed to be the one in charge. 

"Done," he smirked. It was easier than you thought. 

You didn't really relish the thought of seeing those assholes again but you had no plans on actually participating in the fight. You'd stay well out of the way and hopefully go unnoticed, you'd get some food and some weapons out of it so you'd go along with it. You'd been due a break and maybe you were finally getting one. Being alone out here was hard but even with the offer of joining the group, you knew you had no desire to. It was just asking for bad news and getting attached to people just meant hurting when you lost them. And you always lost them because this new world was cruel. It was relieving though to know you didn't have to deal with another group of unhinged lunatics, especially since you were staying in the same area. You wondered about the possibility of trading with them. You didn't want to join them even if they did seem nice enough, but it would be good to have some sort of relationship with other people. Maybe if you needed food you could offer them something. Building relationships like this was the only way to survive this. Your old group had trading relationships with other groups until slowly the numbers dwindled to nothing. You often wondered just why you survived all the bullshit, why out of everyone, you were the last one standing. It didn't make sense yet here you were. No matter how dark things got and how morbid your thoughts turned, you always tried to push on and deal with it. You promised Andy you would before you put a bullet in his head and you owed him that at least. 

You stood around awkwardly as the two men got ready with weapons and food for the trip. The one with dark eyes had a sniper rifle with what looked to be a silencer on it. You weren't too good with guns, you didn't really like them. The blonde woman walked back over to you as the men got ready and she handed you a protein bar. 

"For the trip," she smiled. You took it gratefully with a hesitant smile of your own, still feeling a little out of place and just wanting this whole thing over with. You didn't wait to eat it though, ripping the wrapper off instantly before munching on it hungrily. You were glad for some sustenance. The cans felt like they were burning a hole through your bag but you'd wait until you had a moment alone to open them. You could never seem to get the hang of using your knife to open it, you really needed to keep your eye out for a can opener. 

"I'm Karen, by the way," the woman added. You'd almost forgotten she was there in your euphoria over finally getting some food. 

"Y/N," you supplied, earning a smile from her. She walked over to the men then who seemed like they had all their stuff ready. You were still standing at a distance from the camp as the others who were awake spoke to the men, probably murmuring their goodbyes. You watched curiously as the blonde, Karen, toyed with the stocky man's vest, which looked a lot like a bullet proof vest that you were sure he wasn't wearing before. He said something you couldn't hear to her before she leaned up and kissed him softly. You felt for them. One of them was going to die and the other would be doomed to live with that pain. It's just how things were now. 

You blew out a sigh as you waited, anxious to get going so you could leave and get on with things. You were also looking forward to going to the hunting store. You really needed a bow after you'd had to abandon your last one after your camp got overrun with the dead. The men finally walked over to you and you grabbed the straps of your backpack, adjusting it a little.

"Ready?" The stocky man asked. You nodded and the three of you set off. It was strange how well you'd learnt the lay of the land here. You weren't from St Lawrence County in New York, you'd been from the city. But when all hell broke loose, you knew being in an overpopulated city was the worst place to be. It would be the quickest way to die, or worse, get bit and turned into one of the dead. So you'd made a mad dash for your brother's apartment and the two of you took off. You’d looked at the map and tried to pick an area that was less populated, more rural. And that was how you ended up here. You’d met people along the way and slowly formed a group. But now you were the only one left. Your younger brother Sam had been the third to die. It wasn't even the dead that got him. He had a heart condition and it had been getting harder and harder to find the medication he needed. Eventually, there wasn’t any left. You swallowed thickly and tried not to think about it. Focusing on those you lost wouldn't do you any good, you always had to move on, keep pushing forward. 

It was still dark outside as the three of you moved through the trees carefully, always keeping an ear out whether that was for other people or for the dead. You had no idea how this would all play out. 

“So, you guys really think you can take all these dudes on?” you asked curiously. It had been a long time since you’d had to make conversation with anyone. You’d missed it and not missed it all at the same time. It was easy to find comfort in your loneliness, easier to look after yourself than have the burden of taking care of others too. To feel that crushing weight bear down on you when you couldn't help them and they wound up dead. But at the same time, it was hard. Being by yourself for such a long time had worn you down. You felt like you were in a vacuum. The dark-eyed man scoffed as he glanced at you.

“We don’t think it, we know it,” he wore a cocky smirk on his face but it didn't fill you with confidence. For all you knew, you were about to witness them being murdered. You wondered to yourself what you’d do if that happened. Would you go back to their group and let them know? Or would you just flee, leaving them never knowing what happened?

“Right…” you muttered, clearly sounding not very impressed. 

“We know what we’re doin’. Former Marines, Spec Ops. Not our first rodeo,” the stocky man said. While he didn’t seem cocky, he did seem confident. You nodded thoughtfully, they looked the type. The type of guys who had seen some shit and probably had to do some shit. Then again, the same could probably be said about you at this point. You didn't think there was a person walking the earth that hadn’t been through hell at this point. It was a war of a different kind. The silence came back then as you led them through the forest, making you feel slightly on edge. The stocky man also seemed not to like the silence as he broke it abruptly after a while.

“I’m Frank and this is Billy,” he muttered, looking at you and then glancing to the dark-eyed man who was apparently Billy before back at you.

“Y/N,” you replied, much like you had with Karen. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” Frank said with a wry smile and you snorted lightly. 

“These assholes… they seem like they know how to handle their weapons?” Frank asked curiously. You didn't blame him, he obviously wanted as much information about the guys before he got there. 

“Well, I mean they tried to kill me and failed pretty badly, so I’m gonna guess no on that one,” you huffed, rolling your eyes a little.

“Bunch of little boys playin’ with guns and knives, thinkin’ they’re big men,” Billy growled as he shook his head.

“Basically,” you shrugged. It didn't make you feel any better though. Maybe they weren’t as skilled as the men either side of you with their weapons, but they still had more numbers and more weapons. If they fired enough times, surely a shot would land. You kept glancing at Frank as you all walked, something itching in the back of your brain before the puzzle pieces all clicked together in place.

“What?” he asked warily after you just blinked at him for a moment.

“Nothing, I just… I knew I recognized you from somewhere but I’ve only just figured it out. You're the Punisher, right?” you asked carefully. You remembered bits and pieces on the news about him. You felt sorry for him, for what happened to his family and you couldn't quite blame him for the rampage he went on. He chuckled, looking away awkwardly as he nodded.

“Yeah… that’s me,” he muttered. You started to wonder if maybe they did have a chance after all. And maybe forging some kind of trading relationship wouldn't be too bad. The Punisher was definitely someone you wanted on your side and if you ever got into trouble with another group, and you had no doubt there would be others in the future because there was always more, maybe he’d be able to help you. 

You carried on walking for a little under an hour before you slowed your pace a little, the surroundings feeling familiar as the hair on the back of your neck prickled up. The walk had been littered with small talk, mostly from Frank as his counterpart remained silent and brooding, on high alert at all times. Frank had told you the names of the people in his group, told you a little about how they all left the city. Much like you, they knew the city wasn't a good place to be and the man with shaggy hair who had been at the fire with Frank, Micro, had suggested here. 

“We close?” Billy piped up for the first time, noticing your slowing pace.

“Yeah, it's not too far,” you murmured. You tried not to let the fear creep in, your throat burning like it was cut all over again and you tugged at the scarf you wore with a frown, readjusting it. You all heard them before you saw them. You had no idea how these assholes even survived for this long as they all laughed and hollered like they were having a party. You could see a faint glow from a campfire behind the trees on the other side of the creek.

“Alright, you stay here, out of sight,” Frank said, giving you a stern look as if you even needed to be told. You weren't going any further than this. You nodded, crouching behind a tree as you watched Frank ready his gun. Billy took the sniper from his back, getting on the floor on his stomach as he set it up behind a bush for cover. Frank walked further away, crossing the creek at enough distance not to be noticed. You took a shaky breath, now behind the tree and unable to see what was going on. It made you nervous. Your eyes drifted to Billy then, his sniper at the ready, his eyes laser focused across the creek.  You weren't quite sure of their plan or how they were supposed to communicate to be in sync with one another but it didn't seem to matter. After a few beats of nothingness, the only noise coming from the assholes across the creek, Billy fired three shots in quick succession. You didn't see if they landed but the men all started yelling, no doubt scrambling for their weapons. The silencer hadn't made the shot completely soundless, it wasn't like the movies. But it was significantly quieter, enough to confuse the men about where the shots were coming from. You heard a few loud shots fired in the direction you and Billy were and you curled in on yourself, hoping the tree would protect you. But then you heard even more shots and you could only hope that Frank had joined the fray. Billy took some more shots and you covered your ears at each loud boom coming from across the creek, your eyes darting around rapidly as if waiting for the dead to descend on you all at the noise. When the shooting stopped, you hesitantly moved your hands from your ears and you heard a sharp whistle, much like the one Billy had done when he'd found you. Billy stood at the whistle, shouldering his sniper rifle. You stood on shaky legs, holding the tree for support as you looked over to Billy. He watched you with an unreadable expression for a second before gesturing with his head. He didn't spare you a word as he set off moving to cross the creek and you hurried to keep up with his long strides. You didn't care about getting wet and this part of the creek was fairly shallow, coming only to your mid-calf. 

When you got to the camp the men had been staying at, the place was littered with bodies, Frank standing among them as he waited for you both. 

"Goddamn, Frankie," Billy grinned, shaking his head as he took in the carnage rather gleefully. 

"Told you we'd get it done," Frank smirked at you. 

"You definitely did," you muttered wryly, glancing at all the bodies. You didn't feel bad for them one bit after what they'd done to you, what you knew they'd probably done to countless others. Death didn't bother you like it had in the old world, not when you were surrounded with it constantly. You spied something on the floor next to one of the men and crouched, seeing a pocket knife. You swiped it off the muddy floor, checking it quickly and grinning to yourself when you saw a can opener. You stood up, quickly stuffing it into your jeans pocket and catching Frank's slightly amused look at you.

"Well, a deal's a deal. You helped us out here so you get first pick of all this shit," he murmured and you gave him a nod. You didn't waste time, knowing the dead would be ambling their way towards you pretty soon after all the noise. You dug through bags, picking out some cans and other bits and pieces, shoving them into your backpack. You wanted to take as much as you could but you couldn't overburden yourself. You still needed to get around easily. You shoved about 10 cereal bars into your bag and a few bottles of water too. It would last you for a little bit and it was more than what you currently had which was close to nothing. You grabbed one last can of tomato soup before you moved to sit on a log near the campfire that was still burning. 

"Go nuts," you said dismissively, grabbing your new pocket knife as you opened the can. Frank and Billy got to work, grabbing some of the men's bags, emptying them out before filling them back up themselves. You took some greedy gulps of the cold soup, watching them shoulder the large backpacks of food before grabbing some duffles and starting to gather up some of the weapons and ammo. 

It was as you just finished your soup that you heard the telltale groans of the dead floating through the forest. You stood up quickly, throwing on your backpack and seeing the men thinking the same as they grabbed the duffle bags. You all quickly walked back through the creek to the other side before you set off back to their camp. You didn't need to worry about the dead on your heels, knowing they'd be distracted by the meals you'd left them. With each step you took, you felt a little lighter. Ever since you'd run into those assholes months ago and they'd left you for dead, you'd been feeling like a skittish animal. The reason why you'd been so starving was because the stores in the area were getting scarcer off food and when you went the last time, the gang of men had been there. Not feeling like having your throat slit again, you'd avoided it like the plague. You didn't have to worry about them anymore, didn't have to sneak around and keep tabs on them so you could always stay one step ahead. But you knew the relief would be short-lived because there would always be another group to take their place. You'd quickly learnt that nothing brought out the worst in humanity as much as the downfall of civilization. There was the added threat of the dead ones walking around but after living this life for so long, you worried far less about the dead ones than the living. The dead were like animals, operating on pure base primal instinct and the drive for food. They were predictable. The living however were far worse. They were unpredictable, selfish, greedy, desperate and deadly. There were worse things than death in this life. Getting taken out by one of the dead was one of the easiest ways to go now, but you'd just take some respite from the harsh reality of the new world while you had it. Whatever came for you next, you'd deal with it when it came to it. 

Taglist: (if you’ve been asked to be tagged and aren’t here, it wouldn’t let me tag some people.)

@firexfate

@blanchedelioncourt

@ariesbutalibra

@sunshinedaisies-anddeath

@snowkestrel

@music-indie-tv

@idaofinfinity

@sweetserendipity65

@ramadiiiisme

@k-marzolf

@celestialams

@woowwwee

[deliriumsdelight7]

TMI Tuesday

I’ve typed and deleted about five first sentences to this post before deciding I don’t want to post about that. Instead I’m gonna do what I do best and lean on fandom for escapism.

So, as you might have seen, I posted two fic chapters last week: one for “Lonely Soul, Ocean Soul,” my Barbgrove selkie fic; and the other for “The Black Swan,” my Rumbelle Swan Lake AU. Both of those fics are one epilogue away from completion, proving that I can, in fact, finish a thing. It just doesn’t happen often.

Two items are up next: the next chapter of “One More Time, Steal My Breath,” my Hellcheer kinkfic; and a complete Stranger Things fix-it, tentatively titled “A Strange Twist of Fate.” The former is… rough. I wrote most of it at the height of my sleep deprivation, so it’s… messy. Honestly it would probably be better to scrap the chapter and start over, but I know myself; after spending months on the damn thing, if I scrap it now, I’ll get discouraged and never get around to rewriting it. So if this chapter seems weaker than the rest, keep in mind that that’s out of necessity.

As for the new fic, I have no clue if I’m doing it “right.” I’ve neither read nor written a fix-it fic before, so I don’t know how they traditionally go. I refuse to rewrite each and every scene because that sounds boring as shit. So this will basically be an author’s note containing a list of canon events I kept, followed by whatever altered scenes tickle my fancy. If it’s incoherent and inconsistent… well, then I know I’m emulating the Duffers well.

Oh - and before anyone wonders whether I’m burning myself out again, I’m (probably) not! Three of these four chapters were already mostly done, which is why I’m able to crank so many out so fast. Once those are done, it’ll probably be another few weeks til my next update.

So that’s where I’m at. Got any questions for me, either as a writer or a person? Questions for any characters from my fics? Snippet requests for either of the two chapters I’m working on? Requests for which fic you’d like to see updated next? My inbox is open!

[leggywillow]

Fic Writer Interview

I was tagged by @feralkwe

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

10 🙈

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

170,541

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

He Thought Her Unsinkable (50)

Never Free (41)

Failed Attempts at Simpler Lives (24)

Ashes (12)

Torture Of Your Own Design (10)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! I really can’t overstate how much I love and value every comment and how they make my day and really keep me going when I worry that no one’s interested, lol. I want the commenters to know that, even if sometimes all I can say is “thanks!” Because I can’t grab them by the shoulders and just shriek right in their face.

People engaging with my characters and ships and little situations is like… the point for me. It’s the DREAM, for real.

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Technically it’s the short Ashes, since that ends with Hawke dead and Anders and Justice gone. The one that makes me the saddest, though, is Strange Bedfellows. That fic spends more time getting to know the characters before destroying them.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Never Free ends the most hopefully, I feel.

7. Do you write crossovers?

Nah.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, which is the good part of focusing on niche content with OCs, lol. I may not rack up numbers but I also don’t get attention from the meanies.

9. Do you write smut?

Not really, but god I want to. I’ve put a grand total of like 2.3 smut-esque scenes in my stories, because I just chicken the hell out. I get SO self-conscious, and it just feels so bad lmao. No idea how to overcome this.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and I can’t imagine anyone has. Another benefit of creating niche content.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I’m aware of. That would be pretty cool though.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but it’s something I’d be open to if the right circumstances came up. It seems pretty unlikely at this point in my fandom life, but you never know.

13. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I feel like the Simpsons’ “SAY THE LINE, BART!” meme right now because it’s obviously Carver Hawke/my Surana. You know, the only ship I ever write and talk about.

The only other ship I’ve been both feral and inspired enough to write about is Hawke/Alistair, so that ship gets second place.

Mind you, this is strictly from a “writing fanfic” perspective. I love lots of different ships, including multishipping for the above characters.

14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I don’t post many things so the only unfinished WIP (besides the one I’m currently working on) is my Hawkistair fic, He Thought Her Unsinkable, that I last updated in 2016. Two years ago I would have said it would stay unfinished forever, but now I DO have intentions of coming back to it. (I got thoroughly stuck with progressing both the plot and the ship and I’ve since thought up solutions for both.)

I’ll probably rewrite the whole thing though. There was a lot of room for improvement, and I cringe looking back.

15. What are your writing strengths?

This is hard for me because I’m so riddled with imposter syndrome and anxiety, but I think I do character dialogue well. I can hear voices very clearly in my head and it’s one of the few things my memory holds onto, so I fiddle with my lines until I can hear the character saying them in their cadence.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle with descriptions for sure. Knowing how much or little to include, yes, but I also find myself just blanking out on descriptive words when I need them.

Me, desperately, to my own brain: We’ve seen a house before! I need words to describe a house!

Brain: I have never seen one of those before in my life.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

This is something where I try to stay pretty firmly in my lane, because I know it can be done poorly if you don’t know what you’re doing. And I do not, lol. If a character is speaking in another language, I just say that. I try to keep my usage of other languages to exclamations and terms of endearment if they come up naturally.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I wrote Animorphs fanfic on an old typewriter at my dad’s office when I had to be there after school as a kid and then later on some little word processor software for kids that looked like you were typing in a little book. (I’ve been desperately trying to figure out what 1990s software this could have been to no avail, for nostalgia’s sake.) I made some kind of human/Hork-Bajir hybrid OC that was basically like Wolverine with the badass retracting blades in her skin.

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I only like writing fic when I have BIG AND SPECIFIC IDEAS that grab me, and that only comes with being incredibly hyperfixated on the source material until I’m comfortable with the setting… so basically I’m very content in my Dragon Age sandbox and don’t have much desire to branch out. That said, I do love my Dark Urge from Baldur’s Gate 3 and am very tempted to write about her someday.

20. What's your favorite fic you've written?

I think I’ll have to go with Never Free. Failed Attempts at Simpler Lives has more character interactions that I deeply enjoyed writing, but I’m really proud of the plot I wove together in Never Free.

Tagging @theluckywizard @rakshadow @inquisimer @nirikeehan and anybody who thinks it looks fun!

[thewulf]

Hey my dear. I'm so in love with your stories. Thanks for making soooo gorgeous stories out of my two requests. Well I already threatened you that I've got a lot of story ideas and now I'm brave enough to send you another request 😇 but let me know if you don't like it😉 as I said one to many times I'm a sucker for hurt fics, but also friends to lovers, I know it's a trope that's a lot of written about but I can't help myself.

Bradley's longterm best friend (they know each other as long as they can think) moves to fightertown, now that her best friend Brad is permanently stationed there and she finished University. She is happy that she finally has her best friend near her, after her mom died and her step dad takes out his anger on her (both physically and mentally) there was nothing in her hometown keeping her from moving away. Bradley couldn't be happier to have her near her and be able to protect her (he doesn't know that her step dad was an abusive asshole). The whole squad welcomes her and she's finally living a happy life. But being with Bradley, old feelings bubbling up inside her. And also Bradley's long buried feelings for his best friend are visiting him. (soorry it's the typical pining best friends to lovers but I have a bit of drama and angst on the way). The whole squad notice their hidden feelings, from being Brad a little bit too protective and her being always near him seeking his safety. As Jake once more is trying to convince Bradley to admit his feelings he makes a very bad decision. He flirts with the first woman at the Hard Deck just to keep a little distance to his best friend and when a guy hits on her during a night out Bradley convinces her to date the stranger. Despite Jake who says thats a bad idea cause these guy is a creep she gives him her number. (of course her heart is broken that Bradley so easily tells her to date a guy). The date goes terribly wrong when the guy gets handsy... He spikes her drink. She notices that something is wrong, in her drugged state she tries to flee and alert Brad but he doesn't pick up his phone. One last try she calls Jake who picks up, but the guy follows her into the parking lot catching her on the phone. He gets aggressive and beats her up. On the other end Jake hears the commotion and her screams and whimpers for help. Instantly alerting Brad.....

Soooorry it's as always way to long. So I don't fill the spot from the guys driving to the parking lot to finding and her bringing her to the hospital. But maybe at the hospital when the doctor tells Bradley her condition he also tells him that she has some old fractures in her ribs, arms etc. and asks if she has a history with domestic abuse....so her step dad story is revealed.

You know I'm living for hurt and sick fics, so maybe if you like you can add some details, like she suffers from asthma and having panic attacks because of the harassment of her step dad?! So we can see some protective Bradley and Daggers?

I hate myself for annoying you with this loooong request, I am so sorry.

I hope you doing ok. Send you love =) 🤍🤓

Ahhh hello again! You always give the best requests!! I love a good beat friends to lovers trope! I also haven’t given Bradley a fair shake, tend to write more Jake than Bradley so I’m def going to have fun with this one!!

I’ll probably make the hurt scene a little more PG and might change a few things around that so it’s not graphic or uncomfortable to people!

I’ve got two requests ahead of this one but I’ll def get right on it once the other two are done :)

I’m back from family vacation on Monday so I’m hoping to start cranking these out after that! Might be about two weeks after editing and making sure it’s good enough to post :)

I’ll make sure to tag you as well!!

[sleepy-stars-room]

to be read and reviewed pt.3

purpose of this post series: a post keeping track of what fics I’ve been wanting to read and leave feedback for!  

additional note(s): let’s enjoy the chaos as I read through these fics, you’re welcome to join! You’re highly encouraged to reblog them if you liked them as well! Lastly please show love to these wonderful writers. oml this is my longest one yet 😃

this post is for the group: SEVENTEEN!

last updated: 03/19/2023 // overall status: complete

↓ click on read more to see which fics I’ll be reading ↓

"wedding weekends with wonwoo " by @suhnshinehaos​

pairing: photographer!wonwoo, florist! + gn!reader

fic type: written fic | word count: ~10k

genre: fluff, angst if you looked hard enough, and fake-dating | warnings: food mentions + one swear word

summary: jeon wonwoo, the perfect man. kind, smart, successful career, and not too bad on the eyes. all his friends are getting married and everyone’s aunts, mothers, and family friends are trying to set him up with their friends, sisters, brothers, nieces, and nephews at every wedding he attends. he’s tired of it. what better way to solve his problem than to employ your help, someone who’s having the exact same one?

review post 

the soulmate service by @dkfile​

pairing: not stated

fic type: written fic | word count: 31.0k (31,023)

genre: fluff, angst, soulmate au, summer break au, (one-sided) rivals to lovers ━ matchmaker!vernon, older brother!soonyoung | warnings: ambiguous/open ending, mentions of unrequited love, lots of bickering between vernon and reader, pining (?), there’s angst but it’s minimal

summary: the soulmate service has one purpose: to help those who drew the short end of the stick and ended up without a person to live their forever with. after the heart wrenching realization that the boy you’ve loved since you were thirteen isn’t the one meant for you, you put your love life in the hands of vernon chwe — which, now that you think about it, is probably a very bad idea.

review post 

golden hour by @dkfile​

pairing: joshua x reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 12.4k (12,449)

genre: fluff, slice of life, best friends to lovers, summer vacation au ━ best friend!joshua | warnings: alcohol consumption, so much pining it’s ridiculous, & little to no angst

summary: summer ends in less than a month, leaving you with a limited amount of time to build up the courage to profess your undying love for your best friend before he leaves again for college. alternatively the summer of pining, featuring a group of annoyed bystanders.

review post

10 Ways To Get Over Gyu by @just-some-random-blogger​

pairing: Swimmer!Mingyu x Reader 

fic type: written fic | word count: 8k+

genre: Childhood friends AU, Friends to Enemies (to Lovers?) AU, pure angst, some fluff if you squint, cheating | warnings: not really specified but there is angst and cheating so 🤕

summary: Being the cute guy's best friend is really hard, especially when you've been harbouring a one sided crush for years.

review post 

what if we lived in the same town series by @pffbts​

summary: there are 13 boys who lives in your town where each of them have each of their own colours. some you know in person & some from afar so one day you sat down deciding to describe each of their colours absorbing all of their goodness and all of their flaws. you wondered what if someone in some other town ever thought of questioning when they looked at these boys, that―what if we lived in the same town?

joshua ver. 

pairing: neighbor!hong joshua x reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 4.6K

genre: angst, slice of life, fluff, romance | warnings: not mentioned

review post 

only fools rush in by @pffbts​

pairing: boo seungkwan x gn!reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 6.2K

genre: angst, slice of life, slight fluff | warnings: mentions of alcohol, bar scene (nothing major), this isn’t specifically a warning but a mention that the reader has a complex mindset with romantic relationship(s)/love.

summary: Being the cute guy's best friend is really hard, especially when you've been harbouring a one sided crush for years.

playlist: the author by luz + understand by keshi + i sunk in all the memories by vancouver sleep clinic + can't help falling in love by kacey musgraves.

review post

perpetual midnight by @httplastic​

pairing: vernon x reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 5.4k

genre: strangers to lovers, light angst, slow burn-ish | warnings: occasional cursing, a little sad, and yearning

summary: none indicated 

review post 

parallels & almosts

pairing: vernon x reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 10k

genre: friends to lovers, light angst, slow burn-ish | warnings: slight description of panic attacks, alcohol consumption, occasional cursing, and yearning

summary: none indicated

review post 

just a moment with you by @husbandhoshi​

pairing: hoshi x gn!reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 3.8k

genre: college!au, fluff, humor, friends to lovers, and romcom cliches | warnings: mentions of alcohol

summary: after a series of disasters, you find yourself on a long-winded detour from your senior trip with kwon soonyoung, local life of the party and the boy you may have just a little tiny crush on. or the one where you fall in love with the boy you've fallen in love with every friday night.

review post

The Beach House by @bluehoodiewoozi​

pairing: Boo Seungkwan x fem!Reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 9.8k

genre: E2L!au + one bed trope, comedy, angsty, romance-y, very slow burn-ish | warnings: some curse words, mentions of injuries, a concussion, food mentions, and heartbreak

summary: Maybe Vernon made a mistake by inviting both you and Seungkwan to the beach house, or maybe he was smarter than the two of you combined.

review post 

Will you marry me? by @fernspotsvt​

pairing: Seungkwan x reader

fic type: written fic | word count: ~5.7k

genre: fluff, comedy | warnings: none mentioned

summary: Seungkwan was finally going to propose to you, but you decided to have the same plans without knowing what he had planned. Somehow, you end up fighting about who proposes.

review post

this town by @kwallanghae​

pairing: Seungkwan x reader

fic type: written fic | word count: ~5.7k

genre: angst; moments of fluff; magical realism, time travel ish but not really | warnings: language, mention of blood, description of dying, character death (sorry spoilers)

summary: it had been so long since he lost you, and now Seungkwan was seeing you wherever he looked. you were a beautiful sight.

review post 

POV by @by-soleil​​

pairing: Jeon Wonwoo x Female Reader

fic type: written fic | word count: 3k+

genre: fluff, hurt/comfort | warnings: none indicated 

summary: This fic was inspired by “pov - ariana grande”

review post 

PLEASE ENJOY AND TAKE THESE AS RECS IF YOURE LOOKING FOR SOME!!

and please show love again to these writers <3 

signing off with love

- ash

[yell0wsalt]

5, 11, 64, 70, 74! 🤗

5. How many wips do you have?  What fandoms/pairings are they for?

I have… 8, I think? Five are for each of the weeks for ATLA rare pair month coming up in May, The shape of Iridescence, Say It, and I’m Yours.

The shape of iridescence: Irosami

Say It: Linzin

I’m Yours: EraserMic

For rare pair month I have Yingsu/Yangchen, three Ryu/Kuvira, and Tenzin/The Council Page

11. Do you write scenes in order, or do you jump around

When writing a chapter more often than not, I tend to write scenes in order. But every now and then, there are stubborn fics where I end up bouncing around. Certain scenes stand out to me more than others, so I’ll write those first. Going back to review, I’ll write the missing scenes around what I already have that I think could beef it up more/flesh out the story.

64. If you rewrote [insert fic] now, would you change anything?

A fic wasn’t specified, so I’ll pick Hurts Like Hell. I would have added more filler to draw out the angst and flesh out Asami’s life back in RC better during the three year gap. But I was impatient and didn’t think anyone would’ve cared or wanted me to do that lmao.

70. Are you subscribed to any writers on AO3?

I’m subbed to most of my mutuals, or works/series they post. I try (key word "try") to not spend much time scrolling through ao3. The goal of reading a backlog of fics 1-2x/week keeps me from getting distracted. Getting emails help me keep track of when they upload, so it doesn’t slip my mind to go back to their fics and read/kudos/comment when I can dedicate the time.

74 . Do you have a fic you wish got a bit more love?

Probably Kiss Me, Kill Me. It was based on the prompt to use all the lyrics of a song in a short story and ended up being one of the more challenging fics I’ve written. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and got me to try several new things I wouldn’t have necessarily considered before!

Fanfic Writer Asks